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Earthrise killing subscriptions, going free-to-play in 2012
The struggling sci-fi sandbox Earthrise is no longer interested in competing in the subscription market, and is instead veering toward a free-to-play model in 2012. As of December 1st, all players will be able to experience the game without a monthly charge as Masthead Studios prepares for a F2P version. Masthead CEO Atanas Atanasov says that the move is an effort to retain customer trust while the developers shore up the game's weaknesses: "We decided to let all our players unlimited gaming experience until we all are satisfied with the experience in our game. At the moment Earthrise features one of the best visuals, content, and gameplay of all sci-fi MMOs on the market. However, it is missing polish and has annoyances that spoil the fun in the game. We are learning from our experience and that is why we will remove monthly charges until we bring the game to a quality state that is satisfactory to us and our players." Once the title is brought up to par, Masthead will transition it to a true F2P model, although Atanasov assures players that it will not incorporate pay-to-win purchases. Until Earthrise goes F2P, new accounts will be invitation-only as Masthead restricts the number of incoming players. All current subscribers will be able to invite a few of their friends during the transition, however. [Source: Masthead Studios press release]
Global Chat: October 30-November 5, 2011
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! Global Chat this week touches on some of our most reliable hot topics: free-to-play and game design. Business models, as well as how games are created and whom they're created for, are always good for discussion, so follow along after the jump to see what a few of our readers had to say.
End of Nations' Executive Producer discusses F2P model, buying power
With each game that announces a free-to-play business model, the same concerns immediately arise in the minds of the game's fans. Will the game allow players to pay for convenience, or will it allow them to pay to win? David Luehmann, Executive Producer of upcoming MMORTS End of Nations, addressed that very concern in a recent interview. What did he have to say? He was quick to put players' anxiety to rest, claiming that the game "will not be selling pay-to-win items that give one player a significant gameplay advantage over another" and adding that most cash-shop items will also be purchasable using in-game currency. But why go the free-to-play route to begin with? According to Luehmann, the team realized that in a game such as End of Nations, which is focused on large-scale multiplayer warfare, the game's fun factor will be directly tied to the number of players battling it out at any given time. As such, the team wants to "minimize the barrier to entry and maximize the fun." Of course, the game also features an optional subscription option. Luehmann is quick to note, however, that just like the item shop, subscriptions will not provide players with a gameplay advantage. It will instead yield "significant value and convenience extras." The full interview also includes a few details on the game itself, so if you're interested in Petroglyph's upcoming MMORTS, head on over to Gamefront for the full interview.
Bigpoint says game publishers should sell in-game advantages
In case you were wondering where browser MMO specialist Bigpoint stands on the issue of selling in-game advantages, a new interview with the company's chief games officer leaves little to the imagination. "The crucial part of the design is not having to invest, but wanting to. Most people in the Bigpoint universe don't ever pay," says Philip Reisberger. "But if they want to pay, don't just offer hats -- offer them something that will help them." Reisberger doesn't stop there, though. He goes on to dismiss the retail business model and also chastises Electronic Arts for its decision to avoid giving Battlefield 3 pre-order players a competitive advantage. "It wouldn't ruin the game. If selling an advantage ruins the game, you haven't done the balancing right," he said.
The Secret World's business model to feature subs and cash shop
Funcom has taken the wraps off its business model for The Secret World, and the upcoming horror-conspiracy MMORPG will ship with a traditional subscription model. That's not all, though. In a post on the official forums, community manager Oliver "Tarib" Kunz says that the game will also feature microtransactions and a cash shop. The blurb mentions Funcom's desire to steer clear of "pay-to-win" scenarios by limiting the item store to clothing and convenience items. "Character power in The Secret World will be determined by how well you play the game, not how much money you are willing to put into it," Kunz writes.
Bombshell: End of Nations to be free-to-play
Conquering the world just got a lot more affordable, as Trion Worlds announced that its MMORTS End of Nations will be released as a top-notch free-to-play title. This decision means that players can not only obtain a copy of the client for free, but play through the solo, co-op, and the persistent-world multiplayer conquest modes as well. Trion's Dave Luehmann hopes this will give End of Nations a competitive advantage when it launches: "Being able to offer a premium game such as End of Nations for free sets us apart in this industry. At Trion, we strive to innovate online gaming while emphasizing the delivery of the best core gameplay experience available. Our decision to release End of Nations as a AAA free–to-play title is guided by these principles." Trion will be offering an optional subscription package and a game store to enhance players' experience. The store will sell customization and convenience items, and Trion has clearly stated that it will not be selling "pay-to-win items" through it. During our hands-on impressions from last year, we noted that the title was probably not best suited for a monthly subscription, so it's good to see Trion freeing the game from that business model. End of Nations will be available to players at this month's Gamescom.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Comparing EVE's PLEX and PvP to RoM's
I was prepping for a Guild Wars 2 comparison with Runes of Magic, but in light of the current buzz in the air, I'm moving my EVE Online comparison up. A couple of interesting blocks fell into place this week that fit well with a look at how EVE and RoM allow money to circulate through the economies, and how PvP works in conjunction with it. While there's no contest as to which MMO has the more robust economy, there are still similarities that fit the pay-to-progress comment Mr. Simon Ludgate made in a recent Gamasutra article. Swarming around the above topics is the question of how much it costs to stay competitive in RoM, which I've also been working on. What does Gamasutra's article have to do with RoM, how much does it cost to be competitive and how are economies similar in these two MMOs? You can also read my memorandum to all EVE PvPers. Set your jump-point past the break to see.
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Unchained, buying power, and more
It's been a huge couple of weeks for Funcom and the Age of Conan community. Unchained brought a new freemium business model, thousands of new (and old) players, and new dungeon content to Hyboria. One week later, PvP fans were treated to the opening of the new Blood and Glory servers, with hardcore rule sets that included increased PvP XP, corpse looting, and a return to the game's unforgiving free-for-all roots. AoC game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison recently took the time to answer a few of our burning questions about Unchained and the game's immediate future. Head past the cut to see what Silirrion has to say about earning Funcom points in game, veteran point allotments, paying to skip the grind, and some spiffy new community-focused server tech.
Age of Empires Online dev diary is all about the goods
Using tongue-in-cheek stick puppets, the folks at Age of Empires Online have emerged to give us a quick overview of the gear system in a new dev diary. Yes, even empire-building titles rely on good ol' fashioned MMO gear to equip armies. Once attached to an army, gear changes the appearance and stats of your troops. The more rare the gear, the tougher they become. Gear can be found, purchased, and crafted as you may expect. You have to purchase the civilization with real-world money in order to be able to equip the very best items, however. And if you're curious about Age of Empires Online's pricing structure, ShackNews has the full skinny. Some of the purchases are merely cosmetic, although it looks like there's bad news for those looking to avoid a "pay to win" scenario: "Unfortunately, Microsoft's approach to monetising Age of Empires Online seems to be one of placing non-paying players at a significant disadvantage." Age of Empires Online is slated for an August 16th launch. You can watch the dev diary on gear for a chuckle or two after the jump!
Waging WAR: Warhammer's new online store
This week's Waging WAR catches a whiff of recent happenings on the internet and with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Greg dives in face-first, grabs a fist-full of the news, and delivers a fast-ball rant on the issue. Well, apparently the RMT has hit the fan, and the resulting spackle is starting to plaster the proverbial walls of the blogosphere and beyond. Recently, some information was released about what players can expect to buy at EA-Mythic's new store. Although only a few items are actually available now, there's a pretty extensive FAQ on the server transfer service, and we'll have to wait a little longer for the Progression and Personality packs, as they're set to be released along with patch 1.4. Naturally, the drama is building up some nice momentum, and it will be interesting to see how the whine will affect this particular cheese over at the Mythic official forum. For now, you can read past the break and enjoy my rant.
Free for All: Turbine's pristine payment plan perfects pay-to-win
There is one recurring statement that bothers me to no end, largely because it is simply not true. Most of the time if I pursue the player who uses the term, he will admit to using it only to justify his dissatisfaction with a handful of free-to-play games. That term is "free-to-play is pay-to-win." Essentially, the term refers to gaining advantages over other players through one's pocketbook, by buying power. As someone who has played, investigated, talked about or interviewed developers of over 100 free-to-play games, I can tell you that a "pay-to-win" scenario exists in the minority of games, not in the majority as some would have you believe. Most of the comments from the "pay-to-win" playbook come in more recent times, but that could be because my column has provided a nice, fertile space for everything anti-free-to-play. But I have found the most vocal of the detractors to be referencing recent free-to-play games like Allods Online, primarily because they may have loved it so much, yet did not want to pay a single dime for it -- and because they simply had not played many free-to-play games before that. Allods Online was, essentially, their main experience with free-to-play. Meanwhile, I am often shown DDO (or now, Lord of the Rings Online) as some kind of "proper" way to do a cash shop. Ironically, Turbine is now not only the largest, but the closest to a true pay-to-win developer. Anything larger would exist outside of North America.
Allods Online team defends patch 1.1 changes
Typically, a new content patch in an MMO is an exciting time, but for the folks over at Allods Online, it's been a bumpy road, to say the least. With changes to the game, including a death penalty that causes items to become cursed with negative stats, players have been crying foul over the focus on cash shop items to overcome penalties. Specifically, Holy Charms, Incense, and Scrolls of Purification are highly desired by the playerbase, who see them as a necessity to level. Unfortunately, all of these items are cash shop only, forcing players to either fork over money or purchase them on the auction house for very high markups. Due to the widespread complaints, the Allods Online team posted a response to the latest controversy that's hit this free-to-play title. In the article, the team defends the changes and takes the position that cash shop purchases are not required to experience the full game: "We want to assure you that the game has not become Pay-to-Play or Pay-to-Win. At the core of Allods you can still enjoy the game without ever having to worry about spending money. Yes, Holy Charms, Incense, and Scrolls of Purification are only offered through the Item Shop, but they can be purchased from other players and the auction house." The response concludes by saying that patch 1.1 is the framework for future patches, and the Allods Online team has a long-term view of the MMO's goals and objectives. Read the full response and let us know what you think!
