[Silynn]

I saw this article the other day and found it interesting. It has some good information and insight into how most F2P game models work.

With all of the Lockboxes in STO, this especially rang true.

-Dark side of F2P, a Yahoo gaming article-

[Stormy]

Although it is an interesting read, it didn't say anything a person with average intelligence didn't already figure out for themselves.

[McClintock]

Wow, over 400 comments says it all really. There's a LONG history of MMO's and those transitions to F2P. I may be biased since I came into STO thanks to F2P, but I can see a lot of this in STO already. With PWE the writing is on the wall and the lines are drawn in the sand.

F2P = P2W. Free to Play = Pay to Win.

[Silynn]

Although it is an interesting read, it didn't say anything a person with average intelligence didn't already figure out for themselves.

Indeed, Stormy.

Yet, after playing Forsaken World (Perfect World's WoW clone) for awhile (prior to release of SWTOR), it is pretty apparent and obvious that it is "Pay to Win".

One obviously does not need the c-store item, to succeed in the game. But those items could make your game time easier thus allowing you to accomplish more in a shorter period of time. Which I think is the key, as "Time = Money". Depending... if one has money, would they be willing to spent $2 here and $5 there, so they will have better items to be able to fight mobs/bosses faster/better? Sure. As they would rather accomplish some quest line in 1/2 or better the time than they would without the better items.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of "Aegis set" available in the C-store from a lockbox in STO. Not that it would be game breaking, but we know people are out there who would pay the $$$ to get the STF level items than spend hours upon hours farming the same instances over and over.

I can't really knock any MMO company for this, as it is how they stay in business. Subscription based MMOs have lots of pressure to offer new content, regularly. F2P MMOs, just have to offer new items, that people will buy/pay for regularly. Which is the easier of the two, I think.

[Xortox]

Well from what I hear STO wasn't getting enough players so they came out with F2P, the idea being once you sign up for F2P and after a while of seeing the cool uniforms players wear or the cool modifications to their ships, it makes your mouth water and then they seduce you to pay. But to truly beat the system and not pay is to not only not fall into that trap and pay but to also enjoy the game as F2P, I know I do and I certainly have no issue putting in some time and effort into leveling up and beating missions otherwise it's no fun to just buy c-store items to make my time easier. I like a challenge

[Three of Seven]

I haven't really seen any "Pay to Win" in STO at the moment, the starter pack gives you an early boost but it's not going to advance you much and an XP boost just speeds you along as well, if you so wish to use it. But the other thing is, these things can be bought by farming dilithium, which is why there is a cap on it sure, but it can be done "free", unless the dilithum exchange isn't avalible to free players, I wouldn't know.

Regadless, I haven't see anything that makes it a requirement or anything in the lottery (lock boxes) that is game breaking, the ship is not much better than some which can be bought is it? And people are putting it on the exchange, so there is a free player way to get it.

I find that article very narrow and doesn't focus on the comparisons, it seems to be more of a scare article than anything and the final paragraph seems to suggest that the author believes that games that aren't F2P don't fall, but they do, All Points Bulliten I believe is an example of this, as is Football Manager Live, I could go on but there are many that failed on the "Pay Monthly" model.

Article is intresting if you are doing a study biased rubbish, that's about it.

[Silynn]

As with most news media, be it on a network station, newspaper, internet blog, etc... one always has to take things with a 'grain of salt'. True a lot of stuff can be thrown out as 'rubbish' but there are always some sliver of information one can glean from them.

At least that is how I look at articles or process information from 'media sources'.

STO isn't at this point yet, the Pay-to-Win... and hopefully with Dan Stahl back, it won't go that way.

[JCarrill0]

we all hope

[Timothy R Benton]

I'm with Three of Seven. With the dilithium exchange you can essentially farm C-points and it don't take much at VA level to get 8000 dilithium per day. I'd say you don't really have to pay-to-win in the game, merely, that you can pay if you want to save yourself a bit of time getting those tasty yet mostly aesthetic choices from the c-store. I must say I'm really impressed by this system.

Who can afford to pay monthly for mmos anyway? Has anyone seen the state of the economy lately? It's madness! (Mind you if I got a pay rise tomorrow - I think i'd buy some c-points just for the bag slots, I seem to spend a lot of my time at banks and vendors lol)

[JCarrill0]

I just signed a annual Pass with Blizzard entertainment not but a few weeks ago. I will pay for the next year for WoW. I took 2 6-month subscriptions simply by budgeting it in. Its not hard to afford what you want as long as the price is reasonable and you take the advantages of what your buying.
I had the choice between WoW and STO, once STO went F2P it made the decision simple.
Have my cake and eat it too

[Grace Pryde]

The article pretty much sums up my thoughts on F2P.

I like knowing the price is pay is the price and not the price plus these hidden extras. Of course, you don't have to buy them but they make all the cool stuff the type of items that you would want and therefore willing to pay money for.

In the STO model, those who sub pay for the content development. Then a healthy cross section then pay for the little trinkets which in the end work out more than the average sub.

I wouldn't mind but the rate of content is so abjectly poor. The bets model is to pay, not pay and not do any micro transactions. But of course they will release that next uber cool ship to make you want to and of course it's only a few ££ or $$ so why not...but it all adds up.

Even the free monthly stipend doesn't even cover a single ship. 4 months of my sub will get me a ship that is of some use.

[JCarrill0]

The article pretty much sums up my thoughts on F2P.

I like knowing the price is pay is the price and not the price plus these hidden extras. Of course, you don't have to buy them but they make all the cool stuff the type of items that you would want and therefore willing to pay money for.

In the STO model, those who sub pay for the content development. Then a healthy cross section then pay for the little trinkets which in the end work out more than the average sub.

I wouldn't mind but the rate of content is so abjectly poor. The bets model is to pay, not pay and not do any micro transactions. But of course they will release that next uber cool ship to make you want to and of course it's only a few ££ or $$ so why not...but it all adds up.

Even the free monthly stipend doesn't even cover a single ship. 4 months of my sub will get me a ship that is of some use.

I wonder...
If they increased the Monthly amount, if more would go to the Gold Membership or possible get a lifetime. Possibly if they increased Gold to 1000 (which is worth about 12-13 bucks) it would interest people to do a monthly Subscription.