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Why Do People Talk About Quitting? ... It Is A Free 2 Play Game ...


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#1 Mawai

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 10:43 AM

Hi all,

Amidst all the noise, complaints, dissatisfaction .... and occasional positive comments ...

I see folks saying "I am leaving and not coming back" ... or words to that effect .... and it doesn't make sense to me if someone actually likes the franchise.

Yes ... almost everyone is irritated with PGI for their slow progress in turning MWO into a real game instead of just a fun 10 minute rinse and repeat shooter. Fundamentally, MWO has not changed at all since closed beta ... balance tweaks, some backend code, bug fixes, mechs and maps are about it.

However, it costs nothing unless you want to spend it and you don't have to spend it until the game is in a state where you might want to play it.

Overall, the vision of CW, and other features may give the fun 10 minute shooter version of MWO the metagame elements it has needed since closed beta in order to keep player interest in the longer term.

So .. why do folks threaten to leave? I don't think it has any impact on PGI ... they know exactly how well or poorly they are doing retaining players.

If you like the limited but fun 10 minute shooter then the game can basically only improve ... since it has NO metagame features at the moment and never has had them. (On the other hand, if they do manage to bollix up the introduction of these features, I too may consider the game a lost cause :P ).

However, other than the ridiculous amount of time that has passed and the pretty much incompetent time estimates for feature delivery that have been bandied about in the past ... MWO still has the core of a good game. All folks need to do is wait and see whether they can actually create the game ... and since it is free to play ... waiting costs us nothing.

If PGI actually wants the revenue that these "waiting" players could provide ... then they will listen and address the issues required to generate longer term interest in their players by creating solo and group metagame content to drive continued interest in playing the game (since I do not see the fundamental ... fun 10 minute rinse and repeat battle elements ever changing unless they introduce additional game modes).

#2 Rhaythe

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 10:49 AM

Mostly it's people that have (in their mind) invested an amount in the game expecting certain results to come to fruition. I rarely see someone threatening to quit that doesn't have either the Founders or the Phoenix badge beneath their name. Perhaps it's an attempt to hold PGI hostage by threatening income or playtime. Perhaps it's merely frustrations. Hard to say.

I want to see change happen in this game myself, and I will likely abstain from purchasing anything until I see some movement; but threatening to quit isn't going to accomplish anything.

Also - it's the internet. People say dumb stuff.

#3 DaZur

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 12:41 PM

View PostRhaythe, on 20 December 2013 - 10:49 AM, said:

Also - it's the internet. People say dumb stuff.

The devil you say!...

I've never seen anyone say dumb stuff around here... ;)

:P

#4 Tekadept

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 03:53 PM

In a free to play game, the #1 content in that game is not the mechs, not the maps or game modes, but the players themselves. In a game purely PVP they are the most valuable content of them all. I guessthese people going to the extreme and quitting are taking a stand and doing the one thing they can to make a ever so insignificant difference, by not continuing to give PGI content.

#5 Dinochrome

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 04:08 PM

Greetings MechWarrior, I wouldn't worry about the rage quitters. Since online games became possible there have always been players who will state they will quit if they don't get what they want right now. However somehow they always seem to show up playing again, picture that. Its the internet and we know everything we here is true???????? When hear the "I quit" threat my BS alarm goes off. Just a thought. V/R Dinochrome

#6 Sandpit

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 05:11 PM

Rage quitters are usually unhappy with the game for a myriad of reasons, are a minority, and just want to make a show that they're "leaving" until they show up on the forums again.
There's a few that post a legitimate post to PGI explaining why they're doing it and offer to come abck once things are different.

As someone else already said, I wouldn't worry too much about the rage quitters and I doubt PGI will either. I WOULD, however, worry about those that still play but refuse to spend money on a product they feel isn't worth the value

#7 Zerberus

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 06:13 PM

IME, the people that REALLY leave and never come back only rarely find it necessary to publically express that.

The rest are just attention whores.

#8 Tezcatli

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 06:20 PM

Man. I've "quit" playing the game several times already. Difference is I don't use that as a threat to the devs. I just post my piece on what I think is wrong with the game. And then I stop playing for a while until they add something of interest. Like when they had the Protector on sale. I jumped on that because I wanted an Orion, but didn't want grind for hours, plus it's hero mech.

#9 wirikidor

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 06:45 PM

The game is F2P for some, and for others it's an investment. I've spent over $400 on this game so far, and while I've never threatened to quit I have threatened to spend my money elsewhere. Usually when I get to the point of leaving a game I just leave, no point in saying anything.

#10 Hellcat420

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 07:06 PM

View PostMawai, on 20 December 2013 - 10:43 AM, said:

Hi all,

Amidst all the noise, complaints, dissatisfaction .... and occasional positive comments ...

I see folks saying "I am leaving and not coming back" ... or words to that effect .... and it doesn't make sense to me if someone actually likes the franchise.

Yes ... almost everyone is irritated with PGI for their slow progress in turning MWO into a real game instead of just a fun 10 minute rinse and repeat shooter. Fundamentally, MWO has not changed at all since closed beta ... balance tweaks, some backend code, bug fixes, mechs and maps are about it.

However, it costs nothing unless you want to spend it and you don't have to spend it until the game is in a state where you might want to play it.

Overall, the vision of CW, and other features may give the fun 10 minute shooter version of MWO the metagame elements it has needed since closed beta in order to keep player interest in the longer term.

So .. why do folks threaten to leave? I don't think it has any impact on PGI ... they know exactly how well or poorly they are doing retaining players.

If you like the limited but fun 10 minute shooter then the game can basically only improve ... since it has NO metagame features at the moment and never has had them. (On the other hand, if they do manage to bollix up the introduction of these features, I too may consider the game a lost cause :) ).

However, other than the ridiculous amount of time that has passed and the pretty much incompetent time estimates for feature delivery that have been bandied about in the past ... MWO still has the core of a good game. All folks need to do is wait and see whether they can actually create the game ... and since it is free to play ... waiting costs us nothing.

If PGI actually wants the revenue that these "waiting" players could provide ... then they will listen and address the issues required to generate longer term interest in their players by creating solo and group metagame content to drive continued interest in playing the game (since I do not see the fundamental ... fun 10 minute rinse and repeat battle elements ever changing unless they introduce additional game modes).

people quit because less people playing means less people paying. and money is what matters. and as to someone who "likes the franchise", it does not make sense to play a crappy game based on that franchise if you like the franchise, because that does harm to the franchise(like this game), it does not improve it.

#11 S3dition

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Posted 20 December 2013 - 07:38 PM

Attention seeking behavior. I see them in game after they rage quit. And in TS, raging in a channel about how the game isn't worth playing, drop after drop. :)

#12 Onmyoudo

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 01:06 AM

I stopped playing because it was boring and not worth the time for what I got out of it. I still read the forums to keep up to date, and hopefully return when they put in a game worth playing and spending money on. Pretty sure that most people that "rage quit" would be in a similar situation.

#13 Devari

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 01:57 AM

The issue with people quitting the game depends on who's quitting. If you lose someone who is paying the bills, that can become a problem.

For example, I am a huge battletech fan. I purchased both founder's and phoenix packages. I WANT the game to succeed and have put money in it to back that up. I am the type of player who will KEEP putting money into the game, which is what keeps it F2P in the first place.

Unfortunately, the clan packages were the final straw. I STILL do not have a working game to enjoy, and a being asked to throw more money at the game. I will not be doing this any more. I simply can't afford to keep paying for something that has not been delivered, and quite likely never will.

So take a look at the forum tags when people talk about quitting, getting refunds, etc. If you see someone with founder's or phoenix tags telling you they are quitting the game, that is not simply "attention seeking". These are people who WANT the game to succeed, they have already put money into it, and are not happy with what they have gotten for their money. Because once these players leave, they take their money with them, and spend it on other things. They do not generally come back to spend more money on something they were not happy with in the first place.

#14 MW Waldorf Statler

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 01:58 AM

I like the classic BT universe, and hoped for an implementation of that ...
what was promised everything ... and I supported it for a while financially
Joystick support + the new Razor joystick
-CW
-destructible terrain
-Mission- and Lobbysystem

And arrived what? a poorly implemented 3PV, 2 maps (the last one can not even visually with UT2004 Maps measure) and empty promises and new mechs and new sales models
went for the collision model and walked the repair and ammo function.

MWO is nothing more than become a FtP FPS, in the fight to 24 people in Mechsuits in Arena maps, while wearing suits that look like mechs ... 0 BT immersion ...
it just developed as MW tactics

Now I consider myself only because of the community forum on ...
I let me not be sold as Coca Cola a glass of brown colored water

Edited by CSJ Ranger, 21 December 2013 - 02:02 AM.


#15 Devari

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 02:10 AM

The immersive aspect was pretty much the entire draw for me as a battletech fan. Being immersed in the battletech UNIVERSE, which even for military sci-fi is a very rich and detailed universe. The idea of putting my mech on a dropship, with other lance members, and going to a specific planet to fight for control of territory would have been an amazing leap forward from what we had with previous MW games. It had so much potential I didn't even blink at throwing down the cash for the founder's package, and even trusted them for the phoenix package. But even as a diehard fan I will know when I'm being scammed and stop.

Unfortunately, in many ways what we have now is LESS than what was offered in previous MW games. Which is saying something considering what you can do in a MMO and whatother MMO's have been offering for years. STO is a surprisingly immersive game despite the abstracted space travel and sector/system combat desigjn. Even SWTOR, which is routinely criticised for lacking endgame content, makes you feel like you are immersed to some extent in the SW universe. So far I have not yet seen a single dropship or jumpship map in MWO that has even TRIED to immerse me in the battletech universe in any way.

Really rather sad considering what any halfway decent developer could have done with the battletech universe. When you have the setting, basic combat rules and a solid fanbase literally HANDED to you it really takes quite a bit of effort to have virtually NOTHING of substance to show for several years of development other than a basic sandbox fps.

#16 MW Waldorf Statler

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 02:36 AM

The interior of stations at UT 2004 Just look (before 9!! Years), and the last map ... it shows that PGI feel no feeling or love for the BT universe,it's just a purchased license is

Posted Image

Posted Image



with MWO is like their last map ... a huge building, and inside nothing but emptiness

Posted Image



i`m going back to MWLL ...even Battlefield 2142 gives more BT feeling, as MWO

Edited by CSJ Ranger, 21 December 2013 - 03:22 AM.


#17 Tekadept

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Posted 21 December 2013 - 06:20 AM

View PostCSJ Ranger, on 21 December 2013 - 02:36 AM, said:

The interior of stations at UT 2004 Just look (before 9!! Years), and the last map ... it shows that PGI feel no feeling or love for the BT universe,it's just a purchased license is

Posted Image

Posted Image



with MWO is like their last map ... a huge building, and inside nothing but emptiness

Posted Image



i`m going back to MWLL ...even Battlefield 2142 gives more BT feeling, as MWO

Thats $250,000 of emptiness mind you.

#18 VariousPickles

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Posted 22 December 2013 - 03:32 PM

Because it doesn't quite seem free-to-play for those of us whose love of MechWarrior PGI played like a fiddle.

I'm more than willing to risk (lots of) my money in the hope of getting a product that I can grow to love. I'm also a senior software engineer by day. I may not develop games, but I fully understand how software development works.

Yet, despite having looked forward to it, I feel that the announcement of the Clan content is just plainly beyond the pale and a transparent grab for money. The "July next year" delivery date for your investment makes this abudently clear.

However, thats not what gets to me: PGI made a free-to-play game, so what if they profit from it from those willing to pony up? Well, myself and a great many others have invested time and time again on nothing more than faith and good will, and the things that really matter still are not here:
  • Some semblance of gameplay balance and more importantly, depth; not just patch-to-patch oscillations between what is or is not meta.
  • In-game voice comms. There are plenty of APIs out there. You have the money for infrastructure, PGI. You even have the money to just go pay a TeamSpeak server host. Whats the excuse?
  • UI2.0 and all the other nice-to-haves may be phantoms, but ... meh. Fix the gameplay before you focus on aesthetics/sellability (tons of people still play CS1.6).

Edited by VariousPickles, 22 December 2013 - 03:32 PM.


#19 Bront

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Posted 22 December 2013 - 03:37 PM

Just because it's free doesn't mean it's good. Sometimes, people move on and find something they enjoy. Being F2P also means you can come back for free any time without losing anything other than any Premium Time you haven't used while the clock is running.

Now I enjoy the game as it is (flaws and all), but I expect it will get old if they don't start pushing out more improvements (and Skirmish Mode is not an improvement). I might even take a break at some point, or I might keep enjoying what I'm doing, though probably as much because of who i do it with as what I'm doing.

#20 MadcatX

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Posted 22 December 2013 - 03:37 PM

View PostVariousPickles, on 22 December 2013 - 03:32 PM, said:


-snip-
  • In-game voice comms. There are plenty of APIs out there. You have the money for infrastructure, PGI. You even have the money to just go pay a TeamSpeak server host. Whats the excuse?
-snip-



I always was curious about why they never hosted their own OFFICIAL TS server. From a business perspective I can see wanting to save money I suppose by having a community-run one, but still...





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