Sarim said:
Anyone here who has experienced the ArcheAge launch? That was an experience I don't need again. I'd prefer if there was no free access to the game, this makes it too easy for things we don't want to see (goldseller spammers etc). Maybe a free trial for people who get invited (either by current players or the company)?
As to the topic, I don't think premium content is a good idea. Dividing your playerbase into first- and second-class citizens does not really help to improve the community IMO.
yes, I played AA.
A free trial by invite was something I suggested in the post above yours :) It was probably too long to read :)
I agree with you that premium content is not a good idea.
Even though I would gladly pay for a physical copy of Pantheon and cherish it always, I can see how it makes more sense from a business standpoint at this time for it to be download only. Until further funding can be secured it makes sense to keep it as lean and mean as possible as far as using resources goes.
Kilsin said:
Pantheons business model is still being worked on but we have publically stated several times now that the sub will be $15 per month, it is unlikely we would go with a tier option as it can cause a lot of problems within the player base with paid bonuses etc.
So far our plan is to download the client for free, play X few starting levels for free to try the game then you are completely blocked from proceeding and to continue you need to pay a $15 per month sub or decide you don't want too and leave.
This can change depending on business advice we get but for the time being, that is what we will be going with.
I like this and I want this. Plz don't change. I think its simple and elegant.
Sevens said:
Im against ANY and ALL cash shop items...as soon as you put in a cash shop the devs start designing for the cash shop. Give the items to the Tradeskillers to make money, not the cash shop
I like that idea, Sevens :) What about a shop that sells, t-shirts, coffee cups and other stuff with the Pantheon logo or perhaps artwork on them? I don't think I would have a problem with that, and as long as there were no pay to win items, it should be alright? A way for the game to make some extra cash, and advertising to family and friends about Pantheon?
In my personal opinion I would like NOT to see any form of a cash shop inside the game. I would be fine with a shop on the website and would most likely buy tshirts or a really well designed/built stein, plastic/rubber quality figurines, etc to help support the game in other ways. I do not endorse however any shop where you can buy bunny ears, sun glasses, or costumes of ridiculous things that have no purpose or place in my opinion.
I like the subscription route and would even up the cost to $20 a month to help with inflation over the last 15 years, as that is very cheap entertainment for as many hours as even casual gamers put in to it from what I understand. My brother always compares the cost of his games/entertainment to that of going to the movies. I think the last time we went to the movies it was like $8-15 bucks for one ticket. Depending if you went to a regular movie or 3D version of it. This is not counting travel there, any food/drinks, or arcade machines you may buy/play while you're there. Now that $8-15 is for at most a 3hr movie, though most movies that I personally am aware of are around 1.5-2hrs in length. So the money you pay for that short movie, is a far more expensive when compared to the money you would pay for a game like EQ where you would play a couple hours a week even for most casuals. Someone please correct me if you have data showing that casuals play a game like EQ for less than a couple hours a week lol.
I also don't have anything against buying a box copy and paying for expansions. I'm against the the free to play model for the first few levels. The reason being is that if you do something like AoC where there is a separate noobie island it will be packed full of free people(trolls) who could ruin it for the people who are honestly trying. The biggest reason I'm against free to play games is that most people don't give two craps about losing a free account they made. From my personal experience is they will do and say things that they normally wouldn't say or do when they are financially invested and could possibly lose that investment. It will also take resources to monitor and ban those people and further take away from the people who actually need support.
So while I understand the want and benefit of a few free levels could provide, I'm against it for many reasons in the interest of the dedicated players that are willing to put their money where there mouth is.
If it were my choice I would look to offer a money back guarantee in place of a free trial. It would basically mean that if you don't like the game for any reason you can have the digital copy cost returned to you any time during the first month and close your account, or something similar. UNLESS you were banned for breaking the TOS etc. I think this would be a much better way to hold people to their actions. It will also allow us to keep people together and not segregate them into starter areas which usually are meant to hold hands and tell people how to use a mouse....
We all come from different walks of life and I understand some people can afford more than others. Though I truly feel that if a one time fee of $50-60 and a reoccurring cost of $15-20 for hours worth of entertainment a mouth is too expensive for some then they most likely should be doing other things with their time than playing games. I don't mean that to be rude, just my personal opinion again. Take care of you and your family first and then worry about life's privileges.
I hope this doesn't personally offend anyone, though I have to say that sometimes the truth hurts and it takes a good friend or a perfect stranger to let that person know.
I am strongly against any form of in-game cashshop. be it fluff or whatever. I prefer to buy the game + every month sub instead of f2p + cashshop.
however like CanadinaXegony posted i am fine with t-shirts,cups,artwork etc etc to be sold.
Just a friendly reminder that we have stated many times that there will not be a cash shop in Pantheon, so by all means please keep the discussion going but just keep that in mind and for the record, I am strongly against any form of cash shops too!
Pantheon will be subscription based and will not contain a cash shop. The only thing we are not sure on is box sales/digital sales/free trial and details surrounding those topics but that is a business decisions that will be made privately with professional advice and one we will announce once the time is right.
Other then the only already build to sell items...
Xonth said:
Other then the only already build to sell items...
This developer website is a means to fund the game but we are taking a serious look into these items and will remove/restrict anything we deem to be an advantage.
So far there is only boots and a bag extender, the boots will either be removed or given no performance enhancing stats and the bag extender will most likely be able to be obtained in game via quests, drops etc.
The Wand of illusions is fluff and gives no advantage at all.
This store is to help fund the game, nothing more, once the game has launched or we get investors, the store will most likely be removed or only contain Pantheon/VRI Merchandise but we will not sell anything to trivialise the game in any way. It goes against everything we stand for and what Pantheon stands for as a spiritual successor to EQ and VG.
I would be okay with the standard monthly subscription fee being bumped up to $20 to compensate for inflation. I mentioned on another thread that I would also be willing to pay more to play on a premium server that bans the usage of "kronos" or "subscription tokens" but it sounds like that will be a complimentry gesture for all players on every server. Can someone please correct me if I am wrong?
Gnog said: In the sad event that VR implements a Kronos system (I still hope Kronos are not used at all), I would pay a premium to be on a server without Kronos. I would gladly pay $25 or more per month to play on a server where Kronos cannot be used or traded. It would cut down on the six-boxing too. This is the one "premium" feature I'd definitely get behind and pay for.
That's my wish as well..no Kronos system.
@wandidar "One problem I hope (and am confident) Pantheon will fix is the whole notion that being successful in the game means being at the top with equal stuff or better stuff than everyone else. At least for most players. People in today's games never quite understand it when I say "If everyone is special, then nobody is special" - but I think Pantheon folks will get it. " I think this is more an issue with what you like vs they like. Everyone plays the game for different reasons, some people want to become the most socially respected player and never hit max. Some people want to master all tradeskills and give away free stuff. Some people want to become that endgame raider that people look at at think "wow, his armor is so cool, I want that. There's nothing wrong with any of these views, you ju st have to learn to accept people for what they want, and not just base it off what you want
Also, is there a way to quote or edit on a mobile device on these forums??
Feyshtey said:Porygon said: Also, is there a way to quote or edit on a mobile device on these forums??Scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Full Site"
Yea, I was trying to avoid that, since the mobile site is so much better on the phone.
However, I did specifically go to the full site to quote you <3
My vision would be to allow anyone to download and play for free. This could lead to a large amount of subscriptions. I would have the free access server. Once a player reaches lvl 20 he is given an option to subscribe at which time he get's a transfer toklen to a subscription server of his choice. If he decides not to subscribe leave him on the free server. The free server has no need to provide content beyond lvl 20. You could even take the liberty to make other adjustments as well - like instant removel of spam-bots etc.
The problem I see is that the efforts to lock down the spammers are in direct opposition to on-boarding legitimate new players. A big part of what is going to make Pantheon successful is our player community. If you stick all the new players in the F2P ghetto, they are seeing the worst the community has to offer without meeting the vast majority of awesome folk who make up the player base. The F2P server is going to feel like WOW and you're going to lose people right off the bat.
Instant removal of spam-bots means that you have to write code to seek them out in game. They respond to your bot by making new bots that create new accounts from new IPs. By the time you've blocked them, they've moved to a new account and address. That's a losing situation in all respects - wasted time to code and try to police.
We have to believe that most people who will be joining the game are here to have fun and make new friends. It really is a tiny minority who are disruptive. Let's not penalize all those awesome new folks that we have yet to meet. I think you have to find ways to allow people to interact in positive ways locally while in the trial period without the ability to cause global disruption. This would include things like not allowing F2P players to use broadcast channels, allowing users to ignore other players and other proven techniques that I'm sure the VR team have a lot of experience with. This isn't their first picnic.
It's vital that the core player base set the tone for new players by setting a positive and mature tone. We have to demonstrate that we are friendly, warm, helpful and will kick your butt to the curb if you don't play nice.
I think if someone wants to pay more to feel like they are better than others... just do this...
$15/mo for all content and gameplay
+$5/mo for "copper" status - gives you the title of ""
+$10/mo for "silver" status - gives you the title of "Kilsin's Fodder"
+$15/mo for "gold" status - gives you the title of "Joppa's Creation"
+$20/mo for "platinum" status - gives you the title of "Aradune's Minion"
This would allow people to give more back to the creators of the game if they really enjoy it and want to show their appreciation.
p.s.
none of these titles actually give you anything except a way to brag that you are showing your devotion to the game :)
Kilsin said:now am i the only one that notice this sounds like the way Drug Dealers get you hooked on drugs.
So far our plan is to download the client for free, play X few starting levels for free to try the game then you are completely blocked from proceeding and to continue you need to pay a $15 per month sub or decide you don't want too and leave.
Here is a great article about how FF XIV gets the 'free trial' users to buy into subscribing. They are almost at WoW level numbers...
bigdogchris said:Here is a great article about how FF XIV gets the 'free trial' users to buy into subscribing. They are almost at WoW level numbers...
Well, sort of. FFXIV has about 680k active users and WoW has about 1.5 million (that have logged in within the last month). I often see people saying FFXIV is nearing WoWs 12 million but that's just not true, the statistics compared are wrong in that yes FFXIV is nearing 12 million but that's 12 million accounts played for at least a month over the lifetime of the game and not current/active subs. WoW has had over 100 million by that stat.