12 replies to this topic

[Audio7]

Hey, i'm really interested in mechwarrior online beta, but before i buy into this beta I would really like more information on the Free 2 play model.

A) Are the micro transactions only cosmetics?
B ) If they aren't cosmetics, are the starting weapons on an even playing field vs purchased weapons/add ons?
C) Do you get all the mechs from the start, or are some mechs exclusive to purcharse/excessive play?
D) Is there an experience system? does the experience increase your chances of winning?

I'm pretty concerned about the founder mechs. Exclusive mechs seems like a questionable decision. Are they purely cosmetic? Do hit box sizes change etc? even minor changes in gameplay are a huge turn off for me, I played tribes and i found the free 2 play model in that game unacceptable. Dota 2 has a free 2 play model that i would consider acceptable and favorable because it's purely cosmetic. I didn't like League of legends model because the heroes were not free 2 play. however, Leauge had an acceptable free 2 play model.

Sorry if this question seems redundant, the forum won't let me search "free 2 play" or "free to play". There isn't really a FAQ either. I quickly skimmed through the blogs , but there's a lot of information and it is not organized. To be honest i'm a bit turned off because this information isn't easy to find. The mech warrior child in me wants to love this game, but I'm not sure. If someone could answer my questions with some detail, that would help me make a decision to be a founder or not, I appreciate any help in advanced.

Edited by Audio7, 16 September 2012 - 01:31 AM.

[Pisces Proxima]

There is nothing you can buy with money that will give you any kind of edge, whatsoever. There are exactly two things you need to beat the other team: more Skill and Teamwork. The size of someone's wallet will not impact you or anyone else in any tangible or measurable way.

[Oppi]

We either don't know the details yet or (if we are in the beta) are not allowed to talk about them, so I can only tell you what you'd get from the officially released information anyway.

A ) I'd have to say 'no' because we already know that there's a premium account that you can buy, that provides increased XP and cbill earnings (like in about every f2p game I know). Other than that, we don't know what will be in the shop yet, but the devs have stated multiple times that they don't want you to be able to buy battlefield advantages that free players can't get (so supposedly no gold ammo or some such).
B ) See A.
C ) I think real money exclusive mechs could be seen as a battlefield advantage, so I don't think they'd do this (or if they would, there'd be others with equal hardpoints that just look differently). The last public information I know of was, that everybody would be able to buy every mech, with the exception of the founders mechs, which are equal to the base variant of that chassis in everything but their skin and that they give a 25% cbill earning boost.
D ) Yes there is and I think there wouldn't be much point to an XP system if the perks you gained were of no use ingame.

Reading up on the dev blogs (especially #3 and #4 on the XP system) will provide more information.

[Pockets]

Quote

There is nothing you can buy with money that will give you any kind of edge, whatsoever.

Or rather, nothing that won't be outweighed by skill...
There are XP systems (which grant some small bonuses - see the Role Warfare articles), and obviously mechs cost in-game money.
I don't think its going to be a purely cosmetic system, but there are certainly no exclusive items (founders mechs aside, which are slightly different cosmetically and simply give an xp/cash boost when used; I forget which - the actual abilities are exactly the same as the regular mechs)

I think its going to be a case of Real Money -> Toy Money rather than anything else, though I wouldn't have any concerns about balance with that - its been said plenty of times in articles etc. that the aim isn't to require a drip-feed of real cash at all.

(oh and try searching for just free play rather than free to play, it comes back with some noise but there's a few useful threads that come up)

Edited by Pockets, 16 September 2012 - 03:17 AM.

[Redshift2k5]

There is no pay to win.

Free players can have the same mechs, same weapons, same equipment, same skill trees.

Paying money lets you get to the same things faster (buy a mech immediately, premium time gain additional c-bills/XP, cosmetic mch skins)

[Raledon]

As other people said, there is no edge.
You get some pretty nice stuff- cosmetics, faster advancement and such. But in the end, no. You are expected to be on the same ground as a paid customer- it might take you longer, you might not look as cool, but when all is said and done you can kill him. Or he will kill you, depending on who is better and picked the better stuff for the situation.

[Izzob]

Sounds good, cant wait to finish patching and try it out.

[Synra]

The devs have made no secret that the microtransactions for MWO will be focused on conveniance and cosmetics, not being pay to win. There won't be (aren't any plans for) special weapons or ammo that can only be obtained with real world money.

If you are interested in MWO's monetization, I highly recommend watching this video here. I saw a dev post some months ago that specifically linked to this video and said that this is roughly their marketing plan.

[qki]

Many things boil down to the NDA, but I think I won't break it by giving you a basic definition of P2W:

Pay to win happens when:
1. You can't win unless you pay first (because the paying customers will have a crushing advantage)

OR

2. You can win by paying (ie. buying something that will offset lack of skill with a crushing advantage, and we're basically back to point 1).


The devs have said, that the game will not be pay to win.

[Bansheedragon75]

This is going to be a bit long, but should answer all your questions, as well as conting some additional informations for you to consider

As others have said there is nothing you can buy with real money that will give you any advantage at all

A little bit about founders packs:

Premium Account.
This gives you a 50% XP/Cbill Bonus.
Premium is not limited to founders only.
Anyone can get premium and it only lasts for a set period, kinda like a subscription.

Founders Mechs.
There are 1 of each weight class, these are the prime variant of their weight class, and there are only 2 differences from the non founder mec
Those differences are a different skin color, and a permanent 25% Cbill bonus (ingame currency).

Veteran Pack gets no mechs
Elite Pack you get to choose 1 mech
Legendary Pack gives you all 4 mechs

Premium Content.
There are absolutely NO premium content.
Everything you can get with a premium account, you can get with a non premium account.
There are NO premium mechs and there are NO Ammo/weapons that are better than what anyone else can get.

Simply put, everyone have access to everything.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You also say you want to get into beta, before you do so there are a couple things you should consider.

This is a real beta and not a preview of how the game will be when released.
Do not expect the game to be feature complete, bug free and expect performance issues.

Many have blindly bought the founders pack only for the beta access thinking they will see a "pre-release Demo" and not an actual beta, and get so disappointed they come to the forums and rage over how this game is buggy and whatnot and make blatant uninformed statements about how the game will fail.

All feedback is welcome, both positive and negative, but you will get far better responses if you are constructive with your feedback, and not post threads that just boils down to "This game sux", or you will get the community telling you "Its Beta".

Before you post feedback, take the time to read the stickies(Pinned) and other information around the forums, as in all likelihood the things you want to bring up has been explained already.
Dont let that discourage you from adding your opinion on things though, as long as you are constructive about it.

I'm not trying to discourage you from buying the packs, just trying to help you understand what you are getting when buying the packs, especially in regards to the beta.

Hope you find this helpful,

Edited by Dragonlord, 16 September 2012 - 07:58 AM.

[Badgerpants]

Synra, on 16 September 2012 - 05:53 AM, said:

If you are interested in MWO's monetization, I highly recommend watching this video here. I saw a dev post some months ago that specifically linked to this video and said that this is roughly their marketing plan.

I watched the video, OMG they get that so right! Please all future developers of F2P games (and games in general) take note.

[Noth]

Badgerpants, on 16 September 2012 - 07:58 AM, said:

I watched the video, OMG they get that so right! Please all future developers of F2P games (and games in general) take note.

All teh Extracredits videos are great and are very informative about why things are the way they are in video games and how things to evolve.

[Synra]

Some of their videos are a little dull and focused more on people currently trying to get into the industry and the jobs there in, but those guys are professionals in the game industry and they are telling the real truth about it. You can learn a lot from watching their videos.

The microtransactions video is probably my favorite and I love linking it here. The fact that PGI puts value on that video is one of the primary reasons I am backing MWO when I have generally disliked and avoided other F2P games.

That said, I would also highly recommend watching their video on Piracy and the one that talks about the Uncanny Valley. There are also a few that discuss JRPGs vs western RPGs, which are also very interesting videos if you like RPGs.