personally i dont really care about rwz or end game. id much rather swtor be just a regular game, not a mmo. but i play all 8 diff classes with 8 diff species and all of a sudden if i go f2p i wont be able to play them all anymore? seems like f2p option only screws the already exsisting players out of what theyve already paid for. let everyone that goes f2p keep all the original perks and then only offer expansions to subscription players.

I have no problem with Free 2 play or Freemium.

 

However, I fail to see how this model (only charging for people who want to use the GTN or access Operations) is going to make any money.

 

As someone who intends to continue to pay the subscription as long as I'm actively playing, I'd like to have seen the Free to Play limit for story content stop after Act 2. Make people who want to play to the end of their class story pay to access that part.

 

Remember that lvl 50 is not the end of the story, subs get increase in lvl cap and unlimited access to the brand new content from here on out, F2P is limited to lvl 50 and all content up to 50.

But you can level for free to 50...so you willing to sub for operations and a few more fashpoints?

 

you also get to continue your story past lvl 50 unrestricted... They're just trying to get more players on board is all, It really doesn't hurt subs, hopefully they will gain a few because the story is amazing and that's what I paid for, A story driven MMO

ya,i think its great that u guys wanna get more players in and new content flowing in regularly.HOWEVER, new content means squat to us asia/pacific error 1003 victims! u guys have lost tonnes of subs because u havnt fixed the issues that u knew already existed in PTR. new content regularly is rockin',but not at the expense of basic gameplay for others. stability,AS WELL AS holiday-timed patches n x-packs will do server numbers much better. dont be too eager to put out new content to satisfy 10% of ya subbs,if the other 90% are unhappy with existing in-game issues that u have not fixed or ignored.kinda seems silly to put out yet another patch of new content,when a good % of asia/pacific players are either blocked from their home server or(like me) are paying WTFast an extra $6 per month to get my "Master Dar'Nala" server.

if you would read its says

"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. "

so how did they kill TOR?

 

I Must Say, this makes me very scared, we have a good subscriber list of 1 Million to 1.2 Million Subs. That's very good, and for those who don't want to play this game because he/she is playing another game, well that's their problem, not the Subscribers base. Those kind of ppl can either pay for the other game or this 1. Life is about choices and they made theirs. Going to FTP for idiots like that is like I said their problem and probably if they wanted they could pay for this MMO to.

 

You guys at Bioware have made a most dishonorable desision along with EA to probably. Most Americans don't know a thing about honor like Asians to But Companies like Bioware/EA should have that. You have laid off good ppl we need for this game and the Senior(Real Senior Producer that left) left this weeks as more lay-offs were happening.

 

I think a lot more of ur devs are 1.Mostly gone and replaced because they could do a better job and EA didn't give a damn.Or 2. Left because they were laid off just for no real good reason, or left because they knew they could be laid off next.

 

EA/BiowareYou will reap what u sow at stuff like the 2 ppl that might have Cancer. You guys are responsible for ur brother and sisters and they that they would have a good honest job in April, now the husband may have a tumor in his head and wife might die to, and He only had work for 3 damned months that you guys disn't bother to say" Hey u will only be here for 3 months, is that ok???" Instead it's like u guys commited frad against good honest workers that can make this game the BEST EVER. You guys should at least give that cpl Medical Comensation. I would give them all my money if I could but my family have health issues to.

 

Don't you guys give a damm about the ppl that put their all into this game.??

 

I am scared of FTP because of the fact it can Backfire, now it was Bioware that said Subscriptions only, so i'm thinking EA had a hand in this, then again LucasArts can take this MMO away from stupid EA which would suit me fine and give it to a better company that will give this game priority no.1 instead of stupid Sports games which EA went on record saying that they put them first. That right their tells me 1 thing i'm very afraid of.

 

FTP can go either way, it's a huge gamble and you must always listen to ur Subscribers more as we help pay you bills and ur employees to. FTPs should be listened to to, but not as much as your stockholder of about 1.2 million of them which you guys have. Even if it's less than that.

 

 

Quote:

My husband was one of the ones that got laid off today. Bioware moved us in April with our 3 kids from DC, we put every penny we had down on a fixer upper house, and now this. I am scheduled for 3 major surgeries on Friday, my husband just had a slew of MRI/MRA tests Friday to look for a suspected brain tumor, and our middle son who has an autoimmune disorder is having a flare up. I just don’t know what we are going to do. We were here a week before the first round of layoffs, and have been sick and scared ever since. Moving is expensive, and I am less than a year in remission from cancer, so my medical bills are outrageous.

We are so scared… how are we going to get our son treatment, my husband treatment if the tests find what they think they will… or me?

 

My husband is an awesome guy, he stood by me for the last couple years of horrible health, never complaining, wiping vomit and **** and whatever needed doing. He doesn’t deserve this. This was his dream.

 

Bioware/EA has hurt us so badly

I will definitely enjoy F2P, because I will no longer be paying.

 

Yeah...and you will no more enjoy OPs and end game content thats really a big win

@MandFlurry

 

I'm really sorry to read about your real life problems, and a really heartfelt message too. To be honest I have been gradually completely 'dismayed' by the constant moves by EA games and Bioware, to market this game further, and vain attempts at trying to get back the players they lost, due to past failures in actually listening to the community.

 

I really suspect, that nothing here will change much, after all your looking at people who with Knee jerk reactions, nerf classes because of QQ's on the forums, who only represent a tiny fraction of the players who are actually actively playing and not moaning. Bioware to some credit do want to try and please people, but its often a minority of people they listen to more, rather than the masses. I have always loved playing Bioware games, but I feel SWTOR will be my last.

 

I am disappointed in their decision to go F2P, and really still fail to understand how this is going to help the game 'at all'. Its a vain move, to try and gain a few more lost subscriptions, its a real gamble. While F2P might work with other games to some extent, it really does feel like a stab in the eye to all of us, who were with this game from Launch last year in December and those who were on the beta. (Of course I speak mainly for myself) but I am sure there are others who feel likewise here.

 

Anyway, good luck with your Real life issues hun, and all the best.

 

Kathryne.

Wow, less than one year out and it's going F2P. How do you take a game with so much potential and screw it up so badly?

Anyone notice the F2P options includes only "Limited Access" to Travel Features?

 

Heck, with how big the worlds are, I'm happy to keep subscribing just to make sure I'm actually getting to the action rather than spending even more time travelling!

Anyone notice the F2P options includes only "Limited Access" to Travel Features?

 

Heck, with how big the worlds are, I'm happy to keep subscribing just to make sure I'm actually getting to the action rather than spending even more time travelling!

thats right. the traveling is annoying already... don't wanna know how bad it is with limited travelling

Edited August 2, 2012 by al-mar

I hate to be that rational guy that thinks he knows everything, but I just have to. The ppl on here that have said "the age of the MMO is over" (as we know it now) are pretty much right. This is not a bad thing, it's just how it is.

 

You are so wrong and so not rational. SWTOR sold 2 million boxes. If it was good enough people would have stayed. Not everyone but certainly enough for the game not to fail aka go free-to-play.

 

Now I believe there are 3 simple reasons for this failure:

 

1) POOR MANAGEMENT - EA management and marketing deciding what is released and making decisions for the developers. This is closely related to the next reason:

 

2) LACK OF MMO KNOWLEDGE - Developers of this game did not believe in themselves. They were not confident enough to convince the marketing guys and EA suits that they should be the ones calling the shots. Their team was so inexperienced that they needed a simplistic engine to be actually able to work on the game - with 200m budget they went for a cheap engine ($100 per month) and I don't believe that voiceovers were a problem here. With good resource management and HR they could have easily afforded both. you don't dive into MMO market without proper research and without MMO technical knowledge. This is not 2004. You can't afford to learn by your own mistakes anymore. Bioware proved that they can do the latter and get things right given enough time (I think 1.3 was an excellent patch and the game should have been released in the post 1.3 state. In fact, I believe SWTOR is now the best and most fun MMO in the market which will sadly end with f2p).

 

Unfortunately EA is not that patient:

 

3) LACK OF PASSION AND AMBITION from people in charge (and since suits were in charge that is pretty self-explanatory). When it turned out that pouring 200m into a game and licensing Star Wars IP is not enough (because of 1 and 2) EA/Bioware sacked 70% of their team and simply gave up. When the free to play rumours firstly went out James Ohlen's only response was "it's not super easy to do". That was a display of complete lack of ambition and his "Biodrone" nickname became well deserved.

 

So, if an AMBITIOUS, WELL ORGANIZED company with a TECHNICALLY EXCELLENT developer team makes a game for 200 million bucks and doesn't succeed I will admit that the MMO market is dead. Before that happens you have no real arguments to support that notion. I strongly believe if SWTOR was made by for example Trion Worlds we would be looking at well over 1 million subscribers now. Also, "success" doesn't mean 12 million subscribers. EVE, Rift - those are games successful enough for their creators to stick to a subscription model (and EVE even takes that further essentially allowing veterans to earn their playtime in-game and REALLY play for free) and still bring amazing content out to the players.

 

What is the most surprising to me to the point I wouldn't believe it was possible if it didn't happen - a company with so much money and possibilities as EA actually made that many poor decisions and gave the game to completely inexperienced and irresponsible people. Back in the end of 2011 everything looked so simple: EA wants their slice of the cake and with that money and with that IP the big slice is not even a gamble - it's guaranteed. But the picture was falsified, it was more of a gamble then we thought and EA should have known better. But I guess they have tons of other games bringing them millions of dollars so they don't care that much.

 

The saddest part is - all that happened and especially the lack of ambition and greed shown by EA justify the fears of the community.You can expect pay-to-win in the cash shop sooner than later.

Edited August 2, 2012 by vandana_

I just cancelled my subscription after not playing for 3 months and paying for the game. I kept thinking I would come back and play, I love Star Wars, and I love mmo's, the two should be a match made in heaven (at least for me). Sadly I was disappointed with Galaxies, and now with this as well. I can't say I didn't have fun with this for awhile cause I definitely did. Maybe I'm just getting hard to please.

 

I would like to point out that I think the lack of space combat is something they should have known better than to do after SWG though. I mean the flash player mini game for space combat could be fun. but its hardly on a level with what many of us were expecting. This genre has so much potential that has not been captured yet. I wish I had been on the design team ( I'm not trying to knock their design team btw ). I think they played it a bit too safe and went with what was working for Blizzard, and missed opportunities that could of set them apart from and ahead of the pack.

 

Anyway that's just my two cents I hope that doesn't rub anyone the wrong way. I hope the change for the ftp option brings the results everyone wants. I personally can't stand ftp because it usually translates into pay to win, but I hope that's not what happens to a good game with great potential. Fellow Star Wars fans take care I hope I return some day.

Edited August 2, 2012 by DarthOmenX

Your post is not logical. You were paying that subscription before F2P came along (or you weren't playing the game at all and thus the argument is moot anyway). Ergo, the game was good enough for you to do that. What you're actually saying is that you'd like the same content as before, but for less money. Fine, but just say that.

 

Put another way, clearly you were prepared to raid casually for that subscription price beforehand - what's changed now? Other people can access other bits of the game for free? Is that a big deal? Apparently so.

 

On the plus side, this confirms that there are actually people out there who fall into the bracket of 'I'd play the game but it's too expensive' because most of the time we hear 'I'd play the game, but it's awful/laggy/looks bad/doesn't have what I want in an MMO'.

 

Your missing the point, currently I have no real choice, as everyone else, I need to pay a sub to play the game, however when F2P comes along the game becomes 90% free, why I should continue to pay the same sub price for the rest that isn't free.

 

Or put it even more simply, right now sub = paying for 100% of game

with F2P, sub = paying to unlock the other 10% of the game

And it will still cost $15 a month same as it did before.

Edited August 2, 2012 by deags

I'll admire the game from a F2P stand point.

 

Canceled my Subscription.

 

don't fool ppl around. If you cancel your sub you will never be able to log into that acc again. You will need to create a new acc. Enjoy gameplay from level zero:p

 

ps: not in connection with above: I 've noticed that the more pathetic is avatar, nick and signature - the more pathetic whining and threats to cancel forever and everything connected to swtor and BW

Edited August 2, 2012 by RiverRaid

Your missing the point, currently I have no real choice, as everyone else, I need to pay a sub to play the game, however when F2P comes along the game becomes 90% free, why I should continue to pay the same sub price for the rest that isn't free.

 

Or put it even more simply, right now sub = paying for 100% of game

with F2P, sub = paying to unlock the other 10% of the game

And it will still cost $15 a month same as it did before.

 

I'd definitely suggest to read the following -

 

http://www.swtor.com/free/features

 

If anything, subscribers are getting at least 50% of the game. Plus future updates for "free" where F2P would presumably either have to pay, or not access it.

 

Percentage wise, they're probably getting a quarter of what subscribers pay for.

I'd definitely suggest to read the following -

 

http://www.swtor.com/free/features

 

If anything, subscribers are getting at least 50% of the game. Plus future updates for "free" where F2P would presumably either have to pay, or not access it.

 

Percentage wise, they're probably getting a quarter of what subscribers pay for.

 

I've read the feature chart, and all those limited access things don't affect me as i play the game causally anyway and at the end of the day you still have access to all warzones,flashpoints and space missions.

 

So i really don't see this 50%, maybe this is true if you are hardcore player but not many MMO player are these days, i mean who has the time...

Edited August 2, 2012 by deags

Directly from the desk of EA:

 

1. Official announcement - see Page 1:

"STAR WARS®: The Old Republic™ will move to a more accessible two-tiered pricing

model in November. Players can chose between a $14.99 premium monthly

subscription and a free-to-play model with some restrictions on content and advanced

features. Players will be able to purchase upgrades with in-game currency."

 

"Summary - Overpriced" - Clients feel that the game's price is not worth the expense.

 

2. Investor Information See Page 2

"The disappointing results of Star Wars: The Old Republic were largely offset by a powerful

performance from Battlefield 3 Premium service – although revenue-recognition rules will push

this very significant EPS driver into our fourth quarter."

"Summary - EA / BW Expected better [financial] results" - The traditional equation of "Low Investment and High Return" did not materialize and instead became "Low Investment / Even Lower Return".

 

Page 5 of that same document above:

"Non-GAAP revenue for the fiscal year is expected to be between $4.10 and $4.25 billion. We

are lowering the midpoint of our guidance from $4.30 billion to reflect current exchange rates

and lower expectations of Star Wars."

 

"Summary - SWTOR will not become a focus area" - Less investment will be made in the game as it's expected return is now lower than our collective initial expectations.

 

Read all of page 7 of that same document:

"First, the game many of you have been tracking closely, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Although it launched well, subscriptions have been on a declining trajectory and have now

slipped below one million. Last year we announced that the breakeven point was roughly

500,000 subscribers. And while we are well above that today, that’s not good enough.

The message from players exiting the game is clear – 40 percent say they were turned off by

the monthly subscription. And many indicated they would come back if we offered a free-to-play

model."

 

"Summary - Can't retain subscriptions". Will not invest in keeping subscriptions either, micro transactions will be used to milk revenue from the remaining players. Now, those that subscribe will continue to experience the same game access (with some slight aesthetic currency rewards). We will penalize those that do not pay by limiting their game access. This, by the way, is in no shape or form uncommon practice in all other "Free" to play models.

 

Page 8:

"We couldn’t be more pleased with how the diversity of our business allows us to make up for a

miss on one franchise with a big hit on another."

 

"Summary - SWTOR never was our focus" - Investors, rest assured that if you continue to be an investor in EA, we have a broader portfolio of products that are indeed generating revenue, albeit not SWTOR. Let's focus on our cash cows and products that are indeed generating revenue for us aligned with our collective expectations.

 

Lastly, the retail value of the software license will drop to $14.99, which is less than 1/3 of what I paid for the license alone. Even the developers and publishers admit that the license is overpriced for the product. Lowering the fence and allowing free to play will increase the player base and we will see more credit spammers.

 

This is certainly something that I did see coming. As I am sure that many others did, the Legacy system and the prices more specifically is what lends itself extremely well to a free to play model.

At least I got something in return for my remaining subscription. I got me some of that in-game currency, which is not available yet, by the way as the model releases in November, which is exactly the time for the next quarterly call.

Still, interestingly enough, I am not able to consolidate my characters onto a single server, which is the only reason that I have not re-subscribed. The costs of the perks and other items as well as the game itself would allow me to play it more, if all characters were in one place. The whole few hours that it takes raiding all the current end-game content would actually be "grindable" if all my toons were in one place.

If the game does not generate sufficient revenue, restructurings have lead to a diminished developer / engineer base, it is also not going to be possible to deliver on that gimmick that "content will be released more frequently". Seven months, that is all that this game lasted before the announcement to free to play. Holy cow. What a greedy owner they have.

I don't play free to play games.

1. If you think that there are hackers now, wait until the freeloaders get in. They can hack a free game and then also embark on the credit sale market to make some real money off the free-to-play platform.

2. If you think that the quality of the player base is average or less than average, wait until the real baddies join or return for free.

3. If you think that the lag is bad, wait until there are far many more people, wait for the even worse spam, wait for the harassment, ugh it is going to get f-ugly.

4. if you think that the grind is bad, the grind on free to play games is even worse with the limitations that are embedded.

5. Lastly, the only real way to make progress on free to play games, is to actually pay for the capability to move at the pace that you want to move.

5.1. It will be so sad how some people will simply dish out money hand over fist, because for some people, paying for the content is not a big cash dump. The high-rollers will pay to win, as some people have aptly coined it.

 

EA should have left this franchise alone. Their new CFO comes from the clothing industry. That is how much real knowledge capital they have to meddle in the video game industry. LOL, in this day and age, where most content and games are distributed online and downloaded, EA still thinks that it is in the business of packaged goods, so laughable.

 

Their last CEO Ricctello loved SWTOR, well I knew EA had something to do with this. If LucasArts was smart they would take SWTOR away from EA then, as Star Wars and everything haveing to do with it is Trademarked and Copyrighted

I've read the feature chart, and all those limited access things don't affect me as i play the game causally anyway and at the end of the day you still have access to all warzones,flashpoints and space missions.

 

So i really don't see this 50%, maybe this is true if you are hardcore player but not many MMO player are these days, i mean who has the time...

 

Warzone limitations will be low as ****.

Im guessing 5-10 a week. Tops

Fair enough. This is my 2nd MMO, the other being STO which also went F2P. However I still think it is a good idea to not jump to any conclusions, which I think most people are doing right now, until we know all of the specifics.

 

I think we both agree that it all comes down to how they handle this Cartel Market.

 

 

 

 

I don't entirely agree with this statement, but I probably fall into this demographic.

 

I don't think anyone is jumping to conclusions.... I'm pretty sure we're basing these comments from an established track record........

Given how quickly this thread has grown I think we can be sure of at least one thing: Friday's Community Q&A will be very interesting.

 

Nah, business as usual..... Got a real question? Forget them answering it.....Ask about a Fluffy Pink Bunny pet: BOOM!!

I'd say the onlt reason some of these posts were ok'd with bad language in them is because it was EA that crapped on us and not Bioware. The only Compnay that can say no to EA is LucasArts, but they want to milk this cow to.

I honestly don't know what to say. I'm trying to be optimistic about this move, but for some reason it's freaking hard to do.

 

Less than a year and going F2P? Heck, I wouldn't have even thought about buying the collectors edition. I think the perks for F2P collectors edition are a joke. I definitely feel cheated. This is what I see when I read about the extras for collectors edition owners: "Sorry, we're embarrassed you paid for something extra that has no value any longer. Here! Look at this! ... ooo shiny huh?... Did that distract you?"

 

All those thinking that you'll have access to 50% of the game content at F2P better read the current access limits for those accounts. What F2P will do to your loaded characters is scary to think about.

 

I'm a wait to see kinda person. But to borrow a line, "I have a very bad feeling about this."

Edited August 2, 2012 by Deathbolt
spelling

I don't think anyone is jumping to conclusions.... I'm pretty sure we're basing these comments from an established track record........

 

indeed

I'm a wait to see kinda person. But to borrow a line, "I have a very bad feeling about this."

 

Me too.

 

I have suffered through the F2P conversion of Star Trek Online and that game became P2W. P2W is just how F2P makes money. It is a sad truth.

 

I will remain subbed until the point where the first P2W item hits the cartel shop. Then I'm out of this game because I won't make the same mistake twice. I learned it the hard way when I trusted PWE/Cryptic Studios to do right by the Star Trek IP.

 

EA/Bioware disappointed me in the past too. All I have to say is ME3. Never played it because of the Origin Spyware requirement. I don't have much trust and faith left to give to the gaming industry.

I to have a real bad feeling about this, STO went free to play and basically that meant PAY TO WIN with all the good stuff (ie better than loot drop) was purchasable, so i left and came here. Great move huh, bought the game, pay the subscription and BOOM........

 

I play a game to enjoy it, not to farm some stupid item to sell for cartel coins to buy the gear i should be getting from high end content drops. All i can say to everyone is. Yes, at the moment content is the thing thats mildly restricted but just wait, soon most of the upgrades and patches will be spent introducing newer, more powerfull items to buy and less on REAL game play.

 

So i will see what happens but as soon as the PAY TO WIN starts i will leave for good.