HammersteinSW Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 A direct question - what is EA's roadmap for this game ? I really want to enjoy the class stories and invest the majority of my game time into Swtor. But EA does so little to make me trust in the future of this game. There is no real communication with the playerbase, the Q&A panels only focus on silly stuff like "Can we marry Wookies ?" while I am more concerned if I will still get to enjoy Swtor next year. I don't want to pour money for Cartel Points and the little game time I have into a game which might already be doomed. The weird f2p decisions (paying for an extra hotbar), the fresh bugs introduced with every patch and the dwindling subscriber numbers often make me wonder if sometime next year they will just close it down because it does not create enough cash to pay for the Star Wars license and the running costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplius Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 i know what u mean,,i bought lots of stuff in CoX 4 months before thery closed the best way to support a game is to buy it, play it,,, and remain silent:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyuplee Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 The purpose of free to play is to make the game available to public so they can see how fun the game is, and hopefully they will decide to invest some money in it buying the extra goods to make the game even more fun. Now, let's look at this game from a free to play player's point of view shall we? You can only play 3 warzone per week. You can only have 1 crew skill. Your money caps. You can't trade. You can only talk on trade chat once per min. You have 1 quickbar. Your CDs are longer than everybody else. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Which means the only thing you can do in the game, most of the time, is just grind, do quest, and grind some more. Who on earth would find playing with such stupid restrictions fun? If playing the game is no fun, who would invest money in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegaPhone Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 i know what u mean,,i bought lots of stuff in CoX 4 months before thery closed the best way to support a game is to buy it, play it,,, and remain silent:p no.no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplius Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 no.no thank you for supporting my cause,,we all know a hutt will ALWAYS lie:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevlarto Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 A direct question - what is EA's roadmap for this game ? I really want to enjoy the class stories and invest the majority of my game time into Swtor. But EA does so little to make me trust in the future of this game. There is no real communication with the playerbase, the Q&A panels only focus on silly stuff like "Can we marry Wookies ?" while I am more concerned if I will still get to enjoy Swtor next year. I don't want to pour money for Cartel Points and the little game time I have into a game which might already be doomed. The weird f2p decisions (paying for an extra hotbar), the fresh bugs introduced with every patch and the dwindling subscriber numbers often make me wonder if sometime next year they will just close it down because it does not create enough cash to pay for the Star Wars license and the running costs. I understand where you are coming from and the way these companies close down games now a days, you have a valid concern. I would look at a couple of things, if I were to play the game under the f2p model will it be cheaper than sub ? how much do you currently play ? You have to watch that store you will end up spending more than the 14.99 a month, I dunno if Tor will be dropping the sub cost like lotro did after f2p, they are 9.99. If you enjoy the game I would say play and enjoy invest as little as you can to enjoy the game, warhammer is still online if that offers you any comfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammersteinSW Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Thing is that even in Guild Wars 2 - with it's silly Black Lion chests and keys - which are essentially gambling boxes you can find those from a lucky drop and get the content without spending a dime. But crippling the user interface and having people pay for access to the most basic features like hotbars is completely wrong. I expected cool armor sets as CP content but having to buy essential features just shows how little EA understands about running an mmo. You do not gut the basic controls - imagine if Battlefield 3 required a micro transaction to enable the WASD keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goretzu Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) Will the game survive 2013 ? - Yes. In what form though, is not so clear. Edited October 25, 2012 by Goretzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froippi Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 i don't know i can't recommend swtor to anyone after seeing the f2p restrictions tell them to go play LOTRO as least you can send tells etc. and have better game experience under lotro f2p model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huggaa Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Hate to be the pessimist here but I don't think the game will make it to 2013 and here is why...... Mayan calendar ends on Dec 21 2012 there for the world must be doomed to end! :p all joking aside I think it will survive but they will have to act fast on any changes to the F2P Model if things don't work out at launch like they hope it will. I remember when eq2 went F2P and they had some very harsh restriction for the basic F2P people unless they paid $5.00 to get some extras to make it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammersteinSW Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 I understand where you are coming from and the way these companies close down games now a days, you have a valid concern. I would look at a couple of things, if I were to play the game under the f2p model will it be cheaper than sub ? how much do you currently play ? You have to watch that store you will end up spending more than the 14.99 a month, I dunno if Tor will be dropping the sub cost like lotro did after f2p, they are 9.99. If you enjoy the game I would say play and enjoy invest as little as you can to enjoy the game, warhammer is still online if that offers you any comfort. The cost for a sub ist not really my concern - it's more about investing game time. MMOs are a long term commitment and when Swtor launched I hoped it would be something to play for months even years. The more time you invest into an online game the more attached you grow to your characters and account and I would hating seeing all of this go to waste too soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodnamebro Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 survive? yea but it could well be on life support by then in all probability, anyway i dislike doom-mongering but hopefully f2p draws in players & $$$, cartel market draws in $$$ and we all get updates & content and at worst stops the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kibaikasu Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) It will survive 2013 solely because the competition is currently so weak. I mean, really, other than the 3 current IP Blizzard games, SC2, D3, and WoW:MoP there isn't any 'real' competition. And they all suck rather bad. I was barely able to stomach MoP for a month before I came back here. I'm hesitant to say, but even with all the F2P restrictions, I think I'd STILL have more fun playing this than a full subscription to WoW, tyvm. Edited October 25, 2012 by Kibaikasu grammar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen_Starsolo Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 The purpose of free to play is to make the game available to public so they can see how fun the game is, and hopefully they will decide to invest some money in it buying the extra goods to make the game even more fun. Now, let's look at this game from a free to play player's point of view shall we? You can only play 3 warzone per week. You can only have 1 crew skill. Your money caps. You can't trade. You can only talk on trade chat once per min. You have 1 quickbar. Your CDs are longer than everybody else. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Which means the only thing you can do in the game, most of the time, is just grind, do quest, and grind some more. Who on earth would find playing with such stupid restrictions fun? If playing the game is no fun, who would invest money in it? We already had the free to level 15 in place to "bring in new people". It must have failed to change it to what we're getting now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodnamebro Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 (edited) It will survive 2013 solely because the competition is currently so weak. I mean, really, other than the 3 current IP Blizzard games, SC2, D3, and WoW:MoP there isn't any 'real' competition. And they all suck rather bad. I was barely able to stomach MoP for a month before I came back here. I'm hesitant to say, but even with all the F2P restrictions, I think I'd STILL have more fun playing this than a full subscription to WoW, tyvm. Same, logged into mists boring text quests again, "go meet pandafluff and travel to honeydew village to do some panda bear kung fu" wondered why im playing this as a 28 year old male on an expansion aimed at 9 year old girls and havent bothered logging back in more than 20mins a week, still. oh well, hope to god this game continues to provide entertainment because i cant bare the thought of going back to that panda naffness again. Edited October 25, 2012 by goodnamebro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kibaikasu Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Same, logged into mists boring text quests again, "go meet pandafluff and travel to honeydew village to do some panda bear kung fu" wondered why im playing this as a 28 year old male on an expansion aimed at 9 year old girls and havent bothered logging back in more than 20mins a week, still. oh well, hope to god this game continues to provide entertainment because i cant bare the thought of going back to that panda naffness again. Indeed, I'm barely able to stomach golden lotus/klaxxi dailies before my eyes start to bleed. Queue up for heroics and 5min into the dps queue I'm like "The hell with this" and log out to do something else. F2P SW:ToR still better than full version WoW:MoP imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eillack Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Easily last way past 2013. Although I don't like the Cash Shop, that solidifies TOR's footing in the MMO market. We'll be seeing a larger profit flow just from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerdcommando Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I dont know if it will survive. Lets consult the Mayan calender! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drudenfusz Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I played quite a few MMOs as a free to play member, and have stend money on some of them, so I thought F2P might actually be a good thing for SWTOR.... but now after seeing how stupid BioWare aproaches it my doubts are back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomla Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 What people need to remember is if this game doesn't make EA enough money to be acceptable for them then they will turn off the servers. By acceptable for them I don't mean "enough to survive" I mean it needs to be making one hell of a profit. If F2P doesn't bring in the money then it will shut down. All I will say is don't expect this game to be around for years. And I do enjoy the game, that isn't me "hating". I also know what EA does when something stops making it money (I still miss you Bullfrog ... my dreams for Dungeon Keeper 3 were shattered when they closed you down). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyphen Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Will the game survive 2013 ? - Yes. In what form though, is not so clear. Agreed. With current F2P restrictions I doubt many will stay and play the F2P option for more then a week or two. Either they will leave or subscribe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkerus Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 A direct question - what is EA's roadmap for this game ? I really want to enjoy the class stories and invest the majority of my game time into Swtor. But EA does so little to make me trust in the future of this game. There is no real communication with the playerbase, the Q&A panels only focus on silly stuff like "Can we marry Wookies ?" while I am more concerned if I will still get to enjoy Swtor next year. I don't want to pour money for Cartel Points and the little game time I have into a game which might already be doomed. The weird f2p decisions (paying for an extra hotbar), the fresh bugs introduced with every patch and the dwindling subscriber numbers often make me wonder if sometime next year they will just close it down because it does not create enough cash to pay for the Star Wars license and the running costs. So exactly what is the point of this post? You're asking for answers that can possibly be known, but even worse you're asking ridiculous questions like "what is EAs road map?" No one from EA is going to pop into this thread and feed you some internal power point presentation from a developer meeting. Got that? You understand that they share what they feel they need to share. We know the game is transitioning into a F2p model with sub option. We know 1.5 is coming. We also know that they have more events planned and some speculative space project. Stop asking ridiculous questions. All you're doing is driving a lot of armchairs analysts to spout their 2 cents about how doomed the game is. Being that this is the second most populated MMO on the market I don't think there is any logical reason to assume the game will be shut down or your soul will be sucked out by EA. If you don't like playing a game, stop playing it. If you like the game, play it. These kinds of questions are useless and just take up space from the rest of the folks trying to have an adult conversation about features and functions they really want to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurial_Harpy Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Agreed. With current F2P restrictions I doubt many will stay and play the F2P option for more then a week or two. Either they will leave or subscribe. This. Although I agree the 1 bar restriction is a tad draconian. It seems very clear to me that the F2P option is meant to do 3 things: 1. Allow new or returning customers to play the class stories 1-50 free 2. Allow the "solo" player (who basically wanted to play KOTOR 3) to tool around the game until they are comfortable and feel up to not soloing anymore. 2. Provide a "perk" marketplace for subscribers who can pay their cartel coins for "hey neato" stuff like moddable gear shells, rare masks, unique pets and whatnot. Anyone who wants to do anything touching on end-game (including lvl 50 Flashpoints, WZs, high-level crafting, Black Hole quests, etc) after the level cap is reached will pretty much need to subscribe. Hopefully, this will weed out people that decide the game is crap and they'll move on, rather than coming to the forums b*tching every day. I'm fine with that model, and despite the tragicomedy of errors EA/Bioware has made since launch, I think this is a good move for them. Subscribers are already cooing at how cool the Cartel Shop looks, and it just might bring folks back to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSStember Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 The purpose of free to play is to make the game available to public so they can see how fun the game is, and hopefully they will decide to invest some money in it buying the extra goods to make the game even more fun. Now, let's look at this game from a free to play player's point of view shall we? You can only play 3 warzone per week. You can only have 1 crew skill. Your money caps. You can't trade. You can only talk on trade chat once per min. You have 1 quickbar. Your CDs are longer than everybody else. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Which means the only thing you can do in the game, most of the time, is just grind, do quest, and grind some more. Who on earth would find playing with such stupid restrictions fun? If playing the game is no fun, who would invest money in it? You are looking at the "glass is half empty" side. The best thing this game has to offer are the eight great storylines that the F2P players *can* enjoy from start to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 SWG bombed and it lasted for 8 years. So yeah, I think this game is safe for the forseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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