1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

[IRONxMortlock]

I just completed the EA survey and the questions like "would you buy a booster pack for $x" makes the state of BF2 clearer to understand.

Normally a "booster pack" would never sell. In pretty much every other first person shooter out there, community mappers and modders have produced this new content and have often done a better job than the original developers. They have traditionally been free and available to all so no other player has an advantage over another. In fact it is no different for BF2. There are many quality, community made modifications and maps for BF2 already. The difference is the ranking system in BF2.

What has it come down to? If you want to enjoy the global ranking system then you must pay for it. I've already paid quite a bit for this privilege when I leased a ranked server and now it seems the future will be to make each and every player, pay to play. Nothing wrong with it, if you're comfortable doing so then I don't see any problem.

I'm not into it but luckily the option to avoid that side of the game is possible in the unranked world where things are run like they always have been. I spent my time in the ranked world and liked it for awhile but now I enjoy the diversity and community that exists on the "other side" and I think many others are feeling the same way.

If you're not happy with the direction the games is heading in the ranked realm then try some custom maps or downlaod a mod and you will see that you have viable alternatives. Even if you are happy with the status-quo, participating in the unranked world provides more variety to your gaming and can offer you a pleasant hiatus from grinding away at stats.

Peace,

Mortlock

[Devil_Dog-9]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

Im just scared EA will make us buy a subcription for $X permonth...as in WOW and Planetside did...And before people say they couldn't or woun't...Come on it EA...what they did with SF was unheard of also but they did it anyways.

[IVfluids]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

Yah, the subscription fee gaming **** is a big turn off for me. It has kept me from playing **** like PlanetSide and what have you.

I honestly would rather they charged you 30% more for the game and provide all the servers free of charge if they are going to do this. But that still leaves the issue of wtf to do for league/ladder matches.

Personally, I think the rank system is a joke and actually encourages idiocy by rewarding it.

[IRONxMortlock]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

For anyone who runs a ranked server it essentially is a subscription service due to the extortionate prices that ranked server providers must charge in order to help EA keep the ranked system alive.

For the average player I don't see it becoming like an MMO but the pay to play aspect will come in by the way of having to purchase upgrades and "booster packs" in order to play the game on a level playing field. The Special Forces expansion is just the first example of this. If EAs market research shows that it would be profitable to sell further content then you can expect to see similar expansions to ranked play. As such ranked BF2 will become a pay to play game in all but subscription.

My original point is that if you are not comfortable with such a system then you don’t have to get angry or stop playing. The unranked world is here and I would argue that it will soon offer more content at a higher quality than the official expansions will ever be able to provide. Add the fact that this extra content is free and it starts to become hard not to play more unranked games.

Players will simply have to ask themselves, is having globally recorded stats worth the price?

[Moke]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

If they introduce pay-to-play for the ranked servers, I can predict an explosion in Whoring of all kinds.... Ppl will get even more caried away with the stats thingy (because now theyre actually paying to have them)...

Camping the airfield with huge TK'ing fights over planes, helos and tanks will multiply many times...

MINE_MINE_MINE will be the most used words...

I dont care...... Cause I wont be there

[CougarSeven]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

If they make BF2 Pay to Play like a MMO I will put it away and never get it out again.

I have played a few MMORPGs because I like the community and the constant progression, Planetside, EVE. Planetside was good, but it certainly wasn't worth its subscription too repetative, BF2 isn't far off Planetside except concept and amount of people obviously. Now EVE was the only MMORPG that I actually played for over 2 years, then I left because once you seen one solar system you seen em all LOL.

Anyway BF2 simply doesn't have enough depth or content to be worth a monthly subscription. EA would cripple its BF2 fanbase big time, I doubt they'd introduce anything of the sort.

But then again they ****ed up C&C Generals this way neglected it and now everyone has massive pings no matter your connection or computer properties.

Its simply EA don't like giving customer support or even establishing contact with their community, they need a big boot up their ass.

[rich_ambassador]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

I doubt they will make is subscription because they would lose a lot of players. The only reason games like WOW require subscriptions is because they cost enormous amounts of money for the developers to host.

[MonkMachine]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY
Thats all EA care about, its accountants running the company, not games developers. The only thing EA care about is their share price!

[CougarSeven]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

Thats all EA care about, its accountants running the company, not games developers. The only thing EA care about is their share price!

Unfortunately for us, its so true. :evil:

[The_Misfit]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

Nothings impossible, but I just don't see EA going MMO pay-for-play with a FPS, especially bf2.

As IV said, it'd damage the clan/match system beyond repair. You'd end up with ranked servers being run by EA only, so there's another issue as well.

The only saving grace would be the mods, and with all the modding going on for BF2 I just don't see EA attempting to go pay-for-play. If they did, it'd be my last day playing the game -- there are far too many quality choices for fps gaming on the 'net that don't involve pay-for-play.

[DarkShot]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

if these boosters come out you guys do not have to buy them to continue to play the game. i for one think it is a great idea and gives ea extra incentive to pump out more content for us to play with new toys/maps etc as opposed to the occasional cpl of maps with each major patch. you can expect them to continue to fix bugs and continue support for the game for sure but giving us extra content on a regular basis you would be selfish if you think that kind of service would come free. welcome to the future of multiplayer gaming my friends...get used to it :)

[DrMcleod]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

What exactly would you be paying for?

[Oxy]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

In the survey it says "new maps, and weapons" so you can assume it would be a couple of new maps and a few more unlocks.

Meh I'm a stat whore, I'd pay for it.

[Auto-ER-]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

I've got F.E.A.R. and CoD2 installed and ready for when EA says I have to pay to play. I like things the way they are, we have our clan server that I donate to, and that's enough for me, but it's still my option if I want to donate, and how much.

[gungho]

Re: 1st Person Shooters and the concept of "pay to play".

Too many money-grabbing whores out there already...