The crying free to play MMO community whined and Allods caved.You can read all about it here:
http://allods.gpotato.com/news/2010/03/03/updated-item-shop
List of changes in the item shop:
Vial of Perfume reduced from 75gP to 25gP
Large Perfume Kit reduced from 1350gP to 300gP
Holy Rune reduced from 1500gP to 1000gP
Rough Dragon Hide Backpack reduced from 2000gP to 600gP
Small Deposit Box reduced from 1500gP to 1000gP
Small Bag of Crystal Chips reduced from 250gP to 100gP
Medium Bag of Crystal Chips reduced from 1200gP to 350gP
Potions reduced from 250gP to 200gP
Folks...the game is free to play. What did you expect? In the end it is all a scam. You want more free to play, then you bitch when you get it. Exactly why I stay away from the pricing model. Of course you don't have to use the store but do you expect a gPotato game to make your life in game so fun that you won't have to use the store? No. This is the very foundation of the "Free To Play" market. I hate to quote Keen but he does math. I do not.
Let’s say you want to play for 1.5 hours per night and do a dungeon or PvP or whatever and always be under to effects of perfume. 1.5 h/day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month = $12.60 / month. That’s affordable. Up that to 2 hours a night and you’re paying $16.80 / month. That’s a big jump but still affordable.
Guess what people. That's a monthly sub. Enjoy.
I played a gPotato game once when I was really poor. Then I realized that after about 4 hours into it, the game was getting harder to deal with unless I dropped some cash into it. I think I may have lasted about 10 hours total before I gave up on it.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather pay a sub than get the lube-less ribbed shaft of a F2P-MMOG from behind.
I actually do not believe they intended this, but I know shops who make 300% reductions on stuff that was 400% overpriced before, and suddenly people are happy. ;)
ReplyDeleteFree 2 Play should actually mean Free 2 Pay, the game design is dictated by the business model, and it would totally collapse if there is not incentive to spend money in the game. It is not a charity welfare model, which people know, but apparently still did not fully realize.
In the end my beef with Allods was that it was WoW, just not as good. The same formula! And no cute Gibberling or no somewhat differently looking undead race or cute Kremlin instead of Stormwind Castle is going to convince me otherwise. If people would simply have picked a faction and race/class they have never played before, they would have been much better served by WoW when it comes to the world, dungeons, quests, everything.
But being bored of WoW and then jumping right into Allods is like an alcoholic who wants to stop drinking but then suddenly drinks vodka instead of whiskey.
The system is ages old, but even seasoned MMO gamers who should see the bare standard mechanics jumping right into their face fall for it over and over.
It must be love! I wonder if Cataclysm manages to increase the number of WoW players in the west again. But then, still might still be better than the future prophecies by industry veterans: casual social facebook games with some kind of item shop and/or advertisement.
Maybe the MMO genre gets some cool new games once the investors shifted their focus on the next genre - IMO these games cater to a completely different crowd.
As Guild Wars 2 will have jumping and swimming, it might finally convince those in doubt that it is a MMO worth their time. As long as they add mounts and some kind of crafting, too.
There are no major MMO releases in 2010 that I am aware of, so let's see what 2011 will bring. Let's see if ArenaNet and Bioware manage to bring back the magic to the genre.
As always well said Longasc
ReplyDeleteIts a fun game. The Cash Shop may or may not have an effect on my end enjoyment but, as of right now, I am having a lot of fun in the game. I played to level cap in beta, with no cash shop available and I had fun.
ReplyDeleteBottom line, I have had a ton of fun in a game that, thus far, I have spent absolutely no money for. You, on the other hand, spent $50 bucks on ST:O.
Sorry. I win. : )
Yes but STO is a decent game. And not a WoW clone :) So in the end who wins there? STO has no issues if you dont speed rush to the end and play 24 hours a day. Plus I dont have to but stupid potions or run around with hamsters!
ReplyDeleteGot to disagree Brannagar but then I place my time over money.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather pay $50 for a game and be able to experience all the content on a level playing field with other gamers rather than pay nothing for a game up to a point being less effective as others then find out Im going to be raped at the most fun part of the game *shrug*
At the end of the day if the changes have a good impact for their players then great, Im all for people playing the game of their choice and enjoying it.
As longasc said though it just looks like a poor mans WoW from any clips I've seen.
Bleh.
ReplyDeleteST:O is a horrible game, made by a horrible company. Yeah, Allods has a cash shop but, hell, with ST:O you get a sub AND a cash shop. Can't beat that!
Oh, LOOK!! A new race! Wait, I have to pay to get it, despite the fact that I have an active sub? Oh, look! They added a single new zone to endgame, maybe endgame actually has something to do now! But, wait! I have to buy that in the cash shop as well?
Yeah, thats a better model, let me tell you! At least if they are going to do a sub and CS model, they could reduce the monthly sub. But, no....they want a full sub and still charge you for races and stuff.
And to top it off, Allods has better "space-ship" battles than ST:O does, which is pretty damn sad. Astral ships are done much, much better in Allods than space combat is in ST:O and ground combat is an absolute joke in ST:O. Not so in Allods.
Allods MAY require Cash Shop purchases at endgame to compete but right now it does not. I have had loads of fun in Allods and not spent a single dime and that is with leveling up to the cap. You spent 50 bucks on a poorly made space combat game, which doesn't do space-combat as well as Allods, a game which has space combat as a side game and not the main game.
In the end we will see but ST:O has had as many, if not more, PR gaffes and horrible customer handling as Allods. You spent money to get jerked around. I did not. If I find I can not compete at endgame without spending more than $15-$20 bucks, no problem, I quit. I still enjoyed my time in Allods and never spent any money on it.
Again, I win. Enjoy your poorly made space combat game, that features EVERYTHING instanced and I will enjoy my space combat done better, in a huge non-instanced space and with good ground combat to boot.
Again, I win.
Nerd fiiiiiiiiiight!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust kiddin, at the end of the day you both have valid points due to difference of opinion and difference of what is valueable to yourself as a player, there aint no right or wrong (although I hate f2P games - especially WoW clone ones).
Nah, I am not fighting Hudson. Just ribbing him a bit about ST:O. You know how much I hate that game and that entire company, Pitrelli! :)
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I understand the dislike of the F2P model. For the most part, I have it as well. Allods would instantly be 100% better if they just went with a sub model and did away completely with the CS stuff.
If this had been any other MMO, I would have dropped it loooong ago, but Allods is just so much fun. It reminds me so much of Vanilla WoW, with some fun stuff added to it, that I can not help but love it. I have not had this much fun in a MMO in a long, long time.
No no no fights all good. Fighting over games is lame Brannagar and I know that :)
ReplyDeleteI have Allods loaded but I will admit my MMO thirst is dead. Also today dont forget:
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=132572
My MMO thirst wavers at times. I am enjoying Allods and recently reupped to Darkfall. Darkfall is nice because it is so totally unlike any other MMO out there. Plus, it is a small dev company and I always like supporting those.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I never could get into Fallen Earth, which is a shame because that seems to be a great company to support. I now look forward to trying Xsyon to fulfill any post-apoc MMO urge I have. It looks like it may be a really fresh look at MMOs. Check it out:
http://www.xsyon.com
I just cant seem to be without an MMO, I try but anytime I do I instantly crave the interaction and company with other gamers..... even if it doesnt happen often these days
ReplyDeleteI think the average MMOer racks up waaaaay more than 14 hours in a week.
ReplyDeletehttp://syncaine.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/stealing-content-more-on-allods/
ReplyDeleteSyncaine strikes again.
hehehe I do enjoy his articles
ReplyDelete