Free to Play model needs to change slightly! - IDEAS FOR RYZOM

Mjollren

I think it's a false lead, talking about the subscription cost and comparing it to other things. There are plenty people that will NOT subscribe unless really pushed, just as a life philosophy (actually had a guildie who openly admitted to never paying for online games whatsoever). There are plenty people who live in countries where $10 each month is actually a significant amount of money (eastern Europe, north Africa, parts of Asia and so on). Finally, there are always objective reasons to not subscribe - financial or simply not enough time to feel it's worth your money, you just want to be able to pop in 3 times per month and say hello to guildies.

So, trying to find a way to allow people to use their own character while not subscribed is quite valid. There are plenty of companies that found various ways to extract money out of players without crippling their experience (to be f2p in Ryzom is to be relegated as a healer most of the time; tanks have shitty life, mages can't really hit anything). Sure, on the other hand players should not be able to play infinitely without paying - that just defeats the purpose.

There's a fine balance to be found. I would not shoot down another's ideas just because they may require fine-tuning. If Ryzom is to be truly and fully enjoyed by masses, many entrenched things may require changing. The current payment model is one of them.

I agree with Mjollren here. I think not paying for a game because of a life philosophy or some such is bullshit, but all the other reasons are valid (you can add South America to the list of places where $10 per month is a significant amount of money and feels even more significant if you're only logging on a few times per month =P).

I think the problem is that f2p games are generally associated with a cash shop of some sort (be that cash shop pay to win or simply cosmetics). So the game gets its revenue that way. Ryzom doesn't have a cash shop, so it needs to support itself in another way.

I think Hijati's idea is worth considering, given a few modifications and such.

I never played Everquest 2, but someone told me they have a f2p method in which certain classes and races need to be purchased from their cash shop, while others are completely f2p. Or how many characters you can have per account, etc.