If more of their games use an online component then no, it's not too expensive to keep a network going. Blizzard does it with battle.net, and so do many other companies. You build it on a private or public cloud, and it becomes a fixed cost to all your products.
Will lack of subscription kill Elite?
- Thread starter CMNDRMK
- Start date
- Status
People who have more money than sense, apparently. And therefore think that everyone else should pay extra too.
Course the funny thing is that there are plenty of sub-based games that have folded, in spite (or because of!) the subscription. I'll also point out the games that nearly folded when they were sub-based but changed to free-to-play and then came back from the brink and are still going.
What was all that about subscriptions being required for a game to survive? What twaddle.
daan2002
Banned
didnt you know every one on the forums have inside source for their info ?
but i am like you i have trust in FD i been playing since the 16th and loving this game space game i been looking for 20 years
Last edited:
No offence - but is it wise using what was stated in the Kickstarter FAQ, given what's happened in the intervening time? Besides 'We do not plan to make it subscription based' is not the same as 'We will never make it subscription based'.
Erm. Transaction authentication issues aside, I thought the matchmaking servers used the estimated health status of the peer-to-peer networking between clients to determine player instance counts? And the whole point of peer-to-peer was to avoid ongoing large server costs. Now of course YMMV as to how you feel this has turned out, and it's overall suitability for an MMO. *Edit* And its debatable if Elite qualifies for 'MMO' in the traditional sense.
Last edited:
No offence - but is it wise using what was stated in the Kickstarter FAQ, given what's happened in the intervening time? Besides 'We do not plan to make it subscription based' is not the same as 'We will never make it subscription based'.
This is a good point, and a cautionary tale. If there's one thing that Frontier seems to be good at, it's weasel words. But, mark my words, if this game goes subscription - I'm out. No regrets, and I'll be a little wiser next time.
a sizeable number of MMOs are no longer suscription based (paying for extras seems to be the trend at the moment
tbh these days (unlike 10 years ago I'm now a casual player) a subscription puts me off these days
tbh these days (unlike 10 years ago I'm now a casual player) a subscription puts me off these days
Because they have assumed that FD came into being just prior to the KS, a 5 second internet search to show that FD have been trading for 20 years is 5 seconds of Internet Tough Guy posting that is lost. Given the other revenue streams I don't see a subscription model as mandatory at all.
"We will probably allow the supplemental purchase of Credits with real money, for those who want to accelerate their progress through the game." I hope they reconsider this particular way of making money. It hasn't worked very well in games that have tried it (Guild Wars 2, for instance), because it devalues the assets in the game. And that is going to be particularly the case with games such as ED which are based on trying to fulfill aspirations. Much of the tension comes from trying to get back to base with a large haul of booty, but that is hollow when everyone else is doing it with their credit card. In a good game the pain and frustration of real consequences for your actions, is a big part of what makes the game interesting and challenging to play. If you eliminate the tension then you eliminate the fulfillment too.
Not everyone has the time for grinding trades for ten hours a day just so they can afford to do whatever it is they want to do in the game.
Then don't play a game that is a time sink. Self entitlement is bad for games and have ruined a large number of MMO's.
As long as not paying remains viable there's no problem.
daan2002
Banned
i really hope so and that it gets implemented soon !
this wouldn't work, this is not EVE this is a much simpler game, Like GTA, it's trying to be as freeform as GTA.......in space.............with space ships...............and frigging laser beams..................real galaxy.
I think it probably is - I got from a post above that appears to be quoting the faq.
Last edited:
Not every game needs to have fees and microtransactions infesting it. Some games can just be good games that you pay once for. Kinda like the games of old, you know like the original 84 game.
Last edited:
You can have fun in games without putting a lot of time into them. But I think it is reasonable that those who invest heavily in a game have certain things to look forward to according to their investment in the game - that is really what the concept of "reward" means in multiplayer games (or any progression game for that matter). If you've played any big MMO you will know that people love to show off their accomplishments in game, whether it is through flying mounts or some special armour skin. I don't see anything wrong with that and it really is a very important part of the success of multiplayer games and reflects the search for status in particular roles, in real life. But, when you start making the achievements in a game purchasable for real money, with no effort or commitment to the game world, it cheapens them in many people's eyes.
Last edited:
They got medication for that now, don't be afraid
It's a quote from the Kickstarter FAQ over a year ago. The point I was making in my earlier post was that an awful lot of time has passed since then, and we've seen that features and approaches 'promised' (for want of a better word) in the Kickstarter, may not pan out in reality. There was discussion in the DDF (and a poll) over cash for credits, with the majority of people saying 'no - bad idea'. The approach was then taken of raising money via cash sales for cosmetics (i.e. skins and decals) in the shop. There was also a separate poll about the price of skins (the majority settled for £2-5 IIRC).
.
Charging for skins was also apparently contradictory to what was said in the Kickstarter (the KS FAQ implies all items in game would be available using in game cash), and when FDev were called out about this there was a response form Michael Brookes along the lines of 'would you prefer cash for credits?'.
.
So, bottom line, I'd treat everything in the Kickstarter FAQ with a bit of scepticism, given a) the intervening time, b) the 'wooliness' of some of the phrasing (allowing the 'bare minimum' game we have now to fulfil the KS goals) and c) the obvious loss of major features that went some way to secure the original KS backing (i.e. the whole offline debacle).
.
Really bottom line - only FDev know what their current intentions are - we're all second guessing without clarification. They have stated that Elite is a 'flagship' product for them and has been budgeted accordingly, so I don't think the intention is for a subscription model anytime soon, if at all. But we know what the road to Hell is paved with, and as per my last sentence, I'm second guessing.
Last edited:
- Status