Shabahh, on 22 June 2014 - 09:46 PM, said:
Those are forums for ya man. Just don't dwell on them too much.
Don't know about the others, but SWTOR still had over a million players by the time it went F2P. The problem was EA being EA expected WoW numbers. Also have you seen their F2P model? It's total BS for an MMO. It's still MUCH more worth it to get a subscription. Also when people see a game go F2P, it's automatically treated as a failure even if it's still going fine, like RIFT.
you're talking about gamers "in the know" though. The casual gamer looking for something new sees a f2p and goes "cool!" along with the entire demographic that simply, for whatever reason, cannot or will not pay a steady monthly sub fee. I know that I, for a very long time, would not play MMOs because the idea of having to pay every month to continue to play the game just didn't appeal to me. It had nothing to do with pricing or ability to afford, it had to do with my personal preference.
What began my trip into MMOs was DDO and DCUO. DDO was f2p and I gave it a shot but without really getting into the community to me it just seemed like a very tedious game. DCUO came along, let jim lee handle the artwork, and let me play alongside Superman.
SOLD! lol
But, even then I opted to just purchase a lifetime subscription instead of paying month to month.
As I got much more aqcuianted with the MMO world and playstyles involved I grew to enjoy them more. Then I began to dabble my toes into the PvP area. That's when I was truly hooked (one of my issues with games is I generally grow bored with them as they tend to become either too easy or just impossible to beat if you choose the truly crazy hardcore ninja setting PvP is always a challenge which is what I enjoy) Then as DCUO went F2P I began searching out more F2P games. It was a mixed bag of utter crap to really enjoyable.
Why do I say all of that?
Well to try and explain that there are tons of gamers out there that don't fall into those categories. Those gamers love F2P models because they can play some pretty nifty games without costing a penny if they don't like it. This is also where some of the division (especially for this particular IP) comes from regarding the community. There's a VERY die-hard fanbase that relishes in all of the nuances and deep strategy that went into the TT game. They have played this game in just about every iteration ever made over the last 30 or so years.
That doesn't always mesh well with the "cool! stompy robots I can pew pew pew with! Hey I found a free shooter with big robots! Hey! What the heck is heat management? What do you mean I can't just shoot all my weapon all the time? I just wanted to come in and shoot stuff!" crowd. Now don't take any of that the wrong way. I have nothing against those types of players. I want the same thing from time to time, I play other games for it though.
This is where this game, in the eyes of many, began to go wrong, along with PGI's development choices. This game really was a much deeper, complex, and all-around strategical game once upon a time. You think mechs are easy to kill now when you make a bone-headed move and get caught in a bad situation with your mech? You think teams that used teamwork and strategy are killer now? It was tenfold many moons ago. It was loved by that first crowd I mentioned. Everything really seemed to be moving in a direction they enjoyed and could support.
Then
More of that second crowd started filtering in as the game went OB and then finally launched. Well this crowd didn't like all that strategy and teamwork mess. They just wanted to drop and go boom boom boom. So we started seeing more of what is commonly referred to as "dumbing down" of the game and "easy buttons" being implemented. Regardless of your opinion on that, it's what was being perceived. So PGI continues to make direction changes that make the game more friendly to this crowd. Hey, that's great! Except for one thing...
Instead of including that first crowd and giving them options ot continue playing the "harder" setting, they continued to develop the game for ONE crowd while excluding the other. Now just about every other shooter that I play online that I can think of, does both. They don't go out of their way to alienate, mock, antagonize, and exclude their "hardcore" fans. They ensure that those fans also have a place in the game, community, and direction of development. So here we are now with a game that really has gone out of its way to make that original crowd, that believes they really helped fund and get this game off the ground which by no means discounts or dismisses all the players who came after and also contributed, feel like it was inconsequential by saying things like
"you're on an island"
"we're targeting a new demographic"
"we thank all those "true" supporters"
So now we have an even bigger rift within the community. Because PGI chose to dismiss that original "hardcore" crowd instead of embracing and including them, they chose to discard them. That creates animosity and then the "new" guy comes along and enjoys the game but wants this feature and that feature because he's been waiting "2 months and nothing done!". Meanwhile angry "hardcore" guy is thinking "wtf? 2 months?? I've been waiting 2 YEARS! sit down and wait your turn". Now of course some of the dissension between players on the forums has nothing to do with PGI or MWO, it's just people being people. That doesn't mean they shouldn't take ownership in their part of it and now we have the community going at it with each other instead of actually kicking around ideas to improve the game for EVERYone instead of this us vs. them mentality.
So one thing noone can ever explain is why and how a multi-million dollar gaming company cannot implement modes that will give more options to the entire community and include all of the fans without charging them extra or simply offering a queue that allows them to play in games in that "hardcore" style with all the complications that all the rules and nuances of the game lovingly bring?
Why is it that every single other game in this style has ways of doing that but this one can't?
Before anyone uses the "small development team" they've made millions of dollars and had 2 years to expand their development team. It's not a valid reason anymore.
-Signed-
"TRUE" MWO Supporter
P.S. As far as taking ownership for their part in it? An apology from Russ for openly mocking customers with things like
"islands"
and "true support"
would go a long way to at least START mending the perceptions of many. Regardless of your opinion on whether those perceptions are right or wrong, they're still the reality for that individual.
7
?
