They are already discussing milking the subscribers

[liammozz]

put it this way the only time am dishing out money for new content is when they move the story on to chapters 4,5 and 6 and if there's less than those three chapters in the next xpac i wound pe buying it full stop

[Styxx]

Actually it is the discussion in this thread.

 

People are stating that in order to play the game it looks like they will have to pay extra above their subscription, this worries me too. However if F2P had never come into existence there would not be XP boost potions, free travel perks (outside of legacy).

 

If BW provide the same options via legacy that are available to subscribers to work towards, if they don't want to buy them, then putting all new content on the cash shop is not an issue as long as the monthly stipend covers the cost.

 

Just because someone wants an extra boost on top of their legacy, or doesn't want to spend the time unlocking their legacy doesn't mean that they should be get these for free, this is what subscribers should be paying for in my opinion. This way your $15 allows you to either take short cuts or allows you unrestricted access to all new content.

 

The ONLY way to see the subscription, in my opinion, is get access to EVERYTHING, except the Cash Shop, by default. This means any new patch it is automatically "unlocked" for sub playing players. Not bought in Legacy for ingame money. Not bought outside Legacy via DLC. Not bought with Cartel Coins in ANY circumstance. Freemiums will have to buy it, or convert to sub and have it by default. Because NONE of this is new content, so it shouldn`t be sold as Expansion. And even if they WOULD ... it`s well covered by a 15$ monthly fee, in a game that gives for free it`s best feature.

 

The Cartel Coins are the PRIZE, or the "bonus", for still keeping a sub. They are not and should not be seen as "mandatory save up for future content". They should be spent at the player`s leisure, without fear of needing them at a future date, for one new op, or race.

 

http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6469 - says unlimited access.

And because it is about time they put money where their mouth is.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Styxx

[DragonAgeOrgins]

Blizzard milk's most of the people out of everyone that i know. They charge 25 dollars for a flying mount and people STILL pay on top of their sub. For some glowing thingty. The truth is. Most of us would gladly pay for something that boosted our EXP.

 

We just don't want to have to grind anymore. I am tired of SAME side quests. Maybe they should have made side quests separate and different based on your class. I would be encouraged to do them. But it's same people with same problems and makes it less exciting when you know what to do.

 

For 150 million dollar game. Would separate side quests based on class. Been too much ask for? maybe shrink the pool of side quests people if it was.

[Rafkin]

Know would be a good time for AllisonBerrymen to drop in hint hint....

 

Are we sure AllisonBerrymen isn't actually Jeff Hickman?

[Shikyo]

I have to agree with the concerned crowd on this one.

I for one LOVE the game! Have from day 1 and it's only gotten better in my eyes.

 

That said, F2P did make me a little bummed but experiencing the conversion from DCUO I thought, "well this doesn't really impact me too much because I will maintain my subscription and still get to enjoy the game as I always have."

 

Then I too saw the interview with the fact the makeb content is being discussed whether or not it will sell to both premium and freebies and I thought, "Wow, what is really separating me from the freebies? A cartel coin advance every month? Access to my bank slots(which freebies will be able to pay to add)? This is the stuff I've been paying for since launch!"

 

Now a true expansion, another full games worth of content, I'd be a little more understanding about paying for as for without F2P we'd still be paying for a true expansion but I'd like a discount on purchase at least since this is now a F2P game.

 

Makeb does not even remotely look like a true expansion to me, then again what have they actually shown us of it to make us believe otherwise? Other then "it's huge! I think you all will love it!"

 

TLDR:

Love the game and the prospect of paying for content updates such as makeb (not a expansion) as a premium member does concern me and will most definitely increase my hatred of EA and the people running the business side of the game. Will it be enough to make me quit the game I currently love? Don't know, guess I'll find out when it happens. Emotions can be fickle things

[Phenyr]

Blizzard milk's most of the people out of everyone that i know. They charge 25 dollars for a flying mount and people STILL pay on top of their sub.

 

Dont bring that argument here its irrelevant. I never payed 1 penny for any update, patch, new raid or dungeon in WoW.

If this Makeb is a xpac then im expecting to find in a store game or on Origin like any statutory game and not been deliver as in-game update. patch whatever you wanna call it.

 

As for WoW, the mounts and fluff staff are in their store and they are not mandatory into progression of your game. You get that golden looking mount just because you wanna be different and look cooler.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Phenyr

[Leiralei]

No MMO has ever charged for beta testing like this one has, either.

[Cavell]

No MMO has ever charged for beta testing like this one has, either.

 

No MMO ever sank hundreds of millions of dollars into a glorified single-player game with co-op elements only to lose 70% of its subscribers in its first year of operation, either.

 

I've said it before, I'll say it again: EA is in reclamation mode with TOR. This game is going to be squeezed dry and then dumped. They've gotten rid of almost all of the original Bioware developers and managers, and they've replaced them with no-names - or worse, guys who worked on WAR. That is not a recipe for success, nor even an attempt at one; that's what you do when you want to put the game into maintenance mode in order to suck whatever pennies there may be in the cracks.

 

Of course subscribers are going to pay for Makeb. Subscribers are going to pay for nearly everything else, too. This "wait and see" approach is completely incomprehensible to anyone who's had any experience with EA in the last five years.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Cavell

[KennethHoover]

They have already said this will not be an expansion and you will not be charged for it.

 

I have to agree with others that I am no longer buying what they "say" because they've "said" a lot of things in the past and changed their minds. So I wouldn't double down on anything they say as gospel anymore.

 

Once burned, twice shy, and all that jazz.

[Soluss]

For those that want to call Makeb an expansion and justify a charge, I point you to what a real expansion comes with: http://stormlegion.riftgame.com/en/ <----thats an expansion, Makeb is an update.

 

For those that say that 15 bucks a month only covers access to the game, I point you to what 15 bucks a month covers in another MMO : http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/conquest.php <---- all that was free updating, included with your 15 bucks.

[Tuscad]

So this is a interesting discussion considering they have this posted on their forums. So if the info people are pushing on this topic is false, and what this link says is true we have nothing to concern ourselves with. This being said if what the link says is false then its fraud, and well I do not like fraud. I consider it faud when a company says to me your sub will pay for the content, you have nothing to worry about, and then decide to say no it wont pay for the content.

http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/6468

 

You could screenshot it and send it to the BetterBusinessBureau if Bioware ended up lying.

[cujojax]

Maybe he put it out there to gauge community interest and see if enough people would be willing to pay ontop of their sub, which I hope they read this thread since the answer is obvious.

Lol at this being an expansion, if it was, EA/BW would be hyping this up like they do best, you could go pre order it from Gamestop and the #1 feature would be progressing class storylines which we know is not happening anytime soon if at all since "it's too expensive".... Really? your just figuring this out now in your marketed story driven mmo?!

 

As it is we know little to nothing about it, this is a much needed content patch that their even breaking up to deliver over months to attempt to live up to their "monthly content"' updates. We know we get an op next month and a wz possibly the one after, that already feels cheap.

 

The lies and deception from this company and how they handle their business blows my mind, and Im constantly amazed by people who still eat it up.

It's the ones here that can't see the forest for the trees that leads EA to think this would even be remotely acceptable. It's not.

While fun, this game has plenty of issues but I would unsub in a heartbeat and never look back if they follow through on charging for this.

[Goretzu]

They have already said this will not be an expansion and you will not be charged for it.

 

That's NOT what they are saying in that quote.

 

They are quite clearly saying (in that quote) that subscribers may be charged extra for it.

 

Which raise the question of what is the point of subscribing, if you literally have to buy all content anyway.

[alifaraaz]

And they said they're still working out all the details. i.e Everything theyve previously said is subject to change.

 

So quit speculating and be patient ^^ lord knows someone might actually believe some of the guesses people make.

[Goretzu]

And they said they're still working out all the details. i.e Everything theyve previously said is subject to change.

 

So quit speculating and be patient ^^ lord knows someone might actually believe some of the guesses people make.

 

Yes, "everything is subject to change"........... so that really means we all should have no worries at all about being gouged in the future then doesn't it?.............. oh wait........

[Gruug]

Reading all these threads just makes me think, "what did you EXPECT when this game goes so-called F2P?". They are going to do their utmost to make sure YOU pay whether you are a subber or a PYG'er. The more they milk from you the more they can keep in their pockets. Not against profit but I am against profit when it turns to pure greed.

[Goretzu]

Reading all these threads just makes me think, "what did you EXPECT when this game goes so-called F2P?". They are going to do their utmost to make sure YOU pay whether you are a subber or a PYG'er. The more they milk from you the more they can keep in their pockets. Not against profit but I am against profit when it turns to pure greed.

 

 

Disapointingly I guess most people thought they'd do what they said they were GOING to do.

 

Now it seems they'll do whatever their accountants think will make the quickest buck and tell the players whatever they think will string them along for a bit more.

 

 

Even the idea that they are thinking about going back on their word reguarding Subs with F2P/Cashshop is frankly disgusting and a real downer for the future for SWTOR.

[Kalfear]

Quote: Originally Posted by Leiralei

 

No MMO has ever charged for beta testing like this one has, either.

 

LOL, Im not sticking up for EA but clearly you have never played

 

Ultima Online

Everquest

Ashrons Call

Star Wars Galaxies

Dark Age of Camelot

Everquest 2

Dungeons and Dragons Online

and many many many others

 

Every one of those games (and many more) the player base has stated they felt they were being forced to pay of beta testing after initial release!

 

For all the bugs and brain dead moves EA made designing, developing, promoting this game, to be honest since release the game has stated much the same (SWG had 3+ "updates" that drastically changed how you veiwed and played the game to try and intice subscribers to stay. In SWG you REALLY WERE paying to beta test their product. TOR hasnt done that).

 

So sorry. Maybe your new to MMORPGs (last 8 years) and dont have a full understanding of the genre but players claiming they are paying for beta testing is a old and establish whine since the early day of the genre and is NOT unique to SW:TOR in any way.

 

Not sticking up for EA and TOR. Quite frankly Ill never buy another EA product after TOR because of how this game been handled from the get go. But thats still no excuse to make blatently FALSE statements as person I quoted did.

[alifaraaz]

Not saying we shouldnt worry just saying, its a pointless dicussion since BW arn't gonna come in here and say "hey guys, so how would you like this payment model to work?"

[EnufThree]

I know the fans will come in and say... well its an expansion, of course we should pay extra for it. Sorry but 1 planet and a 5 level increase is not an expansion. Its a way to justify milking more money. This is the type of content that we should have gotten all along.

 

1 planet is a lot of content. I can see someone not wanting to spend 30+ bucks on it. But if there is a charge for Makeb, I really don't see how people can demand it be free. If it is free, great! But lets be honest... Bioware needs to make money off of the game, no?

[Norke]

Making subs pay for Makeb would be the stupidest thing they could do. If they are going to have subs pay for questing content what is the perks of being subbed? Getting to raid? Because that's a real perk, am I right?

 

If they are going to double whammy subs for content, then I imagine a lot of people like myself will just go F2P and pay for what we want. I suggest they give a discount to subs, but even that is sketchy business practice on a game that needs all the money it can get.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Norke

[Voidence]

1 planet is a lot of content. I can see someone not wanting to spend 30+ bucks on it. But if there is a charge for Makeb, I really don't see how people can demand it be free. If it is free, great! But lets be honest... Bioware needs to make money off of the game, no?

 

If any content that is not a legit expansion has to be payed for by players with a sub, I will be done with this game. Think however you want, do whatever YOU want, But I and many others will most likely be done with this game. Not that it seems as if they care much.

[Trollokdamus]

1 planet is a lot of content. I can see someone not wanting to spend 30+ bucks on it. But if there is a charge for Makeb, I really don't see how people can demand it be free. If it is free, great! But lets be honest... Bioware needs to make money off of the game, no?

It may or may not be a lot of content, we just don't know yet. Sure, Hickman stated that Makeb is a "beefy chunk of content", but it doesn't really mean anything. He may see things like that from a dev point of view (assuming he's speaking the truth and not just advertising), while from a player point of view it can be completely different.

Anyway, that's not what i wanted to say. No matter if there will be lots of content or not, one single planet is definitely not an expansion. Everything that is not an expansion is just a content patch. How many subscription-based MMOs did you see charging their subscribers for a content patch?

If any content that is not a legit expansion has to be payed for by players with a sub, I will be done with this game. Think however you want, do whatever YOU want, But I and many others will most likely be done with this game. Not that it seems as if they care much.

I agree with this, and most likely will do the same if such a situation occurs. I may not completely abandon the game, will have a look at forums and news from time to time. But with my subscription cancelled until Bioware comes to its senses.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Trollokdamus

[leathfuil]

One planet is not a lot of content at all. One planet is the equivalent of one zone in World of Warcraft. Adding another planet is roughly the same (at best) as adding the Isle of Quel'Danas during The Burning Crusade.

 

Definitely not worth paying for like it's a true expansion.

[vian]

1 planet is a lot of content. I can see someone not wanting to spend 30+ bucks on it. But if there is a charge for Makeb, I really don't see how people can demand it be free. If it is free, great! But lets be honest... Bioware needs to make money off of the game, no?

 

They do make money off the game. They make $15 per month from me, and every other subscriber. That gives them a nice, reliable wad of cash every month, as long as there's an incentive to subscribe.

 

Why should I have to pay the same for Makeb as someone who they make $0 per month from? What is my - or anybody's -incentive, in that case, to keep paying $15 per month?

 

If I can pay using the CCs I get as part of the subscription model, that's fine. But if I can only use CCs for decorative cr*p that I don't care about, and I have to shell out yet more of my hard-earned to get more actual story, well, I see no advantage in giving them my nice, reliable $15 a month.