[Megathread] Wildstar - Now F2P

[Yunru]

Less talking more pictures!
Here is 1 of a hype:


What the hell is he thinking?

[Vexies]

Well this has sortta went of topic a bit, but I am still baffled why people so desperately hold on to the idea that your getting any kind of value out of a sub based game. Where is that value? you pay 15 bucks a month for what three updates a year? maybe not even that. GW2 just to use the example that really brought it home for me does monthly updates, granted smaller, granted not everyone agrees with whats given, however EACH MONTH you get something new added to the game. You know how much that costs? nothing. For all the time ive played it and its been out about a year now I've spent a fraction of what I would have with a sub based game. Not cause I cant, just cause im not all that into cosmetic stuff but some things like character slots, inventory space and what not sure why not. so I did

How much would I have spent on a sub based game? I spend money to show support for the game i like to play, rather than because I have to for the "privilege" of playing the game. Sure there are bad F2P games, there terribad games of all models but that does not invalidate the model.

F2P, B2P games have cash shops not to ( in most cases) trick the gullible into spending more than a sub fee or lock precious content behind a vendor, but to do one thing (for those that do it right) support there game. Most do it well and a few do it very well GW2, Rift and TSW being some of the examples I think are well done for delivering value for money spent.

[Collected]

I think the harsh reality is some MMO companies take their player base for granted. They see their big subscriber numbers and they see how much they can get away with doing (or not doing) and they keep doing it because the players keep paying their sub. You could say that's business.. they're in it to make money, not to make people happy. And so be it. That is perhaps the cold harsh reality of the situation. But it's a shame, and it's not how it used to be.

[RoninaThorstone]

I think the harsh reality is some MMO companies take their player base for granted. They see their big subscriber numbers and they see how much they can get away with doing (or not doing) and they keep doing it because the players keep paying their sub. You could say that's business.. they're in it to make money, not to make people happy. And so be it. That is perhaps the cold harsh reality of the situation. But it's a shame, and it's not how it used to be.

The thing is, the number of major MMOs still using a subscription only model is like 3%. So... I think when you say "mmo companies" you just mean blizzard.

edit: It's like saying "All those north american super powers that keep invading the middle east"

[Deleted]

The thing is, the number of major MMOs still using a subscription only model is like 3%. So... I think when you say "mmo companies" you just mean blizzard.

edit: It's like saying "All those north american super powers that keep invading the middle east"

3%?? i wouldnt class more than 10 mmo's as major ones in the west so its clearly more than 3%.

[RoninaThorstone]

3%?? i wouldnt class more than 10 mmo's as major ones in the west so its clearly more than 3%.

I have about 20 MMOs on my desktop and that's with me trying to be conservative with my hard drive.

[Deleted]

I have about 20 MMOs on my desktop and that's with me trying to be conservative with my hard drive.

i didnt say there wasnt more than 10.. i said i wouldnt consider more than 10 to be "major" ones. There are probably thousands of mmo's out there.

[Risale]

maybe a daft question but what has this convo about payment models to do with Wildstar????????

[zito]

maybe a daft question but what has this convo about payment models to do with Wildstar????????

Well wildstar is going to have a payment model that is a hybrid and we are discussing the details of possible options and why X isn't good because of Y

[SirRobin]

maybe a daft question but what has this convo about payment models to do with Wildstar????????

Well it is Tuesday, so we probably won't be getting new WildStar info till tomorrow anyway. However, the beta forum site is unreachable right now so something big may be brewing.

VG24/7 does have a new article up though.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/30/wild...ate-arms-race/

[zito]

Also, the beta forum site is unreachable so something big may be brewing.

Just says site is down for schedule maintenance.

[Arlee]

WoW releases more frequent patches and quality content than other non-subscription MMOs.

Quality is completely subjective since what one person considers quality is not equal to another person's quality. So please leave that out as it has no real basis in any sort of discussion on patches. Additionally... you probably should review the content cycles of a few big name non-subscription MMOs. You'll find their content cycles make WoW's look positively stagnant.

i didnt say there wasnt more than 10.. i said i wouldnt consider more than 10 to be "major" ones. There are probably thousands of mmo's out there.

Literally there are thousands. Most no one hears about for various reasons, some are sort of on the cusp of what people think of as a MMO so there is a debate there. What is a Major one though is also sort of subjective.

[SirRobin]

Just says site is down for schedule maintenance.

They're lying. Its a conspiracy. They are installing subliminal messages to control our minds! Not that most have much left to actually control mind you, but, well, conspiracy!

[zito]

They're lying. Its a conspiracy. They are installing subliminal messages to control our minds! Not that most have much left to actually control mind you, but, well, conspiracy!

I have a counter to your argument but I can't say it or edge will be mad again...

[Kelimbror]

I have a counter to your argument but I can't say it or edge will be mad again...

I've got a theory...


...it could be bunnies...

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes.They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses.
And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies!
Bunnies!
It must be bunnies!
Or maybe midgets?

[Sakorath67]

Buy to play with a cash shop. That is ideal to me.

I still want to pay for a quality game, and then have access to cool little vanity items from the cash shop to further support the game... Similar to Gw2 model.

However, I despise boosts being sold in the cash shop. Any type of boosts. I think if people are paying to skip content, then that only states the developers did a bad job of creating enticing content and offering boosts (like exp boosts, speed boosts, killstreak boosts, pvp boosts) is a piss poor way to make up for it.

That being said. If Carbine decides to go with a cash shop, I am sure Wildstar will offer some small boosts like those anyway because they make money off of it. Which will be unfortunate.

What I would like to see in the cash shop: Vanity mounts, pets, costumes, armor skins that can be worn, housing items(maybe, as more items will give you an advantage in rest exp...but that is not a huge deal), some services, but only if they aren't over priced.

What I am worried I will see: A weak sub/patron model. I already say no to boosts, and the only reason for having a sub/patron status is for those boosts which already isn't worth the money, unless they surprise us with some cool stuff in a shop. That way a sub model could give you a certain amount of in game funds.

I also don't want to see the cash shop forced upon players, that is so annoying in games.

All that being said, I am not too worried about Wildstar's payment model. I am sure it will work out fine.

[zito]

I've got a theory...


...it could be bunnies...

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes.They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses.
And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies!
Bunnies!
It must be bunnies!
Or maybe midgets?

right over my head

[Nirawen]

Buy to play with a cash shop. That is ideal to me.

I still want to pay for a quality game, and then have access to cool little vanity items from the cash shop to further support the game... Similar to Gw2 model.

However, I despise boosts being sold in the cash shop. Any type of boosts. I think if people are paying to skip content, then that only states the developers did a bad job of creating enticing content and offering boosts (like exp boosts, speed boosts, killstreak boosts, pvp boosts) is a piss poor way to make up for it.

That being said. If Carbine decides to go with a cash shop, I am sure Wildstar will offer some small boosts like those anyway because they make money off of it. Which will be unfortunate.

What I would like to see in the cash shop: Vanity mounts, pets, costumes, armor skins that can be worn, housing items(maybe, as more items will give you an advantage in rest exp...but that is not a huge deal), some services, but only if they aren't over priced.

What I am worried I will see: A weak sub/patron model. I already say no to boosts, and the only reason for having a sub/patron status is for those boosts which already isn't worth the money, unless they surprise us with some cool stuff in a shop. That way a sub model could give you a certain amount of in game funds.

I also don't want to see the cash shop forced upon players, that is so annoying in games.

All that being said, I am not too worried about Wildstar's payment model. I am sure it will work out fine.

I can see them providing a lot of services and items for the housing system through the cash shop, from decorations to things like reduced cooldown on gathering plugs and increased building speed of new plugs etc.

[Zemenar]

I've got a theory...


...it could be bunnies...

Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes.They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses.
And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?
Bunnies!
Bunnies!
It must be bunnies!
Or maybe midgets?

The Aurins are in on it O_O!!


As for payment model, *shrugs* I'll wait and see, unless they do something horribly wrong (doubtful), it wont stop me from playing the game. Only thing I know with 90% certainty is that there will be a cash shop, NCsoft almost guarantees it.

[Sakorath67]

http://www.vg247.com/2013/07/30/wild...ate-arms-race/

Sir Robin mentioned this article earlier, and there is something in there that might get us off of this business model topic.

From Gaffney

“60% of people play massively single player mode,” Gaffney continued, “they don’t group, they don’t do any of that stuff. They just want to play in a big world but not necessarily do all this social crap. Well, that 60% of people are kind of voting with their feet on that so why not support them with solo content and not just have everything be group content?”

I think this is awesome. While I love group content, for a long period of time in the MMO world every update was for group content. Now, lately it has been a bit more equal.

I would love to see Wildstar do stuff like Personal Instanced Story for like 1-3 players that offer cool rewards (could gear up for raiding this way too so that is is appealing to both sides)

I really do want to see more story content added to the game.


Also:

"He then added that you can’t exactly follow much of an add-on story in a raid with 40 beasts or PvP opponents breathing down your neck. This personal solo experience is where Carbine’s long-tail focus lies, but that doesn’t rule out new group content either."

So it appears those Carbine developers have learned from the mistake of WoW: Raids are not where story should be executed.

What a great article.