Monday, February 15, 2010

Alganon Going Free to Play?

Even though I am mostly playing STO, I still log into Alganon to keep my studies updated and just generally tinker around a bit. Yesterday I noticed a new icon on my screen placed next to my total money display. A few discussed it in general chat coming up with some theories and a GM responded we will found out quite soon.

Today a dev posted to explain this was part of a new Tribute system as part of "the new subscription-free pricing model that Alganon is adopting, as seen elsewhere on the site." Unfortunately, there is no mention of free to play elsewhere on the site at this point, but I guess it's coming.

I was one of those idiots supportive people who purchased a one-year subscription in hopes of bigger things coming. I have yet to enjoy any free to play model I've tried to date, particularly the communities it attracts. But I'll have to wait and see how it actually evolves.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

If they do, I am hoping they will have the sense to do it correctly, not like a large majority of the games out there.

Even if it's F2P, it may actually be good for the game. We'll see when they say more.

Jergis said...

-Yer not an idiot, my dear.

I am sorry to see the need for this potential development change. I hope they eventually get the support they need to finish the game in the manner they initially intended.

Keep blogging, love to read yer stuff.

Jergis

Yeebo said...

I will definitely be giving Alganon another look if it does go FtP. I find my self playing more and more FtP MMOs as time goes on. The quality of them is steadily improving, and I like being able to bop in and out of a game at will without having to pony up $200+ for a lifetime sub.

Aspendawn said...

They're still not giving specifics and just saying it's not as bad as we're thinking hehe.

Anon - Yeah not sure how they will handle it or what they can possibly offer in a store. They hardly have time to fix the bugs and add content so don't know what they'd whip up to put in a shop.

Jergis - Hey! You never did end up subscribing did you? What you playing these days?

Yeebo - I guess it will help the population for sure. One of my peeves with nearly every ftp I've tried is that pvp is forced at some point, it gets impossible to avoid. So I guess being a pve game they may have that selling point.

Jergis said...

-With free-to-play, Earth Eternal is a good example of how to do it. Great and *original* lore, lots of choices to make the character your own, and a company that knows how to get it done. Granted, some dislike the advertising manner in which they offer credits to buy things in-game with, but that enables them to stay open.

Advertising was something a few of us floated to QOL about 9 months ago when we realized they seemed underfunded. Hopefully whatever move they're making now helps.

As for my playing days...i am ashamed to admit i am playing Champions-Online. A friend bought the game, loves it, so i am biding my time there playing with him. Tried the STO beta, didn't see enough for me to buy it. Sampled Fallen Earth, Aion, Darkfall, and Global Agenda. None of them stuck. I do have an Earth Eternal character but haven't logged in the last three months.

I think i'm still in the funk i was in pre-Alganon. Looking for a home and nothing on the market is attractive. Dunno, maybe The Old Republic will surprise me.

Jergis

Thallian said...

well, they'll get me to try it this way, my budget is nill right now.

Aspendawn said...

Looks like they weren't intending to release that information yet and are telling us we need to wait a couple weeks for full details. Bah!

Based on the somewhat cryptic responses they have given, speculation is that it may be similar to the route DDO has gone where you can still subscribe or play free and pay to unlock content, races, etc.

Also seems that another party may have gotten involved.

Jergis said...

-Another party?

I hadn't seen that yet. My spies are holding out on me.

The plot thickens...

Jergis