Originally posted by Jackdog After paying 60 for ESO and only playing it 2 weeks this is a bargain at 150. I will get at least 6 months of enjoyment from this game, something that has not happened since LoTRO for me.
That's what so many people seem to be missing. You're not paying $150 for alpha. That's just one part of the offer. The other is three months sub when the game goes live, $75 value of in-game credits to spend in the game shop and various goodies such as you would normally get with a CE. I reckon on at least six months play for my money too and that compares very favourably with other games.
From what I heard you cannot get a refund once you played in Alpha, so seen from Trion's own perspective you do pay to play in Alpha.
From what I see happening here Trion does not need to release AA anymore. They probably make more money by keeping it in Alpha indefinitely. They just need to open the cash shop during Alpha now, and at some date allow those who paid for beta access to enter the Alpha.
Originally posted by Jackdog After paying 60 for ESO and only playing it 2 weeks this is a bargain at 150. I will get at least 6 months of enjoyment from this game, something that has not happened since LoTRO for me.
That's what so many people seem to be missing. You're not paying $150 for alpha. That's just one part of the offer. The other is three months sub when the game goes live, $75 value of in-game credits to spend in the game shop and various goodies such as you would normally get with a CE. I reckon on at least six months play for my money too and that compares very favourably with other games.
From what I heard you cannot get a refund once you played in Alpha, so seen from Trion's own perspective you do pay to play in Alpha.
From what I see happening here Trion does not need to release AA anymore. They probably make more money by keeping it in Alpha indefinitely. They just need to open the cash shop during Alpha now, and at some date allow those who paid for beta access to enter the Alpha.
Hehe, I see what you are sayng but it wont happen. The alpha server is FULL, really full. I expect they will be able to fill 10 servers once beta starts and many more at release.
You can please some MMO-players all of the time and you can please all MMO-players some of the time but you can't please all MMO-players all of the time.
Originally posted by Jackdog After paying 60 for ESO and only playing it 2 weeks this is a bargain at 150. I will get at least 6 months of enjoyment from this game, something that has not happened since LoTRO for me.
That's what so many people seem to be missing. You're not paying $150 for alpha. That's just one part of the offer. The other is three months sub when the game goes live, $75 value of in-game credits to spend in the game shop and various goodies such as you would normally get with a CE. I reckon on at least six months play for my money too and that compares very favourably with other games.
From what I heard you cannot get a refund once you played in Alpha, so seen from Trion's own perspective you do pay to play in Alpha.
From what I see happening here Trion does not need to release AA anymore. They probably make more money by keeping it in Alpha indefinitely. They just need to open the cash shop during Alpha now, and at some date allow those who paid for beta access to enter the Alpha.
Hehe, I see what you are sayng but it wont happen. The alpha server is FULL, really full. I expect they will be able to fill 10 servers once beta starts and many more at release.
So they also need to open a few more alpha servers.
The alpha server really is full, it's true. Land is very very difficult to come by unless you pay for it.
I wrote this quick summary on the reddit for archeage of my experiences for the first weeks of play. It IS a great game, but it has some flaws. Not gamebreaking for everyone but annoying for some.
I can offer an opinion from playing a few weeks now. I would describe myself as a "hardcore" PvE player. Meaning I raid in MMOs and dabble in PvP occasoinally. I played WoW for years, then Rift for 1.5 yrs. Before and after that AoC, SWTOR, EQ2, and a few others back to the mud days. I don't mind PvP occasoinally, so I liked the idea of Archeage, where I could focus in on trading, farming, and exploration, and then take my risks with PvP when I wanted to really profit.
I find Archeage to be the most immersive world I've ever played, in many ways. There is just a ton to do, farming, super deep crafting, very hard core travel (very limited fast travel) which I love. Ships on an amazingly beautiful and detailed ocean. Islands to discover. Underwater shipwrecks and ruins. Cool trade system with the threat of pirates really cranking up the excitement. Lot's to love in the game overall.
On the other hand - again from a mostly PvE player - there are things in the game which should be fantastic, but just fall flat because of certain types of players. Ship to Ship pvp, for example, looks amazing in screenshots... but nobody really does it because it is expensive to repair your ships and there are shortcuts to profit. To explain: a big part of the game is running trade routes, where you carry a valuable trade pack from one point in the world to another, and cash in when you turn in the pack. One of the most profitable ways to do this is by crossing the ocean.... and the risk for doing this should be pirates - this is where you imagine ship to ship fighting to occur. But it doesn't, not really. Instead, people seem to do one of two things:
They just hang out in the water (swimming) just outside of the safe harbors and then jump out and gank passing ships, stealing their trade packs as they go by. This is done by people on your own faction as well.
They camp turn-in points and gank people there.
The same issues arise when you head above level 30 and get into the unprotected zones. You need to get quests done to level, for the most part, and run the risk of getting into PvP while doing it. This is a great idea on paper, as it eases people into to PvP in the right kind of way and encourages you into some PvP battles, mixed in with your PvE content. What you really get into however, is more ganking situations. People hide and wait near quest mobs until you're fighting, and gank. People wait by turn-in points, and gank. Alternatively, roving zergs of enemies come into lowbie zones and hunt quest do-ers. So in an situation where great PvP battles could have unfolded, you have ganking and zergs.
So to me - and your mileage may vary on this one - this is a bit of a game breaker. It's tough to address gankers in game design, because no matter what systems you put in place, they generally find a way. This is the downfall of many PvP focused games in my opinion, and I fear the worst when the game is flooded with thousands of F2P kids.
I'd like to see the game do well, but I think a lot of the Western MMo crowd will have a hard time with many of the game systems. Time will tell though.
On the other hand - again from a mostly PvE player - there are things in the game which should be fantastic, but just fall flat because of certain types of players. Ship to Ship pvp, for example, looks amazing in screenshots... but nobody really does it because it is expensive to repair your ships and there are shortcuts to profit. To explain: a big part of the game is running trade routes, where you carry a valuable trade pack from one point in the world to another, and cash in when you turn in the pack. One of the most profitable ways to do this is by crossing the ocean.... and the risk for doing this should be pirates - this is where you imagine ship to ship fighting to occur. But it doesn't, not really. Instead, people seem to do one of two things:
They just hang out in the water (swimming) just outside of the safe harbors and then jump out and gank passing ships, stealing their trade packs as they go by. This is done by people on your own faction as well.
They camp turn-in points and gank people there.
The same issues arise when you head above level 30 and get into the unprotected zones. You need to get quests done to level, for the most part, and run the risk of getting into PvP while doing it. This is a great idea on paper, as it eases people into to PvP in the right kind of way and encourages you into some PvP battles, mixed in with your PvE content. What you really get into however, is more ganking situations. People hide and wait near quest mobs until you're fighting, and gank. People wait by turn-in points, and gank. Alternatively, roving zergs of enemies come into lowbie zones and hunt quest do-ers. So in an situation where great PvP battles could have unfolded, you have ganking and zergs.
So to me - and your mileage may vary on this one - this is a bit of a game breaker. It's tough to address gankers in game design, because no matter what systems you put in place, they generally find a way. This is the downfall of many PvP focused games in my opinion, and I fear the worst when the game is flooded with thousands of F2P kids.
I'd like to see the game do well, but I think a lot of the Western MMo crowd will have a hard time with many of the game systems. Time will tell though.
You said this SO WELL! Exactly how I see the game. The gankers always mess things up. When the beta starts for those who paid $99, more lunatic gankers will flood in. When open beta starts, tons of kids will flood in making the ganking situation much worse. At launch, even more gank loving adults and kids will race in and it will be 100 times worse. I really love the crafting, the mount system, the farming is superb, the graphics are great. The only thing for me that messes it up are the nuts who camp people minding their own business and keep killing them.
I can see this game having a huge turn over. People who come in all happy but running for the hills when they experience the non consensual PVP. Some will love it and some will quit. Goodness knows what will happen at launch. The game has so many positives. It's a shame that others just mess it up. I haven't logged in for 2 weeks and don't plan on it anytime soon. I do miss it. I have considered just leveling by farming etc. The immature people get on my nerves but I could ignore chat altogether.
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
use this it as a reason to research a game before you buy?
"You have some serious mental issues you may need to seek some help for. There are others who post things, but do not post them in the way you do. Out of every person who posts crazy shit in this forum, you have some of the craziest and scariest" -FarReach
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
use this it as a reason to research a game before you buy?
How insightful.
well if you do you'll see a considerable amount of positive praise for this MMO on many sites, including this one. I watched numerous player YouTube videos and read many of the comments on this and other sites. I am adding to that research so others know. So far I'm not very impressed. When an MMO gets me I think about it even when I am not playing. I am not feeling that at all here. I can only hope beta and pre-launch are better than alpha. But I haven't given up yet.
why would you research when all these rabid fanbois in forums posting how amazing it is after sinking 50 hours in during alpha... all new games are amazing for the first few weeks etc.. i played on russian servers for 2 months.. maxed out 2 toons one on each faction, competed in large scale naval warfare, dungeons, OWPvP, did crafting dabbled with building and farming and honestly.. it got boring super quick, UO loved it, SWG pre CU loved it... this game is a sort of well done sandpark at best, and everyone in alpha who just spent $150, of course you gonna say it's the greatest ever, wouldnt wanna your investment to look bad... regardless im sure it's amazing in alpha, wait till it goes live and you get the hacks, exploits, heavy ganking and evenual server imbalances from people rerolling to the stronger faction n see how amazing the game is
Originally posted by Blackaftermath and am loving every minute of it. I dont get to play it all the time, I am married and have 2 kids....but I did the beta for WS, ESO, and played SWTOR, GW2, FFXIV and Neverwinter heavily. This game blows them all away in my opinion and its not even close. I love the open world, farming, crafting, boating, exploration and most of all intense pvp.
Agreed, I played all of those games you mentioned plus Everquest, Everquest II, the Matrix Online, Diablo III and World of Warcraft. This game blows everything away to date. The only game that may have competition for this game is Everquest Next when it is released.
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
Just give it a bit of time. Especially when you get out of the first zone things open up a lot. The first quests are just systems tutorials.
That said, the quest writing and delivery sucks. I think it would be improved drastically if they recorded english voiceover for them, but we'll see what happens.
The game really shines once you get a boat and start exploring, doing trade runs, etc. and it stays fun like that until you start getting ganked.
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
Some ppl dont like the game, its normal, but you call it simplist and linear?
maybe you only did the quests hubs to quest hubs, if yes its simplist and linear.
You dont need to lvl to try out other game features if you stay in safe zones, so if you spend the Money at least try other things befor totally quit, maybe you like it maybe you wont.
and just a heads up to the uneducated trion is keeping a lot of the bad parts of update 1.0 out of the game that includes dailies so please stop spreading misinformation. this game has seen a more positive response since I can remember it will do well and for those turned off by it great won't have to deal with you in game
Originally posted by cylon8 and just a heads up to the uneducated trion is keeping a lot of the bad parts of update 1.0 out of the game that includes dailies so please stop spreading misinformation. this game has seen a more positive response since I can remember it will do well and for those turned off by it great won't have to deal with you in game
Well there, speaking of spreading misinformation.... what you said above is false.
The quote from Scapes (community manager at Trion) regarding Gilda Stars changes is this:
"It's important to bear in mind that this additional method of earning Gilda Stars does not mean the regular and daily quest methods of earning Gilda Stars are being removed. This allows for players to choose how to earn Gilda Stars: via PvE (slower rate) or PvP (faster rate)."
The thread on the official forums is here (page 3):
and am loving every minute of it. I dont get to play it all the time, I am married and have 2 kids....but I did the beta for WS, ESO, and played SWTOR, GW2, FFXIV and Neverwinter heavily. This game blows them all away in my opinion and its not even close. I love the open world, farming, crafting, boating, exploration and most of all intense pvp.
Spend how you want, but ....
I sense a bit of desire for approval - you came to the right place. It's about like going into a room full of kids and saying "we should get some ice cream is that a good idea?"
It's human nature (and proven many times in many studies) that when someone spends a lot of money on something they will enjoy it far more. This is the silly way we function and f2p game makers are catching on and taking advantage of the many studies people are doing on this subject.
It's exactly the same as someone that spends $250 on a bottle of wine and thinks it's the best wine he ever had, then change the label and give them the same bottle for .50c and they say it's terrible.
I bought it because ESO is such a shambles at the moment. I'm finding it charmingly different to not be dashing from quest to quest but just doing stuff at my own pace. Didn't think I'd enjoy a game where it takes me days of on and off work to get a fishing rod and some bait but I do.
And discovering I could craft a glider with air to ground combat capability and rocket assisted flight was just awesome. I can spend an evening just flying around.
I bought it because ESO is such a shambles at the moment. I'm finding it charmingly different to not be dashing from quest to quest but just doing stuff at my own pace. Didn't think I'd enjoy a game where it takes me days of on and off work to get a fishing rod and some bait but I do.
And discovering I could craft a glider with air to ground combat capability and rocket assisted flight was just awesome. I can spend an evening just flying around.
I think this is an important post. It says alot about the differences between a well made sandbox elements and a more themepark focused game.
Almost every accounting of the game so far from hands on has been close to the same in this way.
The more you open your mind to the possible directions you want to take, the more directions you end up going and the more fun you end up having a blast.
There are so many tools this game gives you at all stages, you would pretty much either have to hate the tab target system or only be doing the quest line grind.
All the videos I have watched of people playing it have demonstrated the key is in the complex systems that all come together in a great way. These systems of freedom just don't exist in many regular games today.
If people are playing the game and not having fun, they are playing it wrong.
A good example...was watching a youtube with 4 friends on a voyage to hunt for treasure. They explained there are 2 ways to do this and they first showed the PvE way by getting dive tanks from the side of a sailboat and diving down to the bottom while the other 2 friends watched for enemies on the surface with a telescope. Once they found a wreck with a treasure chest they attached player made floatation with straps and raised the treasure to the surface to loot it.
The second example they showed was going around in the openings of the bay and finding blood patterns on the top of water. This indicated where players died and may have lost packs overboard that sunk to the bottom. So again they grabbed the diving tanks and checked out several spots. This time they were not as fortunate, but they indicated alot of success in the past using this method. You can also use treasure maps as well in the game.
Point here is that you can pretty much find something fun to get involved in all the time, and the further you get in the game the more things you can do. I do not think I could get tired of this system for a long time.
glad you are getting your moneys worth, OP. I would not pay that amount for alpha access in a million years.
While i have more fun in GW2 (my personal favorite mmo) i completely agree with you that AA is a gorgeous and fun game. Outside of the boring generic questing the rest of the game is simply fantastic. I was having a blast in the Russian servers with zero lag.
$150 and you get nothing for it. This is nothing new (con) its been going on before we were born. Its a GAME no more no less.
Lol I've read some try to explain it like "I understand most dont have this kind of money to spend" as if its some millionaire club. You need to flip this. Where MOST are wise enough to not touch this.. some will.
Please..you can do this with ANY mmo. Just spend (pick your amount) and get IN GAME ITEMS! Yes minus the 3 free months wow. Some call this pay to win not so true here yet you bought gold a $75 value! WOW..what a deal!
The game is not finished and you PAY NOW to play. I am sorry but this is not a wise move.
$150 and you get nothing for it. This is nothing new (con) its been going on before we were born. Its a GAME no more no less.
Lol I've read some try to explain it like "I understand most dont have this kind of money to spend" as if its some millionaire club. You need to flip this. Where MOST are wise enough to not touch this.. some will.
Please..you can do this with ANY mmo. Just spend (pick your amount) and get IN GAME ITEMS! Yes minus the 3 free months wow. Some call this pay to win not so true here yet you bought gold a $75 value! WOW..what a deal!
The game is not finished and you PAY NOW to play. I am sorry but this is not a wise move.
Is it expensive? Yes. Is it prohibitively expensive? No. You basically get a big wad of ingame cash, and three months of subscription, and an additional two or so months of Alpha gametime, built into the Alpha founder price. I have logged so many freaking hours in the Alpha and had so much fun, I think overall my price per hour ratio is pretty damn good. The real benefit that I've found with the Alpha is that AA is a pretty different and complex game, and the systems have taken a long time to learn. The advantage that the Alpha founders have going into release is huge.
Is that worth it for everyone? Probably not. I would never describe it as a con though - it was well worth it to me and the friends I know who are playing.
It's human nature (and proven many times in many studies) that when someone spends a lot of money on something they will enjoy it far more. This is the silly way we function and f2p game makers are catching on and taking advantage of the many studies people are doing on this subject.
It's exactly the same as someone that spends $250 on a bottle of wine and thinks it's the best wine he ever had, then change the label and give them the same bottle for .50c and they say it's terrible.
I bought ESO collectors edition, played a week and didn't like it at all. I would never enjoy something if it was bad but cost a lot.
Originally posted by Sector13 It's fine and dandy to pay $150 bucks for a shiny new toy but after you play with it a bit and start getting tired of it is when you need to consider if the $150 was worth it.
I've got much more than $150 worth of game out of it already, and I haven't even scratched the surface of all the game offers. Your opinion may vary.
Comments
From what I heard you cannot get a refund once you played in Alpha, so seen from Trion's own perspective you do pay to play in Alpha.
From what I see happening here Trion does not need to release AA anymore. They probably make more money by keeping it in Alpha indefinitely. They just need to open the cash shop during Alpha now, and at some date allow those who paid for beta access to enter the Alpha.
It takes one to know one.
Hehe, I see what you are sayng but it wont happen. The alpha server is FULL, really full. I expect they will be able to fill 10 servers once beta starts and many more at release.
You can please some MMO-players all of the time and you can please all MMO-players some of the time but you can't please all MMO-players all of the time.
haha well congrats. I hope you enjoy the game as much as i do!
So they also need to open a few more alpha servers.
It takes one to know one.
The alpha server really is full, it's true. Land is very very difficult to come by unless you pay for it.
I wrote this quick summary on the reddit for archeage of my experiences for the first weeks of play. It IS a great game, but it has some flaws. Not gamebreaking for everyone but annoying for some.
The original post is a reply to this thread:
http://www.reddit.com/r/archeage/comments/2677dz/what_do_you_think_after_a_few_weeks_of_archeage/
I can offer an opinion from playing a few weeks now. I would describe myself as a "hardcore" PvE player. Meaning I raid in MMOs and dabble in PvP occasoinally. I played WoW for years, then Rift for 1.5 yrs. Before and after that AoC, SWTOR, EQ2, and a few others back to the mud days. I don't mind PvP occasoinally, so I liked the idea of Archeage, where I could focus in on trading, farming, and exploration, and then take my risks with PvP when I wanted to really profit.
I find Archeage to be the most immersive world I've ever played, in many ways. There is just a ton to do, farming, super deep crafting, very hard core travel (very limited fast travel) which I love. Ships on an amazingly beautiful and detailed ocean. Islands to discover. Underwater shipwrecks and ruins. Cool trade system with the threat of pirates really cranking up the excitement. Lot's to love in the game overall.
On the other hand - again from a mostly PvE player - there are things in the game which should be fantastic, but just fall flat because of certain types of players. Ship to Ship pvp, for example, looks amazing in screenshots... but nobody really does it because it is expensive to repair your ships and there are shortcuts to profit. To explain: a big part of the game is running trade routes, where you carry a valuable trade pack from one point in the world to another, and cash in when you turn in the pack. One of the most profitable ways to do this is by crossing the ocean.... and the risk for doing this should be pirates - this is where you imagine ship to ship fighting to occur. But it doesn't, not really. Instead, people seem to do one of two things:
The same issues arise when you head above level 30 and get into the unprotected zones. You need to get quests done to level, for the most part, and run the risk of getting into PvP while doing it. This is a great idea on paper, as it eases people into to PvP in the right kind of way and encourages you into some PvP battles, mixed in with your PvE content. What you really get into however, is more ganking situations. People hide and wait near quest mobs until you're fighting, and gank. People wait by turn-in points, and gank. Alternatively, roving zergs of enemies come into lowbie zones and hunt quest do-ers. So in an situation where great PvP battles could have unfolded, you have ganking and zergs.
So to me - and your mileage may vary on this one - this is a bit of a game breaker. It's tough to address gankers in game design, because no matter what systems you put in place, they generally find a way. This is the downfall of many PvP focused games in my opinion, and I fear the worst when the game is flooded with thousands of F2P kids.
I'd like to see the game do well, but I think a lot of the Western MMo crowd will have a hard time with many of the game systems. Time will tell though.
You said this SO WELL! Exactly how I see the game. The gankers always mess things up. When the beta starts for those who paid $99, more lunatic gankers will flood in. When open beta starts, tons of kids will flood in making the ganking situation much worse. At launch, even more gank loving adults and kids will race in and it will be 100 times worse. I really love the crafting, the mount system, the farming is superb, the graphics are great. The only thing for me that messes it up are the nuts who camp people minding their own business and keep killing them.
I can see this game having a huge turn over. People who come in all happy but running for the hills when they experience the non consensual PVP. Some will love it and some will quit. Goodness knows what will happen at launch. The game has so many positives. It's a shame that others just mess it up. I haven't logged in for 2 weeks and don't plan on it anytime soon. I do miss it. I have considered just leveling by farming etc. The immature people get on my nerves but I could ignore chat altogether.
Anyway, you were spot on
And I'm finding its not. Buyer's remorse in a big way. Its simplistic and very linear. It feels nothing like a "new world to explore" sandbox what-so-ever. God what have I done
use this it as a reason to research a game before you buy?
"You have some serious mental issues you may need to seek some help for. There are others who post things, but do not post them in the way you do. Out of every person who posts crazy shit in this forum, you have some of the craziest and scariest" -FarReach
How insightful.
well if you do you'll see a considerable amount of positive praise for this MMO on many sites, including this one. I watched numerous player YouTube videos and read many of the comments on this and other sites. I am adding to that research so others know. So far I'm not very impressed. When an MMO gets me I think about it even when I am not playing. I am not feeling that at all here. I can only hope beta and pre-launch are better than alpha. But I haven't given up yet.
Agreed, I played all of those games you mentioned plus Everquest, Everquest II, the Matrix Online, Diablo III and World of Warcraft. This game blows everything away to date. The only game that may have competition for this game is Everquest Next when it is released.
There's a sucker born every minute - P.T. Barnum
Just give it a bit of time. Especially when you get out of the first zone things open up a lot. The first quests are just systems tutorials.
That said, the quest writing and delivery sucks. I think it would be improved drastically if they recorded english voiceover for them, but we'll see what happens.
The game really shines once you get a boat and start exploring, doing trade runs, etc. and it stays fun like that until you start getting ganked.
Some ppl dont like the game, its normal, but you call it simplist and linear?
maybe you only did the quests hubs to quest hubs, if yes its simplist and linear.
You dont need to lvl to try out other game features if you stay in safe zones, so if you spend the Money at least try other things befor totally quit, maybe you like it maybe you wont.
Just my advice, up to you take it or not
so say we all
Well there, speaking of spreading misinformation.... what you said above is false.
The quote from Scapes (community manager at Trion) regarding Gilda Stars changes is this:
"It's important to bear in mind that this additional method of earning Gilda Stars does not mean the regular and daily quest methods of earning Gilda Stars are being removed. This allows for players to choose how to earn Gilda Stars: via PvE (slower rate) or PvP (faster rate)."
The thread on the official forums is here (page 3):
http://forums.archeagegame.com/showthread.php?9215-Will-the-Gilda-Star-change-affect-your-playing.&p=118701&viewfull=1#post118701
Spend how you want, but ....I sense a bit of desire for approval - you came to the right place. It's about like going into a room full of kids and saying "we should get some ice cream is that a good idea?"
It's human nature (and proven many times in many studies) that when someone spends a lot of money on something they will enjoy it far more. This is the silly way we function and f2p game makers are catching on and taking advantage of the many studies people are doing on this subject.
It's exactly the same as someone that spends $250 on a bottle of wine and thinks it's the best wine he ever had, then change the label and give them the same bottle for .50c and they say it's terrible.
I bought it because ESO is such a shambles at the moment. I'm finding it charmingly different to not be dashing from quest to quest but just doing stuff at my own pace. Didn't think I'd enjoy a game where it takes me days of on and off work to get a fishing rod and some bait but I do.
And discovering I could craft a glider with air to ground combat capability and rocket assisted flight was just awesome. I can spend an evening just flying around.
I think this is an important post. It says alot about the differences between a well made sandbox elements and a more themepark focused game.
Almost every accounting of the game so far from hands on has been close to the same in this way.
The more you open your mind to the possible directions you want to take, the more directions you end up going and the more fun you end up having a blast.
There are so many tools this game gives you at all stages, you would pretty much either have to hate the tab target system or only be doing the quest line grind.
All the videos I have watched of people playing it have demonstrated the key is in the complex systems that all come together in a great way. These systems of freedom just don't exist in many regular games today.
If people are playing the game and not having fun, they are playing it wrong.
A good example...was watching a youtube with 4 friends on a voyage to hunt for treasure. They explained there are 2 ways to do this and they first showed the PvE way by getting dive tanks from the side of a sailboat and diving down to the bottom while the other 2 friends watched for enemies on the surface with a telescope. Once they found a wreck with a treasure chest they attached player made floatation with straps and raised the treasure to the surface to loot it.
The second example they showed was going around in the openings of the bay and finding blood patterns on the top of water. This indicated where players died and may have lost packs overboard that sunk to the bottom. So again they grabbed the diving tanks and checked out several spots. This time they were not as fortunate, but they indicated alot of success in the past using this method. You can also use treasure maps as well in the game.
Point here is that you can pretty much find something fun to get involved in all the time, and the further you get in the game the more things you can do. I do not think I could get tired of this system for a long time.
glad you are getting your moneys worth, OP. I would not pay that amount for alpha access in a million years.
While i have more fun in GW2 (my personal favorite mmo) i completely agree with you that AA is a gorgeous and fun game. Outside of the boring generic questing the rest of the game is simply fantastic. I was having a blast in the Russian servers with zero lag.
$150 and you get nothing for it. This is nothing new (con) its been going on before we were born. Its a GAME no more no less.
Lol I've read some try to explain it like "I understand most dont have this kind of money to spend" as if its some millionaire club. You need to flip this. Where MOST are wise enough to not touch this.. some will.
Please..you can do this with ANY mmo. Just spend (pick your amount) and get IN GAME ITEMS! Yes minus the 3 free months wow. Some call this pay to win not so true here yet you bought gold a $75 value! WOW..what a deal!
The game is not finished and you PAY NOW to play. I am sorry but this is not a wise move.
Is it expensive? Yes. Is it prohibitively expensive? No. You basically get a big wad of ingame cash, and three months of subscription, and an additional two or so months of Alpha gametime, built into the Alpha founder price. I have logged so many freaking hours in the Alpha and had so much fun, I think overall my price per hour ratio is pretty damn good. The real benefit that I've found with the Alpha is that AA is a pretty different and complex game, and the systems have taken a long time to learn. The advantage that the Alpha founders have going into release is huge.
Is that worth it for everyone? Probably not. I would never describe it as a con though - it was well worth it to me and the friends I know who are playing.
I bought ESO collectors edition, played a week and didn't like it at all. I would never enjoy something if it was bad but cost a lot.
I've got much more than $150 worth of game out of it already, and I haven't even scratched the surface of all the game offers. Your opinion may vary.