Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
I'm a lifetimer since a month now... I don't know what to think about it. I'm thinking things like, "I want my money back"....I will keep playing the game for sure, I love it.. But this means also the end of the verry mature community... F2P means that a lot of kids and people that should stay out of a game like lotro will get into it... And that exactly was the reason I started with the game.. because of it's great community. Lotro don't need the new stream of people in my opnion. I don't know how it is on the american servers but in Europe the population was fresh and healthy, even on lower lvls. I hope they gonna thread the lifetimers like normal sub-players... MMO's are becomming a mass product and I don't really like that.. My eyes are on SWTOR now, I hope they don't become FTP... if that happens I'm done with mmo's... Ah well we will see what happens. I just hope Turbine will provide the lotro playerbase with more information about it. The good thing about the FTP is that there will come an increase in content, like in DDO is happening now.
------------------------------------------------------------------- waiting for ... nothing..
One of the main issue that most P2P faces is that at one point, new player areas becomes less crowded, new players get bored much more easily given the lack of players in the lower areas, etc. This can hurt the game in the long run.
That's where the F2P/DDO Model aspect fixes all this. It brings a very healthy influx of new players to populate the lower level areas, also helps retain new players. Another positive aspect is that a casual player can simply buy a zone per month, meaning that, instead of paying for a sub to play through Content that you don't even have access yet and won't have access for a few extra months because you are casual, the player can buy a zone and play for as long as he want. Once he completed the zone, he can simply buy a new one without having to worry about a Subscription.
Of course everything has it's Pros and Cons, in this case F2Ps have a slightly more immature community, but given the nature of LotrO, there shouldn't be any major impact to the overall maturity of the community. That said, I do wish that they input a strict name policy to possibly prohibit numbers/symbols in character names or copyrighted names. Sorry but I just don't need to see xXxLegolasxXx or IpWnUrMoM69 running around :P
Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
I was expecting something like this, so not much of a surprise there. It seems to be the way of the future. I'm not quite sure if I like this trend, but I'll try to remain optimistic about it.
What puzzles me is that we have companies openly trying to double-milk the customer by having both a subscription and item shop at the same time (WoW, EQ2,STO etc.)... and seemingly getting away with it (Celestial mount anyone?). That sorta goes completely against the F2P trend at first glance. Then again, couldn't this Turbine scheme easily be turned into the same kind of deal, just in a more subtle way?
Sure... sure... there will be people playing for free, but if they want to truly get somewhere in the game, they'll have to pay for things and subscribe to VIP access. And then... once in the trap... they can be double-milked through the item shop with luxury furniture, XP potions, respecs, cool looking mounts and once people get used to the idea... you can buy your very own ring of power. Same effect in the end. It's just that they give you some free samples of the drug first
So, how many Turbine points for The One Ring anyway? We wants it... we needs it... precious...
*shrug*
Well, as long as the entertainment to money invested ratio turns out to be worth it, I guess I'll be okay. So far, MMOs have been a far better investment for me in terms of money spent per hour of entertainment compared to single player games. Far better than any other type of entertainment as well. If this new approach changes that, it's back to single player games and pen'n'paper RPGs.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
No, we aren't. The game has been fundamentally changed. Peopel with more money than brains will be able to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for perfect legendary items, stat buffs, super potions, etc... like every other f2p game out there. I like P2P models because everyone is on equal footing. This has now been ruined. The fundamental laws of the game have been changed drasticly. That is NOT what I paid for. I do not like Pay to Win games. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
No, we aren't. The game has been fundamentally changed. Peopel with more money than brains will be able to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for perfect legendary items, stat buffs, super potions, etc... like every other f2p game out there. I like P2P models because everyone is on equal footing. This has now been ruined. The fundamental laws of the game have been changed drasticly. That is NOT what I paid for. I do not like Pay to Win games. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
Ok, I don't support this change, for the record. However, your reasoning is faulty. Have you played DDO? Have you looked at the DDO shop? There is NOTHING in the shop that gives a player a distinct advantage that they could not have gotten from just playing. They just get it faster. Let me repeat, there is NOTHING pay to win about the DDO shop. Now, as Turbine/WB looks like they are following the same model, I would bank on there being NOTHING pay to win about the LOTRO shop.
I knew this was going to be happen after Turbine was aquired by TimeWarner.. this was obviously not a change they wanted otherwise they would of done it long before.
I guess desperate times call for desperate emasure. I guess if you cant beat wow, what other wya to boost your playerbase by turning the game into a cheap F2P, with cash shop galore items. Turning the Lotro franchise into a F2P gj turbine. I suppose if you cant beat the number 1, the only way to compete is going F2P, with one of the worlds biggest IP's. What a joke.
I guess desperate times call for desperate emasure. I guess if you cant beat wow, what other wya to boost your playerbase by turning the game into a cheap F2P, with cash shop galore items. Turning the Lotro franchise into a F2P gj turbine. I suppose if you cant beat the number 1, the only way to compete is going F2P, with one of the worlds biggest IP's. What a joke.
God.
Please tell me you're kidding?
Turbine never had the intention of beating WoW. Why do you think there is little PvP content? Their intention was to succesfully develop a story influenced MMO which they did imo.
You couldn't be more obvious of a troll with that statement.
Personally, I feel sorry for the poor sods who paid out for a lifetime sub. C'est la vie.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
No, we aren't. The game has been fundamentally changed. Peopel with more money than brains will be able to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for perfect legendary items, stat buffs, super potions, etc... like every other f2p game out there. I like P2P models because everyone is on equal footing. This has now been ruined. The fundamental laws of the game have been changed drasticly. That is NOT what I paid for. I do not like Pay to Win games. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
Then you have nothing to worry about because perfect legendary items will not be on sale in the store
The game will be similar to ddo and that is by no way a pay to win game with the store. Yes, you are correct, there will be buff potions or xp potions which will be available for cash for non-subscribers or to be gotten with your turbine points for yoru sub or life time sub.
So worst case scenario is that players level faster. Which in my opinion is a bad thing because you are essentially spending effort to bypass the game. However, you still need to do the required game play for everything else.
I realize that people are going to go half (or all) cocked because they suddenly think this is like a korean cash shop grinder. All you need to do is look in the ddo store and that is probably what non sub players will have access to.
I looked at the low lvl weapons in thier shop. I would get far more than that for free just playing.
If you don't like the idea of buff pots or xp pots (which of course sort of negates the additional xp weekends then? I mean they do have those for everyone) which will be available for everyone, as a game changer I can certainly respect that point.
But let's not make thigns up and imbue this announcement with any more than what it is.
but again, just look into the ddo store. I think that will be the best example to those who are concerned.
my worry is more on the influx of dubiouis players. Then again, there are so many dubious players with bank accounts so that is what it is.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
To illustrate what I mean with an analogy:
Let's say there is a club that serves exclusive drinks and food. Instead of paying per meal, you pay a very high monthly fee, or an extremely high one-time fee to get a lifetime membership. The high entry cost, even for a month, dissuades most people from giving it a try. Now imagine that the management decides to open the club up for everyone for a potentially higher profit. Instead of paying a high monthly fee, people just pay for what they eat and drink, come there when they feel like it, and pay as much as they can afford each time.
The regulars that paid by the month can choose to come there as regular customers, or just stop coming. The lifetime members will still get free food and drinks, but would you say they are still getting the exact same service they paid for?
It's not the exact same thing, of course, but exclusivity is part of the reason for playing a p2p game over an f2p game. That gets taken away with the new payment model, and the lifetime subscribers who enjoyed the exclusivity will definitely not feel they are getting the "exact same game play as before". Some may enjoy getting more people into the game, others not. Lifetime subscribers should expect to get screwed at some point so they only have themselves to blame. Still, saying that nothing changes for the lifetime subscribers is an insult to those who gambled and paid for the full package in advance.
A bold move, to be sure. It is either a roaring success or it will be one of the big flops of MMO history. Only time will tell. I respect the courage of the decision. I am not sure what they brings. Monthly fees are some stable income you can calculate on. How certain can you plan on shop transactions? It sure puts pressure on games with both monthly fee AND shops, like STO and CO. So now that the future is here, many seem happy with it. Also a surprise.
I never would have thought LOTRO would be one of the first mayor MMOs to make this change. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition, eh?
Anyway, any well founded analysis from some expert from MMORPG staff to explain this? It is a reaction or a decline, or a plan to expand? Or what? I am not sure to read this news correctly.
i'm excited about it. I wanted to go back to LotRO for a while, but couldn't convince myself it was worth the money. Especially with FFXIV and SW:TOR coming up.
Honestly, I think this is a great move for a game thats been out a few years, to spark up some interest. hell if i enjoy the game as much as I used to I just may sub for a few months. Thats more than i could have said before.
Turbine seems to have found a more effective way to make money off thier games, and to get more people playing them, and also empower the player a little bit. Everyone wins.
DDO and LOTRO free to play, but Asheron's Call 1 still has a subscription fee? Something doesn't make sense here.
Haha yeah. I bet it's on its way at some point... or they've given up on AC in a sense, thinking it's gonna keep who it keeps and no one else will be interested at this point.
Quote from Frelorn on the AC forums:
"I will let you all peek behind the curtain here for a sec... A while back, long before DDO went FTP, AC was discussed as being the first one here to go this route. It made sense after all. So we did some investigation, and found that due to the way AC was coded, how the billing system works with AC and how the server communicate with our Authentication servers, we would have to re-write pretty much the entire game in order to make it work the way we as a company wanted it to. We are talking an enormous amount of time and money for something unproven.(FTP)
So then after looking at DDO, it was found to be much easier because the game and all related things were better designed to handle a switch like this.
Now this is not to say we won't ever take AC FTP, but there are no plans for it right now. I will however not say this won't ever happen. "
As for your theory on them giving up on AC, they've pumped out a lot of new features in the past year. This month is going to bring the next new playable race, and they have been working on a landscape texture upgrade. All of those features and additions are on top of the monthly content they add. There is definetly no giving up on AC, it is just vastly different in design from those other games and doesn't have a direct swap over to a F2P model, also it's engine is older so it would cost a lot more to do.
Turbine seems to have found a more effective way to make money off thier games, and to get more people playing them, and also empower the player a little bit. Everyone wins.
In business - there is no such thing as 'everyone wins'.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
To illustrate what I mean with an analogy:
Let's say there is a club that serves exclusive drinks and food. Instead of paying per meal, you pay a very high monthly fee, or an extremely high one-time fee to get a lifetime membership. The high entry cost, even for a month, dissuades most people from giving it a try. Now imagine that the management decides to open the club up for everyone for a potentially higher profit. Instead of paying a high monthly fee, people just pay for what they eat and drink, come there when they feel like it, and pay as much as they can afford each time.
The regulars that paid by the month can choose to come there as regular customers, or just stop coming. The lifetime members will still get free food and drinks, but would you say they are still getting the exact same service they paid for?
It's not the exact same thing, of course, but exclusivity is part of the reason for playing a p2p game over an f2p game. That gets taken away with the new payment model, and the lifetime subscribers who enjoyed the exclusivity will definitely not feel they are getting the "exact same game play as before". Some may enjoy getting more people into the game, others not. Lifetime subscribers should expect to get screwed at some point so they only have themselves to blame. Still, saying that nothing changes for the lifetime subscribers is an insult to those who gambled and paid for the full package in advance.
Except that you dont ever want exclusivity in an online game.
You want more players to be playing.
Life time members were paying for the right to continue playing the game into the future of the game without ever having to pay an additional subscription fee.
that's what they were getting. So in your analogy they are still getting free food and drinks which is exactly what they were paying for. However, if you want to add the exclusivity clause then that works perfectly for a high end club where one might want it to be exclusive. that is about keepig people out.
But in no way shape or form do you ever want to keep people from playing an online game. If you want to say that allowing for the additional free to play model will let in more undesirables, that is probably the case. But regardless of whether more undesirables come in, that is not what paying for an online game is about. It is about getting game play for your cash.
and the lifetime sub is about getting a lot of game play for (over time) little cash.
Nothing more.
edit: in additon I understand what you are saying in that paying for a game is a soft barrier of entry. And would keep out a good amout of people not inclined or not able to pay. But there is no guarantee that the person who is paying an online sub will be any better person than a person who just does't have the cash or is too young for a job. I realize that "young people" can be trying at times but at the same time I'm not convinced that all younger people fall into this category.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Lifetime subscribers should expect to get screwed at some point so they only have themselves to blame. Still, saying that nothing changes for the lifetime subscribers is an insult to those who gambled and paid for the full package in advance.
Not really.
I have a lifetime sub which I bought all the way back when LOTRO first launched. If you think about it, I've been playing the game for free for over two years now, since the $199 I paid back then is the equivalent of just over 13 months of an active, monthly sub that someone else pays $15 a month for. The reason I paid that money was because I saw myself playing the game for more than a year, so the lifetime fee was justified.
Seeing this new move by Turbine doesn't make me angry, or make me feel insulted. I've already gotten more out of the game than I've paid for, so in my book, it's all good. If this gives LOTRO a new influx of cash and allows Turbine to do more with the game world, I'm all for it.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
To illustrate what I mean with an analogy:
Let's say there is a club that serves exclusive drinks and food. Instead of paying per meal, you pay a very high monthly fee, or an extremely high one-time fee to get a lifetime membership. The high entry cost, even for a month, dissuades most people from giving it a try. Now imagine that the management decides to open the club up for everyone for a potentially higher profit. Instead of paying a high monthly fee, people just pay for what they eat and drink, come there when they feel like it, and pay as much as they can afford each time.
The regulars that paid by the month can choose to come there as regular customers, or just stop coming. The lifetime members will still get free food and drinks, but would you say they are still getting the exact same service they paid for?
It's not the exact same thing, of course, but exclusivity is part of the reason for playing a p2p game over an f2p game. That gets taken away with the new payment model, and the lifetime subscribers who enjoyed the exclusivity will definitely not feel they are getting the "exact same game play as before". Some may enjoy getting more people into the game, others not. Lifetime subscribers should expect to get screwed at some point so they only have themselves to blame. Still, saying that nothing changes for the lifetime subscribers is an insult to those who gambled and paid for the full package in advance.
did you even read the details on Lotros website? those who have the life time subs is not affected at all, no restrictions on the numbers of character or class they can make, nothing was taken away from those who shell out the bucks and got the life time deal.
only argument I see from your end is, if you did shell out $200+ for the lifetime sub just so you don't have to worry about paying monthly, only to find out later that the game will be free any way .. you will almost feel like .. cheated. well, .. sh*t happens. but if i recall the lifetime subs were only availble for limited time when Lotros just came out. so you have all of those years to now.. guess it evens out. besides, free play means you have more players to play with. I wish I bought the life time sub.
Interesting. I'm gonna see how this turns out. As long as the quality remains high and we don't slip into the archtypical cash shop worst-case scenario, I think it's a great idea.
I'm also feeling good because it worked well for DDO.
Comments
EDIT: nvm, didn't see part of the post which my answer was related to.
Unlike DDO Lord Of The Rings is actually a good mmo. This is great news and I cant wait to play. Now if they just make an open pvp server.
But nothing changes for them. They don't have to pay a monthly fee and retain vip status which is essentially the same as a monthly subscriber.
The only thing that changes for monthly subscribers and lifetime sub holders is that they get free points each month to spend in the turbine store and can spend additional money if they want to buy a cosmetic item or whatnot.
The only thing that this changes is that players who were not inclined to pay a subscription have options to either pay a la cart or pay nothing, have somewhat limited options but can get to lvl 50 without spending a dime.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I'm a lifetimer since a month now... I don't know what to think about it. I'm thinking things like, "I want my money back"....I will keep playing the game for sure, I love it.. But this means also the end of the verry mature community... F2P means that a lot of kids and people that should stay out of a game like lotro will get into it... And that exactly was the reason I started with the game.. because of it's great community. Lotro don't need the new stream of people in my opnion. I don't know how it is on the american servers but in Europe the population was fresh and healthy, even on lower lvls. I hope they gonna thread the lifetimers like normal sub-players... MMO's are becomming a mass product and I don't really like that.. My eyes are on SWTOR now, I hope they don't become FTP... if that happens I'm done with mmo's... Ah well we will see what happens. I just hope Turbine will provide the lotro playerbase with more information about it. The good thing about the FTP is that there will come an increase in content, like in DDO is happening now.
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waiting for ... nothing..
There will never be an open pvp server of lotro,
Lotro is a pve game, so the main focus is on pve. They follow the lore.
Unless they make a second faction so you can pve with the orcs from morder, but I don't see that happen
-------------------------------------------------------------------
waiting for ... nothing..
To clear up a few misconceptions.
One of the main issue that most P2P faces is that at one point, new player areas becomes less crowded, new players get bored much more easily given the lack of players in the lower areas, etc. This can hurt the game in the long run.
That's where the F2P/DDO Model aspect fixes all this. It brings a very healthy influx of new players to populate the lower level areas, also helps retain new players. Another positive aspect is that a casual player can simply buy a zone per month, meaning that, instead of paying for a sub to play through Content that you don't even have access yet and won't have access for a few extra months because you are casual, the player can buy a zone and play for as long as he want. Once he completed the zone, he can simply buy a new one without having to worry about a Subscription.
Of course everything has it's Pros and Cons, in this case F2Ps have a slightly more immature community, but given the nature of LotrO, there shouldn't be any major impact to the overall maturity of the community. That said, I do wish that they input a strict name policy to possibly prohibit numbers/symbols in character names or copyrighted names. Sorry but I just don't need to see xXxLegolasxXx or IpWnUrMoM69 running around :P
A lot changes for the lifetime subscribers. It won't be the same game anymore, so they are no longer getting the service they paid for. Regular subscribers have the option to stop paying Turbine when they no longer enjoy the game. Lifetime subscribers paid in advance. That's part of the gamble of getting a lifetime subscription, of course. The game might change radically, or even get canceled before you get your money's worth. In this case the game will change a lot from how it was originally in one update, and the lifetime subscribers are the only ones without the option to vote with their wallets when offered an inferior product.
I was expecting something like this, so not much of a surprise there. It seems to be the way of the future. I'm not quite sure if I like this trend, but I'll try to remain optimistic about it.
What puzzles me is that we have companies openly trying to double-milk the customer by having both a subscription and item shop at the same time (WoW, EQ2,STO etc.)... and seemingly getting away with it (Celestial mount anyone?). That sorta goes completely against the F2P trend at first glance. Then again, couldn't this Turbine scheme easily be turned into the same kind of deal, just in a more subtle way?
Sure... sure... there will be people playing for free, but if they want to truly get somewhere in the game, they'll have to pay for things and subscribe to VIP access. And then... once in the trap... they can be double-milked through the item shop with luxury furniture, XP potions, respecs, cool looking mounts and once people get used to the idea... you can buy your very own ring of power. Same effect in the end. It's just that they give you some free samples of the drug first
So, how many Turbine points for The One Ring anyway? We wants it... we needs it... precious...
*shrug*
Well, as long as the entertainment to money invested ratio turns out to be worth it, I guess I'll be okay. So far, MMOs have been a far better investment for me in terms of money spent per hour of entertainment compared to single player games. Far better than any other type of entertainment as well. If this new approach changes that, it's back to single player games and pen'n'paper RPGs.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
You are getting the exact same service you paid for.
As far as not being able to vote with one's wallet and cancel, well "ok". but that was a given regardless of any changes, good or bad.
But lifetime subscribers will have the "exact same game play as before".
The only other thing that changes is a huge influx of players for good or ill.
but you are getting the exact same service you paid for. Nothing is being taken away for lifetime subscribers.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
No, we aren't. The game has been fundamentally changed. Peopel with more money than brains will be able to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for perfect legendary items, stat buffs, super potions, etc... like every other f2p game out there. I like P2P models because everyone is on equal footing. This has now been ruined. The fundamental laws of the game have been changed drasticly. That is NOT what I paid for. I do not like Pay to Win games. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
Ok, I don't support this change, for the record. However, your reasoning is faulty. Have you played DDO? Have you looked at the DDO shop? There is NOTHING in the shop that gives a player a distinct advantage that they could not have gotten from just playing. They just get it faster. Let me repeat, there is NOTHING pay to win about the DDO shop. Now, as Turbine/WB looks like they are following the same model, I would bank on there being NOTHING pay to win about the LOTRO shop.
I knew this was going to be happen after Turbine was aquired by TimeWarner.. this was obviously not a change they wanted otherwise they would of done it long before.
I guess desperate times call for desperate emasure. I guess if you cant beat wow, what other wya to boost your playerbase by turning the game into a cheap F2P, with cash shop galore items. Turning the Lotro franchise into a F2P gj turbine. I suppose if you cant beat the number 1, the only way to compete is going F2P, with one of the worlds biggest IP's. What a joke.
God.
Please tell me you're kidding?
Turbine never had the intention of beating WoW. Why do you think there is little PvP content? Their intention was to succesfully develop a story influenced MMO which they did imo.
You couldn't be more obvious of a troll with that statement.
Then you have nothing to worry about because perfect legendary items will not be on sale in the store
The game will be similar to ddo and that is by no way a pay to win game with the store. Yes, you are correct, there will be buff potions or xp potions which will be available for cash for non-subscribers or to be gotten with your turbine points for yoru sub or life time sub.
So worst case scenario is that players level faster. Which in my opinion is a bad thing because you are essentially spending effort to bypass the game. However, you still need to do the required game play for everything else.
I realize that people are going to go half (or all) cocked because they suddenly think this is like a korean cash shop grinder. All you need to do is look in the ddo store and that is probably what non sub players will have access to.
I looked at the low lvl weapons in thier shop. I would get far more than that for free just playing.
If you don't like the idea of buff pots or xp pots (which of course sort of negates the additional xp weekends then? I mean they do have those for everyone) which will be available for everyone, as a game changer I can certainly respect that point.
But let's not make thigns up and imbue this announcement with any more than what it is.
but again, just look into the ddo store. I think that will be the best example to those who are concerned.
my worry is more on the influx of dubiouis players. Then again, there are so many dubious players with bank accounts so that is what it is.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
To illustrate what I mean with an analogy:
Let's say there is a club that serves exclusive drinks and food. Instead of paying per meal, you pay a very high monthly fee, or an extremely high one-time fee to get a lifetime membership. The high entry cost, even for a month, dissuades most people from giving it a try. Now imagine that the management decides to open the club up for everyone for a potentially higher profit. Instead of paying a high monthly fee, people just pay for what they eat and drink, come there when they feel like it, and pay as much as they can afford each time.
The regulars that paid by the month can choose to come there as regular customers, or just stop coming. The lifetime members will still get free food and drinks, but would you say they are still getting the exact same service they paid for?
It's not the exact same thing, of course, but exclusivity is part of the reason for playing a p2p game over an f2p game. That gets taken away with the new payment model, and the lifetime subscribers who enjoyed the exclusivity will definitely not feel they are getting the "exact same game play as before". Some may enjoy getting more people into the game, others not. Lifetime subscribers should expect to get screwed at some point so they only have themselves to blame. Still, saying that nothing changes for the lifetime subscribers is an insult to those who gambled and paid for the full package in advance.
A bold move, to be sure. It is either a roaring success or it will be one of the big flops of MMO history. Only time will tell. I respect the courage of the decision. I am not sure what they brings. Monthly fees are some stable income you can calculate on. How certain can you plan on shop transactions? It sure puts pressure on games with both monthly fee AND shops, like STO and CO. So now that the future is here, many seem happy with it. Also a surprise.
I never would have thought LOTRO would be one of the first mayor MMOs to make this change. No one expects the Spanish Inquisition, eh?
Anyway, any well founded analysis from some expert from MMORPG staff to explain this? It is a reaction or a decline, or a plan to expand? Or what? I am not sure to read this news correctly.
i'm excited about it. I wanted to go back to LotRO for a while, but couldn't convince myself it was worth the money. Especially with FFXIV and SW:TOR coming up.
Honestly, I think this is a great move for a game thats been out a few years, to spark up some interest. hell if i enjoy the game as much as I used to I just may sub for a few months. Thats more than i could have said before.
Turbine seems to have found a more effective way to make money off thier games, and to get more people playing them, and also empower the player a little bit. Everyone wins.
Quote from Frelorn on the AC forums:
"I will let you all peek behind the curtain here for a sec... A while back, long before DDO went FTP, AC was discussed as being the first one here to go this route. It made sense after all. So we did some investigation, and found that due to the way AC was coded, how the billing system works with AC and how the server communicate with our Authentication servers, we would have to re-write pretty much the entire game in order to make it work the way we as a company wanted it to. We are talking an enormous amount of time and money for something unproven.(FTP)
So then after looking at DDO, it was found to be much easier because the game and all related things were better designed to handle a switch like this.
Now this is not to say we won't ever take AC FTP, but there are no plans for it right now. I will however not say this won't ever happen. "
As for your theory on them giving up on AC, they've pumped out a lot of new features in the past year. This month is going to bring the next new playable race, and they have been working on a landscape texture upgrade. All of those features and additions are on top of the monthly content they add. There is definetly no giving up on AC, it is just vastly different in design from those other games and doesn't have a direct swap over to a F2P model, also it's engine is older so it would cost a lot more to do.
In business - there is no such thing as 'everyone wins'.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Except that you dont ever want exclusivity in an online game.
You want more players to be playing.
Life time members were paying for the right to continue playing the game into the future of the game without ever having to pay an additional subscription fee.
that's what they were getting. So in your analogy they are still getting free food and drinks which is exactly what they were paying for. However, if you want to add the exclusivity clause then that works perfectly for a high end club where one might want it to be exclusive. that is about keepig people out.
But in no way shape or form do you ever want to keep people from playing an online game. If you want to say that allowing for the additional free to play model will let in more undesirables, that is probably the case. But regardless of whether more undesirables come in, that is not what paying for an online game is about. It is about getting game play for your cash.
and the lifetime sub is about getting a lot of game play for (over time) little cash.
Nothing more.
edit: in additon I understand what you are saying in that paying for a game is a soft barrier of entry. And would keep out a good amout of people not inclined or not able to pay. But there is no guarantee that the person who is paying an online sub will be any better person than a person who just does't have the cash or is too young for a job. I realize that "young people" can be trying at times but at the same time I'm not convinced that all younger people fall into this category.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Not really.
I have a lifetime sub which I bought all the way back when LOTRO first launched. If you think about it, I've been playing the game for free for over two years now, since the $199 I paid back then is the equivalent of just over 13 months of an active, monthly sub that someone else pays $15 a month for. The reason I paid that money was because I saw myself playing the game for more than a year, so the lifetime fee was justified.
Seeing this new move by Turbine doesn't make me angry, or make me feel insulted. I've already gotten more out of the game than I've paid for, so in my book, it's all good. If this gives LOTRO a new influx of cash and allows Turbine to do more with the game world, I'm all for it.
Would try to get into it if it had pvp...
did you even read the details on Lotros website? those who have the life time subs is not affected at all, no restrictions on the numbers of character or class they can make, nothing was taken away from those who shell out the bucks and got the life time deal.
only argument I see from your end is, if you did shell out $200+ for the lifetime sub just so you don't have to worry about paying monthly, only to find out later that the game will be free any way .. you will almost feel like .. cheated. well, .. sh*t happens. but if i recall the lifetime subs were only availble for limited time when Lotros just came out. so you have all of those years to now.. guess it evens out. besides, free play means you have more players to play with. I wish I bought the life time sub.
Interesting. I'm gonna see how this turns out. As long as the quality remains high and we don't slip into the archtypical cash shop worst-case scenario, I think it's a great idea.
I'm also feeling good because it worked well for DDO.