MMO game mean MMO monthlys?

[zarkwizard]

I agree with the subscription model, but why not make a special offer? That could help you get an audience, and if they like it, they might stay. Maybe the first game you play is free? That would give you a chance to experience the core game. WoW had the problem where it wasn't possible to experience the main attraction of the game without paying... and if they got there and still didn't like it, they wasted $15+ dollars.

While in a perfect world it would be nice to have a problem like WoW... On a side note here are some of the logistics.. We are running a real server back end, not a fluffy web back end. We maintain connections to the game server while you are playing like any MMO. It costs quite a bit of money to maintain the servers. If we gave people the chance to play for free we could end up with tons of servers running at less than half capacity because someone didn't like the game. That wouldn't be good for anyone playing. All it would mean is people might drop from the game because their experience was bad or because no one else was playing in their game. Since they could only play one free game.

In the worst case we end up being overwhelmed with free people vs paying customers, and then the paying customers have a bad experience because of lag, or not being able to get in decent games, due to the fact that there are a ton of free people playing.

Now that's not saying that we won't ever do something to open it up, but at this point in time it's something we decided not to offer. The other option would be to go freemium, but that is something we really have no desire to do. If people want to play or try the game, we figured for the price of a cup of coffee it's a pretty fair trade.

[Lavenders2]

While in a perfect world it would be nice to have a problem like WoW... On a side note here are some of the logistics.. We are running a real server back end, not a fluffy web back end. We maintain connections to the game server while you are playing like any MMO. It costs quite a bit of money to maintain the servers. If we gave people the chance to play for free we could end up with tons of servers running at less than half capacity because someone didn't like the game. That wouldn't be good for anyone playing. All it would mean is people might drop from the game because their experience was bad or because no one else was playing in their game. Since they could only play one free game.

In the worst case we end up being overwhelmed with free people vs paying customers, and then the paying customers have a bad experience because of lag, or not being able to get in decent games, due to the fact that there are a ton of free people playing.

Now that's not saying that we won't ever do something to open it up, but at this point in time it's something we decided not to offer. The other option would be to go freemium, but that is something we really have no desire to do. If people want to play or try the game, we figured for the price of a cup of coffee it's a pretty fair trade.

Maybe do a $1.99 for 2 months offer on a specific event (EG. Christmas, Haloween)? That way you will already have built up a fan base and have people who have already payed. You will also get some money anyway, so it should help support the servers during that time.

[zarkwizard]

If we go to a model where people pay $1.99 and say get the first month free, they would still have to sign up for the IAP sub to continue. The other issue is it would allow pirates to download the game and play for a month for free, since there is no real mechanic to see if you actually purchased the game.

Having the IAP subscription model from the start it allows us to have everything set up and running from the start and not have any issues with pirates. We have thought about having IAP where you can buy credits to play in a game, but that certainly won't be at the start.

[ksib]

I agree, I just feel this would lose a bunch of potential customers because they can't even really see/experience the game with paying for a subscription.

Maybe something like Lavenders2 said about getting a free game. Maybe they have access to like a "tutorial island" which is a single sector tutorial type of thing?

[Lavenders2]

Is it possible to have a offer on launch where $1.99 will give you 2 months instead of one, and after two months pass, the real subscription model gets put out ($1.99 a month)? In other words, you will only get the 1 free month if you pay within the first two months of launch. That will encourage people who are on the ropes about deciding if the game is worth it more likely to say yes.

[ksib]

I like this idea, maybe with the purchase of the game at 1.99 you get a full games worth if over two months and if under get a full month's worth.

Like no matter when you purchase the game, not just launch

btw Lavenders i love your sig :P

[Lavenders2]

I like this idea, maybe with the purchase of the game at 1.99 you get a full games worth if over two months and if under get a full month's worth.

Like no matter when you purchase the game, not just launch

btw Lavenders i love your sig :P

Minecraft ftw!

The problem with extending the free month deal is that people will delete the app, make a new account, and get half price again. By making it two months, you can only get the deal once

[ksib]

What about the people who want to buy it after the two months? They can only view trailers and hope that a friend already bought it if they are hesitant to purchase the game due to the subscription.

[Lavenders2]

What about the people who want to buy it after the two months? They can only view trailers and hope that a friend already bought it if they are hesitant to purchase the game due to the subscription.

If you were hesitant on a game for 2 months, chances are you either never had the money in the first place, or by then you will lose interest. The only problem with extending the time of the offer is that people are going to take advantage of it. Zarksoft can't be getting just half the income on the game forever, that isn't fair on them

[Trom]

I think I still have to agree with Zark and friends on this one. $2 is not an outrageous price to pay to play the game and if you don't like the game after one month then I guess you will have to buy one less coffee that month to stay within budget. Protection from pirates is pretty important as that will keep a lot of the trolls out and will make the experience for the rest of us better.

My only concern is how many people you will be able to attract to come play the game. 4X games don't have the same kind of following as say FPS genres and I don't think this project is really all that well known yetvso some more advertisement or interviews on game sites would be helpful.