Albion Online?

[holmeswjoshua]

Have any of you guys heard of Albion Online? I used to play a good amount of Haven, and this game is right up that alley. It reminds me a bit of old Ultima too. You people should come check it out!

It's free to play, but they are selling founders packs which give little cosmetic bonuses and help development!

https://albiononline.com/?ref=V7MZERNF8L

[Saxony4]

A THRILLING PVP MMO

Guild Vs Guild WARFARE

(plus 'epic' explorer gear and an explorer's glass that increases movement speed and HP)

A shitty crossplatform f2p pay for shit game where you get punished for playing solo and are inclined to pay money for progress to make the game less shit.

Into the trash it goes


Don't waste your time on games like these

[Kaios]

I've heard of this game before and am willing to give it a try but after having wasted money on ArcheAge I am not very inclined to pay for these rather similar looking money grab packs.

[holmeswjoshua]

I am still suffering from ArcheAge letdown too.. I came in skeptical and have been pleasently surprised so far. I used to be a pretty big Ultime fan though so I do wear some rose coloured glasses haha

[TeckXKnight]

I gather you're aiming to get a free founder's pack via referral. Their facebook game style systems of pay to make the game less painful and 'refer all of your friends constantly' don't inspire confidence in me. None of the systems also strike me as anything terribly creative either. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong, but it's not a game I'd buy in to. =(

Mind you I gather that there are two primary ways to make the freemium model work, so I shouldn't even fault them too hard (though I still will): either remove basic necessities and luxuries and force players to buy them back or offer outright advantages for paying. Likely this means they'll fall back on a combination of the two and I'm not looking forward to a sandbox that does that.

[WaitingforHaven2]

Seeing this makes me feel bad for argueing in defense of cash shops in the other thread...

OP should also feel ashamed for the referance crap.

[TeckXKnight]

Seeing this makes me feel bad for argueing in defense of cash shops in the other thread... :?

It all depends on what you're aiming to do with it and how you're going to do something with it. Value in cosmetics isn't intrinsic and developing value in other sold items is a hit and miss sort of deal. In-game economies never work out like you expect them to and forcing players to need paid items turns the game into pay to win. In its most malicious form, as is becoming common with freemium games, free players are explicitly there as fodder for paid players to kick the shit out of and there is no degree of balance. In a sandbox where everything is built and lost with your sweat, something like this would be utterly devastating.

We have working models of f2p games and we have examples of short-term profit economies as well. The truth of the matter is that it breaks down to how much work the devs want to/can commit to the economic systems. Lazy devs can just copy the addictive facebook model of immediate action/reward, strap costs onto maintaining this feedback, and then let the game die after a quick buck, as this model is incredibly unstable. More dedicated devs can research and build potential economic models to see what players need, will pay for, and find a compromise that works for their game. Not everyone can sell hats and not every brilliant idea is healthy in any given system, so this requires more thought and work than anyone ever thinks it will.

[holmeswjoshua]

I actually bought in and got the legendary pack for myself already, not going to lie, I do want references but it's for the Cape they offer, I'm a sucker for rare cosmetics. Once the founders packs and referal bonuses go away at launch I lose my chance at them!

[holmeswjoshua]

And the full loot pvp makes me much less weary of a cash shop, I take it like plex in EVE. Sure you can spend hundreds if you want, you can also die and lose it all instantly. The people who buy gold don't get an unfair advantage over others, because it doesn't give any bullshit over powered gear.

[Saxony4]

I actually bought in and got the legendary pack for myself already, not going to lie, I do want references but it's for the Cape they offer, I'm a sucker for rare cosmetics

And the full loot pvp makes me much less weary of a cash shop, I take it like plex in EVE. Sure you can spend hundreds if you want, you can also die and lose it all instantly. The people who buy gold don't get an unfair advantage over others, because it doesn't give any bullshit over powered gear.

I actually bought in and got the legendary pack

you can also die and lose it all instantly