Why subscribe?

[Leggomy]

What are the restrictions to the Free-to-Play option?

http://www.swtor.com/free/features

 

And other such info here:

http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6449

 

Also please stop spreading miss-information with speculation about the Cartel undercutting your GTN sales.

 

I agree he is freaking out about the GTN but honestly the page you linked doesnt have any real solid info. It says "some" things are restricted but doesnt go into detail about what. Its all really vague with no concrete answers. What does limited mean for example.

[Jnight]

I agree he is freaking out about the GTN but honestly the page you linked doesnt have any real solid info. It says "some" things are restricted but doesnt go into detail about what. Its all really vague with no concrete answers. What does limited mean for example.

Yeah, the restrictions were more to do with the question "Why Subscribe?"

 

As for the Cartel they do say it will be for "specialty items that allow you to customize and equip your character cosmetically....purchase in-game items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience" Source: http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6467

[corebit]

Why subscribe?

When the game goes F2P, there is really no need to.

 

As Taugrim mentioned in his latest vlog (which I highly recommend to watch):

 

,

Bioware is putting SWTOR's crown jewel, the storyline content 1-50, for free. You get to pay for the boring, grindy stuff like Operations and PVP, things which other MMOs do much better.

 

The meat and potatoes of this game is experiencing the leveling, the stories, and the voice acting. And this is all planned to be free.

Edited August 10, 2012 by corebit

[Leggomy]

Yeah, the restrictions were more to do with the question "Why Subscribe?"

 

As for the Cartel they do say it will be for "specialty items that allow you to customize and equip your character cosmetically....purchase in-game items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience" Source: http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6467

 

Again very vague and says nothing about what is actually in the store. What is customizable gear exactly? What are these convinence features? I know there are restrictions but what exactly are they? Are we only allowed one race? How many character slots will f2p have? How many FPs do I get to do if I dont pay? None of this stuff has been answered.

[Leggomy]

Why subscribe?

When the game goes F2P, there is really no need to.

 

As Taugrim mentioned in his latest vlog (which I highly recommend to watch):

,

Bioware is putting SWTOR's crown jewel, the storyline content 1-50, for free. You get to pay for the boring, grindy stuff like Operations and PVP, things which other MMOs do much better.

 

The meat and potatoes of this game is experiencing the leveling, the stories, and the voice acting. And this is all planned to be free.

 

Please read the whole thread. Your questions have already been answered.

[Andryah]

i'm hoping in the Q&A later we get a clear answer to why its still a better option to still subscribe

 

It's already obvious to many of us. I don't need a Q&A to figure that out. Q&A will just provide more specific details, though neven enough to satisfy this forum community.

[Lunablade]

My main issue is with the promised '6 weeks per content update'. If they can stick to that I don't mind paying forever. Money isn't a problem for me but I don't like waiting months for content either. Time will tell I guess.

 

This is most important question now when game will go F2P because its not problem for the gamers to pay monthly sub but problem is to pay for empty promises when they could get real content for the same price somewhere else.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Lunablade

[Jnight]

Again very vague and says nothing about what is actually in the store. What is customizable gear exactly? What are these convinence features? I know there are restrictions but what exactly are they? Are we only allowed one race? How many character slots will f2p have? How many FPs do I get to do if I dont pay? None of this stuff has been answered.

Vague yes, but not indecipherable within the realm of reason. I take it to mean that it will not be able to provide a competitive advantage (cosmetic & convenience). Customizable gear? Likely same as any mod-able gear already in game, but with a unique appearance. Again not game breaking.

 

As for # of slots, races, etc. Not of that should really matter now. Just know that it will be less than a subscriber. Chances are if you have a number of alts, a number of races, like to play at max level which will be increased past 50, or in operations that the F2P option will not be appealing to you.

[corebit]

Please read the whole thread. Your questions have already been answered.

 

Well it seems you didn't read my post. I didn't ask any questions...

[Leggomy]

Vague yes, but not indecipherable within the realm of reason. I take it to mean that it will not be able to provide a competitive advantage (cosmetic & convenience). Customizable gear? Likely same as any mod-able gear already in game, but with a unique appearance. Again not game breaking.

 

As for # of slots, races, etc. Not of that should really matter now. Just know that it will be less than a subscriber. Chances are if you have a number of alts, a number of races, like to play at max level which will be increased past 50, or in operations that the F2P option will not be appealing to you.

 

All just conjecture. Which is what I was saying.

[Leggomy]

Well it seems you didn't read my post. I didn't ask any questions...

 

Well your statement then was made out of ignorance. So you can do lvl 1-50. What if you can only do it on 1 character. What if you cannot use the taxis? What if you cant access in game mail or send/recieve credits or items? You just assume f2p will keep everything except the raid stuff.

[corebit]

Well your statement then was made out of ignorance. So you can do lvl 1-50. What if you can only do it on 1 character. What if you cannot use the taxis? What if you cant access in game mail or send/recieve credits or items? You just assume f2p will keep everything except the raid stuff.

 

I'm basing on this on the CURRENT information provided by Bioware so far, what does this have to do with ignorance?

[Leggomy]

I'm basing on this on the CURRENT information provided by Bioware so far, what does this have to do with ignorance?

 

Ok so show me where it says you will keep everything but the raid stuff? In fact it says the opposite. It says you will be restricted and for a fact we know you will be forced to choose what character you want. Also there is some evidence you might not be able to keep end game gear on that character.

 

If you read the same thing I read I dont see how you could say you get everything without paying per month or buying coins.

[kevlarto]

Best thing we all can do is not listen to some nerd with a pod cast or blog, these arm chair devs know nothing more than we do they just spout thier own ideas, and what they think will happen..

 

Best news we can get is right here in the dev tracker.. from the people that work on the game, not some wanna be devs on the web.

[Jnight]

I'm not trying to pick a fight, it is all unproven at this time, but I don't see how anyone would think BioWare would move to a pay to win system. May the force help us all if that is the case, but again I don't see it happening. Maybe I don't see what you are getting at with your desire for clarification.

 

As for the other bits, how many characters, which FPs, etc. I don't see how that has any bearing until F2P goes live, unless you are going to stop paying now with the expectation to come back when things turn free. Maybe that's the plan.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Jnight
clarification

[corebit]

Ok so show me where it says you will keep everything but the raid stuff? In fact it says the opposite. It says you will be restricted and for a fact we know you will be forced to choose what character you want. Also there is some evidence you might not be able to keep end game gear on that character.

 

If you read the same thing I read I dont see how you could say you get everything without paying per month or buying coins.

 

Please point out where I said the bolded part.

[Leggomy]

Please point out where I said the bolded part.

 

You said why subscribe when you get everything free. Yet you ignore the fact it says there are all kinds of limitations on f2p accounts outside of the whole OPs, Wzs and FP thing. One other limitation is you cannot post on the forums as a f2p account. So this possibly would be good for us if a lot of these people went f2p.

[corebit]

You said why subscribe when you get everything free.

 

That's not what I said. I said the "main attraction", the distinctive "fourth pillar" of SWTOR, which is the stories, is free, then there is little worth to be paying a sub for. Please reread my post again.

Or here, let me copy pasta for you:

 

Bioware is putting SWTOR's crown jewel, the storyline content 1-50, for free.

[Jnight]

This is conjecture (for Leggo ;p)

 

Thing is that with the number of slots you get on a F2P account you will only get to experience a few stories, and with the talk of a level cap increase later this year I can only assume it will coincide with the F2P launch and then there will be more levels of story that will only be available to the subs.

 

Though it appears from your signature (true or not) your mind is already made up.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Jnight

[Andryah]

This is conjecture (for Leggo ;p)

 

Thing is that with the number of slots you get on a F2P account you will only get to experience a few stories, and with the talk of a level cap increase later this year I can only assume it will coincide with the F2P launch and then there will be more levels of story that will only be available to the subs.

 

Though it appears from your signature (true or not) your mind is already made up.

 

Perhaps a good way to look at it is as follows:

 

1) it's a dual access model, sub or non-sub

 

2) their are two tiers of content for the game, subscription content, and a subset of that that is non-sub content

 

3) as new content is released (not boxed expansion, but patch based releases) it will be free to subs, and non-subs will have to either do without, or purchase a-la-carte with coins

 

4) as older content that is limited to subs only at no charge becomes obsolete as new content releases (examples would be level caps, new encounters, etc), older content may be made available to non-subs at a coin discount or for free in some cases.

 

5) there will be some premium content on the shop in the form of vanity, fluff, or other cool items that do not directly connect with your access or abilities in game. Both subs and non-subs will have to purchase these. Subs however get a coin allowance with their monthly sub and if they can manage a wallet at all, they will never have to purchase coins from EA.

 

TL;DR: there will be a full verison of the game content, and a lite version. Subs get the full version, non-subs only get access to the lite version of the game unless they purchase pieces of content via the shop. (see features page for the obvious differences between "full" and "lite" at November model launch).

Edited August 10, 2012 by Andryah

[Emeda]

Cause 15 dollars a month isn't that hard to pay.

 

Even my poor, poor neighbors son who is 12 years old and mows lawns 2 times a week and doesn't do anything *sniff* doesn't go out, or can't even find a decent job cause he's not that age yet and his parents always said "no...no you are never goin to amount to anythin son! you are nothing" pays for the game. He said to me the other day, "is that all it is? 15 dollars a month? why are people complaining? I mow a lawn and get that. *laughs* I think I can swing that and adults are complaining about 15 dollars a month? "

 

That wasnt his question. His question was (as I see it) is why pay 15 bucks for this game when you can play it for free?

 

As for your example. That kid doesnt pay taxes,doesnt pay a morgage or rent,doesnt pay insurances doesnt pay for a car or gas,doesnt pay for the food on the table,doesnt pay for clothes. He doesnt pay for anyting so 15 bucks is all spending cash for him.

[corebit]

This is conjecture (for Leggo ;p)

 

Thing is that with the number of slots you get on a F2P account you will only get to experience a few stories, and with the talk of a level cap increase later this year I can only assume it will coincide with the F2P launch and then there will be more levels of story that will only be available to the subs.

 

Though it appears from your signature (true or not) your mind is already made up.

 

For the limited slots, that's easy to get around. I could just create another F2P account to play another class story.

 

The only incentives I think that could be enticing to new players are Operations, and good looking-customizable gear. Currently the races are one of the weak points of SWTOR and not incentive enough, because they're all just different colored humans. If they had playable Wookies or Jawas on the other hand...

So the problem is, apart from the story, SWTOR has very little to offer in the endgame, compared to the other F2P titles out there.

So, yes, selling additional story would be key, but that's pretty darn expensive with the voice acting and all, and I don't even know BW can pull that off anymore with the dowsizing and all.

[Emeda]

This is conjecture (for Leggo ;p)

 

Thing is that with the number of slots you get on a F2P account you will only get to experience a few stories, and with the talk of a level cap increase later this year I can only assume it will coincide with the F2P launch and then there will be more levels of story that will only be available to the subs.

 

Though it appears from your signature (true or not) your mind is already made up.

 

Yet there is no info about what happens if you sub and then goto F2P. Are they going to take away all your slots? Are they going to make you change species? What are people going to lose by subbing for 1 month and then going F2P.

 

So they release a level cap and a new planet at the same time. How much is that going to cost a F2Per? Whats going to stop someone from subbing for 1 month to get all the content and getting to level 55 or whatever and then going back to F2P.

 

It just doesnt make any sense. You are adding in a F2P option because people didnt want to spend all that money on the game and then you are going to try and charge them more money than what they were afraid to pay? If they didnt want to pay 15 for a sub they are not going to spend more than that and if they can only get to level 50 then they will quit once they get there.

[Tsillah]

For the limited slots, that's easy to get around. I could just create another F2P account to play another class story.

 

The only incentives I think that could be enticing to new players are Operations, and good looking-customizable gear. Currently the races are one of the weak points of SWTOR and not incentive enough, because they're all just different colored humans. If they had playable Wookies or Jawas on the other hand...

So the problem is, apart from the story, SWTOR has very little to offer in the endgame, compared to the other F2P titles out there.

So, yes, selling additional story would be key, but that's pretty darn expensive with the voice acting and all, and I don't even know BW can pull that off anymore with the dowsizing and all.

 

Quite a discussion for someone who cancelled their sub.

 

That aside, yes you could create multiple accounts but it does give you some limitations just the same. Legacy is not shareable so you will have to level a toon to level 30+ to get a new legacy, meaning no speeder at level 10 for example.

 

Inventory and storage are limited and expandable by spending cash only. If you only need one storage tab and the initial rows of storage that's fine but I wouldn't want to have just a couple of rows of inventory for example.

 

Now I do agree endgame has its issues but we will see...well, you won't cause you cancelled I guess. For me though I've played f2p games before and I really hate the limitations on transport, inventory etc.

 

Also my guess will be that races like twi'lek and pureblood sith are likely candidates for races that you can't play with f2p accounts.

 

People still have to make their own choices but I want my toons in one legacy, not 4 and I don't want all the limitations that will be there for f2p accounts. That's my choice. Obviously for others this may be different, that's what the choice is for.

[Andryah]

It just doesnt make any sense. You are adding in a F2P option because people didnt want to spend all that money on the game and then you are going to try and charge them more money than what they were afraid to pay? If they didnt want to pay 15 for a sub they are not going to spend more than that and if they can only get to level 50 then they will quit once they get there.

 

http://iqu.com/blog/if-time-is-money-where-does-that-leave-free-to-play

 

While many gamers argue they do not have the income to pay for a standard subscription model game, the more time they spend within the game investing subjective meaning into their virtual experience, the greater the likelihood they will spend money to enhance that investment. This character investment is what drives some players to spend hard-earned money on boosters to reduce leveling time, shiny pony items to prance around on and expansions to ride their pony in.

 

It is not by chance that these investments are priced by in game currency terms, as this divorces the player from the actual realization they are spending real money. The socialization of a player to this currency usually occurs by gifting new players a small amount of this currency, allowing them to purchase items within those three categories, thus tailoring their experience favorably towards the micro exchange model from the start.

 

And...while a different segment of player base, the psychgology is directly applicable, and so will be the results. From a person who works the F2P model and it's psychology an results with game developers in the iOS/Android space. What applies in this space, also applies in the MMO space, with some minor differences.

 

http://blog.flurry.com/bid/67748/Consumers-Spend-Average-of-14-per-Transaction-in-iOS-and-Android-Freemium-Games

 

The key to any business playing in this space, whether incumbent or challenger, will be to understand and command consumer engagement, and turn that engagement into revenue events. The freemium business model on mobile, enabled by a device that is always with consumers, and always connected, is unlocking profound new ways to deliver value and extract revenue from consumers, and for far more than just $1 at a time.

 

EA understands the psychology and design of micro-transactions, so moving SWTOR successfully in this direction is not rocket science or high risk for them. Rather, it opens a sub only game up to a much more diverse and wide ranging set of player tastes in gaming.