Peasant level accounts.

Need the cash? Go give plasma twice. It'll take about 3 hrs total. You'll be able to pay for the game and some extra for a 6 pack. See you in Novia!

 

I have no idea whet you are even trying to say.

If you repeat your point in a sentance I would be more than happy to discuss it.

 

As mentioned in the OP, the idea of a free level account is best implemented a few years after the initial release, after the $40 from all the initial joiners is spent, most of those people dont pay again thinking they have somehow paid for their ten years of gameplay with that $4 a year. Later in the game cycle a person who grabs the game at a whim, buys a cat or something, and then forgets about their account is a much better outcome financially than the combined players who paid early then tied up assets for years.

Once those players have guaranteed access you need the server capacity to accomodate and it needs to be running even when they are not online. You cant really cut server capacity back because they all come on at once for christmass festival, so you dont use all your capacity.
Any time theservers are not full, let free accounts fill them, then farm those accounts for player upgrades and impulse purchases. Some people like to see a game run before they buy into it, and reviews are always shown in a good light, so it also makes it easier for roming game players to give your game a go, then you farm them for upgrades and cat purchases.

 

I had a big ole nasty post written out, but it would be better to just say this...

Maybe later, but for now. Looking at Ultima Online and how it's never been F2P and still has a healthy community. If this game never goes fully F2P, I honestly think it would be fine.
(Current UO player on Origin shards)

 

Are we still discussing the chinese gold farmers? Because the cost to them is about five months wages. They really cant afford it.
Here in my country, about 10-20 percent of the population have trouble feeding their families to the point they need charity services at least once a year.
We do not give cash for blood, we give a cookie here.

While I can certainly pay to be here discussing this with you, that is my good fortune, there are folk in my neighbourhood that dont eat every day.
What you are saying is that their kids shouldnt be allowed to play games, even if they do manage to get their hands on a computer. No, I just dont consider that ok. Once the kids parents see how much fun he has and how good the product is, they can save up a few bucks to buy him an account, but they arent going to do so based on an online review.

And then of course there are folk like myself who chew through 100+ games a year online and off and simply dont throw money over and over at poor quality software. If you want a dollar out of me you get it as a gift after your product has impressed me enough to earn it. I have given too much money to poorly designed games in the past, and then thrown them out the same day. I will not be robbed again, even if it means I miss out on a few good games, there are plenty more where those came from, they arent missed. What did impress me and get my money? "Puzzle Pirates" That is one hell of a game, and free, and took more money off me to make my account permanent and to earn me free bonus cash than any other game ever. I told a friend about it, a month later they had spent 2000 on it and gotten a polite letter informing them that puzzlepirates would not accept any more money untill she signed a waver. She signed it. That is one hell of a marketing strategy, I have never seen better, last time I checked in they were still running and I beta test in it about 15 years ago, so it really is that good.

 

Why? How is that worth either of our time?

Go read the post I was writing when you posted that. Puzzle pirates, awesomeness with a pegleg. Check it out.

 

~The Full Monty, Totally Feudal~
Not to put down anyone's pledge amount or heart felt backing of our game, but I think it's time I "fly off the handle and go full feudal on all you nay say'ers" Just for laughs aye?

I'm a Royal Lord Marshal, that's what title our game allows me to fly around here "which does mean something".

~Encouraging Our in Game Feudal Friendliness~
Just as we've now heard many say here, "You want the privileges of playing our game, then you pay our game" <---<<< That's a totally fare and just statement to make. But I'm on the Lord Marshal pledge tier, which means that my pledge = 88, 25$ pledges in money to back our game. Let's look at some money...

With this in consideration, I would say invoking some special privilege to our higher backers for the ability of inviting people into our game for a month/week/however long pass.

Even if we're beginning such a thing at my own pledge level of backers, it could look something like this;
Lord Marshals get to invite 1 person
Barons 2
Dukes 3
Lord of the Manors 4

Lord Marshals currently total in number 117 of us.
Barons 85
Dukes 84
LOMs 34

All the Lord Marshals combined could then invite 117 free to play time limited accounts.
Barons 170
Dukes 252
Lords of the Manor 136

That brings the total of free, time limited players all combined to 675... "if all of those were used at once", yet in this way, our high level backers become our game's Ambassadors of Player to Player Advertising.

In the above example, such a thing as inviting an entire guild to check out our game becomes Feudal. I as a Lord Marshal go and ask my higher Feudal Barons, Dukes and Lords of the Manor, if they would entrust in me their favor of lending me their privilege in inviting some new players to try our game. They either approve or deny me. Individual Feudal High Titled players then grant or deny, which then translates into our actual trustworthiness and reputations being assessed by our piers as Nobles. This makes for a much better way to more properly plan for those free player's tours through our Feudal World in much more inviting ways. We could then have planned for our Hospitalers and other Nobles to set up special parties on certain dates within our better plans of invitations.

We don't want just anyone, we want the friendly to invite here into our SOTA and we also want our in game friendliness to thrive through our Feudal system.
In this way, being a Noble means much more, because we need it to and because we want more friendly players in our game.
All that is then required, is for those participating Nobles to send their free to play time limited accounts to a list of e-mail addresses. Once those free to play accounts expire, they are then returned to their owners, "the Nobles that granted them". All the free to play characters can be deleted, to be lent out again when they so desire. Such a system also provides the visitor with assurances of their internet connection and computer being able to run the program. Yet it also insures that our Nobles don't waist their own money, donating free paid accounts to those that would never use them.
"Portalarium's Prime Mission Accomplished" @dallas
~Time Lord~

 

Not a burden? Really?

Here's 4 reasons it's a burden to have free players in SOTA:
1) Log-in Queues will grow by spades.
2) Lag will grow by spades.
3) More players means more server resources being used. Not a problem if a player paid for it and SOTA has a revenue stream. A problem if SOTA isn't getting a single cent. Sure there's a cash shop but a cash shop for free players only makes sense if it goes more pay to win than it already is.
4) Bots. Bots. Bots.

 

@Winfield
Our Hospitaler Liege Lord Winfield, how do you feel about such a "Player to Player Advertising System"?
I do hope you could have this subject of Player to Player Advertising addressed by our Hospitalers. They may possibly have better ideas on such a thing. Within this thread have been presented many differing ways of accomplishing this intent of the thread's OP. Our Lord British has expressed such desires that he is considering a "free to play advertising system". It's my best hopes, that we could place our heads together and make this into something unique to our SOTA and much better for our larger community as well as the prospective buyers into our world.

Please bring this to all our Hospitalers attention.
The one mentioned above is just my favorite...
Just planning ahead for our game's future
I thank M'Liege Lord Winfield, with our Lord British's best intent in mind,
~Time Lord~

 

We just concluded a weekly meeting, but I will drop this off to folks to think on.

 

I just think this is an issue way in you guys ballpark!
Thanks so much!
Your Admirer,
~TL~

 

Psst not to ruin everyone's big argument over here but the team has spoken a bit about this a couple of times, although it was mostly early on.

The price point of the game after launch will be dropped but never zero. But that means no perks which is what everyone gets right now. Add regular STEAM sales on that and you are looking at 10-20 dollars. Maybe even lower during sales.

BUT part of the game might be made free so that you can try out the beginning etc. So think maybe the first scenes or 20 days or something. But that was just some speculation from Richard way back.

Now the reason against F2P was never about server load of such but rather that of farmers and trolls. In a game with a player economy and PVP F2P is very costly to police.

So the message from the core team has been - never F2P due to gold farming, but maybe a demo or free trials - and a lower price point in the future.

Also that the new episodes with new continents will bring a fee, so after E2 launch access to E1 story can be set much cheaper.

 

BTW Portalarium... if you ever place such time limited yet redeemable visitor's passes available for my pledge tier level of backing our game, "Put it in our Add-On store and I'll show you the money!"

When their time expires, they go strait back into my account. You can limit the number of them I can buy, because I'll be sending gift tokens from our add-on store for my Feudal Hierarchy, so they can have those, so I can accomplish inviting gaming guilds to come try us. You can even place a restriction to these free passes so they can't be sent to the same e-mail twice.

Call them "invitational accounts" or whatever, "but I need them"...
and you do know what I need them for @Berek ...
~Time Lord~

 

And I did but for some odd reason you replied by saying;

Let me refresh those typing fingers of yours if I may:
(1): I am given the understanding the current plan is to have only pay players. I have always despised this as a policy even while I understand the reasons.
(2): I practically never give money to pay games, I simply dont play them and dont miss them.
(3): I would feel better if people could enjoy the game on some level without having to pay a fee for their enjoyment.


Are you saying that you did not type this in your OP?
What's NOT to understand.
You made it very clear that your stand is for ONLY (F2P) vs. Sota's (P2P).
Now ... Is this more clear enough for you?

 

Frankly, winning back our PvP players - who for one reason or another left - ranks much much higher to me than gaining F2P players. I would much rather have people who are passionate about the game and have the potential of staying around for years be the ones helping push this effort along at it's early stage.

The F2P crowd tend to flit about from one flavor of the month to another. We"d be lucky to retain 1 in 1,000. This is why F2P games tend to go for scale, in the hope of keeping just enough people around keep going.

I agree with the the other posters who say that F2P should be considered after a few years. Right now it would be a questionable distraction. SOTA isn't WoW or Runescape and it shouldn't be. Lower the entry level cost by all means when the time is right but for the love of god keep F2P out of the equation till most of the game is done.

 

I work for my $ and I got no problem putting those into something that makes me smile after work.

 

Interestingly I'm from Asia and the first response I receive after sharing about SOTA with fellow Asian gamers - "The game looks like ass", "The characters do not look cute or sexy", "Why are the pledges so expensive? Is this a scam?!" etc.

Asian gamers and to some extent I believe the greater MMO-genre, has been so brain-washed with flashy graphics or characters showing lots of flesh that the moment they see SOTA, they immediately cringe. They have lost the true essence of what the "RP" in MMORPG means. (I always joke it meant: Many Men Online Role Playing Girls). And as for the pricing / financial model of this game, I won't go into it now and is for another post altogether.

While I wasn't from the UO boat, I did experience lots of fun community activities in SWG. I think most MMORPG vets from UO/EQ/DAOC/SWG worth their salt will know what I mean.

I want SOTA to have a wider audience and more players from across the globe, but at the same time I don't think it will appeal to many Asian gamers as I have described a huge majority of their mental conditioning above. Feel free to correct me please and I certainly do hope I am wrong.

 

'!~"That's a Great Post, Correct in Every Asian Gamer Way"~!'

~"No One Kid Themselves Here, SOTA is a Hard Sell in Asia"~

It's a hard sell here when interests come into the Asian view of things. Asian comedy is far different, beauty and life values are all different. In many ways, Asia hasn't the hang ups in freedom of expressions, gender bias and walking between the lines. Glitter, glamor and explosive "pop" are the flavors of Asia. It's refreshing and upbeat here with far less heavy metal and more pop music. "The Three Stooges" could still make a movie here if it's wacky or corny enough...


But it's also been an emerging market of medieval movie sagas of great serious content.
<---<<< This is the niche market and flavor in product design that our SOTA falls under. Such epic movies are relatively new here in Thailand, as deeper Thailand history subjects are only now becoming taught within their college level subjects. "All Asian countries are not the same", which we from the west may not recognize because we haven't experienced enough to "pick Asia apart yet". We from the west have in many ways "isolated ourselves" because our culture there is all we know within our current generations. If we don't have an active war in Asia, our wish for flavors of it become diminished. Bruce Lee was in many ways our first taste of Asia during the Vietnam War. That wave of Asian culture has now morphed and evolved into Chinese Take Out Food that no one can find in, or eats in China. looking even further back into how we in the west first experienced Asian culture, the Korean War brought Korean restaurants, who all had to switch to Chinese food when Bruce Lee and the Vietnam War began. In the beginning of that wave of Asian culture Bruce could only be the Green Hornet's side kick, yet by the time that war was dying down, "no one could even remember who played the part of The Green Hornet" It was all Bruce Lee!

These recent epic films and the success of World of Warcraft's movie marks an opening, possibly due to North Korea's Kim Jung Un's love of rocket nuclear fireworks and the increasing US, Japan and Chinese military boat racing regattas but the Asian wave is now rising again in serious ways, "which could reflect this new wave of serious 1600's historical flavored movies"... which is the only thing our SOTA can say that currently resembles our genre in gaming... "other than the puking and cool emotes". I think those fit into what could be called wacky/corny which fits much of Asia's humor.

~Love~
@Lum ... There is one more element that has a way of inching into our game's design, and it's one we don't talk much about in an interesting Western/Asian way. What @maathyas says about sexy, is exactly what @Budner says about sexy, which is an agreeing point between our cultures. Yet there is a special thing that binds these desires and that is NPC/Player Love Stories... or in a @Budner way of saying things, "we want to be able to pick them up".

~The Delicate Asian Love~
Love stories in the west are all in the bed and how we perform in the bed, yet throughout Asian culture, these scenes change into "moments of just standing or touching only for a moment", fully clothed without even kissing. This is what I call, the sweet love flavor of Asia, which is depicted throughout most of their filming industry. "The sniff kiss" if popular here, which keeps the actual kiss rare.


In looking at what I've stated above, we have 3 differing flavors of love which can become depicted throughout our "NPC/Player Pick Up" in mini love quests. Some NPCs may be racy, while others could only respond to sweet non physical, or further into a kissing relationship. Such a thing as picking up NPC would not only do our western players well, but also help entice our Asian audience players more enjoy our game.

Thank you @maathyas for bringing this important subject up a notch, "because you're sooo right about Asia!"
One thing Asians do that most of our other cultures don't do on average, is that they tend to play in large amounts of people.
It's more rare to see a Asian solo, than a Asian mob.
~Time Lord~

 

As for your reply and input, I will be sorry to see the overwhelming of the Asian Gamer's Community including yourself by-pass Sota.
You All are and always will be Welcomed imo, not that I am speaking for the Sota Community on a whole. However, such a Brash
opinion of yours that includes these Asian Community Gamer's decide not to "Play" Sota. I have to assume that it would be solely on the
Asian Gamer Community and only your Community on a whole.

I hope you Can give Sota a chance, as there at least six (6) planned Phases/Releases to be added to this game over the next several years
to come. Perhaps the in-game Avatar's will be more suitable and appealing for your Asian Gamer Friends. At the very least, a Wait-N-See
might be the better choice at hand. Well, maybe for now. Or Maybe Not. It's solely rests on your Community Not Sota's.

 

I do consider it okay. Just because I bought a car I am not "entitled" to free gas. That would be nice but it's not how things work.

I just spent 3 months in Uganda serving kids from Orphanages. Not one of them complained about not being able to play Shroud of the Avatar.