Dear Bioware a better F2P model will make you money !

[Spooler]

That make no sense.. if you add more players the % of Tank/heals wont change, we already seen that with the first server merge.

2 heals -----> 20 tanks

2 tanks ------> 20 heals

10 dps -------> 100 dps

 

Just reroll a tank/heal if you arent happy with queue time and love to over-exaggerate, my queue are less than 10 min and il be a dps forever.

 

< main is a tank alt is a healer, both get long arse ques

[Hassat-Hunter]

Then you must do something wrong... like only play when everyone else is sleeping or something, or be an Euro on a US server.

 

I as DPS on the Red Eclipse never have to wait very long... the server is already overcrowded with people...

[Spooler]

If every player felt this way there would never be a game to play. Get over yourself, if you don't like the f2p restrictions and you don't want to pay your sub then there are other games.

 

^ I pay a sub read the thread.

As someone who has paid since and even before (pre order) day one I feel bioware should provide a decent play experience.

[JamieKirby]

Bioware I love you, you guys have given us some truely epic games but the current F2P model stinks.

 

As a subscriber it's annoying playing with people that are so limited in so many ways, it would be great for yourselves and your community to remove the restrictions on the F2P model and encourage people to sub in other ways or even get rid of subs all together and replace them with micro transactions.

 

In doing this you need to remember Pay to win is never the solution cartel points and cosmetic upgrades are however , tho having said that a set of bind on account leveling gear for 10-20 USD would probably sell like hot cakes.

 

Sorry, but if someone can get something for free, there is no way in hell they will pay......in the end, its human nature to look for the cheapest solution regardless of its outcome.

[Spooler]

Sorry, but if someone can get something for free, there is no way in hell they will pay......in the end, its human nature to look for the cheapest solution regardless of its outcome.

 

I'd pay for micro-transaction stuff, I say that because I do the inventory space across all toons is amazing for starting alts and some of the cosmetic fluff is cool too.

 

if your statement were true no one would buy games or see movies in cinemas they would just pirate them.

[Spooler]

honestly even just bumping preferred access to suck slightly less would be better than the current system Edited December 26, 2012 by Spooler

[Vlacke]

OP your lack of forum avatar reeks of troll, among other things.

[Galbatorrix]

I'd pay for micro-transaction stuff, I say that because I do the inventory space across all toons is amazing for starting alts and some of the cosmetic fluff is cool too.

 

if your statement were true no one would buy games or see movies in cinemas they would just pirate them.

 

 

That's a bad analogy, as you're referring to theft and there are tons of people out there with better morals.

 

Since you brought up theaters though, in my area, we've had a few theaters change into "1 dollar movie" theaters. they would show moves that were a couple months old and only charge 1 dollar for entry, Their hope was that people would feel more inclined to purchase the super expensive sodas and popcorn if they didn't have to spend a ton on tickets. All of these theaters stayed pretty busy (people wise), but eventually closed due to lack of profits.

 

If SWTOR gave away the main product for free (the movie) with the hope that people would over spend on popcorn (the cash shop), then they'd be severely mistaken. Most games that try this turn to pay2win pretty fast because pay2win is normally the only way to really force the player base to spend money in the cash shop. They either have to buy the power ups or quit.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Galbatorrix

[PlasmaJohn]

If your friends like this game but in the same time are so cheap that they aren't willing to spend 5$ in the cartel market for preferred status then they should play something else.

I highly recommend getting preferred status. That said, there are still way too many annoyances. Subs and non-subs can only group for so long before the subs significantly outlevels the non-subs. Hard to recommend the game to somebody when you can't stick with them for more than a planet.

 

The restrictions for the most part are good and working as intended, because the idea is that those who subscribe get much more than those who want to save their money, as it should be, shocking, i know.

All the non-subs are hearing is "sub or get out". I'll bet that most of those are choosing the "get out" option. If chasing away paying customers is working as intended then I'm sure the investors would like to have a heart-to-heart with their management.

 

... barking at Bioware how everything should be free and handed to him on a bloody silver platter.

This tired old strawman again. There are non-subs that are more than willing to pay for unlocks but there are annoyances that have no unlocks.

 

EA's model is badly flawed. Instead of irritating non-subs, they should be focusing on giving people an incentive to subscribe. The Cartel Coin stipend is a step in the right direction, except most of the stuff in the CM is junk. Not making Makeb available via CC's was a major mistake. Why should I subscribe if I have to pay real money for content anyway?

 

None of those are unfixable but they require decisions that run counter to EA's historic short-term gains myopia.

Edited December 26, 2012 by PlasmaJohn
Clarification

[Jandie]

^ I pay a sub read the thread.

As someone who has paid since and even before (pre order) day one I feel bioware should provide a decent play experience.

 

However what you actually said was "I feel as tho Bioware should be doing as much as they can to make the game convenient for me"

 

You actually feel Bioware should design this game to be as convenient for YOU as possible?

 

Stating that Bioware should be Providing a decent play experience is not the same as stating that the game should be designed around you. Bioware has provided a decent playing experience, you simply feel entitled to the benefits of a subscription for free.

[Nightsong]

I highly recommend getting preferred status. That said, there are still way too many annoyances. Subs and non-subs can only group for so long before the subs significantly outlevels the non-subs. Hard to recommend the game to somebody when you can't stick with them for more than a planet.

 

All the non-subs are hearing is "sub or get out". I'll bet that most of those are choosing the "get out" option. If chasing away paying customers is working as intended then I'm sure the investors would like to have a heart-to-heart with their management.

 

This tired old strawman again. There are non-subs that are more than willing to pay for unlocks but there are annoyances that have no unlocks.

 

EA's model is badly flawed. Instead of irritating non-subs, they should be focusing on giving people an incentive to subscribe. The Cartel Coin stipend is a step in the right direction, except most of the stuff in the CM is junk. Not making Makeb available via CC's was a major mistake. Why should I subscribe if I have to pay real money for content anyway?

 

None of those are unfixable but they require decisions that run counter to EA's historic short-term gains myopia.

 

Exactly. I was not in favor of f2p, and I'm still not happy about it, but if we are stuck with it, then let's make sure that it's a model that helps the game. The stipend is a good draw, as are the free respecs, section x, more characters, etc. However, gating the ui and the reduced xp gain reek of a money grab, and that drives people away. The gated ui needs to be removed and if you are going to give bonus xp to subs, have a way to shut it off if people want to level with ftp friends. Less punishment and more incentives will drive more customers to subs.

[Nemmar]

The model seems to be working quite well as it gives people the option to try out the game for as long as they want and at the same time incentivates them to sub to get rid of the annoying restrictions.

Might not be the most popular model but seems to be effective. The problem is people will never be happy until they get acess to everything for free.

 

With that said, the gear restrictions should be removed for prefered costumers.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Nemmar

[Jandie]

The model seems to be working quite well as it gives people the option to try out the game for as long as they want and at the same time incentivates them to sub to get rid of the annoying restrictions.

Might not be the most popular model but seems to be effective. The problem is people will never be happy until they get acess to everything for free.

With that said, the gear restrictions should be removed for prefered costumers.

 

Agreed, and you are so correct about people not being happy until they get access to everything for free. The OP is the perfect exampte.

[Spooler]

However what you actually said was "I feel as tho Bioware should be doing as much as they can to make the game convenient for me"

 

You actually feel Bioware should design this game to be as convenient for YOU as possible?

 

 

YES, I play games for recreation why would I continue paying them money to provide me with a gaming service if it fails to entertain or is inconvenient ?

 

Agreed, and you are so correct about people not being happy until they get access to everything for free. The OP is the perfect exampte.

 

Who has stated he has been and intends to continue being (even pre ordered the expansion) a paying customer /eye roll.

Edited December 26, 2012 by Spooler

[sstanks]

No i'd like to be able to play with my non sub friends in a less restricted manner.

 

If bioware wants the game to be successful they are going to need to take steps to ensure it is, your sense of "I pay money entitlement is just silly. Treating F2P players like second citizens instead of prospective customers is doing things the wrong way and will not encourage them to hang around and pay more to get the rest of what they were offered.

 

second class citizen? they are getting the ENTIRE game for FREE. Not to mention you can purchase everything from the cash shop on the GTN with in game credits. Can you name 1 other MMO that does that? If you want to play with your f2p friends then help them out buy some of the stuff of the gtn with in game credits and give it to them.

 

btw they are making money hand over fist from this model.

[kamed]

second class citizen? they are getting the ENTIRE game for FREE. Not to mention you can purchase everything from the cash shop on the GTN with in game credits. Can you name 1 other MMO that does that? If you want to play with your f2p friends then help them out buy some of the stuff of the gtn with in game credits and give it to them.

 

btw they are making money hand over fist from this model.

 

Yeah seriously... You can basically buy all the unlocks from the GTN for 1 million credits instead of Cartel Coins. It's really not that hard to do. Or you can buy the unlocks with your 600 coin monthly allowance.

[thomasbaxter]

<< I still say they should have gone with full access to a certain level. Then the game stops.>>

 

Um.....is this not what they did for the last 6 months. That's why I ended up subbing was free to level 15.

[Vinjar]

I didn't read all of the posts so if this has been said, sorry.

 

I imagine Bioware/EA chose this F2P model to allow people to play the entire story for free. Think about it. You can play eight different stories free. Yes, yes, the side quests are all the same but the end result is eight stories free.

 

War zones, flash points, epic gear is all fluff. One does not need all that to play the class stories. Hundreds of hour of play or level 20 like other games.

[Valeriadrina]

As a current, fairly new subber I think BW/EA F2P model is currently somewhat faulty. Too much stick and too little carrot present. I`m pretty sure I will drop my sub as soon as my story related interests are fulfilled (exp bonus as a sub is great when you do 8 characters at same time) as I will not pay montly sub for pvp access (there are many games I can play for that. Even some really nice F2P games like Blacklight Retribution). I actually think PVP restrictions are asinine and foolish as other players are THE content when it comes to PVP. Subbers will be much happier too when they have more opponents available faster. Edited December 27, 2012 by Valeriadrina

[biguydeadd]

Lol nice try OP but I think you showed your true intentions. The whole 'I'll speak up for the f2p players' is so transparent. If you don't want to sub just cancel but don't try to play the hero card.

 

Well i have 6months game time left on my account but i feel the same way as the op.

 

The restrictions on ftp are just silly and turn more potential customers away than it attracts,and it doesn't enrich the community,the market and the population of the game world as a whole.

 

There are some ftp games that get it right,and many that get it wrong,this is in the many category.Course that's just my opinion.

 

(although removing subbing altogether is not something i'd like,you just need to tweak the subbing bonuses,give subbers benefits over ftp players other than restricing ftp from so much of the game,by saying game i'm including all the chat stuff,passes,custimizations etc etc)

Edited December 27, 2012 by biguydeadd

[Hassat-Hunter]

Restricting chat fully can work even less counterproductive than the current method. Proof; F2P till level 15. There you couldn't talk as 'free' player, and boy, it sucked. So proposing that's a 'solution' is making things... well... even worse.

As a current, fairly new subber

Why did you sub? Heck, you claim yourself you wouldn't have subbed if there were no XP-restrictions. +1 BW, -1 Complainer.

And a clear indication it DOES work as intended. Curious, no?

I actually think PVP restrictions are asinine and foolish as other players are THE content when it comes to PVP. Subbers will be much happier too when they have more opponents available faster.

The funny thing is, they aren't. REALLY. Check out some PvP chat, and what do you hear? Complaining about F2P players in PvP. In thruth, sub-PvP players want to get RID of F2P players.

So lifting this up means even more unhappy subbers.

 

More great suggestions for improving F2P?

[Arkerus]

Yeah seriously... You can basically buy all the unlocks from the GTN for 1 million credits instead of Cartel Coins. It's really not that hard to do. Or you can buy the unlocks with your 600 coin monthly allowance.

 

Bioware has done a very poor job of advertising that everything can be bought of the GTN as long as its available. If they had done that better, blogs and news articles wouldn't have been nearly is critical. Everyone missed that point except us, being the players.

 

No other game practically gives the game away like this (the best part, the experience). I don't agree with any of the complaints in this FTP model except the quick bars. The quick bars were an obvious cash grab and they are fixing that.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Arkerus

[kamed]

Bioware has done a very poor job of advertising that everything can be bought of the GTN as long as its available. If they had done that better, blogs and news articles wouldn't have been nearly is critical. Everyone missed that point except us, being the players.

 

No other game practically gives the game away like this (the best part, the experience). I don't agree with any of the complaints in this FTP model except the quick bars. The quick bars were an obvious cash grab and they are fixing that.

 

I do agree with the whole lack if quickbars thing and that the only feasible way to play is to probably have to buy $5 worth of CC in order to get just 4 as a preferred status. Still $5 is paltry compared to paying $15 a month all the time for that much content.

 

My only request is that they make the other Account and Character Legacy Perks unlock available on the GTN or tradable, because I wanna gift those perks to my friends.

[thomasbaxter]

""news flash honey, tor will still be here in 1-2 years. nice try. why? because of people like me who love this game and aren't afraid to shell out a little cash to help the developers out.""

 

Tbh yeah the game has its faults and I don't really like the warzones etc but tbh I've enjoyed the decent chats on general chat, the immersive world and some of the cartel items. The fact it costs £8.99 a month (which is like 3 drinks nowadays) a month is pennies so I'll continue subscribing. As long as every so often they add some new DECENT content (Rise Of The Hutt Cartel looks promising and for £5.99, yeah I'll preorder it). I think there always be a base level of subscribers (may only be 50,000 or so) but as long as there is a good number of subs at any one time swtor will last. I'd actually love to see their expenses to know what a 'viable business model' is though. I mean do servers cost £10k a month to maintain or £100k a month?, how many programmers do they have?

 

Suppose not the thing a sub should know but I'm interested as a businessman and someone who wants to look forward to many more years of swtor

[DawnAskham]

news flash honey, tor will still be here in 1-2 years. nice try. why? because of people like me who love this game and aren't afraid to shell out a little cash to help the developers out.

 

And if all they do is add cosmetic stuff to the cartel shop (which I'm not saying is all they will do - but this is EA we are talking about, and I have little faith they will continue to invest much into expanding the game beyond what was already in development at launch), then there won't be anyone playing SWTOR as a game, just a bunch of Star Wars fans playing dress up in space.

Edited December 28, 2012 by DawnAskham