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Davynelord
Member Posts: 122
Ok, I know SWTOR just went F2P but I'm sure they didn't choose to go that route unless the game was in trouble with keeping it populated...However, being a preferred status member, you'd think that they should allow access to the forums....there are so many questions I wanted to ask or threads I wanted to participate in on the official forums when I first started playing but can't post there. I mean you want F2P players but you don't want them to communicate anywhere but in game...seems messed up to me. I can see if the game was still full Paid sub...but it's not anymore.
So anyone have any inside information on if they will allow F2P players forum access (for posting)? They really need to allow it because although there are still mostly paid subs playing the game today, a lot of F2P players are beginning to show up now....
Comments
Star Trek Online - Best Free MMORPG of 2012
The FTP system is severley constrained with an abundance of restrictions.
The secondary aim of (I won't mention the primary) is to force you to sub by a death of a million paper cuts.
The forum restrictions are one of those paper cuts. (As is the lack of cutomer support.)
As stated, they want forum access to be a privallage and not a right.
The LAST thing they would want is prefered/FTP players commenting (many would say freeloaders whineing) on their forums bemoaning the draconian FTP/prefered restrictions on their forums.
You have two choices.
Accept that the FTP system is incredibly restrictive (even for prefered status players) and enjoy slowly grinding along your class stories...
...or pay them the $15 per month to unlock the entire game.
Of course there is the option to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
I think that was a balanced summary of the situation, but one never knows.
*edit- caught one typo, I'm sure there are several more.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
I can certainly understand the possible reasons why they don't give forum access to all players. however, it doesn't excuse the fact that I feel isolated and ignored and unable to feel a part of the community when you deny me access to join in on the discussions with other players. INgmae chat can only get you so much, besides people in game are usually playing, not wanting to have a forum type discussion.
So overall, I think they have to look at the bigger picture...they are free to play now for a reason....soon they won't survive without free to play players or else they never would have went this route. So don't act like they are doing the free players a favor....it's funny how people think that free players some how don't deserve the most basic privledges...the forums may be an extention of the game, but part of what helps make a game better is being able to discuss ones point of view about the game no matter how good or bad their opinion is...it's free speech, nobody should be paying for that. Besides, a preferred status player is someone who has spent money to play the game, though not a reoccurring subscription, nevertheless they've helped put money in bioware's pocket, which somewhere down the line helps them keep the game running....so even if they want to put a limit on the amount you have to spend before you get forum posting rights, that'd be at least a step in the right direction...but to have no access at all just adds fuel for helping the game take a nose dive.
Honestly, I do feel the F2P aspect of SWTOR is severely flawed, espeically considering how all the other F2P games operate and still remain successful...Heck Anarchy Online is the oldest MMO still running on a free to play status and also still has a subscription method....unfortunately that game is low on population simply because the graphics are out of date...but give that game the graphics of SWTOR and it would be far more successful than SWTOR.
So I have a hard time believing that restricted forum access has anything to do with not wanting SWG discussions or bad posters or gold spammers and such. I hope they just haven't opened access yet because they want to see what impact free players would have on the game first...it's only been a few months of free to play....so that's why I was wondering if anyone had any inside information about the possiblity of evnetually allowing free players posting rights.
i agree,,i preordered the game, and payed at least 6 months subs
but i cant post on the game forums
i can see the reasons for BW to do this: they dont want more flame posts from their FORMER customers
so i have to write my flame posts here instead (sadface)
Aye, I'm in the same boat as you Davynelord, and feeling really discouraged about giving them *any* money at all. So many questions, no way to ask the community.
So instead of getting some money from me (read: more than a months sub, but not as a subscription), they'll probably get none or the bare minimum (I.e., less then 1 month sub)
I mean, would it kill them to create a ftp/preferred sub-forum? Limit us to there, and then all the subbers wouldn't have to deign to talk to us, less they wanted to.
edit: just noticed I joined this page in april 11, but this is my first post. lol.
They were smart to do this because I for one would be on there constantly until banned. They know the game is a disaster that appeals only to a small undiscerning audience.
I begrudgingly acknowledge their wisdom in this one small thing, even if that very move was one they had to make because they made such a terrible game.
Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011
it wasnt the smartest,,but it was the easiest and the fastest
we could all have written total bull there,,it wouldnt have looked any different
the only ones , who would have read it would have been the usual suspects and the devs
now people on other sites get to see it too
it would have been better to just delete threads and posts, as they do anyway
that way they could have contained it better