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Also until they fix the matchmaking system and 'Lobbies of Icarus' people will just join for free, get sick of spending over 30% of their time pointlessly waiting and leave again putting us right back where we are with another option gone and a bunch of people claiming its all somehow a scam because the game they got for free with alliance went free to play.
I'm too tired to see this claim over and over.
NO. f2p won't save the game, it would kill it more.
THe same way the exact model you are suggesting killed an amazing game called "Altitude", which was on low pop and went f2p in the exact way you are suggesting, rendering it completly dead.
With the "eventually pay what you want" model, we had people who wouldn't bother coming to training after a while, and who just weren't motivated - they were, in a way, expecting to be entertained enough before they'd consider opening their wallets. After we introduced a (very reasonable) membership fee after a few weeks, people attended training way more often, and were more likely to organise social events and the like for the entire group. Why? Because the investment in the group was made already, and it was now up to them to make the most out of it.
You may ask yourself 'how does this translate to GoI'? Well, here's my take on it. If GoI goes free to play, there may be a surge in activity as new players see a freebie and instinctively grab it. However, those players may not have any clue what they're getting into, and will expect the game to cater to them - ships could end up being filled with gunners, all refusing to give up their place because they simply don't feel like doing so. Naturally, those players would get their proverbial hindquarters handed to them on a regular basis once a proper crew showed up. They might eventually leave again, but until then the public lobbies would become a minefield for players who just want to play the game as intended, forcing the experienced players into their private lobby shell and driving newer, but motivated players away entirely. This would get worse as the amount of people willing to repeat themselves on which ammo goes into which gun and why not to bring the stupidest loadouts on a ship in the public lobbies dwindles. To further make things worse, there is no solid way of policing things and removing useless crewmembers. Even if you have a replacement, they would still have to accept the swap request or leave on their own accord. If you're stuck with three people refusing to listen, you can't force loadouts or prevent them from taking certain positions. Instead, your only option is to leave the lobby (or game) and hope the next one gets better, which I still believe is a horrible way to handle it. Anyway, my point is that you may attract a lot of people by going f2p, but it's not exactly the kind of people who would make the game a more enjoyable experience.
On the other hand, the pay wall method. If people are forced to cough up the money up front, the investment has been made. Since you have to pay for a game, you'd be more inclined to inform yourself first, which should work to filter out many of the trolls littering f2p games. Since you also already invested into the game, you want to get your money's worth in entertainment out of the game, and would be more willing to learn how to play properly, creating a more enjoyable atmosphere for everyone involved. You'll still have the occasional idiot, of course, but overall the game should stay populated with a small, but dedicated community as it is now.
Long story short: GoI is a game that does not just rely on having a lot of people in it, but the right kind of people. In my opinion, going f2p would not improve anything, but make the experience far worse for everyone. This boils down to the age old decision between making a game fun for the players and squeezing every last drop of money out of it, and I think it is commendable that Muse stuck with trying to keep it fun for everyone (for the most part. I still want to be able to force loadouts, especially if people join mid game.)
so why do you even read those threads ?
You have not proven anything in your original post. You brought up that other games have done well with going F2P, but that is hardly a proof as GoI is not necessarily like those games you didn't name.
You might as well say Muse could start selling junk food because there are other companies that are doing well with it and call that a proof.
Tf2 has around 60.000 healthy playerbase.
Dota close to 900.000
Warframe sits steady at around 30.000
GoI would probably get a healty boost as well. Not saying 30.000. But certainly more than the very low pathetic number there is now.
http://steamcharts.com/app/209080
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Try this instead. Find studios of similar size, games that are likewise similar [MOBAs like Dota, well there isn't much else that's similar so that should get a pass but Warframe? Really?]. Plucking numbers out of Steamcharts isn't going to be convincing.
Else I could compare http://store.steampowered.com/app/48700 and http://steamcommunity.com/app/39210 which right this moment are within a few 100 gamers of each other.
I'm surprised noone dug out Elite 4 [similar business model/etc but much larger studio if quite different games].
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Do some legwork... F2P is not the panacea some think. Look at the garbage can of MMOs that last barely a year or how well F2P worked for even studios like Turtle / Evolve. Any bets as to how long Sky Pirates will last?
http://steamcharts.com/app/41300#All
Ummmmm no sweetie. F2p made the average go up by 4.
No one wants to pay $5 for a ded gaem.
But such newer players might not like the game as much as previous buyers.
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User reviews:
RECENT: Mixed (40 reviews)
OVERALL: Very Positive (7,665 reviews
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A lot of customers are just going to see 'Recent: Mixed' and look for another game. Most of the nags seem to be complaining about not receiving Alliance for free.
Plus the game isn't as casual friendly as some mobile games. One negative review complain about stuff when the player couldn't / wouldn't press ESC. These are the kinds of horsies that when led to water... drown.