Join our Testing Team
Check out our November update on Steam >>
Consultant said
In the near future we will once again be polling how much content we need to have (perhaps measurted in hours of playing time for a "typical" player?) when we release.
This relates, obviously, to the question about duration.
We're trying to work it all out. 🙂 Â
Consultant, will there be a wider variety of Hand Weapons in the future? Things like Single Handed, Dual Wielded, and Two Handed, Axes, Swords, Daggers, Clubs, and such, for those who want to create Fantasy Based characters like Dwarves, and/or Elves.
If so, will these weapons be visible on our costumes, and in combat like in other MMOs?
Costume Armor Style/Types might need increasing too. Well, eventually I'm sure they will be. But a Samurai, or Knight like armor, would draw in a lot of MMO Players, IMHO & Experience.
The Doughnut King is back! Watch your snacks!
We're mostly self-funded, with support from the community. When people say "I don't want to pay for Beta" we get it. But on the other hand, we are a very low-cost operation. Even if our subscription numbers start out small, we think we can use those funds to create more content, draw more people in, and spiral upwards.
We know that we have taken some huge risks to create this game for the community. And it may take a few years to really explode (or not...). But our business model is honest, and it is sustainable over a long time period.
I guess we'll just see how it goes. We love this game, so we feel optimistic -- even occasionally scared that too many people will jump in early. There's something you don't hear other dev teams talking about.
indigowulf post_id=26358 time=1601252013 user_id=1913 said:
A subscription of a monthly fee sounds like the best way to keep people playing knowing they paid for a month. But I do wonder can this compete against F2P MMOs? Maybe the monthly fee can try for lower than the usual $14.99. I think if people know they put in 5-10 dollars for a month they would be obliged to still play. Of course I can imagine putting in some special promotional sales events from time to time and I'm guessing this game will have microtransaction shop
It will absolutely be able to compete. Look at WoW. Still has over 10 million active accounts. What happens if you run into a evil troll player in WoW? You report them and they may get a ban. Now, look at ToS. They moved away from being f2p because there were too many trolls and cheaters, and it was getting toxic fast. They made it a $5 purchase to have an account. What's happened? Literally every time I play, there's another troll mocking people and taunting them with "go ahead and report me, it's just $5 to get a new account".
This is a great option to make punishing bad people stick, to keep the community from being toxic. It also ensures the game has the funding to run on an optimal server and good hired staff, without having to push a pay-to-win option on the players. Everyone gets equal treatment as the costs of operation get predictable divided between players. This way, they do not need to have a microtransaction shop. CoH back in the day was $15/month and it was doing just fine, until NCSoft decided to make it free to play with microtransactions, then they started losing money in comparison to when it was subscription. Just enough for them to decide to shut the game down in the first place.
They went from successful, profitable game for 7 years, to closing within 15 months of going hybrid free to play. (they still offered subscriptions with in game bonuses).
A game going from subscription to F2P is just a process that happens when the game isn't doing good. I never said it should be F2P for the record. That is the direction the game would go if the sub isn't helping. I mean Star Trek Online and Star Wars TOR are still going on even after becoming F2P. Many of NCSoft MMORPGs were free to play yet they didn't get shutdown only CoH. I'm not sure why NCSoft kicked only CoH off the curb. Also WoW has the biggest troll community. When people think of trolling they immediately think of WoW. Even the reporting system in WoW is an opportunity for trolls to abuse.
happydolphin post_id=26351 time=1601182525 user_id=11673 said:
A subscription of a monthly fee sounds like the best way to keep people playing knowing they paid for a month. But I do wonder can this compete against F2P MMOs? Maybe the monthly fee can try for lower than the usual $14.99. I think if people know they put in 5-10 dollars for a month they would be obliged to still play. Of course I can imagine putting in some special promotional sales events from time to time and I'm guessing this game will have microtransaction shop
It will absolutely be able to compete. Look at WoW. Still has over 10 million active accounts. What happens if you run into a evil troll player in WoW? You report them and they may get a ban. Now, look at ToS. They moved away from being f2p because there were too many trolls and cheaters, and it was getting toxic fast. They made it a $5 purchase to have an account. What's happened? Literally every time I play, there's another troll mocking people and taunting them with "go ahead and report me, it's just $5 to get a new account".
This is a great option to make punishing bad people stick, to keep the community from being toxic. It also ensures the game has the funding to run on an optimal server and good hired staff, without having to push a pay-to-win option on the players. Everyone gets equal treatment as the costs of operation get predictable divided between players. This way, they do not need to have a microtransaction shop. CoH back in the day was $15/month and it was doing just fine, until NCSoft decided to make it free to play with microtransactions, then they started losing money in comparison to when it was subscription. Just enough for them to decide to shut the game down in the first place.
They went from successful, profitable game for 7 years, to closing within 15 months of going hybrid free to play. (they still offered subscriptions with in game bonuses).
~Future founder of Feral Storm, once animal options are available!~
Consultant post_id=24633 time=1575214327 user_id=53 said:
In the near future we will once again be polling how much content we need to have (perhaps measurted in hours of playing time for a "typical" player?) when we release.
This relates, obviously, to the question about duration.
We're trying to work it all out.
🙂
I think the higher subscriptions like 1 or 2 years will increase after the first year of launch. The most important to keep an mmo alive is content, endgame content and season content (like a halloween event).
I have no doubt that SOH will be the most interesting superhero mmo for a very long time.
Lets check some of the prices that I think I remember from my old school gaming years. (sales tax excluded)
Late 80s - 2-day rental average $3.50 comes to $17.50 for ten days.
Early noughties - 2-day rental average $6.00 comes to roughly $18.00 for six days. (inflation sucks)
CoH 1-month subscription launch till close, IIRC, $15.99.
As long as you like the game you're playing the 1-month MMO subscription model wins-out every time, and even more-so if you pay for several months at a time.
I've been away from CoH for so long that a significant part of me doesn't want to return to anything similar. If SoH hooks me then I'll probably go for the 3-month plan more often than not as that was my preferred plan for CoH. We'll just have to wait and see.
When the game released (with a level cap of 40), Invul, Stone and Fire tankers could all reach 100% damage resistance to all damage types except psionic, which means they NEVER took damage. This should have been fixed in beta. Instead, they fixed it about 4 weeks after release, and before Issue 1, by putting a cap on damage resistance of 90% for tanks and 75% for everyone else. Some bad guys literally could not die, no matter how much DPS you laid on them. Speaking of DPS, the damage mechanics were such that Blasters could wipe the floor with everything in the game - especially Assault Rifle/ Device Blasters. And that was what most of the active players were. These mechanics were fixed in issue one - the fix was so harsh, that suddenly Blasters disappeared from the game, and City of Blasters became City of Tanks.
Some missions were not finishable. You had to get a GM to finish the mission for you.
I could go on and on. The point is that the game released at least 8 weeks (probably more like 12-15 weeks) before it should have. So the people that bought the game and subscribed were paying to beta, it just wasn't called a beta... SoH is being honest. They know the game will be in a beta state, but they need the income to finish it. While CoH's reasons were different (NCsoft had allowed Cryptic to delay the game twice, and were getting antsy to get some income flowing), it doesn't change the fact that the initial purchasers were paying to beta. SoH is just letting you know that fact BEFORE you start your sub!
I do not relish the ideal of subscription during Beta phase. I have Donated and was a decent amount. I can see myself donating again...just for some reason it feels (to me) wrong to have to pay to play something not yet finished.
I get it, donate a lil over time or a lot in chunks = all the same really. The end goal is worthy cause, I am in agreeance.
I digress. I will probably forgo beta mostly and might just donate again later.
Leaving paying subscription when the game goes live. I will probably do 1 month just to see the state of the game. Is it fun, does it catch and keep my interest, etc.
After that initial month is when I'll decide if I want to devote more blocks of time. I'd recommend a 3 month block as well. You'll catch more fish with that imho.
Casey McGeever
Dmcgeever
Consultant
GladDog
JestersGhost
Labcoat
Golden Ace
NumberMuncher
GoldenRatio
Integral
1 Guest(s)