so not even a year and swtor goes free to play and EA thinks its because people have said they will come back if it was free to play, you know why cause they don't want to pay 15 a month for a game that has no good content. Bioware and EA wait all this time to just announce this maybe instead of working on a F2P module you guys should of worked on content. Are we even going to get 1.4 before this F2P stuff comes out. Look at wow that isn't f2p hasn't been and it been up for how many years people still pay for that because of the content

 

 

WHY DON'T YOU GUYS LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE PLAYING THIS GAME WE WANT CONTENT WE WANT GOOD PVP, NOT THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE LEFT DON'T LISTEN TO THEM, MOST WOULD COME BACK IF YOU PUT GOOD CONTENT IN THE GAME.

 

now it means this game will have less funding and less updates, which is slow anyway. You guys should bring back the Friday update tell us each week what's going on what the Devs are thinking on new content.

Personally this sounds like it could be awesome; I just hope you guys can pull it off well! Going free to play is something to be handled very, very, very carefully to be done right, I've learned.

 

The real point of my posting now is to point this out however:

 

You say we get 150 credits for past months before July 31st here: http://www.swtor.com/free

 

Then Jeff Hickman said we get 200 credits for past months before July 31st here: http://www.swtor.com/info/news/blog/20120731

 

Proof/quote from the above link: "Current and lapsed subscribers will earn 200 Cartel Coins for every paid month prior to today (July 31, 2012) and until the Free-to-Play option launches."

 

To smooth over the ever-present change = rage forum crowd, I'd strongly suggest you go with what Jeff Hickman said and give us all 200 credits for every month prior to July 31st!

After watching Warner Bros/Turbine convert Lord of the Rings Online to a free-to-play model, this news makes me very, very sad.

 

F2P, in my opinion, just sets up far too many temptations for a company to screw over its player base, be they subscribers or free-to-play. I saw it first hand in LOTRO, when WB/Turbine did things like remove critical items from the general in-game environment and make them exclusively available in the Turbine Store, EVEN FOR SUBSCRIBERS. I saw it in the way WB/Turbine turned EVERY LITTLE ITEM IN THE GAME into an insane grind -- a grind that can be BYPASSED ENTIRELY, ALL FOR A LOW 295 TURBINE POINTS (or whatever)!!!1!!11!

 

I also saw its effects in the form of seemingly-endless tweaking of the low-level/entry-level areas of the game, leaving the "endgame" (the veterans and subscribers) to rot. It was CLEARLY all about churning the subscriber base, bringing in new suckers... erm, CUSTOMERS... faster than people were quitting in disgust. Or at least, trying to compensate for the mass exodus. Or partially compensating. Or heck, just surviving in the face of the mass exodus. I don't know.

 

Bottom line for me is, I watched SWG go up in flames because SOE succumbed to a case of WoW envy. I watched LOTRO do the things the devs SWORE they would NEVER do -- screw their existing players. And now, EA/BioWare are taking their first toke on the crack pipe that is F2P.

 

I'm outta here.

 

Congratulations, EA. You've devoured yet another once-beloved game company, and turned it into... well, you-know-what. Your reputation as America's most-hated company is reinforced.

I swear... before the game came out, I remember reading that SWTOR was NOT going to go F2P no matter what... sad...

 

F2P communities are horrible...I think I might be done here...

I'll at least sub the first month. If you can flat-out buy the cartel coins, though, I'm out. No way I'm playing another CO.

And with that I am officially done with swtor...

Starting this Fall, there will be two ways to enjoy the game. First, you can continue as a subscriber, which gives you unlimited access to all game features and future Game Updates at no additional charge. Second, you have the option to play free to Level 50, with game play restrictions that limit game options and access to certain game content.

 

all you ppl see is F2P maybe you should read it before you start QQing

Edited August 1, 2012 by TheUndyingCorpse

"Oh my God! They killed Kenny! ...You bastards!" ©

Goodbye Sith and Jedi, hello pandas...

I'm out as well. The sh*t is now hitting the fan.

Why is the Sub remaining $15 when 50% of the game is free?

 

If I buy a Big Mac and Fries and the Fries are F2P I'm only going to pay for the Big Mac right?

 

What benefits does a subscription give? Full WZ and Ops is not worth $15 a month. Even less so with the obvious slowing of patches due to focus on maintaining F2P players.

 

This worries me also. I'm not going to pay 15 a month for only end game content thats not worth 15 bucks i would understand lowering the subscription price but this is becoming less of a legitimate game and more of a joke.

I'm 47+ years old... I'm not going to RANT over BioWare's decision here. It'll suffice to say, It's very disheartening to learn of this new option from Bio-Ware. I feel as a Loyal Star Wars fan like I've been thoroughly kicked in the teeth and I've wasted $15/mo since the game launched. Was really impressed with the graphics, in-game content, etc... But that's not worth $15/mo to me. So here's to another unsatisfied BioWare customer: /unsubscribed.

 

Good-bye SWTOR. I hope those of you who stay enjoy it and that they don't put in the P2W button!!! It's coming!!

 

Peace!

Well this is a hell of a news days today.

 

I have to admit, I like this game. Its a star wars game. What more is there to say?

 

Though I have canceled my subscription a few days ago for a simple reason most of the people around here did the same thing. There is nothing to do in this game. There is literaly nothing to do. I know some great fan of swtor can jump at me and bring up a few things to do in here, still, all of the things are the same!

 

We can get credits to buy some stuff that was the main focus of the last 2 patches. Yes stuff that is really cool costs a **** load and personally, i never got enough money to buy a GTN. You could say save up the millions of credits but i just dont have the patience to farm credits as the only thing i do. Real life work to get a reward is one thing. A video game where you work for a reward is a completely different thing.

 

I cleared all the raids before my guild fell apart. I did some pvp but here, pvp is nothing more than a constant farm. Before it was farming valor rank. Now its farming the points to buy war hero gear. Not much fun.

 

Leveling alts is the only thing i do. Yet even this fun aspect of game started becoming boring. I keep logging on and looking at my charctera. I like the graphics in this game and i have yet to see something that will feel like a match to me. Its a personal opinion. So i look at my chars, then log off to play kotor i got on steam for 2$. It makes me really sad, but it is true.

 

And now this....

 

Well to be honest, i feel quite a bit ****ed over by the coins. Collectors edition get extra coins. Yet I, who payed 60$ to get the copy of the game on xmas, which is worth 4x15$ = 600 coins, get nothing. This is not fair. I understand, collector eddition guys payed more, they should get more coins. But they got a malgus doll and a box full of stuff. All i got was 3 cds, no manual and a game that anyone can now get for free...

 

Additionally, the only thing right now that would make me reniew my sub is bioware saying "hey guys, hk-51 next week!" i really want that companion and wouls gladly play with it. But, sadly, it will not happen.

 

I find it extremely ironic that the time intervals between bioware saying "we will release content soon and often" is increasing exponentially(or so it feels at least) with every patch they put out.

 

In the end, I do not want to give up on this game. I love it. But developers are doing the exact opposite of what i or i suppose any other fan of star wars would expect from a mmo dedicated to star wars.

What a *********** joke of a company EA/Bioware is. the most funny part is how they spin it again and say it's a positive change and how excited they are.

 

Forget the secret space project, new engine and regular updates. Say hello to cartel coins and open your arms to 12 year olds.

 

haha i've been on the forums since before launch. i don't recall any of us 'calling' for F2P or thinking it's a good idea yet BW thinks they're giving the player base what we want. what a bunch of out of touch asses

Starting this Fall, there will be two ways to enjoy the game. First, you can continue as a subscriber, which gives you unlimited access to all game features and future Game Updates at no additional charge. Second, you have the option to play free to Level 50, with game play restrictions that limit game options and access to certain game content.

 

all you ppl see is F2P maybe you should read it before you start QQing

 

im sorry you dont realize the implications of this model, how it means there will be LESS quality and more quantity in lieu of the cash shop, more server lag, more spammers, more ninja looters, more farmers, less economy all for the promise of "more content" when they just fired half their staff...keep drinking the kool aid buddy...make no mistake they dont want "more people to experience the game" .....what they want is to make the 100 mill investment back for the beancounters at EA they dont give a **** if they turn this into pay 2 win , wich i promise you they will eventually when they realize the peopel that werent paying fifty cents a day , arent going to spend A DIME on the cash shop and will now hoard server space/bandwith for free...

 

and the best part? I , the paying customer from day one, is the one that ends up getting screwed , since now people get 70% of what ive paid 100s on (havent unsubbed since day one , plus the sixty dollar client price)for free basically and i am forced to deal with these unpleasant people that always populate free to play games....yeah ...i SOOOO wanna keep giving bioware my money.../sarcasm

wow i sense alot of complaining here

seriously

they just give us an OPTION to not pay monthly subscription

why ?

swtor is storytelling game

some people buy it to enjoy the story

"i dont need ops, i dont like pvp, i just want enjoy the story! why i have to pay monthly subscription ??"

there you go, F2P solve that problem

with no ops, limited wz/fp and locked for the new content

and maybe they'll unlock for new content when bw release paid expansion with more story

they can enjoy the story, they can roleplay all they want without monthly subscription choke you

but its still B2P, not fully F2P

 

and what happen to subscriber ? NOTHING change right ?

you pay, do your stuff wz/ops

+ they give you coin to buy some fancy (cosmetic ?) item, character perk (bank slot ?), and maybe new race to roll

they NOT force you to buy those coin, they GIVE it to you as bonus if you want to pay for wz/ops

 

we dont know exactly what stuff they offering with cartel coin

is it going to ruin the gameplay ? is it going to P2W ?

we dont know, we'll see after implemented

but you guys already trapped by your own opinion

lol

 

yes maybe they need to cut the sub price or add more endgame content immediately

but nothing wrong with this F2P option as long its not P2W

Speaking of the future, you have a very simple and clear track to make the game successfull:

 

1) Before anything else: start communicating with the fans in a two way fashion.

.......Not only exchange with them before it's too late to change features, based on player's feedback.

.......But also make sure to dig through the suggestion forums and have devs drop by and discuss with the players.

 

2) Stop butchering the SW lore.

.......Without a label this doesn't look like SW to me, even less that

.......Stop advertising with assets the majority of players told you they don't like or doesn't fit SW.

 

3) Fix your engine and network synchronization

.......From ugly shadows to seeing

.

.......And get your network synchronization and character positioning right

 

4) Actually implement the most requested quick wins like (check the forums)

• Legacy names changes
  
• Allow players to have separate last names from legacy ones
  
• Dual specs
  
• Queue to specific WZ
  
• Companions skill kits
  
• New quick slot bars
  
• Sale/load key bindings
  
• 7d GTN posting
  
• Appearance tabs
  
• Hide specific gear slots
  
• Gear dyes
  
• Free mods removal
  
• Instant teleporting to space ship & drop the orbital stations
  
• In game character customization
  
• Full companion customization
  
• Pazaak
  
• Chat bubbles
  
• ...
  

 

5) Stop wasting time on:

• WZ but add open world PvP
  
• Tube shooter but implement 3d space sim (X-Wing, not a soon gets old BF type)
  
• Generic V.O side quests or Class quests without real choices
  
• Dark side choices that are just about greed or fame
  

 

Then when after all the above add new content and new features like :

• New species like Wookiees, Ithorians
  
• Player housing
  
• Day night cycles (on new planets for start)
  
• 3d movement (climbing, force jump, grappling hooks, jet packs....)
  
• Pod/Swoop racing
  
• UI mods & addons
  
• Swimming and under water exploration
  
• Seamless maps
  

 

Finally if you really want to make TOR that much successful you need to hit the sandbox trail.

• Adding incentives for socialization and player made events/contents.
  
• Implementing non combat based classes.
  
• Giving back the galaxy to the players (vs setting everything on rails)
  

 

 

Choosing the hybrid model was right but you're already getting one point wrong: don't remove what a player earned, ever.

Take LotRo as example: when a player subscribes for a month with a character, he unlocks more bag slots and does't loose them when he goes F2P. You already stated otherwise. It's a ad move and it makes you look too greedy.

Other example: when a player start a quest on VIP sub he can still finish it if moving to F2P

 

Before leaving: if you don't get point #1: there's no hope anymore for this game.

 

Trust me.

 

i gotta say, this bears repeating

I was actually enjoying SWTOR again until today. The server transfer renewed my enjoyment of the game and now this. Well that was a fun few weeks. Just when i thought Bioware/EA were going to stop pile driving their game into the ground, this happens. They must have some monumental ********s calling the shots. I'm pretty amazed how out of touch these people are with the community. Their only motive can be desperation(money,higher population etc who knows) at this point because they certainly aren't making decisions based on what their paying customers want.

Paid subscriber since launch, pre-ordered and participated in beta.

Can I haz mah cookie? :-D

 

Still, I’m very disappointed with this move, for a couple of reasons.

 

F2P, didn’t help STO all that much. Sure, they make scads of money of them cheesey lockbox crap, but as for content- they out and out said they don’t want to do any more Featured Episodes (i.e. CONTENT) because they say people will play it only once or twice.

Instead, they push out C-Store item after C-Store Item, a grindy Fleet system, with like three hashed together mission, and lockboxes a-go-go and they call that content.

 

EQ2 goes F2P and what content do you have? Qeynos, half built and a fancy suit of armor you have to buy.

 

This is what I see happening with TOR. Oh sure, they’ll push out this new stuff- the fresh new WZ, HK-51, whatever. Then, it’ll stop. You get a few half-hearted attempts at content, maybe a Flashpoint with a few bosses, nothing you won’t be able to faceroll in 15minutes or so. You’ll get a crap load of new cashy money items for you to buy.

There’s your new content.

 

But, what I’m most disappointed over?

How much developer resources when into this F2P transition? And, tell me, wouldn’t those resources be better served in actually adding/fixing game content and adding stuff people wanted? Maybe actually listening to, and acting on, the feedback?

 

Whatever happened to “If you build it- They will come?”

I swear to you, if STO actually gave a bantha’s *** about what the players wanted- complete Klingon content, solid end game content, fulfilling PvP. Then they would never have had to go F2P, they’d be a solid contender. Simply because it’s FREAKING STAR TREK.

Same here. How long was Ilum broke for you folks? PvP? End game content? When I beta’ed we all started out as level 1 n00bs. Great, did we even beta test the end game? I’m still hearing that some hardmodes are overtuned., some impossible because of bugs. If you present a solid game, instead of what many folks (I’m starting to grudgingly believe) say is a released beta test- you would have been the WoW killer that some hyped. Simply because it’s FREAKING STAR WARS.

 

Now it’s FREAKING F2P.

The rule in F2P is:

If you're not paying for something, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold.

And, it didn’t need to be this way

Edited August 1, 2012 by CMikeHardy

And yet we got none of the above.

 

Now the real question being: how much did you guys really learn from your past mistakes that lead your decision makers to create this:

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the future, you have a very simple and clear track to make the game successfull:

 

1) Before anything else: start communicating with the fans in a two way fashion.

.......Not only exchange with them before it's too late to change features, based on player's feedback.

.......But also make sure to dig through the suggestion forums and have devs drop by and discuss with the players.

 

2) Stop butchering the SW lore.

.......Without a label this doesn't look like SW to me, even less that

.......Stop advertising with assets the majority of players told you they don't like or doesn't fit SW.

 

3) Fix your engine and network synchronization

.......From ugly shadows to seeing

.

.......And get your network synchronization and character positioning right

 

4) Actually implement the most requested quick wins like (check the forums)

• Legacy names changes
  
• Allow players to have separate last names from legacy ones
  
• Dual specs
  
• Queue to specific WZ
  
• Companions skill kits
  
• New quick slot bars
  
• Sale/load key bindings
  
• 7d GTN posting
  
• Appearance tabs
  
• Hide specific gear slots
  
• Gear dyes
  
• Free mods removal
  
• Instant teleporting to space ship & drop the orbital stations
  
• In game character customization
  
• Full companion customization
  
• Pazaak
  
• Chat bubbles
  
• ...
  

 

5) Stop wasting time on:

• WZ but add open world PvP
  
• Tube shooter but implement 3d space sim (X-Wing, not a soon gets old BF type)
  
• Generic V.O side quests or Class quests without real choices
  
• Dark side choices that are just about greed or fame
  

 

Then when after all the above add new content and new features like :

• New species like Wookiees, Ithorians
  
• Player housing
  
• Day night cycles (on new planets for start)
  
• 3d movement (climbing, force jump, grappling hooks, jet packs....)
  
• Pod/Swoop racing
  
• UI mods & addons
  
• Swimming and under water exploration
  
• Seamless maps
  

 

Finally if you really want to make TOR that much successful you need to hit the sandbox trail.

• Adding incentives for socialization and player made events/contents.
  
• Implementing non combat based classes.
  
• Giving back the galaxy to the players (vs setting everything on rails)
  

 

 

Choosing the hybrid model was right but you're already getting one point wrong: don't remove what a player earned, ever.

Take LotRo as example: when a player subscribes for a month with a character, he unlocks more bag slots and does't loose them when he goes F2P. You already stated otherwise. It's a ad move and it makes you look too greedy.

Other example: when a player start a quest on VIP sub he can still finish it if moving to F2P

 

Before leaving: if you don't get point #1: there's no hope anymore for this game.

 

Trust me.

 

Eloquently put. I agree with this post. Please for the love of the game, listen to this person and start actually communicating with the community you are relying on to be successful. If you listen to the sane ones amongst us, you can make this game what it should be.

Thanks Bioware, you officially gave me a reason to go buy GW2.

 

All I can say is your company is short sighted, unskilled, and simply bad at what your supposed to be doing for this game. You drove away most of your players that you had from this game, by not listening to beta testers who told you over and over that V/O wasn't going to sell your game to the majority of the MMO community(they don't care about it prove me wrong, go look at your statistics and see how many of us spacebar through this crap you spent all your money on during development). You failed to create a combat system that was free of major ability delay, the animations were cool, but many lackluster and boring. You failed to created meaningful and good PvP, you failed at creating good endgame PvE content.

 

Your final mistake is not even trying to make the sub model work, and making it apparent to all of us that have stayed subbed through the dark days of dead servers, that you don't care about the money we gave you, you are a greedy fat person at a buffet always going for more. In other words your slapping those of us that have stuck w/ you in the face.

 

This will be the last month I sub to SWTOR, I am going to GW2, and whatever MMO's come along after that I will never give Bioware or EA another dime of my money for any game.

 

To everyone at Bioware you are terrible MMO developers, stay out of this industry, never come back, just close the game in November, it will go down as a bigger success than the F2P garbage you are introducing.

 

FAIL BIOWARE FAIL.

 

No Fanbois can save you now Bioware your game's going to crash and burn like the crapfest it is.

 

The reality is your game is so bad in it's current state that even as F2P there are so many better options.

 

What sets your game apart atm only thing is V/O and all next gen MMO's have it so have fun failing BioFail.

 

Much Hate thanks for giving up on us, we didn't give up on you.......

 

I find it completely hard to believe that you aren't covering operating costs w/ 20 heavy-very heavy servers every night, it just shows your greedy, and don't know how to tell your bosses at EA NO and that your players will revolt at this idea.

 

Keep failing BioFail it's what you are good at......

I don't believe anything more can be said....its disgusting...it looks like im going to pandland..

I think this marks my exit. I've never liked F2P; too much "real cash", restrictions, and the feeling of being excluded from something. At the very least, I've always saw the need for a intial payment. It tended to keep a throng of trolls and mindless players from coming in.

 

I really did like Swtor. It was my first MMO where I reached endgame. But now GW2 is approaching and I have friends just asking me to try WoW (the only reason I didn't was because of SWTOR). Its time for me to move on and experience new things. I'll always remember SWTOR as a good game, even if the parting was a little bitter.

im going to see how it goes if it epic fails like i think it will im back to WoW and being a panda farmer thats right im going to really farm crops in WoW and battle my pets like pokemon, EA go force choke yourself

thanks for confirming my decision to unsub this month, game is dead.

hey guys dont forget to give this thread a 1 for your vote!

i gotta say, this bears repeating

 

I agree, but I am sure they have heard these words internally and some suit is more concerned with quarterly projections.

 

To the men and women of Bioware thanks for your hard work, I am happy that the F2P model will allow others to experience your game. I just don't feel that $15 a month is worth what you are offering and slighted that things I have worked for will not be available to me when my sub runs out.