205 replies to this topic

[RickySpanish]

Garth Erlam, on 15 February 2013 - 09:08 AM, said:

Oh hey, how is my cousin doing?

I think he'll make a full recovery, the Cicada's a fairly short mech so he didn't have far to fall when it lost its engine

[Mister Blastman]

StalaggtIKE, on 15 February 2013 - 08:52 AM, said:

THIS. Only a select few of mech builds are competitive, any way. So, one only needs to have 4 mech bays. All you need is a:

• RVN-3L
  
• HBK-4SP
  
• CPLT-K2/A1
  
• AS7 D-DC

I'd rather have a Dragon than a D-DC any day.

[PropagandaWar]

I just wanted to stop in and say: Wacky, Tacky, Pudding and Pops! Yep makes about as much sense as the post does. Now where did I leave my Mecha Welfare Check at.....

[IceSerpent]

RickySpanish, on 15 February 2013 - 08:33 AM, said:

...In the same way as a game like League of Legends is free to play, where the statement "Free players have the same advantages as those that pay." can be made with a straight face.

For example, the recent thread about Mechbays being acquireable only through paying real money highlights the fact that MechWarrior Online's "free to play" model is more akin to a demo mode, where players can try out the game but to progress in any meaningful way, are expected to pay for it.

You don't make any sense, to be honest - every account gets 4 free mechbays, extra bays don't give you any kind of in-game advantage. So, how do you figure that free players can't "progress in any meaningful way"?

[Steven Dixon]

I think most people are well aware that 'Free To Play' is a marketing term, is their really anyone in this day and age who doesn't understand this. This isn't a charity or a mod, it is a business. Many 'F2P' games really force you to buy things or even switch to a subscription model. These can much more accurately be described as demos. LOL and MWO are much more generous. It is completely viable to become the best, most elite player in this game and not spend a dime of real money. You simply buy 3 of the same chassis and unlock all the efficiencies and just play them (plus you get 1 extra slot for fun).

Do the devs encourage you to buy more mechs and more slots, of course. The difference is that in their model they want you want to buy more slots because their are so many fun mechs to try rather than you have to buy the slots to stay competitive.

[Chunkylad]

It is "Free to Play" not free to unlock convenience. That means, you download the game, you play the game. No paying $60 for download and then proceeding to play.

[Khobai]

Quote

But in the real world it is simply less money in bank for PGI/IGP.

Not necessarily. How do you think LoL became so popular despite 90% of the players being free players? PGI/IGP's goal right now should be to grow the player base as big as possible. And to do that they need to make the game as accessible for new players as possible and retain free players for as long as they can... and those players will in turn bring more players to the game. That is how F2P games thrive.

Right now the current behavior pattern for free players is going to be... master maybe 2 mechs, then when they get bored with them, quit the game then go play something else. There is no incentive for those free players to keep playing because there's no advancement possible. That is not a good F2P model and is the exact opposite of what made LoL so successful.

Edited by Khobai, 15 February 2013 - 09:18 AM.

[stjobe]

F2P means "Free to Play", emphasis on the last word. MWO is Free to Play.

OP wants a free game, not a F2P game.

Sorry OP, this game's not free, only Free to Play.

[Xendojo]

Here is an idea!

Have a toggle switch to toggle XP gain on mastered mechs into something that will let you purchase mech bays after enough XP is accrued. But it won't be XP...hangar bay credits? Mech bay points?

Something like that would be great.

EDIT: And it gives F2P players another long grind to overcome. Or you can purchase MC to skip the grind.

Edited by Xendojo, 15 February 2013 - 09:19 AM.

[KhanCipher]

Steven Dixon, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

Many 'F2P' games really force you to buy things

how much money does TF2 make from all those hats/keys again?

Khobai, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

Not necessarily. How do you think LoL became so popular despite 90% of the players being free players? PGI/IGP's goal right now should be to grow the player base as big as possible. And to do that they need to make the game as accessible for new players as possible and retain free players for as long as they can... and those players will in turn bring more players to the game. That is how F2P games thrive.

Right now the current behavior pattern for free players is going to be... master maybe 2 mechs, then when they get bored with them, quit the game then go play something else. There is no incentive for those free players to keep playing because there's no advancement possible. That is not a good F2P model and is the exact opposite of what made LoL so successful.

This post right here hits the nails so hard, that it makes all you "cough it up already" people look bad for even bothering to try to keep this argument alive.

[b00zy]

Khobai, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

Not necessarily. How do you think LoL became so popular despite 90% of the players being free players? PGI/IGP's goal right now should be to grow the player base as big as possible. And to do that they need to make the game as accessible for new players as possible and retain free players for as long as they can... and those players will in turn bring more players to the game. That is how F2P games thrive.

what about the other billion f2p games out there that are doing well ? everyone just likes to compare everything f2p to LoL like its the only f2p that makes a lot of money sorry but go check out any nexon game and you will come running back here begging for forgiveness and if you don't like that get a job and pay 5 -15 dollars for all the mech bays you will ever need give me a break.

p.s. none of the master modules will do much of anything for you anyway

Edited by b00zy, 15 February 2013 - 09:23 AM.

[BigJim]

I haven't posted in any pointless, utterly inane threads yet today so I'm going to choose this one for my one-a-day.

Thanks OP! Saved me searching.

[RickySpanish]

Steven Dixon, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

I think most people are well aware that 'Free To Play' is a marketing term, is their really anyone in this day and age who doesn't understand this. This isn't a charity or a mod, it is a business. Many 'F2P' games really force you to buy things or even switch to a subscription model. These can much more accurately be described as demos. LOL and MWO are much more generous. It is completely viable to become the best, most elite player in this game and not spend a dime of real money. You simply buy 3 of the same chassis and unlock all the efficiencies and just play them (plus you get 1 extra slot for fun).

Do the devs encourage you to buy more mechs and more slots, of course. The difference is that in their model they want you want to buy more slots because their are so many fun mechs to try rather than you have to buy the slots to stay competitive.

I think my issue lies with needing to trade mechs in to free up slots to buy new ones to ultimately elite your one favourite mech that you want to mech competitive. You lose 50% of the value of the items you bought, not to mention that you can't buy a mech in parts (for instance, most new mechs I buy wouldn't need the engine, as I have loads of them). The game is very cleverly balanced around the 4 mech-bay restriction, which is just enough to get you off the ground, but requires you to make some stiff sacrifices should you change your mind about the types of mechs you wish to play. Because of this I argue that the game in "free to play" mode is a demo - to experience everything it truly has to offer, you need to pay for it which is cool, but people refer to this game as "free to play" when it sort of kind of isn't, and as you rightfully state, "free to play" is in fact a marketing term.

[Mystere]

Just make a Mech bay cost 1,000,000 GXP and be done with it. If that's too high for you then fork over $7 and get 4 instead.

[RickySpanish]

stjobe, on 15 February 2013 - 09:16 AM, said:

F2P means "Free to Play", emphasis on the last word. MWO is Free to Play.

OP wants a free game, not a F2P game.

Sorry OP, this game's not free, only Free to Play.

I deliberately made the thread title antagonistic, but in my twisted to desire to generate page views I forgot that most people don't read what they're replying to. My good fellow, I don't want a free game. My founders tag should be your first clue.

[Agent of Change]

What advantages that you have not made up do paying players have that in anyway affects skill and teamwork dictating the outcome of a game?

When you are done being unable to answer that you can look up what Free to Play means and get back to us.

Edited by Agent of Change, 15 February 2013 - 09:27 AM.

[Sug]

Khobai, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

How do you think LoL became so popular despite 90% of the players being free players? \

That's a pretty insane statement.

[Hobo Dan]

What gets me about this whole conversation is how there are people who have no problem buying a $60 game and then paying $5-10 extra for DLC, but they complain about being somewhat restricted in a F2P game because they won’t spend $7.

[Khobai]

Quote

what about the other billion f2p games out there that are doing well ?

Well lets compare MWO to world of tanks then...

Does world of tanks require you to play 3 variants of a tank to master it? no.

Does world of tanks give you more than 4 tank slots for free? yes I believe you can get upto 6 for free.

So right there you can see that WoT handles tank garage slots way better than MWO.

[Steven Dixon]

Khobai, on 15 February 2013 - 09:15 AM, said:

Not necessarily. How do you think LoL became so popular despite 90% of the players being free players? PGI/IGP's goal right now should be to grow the player base as big as possible. And to do that they need to make the game as accessible for new players as possible and retain free players for as long as they can... and those players will in turn bring more players to the game. That is how F2P games thrive.

Right now the current behavior pattern for free players is going to be... master maybe 2 mechs, then when they get bored with them, quit the game then go play something else. There is no incentive for those free players to keep playing because there's no advancement possible. That is not a good F2P model and is the exact opposite of what made LoL so successful.

I actually think your idea of being able to buy a few extra mechbays at a high cost could have some merit. Initially I was against it but you've made a decent point, perhaps you should formalize your suggestion and post it in the Suggestion Forum.