Rethink these Restrictions Bioware

[skiibyrd]

Not that Bioware will ever read this or even care for that matter, how many of you (subscribers or f2p'rs) are disappointed with 1.5?

 

Don't get me wrong I like SWTOR and have been a long time fan of Star Wars in general. But with the implementation of f2p I think Bioware has made some serious errors. Let me list a few and you all can add your thoughts if you care to. First off I understand why they've gone f2p it's becoming the industry norm but I think some of the restrictions f2p players have are senseless. Two hotbars this makes the game almost unplayable for some, shame on you BW that's just being greedy. Limiting chat use, really? Flashpoint/ Ops restrictions at 3 per week...come on, really? There are many other problems with your f2p model that i'm sure the rest may add to this thread.

 

I'm still a subscriber and most likely will remain one but my biggest gripe is this atm. For months now there been 100's of posts in the "Customer Service" forums about people crashing to desktop because of the memory leak in the game. I being one with the game crashing after maybe playing 2 warzones or an hour or 2 of gameplay feel disgusted that BW has ignored a serious problem.

 

So i'm curious SWTOR community what are all your thoughts about the state of the game in it's present state?

 

What do you expect, its FREE!

[DarkoBrodski]

Hi all.

I was waiting for so long for SW to go free 2 play, just to find disapointment at every corner.

1. 3 Space missions per week ( space missions are most fun in game and u limited it on 3...srsly ? )

2. Few time u can queue in dungeons per week......this is not fun at all...becouse not most of us find it amusing to wonder arround the world and do pointless quests only...

3. Inventory is low.....w th now we got to pay in order to get bags ? At least provide us with some bags ingame to buy at vendor.

I think u limited tooooo much things for us mortals to enjoy with.

Not all of us can be subscribers....we can pay and donate for various items and things in game...but to pay monthly fee and feel under the preasure to play it whole month....aint gonna drink the wather.

 

Anyway, im happy that at least something is free.

 

Tnx all in advance.

Edited November 16, 2012 by DarkoBrodski
Wrong name of topic.

[NerdyIO]

It is like we do not have gazzilion of these threads already?

 

State of the game is Good still problem's but it is getting better ever since I have joined up.

F2P will adjusted I think in some based on the amount of whines I see even f they are wrong I think.

 

For next 6 months at minimum I am optimistic but after that time frame we will need some chunk of content.

 

What you call whines is otherwise called criticism. Whining is crying about others opinion.

[NerdyIO]

Basically it's free to look.

[Leopagne]

When are people going to grasp this ... F2P is NOT meant to be a way for players to simply unlock features in the cash-stop and then play the game without restrictions. It is a "limited version" of the full game; the cash-stop is in place for those players who aren't prepared (or able) to take advantage of the full experience.

 

But i agree, the word "FREE" is what is causing thread after thread after thread ...

[NerdyIO]

No, because I'm not a tight *****. $15 a month for a sub is nothing. The trouble is too many people want something for nothing that's why we need more restrictions not less.

 

So you only play games that you have to pay for? Is that how you select games?You're not tight *****? Is that you or your mom paying?

Do you have a life beyond this game?

[NerdyIO]

Lol, now all my posts go to one, the same topic.

[jgoldsack]

The only thing I think that needs to be changed is the UI part.

 

Preferred players should get the 4 bars they had before. They should also be able to hide their own helmet.

[KoutaHirano]

When are people going to grasp this ... F2P is NOT meant to be a way for players to simply unlock features in the cash-stop and then play the game without restrictions. It is a "limited version" of the full game; the cash-stop is in place for those players who aren't prepared (or able) to take advantage of the full experience.

 

But i agree, the word "FREE" is what is causing thread after thread after thread ...

 

Are you a subber?

Cause...while I agree with you in some ways, I look at the restrictions on f2pers and preferred and...some of them just make me shake my head and go: "what...really?"

[DarkoBrodski]

And to you: No one will return to play the game.

 

I had a friend who came back to look how things were...For 5 minutes.

 

...And now he's gone. Most likely forever.

 

While I do believe the OP has a point, I believe it to be too late. All the players that came back to look how it is, are going to be gone tomorrow already. F2P MAY bring some new players in of course, but those who quit the game, are unlikely coming back. Something that should've been a priority, since the game sold close to 2 million units at launch. This was a great opportunity for BW to get those customers back (which is cheaper/easier than making NEW customers), but I think they blew it.

 

Agree with u 100%. They dont understand the fact that enabling the F2P option is BINGO...its oportunity to bring new players and return old ones. Sometimes ppl spend more time on some items and things as F2P ussers then subscribers. I personaly think that no one should spend money on games and things that dont exsist sept virtualy. But still they need to maintain and finance their servers somehow.

[BlazingShadow]

if it was up to me I would put a 1 op per week restriction, unlimited Tier 1 flashpoint access, unlimited unranked WZ access

 

need to purchase artifact quality cert.

[Hiniba]

Unlimited access to all Operations, Flashpoints and Warzones (except on Section X DLCs and further content that can be paid for via Cartel Coins)

No. That would result in the best option for MOST end gamers to be pay what they need to for purple gear, extra toolbars etc. and then coast without paying a dime after, except maybe pay those costs again on a second account for next 2 character. For me it takes about 6 months to grind up 2 character; the costs to get the account where I'd want it is significantly less than 90 dollars (the cost of a 6 month subscription); so why would I sub if I can do everything I want without paying often at all?

[NamShub]

Have you?

 

The meat of this game are the class quests.

 

and those are free.

 

PvP, Ops, and Crafting are all done much better in other "free" games

 

You didn't create an account and try the F2P, did you? I've played games that did F2P well and lucratively, LOTR comes immediately to mind. What EA did with SWTOR hits you with the paywall about once a minute. Basic game features are limited or flat out missing. The one that gave me the biggest *** moment was when a mission reward was not available to F2P.

 

EA's choices in their FTP limits is a clear indication that that don't know how to draw a player in, get them interested and invested in the game and then offer them a way to improve that experience. Instead, EA went with the "annoy them until they give us money or leave" model.

Edited November 16, 2012 by NamShub

[DarkoBrodski]

So you only play games that you have to pay for? Is that how you select games?You're not tight *****? Is that you or your mom paying?

Do you have a life beyond this game?

 

lol i agree with u. This guy that said: Pay if u wanna play and that 15$ is nothing. Well i got to say few things only. He is idiot and definitely some rich fat kid who never earned his own $. He dont realise that some ppl are working 2 weeks hard for 15$. And if u think u should spent those money on games then ur out of ur mind and u got no real life. Id rather take out girl on dinner. I love star wars and always will.....but this is just a game.

[Fenshire]

Charging for interface options is ludicrous.

[Vankris]

lol i agree with u. This guy that said: Pay if u wanna play and that 15$ is nothing. Well i got to say few things only. He is idiot and definitely some rich fat kid who never earned his own $. He dont realise that some ppl are working 2 weeks hard for 15$. And if u think u should spent those money on games then ur out of ur mind and u got no real life. Id rather take out girl on dinner. I love star wars and always will.....but this is just a game.

 

think of it this way

 

develloper are working long and hard hours and need to gain a little tiny bit of money to be able to feed their family.

 

I exagerate of course, but how can you expect in a capital world, that the any fruit of someone else labor be given you for free? this is not a due.

 

They have design their business model. It is you right as a costumer to refuse to purchase any because you don't find the value. But it is their right as a company, to sell their work product at the price they estimate the value.

[NamShub]

Charging for interface options is ludicrous.

 

I know. It's like they got a bunch of managers in a room, told them to come up with a bunch of things that they could put behind the paywall, took the entire list and implemented it without considering what the overall feel would be.

 

If EA had said the following they would have had me until the shut the servers down and sent them to recycling:

 

You know what, you were in beta, you bought the CE or DD so since you supported us you're in for life with some minimal limits on warzones, flashpoints and raids that you can buy passes for if you want them. Oh and here's a shop that you can use to buy cool skins and other items.

Instead, what I get is getting hit with a restrictions on just about everything including chat.

 

Note to EA: frustrating the players you're trying to woo is not going to work.

[NamShub]

Quoted for truth.

 

There is nothing wrong with the F2P experience. If you want more perks... pay for them.

 

When did actually being able to use your mission reward become a perk?

[NamShub]

They have design their business model. It is you right as a costumer to refuse to purchase any because you don't find the value. But it is their right as a company, to sell their work product at the price they estimate the value.

 

I agree. And when I decided that the experience wasn't worth the $15, I went on my way.

 

The thing is that EA is changing the business model and what people are saying is that they're not making good decisions in how they're making those changes. Their F2P model appears to be "frustrate the F2P players so much they subscribe" rather than "draw new players in with F2P, engage them with the game and community, and then give them to option to pay for game content they're interested in".

 

"Pay us to make the annoyances go away" isn't the same as "pay to make an enjoyable experience better".

[HarleysRule]

Charging for interface options is ludicrous.

 

/thread

 

Even charging to hide head slot seems money grubbing. I wish they would have gone with more of the successful LotRO model. TOR's model is more like the fail AoC model.

[nriemupah]

Quoted for truth.

 

There is nothing wrong with the F2P experience. If you want more perks... pay for them.

 

You mean if you want basic game mechanics pay for them. Seriously limited quest rewards for F2P accounts? By far, dumbest idea in an MMO I've ever heard. I expect 90+% of preferred players to not stick around after seeing all the basic stuff that got taken away.

Edited November 16, 2012 by nriemupah

[Galbatorrix]

All of the people that dumped their account as soon as it went F2P are just trying to bully EAware into giving them more free stuff. They're using the remainder of their forum time to try to accomplish this. Very sneaky F2Pers, very sneaky in deed.

[Darvus]

I to think that some of the restrictions are too much. The one that I have the most issue with is forcing people to buy access to guild banks!! Guilds purchased those banks (they should have been given to guilds, to start with) for the membership to have access to. Why do guild members that are F2P have to go and purchase access, again?? This is another example of this game simply not being guild-friendly, in spite of how things looked, during beta and pre-launch.

[Xanaste]

There are a few restrictions I believe shouldn't be there for Free To Play players. And this is me talking as a subscriber. This is just a list:

 

UI Needs to Be Fixed (Customization and more quickbars)

Unlimited access to all Operations, Flashpoints and Warzones (except on Section X DLCs and further content that can be paid for via Cartel Coins)

Sprint and Quick Travel need to be accessible

 

Other than that, I believe it is completely fair for both camps. The gear option from Ops needs to be purchased as it gives subscribers a little something, something. No Cartel Coins should be earned in game (also a little nod to subscribers). All caps on money and banks should exist, but have a way of buying your way out via Cartel Coins. I believe this is the fairest system the game should go with to continue to have players come in (or back) and make this game the best it can be.

 

I agree that free to play players should be allowed to customize their quick bars and have a max of 4. Subs will still have 6. Unlimited flashpoints and warzones, yes. Operations and rated warzones, no. Sprint and quick travel, free to play already get just sprint at level 15, and quick travel on a longer cool down.

[ripster]

Seriously no quest rewards for F2P accounts?

Statements like this make the whole discussion a waste of time. Most of the quests give the full rewards that subscribers get. My understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, but it is basically lockboxes that F2Pers don't get. Big deal. They usually aren't worth picking if you have choices and you'll make up for not getting them by doing all the bonus quests and killing more mobs than needed to keep up with the XP. But saying "no rewards" mean you got bad info from someone or are misleading people to make things look worse than they are, when just sticking to what is being removed from the rewards is enough to make a point about.