PavSalco Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Yes and that's why this subject ********* me off so much. Quite on the contrary, Bioware needs to finally improve their f2p model since every other MMO has a better f2p model that is more friendly and fun for f2p players. People won't kneel before SWTOR just because it's SW. It should be Bioware's job to seek more players and to not expect that they will come and stay on their own while there are tons of other alternative MMOs with more features, more fun combat and without bad engines. Star Wars + Story is a decent combination that holds some players like me and my friends but take that away and I really doubt this game would be alive with all its problems. Now excluding SW and Bioware storytelling fans, there is also a huge chunk of the playerbase that is only interested in fun experience with the game and the sole SW logo does nothing for them. They try the game for free, find it irritating with omnipresent restrictions and leave. Bioware assumes SWTOR is superior to other MMOs. No, it's not superior. It has its pros and cons. With the game engine that can't handle more than 20 people without fps drops, has very long loading screens and suffers from performance issues with chat bubbles, side games like swoop racing and a few other features that cannot be implemented but are like the basics to an MMO game, SWTOR won't hold players that are not huge fans of SW or the Old Republic era itself. Even the games with one-time purchase like ESO is not punishing people for not subscribing to their game. In SWTOR if you pay for sub and then go back to preferred you are trashed just like f2p players are. Edited August 11, 2015 by PavSalco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthSpuds Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Even the games with one-time purchase like ESO is not punishing people for not subscribing to their game. In SWTOR if you pay for sub and then go back to preferred you are trashed just like f2p players are. Yes, the restriction being re-imposed when you go back to F2P is one of the biggest slaps in the face IMO. And while ESO does nothing to punish non-Subs it does even less to encourage Subs - the Sub Bonuses in ESO are a joke. All The Best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi_riches Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 When Bioware introduced F2P it could have done one of 2 things:- 1) Treated the game as it was as the base and introduce additional benefits to subscribers or 2) treat the game as it was as the "optimal" game and reduce stuff for F2P and preferred now its obvious which of the routes they went with, for whatever reason maybe they could not think of additional sub benefits or what. But personally it may be petty but as a sub if F2P get more stuff, I want more stuff too otherwise is there any point in subbing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GythralSWTOR Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) Clearly SWTOR's business model is so bad that the next expansion is going to be sub only, not buy the DLC, so very obviously EA think that the model works and will get the best ROI for them! So in EA's mind the F2P vs Sub debate is over for this year at least... Edited August 11, 2015 by GythralSWTOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries_cz Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 When Bioware introduced F2P it could have done one of 2 things:- 1) Treated the game as it was as the base and introduce additional benefits to subscribers or 2) treat the game as it was as the "optimal" game and reduce stuff for F2P and preferred now its obvious which of the routes they went with, for whatever reason maybe they could not think of additional sub benefits or what. But personally it may be petty but as a sub if F2P get more stuff, I want more stuff too otherwise is there any point in subbing? Well, you get Coins as a subscriber and a occasional mount/pet gift, that is a nice benefit. But other benefits that would not cause people to scream the same way they do now, I am having trouble imagining them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries_cz Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Clearly SWTOR's business model is so bad that the next expansion is going to be sub only, not buy the DLC, so very obviously EA think that the model works and will get the best ROI for them! So in EA's mind the F2P vs Sub debate is over for this year at least... Or you know, it is sub only because developing content constantly costs money. Sure, they could make it and price it at 600 CC per episode (minimal monthly grant for people with Security Key), but you see how offended people are when that is done with a cosmetic stuff like species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asheris Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Well, you get Coins as a subscriber and a occasional mount/pet gift, that is a nice benefit. But other benefits that would not cause people to scream the same way they do now, I am having trouble imagining them. Oh, oh, let me try, I'm good at imagining things! How about an additional loot roll on fp/ops bosses (one per fp/ops for example)? 10-15% faster mounts Apart from monthly CC we could also get a free strongbox that contains one of various fluff items - jawa junks, pets, mounts, cosmetic armor set etc. How did I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries_cz Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Oh, oh, let me try, I'm good at imagining things! How about an additional loot roll on fp/ops bosses (one per fp/ops for example)? 10-15% faster mounts Apart from monthly CC we could also get a free strongbox that contains one of various fluff items - jawa junks, pets, mounts, cosmetic armor set etc. How did I do? Regarding first two, cue people screaming "waaaaaah, that is unfair, why don't F2P have the same, whaaaa". You see, those are basically things that get taken from F2P, so it is a limitation The third one has been suggested a while ago, and would be nice. but would probably cause more calls to whaaambulance from people who make their in game money by selling packs and CM gear. Maybe give the platinum bonus box per month, would be cool, one item is not going to change anything drastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icestar Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) They are smart to make the expansions free (expansions usually costs extra in all games) with only the subscriber fee and move the game into the future. That is a great motivator for F2P and Preferred to want to check out what is happeining and subscribe. It is genious, and I hope they will get alot of subscribers with this tactic. Edited August 11, 2015 by Icestar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asheris Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Regarding first two, cue people screaming "waaaaaah, that is unfair, why don't F2P have the same, whaaaa". You see, those are basically things that get taken from F2P, so it is a limitation The third one has been suggested a while ago, and would be nice. but would probably cause more calls to whaaambulance from people who make their in game money by selling packs and CM gear. Maybe give the platinum bonus box per month, would be cool, one item is not going to change anything drastic. You are probably right I for one am happy with how things are now, I pay my sub but when it lapses for some reason I still can play the game like nothing really happened, I could say that the only thing keeping me subsribed is the credit cap - cannot live without my hypercrate fix () but that would be a lie...I simply enjoy this game and I like the additional benefits given to me as a paying customer. So it's a win-win situation - Bioware gets my money and I'm happy to spend them that way They are smart to make the expansions free (expansions usually costs extra in all games) with only the subscriber fee and move the game into the future. That is a great motivator for F2P and Preferred to want to check out what is happeining and subscribe. It is genious, and I hope they will get alot of subscribers with this tactic. You and me both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PavSalco Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) But personally it may be petty but as a sub if F2P get more stuff, I want more stuff too otherwise is there any point in subbing? There are several points in subbing: 1. Epic Story Boost 2. Access to the content post level 50. 3. Access to all credits 4. Access to operations 5. Access to ranked 6. Access to all characters 7. +50% to reputation gain 8. Ability to queue crafting items 9. 500-600 CC monthly grant 10. Sub rewards like crystals, mounts, weapons, Nico These are definitely worth $15 a month. Now improving F2P in a few elements won't affect any of the above points. Some people are simply too young or are not willing to spend $15 monthly for a game when they can save up and buy AAA game for $45. Others want to try the game but they won't give $15 upfront to fully try the game, so they test f2p model and in the result they are disheartened and scared away. Now the aim is to bring those players to SWTOR, so they don't spend their time on other MMOs. Simple three or four fixes like: 1. Unlimited access to regular warzones (flashpoints and gsf are unlimited, no reason ground pvp shouldn't be) 2. Unlimited access to space missions (like above) 3. Access to cosmetic features 4. Increased credit cap limit (possibly f2p - 500k, preferred - 750k) Edited August 11, 2015 by PavSalco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branmakmuffin Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) You're being ignorant and rude. No, I was being sarcastic. You are being ignorant. The restrictions as is are so severe that f2pers are far more likely to quit before even getting close to cap than sub up. Anything else you'd care to just make up? 98% of players agree with 75% of what you post on the forums, perhaps? I assume you've never experienced these restrictions since if you had than you would know how harsh they really are. Anyone who "experiences" the F2P restrictions does so by choice, so your point is irrelevant. It's a game, there is nothing "harsh" about it. The point of F2P is not to give players a viable way to play the game fully without subscribing. Now improving F2P in a few elements won't affect any of the above points. Some people are simply too young or are not willing to spend $15 monthly for a game when they can save up and buy AAA game for $45. Then they can go play one of those B2P AAA MMOs if they don't TOR's "freemium" model. Others want to try the game but they won't give $15 upfront to fully try the game, so they test f2p model and in the result they are disheartened and scared away. Now the aim is to bring those players to SWTOR, so they don't spend their time on other MMOs. Simple three or four fixes like: 1. Unlimited access to regular warzones (flashpoints and gsf are unlimited, no reason ground pvp shouldn't be) 2. Unlimited access to space missions (like above) 3. Access to cosmetic features 4. Increased credit cap limit (possibly f2p - 500k, preferred - 750k) AKA, "Things that would allow PavSalco to drop to Preferred." Adding value to F2P/Preferred effectively devalues a subscription account, thereby discouraging people from subscribing. Edited August 11, 2015 by branmakmuffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakakiba Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Simple three or four fixes like: 1. Unlimited access to regular warzones (flashpoints and gsf are unlimited, no reason ground pvp shouldn't be) 2. Unlimited access to space missions (like above) 3. Access to cosmetic features 4. Increased credit cap limit (possibly f2p - 500k, preferred - 750k) Just say no to professional freeloaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branmakmuffin Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Just say no to professional freeloaders. Besides, if they increased the cred cap to 500k/750k, he'd be in here asking for it to be increased to 750k/1 mil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHboy Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Besides, if they increased the cred cap to 500k/750k, he'd be in here asking for it to be increased to 750k/1 mil. inflation is a *****... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mubrak Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 (edited) F2P made you sub, that is what the purpose of the f2p system is here. so it actually works. This. Swtor's F2P is making me pay 50 cent per day to get access to everything (yes, I know, no SoR until October) Most other F2P games don't have a sub option, they make their money by pushing you to buy ingame currency or tokens for real money. Where SWTOR has black/black dye modules on sale every once in a while, a true F2P game would sell tokens for 210 rating gear. Of course you could farm those tokens too or buy them on the GTN, to buy one of them you only need to grind dailies for a month or ten. And don't forget the power of arousing envy. Everytime someone gets a popular mount from a cartel pack there will be a server wide anouncement. If they were successful you can be too. Buy now! Shroud of The Avatar is still in development and you're already free to pay: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=9085 Edited August 11, 2015 by Mubrak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 They are smart to make the expansions free (expansions usually costs extra in all games) with only the subscriber fee and move the game into the future. That is a great motivator for F2P and Preferred to want to check out what is happeining and subscribe. It is genious, and I hope they will get alot of subscribers with this tactic. /Agree, though I would not call it genius. It's simply good business. It's a smart move, particularly since they will get coupling of interest from all the buzz surrounding the movies moving forward. Since Disney has committed to a new SW movie each year moving forward, it provides excellent marketing leverage for SWTOR. Now, the story chapter aspect of the new expac IS genius. It follows on the original theme that inspired Lucas to write SW episodes ----> The weekly space operas that showed a new chapter each week in the theaters back in the 50s. It follows a tried and proven screenplay approach to tapping into human curiosity and desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinapus Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Why does the phrase "you get what you pay for" come to mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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