Naug

"Hey, if they can make a good game where players aren't forced to buy stuff to compete, more power to em."

For so long people were forced to spend huge amounts of Free time to advance. I see no reason a switch to cash is wrong.

" If we still get nickel and dimed in order to play, "

Alot of casual play styles find a much better financial fit in F2P than in Subscription games.

Unless you putting in large amounts of time to the game, subscriptions are effectively nickel and diming people.

I think the top of the line MMOs will maintain a subscription-cashstore format. Very few of the lesser MMOs will maintain a subscript format.

Most lesser MMOs will end up being F2P-cashstore or F2P-sub hybrids.


Subscription dominance in the genre is going away, but not completely.

"It's not about PLing, that can be done regardless of level cap, but normal average play. If you spend 4 hours a day leveling, and get an average of one level doing so, you are at cap in a month. That's not a rush for most people."

1) I think your 4 hours a day is a way high estimate for the average player DCUO seems to be targeting.


2) The time is takes to level is important if the content was just a bunch of grinding.

But with a alot of fresh and exciting content at each level range, longer level "timeframes" can be perfectly reasonable.

3) What is leveling anyways. Leveling to alot of the old MMO player base is simply the hoops you have to jump thru to get to endgame content.

So even if leveling on release if longer but funner alot of folks will burn thru it without looking anyways. Because they are only interested in endgame.

It is actually interesting to think about. Is "leveling" even needed in MMOs or even really desired by alot of the player bases. This hold especially true to games like DCUO that have moved away from being a MMORPG.

"where they really don't care whether or not you play a lot, "

1) I disagree, the number on the level cap has no value. All that matters is the "gameplay" to reach whatever the cap is.

2)
Yeah but DCUO doesn't really seem focused at all around the player that comes in and hardcore grinds the game for a weeks.

DCUO being and Action MMO rather than a MMORPG along with the game mechanics so far seems more focused on short bursts of gameplay and downtime not long hardcore grinds.

I suspect that even if the max level was higher most hardcore types will burn thru and leave the game rather quickly.

Obviously I am not a business expert for MMOs.

Yet, it is starting to seem that only a few of the top tier MMOs will be able to maintian a standard subscription based revenue model.

If the MMO isn't going to be a chart topper, then being a F2P-cashstore model or some hybird model is starting to seem like the only viable choice for alot of MMOs.

MMOs are changing so much.

I think in 10 years or more, the typical MMO player will NOT be very simliar to typical MMO player now.

"I don't mind low level caps, but I can't see how 30 is doable. I mean, CO at 40 isn't that hard to get to. 30 means either 25-30 take a long time, or you level to cap in a month."

The number on a level cap is meaningless.
It all depends on the speed, challenge, and fun of gameplay.

The number on the max level has no real value.

A level 30 max game can end up longer and funner than a level 80 max game. It all depends on how levels advance behind the pixels.

"Is DCUO still limiting characters to 4 offensive + 4 defensive powers in a fight, regardless of how many bought powers they have?"

Most players in alot MMOs endup boiling down their rotations to about 4 powers anyways. I like how DCUO simplifies the process and gives a qucik hot swap between your DPS spec and OTHER spec.


"Other than fighting what else is there to do in this game?"

It isn't a MMORPG. The devs state many times in videos and on boards that they are a ACTION MMO.
That means fighting is the biggest part. Which it is in almost every MMO anyways.

"When does it go F2P?"

"Never, God willing."

I am huge fan of DCUO.

However, F2P seems the way of the future and DCUO is prime candidate for a F2P-cashstore game.

Given points including it's playstation network ties and it being far more Quick Action MMO than MMORPG.

Once their population base reaches steady-state, I suspect they will go F2P-cashstore or F2P-hybrid if they see more money in it.

"They have a proven track record of producing successful games, "


That applies to the SWTOR being a fail or success.

But it doesn't mean that they are not a slaveshop.