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Just happen to be reading this a bit when I check on my ATi driver update (no thanks to some roadblocks for being on a Toshiba notebook), and the update comes with some free LotR. Is it LotRO? Dunno, but I'll be findin' out!
Its easy to be skeptical because they've done little to change the perception of a game going from "pay to play" to "pay my way through the game."
And naturally, Turbine isn't going to talk about all the stop-gaps that CGFs will create. That's "Chinese Gold Farmer" or "Gold/Plat Seller." People who play the game to make real money of virtual currency and items.
The ugly truth of MMOs is that there are more than enough players out there willing to pay their way through these games. The developers that choose to go with these so-called "microtransactions" are essentially allowed to get away with murder on pricing. Those that "pay my way" through the game will do so at much greater cost than they would have in a subscription model.
And those that don't pay? Bigger timesink for them, bigger than they would have had with a subscription model. Traditionally, you would have had to do a handful of quests to enter new zones under a subscription based MMO, to go from a paltry 2 or 3 quests to 80 or 100 for free access to a zone? Preposterous.
So I really see nothing impressive about what Turbine has done here, other than feed a non-MMO player some seriously spindoctored PR hype.
The reason microtrasactions work is because there have always been people more than stupid enough to piss their income away to become "leet" in an MMO. All microtransactions hope to accomplish is getting the CGFs to go away.
But they never do. They're the cockroachs on online gaming. They'll endure everything.
And naturally, Turbine isn't going to talk about all the stop-gaps that CGFs will create. That's "Chinese Gold Farmer" or "Gold/Plat Seller." People who play the game to make real money of virtual currency and items.
The ugly truth of MMOs is that there are more than enough players out there willing to pay their way through these games. The developers that choose to go with these so-called "microtransactions" are essentially allowed to get away with murder on pricing. Those that "pay my way" through the game will do so at much greater cost than they would have in a subscription model.
And those that don't pay? Bigger timesink for them, bigger than they would have had with a subscription model. Traditionally, you would have had to do a handful of quests to enter new zones under a subscription based MMO, to go from a paltry 2 or 3 quests to 80 or 100 for free access to a zone? Preposterous.
So I really see nothing impressive about what Turbine has done here, other than feed a non-MMO player some seriously spindoctored PR hype.
The reason microtrasactions work is because there have always been people more than stupid enough to piss their income away to become "leet" in an MMO. All microtransactions hope to accomplish is getting the CGFs to go away.
But they never do. They're the cockroachs on online gaming. They'll endure everything.
Good God you're a dumb one, "Silent Protagonist". So you have to spend more time to accomplish something when it's free in a game? Well no f***. That's exactly what people know they're getting into when they play a game like this for free. People that want to spend money progress faster, those that don't still get to play at a slower rate. That's exactly what's being advertised and no amount of whining about "PR spin" (watch some more Fox News there, you might pick up more BS terms) will change that that's the truth.
Oh, hell. The Silent Protagonist is even more of a moron than Matt Welch says.
Listen, this whole article was about how MICRO-TRANSACTIONS ARE NOT NEEDED TO SUCCESSFULLY PLAY THESE GAMES! Heck, most of the microtransactions are for things like basic gear (advanced gear must be bought in game), cosmetic gear (because, let's face it, some of those helms are hideous), and minor exp/loot boosts. Oh, and items which allow you to change feats and such.
I know plenty of people who are playing through the game without paying a nickel, and you know what? It works. They get TP (Turbine Points) for getting favor. Know what that means? They do not have to pay for their TP. Yeah, that's right, they get money to buy stuff from the store for free. A friend of mine (an officer in our guild) has managed to buy nearly all of the quests at her level using TP that she earned from favor.
Really, TRY something before you condemn it. Idiot.
Listen, this whole article was about how MICRO-TRANSACTIONS ARE NOT NEEDED TO SUCCESSFULLY PLAY THESE GAMES! Heck, most of the microtransactions are for things like basic gear (advanced gear must be bought in game), cosmetic gear (because, let's face it, some of those helms are hideous), and minor exp/loot boosts. Oh, and items which allow you to change feats and such.
I know plenty of people who are playing through the game without paying a nickel, and you know what? It works. They get TP (Turbine Points) for getting favor. Know what that means? They do not have to pay for their TP. Yeah, that's right, they get money to buy stuff from the store for free. A friend of mine (an officer in our guild) has managed to buy nearly all of the quests at her level using TP that she earned from favor.
Really, TRY something before you condemn it. Idiot.
Never played an MMO until today, and I have to say i'm really enjoying LOTRO. I didn't believe I was really downloading a full MMO experience for 'free', even while I was creating my character I wasn't convinced. But lo and behold, its the real deal!! The graphics are amazing as well (the florescent troll dolls of WoW have always kept me away) especially the environments. if you start as a human watch the millions of flowers blowing in the wind outtside of the town gates! AND ITS FREE!!! AAAHHH!!! Now i'm off to play an MMO!?
I would have never played any MMO had it not been for the free-to-play model. I simply have too many games I want to play to dedicate enough time to one game to justify paying $15 for the privelage. DDO allows me to pay a little here and there and still enjoy playing the game. I won't pay more than a subscriber because I may spend $5 or $10 every two or three months. I think it's great what they've done. It just opens up the genre to those of us who would normally have passed on it because of the monthly fee.
@Matt Welch & valczir - Try reading what I said again, just like you read the original post. You'll see I fully understood the original post, I just didn't take it as gospel.
Microtransactions will never work in an MMO. If you don't buy the 8x EXP or the 8x Loot drop, or the 2x inventory space, the game is a brutal grindfest. If you do buy such items, the game becomes too easy and boring fast. Not to mention the "free" MMOs that emphasize competitive modes like PVP. When some people are paying for legendary weapons and others aren't, it just isn't fun. I've played too many "free" MMOs (and paid for a few) and THQ*ICE's Dragonica pretty much settled it for me.
@ 3ofDiamonds
Considering none of that is in LOTRO/DDO it kinda sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about.
Considering none of that is in LOTRO/DDO it kinda sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about.
Really, you shouldn't say anything if you haven't played either of them. The fact of the matter is, it does work. As a matter of fact, Turbine has found a way to make it work really well. I ran across DDO about a year back and I was pleasantly surprised, all the more by the fact I never had to pay for it, but it kept progressing nonetheless. You have to put more work into it if you don't pay? Well of course, but it doesn't really feel like your grinding your ass off, as the grand majority of the quests are fun and challenging enough to enjoy the whole time, and you're done before you know it. Also, there's plenty enough quests to keep you from having to monotonously keep doing the same ones over and over.
In summation, you really just need to know what you're talking about before you start typing.
In summation, you really just need to know what you're talking about before you start typing.
If only i could learn chinese.....So, anyone have a model on how to become a gold farmer? Sounds like drug trafficking only minus the drugs and people trying to shoot you all the time....cops beating down your door...etc. You needz my lewts, and First lewtz free will become my catchphrase!
I fell asleep halfway throught the article so I didn't finish reading it(gamer+job+WoW=no sleep) but I enjoyed the Beta of LotRO enough to download a Free2Play model.
Translation: I loved playing the Lute in town while my friends went off and quested/leveled. Imperial March/XFiles theme here I come! FUCK YERR!!!
Translation: I loved playing the Lute in town while my friends went off and quested/leveled. Imperial March/XFiles theme here I come! FUCK YERR!!!
I've managed to steer clear of MMOs thus far, and my life has been very grateful for that in return. But with more and more free MMOs popping up that seem to be doing awesome things... I'm afraid I may cave in and join one. And then stay unemployed forever.
@ runtheplacered : actually yes, yes there is items like that although not 8x high there are xp and loot boost items in both games for money. So nice try
Microtransactions speed the process but not neccesary I have managed to unlock the entire quest set using the F2P model, I invested once for the miminum amount in order to give additional 2 character slots per server cost me about £5/8$ish and even that wasn't neccesary only helpful. Yes I play a lot and it involved a hell of a lot of repeatative gameplay to do but it is no worse than gold farming on other Pay for games. It took approx 14 months to do av 2-3 hours a day play.
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