F2p?

[Daarksoul]

I see Aion is finally going f2p, probably becasue Tera is looking nice.

Any word on Rift going f2p?
How are the servers? the community? etc.?

Rift is the only game I ever quit that I still miss.
It wasn't quite worth the sub, but as a f2p, I'd probably play it!

[Deleted]

the devs have stated they have absolutely no intention of making Rift f2p. the closest you will get is the limited lvl 20 trial which is similar to wow's i believe.

[Khelendros]

I see Aion is finally going f2p, probably becasue Tera is looking nice.

Any word on Rift going f2p?
How are the servers? the community? etc.?

Rift is the only game I ever quit that I still miss.
It wasn't quite worth the sub, but as a f2p, I'd probably play it!

Yes its worth the sub, no its not going F2P.

[Deleted]

It wasn't quite worth the sub

This is were you're wrong.

[Tarien]

Let's not be mean about it guys, plenty of people are going to assume that RIFT has gone the F2P way of many other MMOs because they just haven't heard any different and that is how virtually every MMO since WoW launched has gone. Look at this as a compliment instead, RIFT is the only MMO the OP misses, and the game is pulling people in

[Deleted]

If any game deserves a sub its Rift, they throw out tons of content at an incredible rate, if you don't like the game then that's fine but saying its not worth a sub is wrong.

[terrahero]

If any game deserves a sub its Rift, they throw out tons of content at an incredible rate, if you don't like the game then that's fine but saying its not worth a sub is wrong.

If its worth it or not is subjective.

But it is 15$ a month, thats 180$ a year, server cost is next to nothing in the grand scale of things. So, are you getting 180 dollars worth of content each year?
So you are basicly just paying a lot of money on top of the 50$ to buy the game to play. Is it worth it to you? I dont know, thats for each and everyone to decide for themselves.

[Malthurius]

Rift pushes out content really fast. Much more efficiently than WoW does (which also has a cash shop). Rift is definitely worth the price if you can put up with the fact that it is a WoW clone (A clone better than the original imo,) with a different class system and public events. I had a hard time really getting into rift because of how similar it was to WoW for me.

Aion is probably going f2p because they see that other MMOs are going f2p and are actually coming out with more profit. It's a financial observation that makes sense. As long as they don't start selling power in a cash shop they'll see profit, I have no doubt.

[Deleted]

Rift pushes out content really fast. Much more efficiently than WoW does (which also has a cash shop). Rift is definitely worth the price if you can put up with the fact that it is a WoW clone (A clone better than the original imo,) with a different class system and public events. I had a hard time really getting into rift because of how similar it was to WoW for me.

Aion is probably going f2p because they see that other MMOs are going f2p and are actually coming out with more profit. It's a financial observation that makes sense. As long as they don't start selling power in a cash shop they'll see profit, I have no doubt.

IMO who gives a damn that mechanically its as good as a copy of WoW, I think I go for almost anyone in saying WoW/RIFT have by far the most mechanically stable, productive and enjoyable combat systems to play, I do not think I would have enjoyed RIFT half as much if they had tried some other mechanic system. What RIFT beats WoW in is the fact that the content is vastly more engaging, theres so much more of it pushed out in reasonable timeframes and it has multi-tier difficulty (without having to gear grind, you can happily jump in to T3 with your guild and be almost fully geared from it within a week, HK ready after just a single GSB/RoS run no problem). The great thing about RIFT is the tiers are not hugely gear differentiated especially since they did the huge buffs to T1/2/3 gear to lower the gap even more in 1.7 (ala TBC/Vanilla WoW, which was their enormous downfall) but instead lets players almost jump straight in at their available skill level.

Only thing to hate about RIFT is the PvP, the warzones are terrible, open world is amazing (but OWPvP is amazing in any game which properly supports it) but vastly too gear reliant.

[Fencers]

The only people paying $180 a year for sub MMOs are those buying time 1 month at a time. That is such a flimsy argument to lob at sub MMOs.

Rift pushes out content really fast. Much more efficiently than WoW does (which also has a cash shop). Rift is definitely worth the price if you can put up with the fact that it is a WoW clone (A clone better than the original imo,) with a different class system and public events. I had a hard time really getting into rift because of how similar it was to WoW for me.

Do you feel this way about other genres as well even though the specificity of gameplay is often unlike each other?

What I mean is, does one say-- "Star Craft is a Dune 2 clone, too similar for me"

There are obvious difference between the two above games. Though the basic premise, controls and goals are mostly the same.

Genre tropes create genres. There are demarcations to say, Horror films that define it as a Horror film in a vulgar sense. As there is musical genres and so on. I don't understand why having a specific genre is slight against a product. It's one thing if one simply doesn't fancy the genre- but to be slighted for sticking to a genre conventions?

[Malthurius]

The only people paying $180 a year for sub MMOs are those buying time 1 month at a time. That is such a flimsy argument to lob at sub MMOs.


Do you feel this way about other genres as well even though the specificity of gameplay is often unlike each other?

What I mean is, does one say-- "Star Craft is a Dune 2 clone, too similar for me"

There are obvious difference between the two above games. Though the basic premise, controls and goals are mostly the same.

Genre tropes create genres. There are demarcations to say, Horror films that define it as a Horror film in a vulgar sense. As there is musical genres and so on. I don't understand why having a specific genre is slight against a product. It's one thing if one simply doesn't fancy the genre- but to be slighted for sticking to a genre conventions?

It's mainly because of the time investments MMOs require and the fact that they are social games. It's the reason most people only ever play 1 MMO seriously. Playing rift felt like starting completely over from WoW (which I had played for years prior). Why would I give up all my accomplishments in one game to play one so similar? Not to mention all social ties in the other game.

Starcraft and Dune 2 are not MMOs, and therefore do not bend to that reasoning. There are no long term rewards in those games that require large investments of time. Only short term rewards: winning a match or beating a campaign.

However I have played other MMOs that aren't anything like WoW, and I've had no problem investing time in them because it didn't feel like something I had done before. Maplestory, PSO, and Adventure Quest Worlds are all examples of this. None of them bend to normal questing conventions as the main source of progression. None of them are hotkey based. They are genuinely different from WoW, Rift, Tera, ToR, Aion, ect.

I recall a Maplestory clone called Ghost Online. It was similar to Maplestory, but it changed some things around. Guess what I thought of it... It was a ok game, but I couldn't bring myself to play the game because it was too similar to Maplestory which I had already put days of time into.

Perhaps this is simply a personal bias, but I can't get into any MMO if it is similar mechanic wise to WoW or any other MMO I've invested in. It's the main reason I'm looking forward to GW2 and why I've never been hyped up by games prior set up to be "WoW Killers". It's not impossible to be different within the same genre.

To use the movie analogy; Yeah, Horror is a movie genre, but every horror movie doesn't have to take place in a haunted house.

[DeltrusDisc]

If its worth it or not is subjective.

But it is 15$ a month, thats 180$ a year, server cost is next to nothing in the grand scale of things. So, are you getting 180 dollars worth of content each year?
So you are basicly just paying a lot of money on top of the 50$ to buy the game to play. Is it worth it to you? I dont know, thats for each and everyone to decide for themselves.

lol, if only the game cost $50. It typically ranges from $5-10 to buy the game, then I think your first month/level 1-20 are free, then you pay the sub. With the amount of content you get and the actual customer support that is available, it is definitely worth it in my opinion.

[Azuri]

Here's the article from Scott Hartsman, executive producer, Rift and their stance on f2p which pops up from time to time:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...play-and-money

[Fencers]

It's mainly because of the time investments MMOs require and the fact that they are social games. It's the reason most people only ever play 1 MMO seriously. Playing rift felt like starting completely over from WoW (which I had played for years prior). Why would I give up all my accomplishments in one game to play one so similar? Not to mention all social ties in the other game.

This is just personal. Not reflective of the game or a flaw of game.

Starcraft and Dune 2 are not MMOs, and therefore do not bend to that reasoning. There are no long term rewards in those games that require large investments of time. Only short term rewards: winning a match or beating a campaign.

Misses the broader point of genres having similar tropes, despite granular differences.

If you want to take issue with the above as a literal analogy; for those that want to play an RTS such as StarCraft seriously, they will need to invest quite a bit of time. Just as those who want to invest heavily in an MMO can do so as well.

You don't have to play SC2 seriously, nor does one have to play an MMO in the same manner.

The argument doesn't address how it is a slight to have similarities to other games within the genre yet have differences in actual gameplay. Not to get OT because this is the Rift forum; but some of the same off hand criticism was directed at TOR. Which marketed itself as a theme park MMO. That is what Bioware made and sell, to be fair.

To use the movie analogy; Yeah, Horror is a movie genre, but every horror movie doesn't have to take place in a haunted house.

Assuming the film was well made (you admit Rift is well produced), if the film was about a haunted house would it be shabby because another film took place in a haunted house? We are stretching this a bit but I trust you see my point w/r/t genre and production.

That is the issue I have with these POVs (I don't mean to come off as overly argumentative over this). TOR/Rift are pitched as theme park MMOs in a particular style & setting. It's very valid to be tired of that style, but I don't see how it can possibly be a slight if a game is well made & offers it's own gameplay depth within that style.

But when we drill down into this:

Perhaps this is simply a personal bias, but I can't get into any MMO if it is similar mechanic wise to WoW or any other MMO I've invested in. It's the main reason I'm looking forward to GW2 and why I've never been hyped up by games prior set up to be "WoW Killers". It's not impossible to be different within the same genre.

^ I find the above a lot more easily understand and defensible POV. Simply because, people get tired of playing the same shit all the time. I know I do.

[Malthurius]

snipe

Did you assume I was pointing it's similarities to WoW as a flaw for everyone? I was trying to avoid that with this sentence:

I had a hard time really getting into rift because of how similar it was to WoW for me.

Yeah, it was a completely personal point that I assumed the OP might share.

[Fencers]

Did you assume I was pointing it's similarities to WoW as a flaw for everyone?

Not necessarily. I was using your posts for an interesting conversation on MMOs and the genre. That's why I said I wasn't trying to be overly argumentative- but its a topic of conversation I have a lot of interest in as a unrepentant MMO butterfly.

I love to play everything (except military stuff).

[Rocketsurgeon]

I admit I was miffed about my server being bulldozed by Trion, so when my RL made me drop the game I didn't lament leaving. I did have a really good time when I played though. I resubbed last night. I'm having a really good time already. I would say its worth it.

While its EQ based roots do show, what I've done and am now doing is nothing like what I WoW ever allowed me to do. Rift is like a content avalanche. Should keep me quite content until GW2.

[Stixxz]

Aion has a huge player base in the asian community. It is only going f2p in Europe where there aren't as many subscribers.

[Puremallace]

This is were you're wrong.

Trust me do not comment in a thread about Rift possibly going F2P when the OP uses Aion as a example of maybe why Rift might go. Aion did not even have a local dev team and content updates took upwards of 8 months+

Rift on the other hand drops content every 43 days by average and it is not just piss poor recycled crap thrown at us. It is concept and content based changes that other companies make you wait for expansions to get.

The popular opinion is Rift is the only mmo worth the sub right now

[terrahero]

The only people paying $180 a year for sub MMOs are those buying time 1 month at a time. That is such a flimsy argument to lob at sub MMOs.

Ow im sorry, you are right. Lets assume they get 6-month subs. Now its 13$ a month. Great, now you "only" spend 156$ a year. Yah thats a huuuuge difference. And all it costs you is the only thing you had, flexibility on whether or not you keep playing and paying.