Meanwhile, out there in the rest of the MMO world...

Iselin

Just thought you might like to know that I made a poll over at mmorpg.com just asking how people feel about the switch to B2P.

mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/426438/So-how-do-you-feel-about-the-switch-to-B2P.html

As of this moment, 10.9% hate it, 28.4% want to wait to see how it's done, 23.4% say it doesn't matter either way and 37.3% say they love it.

It's a general MMO playing crowd with different tastes but it's still quite a contrast to the mood around here.

Personally I'm in the "I liked this game yesterday and still like it today, I ain't leaving till I get bored" camp

Xjcon

If the game is terrible after March 17, I will move on. If it's a blast to play with lots of things to do I will stay. Till then I will laugh at all the Ridiculously hilarious rants that some of the people have posted so far.

kewl

I'll be back aprox. 6 months after console release. By then we'll know ZOS's intentions with the cash shop.

Until then, plenty of places in Skyrim I haven't seen yet.

Zershar_Vemod

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

Korah_Eaglecry

Iselin wrote: »

Just thought you might like to know that I made a poll over at mmorpg.com just asking how people feel about the switch to B2P.

mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/426438/So-how-do-you-feel-about-the-switch-to-B2P.html

As of this moment, 10.9% hate it, 28.4% want to wait to see how it's done, 23.4% say it doesn't matter either way and 37.3% say they love it.

It's a general MMO playing crowd with different tastes but it's still quite a contrast to the mood around here.

Personally I'm in the "I liked this game yesterday and still like it today, I ain't leaving till I get bored" camp

This is just the vocal minority getting their frustrations out. Many of these are people that just yesterday swore up and down this game was worth paying a sub for. Today theyre calling it a 'Beta Quality' game and theyre demanding to be refunded.

Its humorous to watch people lose their ****.

Iselin

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

Probably less than a 3rd... that's the whole point isn't it? New blood

someuser

Personally, I'm on the fence. Technically, its not F2P since they still require a game purchase... As long as the game purchase is LINKED to the account for life (which I doubt they will do) I don't have as big of an issue.

For me it all comes down to one thing:

Can I play this game in a fun environment with other fans of the ESO series OR does this game turn into some China/Russian bot festival with characters running all over the low levels zones with names like "efwefrjer" spamming chat for real money - gold services.

If the game turns into a money making joke, I'm not going to QQ and post a thread about it, I'm just going to cancel and uninstall. I fully understand that Zenimax could not care less about my personal membership


But I do think, from a legacy standpoint, this is a huge mistake. Inevitably more and more resources will be put into the cash shop (crown shop) with more and more focus on paid DLC content that will likely be released along with a slew of "optional" motifs, pots, ingredients, and costumes for sale. Even the later guilds (dark brotherhood) and player housing will likely be heavily designed around a hybrid sub/micro transaction model.

Gone are the days where we had an "elite" community that was custom fed creative genius and HELLO EA style marketing.

UrQuan

Iselin wrote: »

Personally I'm in the "I liked this game yesterday and still like it today, I ain't leaving till I get bored" camp

I'm in a similar, but slightly different camp. My camp is the "I liked this game yesterday and still like it today, I ain't leaving till I get bored or until it feels like I have to spend more than my current subscription to continue enjoying the game" camp. I'm working on a slightly catchier name for my camp

daneyulebub17_ESO

Shout "Free Crap" on a street corner and you're sure to get a bunch of people just thrilled to take you up on it. It's still crap.

Zershar_Vemod

Iselin wrote: »

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

Probably less than a 3rd... that's the whole point isn't it? New blood

The point was that any Tom, ***, or Harry can vote on that.

Anyone would vote for the option that is "free" or "discounted" in any way. Looks like it's TESO turn to get more "I want this for free" crowd.

Iselin

someuser wrote: »

Personally, I'm on the fence. Technically, its not F2P since they still require a game purchase... As long as the game purchase is LINKED to the account for life (which I doubt they will do) I don't have as big of an issue.

For me it all comes down to one thing:

Can I play this game in a fun environment with other fans of the ESO series OR does this game turn into some China/Russian bot festival with characters running all over the low levels zones with names like "efwefrjer" spamming chat for real money - gold services.

If the game turns into a money making joke, I'm not going to QQ and post a thread about it, I'm just going to cancel and uninstall. I fully understand that Zenimax could not care less about my personal membership


But I do think, from a legacy standpoint, this is a huge mistake. Inevitably more and more resources will be put into the cash shop (crown shop) with more and more focus on paid DLC content that will likely be released along with a slew of "optional" motifs, pots, ingredients, and costumes for sale. Even the later guilds (dark brotherhood) and player housing will likely be heavily designed around a hybrid sub/micro transaction model.

Gone are the days where we had an "elite" community that was custom fed creative genius and HELLO EA style marketing.

I'm taking a more holistic view: I think that by doing this, they've probably doubled or even quadrupled console sales. And that's very good for us.

The more money they make on those sales, the more likely it is that the Crown shop for all versions will stay relatively benign.

And B2P is very different than F2P in that there is still a pay wall so the efwefrjers gold spammers and MMO tourists of the world don't come in the same numbers they do for generic F2P games.

We'll have to wait and see how it shakes down but I'm not worried... at least in the short term I'm not.

jopeymonster

kewl wrote: »

Until then, plenty of places in Skyrim I haven't seen yet.

Obviously not a real TES fanboi - should've seen everything twice by now =p

Go back to Obilvion you casual!

kieso

jopeymonster wrote: »

kewl wrote: »

Until then, plenty of places in Skyrim I haven't seen yet.

Obviously not a real TES fanboi - should've seen everything twice by now =p

Go back to Obilvion you casual!

that's funny I thought the same thing, I saw everything in skyrim.

Lord_Draevan

I honestly don't mind, and it's not going F2P like a lot of people seem to think: you still need to buy a copy of the game for 60 or so dollars, unlike F2P where you download for free. Even if it goes F2P I won't mind.

So far, the cash shop doesn't show anything to give players any significant edge over each other in PvP. So for now, I'll stay... it's if it goes Pay to Win I'll consider leaving.

UrQuan

kieso wrote: »

jopeymonster wrote: »

kewl wrote: »

Until then, plenty of places in Skyrim I haven't seen yet.

Obviously not a real TES fanboi - should've seen everything twice by now =p

Go back to Obilvion you casual!

that's funny I thought the same thing, I saw everything in skyrim.

lol yeah, me too. I played the hell out of it and did and saw everything... In fact, I had to download several mods that added new lands and quests, just because I had completely run out of places to see and things to do.

Vizier

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Iselin wrote: »

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

Probably less than a 3rd... that's the whole point isn't it? New blood

The point was that any Tom, ***, or Harry can vote on that.

Anyone would vote for the option that is "free" or "discounted" in any way. Looks like it's TESO turn to get more "I want this for free" crowd.

Already seeing folks QQ that those that sub get "X" while those that don't get squat and so it "UNFAIRrrrrrrr! oh my clam hurts crowd." Oh the free for all masses will come. you'll see. I'll be there to put the hurt on them in PvP.

someuser

Iselin wrote: »

someuser wrote: »

Personally, I'm on the fence. Technically, its not F2P since they still require a game purchase... As long as the game purchase is LINKED to the account for life (which I doubt they will do) I don't have as big of an issue.

For me it all comes down to one thing:

Can I play this game in a fun environment with other fans of the ESO series OR does this game turn into some China/Russian bot festival with characters running all over the low levels zones with names like "efwefrjer" spamming chat for real money - gold services.

If the game turns into a money making joke, I'm not going to QQ and post a thread about it, I'm just going to cancel and uninstall. I fully understand that Zenimax could not care less about my personal membership


But I do think, from a legacy standpoint, this is a huge mistake. Inevitably more and more resources will be put into the cash shop (crown shop) with more and more focus on paid DLC content that will likely be released along with a slew of "optional" motifs, pots, ingredients, and costumes for sale. Even the later guilds (dark brotherhood) and player housing will likely be heavily designed around a hybrid sub/micro transaction model.

Gone are the days where we had an "elite" community that was custom fed creative genius and HELLO EA style marketing.

I'm taking a more holistic view: I think that by doing this, they've probably doubled or even quadrupled console sales. And that's very good for us.

The more money they make on those sales, the more likely it is that the Crown shop for all versions will stay relatively benign.

And B2P is very different than F2P in that there is still a pay wall so the efwefrjers gold spammers and MMO tourists of the world don't come in the same numbers they do for generic F2P games.

We'll have to wait and see how it shakes down but I'm not worried... at least in the short term I'm not.

I agree that B2P is different (better IMO) then F2P. The more I read the blog / FAQ the more part of my initial "worst case" scenario was reduced... Still, they need to link the game purchase to an account so one simply cannot just create a new account once they get banned for being a bot.

However, that aside, I personally think its a little... I'm going to use the word optimistic... to assume if sales go through the roof the cash shop will stay "benign". I think quite the opposite personally. I think the more money they make off their cash shop (which will increase in a certain proportion to their playbase) the more they will focus on it.

When this happened in SWTOR I wanted to see the good side... 3 months later I left. Also, in SWTOR, when they converted to micro-transactions they reduced their bioware influence and increased their EA influence. The creative geniuses at Bioware left while the hacks at EA milked the content for every last penny it was worth.


I think this is the beginning of the end. It was good while it lasted, and to Zenimax's credit, they did keep their promise for almost 6 months. That's something I suppose...

UrQuan

someuser wrote: »

I agree that B2P is different (better IMO) then F2P. The more I read the blog / FAQ the more part of my initial "worst case" scenario was reduced... Still, they need to link the game purchase to an account so one simply cannot just create a new account once they get banned for being a bot.

Isn't that the way it already works? Currently you have to buy the game, and only after you've purchased it do you create an account which is linked to that purchase. The subscription comes after, but I'm 99% sure that the account is directly linked to the game purchase.

someuser

Nope. I d/l the game from my account and just bought the sub for my wife

OrangeTheCat

That poll pulls in anyone who registers on that site. Many of them probably don't even play ESO. So you have to interpret the results with that in mind.

UrQuan

someuser wrote: »

Nope. I d/l the game from my account and just bought the sub for my wife

You only need to download it once, but I was sure you needed to buy it twice to have 2 subscriptions.

someuser

The polls here clearly show most players here are disappointed. Only 22% of the 651 votes thought this was the direction they wanted to go in...

/how-do-you-feel-about-the-b2p-announcement

Holycannoli

I will reserve final judgement until I know just how monetized they made the game. It could be purely cosmetic items and XP potions which I'm fine with, or it could be lockboxes, better mounts, better spellcrafting spells, money-gated instances etc. which I'm not OK with.

What's funny is that even after it's b2p it won't attract many new players. The mechanics of the game itself turn people way - things like no faction AH, only 5 hotbar slots, terrible itemization, classes, complete lack of class balance etc. They have a long way to go before the game becomes appealing to the masses.

BlueIllyrian

Yes, there is a lot of people salivating at the prospect to troll ESO or get a free ride.

someuser

UrQuan wrote: »

someuser wrote: »

Nope. I d/l the game from my account and just bought the sub for my wife

You only need to download it once, but I was sure you needed to buy it twice to have 2 subscriptions.

Correct. As it stands now, to start a new account you have to pay for the game at the same time.

I'm just curious how things will be handled once the "new" version of ESO is released. As long as they ensure that any account/game is banned in tandem for botting' then atleast one major issue would be addressed.

Yasha

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

I know of at least one person who is a subscriber and voted "love it".

The trouble with polls on this forum atm is that it is a very insular crowd and many people are blind fans of a subscription model. People that have said how wonderful the game is and bashed posters that complain about various game issues like lag etc now suddenly do a 180 and say the game has been in beta all this time and demand a refund. Its extremely illogical and quite distasteful actually.

I am really looking forward to playing with lots of new friends when the game goes b2p, its going to be amazing. I only hope you nay-sayers don't go on a spiteful rampage of negativity like we had at launch and wreck it for new players.

Iselin

Yasha wrote: »

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

I know of at least one person who is a subscriber and voted "love it".

The trouble with polls on this forum atm is that it is a very insular crowd and many people are blind fans of a subscription model. People that have said how wonderful the game is and bashed posters that complain about various game issues like lag etc now suddenly do a 180 and say the game has been in beta all this time and demand a refund. Its extremely illogical and quite distasteful actually.

I am really looking forward to playing with lots of new friends when the game goes b2p, its going to be amazing. I only hope you nay-sayers don't go on a spiteful rampage of negativity like we had at launch and wreck it for new players.

It's worse than that. There are a lot of people here who are fans of the status quo and feel duty-bound to defend it,

There was a thread here recently about wanting more abilities on the bars. From some people's reaction you'd think 5 was a mystical magic number ordained by the gods: 4 would be wrong and so would be 6, only 5 would do,

I hate rigid conservative thinking and love kicking things around and thinking outside the box. That is only possible in these forums if what you're after is leveling your LOLs.

Solanum

I don't think bots will become too large a problem at 60 euro per account. However I would like extra options to secure my account. (an authenticator for example would be nice)

Yasha

Iselin wrote: »

Yasha wrote: »

Zershar_Vemod wrote: »

Lol no duh people are going to "love it" when perceived as "cheaper."

And how many of those people who voted are actual subscribers to this game currently?

I know of at least one person who is a subscriber and voted "love it".

The trouble with polls on this forum atm is that it is a very insular crowd and many people are blind fans of a subscription model. People that have said how wonderful the game is and bashed posters that complain about various game issues like lag etc now suddenly do a 180 and say the game has been in beta all this time and demand a refund. Its extremely illogical and quite distasteful actually.

I am really looking forward to playing with lots of new friends when the game goes b2p, its going to be amazing. I only hope you nay-sayers don't go on a spiteful rampage of negativity like we had at launch and wreck it for new players.

It's worse than that. There are a lot of people here who are fans of the status quo and feel duty-bound to defend it,

There was a thread here recently about wanting more abilities on the bars. From some people's reaction you'd think 5 was a mystical magic number ordained by the gods: 4 would be wrong and so would be 6, only 5 would do,

I hate rigid conservative thinking and love kicking things around and thinking outside the box. That is only possible in these forums if what you're after is leveling your LOLs.

Yeah I read that thread as well (although there have probably been several like that), perhaps after ESO goes b2p the forum community will broaden a bit. Although most gamers probably just have fun playing games and don't come to the forums anyway.

daneyulebub17_ESO

The readers and posters here tend to be the most invested in the game--ie, a higher than otherwise percentage of people who pay close attention to the Lore, or the Quality of ESO as a game. They also are very likely to be more aware of the history of other MMOs, and what F2P has meant for those that succumbed to it.

Don't try to make this into a "status quo" thing. The reason this move is so unpopular here, on the forums, is because more people here take the game very seriously (enough to read and post about it) and more people here are well-informed.

Iselin

daneyulebub17_ESO wrote: »

The readers and posters here tend to be the most invested in the game--ie, a higher than otherwise percentage of people who pay close attention to the Lore, or the Quality of ESO as a game. They also are very likely to be more aware of the history of other MMOs, and what F2P has meant for those that succumbed to it.

Don't try to make this into a "status quo" thing. The reason this move is so unpopular here, on the forums, is because more people here take the game very seriously (enough to read and post about it) and more people here are well-informed.

Oh? Is it going F2P? I must have missed that announcement.

There has only ever been one sub MMO that I'm aware of that went B2P instead of F2P... The Secret World. Doing quite well with a dedicated fanbase and still an honest cash shop without a gold exchange, lockbox gambling or any of the other staples F2P games sell. They also have an optional sub and DLC just like ESO will.

Matter of fact, by all indications the model ESO has chosen is almost a direct copy of the TSW model.

The other B2P MMO out there is GW2. And that one is very different and is really nothing more than a F2P game with an entry fee. There you can buy gold with cash by going through the currency exchange and locked chest gambling is very much a part of that model,

So... you were saying about well-informed?