Speaking for myself I can't afford a subscription, I have only just started playing the game & am enjoying it so much that what little I can afford is being saved to spend on this game, I for one appreciate that Cryptic has allowed us poor people to play, but I do agree with you on one thing, if you ARE paying a subscription you should be allowed access to the extra game content (not necessarily ships though) that you can purchase as DLC, but forcing subscriptions on people just to play would severely diminish the number of potential customers who may look to paying a subscription once they've advanced as far as F2P will allow, some aspects of your post make sense, but take that up with Cryptic, don't hate the playaz!
Speaking for myself I can't afford a subscription,
And this is the reason why they went F2P. Because people couldn't afford subscriptions/didn't want to pay for them. Besides, F2P has brought in more customers than P2P ever has and ever will.
Also, you want to see a terrible F2P model? Go look at SWTOR. I looked at a gigantic list of things F2Pers couldn't do, and it was ridiculous. Cryptic definitely has the best F2P game out here right now, although they aren't perfect.
"Correction. Humans have rules in war. Rules that make victory a little harder to achieve, in my opinion."
Elim Garak
Its quite sad when the players have to make excuses for the company that is running the game. A lot of us can see that this game is a train-wreck and Cryptic haven't really devoted time to fixing bugs or repairing their system (UI fixes, B'Rel Battle Cloak as a few things that need fixing) so why do people continually bury their head in the sand over Cryptic's short-comings?
Its a pity we cannot have a bigger and more responsible company do it. If they could do it right... they shouldn't have done it at all. Just my opinion.
How many players say this? Not a ballpark estimate, but actual hard data. Back up your clams or shut up.
Yes, considering the game isn't even running right for most people now.
Again, back up your claims. Game runs just fine for me and my family. That much I can prove. How can you prove that the game doesn't run for most people? How do you even know?
Sorry, but unless you have an intelligence network of spies and informants that is better than the CIA's, your claims will always be dubious at best.
And on another note, if you hate this game so much, then why are you still playing?
I know because I happen to be sat here with a group of players in my Fleet that cannot even log into STO at the moment because we cannot even get into the launcher at the moment. As are a fair few players at the moment... don't believe me, check the post in the technical section.
I know because I happen to be sat here with a group of players in my Fleet that cannot even log into STO at the moment because we cannot even get into the launcher at the moment. As are a fair few players at the moment... don't believe me, check the post in the technical section.
There's a link for a new launcher in the PC Tech Support area. Since the old launcher is currently borked, its replacement has to be manually installed.
Compared to a lot of other FTP models, STO is probably one of the best I've played. Other FTP MMO's would require a lot more to be bought than what STO requires when playing. Really you could get to end game without spending a dime, where in other MMO's there is either a spot in the lower levels or mid levels where it becomes almost impossible to keep playing without spending money. STO is rewarding to the point you WANT to spend money, not because you have to but because you want to.
If the argument is they are being greedy, go check out the other sci-fi game that went FTP and then tell me how greedy Cryptic is in comparison. :P They are Saints compared to most of these other FTP MMO's out there in free content. lol
Played that other game. The amount of "subscribe now" TRIBBLE they dump on you is ridiculous. Seriously, gating certain content, drops, and whatnot behind a subscription?
And you think Cryptic is greedy....I have yet to see a Cryptic or PWE game constantly prodding at players to "subscribe today"
FYI: This is the nicer way of putting what I had to say. What I really wanted to say would have likely been moderated.
Its quite sad when the players have to make excuses for the company that is running the game. A lot of us can see that this game is a train-wreck and Cryptic haven't really devoted time to fixing bugs or repairing their system (UI fixes, B'Rel Battle Cloak as a few things that need fixing) so why do people continually bury their head in the sand over Cryptic's short-comings?
Its a pity we cannot have a bigger and more responsible company do it. If they could do it right... they shouldn't have done it at all. Just my opinion.
Oh look, he's ignoring everything people are saying Fail
There's what, 2 MMO's out there still using that model, WoW and EVE. Both of which are not typical of the mainstream MMO market.
Actually you can play EVE Online 100% free too if you can optain enough ISK via in game activities to buy PLEX (that someone else paid real money for at some point) -- so they only large western MMO still sporting the original Western MMO subsciption model is the 800 LBS Gorilla and acknowledged MMO anomaly (it success was a variety of MMO market factors in 2005 that don't exist and probably will never return) that is World of ********.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
If it wasn't for F2P I wouldn't be playing.
I love Star Trek, but I didn't play until F2P because I'm a poor college student.
This is one of the few entertainment I have.
I've played endgame, PvE, and PvP with my Luna Class for the longest time. I'm fine with it. Sure I do die a lot, but that's my skill not the content. I've seen other players used the same ship for great result.
You don't need to buy anything to play the game.
I've yet to spend any money on the game. I've managed to trade for the c-point/zen to by a few bundles.
The fact is more people are playing this game because its F2P.
Some people like to spend money on their own term, pay for what they want directly and not let subscription dictate them. These might also be players who can't play every moment of every month, like me who is going to school. Some are working hard to make not enough for subscription nor the time to play to make subscription worth it.
To me this would be a horrible idea. I joined up a few months after f2p happen. As I was looking for a good MMO to play that didn't charge a fee. Since way I work, life activities, etc. I barely get around 4 hours per week to play. Mainly on weekends. To me f2p was the best option they done for a game of this caliber. Granted some pays and get special perks. That is good as well. So with that you gained a lot of players to play. What about kids who don't have job? Depending on parents they might have a hard time justifying getting their parents to pay for it.
However, since I do the f2p. Don't think I been cheap with the game either. So far I bought bank and bag additional slots, extra character slots, extra bridge officer slots, ships, master keys, costume outfits, and few other goodies. So even at f2p they got a good bit of $ out of my wallet. And still will do so. So buying these game features, shows I'm willing to support the future of this great game.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
To me this would be a horrible idea. I joined up a few months after f2p happen. As I was looking for a good MMO to play that didn't charge a fee. Since way I work, life activities, etc. I barely get around 4 hours per week to play. Mainly on weekends. To me f2p was the best option they done for a game of this caliber. Granted some pays and get special perks. That is good as well. So with that you gained a lot of players to play. What about kids who don't have job? Depending on parents they might have a hard time justifying getting their parents to pay for it.
However, since I do the f2p. Don't think I been cheap with the game either. So far I bought bank and bag additional slots, extra character slots, extra bridge officer slots, ships, master keys, costume outfits, and few other goodies. So even at f2p they got a good bit of $ out of my wallet. And still will do so. So buying these game features, shows I'm willing to support the future of this great game.
Yeah, I agree with this sentiment. The game would DIE if it went back to subscriber...
If for some insane reason that STO went back to Subscription, then all the things that were introduced because it went F2P would still be here. New lockboxes would be created, more methods would exist to extract dilithium from us, and new C-Store items would be created. The only real difference between the current game and that hypothetical game is that Cryptic would see less money and we would see less players. I am a lifer so it doesn't matter to me, but I am certain that we would see a repeat of 2011 with hardly any content introduced over the entire year.
This has unfortunately become the literal translation of a Chinese sweatshop...
But... real sweatshops are bad and comparing...
...go back to the Subscription Model which they had when this game came out. Sure, there were problems back then too but at least they developed some new content without the incessant need to get greedy and try to make the player, even subscribed players like myself now, pay for everything.
But that's what it... uh... the meaning of free and the meaning of paying...
...free stuff that we used to have because we were PAYING for the game back then.
B-but then that's not how those words... English...
This game could easily survive on subscriptions alone...
I've played since the Closed Beta, and I can safely say that STO is in a better position now than it has ever been. The "Year of Hell" is not an experience I wish to repeat, and neither do the developers; I remember when Stahl was quite frank with the playerbase about how Cryptic couldn't even afford enough cups in the office at that time.
Becoming part of Perfect World Entertainment, and becoming a F2P MMO, has done STO a world of good. Divorcing from PWE and reverting to a subscription model would likely lead to the end of this game.
I know because I happen to be sat here with a group of players in my Fleet that cannot even log into STO at the moment because we cannot even get into the launcher at the moment. As are a fair few players at the moment... don't believe me, check the post in the technical section.
But that isn't "Most" players. You are talking about a small sample. When I mean hard proof, I mean actual numbers: how many? 10? 100? 156,759?
The point is Cryptic has gone F2P and the days of Pay to Play is over. Deal with it.
I will assume you played the pre F2P game. Remember the "year of hell" when nothing at all was developed? Remember how the devs kind of hinted that it would have continued for much longer if something didn't change?
Did you have to experience the difficulties of getting your RL friends to play after they heard the incredibly bad reviews, or maybe tried for a month and found it buggy/non-trek/repetitive/etc? Also, don't forget the C-store existed in the F2P model and there were plenty of complaints about prices back then and the availability of items and missions.
I dunno, I will admit that I liked certain aspects of the pre-F2P model. But after a year of F2P my fleet is active again, my RL buddies are in the game, I'm finding in-game currency much easier to come by, and even lock boxes and other zen items I'm able to get for free. And the game was just voted best free MMO of the year, so there are clearly some who like it.
Don't forget all the benefits the F2P model has brought when you are considering going back to the old model. Sure, the monetization is a nasty side-effect, but the benefits it brings and if you are having fun, you should want the game to make some money.
Exactly!
Point 1: We need this cash infusion to spur new development which means new stuff. I do not remember the 'year of hell' because I had to stop paying a subscription a couple months after launch. My income is not predictable enough to be able to commit to a subscription. So i did not play during that dark time. I only came back since F2P.
The nice thing is that I am a tipped employee. Sometimes I do not make a lot, sometimes I do. When I do, I can always pick up a $10 card on my way home if there is something I have been wanting. I have spent as much this past year in f2p as I would have with one subscription (I have two accounts though to trade things and store stuff and to make a fleet BEFORE we had a account bank. ) Even though I spent about as much, I was able to do it on my time, and in my own way.
Point 2: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPEND A DIME TO HAVE ANYTHING. Yes it would be a horrible grind, but you can buy any C-store item with TIME if you want it. If you want it faster than that, then you can buy it with money. If you want it fast and do not want to pay for it, then call the Whaaaambulance.
TO the OP: What would you hope to gain by going back to subscription. That they would give you all these new ships for free just for paying a sub. Hell they do not do that for people buying a sub now. Even when the game was sub-only, you STILL had to pay for extra ship costumes and such.
Take the $15 you would pay for a sub. Buy a $10 card one month, followed by a $20 the next. Take that 3000 points every two months and buy whatever you want that you think you should get for free for your subscription in a sub-only game. If you want more than that, then you are a little on the entitled side my friend.
This game has continually gone to the dogs since Free 2 Play was released. The problem is now, pretty much EVERYTHING in the game requires money if you want to be a decent player and Cryptic has taken a road of blatant exploitation of their player base. This has unfortunately become the literal translation of a Chinese sweatshop in which you grind and grind to get little reward that has really any value.
So I think Cryptic should abandon the Free 2 Play model and go back to the Subscription Model which they had when this game came out. Sure, there were problems back then too but at least they developed some new content without the incessant need to get greedy and try to make the player, even subscribed players like myself now, pay for everything.
Its unfortunate that such a game like this has gone the way it has, however if people stopped buying zen and focused on only the free features, then this game would rapidly change back to the subscription base and free stuff that we used to have because we were PAYING for the game back then.
This game could easily survive on subscriptions alone, even with the amount of lifetimers but Cryptic want their new coffee machine or water cooler so they do not actually want to change back. Why change if the sheep are buying into it?
first thing I want to say is WOW racist much cuz that first paragraph shows that you are, second I want to say if your spending money on this game that's your choice but you don't have to spend a dime on this game I don't know how many times I and others have said this but it never seems to get thru some peoples skulls. Third F2P was the best thing that happen to this game and its first year of it was great and I cannot wait to see the next year, I got into this game six months after launch and when I first played the demo I was hooked and at the time I said I would never play a subscription game this game changed that even though now it is F2P I have gone and played other games that are sub like TOR and RIFT all though I have put RIFT aside because that game was a grind to me and even tho TOR has recently gone F2P it is not a very friendly option for some players because you have to buy unlocks to get the end game gear if you want to have that so you can lever your toons but after that what is there is nothing to do unless you spend some money on it this is why I still play STO real heavy. Just recently like December a buddy of mine bought me a Life Time Subscription and he plans to get one himself this year that alone should show how much players enjoy playing this game yeah sure it has its problems but in the long run its better than it was after launch again there are bugs that need fixing and there are bugs that come up with every new update or patch but the game is playable and Cryptic will keep working on those problems even though it will take time you cannot fix something over night as long as players keep sending in reports with a extensive and long description of what they came across that will help things along. Bugs like what you say the battle cloak of the B'rel BoP have been updated since launch and it is better than it was two years ago when you would get uncloaked by message popups where now it is only certain popups that uncloak you I can live with those. Last but not least I just want to say if you think this game is such a grind then turn in your admiral pips or Lt. General armor and go some where else and make room for the players that love this game because it is F2P and choose to spend or not to spend money on it, I for one will even though I am a LTS will spend money on it because there are still ships in the C-Store that I do not have and for any future ships that will come most of that will come from getting Dilithium ingame but on occasion I will go and spend like $20 on a card to get 2k zen, so to the OP live with it that this game is F2P or leave it will never go back to the way it was just because it was not enough for the game to live on or expand on.
Cryptic keep up the good work and continue to read post like these but ignore the part that this game is a sweatshop because in my opinion it is not as bad as other games out there and you have done a great job in making this game a great F2P game.
Its quite sad when the players have to make excuses for the company that is running the game. A lot of us can see that this game is a train-wreck and Cryptic haven't really devoted time to fixing bugs or repairing their system (UI fixes, B'Rel Battle Cloak as a few things that need fixing) so why do people continually bury their head in the sand over Cryptic's short-comings?
Its a pity we cannot have a bigger and more responsible company do it. If they could do it right... they shouldn't have done it at all. Just my opinion.
yep your QQ opinion indeed, one whos being torn a new one from what i can gather from the thread...
i shouldntve lengthened this thread by posting here...
This is the perfect example of the "me me me" seen in people today; how sad.
Do keep in mind the nation's; indeed the world's economy, is currently in ruins. A great many people out there simply cannot afford to pay for this or any other game or "extras" in their lives. I've paid my dues since December 2009 in Beta, but I don't begrudge those who can't as you seem so willing to do.
As for earning items via grinding? Let me get you some cheese and crackers to go with your whine.
Fleet ships and weapons are earned....by grinding; mostly for dilithium in one way or another. These items are far superior to anything one can purchase at the exchange or anywhere else for that matter. They ARE worth the effort. Besides, many of us here enjoy a good fight; which is why we've chosen this genre. Some of us even enjoy and are proud of the fact we have EARNED all we have; rather than as I'm sure is true those peeps who simply pull out their credit cards, buy their way along and call themselves "veterans" when in fact they're NOOBS with a little extra spending money. rofl
STOP thinking only of yourself and PLEASE stop your whining.
This game has continually gone to the dogs since Free 2 Play was released. The problem is now, pretty much EVERYTHING in the game requires money if you want to be a decent player and Cryptic has taken a road of blatant exploitation of their player base. This has unfortunately become the literal translation of a Chinese sweatshop in which you grind and grind to get little reward that has really any value.
So I think Cryptic should abandon the Free 2 Play model and go back to the Subscription Model which they had when this game came out. Sure, there were problems back then too but at least they developed some new content without the incessant need to get greedy and try to make the player, even subscribed players like myself now, pay for everything.
Its unfortunate that such a game like this has gone the way it has, however if people stopped buying zen and focused on only the free features, then this game would rapidly change back to the subscription base and free stuff that we used to have because we were PAYING for the game back then.
This game could easily survive on subscriptions alone, even with the amount of lifetimers but Cryptic want their new coffee machine or water cooler so they do not actually want to change back. Why change if the sheep are buying into it?
This is the perfect example of the "me me me" seen in people today; how sad.
Do keep in mind the nation's; indeed the world's economy, is currently in ruins. A great many people out there simply cannot afford to pay for this or any other game or "extras" in their lives. I've paid my dues since December 2009 in Beta, but I don't begrudge those who can't as you seem so willing to do.
As for earning items via grinding? Let me get you some cheese and crackers to go with your whine.
Fleet ships and weapons are earned....by grinding; mostly for dilithium in one way or another. These items are far superior to anything one can purchase at the exchange or anywhere else for that matter. They ARE worth the effort. Besides, many of us here enjoy a good fight; which is why we've chosen this genre. Some of us even enjoy and are proud of the fact we have EARNED all we have; rather than as I'm sure is true those peeps who simply pull out their credit cards, buy their way along and call themselves "veterans" when in fact they're NOOBS with a little extra spending money. rofl
STOP thinking only of yourself and PLEASE stop your whining.
Its not selfish to want a better environment to play in... Simply put Cryptic have not done much except add lockbox after lockbox and added other grindy features such as the reputation system. What exactly has been added to this game in the past year in terms of sheer content such as expansions for the KDF and Federation alike?
Can anyone list all these things, not including promotional events like the winter stuff which is not really content but filler and the Fleet Starbase that effectively manages to bleed resources from the players each month. How much actual content in terms of...
- Missions
- STF's (Only one I can think of is "Into the Hive" which both parts have one map and people could do better in the foundry)
- Other content, such as reworking aspects such as the skill tree, boff powers and the actual UI which still has some unrepaired flaws?
This game has continually gone to the dogs since Free 2 Play was released.
Only if your definition of "gone to the dogs" is "improved vast swaths of the game with only the occasional (if major) hiccup", then yes, it very much has. You don't seem to have done any research into content output pre- and post-F2P. The variety of things to do skyrocketed with F2P, while story mission production slowed down only somewhat.
The problem is now, pretty much EVERYTHING in the game requires money if you want to be a decent player and Cryptic has taken a road of blatant exploitation of their player base.
Hilariously false. Nothing in the game requires your money. While it's certainly true you could pay your way to some semblance of power, on the flip side...
This has unfortunately become the literal translation of a Chinese sweatshop in which you grind and grind to get little reward that has really any value.
...there's this.
It boils down to how you'd rather do it, which was the intended concept from the inception of Dilithium refinement. Personally I take a hybrid approach; if I want something, I grind zen to make half the price and pony up cash for the other half. I got the Oddy and Vesta packs for the price of a single ship that way. ;D
I don't get this P2P fetish some people have. Handing a company your money on a monthly basis doesn't magically prevent technical problems. I wonder what OP's argument would be if he/she didn't have F2P as a scapegoat...
I don't get this P2P fetish some people have. Handing a company your money on a monthly basis doesn't magically prevent technical problems. I wonder what OP's argument would be if he/she didn't have F2P as a scapegoat...
I played Vanguard when it came out. Even bought the collector's edition.
Its not selfish to want a better environment to play in... Simply put Cryptic have not done much except add lockbox after lockbox and added other grindy features such as the reputation system. What exactly has been added to this game in the past year in terms of sheer content such as expansions for the KDF and Federation alike?
Can anyone list all these things, not including promotional events like the winter stuff which is not really content but filler and the Fleet Starbase that effectively manages to bleed resources from the players each month. How much actual content in terms of...
- Missions
- STF's (Only one I can think of is "Into the Hive" which both parts have one map and people could do better in the foundry)
- Other content, such as reworking aspects such as the skill tree, boff powers and the actual UI which still has some unrepaired flaws?
Can anyone think of anymore?
We do not disagree with wanting a better environment to play in. What we disagree about is that a subscription-based system will help things. Based on the arguments posted so far, a subscription system will just make things worse.
Alright, based on your criteria:
-Missions - Gamma Quadrant Series, Alpha, No-Win Scenario/Fleet events
-STFs-Really should be grouped with missions, but Into the Hive is the only one.
-Others- Based on your examples, skill tree-IIRC, it's been the same since before F2P. They didn't fix it during subscription time.
BoFF powers - again, mostly the same since before F2P. Bugs were neither fixed during sub time nor F2P time
UI - Same as BoFF powers.
Its quite sad when the players have to make excuses for the company that is running the game. A lot of us can see that this game is a train-wreck and Cryptic haven't really devoted time to fixing bugs or repairing their system (UI fixes, B'Rel Battle Cloak as a few things that need fixing) so why do people continually bury their head in the sand over Cryptic's short-comings?
So what is not making excuses? You have made up your mind that we are wrong, and that any point we bring up is an 'excuse'. A lot of us? How many? 10? 100?
We don't bury our head in the sand about the shortcomings. We see them, and we recognise them. However, a subscription system is not going to help with these shortcomings! Get that into your head, would you, and quit being so stuck in your ways.
Anyhow, B'Rel battle cloak? Can't say I noticed anything wrong. UI fixes? Which ones? It works fine for me. Be more specific. I haven't even seen any threads on these bugs. If someone could tell me the specifics on these two so-called bugs, that would be nice, because they do not exist on my system. The community would certainly take up the torch on bugfixing, if they exist for most people.
I'm F2P. Before F2P was available, I was P2P. I much prefer F2P. The content has expanded considerably when compared to the P2P days where nearly a year went by without a drop of content, the player base has exploded to the point where I see ships everywhere, even in the most remote regions of space, and the exchange/economy is livelier than ever. I have spent more in F2P than I ever spent in P2P, and it's because I want to, not because I have to. As someone said earlier, STO has one of the friendliest F2P setups in the MMO business.
To put it another way, when The Old Republic offered F2P, I took a chance at it, and even dropped a little cash so I could get the "Preferred Status", and to be honest, I felt like everything but "Preferred". The game is not friendly to F2P or "Preferred" status players. After I reached level 20, I said "forget it, it's a slog all the way up if I'm not paying monthly", and left the game. I was told "You should feel grateful that they allowed you to even play!", which only convinced me more that they had taken the wrong approach.
PWE/Cryptic took the right approach. Have they messed up? Oh yes. They've bungled things from time to time, and have given me headaches on occasion, but still, they've done well for what they have, and I hope the game sticks around a long time.
On another note, I won a Wells class timeship from a lockbox today. I had 12 million credits and thought to myself, "I can spare a few million for a couple of keys", and so I bought a couple keys and opened two of my boxes. The second one had the timeship in it. I was thrilled! I didn't have to spend a dime, and I got a really cool looking ship. Does that ship give me an advantage in the game? Not really. I went to Ker'rat and held my own for a while, but eventually I exploded. Just as if I had flown my Sovereign or my Galaxy class. I'm a fair player, and a lock box ship hasn't changed that. They don't make you super-OP ultra awesome players. They're just different shinies for people who want a different shiny.
Seriously, if F2P bothers you that much, OP, you can always go somewhere else and play another MMO. Just keep in mind that they'll eventually go F2P as well. Free-to-Play makes money if you do it right. An MMO can't run off of good wishes and devoted fanbases. They need money. This is how they make money, because the previous model was failing to make money, so they changed the model to a profitable one. That's basic business 101. That we get a decent F2P MMO out of it, and that it's rather fun for what it is, is just a bonus.
TL;DR - "Relax. It's not worth popping a rivet. Money good, closed servers bad. You go play now."
I have to agree with the sentiments of the majority in this thread; get a grip!
If you were indeed around before F2P then you should remember all too well, the year where there was only like two additions to the game because of all the cut backs and lack of funds for the game. Since it went F2P it's had more than double the amount of content that was added before.
Also, you can't say that they are forcing anybody to spend money, as far as F2P MMO models go, STO has the best I've ever seen. You can play all of the content, get through all end game content etc, without having to spend a penny.
Join date is wrong, I've actually been around since STO Beta.
True alters don't have a "main". Account wide unlocks for all unique event rewards!!
Comments
And this is the reason why they went F2P. Because people couldn't afford subscriptions/didn't want to pay for them. Besides, F2P has brought in more customers than P2P ever has and ever will.
Also, you want to see a terrible F2P model? Go look at SWTOR. I looked at a gigantic list of things F2Pers couldn't do, and it was ridiculous. Cryptic definitely has the best F2P game out here right now, although they aren't perfect.
Elim Garak
How many players say this? Not a ballpark estimate, but actual hard data. Back up your clams or shut up.
Again, back up your claims. Game runs just fine for me and my family. That much I can prove. How can you prove that the game doesn't run for most people? How do you even know?
Sorry, but unless you have an intelligence network of spies and informants that is better than the CIA's, your claims will always be dubious at best.
And on another note, if you hate this game so much, then why are you still playing?
There's a link for a new launcher in the PC Tech Support area. Since the old launcher is currently borked, its replacement has to be manually installed.
Ive made friends here, spent money of some ships and services and items. It even has its own radio show for goodness sake!
Please do not go back to paid only. I'd be very disappointed.
This game is awesome F2P all the way!
Played that other game. The amount of "subscribe now" TRIBBLE they dump on you is ridiculous. Seriously, gating certain content, drops, and whatnot behind a subscription?
And you think Cryptic is greedy....I have yet to see a Cryptic or PWE game constantly prodding at players to "subscribe today"
FYI: This is the nicer way of putting what I had to say. What I really wanted to say would have likely been moderated.
ROLL TIDE ROLL
Been playing STO since Open Beta, and have never regarded anything as worse than 'meh', if only due to personal standards.
Actually you can play EVE Online 100% free too if you can optain enough ISK via in game activities to buy PLEX (that someone else paid real money for at some point) -- so they only large western MMO still sporting the original Western MMO subsciption model is the 800 LBS Gorilla and acknowledged MMO anomaly (it success was a variety of MMO market factors in 2005 that don't exist and probably will never return) that is World of ********.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
I love Star Trek, but I didn't play until F2P because I'm a poor college student.
This is one of the few entertainment I have.
I've played endgame, PvE, and PvP with my Luna Class for the longest time. I'm fine with it. Sure I do die a lot, but that's my skill not the content. I've seen other players used the same ship for great result.
You don't need to buy anything to play the game.
I've yet to spend any money on the game. I've managed to trade for the c-point/zen to by a few bundles.
The fact is more people are playing this game because its F2P.
Some people like to spend money on their own term, pay for what they want directly and not let subscription dictate them. These might also be players who can't play every moment of every month, like me who is going to school. Some are working hard to make not enough for subscription nor the time to play to make subscription worth it.
However, since I do the f2p. Don't think I been cheap with the game either. So far I bought bank and bag additional slots, extra character slots, extra bridge officer slots, ships, master keys, costume outfits, and few other goodies. So even at f2p they got a good bit of $ out of my wallet. And still will do so. So buying these game features, shows I'm willing to support the future of this great game.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
My character Tsin'xing
But... real sweatshops are bad and comparing...
But that's what it... uh... the meaning of free and the meaning of paying...
B-but then that's not how those words... English...
But how do you... it didn't... Sigh.
Becoming part of Perfect World Entertainment, and becoming a F2P MMO, has done STO a world of good. Divorcing from PWE and reverting to a subscription model would likely lead to the end of this game.
But that isn't "Most" players. You are talking about a small sample. When I mean hard proof, I mean actual numbers: how many? 10? 100? 156,759?
The point is Cryptic has gone F2P and the days of Pay to Play is over. Deal with it.
Exactly!
Point 1: We need this cash infusion to spur new development which means new stuff. I do not remember the 'year of hell' because I had to stop paying a subscription a couple months after launch. My income is not predictable enough to be able to commit to a subscription. So i did not play during that dark time. I only came back since F2P.
The nice thing is that I am a tipped employee. Sometimes I do not make a lot, sometimes I do. When I do, I can always pick up a $10 card on my way home if there is something I have been wanting. I have spent as much this past year in f2p as I would have with one subscription (I have two accounts though to trade things and store stuff and to make a fleet BEFORE we had a account bank. ) Even though I spent about as much, I was able to do it on my time, and in my own way.
Point 2: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPEND A DIME TO HAVE ANYTHING. Yes it would be a horrible grind, but you can buy any C-store item with TIME if you want it. If you want it faster than that, then you can buy it with money. If you want it fast and do not want to pay for it, then call the Whaaaambulance.
TO the OP: What would you hope to gain by going back to subscription. That they would give you all these new ships for free just for paying a sub. Hell they do not do that for people buying a sub now. Even when the game was sub-only, you STILL had to pay for extra ship costumes and such.
Take the $15 you would pay for a sub. Buy a $10 card one month, followed by a $20 the next. Take that 3000 points every two months and buy whatever you want that you think you should get for free for your subscription in a sub-only game. If you want more than that, then you are a little on the entitled side my friend.
first thing I want to say is WOW racist much cuz that first paragraph shows that you are, second I want to say if your spending money on this game that's your choice but you don't have to spend a dime on this game I don't know how many times I and others have said this but it never seems to get thru some peoples skulls. Third F2P was the best thing that happen to this game and its first year of it was great and I cannot wait to see the next year, I got into this game six months after launch and when I first played the demo I was hooked and at the time I said I would never play a subscription game this game changed that even though now it is F2P I have gone and played other games that are sub like TOR and RIFT all though I have put RIFT aside because that game was a grind to me and even tho TOR has recently gone F2P it is not a very friendly option for some players because you have to buy unlocks to get the end game gear if you want to have that so you can lever your toons but after that what is there is nothing to do unless you spend some money on it this is why I still play STO real heavy. Just recently like December a buddy of mine bought me a Life Time Subscription and he plans to get one himself this year that alone should show how much players enjoy playing this game yeah sure it has its problems but in the long run its better than it was after launch again there are bugs that need fixing and there are bugs that come up with every new update or patch but the game is playable and Cryptic will keep working on those problems even though it will take time you cannot fix something over night as long as players keep sending in reports with a extensive and long description of what they came across that will help things along. Bugs like what you say the battle cloak of the B'rel BoP have been updated since launch and it is better than it was two years ago when you would get uncloaked by message popups where now it is only certain popups that uncloak you I can live with those. Last but not least I just want to say if you think this game is such a grind then turn in your admiral pips or Lt. General armor and go some where else and make room for the players that love this game because it is F2P and choose to spend or not to spend money on it, I for one will even though I am a LTS will spend money on it because there are still ships in the C-Store that I do not have and for any future ships that will come most of that will come from getting Dilithium ingame but on occasion I will go and spend like $20 on a card to get 2k zen, so to the OP live with it that this game is F2P or leave it will never go back to the way it was just because it was not enough for the game to live on or expand on.
Cryptic keep up the good work and continue to read post like these but ignore the part that this game is a sweatshop because in my opinion it is not as bad as other games out there and you have done a great job in making this game a great F2P game.
yep your QQ opinion indeed, one whos being torn a new one from what i can gather from the thread...
i shouldntve lengthened this thread by posting here...
Interested in Role Playing? Join the 12th Fleet Science division!
*Indeed I feel about the same maybe it was bait cause it sure made my inner troll come to the surface...
This is the perfect example of the "me me me" seen in people today; how sad.
Do keep in mind the nation's; indeed the world's economy, is currently in ruins. A great many people out there simply cannot afford to pay for this or any other game or "extras" in their lives. I've paid my dues since December 2009 in Beta, but I don't begrudge those who can't as you seem so willing to do.
As for earning items via grinding? Let me get you some cheese and crackers to go with your whine.
Fleet ships and weapons are earned....by grinding; mostly for dilithium in one way or another. These items are far superior to anything one can purchase at the exchange or anywhere else for that matter. They ARE worth the effort. Besides, many of us here enjoy a good fight; which is why we've chosen this genre. Some of us even enjoy and are proud of the fact we have EARNED all we have; rather than as I'm sure is true those peeps who simply pull out their credit cards, buy their way along and call themselves "veterans" when in fact they're NOOBS with a little extra spending money. rofl
STOP thinking only of yourself and PLEASE stop your whining.
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This is the perfect example of the "me me me" seen in people today; how sad.
Do keep in mind the nation's; indeed the world's economy, is currently in ruins. A great many people out there simply cannot afford to pay for this or any other game or "extras" in their lives. I've paid my dues since December 2009 in Beta, but I don't begrudge those who can't as you seem so willing to do.
As for earning items via grinding? Let me get you some cheese and crackers to go with your whine.
Fleet ships and weapons are earned....by grinding; mostly for dilithium in one way or another. These items are far superior to anything one can purchase at the exchange or anywhere else for that matter. They ARE worth the effort. Besides, many of us here enjoy a good fight; which is why we've chosen this genre. Some of us even enjoy and are proud of the fact we have EARNED all we have; rather than as I'm sure is true those peeps who simply pull out their credit cards, buy their way along and call themselves "veterans" when in fact they're NOOBS with a little extra spending money. rofl
STOP thinking only of yourself and PLEASE stop your whining.
Can anyone list all these things, not including promotional events like the winter stuff which is not really content but filler and the Fleet Starbase that effectively manages to bleed resources from the players each month. How much actual content in terms of...
- Missions
- STF's (Only one I can think of is "Into the Hive" which both parts have one map and people could do better in the foundry)
- Other content, such as reworking aspects such as the skill tree, boff powers and the actual UI which still has some unrepaired flaws?
Can anyone think of anymore?
I am slightly suspicious of this poster... the name is almost exactly the same as OP...
Be that as it may...
I wonder if OP will do exactly as the guy who made the "Chel'gret sucks" thread did... and disappear... XD
I hope he doesn't his posts are actually quite entertaining...
Hilariously false. Nothing in the game requires your money. While it's certainly true you could pay your way to some semblance of power, on the flip side...
...there's this.
It boils down to how you'd rather do it, which was the intended concept from the inception of Dilithium refinement. Personally I take a hybrid approach; if I want something, I grind zen to make half the price and pony up cash for the other half. I got the Oddy and Vesta packs for the price of a single ship that way. ;D
I don't get this P2P fetish some people have. Handing a company your money on a monthly basis doesn't magically prevent technical problems. I wonder what OP's argument would be if he/she didn't have F2P as a scapegoat...
I Support Disco | Disco is Love | Disco is Life
I played Vanguard when it came out. Even bought the collector's edition.
...I fully support the market trend towards f2p.
We do not disagree with wanting a better environment to play in. What we disagree about is that a subscription-based system will help things. Based on the arguments posted so far, a subscription system will just make things worse.
Alright, based on your criteria:
-Missions - Gamma Quadrant Series, Alpha, No-Win Scenario/Fleet events
-STFs-Really should be grouped with missions, but Into the Hive is the only one.
-Others- Based on your examples, skill tree-IIRC, it's been the same since before F2P. They didn't fix it during subscription time.
BoFF powers - again, mostly the same since before F2P. Bugs were neither fixed during sub time nor F2P time
UI - Same as BoFF powers.
So what is not making excuses? You have made up your mind that we are wrong, and that any point we bring up is an 'excuse'. A lot of us? How many? 10? 100?
We don't bury our head in the sand about the shortcomings. We see them, and we recognise them. However, a subscription system is not going to help with these shortcomings! Get that into your head, would you, and quit being so stuck in your ways.
Anyhow, B'Rel battle cloak? Can't say I noticed anything wrong. UI fixes? Which ones? It works fine for me. Be more specific. I haven't even seen any threads on these bugs. If someone could tell me the specifics on these two so-called bugs, that would be nice, because they do not exist on my system. The community would certainly take up the torch on bugfixing, if they exist for most people.
To put it another way, when The Old Republic offered F2P, I took a chance at it, and even dropped a little cash so I could get the "Preferred Status", and to be honest, I felt like everything but "Preferred". The game is not friendly to F2P or "Preferred" status players. After I reached level 20, I said "forget it, it's a slog all the way up if I'm not paying monthly", and left the game. I was told "You should feel grateful that they allowed you to even play!", which only convinced me more that they had taken the wrong approach.
PWE/Cryptic took the right approach. Have they messed up? Oh yes. They've bungled things from time to time, and have given me headaches on occasion, but still, they've done well for what they have, and I hope the game sticks around a long time.
On another note, I won a Wells class timeship from a lockbox today. I had 12 million credits and thought to myself, "I can spare a few million for a couple of keys", and so I bought a couple keys and opened two of my boxes. The second one had the timeship in it. I was thrilled! I didn't have to spend a dime, and I got a really cool looking ship. Does that ship give me an advantage in the game? Not really. I went to Ker'rat and held my own for a while, but eventually I exploded. Just as if I had flown my Sovereign or my Galaxy class. I'm a fair player, and a lock box ship hasn't changed that. They don't make you super-OP ultra awesome players. They're just different shinies for people who want a different shiny.
Seriously, if F2P bothers you that much, OP, you can always go somewhere else and play another MMO. Just keep in mind that they'll eventually go F2P as well. Free-to-Play makes money if you do it right. An MMO can't run off of good wishes and devoted fanbases. They need money. This is how they make money, because the previous model was failing to make money, so they changed the model to a profitable one. That's basic business 101. That we get a decent F2P MMO out of it, and that it's rather fun for what it is, is just a bonus.
TL;DR - "Relax. It's not worth popping a rivet. Money good, closed servers bad. You go play now."
If you were indeed around before F2P then you should remember all too well, the year where there was only like two additions to the game because of all the cut backs and lack of funds for the game. Since it went F2P it's had more than double the amount of content that was added before.
Also, you can't say that they are forcing anybody to spend money, as far as F2P MMO models go, STO has the best I've ever seen. You can play all of the content, get through all end game content etc, without having to spend a penny.