605 replies to this topic

[Drez]

Rathverge, on 06 January 2012 - 03:22 PM, said:

Im not sure whether you have not played F2P games, or are just one of the people that find it game ruining or unfair that people can spend all their fast fortunes on these games. I have been saying it again and again and has been proven in the industry. These games (at this quality level) cannot support themselves on solely cosmetic items. If someones missles do slightly more damage than you is it unwinnable? If someone is going 3 KM/H more than you should you just sell your light mech? Someone has a special mech that you cant get without money is the game pointless? These things do not ruin games. If say you can only get assault and heavy mechs with real money then yes, that is a pay to win system. That kind of system WAS implemented in a lot of games and most have failed. The industry has learned, move on.

Sorry, I overreacted, you right about these things.

[Doum]

Hi all,

F2P bring many more players because of ear to ear news on internet (And free) . P2P make it more stable for duration. Some f2p will leave, other will become p2p and other will remain f2p with the disavantage it might bring (and still have fun). Having more players with f2p will make it more active and more fun for both f2p and p2p. But if you are only p2p then count me out. We wont fight each other. (Missing mechwarrior vengeance 4 now)

[Drez]

I am stick to Free-To-Play (F2P) aswell. Hope it's a bigger number of players who want to/love to play this game in F2P version when it's come out.

[Volume]

I think the best part about this post is that they plan making the game appealing to people who don't want to pay, and making the game even more appealing to people who can/want to spend money.

I'm imagining it like you can acquire anything in the game without paying real money, but you can get it much quicker if you do spend real money. So maybe not a "buy atlas" button but a "buy boost to earn more c-bills per contract to get atlas twice as fast" button, or maybe something like this: Say there are 16 'Mechs we have available on launch, 4 of each weight class/role. You could buy every single one, or maybe one of each, or maybe you have 2 of them available for free from the start. A diehard might want to buy them all, buy different paint jobs, insignia, cockpit decorations, $100 monocles for their pilots to wear but maybe the average player will buy maybe 1 'Mech that they like with real money, and just use the rest to earn/unlock things at their own pace. Or perhaps there will be like 20 different medium lasers, think TF2's microtransaction system. $0.50 for a laser which fires faster but does less damage and generates more heat but has less range, making it not a "better" choice but a "sidegrade," allowing you to purchase weaponry that fits your play-style. Or perhaps with the new "module" system they might sell modules for real money.

Either way, I think you will be able to play, enjoy, and compete without spending a dime. That said, you SHOULD want to spend money on this game. I do, and I wish I could just donate $100 or get a "VIP" account or some early-adopter boxed-set collectors edition. I love MechWarrior, and I think a lot of people here do too, and we will be playing it regardless of if it was F2P or P2P or whatever, as long as it's not P2W or a shameless cashgrab with wallet-warriors literally having more cost-effective 'Mechs than everyone else, I think we will do just fine.

[Sturmbb]

As long as you cant buy better guns or better armor im fine with it , I really dont like the idea of someone buying there way to an advantage, BUying exp bonus ie percentage plus or cash or prestige plus i dont mind buying a different mech is fine as long as there in the MW universe just dont make it BETTER the rules are set theres a template to building mechs no mater what you do the engines are only so big devided by weight to generate speed , not fitting a bigger engine in a smaller frame then you should be able to by useing real cash or weapons that shouldnt fit on a mech or to high of a heat generating weapon on something with no dang heat sinks.

Edited by Sturmbb, 08 January 2012 - 05:36 PM.

[Vulpesveritas]

I will personally become a casual P2P if this is anything like other freemium games I've played. 90% of items are purely cosmetic/give no bonuses, 10% gives a player less than a 5% advantage over a f2p player. So my gun reloads 1% faster than yours and has a cool insignia on it's side. If you have 1% better aim than me that said point is moot. It's not a game breaking thing.

[Dlardrageth]

Volume, on 08 January 2012 - 03:56 PM, said:

[...]
Either way, I think you will be able to play, enjoy, and compete without spending a dime. That said, you SHOULD want to spend money on this game. I do, and I wish I could just donate $100 or get a "VIP" account or some early-adopter boxed-set collectors edition. I love MechWarrior, and I think a lot of people here do too, and we will be playing it regardless of if it was F2P or P2P or whatever, as long as it's not P2W or a shameless cashgrab with wallet-warriors literally having more cost-effective 'Mechs than everyone else, I think we will do just fine.

That "VIP account" you mentioned sounds like an interesting idea. You mean something akin to the model Turbine runs with LotrO? Where it is basically a F2P game, but the VIP accounts get some perks in terms of extra in-game currency and easier access to some content?

I'm not sure if that wouldn't make it in fact a mixed F2P/P2P solution if we were pondering definitions. Sure seems to work for them, though. And doesn't look anything like "Pay2Win" to me. But yeah, might take some further modifications to make that system work for MWO.

Edited by Dlardrageth, 08 January 2012 - 10:23 PM.

[Unclecid]

Dlardrageth, on 08 January 2012 - 10:22 PM, said:

That "VIP account" you mentioned sounds like an interesting idea. You mean something akin to the model Turbine runs with LotrO? Where it is basically a F2P game, but the VIP accounts get some perks in terms of extra in-game currency and easier access to some content?

I'm not sure if that wouldn't make it in fact a mixed F2P/P2P solution if we were pondering definitions. Sure seems to work for them, though. And doesn't look anything like "Pay2Win" to me. But yeah, might take some further modifications to make that system work for MWO.

not only does turbine do it with lotro but with ddo.

other companies/games have followed suit with a hybrid f2p/p2p model -
fallen earth
pirates of the burning sea
star trek online
city of heroes
champions online
dc universe online

all are what i would call niche genres in mmos and are all doing better (seemingly) with the hybrid model.
of note all these mmos i listed started life as sub-only but for a variety of reason converted over.

Edited by Unclecid, 10 January 2012 - 09:49 AM.

[MechaKitsune]

I like the idea of MWO being F2P because I know that while I will be willing to dump some change into this game right off the bat in expectation of it being the best thing since sliced cheese, many of the people I would like to play with may be more slow to trust and less willing to spend $$$ before getting hooked.

People who like the game will spend money on it, people who do not like the game will not raise a fuss about it because it didnt cost them any $$$. If MWO is half as good as I think it will be, the money will follow, and so will my friends!

[Zervziel]

I would rather get the game full-priced and have a pay subscription. I'd rather pay for a period of time where I have all the options available instead of it being F2P up until "Hey a new mech! I think I'll get that-Oh I can't I have to pay real money for it."

[Fyrwulf]

Zervziel, on 09 January 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

I'd rather pay for a period of time where I have all the options available instead of it being F2P up until "Hey a new mech! I think I'll get that-Oh I can't I have to pay real money for it."

I've yet to hear of a F2P game that does something like that, at least not one that's successful. I can see paying for custom variants and various aesthetic stuff, but I can't imagine them forcing a player to pay for a TRO dump.

[Ran Ito]

I want MWO to be free to play because I want MWO to be successful.

I love the battletech/mechwarrior universe (and just about all things mecha), but there has to be a reason why the lion's share of the north american gaming industry rarely takes a stab into the giant-robo genre. Could be lack of interest except from a niche audience, could be lack of balls among certain developers.

Either way a subscription based game would probably gate off access to the wonderful world of MWO. Possibly turning away would be converts who are tight on resources or have otherwise been burned by subscription games.

[DynamitePeach]

It would be great for MWO to be a f2p, except no "cheating" items a level 1 can buy. Like for example, everyone is having a good time with a free-for-all match (everyone is a level 1-3). Skilled players do great in a match and win. New round starts, some random guy joins he's a level 2 and he has an Overcharged Ion Laser Gun and all the newbies have an Battle Worn Machine Gun they start out with. So the guy who won the last match thinks, Oh im going to crush this guy *shoots a couple of rounds at him, almost dead, but the guy with the Overcharged Ion Laser gun shoots him once and he's dead* that's what i dont wanna see. I dont mind people buying armor, weapons, mods, etc. For their character, but they atleast have to be an apropiate level to use it.

[Buzzkillin]

As long player's can't buy complete upgrades putting them ahead of everyone else, the F2P model can work, look at Team Fortress 2 for example. Many of the items that are from the store are cosmetic, which provde no gameplay changes, and the weapons you can buy only give slight gameplay changes but the stock weapons are still easily effective. And best of all everything can still be gained without spending a single dollar. Everything is up to the player to buy what they want.

[Brazo Izquierdo de Muerte]

my 2 cents.

first id like to say thank you for finally giving us a new mechwarrior game. ive played every mechwarrior title available (even MW4 ugh) and im really hoping this smacks a lot of what was awesome with MW2 and MW3 together with the online awesome of mech assault 2.

As far as F2P im unsure, I have seen alot of games that could have been great go f2p and die out. i really dont want that for MW. also as far as a cash shop im for it to a point. I work off shore for a month at a shot so i dont get to play that much but when i do its kind of a drag to be so far behind every one that it takes me half my time off to catch up. (and yeah i know i picked my job still dont mean i cant have fun in a game.) however i dont want to beable to just pay my way to being badass.

also i want ppl that want to be here to be here. i dont want a bunch of drama and bs started because you saw a free game and decided you wanna try it. thats cool but read up on the MW universe first get to know it then come play. as far as me i know when i have to pay money on a game i spend some time looking it up and learning what its about before i plunk down my money.

what i would like to see is a fee for the first time you download. make it some thing reasonable. we all like where this is going and i want the devs to make money off of this. ( that way if ppl dont like it then the devs can try again)

What would be nice to see is cash shop unlocks, that way we all start at lvl 1 and as you move up in lvls and skill points it lets you unlock betterthings in the cash shop. this way you wont have ppl running around at lvl 1 with weps/gear for lvl 10.

Or another way to do it is make your items expire after a set number of days, this way your forced in to haveing to have a good build with out cash shop items but if you wanna be a lil better you can be.

any way cant wait for MWO its great to be back.

[Foster Bondroff]

The key to a successful F2P game will be the balance between the "wallet warriors" and the "no dime for anything" guys.

The most "successful" F2P game at the moment from a registered users perspektive is World of Tanks. But problem there is that the balance is to strong in favour of the "wallet warriors" because even when you buy a premium account with Bonus XP/Credits you still can buy premium tanks, goldammuniton and gold consumables that give a a distinctive advantage and he latter two are almost a necessity when you compete in high level clanwar or company games. This concept yields good revenues in the short term, but drives away lots of players after a short time.

Star Trek Online is going an interesting way with F2P. Even non paying subscribers will have the option to attain shop items via Cryptic points, by farming ingame dilithium and trade that dilithium to other players for cryptic points. Basicly this way you can grind any item available from the shop. The future will tell if this works. Additionally monthly paying subscribers will not only have for instance more inventory slots or more character slots, but they also get a certain amount of cryptic points with the sub to either buy dilithium from other players or items in the C-Store. Compared to a WoT subscription a STO Gold sub gives a much better bang for the bug.

And there is PotBS with his three different subscriber levels. Here if you subscribe for one month and than go F2P you still keep some slight advantages to "no dime for anything" folks. That way PotBS encourages you to pay atleast once, because you get a real value for "buying" the game.

I think a good approach for MWO would be to combine the STO and PotBS approaches for F2P and stay away from the way WoT is designed.

Edited by Foster Bondroff, 10 January 2012 - 06:41 AM.

[Artifice]

The only F2P game I've played is League of Legends. Their pay system revolved around buying permanent characters (instead of a weekly revised choice of 'free' characters), Slight upgrades in the form of 1-5% improvements, and custom skins for your characters. All of these could be obtained by playing normally but paying allowed you to recieve those benefits much faster.

I'd like a similar system with MWO - with the choices to buy or (possibly)grind for (and some prices I'd be willing to pay):
1. Premium 'Mechs as a permanent choice. 5-10$
2. Premium variants when that 'Mech is otherwise available. 2-5$
3. Individual weapons for use in any customization. 50c-3$

All of these should be tied to your account and be permanent. Perhaps if your premium atlas is destroyed then you won't be able to use it in missions for the next hour, or some similar deterrent to buying your way to victory. Over time, you should expect the paying guys to do better than the freeloaders - after all, that edge is what people are paying for.

I'd like to see a LoL-like rotating roster of mechs to choose from each week. This allows noobs and free players to get a taste of what paying could be like, and forces everyone to try something new once in a while.

[MechaKitsune]

I agree with Artifice. League of Legend's F2P system is one of the best I've seen. A focus on fun game-play with lots of exciting new champions, or in this case mechs, to drive that change the dynamic of each battle based on who is driving what. The desire to drive a specific mech will urge people to drop some $ and get right to it, while other people who choose not to drop money should have the chance to earn the right to drive that same mech, just at a slower rate.

Most players will want to drive more than 1 mech in this game, but nobody is going to pay to have all the mechs made available to them. This will help balance the field a bit, as even paying players will not have everything available to them, and will have to join in the grind for new stuff just like everybody else.

[Max Immelmann]

Foster Bondroff, on 10 January 2012 - 06:39 AM, said:

I think a good approach for MWO would be to combine the STO and PotBS approaches for F2P and stay away from the way WoT is designed.

i agree with this.

in addition, it is my sincere hope that MWO beats the hell out of WoT. WoT got boring for me after about 4 months of play, 1 free, 3 premium account.

i really like the way EVE is set up and hope MWO goes in that direction. for example...

houses get resourses from planets to build mechs that supply their pilots. there could be solo missions for the players not in a house/clan. i assume there is going to be some sort of "galactic map"? showing the MW universe and different house territories. owning a dropship lets a player/house land on other planets, build bases, resourse collectors, new missions, etc.

in addition to houses, will there be an option for like a few friends to start a mercanary group who could be "for hire" by a house?

how will c-bills equate to real money? $100 USD = 100,000 c-bills?

bah! got a 100 questions, but got to go for now.

you have my attention MWO, now WOW me, i have been waiting for years!

[Burned_Follower]

personally, i don't mind of it's F2P since i know that F2P isn't a bad thing. Considering the fact that i'll be speinding 2-3grand on building a new PC from scratch cuz i plan on playing MWO on max graphics on a 42inchHDTV with a 1080p rez combined with the fact that MWO is gonna use the cryengine3 graphics engine, it's not really "free" to me. The fact that it's FTP means that it'll cost 60 bucks less to play.

Hate to hijack this thread but 2-3grand is the best price i can come up with and this is if i shop for every coponent seperately. If anybody knows if i can build the same gaming PC that can play a Cryengine3 game(crysis2 for example) for less than 2k i'm all ears. Just send me a private message telling me how, plz.

So bottom line, Free To Play from my perspective only means "60 bucks less to Play".