Monday, March 1, 2010

Alganon - The Big March 1 Patch

Well the patch didn't come. This was to be the content patch that included new dungeons as a result of the Dawning event.

What did come, however, as the official announcement regarding their new subscription-free model. They are calling it subscription-free rather than free to play because there will still be a purchase price. Their hope is that this will minimize the troublemakers and help maintain some social maturity in game.

They are adding a Tribute Market System as their method of real money transactions. Those of us with prepaid subscriptions will have Tribute deposited into our accounts following the official relaunch in mid-April. Along with items typically seen in ftp such as mounts, pets, and equipment, they also will be selling study time. Currently, longer term subscribers would have had an advantage due to the study system. However, those with padded wallets will now be able to buy their studies rather than wait. Also, it appears items such as mounts will not just be purchased outright. You will need to continue to pay for them in the form of maintenance.

Also coming with the April relaunch will be a redesigned starter experience and new starter areas, along with a collection of dungeon instances.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it yet. It's still over a month away, so I'll have to wait and see what sort of pricing structures they have. But I am disappointed the studies will now be tied to how much money you have rather than how long you've been playing. That was probably the biggest let down of the whole thing.

3 comments:

Jergis said...

-For the last two+ years they promoted the Study system as a way to encapsulate, reward and entice players to grow with the game. Support them from modest beginnings and be a part of the evolving landscape of an indie MMO with admittedly short-end funding but a 'passion' to deliver a good product.

Now, however...

Keep us updated, have a good one.

Jergis

Aspendawn said...

They indicated that the study purchases will not come cheaply. Not sure that was really a consolation lol.

Unless they really churn out some content which is sorely lacking, I can't imagine people wanting to even pay the box price without subscription.

Jergis said...

-My only other concern is i think they are being intentionally disingenuous about the "subscription free" description.

If the Tribute System is required to keep your mount and equipment repaired, and must be paid every so often to allow you to keep that mount going, is not not a recurring cost to play the game i.e. a subscription?

Sorry to see it go this way, time to look elsewhere for a new MMO home.

Jergis