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[SFR]Doctor Sinister
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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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Just posted on Kotaku:

Quote:
BioWare's massively multiplayer online RPG Star Wars: The Old Republic will go free-to-play this fall, publisher Electronic Arts said today.


http://kotaku.com/5930586/star-wars-the-old-republic-is-going-free+to+play-up-to-level-50-this-fall

Quote:
Here are the two options BioWare has to offer, according to their press release:

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 in-game 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 restrictions on access to new content and advanced player features. Some restrictions can be "unlocked" with Cartel Coins.


So...discuss...

Dr. S.


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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official site here with lots of detail

http://www.swtor.com/free

it looks like they have thought about it and how to do it, doesn;t look like a rush job


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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I personally plan to stick with a subscription, but I wonder if this would still allow people to buy extra coins...

Dr. S.


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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they don't seem to be going down the traditional F2P model. Rather than go with micro transaction they want to still have people move to a monthly sub.

looking at the breakdown of what you do and dont get, free to play seems a bit of a rip off

http://www.swtor.com/free/features

no ops, limited FP and space combat, no priority on logging into the server.

To me it seems you should go free to level up characters but once at 50 there is nothing much to do unless you swap to a paid account.


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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though you can probably buy access to stuff like EV/Karagga's for say, 1k cartel coins


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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Assuming the game shifts towards how Lord of the Rings Online operates, then I think it's a very fair free-to-play model.

That said I've only recently "officially" culled STO as my one online game, and Cryptic's antics have left me with little faith in MMO developers.


What I'm curious about is in-game unlocks, such as Legacy system rewards. Logically any unlocks should - if acquired without a subscription or necessary purchase - simply be logged and deferred, to be awarded when you upgrade. However, this is one way to try strong-arming people into subscriptions, and I'd hope BioWare feel they have more integrity than that - EA or not.

Also wondering if there's any in-game "grind" substitute for buying cash shop points. I'll fork over for content, but frankly if it's mounts or outfits or other silly cosmetics, I'd rather work for them like I did in LotRO because... well, gotta have some in-game goals.

Limiting fast travel kind of takes the piss - you aren't going to convince people to subscribe by boring them with mass backtracking. That one could use a rethink.


Well, at least it's not a £45 buy-in any more. That's... kind of ridiculously inflated for a normal game, let alone a subscription MMO. £29.99 is a more reasonable price point.


Last edited by Mikouen on 2/8/2012 21:10; edited 1 time in total
[SFR]Etagnirps
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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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i will be staying sub based, but looking at it, it looks like a good method of getting more players in


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Star Wars: The Old Republic Interviews: Free to Play This Fall
With today's blockbuster announcement that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be adding a F2P option, we took the opportunity to chat with BioWare’s Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Matthew Bromberg, Studio General Manager, BioWare Austin about some of the new features players can expect. Read on!
By William Murphy on July 31, 2012

It's happening, and sooner than you might think. BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic is going F2P with a hybrid business model this fall. Players have been wondering about it, journalists have been begging for it, and it seems that all this time BioWare's been listening and reacting. After being informed of the then embargoed announcement this morning, I had the rare opportunity to sit in on a call with BioWare's Jeff Hickman and Matthew Bromberg (who recently took over as GM of the Austin studio. We talked about the timing, the reasons, and the way in which they believe SWTOR going F2P is just finally giving the players what they've wanted, and breaking down the barrier into the Old Republic once and for all. The call was brief, but this is what I've learned.

CARTEL COINS - A NEW SORT OF CURRENCY

All F2P games wind up with some sort of RMT currency, and SWTOR's will be "Cartel Coins". Basically, all subscribers (still at $15 a month after the conversion) will receive a not-yet-set cache of coins to spend on goods each month, while free players will have to open up their wallets to get some bank in this new type of intergalactic money. I asked the guys what sorts of stuff CC will buy, knowing just how terrified we all are of Pay-to-Win models, and they assured me they have been paying close attention to what's okay business practice with RMT and what's not. Essentially, Cartel Coins will buy a few things: actual in-game content (beyond the 1-50 experience that comes with the game now), vanity items, and convenience items (bank slots, bag slots, character slots, etc). There will be nothing you can buy with CC that will give you an advantage over other players in a competitive arena.

CONTENT UPDATES ON AN AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE

One of the chief things Jeff and Matt expect folks to spend money on if they're not subscribed (subscribers will always receive every bit of new content, regardless of CC) are content updates. They plan on releasing these every six weeks, and they'll include different sorts of content each time: warzones, operations, public events, and so on (even a mix of all three might be possible). And while there's no set price point for each update, they plan to break it down into different options enough so that PVP folks can focus on buying the content they want, and dungeon folks can focus on what they want, while others can buy everything in one package if they want as well. Again the goal with this model, they stress, is to give options to everyone and to open the game up to get the most people playing.

MAKEB AND OTHER CONTENT = FREE?

I asked Matt and Jeff then if the planned content we learned about at E3 would be some of the first "Content Updates" to be purchased, and they couldn't go into much more detail than "yes and no". For instance, HK51 is something they really want to get in the game sooner rather than later, while Makeb is further down the line. They also have a brand new event for all subscribers coming in August which is a public world event like the Rhakgoul Invasion. I asked if HK51 would then be free for everyone, if he came before the F2P launch, and Jeff said they really haven't decided because they're not even sure when he's going to launch just yet. The goal is to work on the content and get it out as soon as they can, and if some comes after the F2P transition, then they'll evaluate what is free and what is paid.

STAFFING AND CONTENT OUTPUT AS F2P?

I didn't ask the guys directly about layoffs, as it's a bit of a tough subject, but indirectly I asked how the transition to a F2P hybrid model is going to affect their staffing and their content output. Are they equipped to meet a seemingly more aggressive content push? Their answer was simple: any shift in staff they've made over the past few months has been to sort of rebuild the studio for this new F2P venture. They have more focused content teams in place now than they did before, and they're more confident now that they can meet their goals with this altered approach.

DOES BIOWARE THINK F2P IS THE FUTURE?

I then asked Jeff and Matt if they knew now, what they had known then about the MMO market in the West, would SWTOR have been built as a F2P game to begin with? Their answer, in so many words was yes. They freely admitted that hindsight is 20/20, and that they were wrong in predicting the sub model would be perfect for SWTOR, because such things are difficult to gauge over the long multi-year pre-launch lifespan of a project as massive as an MMORPG. Both gentlemen agreed that they see the F2P and hybrid models as the way the market is going, and they feel that this change for SWTOR is reactive and timely to change now rather than later. Matt said, "We're reacting because the players want it this way. There are folks who have been telling us they want it F2P since trying it, since buying it, and they see the subscription as a needless barrier... and we agree. In general, consumers today want flexibility and we're going to give it to them."

DID BIOWARE LOOK TO OTHERS FOR GUIDANCE?

When I asked the gents whether they looked at companies like SOE, Turbine, and so forth for guidance on how to make this transition, the answer was simply: "Of course." But they also said they're being very careful in making sure that they take the good things others have learned before them, while still realizing that SWTOR has things which make it unique and can't be translated as blankly. They feel the content updates are a perfect way to entice folks to either a.) subscribe if they want it all or b.)buy some Cartel Coins if they just want a little bit here or there. They also want to make sure the entire base game is playable from 1-50, so all classes and story content are free to everyone. The idea is that they hope folks want to spend money on the cosmetic additions, the new content, and convenience stuff to supplement their experience.

BEST THING OF F2P AND WORST THING OF F2P?

Lastly, I tossed the guys an easy one in what's likely to be a very up and down week-long news cycle. I asked them to tell me the best part they see when it comes to transitioning to F2P and also the hardest or worst part. The best was a clear choice: they're finally going to be able to tell everyone that the game's wide open and waiting to be explored. When the F2P version launches, there will be no more barrier of entry to get in and explore the continuation of the Old Republic mythos. The worst part? The not so easy part? It's a whole lot of work changing the entire game's business model around. Both on the back end, out front where the players see and interact with it, and in the development cycles they are now going to be working with. But Jeff and Matt both sound superbly optimistic that when the dust settles on the announcement and all is said and done... Star Wars: The Old Republic will be better off and so will the players.

Article By: William Murphy
Created On: July 31, 2012


http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/feature/6609/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic-Free-to-Play-This-Fall.html

So, a new world event this month, good good.....And new content every 6 weeks, hmm...very skeptical about that.
[SFR]Etagnirps
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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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[JEA]Jerrick wrote:
So, a new world event this month, good good.....And new content every 6 weeks, hmm...very skeptical about that.


Looks quite positive, 6 weeks is a little worrying as it may lead to "rush jobs" ont he content


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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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Wont change my experience of the game at all, will still sub. Seems designed to draw in new players and feed subs levels. Can't argue with that at all.


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[JEA]Falouri
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re: Star Wars: The Old Republic Is Going Free-To-Play.

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If you go free to play, can you transfer your toons over? Or do you have to start them again from scratch? Also, say I continue to sub, can I play with new people who are playing for free (eg: friends) or can I only play with subs? Trying to decide if it's worth continuing to sub or not.


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[SFR]Etagnirps
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[JEA]Falouri wrote:
If you go free to play, can you transfer your toons over? Or do you have to start them again from scratch? Also, say I continue to sub, can I play with new people who are playing for free (eg: friends) or can I only play with subs? Trying to decide if it's worth continuing to sub or not.


will probably be a case of dropping your subscription down to free, cant see you needing to transfer toons, it will simply be your account payment options that change

you will be able to play with f2p guys, just they may not be able to join ops as they are paid features from what I gather


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