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What does a MMORPG need for it to be a sub-game?
4Renziks
Member UncommonPosts: 390
I have been hearing this alot lately...This/that game should be f2p. I am asking the reverse question to get a more understanding. What f2p game should be p2p? what constitute a sub model in your minds?
To answer my own question, the value of a product or service is only confinded by the community willing to pay.
your thoughts?
playing: Dragon Age
Waiting: for FF14, Mass Effect
Want to try: Fallen Earth
Comments
I'll start this by saying that I'm a fan of P2P games. However, not every P2P game is worth my time and money. In order for me to pay a monthly sub, I expect to get what I pay for. Mainly this consists of: 1.) full access to all game content based on number of hours/amount of work put into it - not how much money each person pumps into an item shop. 2.) No extra pay walls within the game. 3.) Enough content to keep the game interesting.
It may be because I started playing mmo's before WoW came out and I remember the pre-wow gaming days, or it could just be that I'm jaded now. But honestly I haven't found any F2P mmo's that can hold my interest long enough to be worthy of a sub fee. Most of them seem to be too shallow in content or have way to many pay walls or p2w features. One of my biggest complaints about f2p games is micro transactions that alter the game play experience. Things like "xp boosts", "crafting boosts" and other little things like that.
In a P2P game, when you see a player in epic looking armor with awesome stats and a badass weapon, you should be able to know that this person has put in the time and effort to earn that gear. In a F2P game, when I see a person in badass armor, I don't usually think anything of it because many times they simply buy the costume version of it off of the in game store, or have used xp boosts to power level their way up to that level.
I guess this was a long answer to a short question, but ultimately for me it comes down to being able to put in real life time in a game, experience all that the game has to offer, and feel like a badass when you finally get that high level gear or item you've been working towards. If I can immerse myself in a fantasy world for hours on end and not be bombarded with ads or special offers trying to sell me something, then I'm more willing to pay money for a sub.
My own opinion is that MMO developers have lost the right to charge a subscription unless they earned it like EVE and WoW. I don't think ill ever play another MMO that isn't F2P or B2P(GW2 isn't that great either honestly). I don't think F2P is some god send sent to save the genre as there are tons of pay to win MMOs that offer very little and are clearly there to bleed people out of money. I thought Elder Scrolls Online was going to be the genre reformer but they went too safe, too generic, and they left from the principles of their IP to make the MMO we have now. It should just be skyrim with friends...That's all but they messed it up.
The last.....5+ years have been filled with broken promises and flat lies about games from all companies and people just eat it up. It seems like it is just a hype machine to sell boxes and then everyone leaves to other projects with "more" promise. I am so jaded from these games no matter the shiny or amazing feature will probably make me pay for an MMO unless I have tons of pressure from friends. I haven't had tons of pressure to play an MMO since Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
A game that would actually deserve a sub? It would have to be optimized properly. It would have to have rich quest content that is more than kill 5 boars and turn in. It would have to be an interesting place with a good amount of lore that makes you want to find out more. It would have to be accessible to my friends and my family as being a gamer isn't just about being some black sheep nerd anymore. More than anything I believe once an MMO can make the game more than reaching level cap will be a huge success. I have several friends that don't give two shits if the cap is 10, 50, 100, or 1000. They just want the cap because once you are max level you can get the best gear. Its very...very boring and it invalidates most of the game's content.
There is no absolute. As long as I can get the same (or more) fun for free, why would i want to pay even a cent?
Now I do pay for SP game ... why? Because the one I paid for is the kind of fun I cannot have without paying. Just like I cannot see the new Godzilla movie in IMAX 3D without paying.
And right now, there is no sub-only MMO that is more fun than a F2P one, for me, of course.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
if I play a MMO, the decision is always ´is this game worth my time investment´. ... the payment model doesn´t even matter.
I currently play two games, WOW and DDO, both games I enjoy. If DDO was $15, and WOW was free, it wouldn´t change anything. I would still play both of them because they are both worth my time.
Now the opposite... SWTOR or AOC. When they were $15/month, I didn´t enjoy them and unsubscribed. When they became F2P, I still didn´t enjoy them, so didn´t play them anyway.
The only other thing to add is that a F2P is more likely to get me to mess with it, especially an indie or niche game. A niche, small name game that costs $30 for the client is probably never going to get a chance to impress me, but a f2p game I will jump in and give at least a few hours, and I usually will make a few cash-shop purchases just to support the devs if the game is decent. Stronghold Kingdoms was like that for me. Not really a game I would be interested in playing long term.. but I probably ended up putting 20 hours into it, had a decent time, so spent $10.
A great experiance is what it needs.
While I may start out solo in any and every MMO/MMORPG I have played it's the community aspect that is the most important to me. This starts developing often when the free 30day's are up and/or people have reached cap lvl within a month then will leave out of boredom. it's then the game will either start to flourish or fail.
ESO is my sub game and pay gladly for what the game delivers, but you have to understand I am a MMORPG fan, a more sandbox related player aswell as being a ES fan with a complete different playtstyle then I see the playstyle many people on these forum seem to have.
They have to offer something that is not offered in the existing f2p market.
Why pay for something when it gets offered free.
So what it should no be/have:
-wow reskin
-pay wall, extra cash shop or races locked with 'deluxe' version as excuse
What it requires, the bare minimum:
- new mechanics, not standard fetch this or kill that quest
- polish, no stupid bugs that are very obvious (at launch)
- good customer service, no accidental double subcrption fees
- game design that is not there to waste as much time as possible, e.g. veteran rank grind
In other words, if you want premium price for your product, deliver a premium experience.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance