What is the business model for when SotA is "released"?

Where do you get this from? There's plenty of bigtime MMO with a subscription.

 

Lets take a look:
We have WoW because it managed to create a large community when it as released and keep most of the fans engaged.
Final Fantasy XIV as in asian countries a subscription is still accepted by the players.
EVE Online? Hmmm.. There is a free2play mode now, so it is not subscription only.

What else? UO and Dark Age of Camelot? How many are still playing those games? A few of the last hardcore fans.

An optional subscription could work for SotA if there would be enough dedicated fans willing to pay for it. Would that really be that many players? Why are so many MMOs removing the subs? Because less and less players want to pay for it. When I would pay for a subscription I would want to spend as much time in this game as possible to get the most out of paying for the sub. This would mean that most other games wouldn't interest me. Also I wouldn't want to pay for more than one subscription. So this would only work for one game. A game that has to be so good, so great and fantastic that no other game would interest me. Is this SotA?

 

Why should I pay a monthly fee for a niche MMO if I can play major games like ESO or SWTOR and so on without a fee? Okay, lets say this fee is optional - do you really think that there are enough fans to spend enough money to finance this game?

Do you remember Tabula Rasa? This game designed by Lord British started with a monthly fee, later it was free to play - guess why - and a short time later the game was cancelled and the servers were shut down. I can only hope that SotA will never share the fate of Tabula Rasa.

 

Most games that are free to play, doesn't mean they are really free. The companies that own them mostly make more money out of it. SWTOR you mentioned; it's like a big star wars milking machine. Half of it is half arsed gambling mechanics

 

Some really nice small houses in ESO are around 50K gold. If someone can't make 50K gold in a weekend, they aren't trying, ie: it's very easy to get a great house in ESO with simple, in-game loot, not Crowns.

 

But the goal wouldn't be to fund the whole game; instead it's part of an overall solution. A solution where some might sub, some might pay rent, some might buy COTOs.

None are a solution in themselves, but put together can reach the widest group, eg: a sub might suit people who aren't paying rent -- because they don't have a house, etc, etc.

 

This is always a question of balance. Some people are willing to pay an optional fee or buy these COTOs to pay their tax. And some people don't like an optional fee or are not willing to buy COTOs and will leave the game. So you get some money more from some people but for other people these measures prevent them from playing further or buying the game.

The best solution is do create the game so good and unique as possible, so that many people would like to play it

 

I'm confused as to how it would stop people playing the game if the sub was optional, buying the house was optional and buying COTOs was optional? Essentially, people could just buy the base game. What's the turn-off?

 

It's a prejudice some people have against subscription that turn them off. Just like COTOs that turned people off just because they're needed for repair maximum durability. But in reality, it wasn't that bad. Of all 800ish COTOs I had, most of them I spent on deco, potions, and tax credit. I only used 1 COTO to repair knight Marshall helm due to bug.

I think the subscription is doable if it is done and market correctly. I never thought of paying for subscription for humble bundle, but $12 each for xcom2 and Warhammer totalwar was hard to say no.

For SotA, they will need to come up with something that's not required, but hard to say no. Even discount COTOs for 1-month cancel anytime, some statue + COTOs for 3-month, a dragon statue for 1-year might be a good start. If it's easy to sign up, change, and cancel, then people may give a shot.

 

Why are people willing to buy COTOs or pay a monthly fee? Doing this must bring a small benefit at least or nobody would do that! And then people are talking about pay2win or a two-class society. Some will only grumble, some will leave the game, some will prevent this from buying the game. I personally know some people who left the game after the introduction of COTOs.

 

Folks who would leave the game over the mere existence of COTOs that they don't need to buy would leave over anything. There needs to be better documentation on everything (from combat to COTOs.) Then we are back to your point about focusing on making such an appealing product. They are working on that. Will they get there before they run out of money? Who knows.

 

If subs provide more support than initial purchases, the devs will be under pressure to keep subs happy with perks leading to non-subs becoming second class citizens despite having laid out over $100 on the initial purchase when the sub model wasn't on the table.

I mean I'd be willing to sub a game if it pushed the boundaries a bit, but SotA is comfortably sitting in the low budget Fantasy MMO pit not really trying to do more than build a market base at this point.

 

If people are quitting the game because of COTOs, that barn door is already open, adding monthly purchase of COTOs is not going to change anyones opinion of COTOs. It literally is nothing more than adding a store automaton repeating last months purchase, for those who want to provide stable funding to the devs.

It is only the question of adding perks where it becomes an issue. Look at ESO - you get a crafting bag of holding, any DLC (not chapters), and various 10% and housing bonuses, crowns, and dyeable costumes. SOTA allows crafting tables in houses right next to storage a crafting bag of holding is not as much of an incentive. SOTA has not entered the DLC market yet and should not until a great game has been released (it is bad enough that kickstarter presold ep2-5 keys). Bonuses smacks of P2W, but you can already buy Obsidian potions with monthly COTOs so subs adds nothing new here. Dyeable costumes is cosmetic.

So I don't see much problem with an ESO style optional sub, make it discount COTOs for prepaid subs with special cloaks for longer periods, and people already get tiered titles for increased store purchases. Monthly subs is not any different than making monthly COTO purchases now.

I think the real issue is those that want a mandatory sub replacing the cosmetic shop. When ESO themselves with a hugely successful IP had to drop that model, I think it would not be wise for SOTA to have mandatory subs.

I am someone perfectly willing to sub to a game, as long as it meets my less than a buck and hour gameplay value. So SOTA will not be getting any future funding out of me since I am currently magnitudes over a buck an hour so the game has a long way to go for me. But since some do have thousands of hours of gameplay and have gotten value, and do fund the game, and it is literally restoring store automation that they used to have for pledges, why not do it?

 

But if the benefits are largely cosmetic, or perhaps a better way of doing something you can already do (eg: you can craft in ESO quite well without the subscriber-only craft bag), is it that big a deal?

I get the impression in video game communities, and in real life in general, that people are on a hair-trigger, just one nanosecond away from complaining about something... anything... at all times.

 

Yet you look at something like ESOs sub model, and new stuff is added to that rarely, if at all. I think if you offer something compelling from the start, ongoing, people don't need regular new stuff being added.

 

You - or better Portalarium - cannot change the behaviour of the people but Port can change the game to make it much better and more appealing for the people.

 

I'm assuming that initial purchases are a larger part of the revenue stream of ESO. Runescape leaned on repeated purchases more heavily leading to a much more unbalanced scenario.

 

Maybe at one stage, but with the price you can buy the game for these days (I've seen it as low as $10, but around $20 is average now if you look around), the initial purchase price isn't going very far.

 

Why wouldn't one expect that especially if the one-time pledge is worth more than multiple times the lowest pledge to get the game?

That's like pledging for 5 games in advance with some extras thrown in. Doesn't sound unreasonable.

 

Well, one thing for sure.

If they don't make enough money, it won't be because of us.
The market is really tough out there.
If you don't make a good game, enough to last, a few years. ( EP 1 2 3 4 5 )

Then, you wont go far..

ps: I doubt people will buy statues at $50 to support the game, once it released.
So, better find something else...