Curse

Malice Black · Feb 03, 2008, 01:27 AM // 01:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spike

No actually its NOT. Unless of course your one of those people who like ruining other peoples fun in games, in which case please DO play eve so the rest of us know which game to avoid. FYI if your so retarded that you don't know that the caps are for emphasis then thats YOUR problem.

Yes. Pirating is fun. I camp small ships, blast them, then steal any cargo. It's all well within the rules. I've had it done to me before.

Had a bounty on my head at one point. Being chased my merc's is funny, and quite difficult.

EVE isn't supposed to be balanced. EVE isn't for carebears who love balance. You either be a wolf, or get eaten by the wolves.

Holly Herro · Feb 03, 2008, 01:34 AM // 01:34

I'd probably play Diablo 2 again or World of Warcraft.

But I don't think I'll quit guild wars until GW2 comes out. I want to try fill out all my HoM's

Meat Axe · Feb 03, 2008, 03:35 AM // 03:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylananimus

Lol...how cool would it be if he had a hand in a Firefly game? ^^

He's meant to be working with Eliza Dushku (Faith) on a new show...but damnit, I want the Firefly game now

Yeah, but unforunately, the writer's strike has put the concept on hold. I do hope it doesn't just get canned, since it sounded like a pretty interesting concept, and anything by Joss Whedon has got to be good. The only thing I am unsure of is that he's working with Fox again, and I'm worried they'll screw with the show, just like they did with Firefly (played episodes in the wrong order, aired it in one of the least popular time slots, had almost no advertising for the show).

Toxage · Feb 03, 2008, 03:51 AM // 03:51

I find it interesting that a small subscription would prevent someone from playing a game. The majority of mmo subscriptions are around 15ish dollars a month. I hate to come off as total jerk here but if you can't afford 15 dollars a month then you have some serious issues. You probably should be avoiding video games. If you are struggling to get by, how will you get by when, you get in a car crash? Get injured? Get laid off? Get fired? Etc.

As for me, I would keep playing what I currently play Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, EVE, and soon Warhammer. Subscriptions don't really influence my decision. If you enjoy the game, then you will obviously play it. MMOs and video games in general are cheap entertainment. Look at movies they cost 10 dollars for 2 hours of entertainment. I have gotten thousands of dollars of entertainment value out of my games. I have over 3,000 hours in Guild Wars alone. I have over 2,000 hours in World of Warcraft. I don’t feel like number crunching right now, but when I did my total cost per hour of video game entertainment was like one hundredth of a penny, which is pretty cheap in my opinion.

Meat Axe · Feb 03, 2008, 03:59 AM // 03:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxage

I find it interesting that a small subscription would prevent someone from playing a game. The majority of mmo subscriptions are around 15ish dollars a month. I hate to come off as total jerk here but if you can't afford 15 dollars a month then you have some serious issues. You probably should be avoiding video games. If you are struggling to get by, how will you get by when, you get in a car crash? Get injured? Get laid off? Get fired? Etc.

Myself, and I'm sure many others, would have no trouble paying for a subscription (although I go to uni and only work a handful of hours a week, so it would definitely cut down on my already limited social life. Damn my friends having full time jobs, and therefore are only free a couple days a week). It's the principle of it. I refuse to pay rent on a game I've already bought. If I didn't have to buy the game in the first place, I might consider paying for a subscription if it is really good.

Toxage · Feb 03, 2008, 04:04 AM // 04:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meat Axe

Myself, and I'm sure many others, would have no trouble paying for a subscription (although I go to uni and only work a handful of hours a week, so it would definitely cut down on my already limited social life. Damn my friends having full time jobs, and therefore are only free a couple days a week). It's the principle of it. I refuse to pay rent on a game I've already bought. If I didn't have to buy the game in the first place, I might consider paying for a subscription if it is really good.

You have to consider that subscriptions give the company additional revenue, which leds to a bigger budget, which leds to better servers, support, and more content updates. Guild Wars is an enjoyable game, but I feel that their business model limited them. They lack the funding to expand the Guild Wars franchise due to finical constraints. Guild Wars disappoints me in the content section as well, there is only so many times one can do a dungeon and handbooks.

Biostem · Feb 03, 2008, 04:06 AM // 04:06

I think a subscription sets certain expectations about a game. If you're paying each month, then you expect something for your money. If I pay the $40 or $50 for a game, then I'm satisfied if I get a month or 2 of enjoyment out of it. So GW has been quite a value for me.

The problem i have w/ subs is not that I have to pay them, but that the fact that they exist makes me feel obligated to play as much as I can, otherwise I feel like I'm throwing the sub away. As such, I get bored of the game more quickly, and end up moving onto something else. On the other side of the coin, have no fee to play gives me an incentive to try as many different fee-free games as possible.

As long as I'm having fun, then it doesn't matter if there's a fee to play or not, but I don't think having or not having a fee determines if I'll play. Having a fee or not will be a deciding factor if the game is ok, but not great, or what my alternatives are.

Winterclaw · Feb 03, 2008, 04:13 AM // 04:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Yuna

Starcraft 2, when it comes out sometime this 2007

Aren't they making a starcraft MMO now?

Malice Black · Feb 03, 2008, 04:14 AM // 04:14

Yes. But, the Koreans will pwn your ass

Toxage · Feb 03, 2008, 04:15 AM // 04:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

Aren't they making a starcraft MMO now?

Rumor has it that a starcraft mmo is Blizzard's next gen mmo that they are currently hiring for. Go check it out on their website under jobs.

Gattocheese · Feb 03, 2008, 04:18 AM // 04:18

In all fairness, there really are no good quality MMO's out right now besides WoW and GW. I probaly would still be playing GW even without fees.

My friend loves EVE. He tried to get me to play it with him so many times. I even tried a trial account. He likes it because he thinks it makes him seem smart. What a wierd reason. Its way to slow for me. Not nearly enough action. The skill process i like though. Being able to develope skills and talents in real time is a great feature.

Looking forward to Age of Conan and Aion. Not going to overhype myself on AoC though. I learned my lesson twice last year with the dissappointments of GWEN and Hellgate. arghhh

AuraofMana · Feb 03, 2008, 04:38 AM // 04:38

Quote:

Rumor has it that a starcraft mmo is Blizzard's next gen mmo that they are currently hiring for. Go check it out on their website under jobs.

Lies, it's Diablo 3.

Red Sonya · Feb 03, 2008, 05:31 AM // 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meat Axe

Myself, and I'm sure many others, would have no trouble paying for a subscription (although I go to uni and only work a handful of hours a week, so it would definitely cut down on my already limited social life. Damn my friends having full time jobs, and therefore are only free a couple days a week). It's the principle of it. I refuse to pay rent on a game I've already bought. If I didn't have to buy the game in the first place, I might consider paying for a subscription if it is really good.

This is my philosophy as well. I refuse to pay RENT on a game I already bought and have the publishers tell me I don't own any rights to the game. Hell, I don't even own my own characters if you read the EULA carefully. All you own when you pay that $50 bucks is a license to play the damn game and I think that's rather silly when you addon $15 a month as well.

Nope, there's no game that's worth $15 a month besides its initial cost. You're paying for a fantasy looking AOL actually. The ability to chat and play with others online. You realize how many games are FREE that you can do this very same thing? Diablo2, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 to name a couple. And there's even more indies out there that offer up the same stuff these WOW and EQ games offer up except for the graphics. Is it worth $15 a month to pay to play for some graphics? lol Not for this cat.

People who think these online games only cost pennies per hour aren't adding in all the costs of external hardware, electricity, cable bills, internal hardware, wear and tear on your eyes, body, furniture (computer desk, chair) haha They look at one thing the cost of the game an/or the monthly fee and that's it. Obviously they have no economics or accounting 101 sense of mind.

Meat Axe · Feb 03, 2008, 07:21 AM // 07:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toxage

You have to consider that subscriptions give the company additional revenue, which leds to a bigger budget, which leds to better servers, support, and more content updates. Guild Wars is an enjoyable game, but I feel that their business model limited them. They lack the funding to expand the Guild Wars franchise due to finical constraints. Guild Wars disappoints me in the content section as well, there is only so many times one can do a dungeon and handbooks.

And as I said, I have no problem with paying a subscription if I don't have to buy the game first. If the game is worth it, then I'd be happy to pay $10-15 a month to play it. Sure, I prefer other business models, like the one that I suspect GW2 will adopt (that you pay once for the game, and have the option to pay for small upgrades that are similar to the BMP). This way, I actually feel like I'm getting my money's worth, since I'm paying for actual content (on a subscription-based system, you won't get new content every month).

I understand that company's have to earn money to pay for maintenance and keep the servers running. I just don't agree that charging a subscription is the best way to do it. To me, a company that releases a game with a subscription-based payment method, as well as an initial charge for the game itself, is just hungry for money, and nothing else. I don't believe for a second that WoW needs as much money as it gets to run. I also don't believe that Blizzard produced WoW for any reason other than the money they would make off it.

I look at Anet, and what they tried to do with GW, and I see a company that actually wants to produce I game that will be truly enjoyable, while proving that the subscription-based model isn't the only way to go. I look at Blizzard, and I see them wanting to keep their subscribers happy and/or grinding away their lives simply so they can keep raking in money. I know which company I would choose, and have chosen, to support.

Which is why I have hope for the industry when I see new business models emerging. Ones that try to cater to all individuals. Such as Hellgate: London and Sword of the New World, both of which offers free play, but you can choose to subscribe to get more content. I'm looking forward to GW2, since I am quite happy to pay a one off fee for additional content. If they can keep releasing these upgrades once a month or every couple of months, then they'll be doing quite well for themselves (assuming GW2 is a success, and gets enough players).

The only thing WoW has going for it, in terms of its business model (nothing to do with its game content) is that the Warcraft brand is so widely known. Gamers who are just introducing themselves to MMOs will see WoW and recognice the title, and that's what will influence them to pick it up. But once a player is introduced to the market, and can start identifying other titles that offer a better business model for similar content, at least some will switch to that. It used to be that there was little else on the market that offered as much as WoW did (it is a very large game world) for the subscription-based model. Maybe soon we'll see an MMO that will offer as much content, but with a better payment system.

Feel free to disagree with anything I have said. I am in no way an expert in MMO business models, so please enlighten me.

bhavv · Feb 03, 2008, 09:13 AM // 09:13

Ive tried wow and lotro and both are really good. The grind is the exact same thing in GW, except in GW you dont level from killing things again and again so people view it as not being grind - lol. I stopped playing wow for lotro because it was too outdated, and I will move onto AoC when it gets released.

cellardweller · Feb 03, 2008, 09:14 AM // 09:14

If all the other MMO's were free too, I can't help but think GW would be a better game for not having attracted grind monkeys.

I'd still be here.

Sirius-NZ · Feb 03, 2008, 01:05 PM // 13:05

Probably EVE. I know some people that play it, and I'd consider it as well, if it weren't so darned expensive.

Well, that and I really shouldn't, because MMOs eat too much time if you play too many.

As it is I occasionally play (I know it's old) Diablo 2 instead, since GW doesn't have a lot of things I still want to do.

tmr819 · Feb 03, 2008, 01:39 PM // 13:39

I came across a couple of other MMOs in development, one sounds like it's "kinda, sorta" based on (according to some) the horror novel "The Ring" called The Secret World and another that has a James Bond/Secret Agent kind of spin called The Agency.

Both look interesting to me, although I'm guessing 2009 on either one of them, from the sound of it...

. It's hard to imagine all of these subscription-based games trying to coexist and survive financially, but maybe there is enough money to go around .... just not mine, however.

Once again, just want to say I have no objections to paying a monthly fee if a game is worth it, it's more that I think very few are. Moreover, if you have kids (like I do) and want a couple of accounts -- or if you are a very casual player -- monthly fees work strongly against you, in terms of value.

I finally did renew my kids' account for City of Heroes/Villains, but I find that game pretty dull. (My kids seem to enjoy it, however).

Numa Pompilius · Feb 03, 2008, 01:43 PM // 13:43

If there were no fees, I'd probably check out LotRO, but WoW is not an option: I tried it, and the turn-of-the-century graphics hurts my eyes. Yeah, I know it's shallow of me, but ugly graphics just makes it impossible for me to play WoW.

No other present MMO really tickles my fancy either. I tried EVE, and jeez! what a boring game. The combat model literally is "click on enemy and watch the autocombat". If combat had been like in, say, Elite, then I'd have been interested, but as it is it basically is a trade simulator.

Age of Conan might be something. I'll definitely check it out when it nears release.

As for GW2... I don't know. I don't like where GW is going at the moment (see my avatar), and the more I hear about GW2 the more I think it's going to be exactly what I don't want. Well, I'll check it out when it nears release too, I guess.

N E D M · Feb 03, 2008, 01:45 PM // 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meat Axe

|-snip-|I understand that company's have to earn money to pay for maintenance and keep the servers running. I just don't agree that charging a subscription is the best way to do it. To me, a company that releases a game with a subscription-based payment method, as well as an initial charge for the game itself, is just hungry for money, and nothing else. I don't believe for a second that WoW needs as much money as it gets to run. I also don't believe that Blizzard produced WoW for any reason other than the money they would make off it.

|-snip-|

Buisnesses try to make money, that is the only goal.if W.O.W. only made as much as it needs to upgrade and maintain, it would be out of business already.