Hellgate London Alpha

[Murgos]

If all us MMO vets...

Nah, just you and a couple of others.  The majority 1-post and leave the thread response seems to be "So what?".

[Hoax]

The sub idea is still fucking stupid.

Get with the times and use the cash shop system.  Appeal to the cheapskates, the kids and the casuals who want insta dings at the cost of some greenbacks.  Makes more sense and provokes less wrath then this whole elite versus slave gamer tag shit.  But hey, like I've always said just give me an auto-shotty I can socket with spell bullet powers™ and I'm your fucking man-slave.  Good for at least $80...

[Amaron]

The sub idea is still fucking stupid.

Get with the times and use the cash shop system.

Just as a side note does anyone else live in dread of games that have freeplay/cash shop?   After GuildWars I'm almost convinced that paying 10 dollars per month for a game is a feature in and of itself.

[schild]

A shop/rmt sales system in a diablo style game would ruin it for every single hardcore player.

Like I said in the other thread, getting any advantage through anything other than completely dropped loot makes it completely not worth playing.

Again, seriously, $10 a month.

Meh, I can't be bothered to care, either play it or don't play it.

[Ralence]

  I'm not sure why we're not looking at it from the opposite direction, if it's a quasi-MMO, and has a non-subscription element, why isn't that being praised?  Isn't it similar to WoW letting you play single player with no monthly fee?  Or any of the other subscription based MMO's?  Why are we concentrating on the fact that you CAN pay for extra services?  Why not look at it from the perspective of "hey, a game with an OPTIONAL subscription model, that's a GOOD thing".  I think there's a large portion of us that still think that $50 should be the cost of the game period, and another segment that thinks a monthly subscription is to be almost expected, this time, it seems like they're targetting both audiences.

  I know personally I skipped over guildwars, because I thought that model was flawed.  And I'm going to most likely skip over this game as well, because of the fact that for me it would be a single player game, since I wouldn't pay a monthly fee for a non-persistant world.


Just my .02

[Hoax]

A shop/rmt sales system in a diablo style game would ruin it for every single hardcore player.

Like I said in the other thread, getting any advantage through anything other than completely dropped loot makes it completely not worth playing.

Again, seriously, $10 a month.

Meh, I can't be bothered to care, either play it or don't play it.

That is a solid point for HG:L due to the nature of the game.  I still stick by "cash shops = teh future" though but that's another topic for another thread I suppose.

[Amaron]

I still stick by "cash shops = teh future" though but that's another topic for another thread I suppose.

Even in Korea none of the real mmo's that are also successful are cash shop games are they?  L2/WoW/etc all have some other form of payment system if I recall correctly.  Largely I doubt it'll fly over here.  There's doesn't seem to be any real incentive for them to drop the subscription model where it's already firmly established.

[EvilJohn]

Even in Korea none of the real mmo's that are also successful are cash shop games are they?  L2/WoW/etc all have some other form of payment system if I recall correctly.  Largely I doubt it'll fly over here.  There's doesn't seem to be any real incentive for them to drop the subscription model where it's already firmly established.

I've always thought that offering other alternatives along side a competitive subscription model would be the way to go, e.g. A pay as you go or cash shop style that offer an alternative to those not able/not willing to pay continuous monthly fees.

I am baffled by the anti-subscription wave that is going around myself, why remove something that a decent percentage are accustomed to, and then layer in other alternatives.

[schild]

More invites sent out today.

One word:

FUCK.

[MrHat]

FUCK YEA

or

FUCK YOU

[schild]

FUCK YEA

or

FUCK YOU

FUCK is not an exclamation of anything awesome.

[sam, an eggplant]

FUCK.

Agreed.

Why is it that I get into every piece of shit MMO beta except the one that might actually be good?

Oh yeah, God hates me.

[WayAbvPar]

So, will HG: L have Securom on board?

[Trippy]

Possibly. EA had been using SafeDisc for a while but C&C 3 uses SecuROM.

[Ironwood]

There's a new video on my PC Mag about this.

It looks complete; it looks ready to ship; it looks shit.

Oh dear.

[Amaron]

So, will HG: L have Securom on board?

Hmm I forgot it would have single player, thus I didn't even consider that.  It'll probably have digital distribution of some sort though so I'd imagine no.  One can hope anyways.

[sam, an eggplant]

Very possibly. But I don't plan to pirate it, so why would I care? It isn't starforce, after all.

[Amaron]

Very possibly. But I don't plan to pirate it, so why would I care? It isn't starforce, after all.

You should care because it's notorious for screwing up frame rates or causing other problems.  As far as "being annoying" in general goes starforce has a much better record.   

[Sky]

FUCK is not an exclamation of anything awesome.

You're doing it wrong.

[Nonentity]

Yeah.

 

[schild]

:(

[Nonentity]

:(

Soon, grasshopper. Soon.

[sam, an eggplant]

Pre-order from EBGames, and get a guaranteed beta spot on 9/17. Also they'll have a limited number of lifetime subscriptions available, price unknown.

[Venkman]

I still stick by "cash shops = teh future" though but that's another topic for another thread I suppose.

Even in Korea none of the real mmo's that are also successful are cash shop games are they? 

Many of them actually are, assuming "cash shop" means microtransaction-based. They are free to get (usually download), free to play the game (unlimited lifetime members), and collect their revenue from players who buy stuff from the game from a debit account they fill with real world money, and more recently through embedded advertising or the type that appears only at login and logout. People who pay into these games typically pay much more per month than a player who pays a flat monthly fee, which is why there's so much attention on the model. But then things get hazy.

These games have a lot of registered accounts (Audition alone has over 120mil, Maplestory is over 70mil), but peak concurrencies don't seem to follow the same model as a flat-fee sub-based game, so it's hard to gauge usage alone. Then unless the company reports it, it's hard to tell how many players pay anything at all into the game. Which makes extrapolating how much money is being made at all even more impossible to guess. But the games are also a lot less expensive to make, and come out more quickly.

So as usual, it depends on the definition of "success". They are profitable, they are popular, they make money, their host companies are scaled appropriately. That's business success. But they don't generate omgroxxorluv in places that focus on AoC and WAR, being largely for different audiences.

[schild]

Also they'll have a limited number of lifetime subscriptions available, price unknown.

Guessing $100-$150. I can see playing this, given what I've heard, for 2 years +, a little each month. Done.

[Nonentity]

Also they'll have a limited number of lifetime subscriptions available, price unknown.

Guessing $100-$150. I can see playing this, given what I've heard, for 2 years +, a little each month. Done.

Yeah - I'll drop that on a lifetime sub, easy.

I've spent more then that on virtual currency...

[Ragnoros]

Pre-order from EBGames, and get a guaranteed beta spot on 9/17. Also they'll have a limited number of lifetime subscriptions available, price unknown.

God, this is going to be a hard decision. Wait until it drops and play it unspoiled. Or do beta and enjoy the second coming of Robot Jesus Diablo early.

Also the regular edition boxart PWNS the collectors. 

[Kitsune]

You can keep the Diablo while adding the cash shop by selling keys to unlock found uber-items.  You find a Shotgun of Kerrigan +5, but it doesn't work unless you install some technobabble thing like a 'bio-ident override module'.  Which goes for $2 from the cash shop.  Voila, loot is still found rather than bought, income is still directed to the game operators, monthly subscriptions are avoided.

[schild]

Keep complaining about the sub fee. That'll change it.

RMT WILL NOT WORK, IT'S BASED OFF THE IDEA THAT LOOT IS MOTHERFUCKING RANDOM. IF I KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING, I AM NOT INTERESTED AND NEITHER IS THE DIABLO COMMUNITY.

FUCK.

[Falwell]

RMT WILL NOT WORK, IT'S BASED OFF THE IDEA THAT LOOT IS MOTHERFUCKING RANDOM. IF I KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING, I AM NOT INTERESTED AND NEITHER IS THE DIABLO COMMUNITY.

FUCK.

Release your anger...it makes you strong.

[EvilJohn]

Keep complaining about the sub fee. That'll change it.

RMT WILL NOT WORK, IT'S BASED OFF THE IDEA THAT LOOT IS MOTHERFUCKING RANDOM. IF I KNOW WHAT I'M GETTING, I AM NOT INTERESTED AND NEITHER IS THE DIABLO COMMUNITY.

FUCK.

That seems like a massive oversimplification. You don't think there are methods that can bridge the gap (like the one mentioned above but perhaps more elegant?

RMT's that affect drop percentages or require specific in-game criteria like completing certain episodes etc. seem like potential starts to looking to not alienate the diablo community.

I remember going for specific unique sets and spending hours grinding on the hopes of the right drop or enough Horadric fodder to trade for it, and finding that no one had what I was looking for. I loved the random element, but sometimes I just wanted THAT ONE GODDAMN PIECE, rar! (and I probably would have paid for it in real money gladly)

I don't think it's a binary situation (works/doesn't work) and I don't have the perfect solution right now... but I bet lots of places (including FSS) are pondering the same problem.

Regardless, anger is good and I am definitely looking forward to the game. (First time I've ever considered a lifetime sub option)

[schild]

I remember going for specific unique sets and spending hours grinding on the hopes of the right drop or enough Horadric fodder to trade for it, and finding that no one had what I was looking for.

YES.

I loved the random element, but sometimes I just wanted THAT ONE GODDAMN PIECE, rar! (and I probably would have paid for it in real money gladly)

NO.

[bhodi]

This is just like Vegas. How can you guys play the digital equivalent to "Ding! And than you don't get any money!"

[schild]

This is just like Vegas. How can you guys play the digital equivalent to "Ding! And than you don't get any money!"

If I had to kill and wade through piles of bodies in vegas to get winnings, it'd be a lot more fun.

[Nyght]

This is just like Vegas. How can you guys play the digital equivalent to "Ding! And than you don't get any money!"

See also: Intermittent reinforcement - Skinner, B.F.

But like all human traits, they can be plotted to bell curves. Outliers on the curve may respond differently.