I was amazed at how many people from massassi.net, obi-wankenobi.net, and here at jediknight.net either don't want to pay for a game by month, or simply don't know anything about it (or MMOs in general). So I'm just curious, how many people actually know what it (SWG) is and plan on buying it?
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I am just too cheap.
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Master of Demons, Defender of Underworlds
The place Mom warned you about:
http://www.geocities.com/oninosensi/Newdays.html)
Though I might be curious to watch somebody play who owns it, just to see what it looks like/plays, I'm not really attracted to the idea of paying to play a game I already have purchased, especially when it's dependant on the company servers (and there's no single player or offline component).
As I see it maybe, it's more profitable for a company to run an game on this model (buy game, pay per month to use it), but I'd much rather pay full price up front, then play for FREE, or else have the game be free, but pay per month.
The other deal is the amount of time a game like this demands/consumes. So I wouldn't have time for much else if I got the game and was serious about it. And since I like to play a variety of games, it probably wouldn't be worth the amount of money I'd have to put into it.
And finally, I just don't have that much experience in RPG's and therefore really am not that interested in them to begin with, even if it is Star Wars (and of course I like Star Wars), and the game sounds like it could be good.
For these reasons, I definately won't be buying it (though I admit oninosensi summed it up very nicely). ; )
Kurgan
[This message has been edited by Kurgan (edited May 20, 2001).]
I'll only buy it when they don't ask you to pay a monthly fee.
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No!
I am your father.
Bah
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/frown.gif)
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"To pay for ongoing costs such as live team salaries, bandwidth consumption and customer service, there will likely be a subscription fee. The amount will not be determined until we are closer to shipping the game."--SWG FAQ
So in short, when you pay $9.99 a month you pay for the live team which will be making updates and fixes regularly, and since this is an online only game, it will cost the alot of money to maintain the servers to peak conditions.
A while back Raph Koster (lead designer) made a post about why it is necessary to pay per month. One thing that he said was that since SWG is on such a large scale, and so much money put into it, that the actual price of the CD doesn't pay for all the costs involved, but after the next few months.
When you go to see a movie you often spend more then 10 dollars, and that last only 2 hours. If you get more enjoyment out of playing a well made game then seeing a movie, then just playing for 6 hours a month would be worth it.
On a side note, the current MMOs offer a free month of playing the game, so you can decide if you want to keep it or return it.
Also Kurgan, from the what you say in your post it sound like you don't want to be spending tons of hours per week on a game to get the fullest out of it, thats why the devs are trieing to make this game more apealing to those who have limited time. By cutting down the 'camping' time of creatures, and by eliminating the constent need for that one uber weapon, you could easily play for 1 hour sessions at a time and not feel like your not getting anywhere.
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Err, that last sentence should say: "you could easily play for 1 hour sessions and still feel like your getting somewhere" heh
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/redface.gif)
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My problem is my internet connection. Posting to forums is okay, but when I try to play games online I get terrible lag, high ping, and often get disconnected from servers. I'd like to get a better connection like DSL, but it's just not available in my area yet.
Mind you, the UK version of DSL on offer is capped at 512k/s bandwidth, and costs around Ј40 per month for the privilege - not exactly a good deal.
So although I am interested in SWG, I probably won't be getting it, because I may not be able to play it.
I'll just have to wait and see.
Of course, there is always Knights Of The Old Republic RPG, which sounds very good, and you won't have to go online to play that one.
the last* star wars games i'll buy are Galactic Battlegrounds and Rogue Leader. unless gamecube gets some more released on it (which is pretty doubtful due to the ps2
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/frown.gif) )
as with others, its the monthly fee holding me back. it looks great, but i think ill have to take a miss on this one.
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Put captain cargo in the solo hold.......... I mean.... DAMMIT!
Yeah. The monthly few shot it in the foot and face for me.
Stormhammer, if you are refering to lag you get from FPS games then I see where you're coming from, but MMOs often get ALOT less lag then 'twich' combat games.
All though this may sound a little incredible, but games with monthly fees can sometimes make you spend LESS on games over all. For example; I used to buy about 1 game for my N64 about once every 1-3 months, with each game costing about 30-50 dollars. However, after getting Asheron's Call rarely bought any other games at all. Why? because that 10 dollars a month allowed for monthly updates to make AC something you'd want to play for many many months. So instead of spending about 18 dollars per month on video games (since they run out so quickly) I end up paying the small fee of $9.95 dollars a month, for a game I enjoy much more.
So basicly the 10 dollars a month help make a game less static, and over all makes its longevity much longer for all the users, since they no longer feel like they need to buy new games on a regular basis.
I hope my twisted logic made sense
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/smile.gif)
hmmm, I'm not a jedi Knight yet
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/smile.gif)
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O yeah, StormHammer, I forget to mention that since SWG is made for online play only, that the stability of the servers are much greater, then say an fps game (such as jedi knight) that you can play online.
yay, I'm now a Jedi Knight
http://www.jediknight.net/mboard/smile.gif)
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Come to the Dark Side... We have cookies...
I understand their reasoning behind charging a monthly fee for an online only game like that.
That doesn't mean I find the idea ATTRACTIVE, to me, as a potential consumer, which was the whole point of my posts on that topic.
Anyway, some might find it worthwhile, and some must, because MMORPG's are quite popular in the internet gaming community, generally speaking.
The other issue with SWG is that unlike a game that has both a single player and multiplayer component (or just a SP component), it is quite possible, that, let's say I buy the game, and like and it play it for four months. Good deal, now I stop paying for it, so my service expires.
Then, let's say five years or so, down the road, I suddenly get the urge to pick the game up again and play it some. That would mean I'd have to pay again for another month.
And what if the service no longer exists at that time? What if the game has fallen in popularity and nobody is on the servers anymore?
With a game that has single player, this would never be a problem, as I could just fire up the game on the spot and play it, and it could be potentially just as fun a the day I bought it.
And with a traditional multiplayer game, in theory, I could get some friends together and play a game, and it could be just a great as if we were playing it back in the day.
Of course I know an MMORPG is somewhat different because the whole "point" is to have an ongoing adventure, in a presistent online world, interacting with hundreds or even thousands of human players.
But that is a definite consideration when deciding to buy the game.
If they offered the first month free that you could choose to activate at any time (I think EverQuest has that deal) it would be nicer, but it doesn't solve the problem if there's no SP option (and/or private server option).
If the game itself was free, I would have no problem whatsoever with paying per month to play it. But if they're going to charge for the game initially, I'd wait until it was super cheap, and I definately had the time to play it, before I'd consider getting it.
But, as I said, these factors all snowball to the point where I consider it just not the type of game I would get.
Kurgan
[This message has been edited by Kurgan (edited May 21, 2001).]
I buy Rebel Assault 2... OH NO! NOT REBEL ASSAULT 2! A BIG mistake!
By the Dark Side of the Force!