Elder Scrolls Online (MMO)

[Redwolf]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't free-to-play as that seems to be the far superior model for MMOs right now.

Says who?

[Greybriar]

This video looks awesome:

If I could play TESO as well as the guy in the video, I would pre-order the game.

[Nefaro]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't free-to-play as that seems to be the far superior model for MMOs right now.

Says who?

From the game publisher's end, that seems to be the case regarding their income for them.  Else they all wouldn't be going that route after having been out for awhile.

Step 1) Charge a large amount for initial copy and/or early access.

Step 2) Charge monthly until the huge flock of early adopters see that it's just more of the usual, with a new paint job, and start unsubscribing in droves.

Step 3) Switch to a Free-To-Play model after that point.

Happens like clockwork.

[Toonces]

Man, that looks terrible.  Am I missing something here?  That looked incredibly boring and just lame all around.

[Nefaro]

The combat looks very similar to Neverwinter's. 

[FlickJax]

decided to give it a miss down to the pricing model mainly and my ex warcraft mates didnt like it (i did).

[jejo68]

decided to give it a miss down to the pricing model mainly and my ex warcraft mates didnt like it (i did).

Felt the same way. i liked the game just not enough to subscribe tbh

[Redwolf]

I'd be surprised if it wasn't free-to-play as that seems to be the far superior model for MMOs right now.

Says who?

From the game publisher's end, that seems to be the case regarding their income for them.  Else they all wouldn't be going that route after having been out for awhile.

Step 1) Charge a large amount for initial copy and/or early access.

Step 2) Charge monthly until the huge flock of early adopters see that it's just more of the usual, with a new paint job, and start unsubscribing in droves.

Step 3) Switch to a Free-To-Play model after that point.

Happens like clockwork.

yes I know that is what they do.

The question is what makes you say it is "far superior"?

[Tpek]

The combat looks very similar to Neverwinter's.

Very different actually.
Much closer to Skyrim's.

I general, left mouse button = attack.
Hold left mouse button = power attack.
Right mouse button = block.
Both mouse buttons = interrupt/stun attack.

And the 1-0 keys for slotted abilities (class abilities - aka - spells, and skills acquired for certain weapons).

[Nefaro]

yes I know that is what they do.

The question is what makes you say it is "far superior"?

I prefer a monthly fee for access to everything. 

I only mentioned the free-to-play system being "far superior" because that is ultimately what nearly all MMOs revert to.  I was looking at it from the publisher's profit perspective when I said that, not ours.  If they made more money on the monthly charge scheme, they would've stayed with it.  It also helps them keep some semblance of server population with the extra free-TPers visiting.  One thing that will turn away prospective customers in an MMO is a nearly dead player population.

If I enjoy a specific MMO, I'd prefer to just pay a monthly fee and get everything.  Not have to worry about multiple currency systems, getting overloaded with space-sucking buff items, and other bloat that comes with Free-to-play.  However there are some advantages to the latter, from a player's perspective, too.  There are many FTP games I wouldn't bother playing at all if it was all-or-nothing every month.  Now I can come and go as I please without having to worry about spending fifteen bucks and then finding out I wasted it because I didn't actually feel like playing a certain one after all.  ;)

[SgtRock]

This video looks awesome:

Really?

To me the game looks unbalanced, the player just kills mob after mob, like a god mode cheat and I see an awful lot of scenery that looks the same. Gameplay looks more like some one playing a Diablo game VS. an Elder Scrolls game. If you tried to kill Dungeon mobs like that in Guild Wars 2, you'd be dead in 2 seconds.

[Redwolf]

yes I know that is what they do.

The question is what makes you say it is "far superior"?

I prefer a monthly fee for access to everything. 

I only mentioned the free-to-play system being "far superior" because that is ultimately what nearly all MMOs revert to.  I was looking at it from the publisher's profit perspective when I said that, not ours.  If they made more money on the monthly charge scheme, they would've stayed with it.  It also helps them keep some semblance of server population with the extra free-TPers visiting.  One thing that will turn away prospective customers in an MMO is a nearly dead player population.

If I enjoy a specific MMO, I'd prefer to just pay a monthly fee and get everything.  Not have to worry about multiple currency systems, getting overloaded with space-sucking buff items, and other bloat that comes with Free-to-play.  However there are some advantages to the latter, from a player's perspective, too.  There are many FTP games I wouldn't bother playing at all if it was all-or-nothing every month.  Now I can come and go as I please without having to worry about spending fifteen bucks and then finding out I wasted it because I didn't actually feel like playing a certain one after all.  ;)

But you smoothly jumped from "this is what a bunch of games did" to "this actually works".

The way I see it some games tanked with it pretty bad, for example LOTRO which is pretty much dead at this point.  They also published very misleading financial claims of the f2p transition.

Sure, we know that a lot of companies see subscription not work and move to some form of free logins and various forms of one-time cash payments.  But the specifics about what you have to buy (balancing that versus frustrating players who don't to pay or can't) and what you can buy (balancing that versus the player who think you shouldn't be able to buy actual gameplay advantage) is very, very tricky.

So tricky that I feel it is incorrect to say that "f2p is far superior".

It's all in the details and very easy to screw up. Very easy to alienate major amounts of players who will never come back to this game and even hate the company forever. Very easy to figure that the existing players are hopeless as payers and going after new players. If you have been wrong you are fucked, because you won't get your original group back.

Then there is the service aspects. You sell things for real-world money they need to work.

[jejo68]

I actually like the way EVE handles payment. In essence you pay to play but can buy gametime ingame with Money you made there.
So if your good at it or just have alot of free time its basicly free to play.
Ofcourse those Money you spend on buying gametime could be spend on a new shiny ship instead  :)

[Greybriar]

This video looks awesome:

Really?

To me the game looks unbalanced, the player just kills mob after mob, like a god mode cheat and I see an awful lot of scenery that looks the same. Gameplay looks more like some one playing a Diablo game VS. an Elder Scrolls game. If you tried to kill Dungeon mobs like that in Guild Wars 2, you'd be dead in 2 seconds.

Any time a player can come up with a build as effective as the one in that video and also have the ability to control his/her character well enough to make it a "killing machine," it impresses the hell out of me because *I* can't come close to doing something similar.  ;)

But I do have to agree with you: it isn't like the Elder Scrolls games that I used to like to play.

[Tpek]

Anyone playing on the North American servers and cares to Guild up? :P