Starting this fall, there will be two different ways to play Star Wars: The Old Republic:
- Subscription – A service designed for players who want unrestricted access to all the game features via ongoing subscription or by redeeming a Game Time Card. In addition to gaining access to all game content as our current subscribers do now, Subscribers will receive ongoing monthly grants of Cartel Coins**, the new virtual currency that will be introduced later this fall. Cartel Coins can be used to purchase valuable items including customizable gear and convenience features that will enhance the game play experience.
- Free-to-Play –The first 50 levels will be free-to-play, with some restrictions on access to new content and advanced player features. Some restrictions can be “unlocked” with Cartel Coins.
As the first step towards adding the new Free-to-Play option this fall, in August at retail Star Wars: The Old Republic will go on sale for $14.99 USD, including one-month of free subscription.
Bhruic wrote on Aug 2, 2012, 09:03:Veterator wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 23:09:
I am not sure we have the computing capability to do it, but it doesn't seem like anyone is even looking in that direction.
Oh, something like that could be doable. But you're overlooking human behaviour. You're always going to have people who find it more fun to ruin other people's experience than to do something on their own. Who's going to be interested in building things when you know that when you log off, someone can come along and destroy it all?
The trouble with so many of the truly interesting concepts when it comes to large-scale cooperative gaming is that they tend to rely on people having a cooperative mindset that just doesn't translate into reality. It's extremely difficult (hence why it hasn't been done) to create something truly open, and not have people end up abusing it.
Veterator wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 23:09:
I am not sure we have the computing capability to do it, but it doesn't seem like anyone is even looking in that direction.
KS wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 13:59:Veterator wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 20:38:
I like class based games when they are done well. I think WoW did a good job with it's classes, they have some overlap, enough that you can pick the class which will give you the alternate play styles you want in most cases.
And I don't care much for COMPLETE sandbox MMOs because you end up too scattered and unfocused as a player base. There's no easy way to focus people over all into an effort without some kind of incentive/story/quest/progression line to follow. However what disappoints me about modern MMOs is that they have not evolved into allowing players to truly modify the world. Maybe not to the extent of Minecraft where you could empty the world of blocks if you wanted, but that you could sculpt it somewhat. And create new lanes of travel with a concerted effort amongst the player base. Not just a single guild, but double digit percentages of your player base per server working toward it.
But it would be interesting if you could wipe out an enemy species or race, kill a forest, create a lake, divert a river to flood a valley or cut off water supply to an area. You would actually have to protect yourself, your domain, and surrounding domains from people trying to do this stuff to you. Beyond fighting in a dungeon or exploring the world if you want it to mean anything to others. Which I believe is the point of an MMO, your actions should impact others. Positively if you're on their side, negatively if you're against their side.....generally.
Believe it or not, this was the original plan for a little-remembered but much hyped festering turd (they abandoned almost all this in favor of MMORPG cookie-cutter) called Horizons.
The original Horizons plan was ambitious -- you could fly, true 3D travel ala City of Heroes. You could build things, and even tunnel and change landscape.
There were a number of normal classes, but there was also a full dragon class. The dragon class was intended, at the endgame, to be an even fight for any 3 of the other classes.
The dragon plan was you would go find or burrow out your lair cave, then actually start stocking up a real dragon hoard. The goal was endgame PvP of dragon vs. Players with normal chars trying to raid and steal the hoard.
In a precursor of SW Galaxies and Eve, the dragon had to be unlocked, and alao had progress timers to stop them from advancing too quickly -- a year was discussed -- and by then you'd be forming your lair and dumping your phat loots into it, and the bigger it was, the more power you had but the more player adventurers would start drooling.
They preserved the dragon as a class, but it was wimpified. No lairs, and your "hoard" was an item grinder you dumped your loot into to build up a special dragon power number, again hardly giving severe advantage according to the old plan.
Also, to add insult to injury, it was grossly cartoonic (unlike early screenshots) and dragons were these fat little puppydogs.
The tale of the feature collapse (and takeover) was legendary, easy to Google.
Veterator wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 20:38:
I like class based games when they are done well. I think WoW did a good job with it's classes, they have some overlap, enough that you can pick the class which will give you the alternate play styles you want in most cases.
And I don't care much for COMPLETE sandbox MMOs because you end up too scattered and unfocused as a player base. There's no easy way to focus people over all into an effort without some kind of incentive/story/quest/progression line to follow. However what disappoints me about modern MMOs is that they have not evolved into allowing players to truly modify the world. Maybe not to the extent of Minecraft where you could empty the world of blocks if you wanted, but that you could sculpt it somewhat. And create new lanes of travel with a concerted effort amongst the player base. Not just a single guild, but double digit percentages of your player base per server working toward it.
But it would be interesting if you could wipe out an enemy species or race, kill a forest, create a lake, divert a river to flood a valley or cut off water supply to an area. You would actually have to protect yourself, your domain, and surrounding domains from people trying to do this stuff to you. Beyond fighting in a dungeon or exploring the world if you want it to mean anything to others. Which I believe is the point of an MMO, your actions should impact others. Positively if you're on their side, negatively if you're against their side.....generally.
Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 12:40:Prez wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 11:16:Yes. I am just being a spelling nazi.Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:38:... I would have payed them for a single player version of the game, it was the monthly fee and lame sounding end game I didn't care for. The questing itself, at least what I played in beta, was quite good.Payed?
You knew what he meant though, didn't you?
Prez wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 11:16:Yes. I am just being a spelling nazi.Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:38:... I would have payed them for a single player version of the game, it was the monthly fee and lame sounding end game I didn't care for. The questing itself, at least what I played in beta, was quite good.Payed?
You knew what he meant though, didn't you?
Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:38:... I would have payed them for a single player version of the game, it was the monthly fee and lame sounding end game I didn't care for. The questing itself, at least what I played in beta, was quite good.Payed?
Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:38:... I would have payed them for a single player version of the game, it was the monthly fee and lame sounding end game I didn't care for. The questing itself, at least what I played in beta, was quite good.Payed?
... I would have payed them for a single player version of the game, it was the monthly fee and lame sounding end game I didn't care for. The questing itself, at least what I played in beta, was quite good.Payed?
Jonny wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:24:
As for TOR, one of the big gripes was that the solo, story focused leveling suddenly stopped at 50 and turned into a generic dungeon/raid/pvp grind. More dungeons, more raids and more PvP hasn't reversed the subscriber loss, so what is their big plan for future F2P content? Raids, PvP and a group quest line. /facepalm
Imagine your weekly shop at the supermarket, if you had to join up with 4 strangers? One wants to run through as fast as possible because Coronation Street is on, two want to bumble around looking for offers and taking their time, while the last has never been there before and doesn't know where anything is? It'd be a nightmare of normal people turning into total assholes, so it's no surprise that it's virtual equivalent does the same.
Closed Betas wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 18:54:
As for single player games.. SWTOR is a single player game.. lol...
So was Age of Conan, so is just about everything else.
Why its online is anyone's guess.. Until a game removes solo'ing ability from the MP games, they will suffer and the game communities will fail because it gives a reason to be a douche.. If you needed others, you'd think twice about how your acting in game.
D_K_night wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 23:00:Closed Betas wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 18:54:Icewind wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 18:47:
The MMO has been dead as a genre for years. I know, tell me how everyone and your mother plays WoW and that Guild Wars was bluesnews.com's special game...but you know WOW is only popular due to gamer peer pressure and GW is, well...an old folks game.
The genre is dead.
Now can we make some singleplayer games for fuck's sake?
Sorry, you are just way off base. The problem is the approach of making the game, cookie cutter quest storyline character development, with no true combat, catering to the young player, with no clue how to create an economy or spending time on itemization. This is why they are all choosing the BIG NAME IP's, as its a easy cash out...
Nothing short of big suits, sucking up dollars with no real care for the products... Technology will advance and this will change..
As for single player games.. SWTOR is a single player game.. lol...
So was Age of Conan, so is just about everything else.
Why its online is anyone's guess.. Until a game removes solo'ing ability from the MP games, they will suffer and the game communities will fail because it gives a reason to be a douche.. If you needed others, you'd think twice about how your acting in game.
Let this be a lesson to any other would-be MMO makers.
1) Please don't purposefully exclude essential things like combat logs, dungeon finder/raid finder
2) Please don't spend a freaking fortune on voice acting which all but obliterated your budget. Everyone just space-bar'ed through it anyways(the second time around).
3) Think carefully before you hemorrhage cash on a brand name like Star Wars. Kotick ended up being right along, and that kills us.
4) Please make an auction house equal to, or better than, wow's AH. And yes D3's AH SUCKS. WoW's auction house is the standard - make yours either the same or better.
nin wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 10:11:I agree. I am struggling to keep up with the web sites like here too!Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 09:38:
Finally! Maybe I will find get to try it or maybe not.
Doubt it.
Ant wrote on Aug 1, 2012, 09:38:
Finally! Maybe I will find get to try it or maybe not.
Closed Betas wrote on Jul 31, 2012, 18:42:
I think we need some new laws in regards to F2P changes once a "published" game is sold under a retail state using a published ISBN or whatever technical term is used today.. I think this can be some sort of fraudulent effort. To take a failed production, people invest in, then change it to a F2P model.. So soon, which is obviously already being done, the game sells at lunch, then is given away free, a sucker punch to the unaware consumer. Should not at the very least, the persons still playing who paid be compensated with what is now free? The $60 software bill.
Summed up in a nutshell (i learned of this with EA's Need for Speed World Online) which IMO I think they knew they was giving it away free a month later, and just ripped off all their real fans making it $19.99 at launch.
Maybe a change like this should incorporate some kind of "you must take item off market for 6 months" before changing your business model..... That would be a deterrent and then many won't get hurt... But what will happen if you dont make laws, is the obvious, oh real members will get a token item in their mailbox signifying a "founder" item... Woopdeedoo