Ben-DutkaPeople like free stuff.
Initially, CCP's DUST 514 – which will technically take place inside the existing EVE Online universe – would have a $10 to $20 cover charge for PSN users. But now, as revealed by Eurogamer , that idea has been ditched in favor of a simpler free-to-play model.
Executive producer Brandon Laurino said the original structure "was a relatively confusing proposition" and in the end, they wanted to make this an "unambiguously free-to-play game." They also don't want to make it a "pay to win" game; i.e., there will be items to buy on a micro-transaction level, but they're purely for vanity purposes and won't have any impact – positive or negative – on your game performance. Added Laurino:
"It's very important as we take steps into this topic to unambiguously state that it is not a pay to win game. There is no micro-transaction that you can do that gives you an unfair advantage over someone who hasn't paid anything. It's the classic micro-transaction dynamic of, 'I can pay and get this item,' or, 'I can invest my time and get this item.' But neither of those options will give me an unfair advantage over the other."
Aurum Credits can be bought in currency bundles ranging between $10 and $100, and you can also earn ISK credits for EVE Online , although these can't be used in the DUST 514 store. Laurino finished by saying they "already have hundreds upon hundreds" of items available for sale, and they're still trying to sort out if all of them will be available on day one, or if they'll parcel them out over a period of time.
Furthermore, it was reported that there will be a PlayStation Vita iteration of the game, but it won't be quite the same: Laurino described it as a "companion app," with functionality such as shopping around, character customization, and the construction of gameplay strategies. This app will be updated as time goes on as CCP explores the possibilities of the PS3/Vita connectivity. And that sounds intriguing.
This just took a step down on my must try list as a majority of F2P games aren't worth playing in the first place.
but it's f2p… I'll at least give it a try.
Me too as I love EVE, just my hopes aren't as high now.
Isn't that more how it used to be? Isn't WoW f2p now too?
They try to make some people think so , it s written somewhere somehwat hidden that it s free until lvl 20 .
Aha.
This game is going to have to span consoles over to PS4 if it ever wants to break a profit.
No clue if I'll try it or not, I decided to try DC Online when it went Free to Play, two months later it's still downloading.
You're not missing too much so don't worry about it 😉
I always get a kick out of building characters, it's one of the reasons I love Soul Calibur.
they already confirmed that thats what they plan to do.. and thats why the game is digital only that way it will be compatible with p4 (even if the ps4 isnt ps3 backwards compatible.. kinda like how you can play those newly released ps2 classics from the PS store on PS3 slims which dont have PS2 backwards compatibility)
they also stated that buy it being a digital game theyre not limited on what they could do and thus could upscale revamp, rebuilt the entire game to ps4 specifications when that came out and release all that as a patch/update and yes PS3 players will still be able to play cross platform in with the "downgraded ps3 version" against the Ps4 players who are playing the "new version"
so yeah they already have the PS4 in mind
@Geo
You have no idea what you're talking about.
Yes I do. I have 3 characters with only one around level 30 or so. Out of the five MMO's I have on my hard drive currently, this one gets the least playing time. If I want to play a comic book MMO, I'll stick with City of Heroes and/or Champions Online if I have to. Besides, I never have been a big DC Comics fan to begin with.
… Also, DC Online barely reached 60 in metascore so Geo hardly is alone in saying it's not much of a mmo.
Personally I'd say DC Online is an ok introduction to the concept of mmorpg, but to be honest it's the worst MMO I've played.
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/5/2012 1:37:13 AM
Nice. I was planning on getting this anyways. If it is good, I will have no problem spending money it either.
ohhhhh dear i dont like the sound of this!
all F2P games suck simply because everything you actually need to finish the game are chargeable items.
so in a MMO like this if you want any chance of winning a match your going to have to shell out some cash!
oh lord, why cant we just go back to the small monthly subscription?
that way everyones on even playing ground!
and here i was thinking this would be the game to prove MMOs can work on consoles.
sigh, i guess it was just too much to ask!
🙁
They are stating in this article that they will NOT make it like that.
"There is no micro-transaction that you can do that gives you an unfair advantage over someone who hasn't paid anything."
It was never going to have a monthly subscription anyways.
I can tell "________" didn't read the article.
right, so just because they said that you believe them?
my lord you people are gullible!
i still remember the day the lead game designer for infamous 2 said to my face that the team hates how sequels strip your powers down, were not doing that with our game.
how did that turn out?
if i had a nickel for every time a developer said they wont be doing something, then went right ahead and did it, well, you get the point by now!
"There is no micro-transaction that you can do that gives you an unfair advantage over someone who hasn't paid anything."
This may be true but I bet the microtransactions that will be available will be ridiculously overpriced. CCP put microtransactions in EVE Online as of last year. And way overpriced ones at that even if they are just cosmetic items. $70 for a monocle that does nothing but change the way your face looks? Are you kidding me? EVE is great but the developers took a big hit to their reputation with that decision.
Last edited by Geobaldi on 3/5/2012 1:10:09 PM
I like Free to Play, so it doesn't bother me and I can't wait to play it.
This is a good move by CCP as a lot more people will be willing to try it now that it will be free. And if it pans out to be anything AT ALL like EVE it will be a great game.
This game has always interested me and at that price, I'll definitely have to check it out. I'm really sick of shooters, but it looks like it will (hopefully) have a lot more to offer. And I've been wanting to check out an MMO for a long time.
A f2p fps without stuff that give an advantage to those paying for stuff …… i m sold .
I m the opposite of Geo , was not interested much about it before it was f2p but now i look forward to it s release .
I m sure they went for f2p game because they feel they will make more money that way .Not because they are not confident in their product , they made one of the most complete/succesful mmo afterall .
Last edited by berserk on 3/5/2012 7:48:14 AM
This is a little worrying. Hopefully, F2P was something they actually wanted to do because they wanted everyone to enjoy it, and not because they think it's a steaming pile of crap! Anyway, I can't argue with free. If I was handed a free steaming pile of crap, I'd take it.
I wouldn't take a free steaming pile of crap myself. On the other hand if it was something decent but someone only said that it was a steaming pile of crap that would be a different story.
I hate the F2P model for games. Basically all this model does is institutionalize the practice of nickle and dime-ing gamers to death.
Oh, you want your avatar to look different to the others? that's $10 on hair, face, outfit, and other assorted accessories that have no game impact. Actually, if they are making this work in such a way that the items you buy for real money offer no performance advantage, then what is the point? Why not just play in Home where the range of items and accessories that do *nothing* is vast already?
Well the players don't get to shoot each other in Home.
I agree, I much prefer the monthly fee model myself. Just give us the entire game and get on with it.
But I think this model might be a smarter move on a platform that is not familiar with the monthly fee practise. Maybe?
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/5/2012 1:11:01 PM
@looking glass
I'll just say that it's a safe bet that someone is working on a pvp game for Homes, and I'm aware of one already, but it does not involve shooting.
Possibly Beamboom, but free to play games with the trickle feed of revenue always bother me because it's really a sly way of charging more for less.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 3/5/2012 1:27:15 PM
Some people may not like it but the F2P model definitely seems to be growing in popularity both among consumers and developers.
Now it seems that DUST 514 has a real fighting chance of success.