Star Trek Online Going Free-To-Play In January 77
tekgoblin writes "Cryptic Studios, the developer of the Star Trek Online MMO, announced that they are switching to a Free-to-Play model on January 17th. Free subscribers to the game will be able to play, but will not get the same benefits as paying subscribers still get. Free accounts will be Silver, while paid accounts will be called Gold. Silver accounts will be able to pay for features that Gold members will get as part of their paid subscription. These features include but are not limited to respecs and extra character slots."
EverQuest II is jumping on the free-to-play bandwagon as well.
Re:it's dead jim? (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem here may be that Champions Online did it all wrong, and it seems Star Trek Online may screw it up too. Ie, in Champions Online I have existing characters from when I did subscribe. But I can not play any of them without first converting them to "silver" (free to play) versions. That is I can only use a fixed set of archetypes with minimal customization. Sort of defeats the whole "build your own superhero" concept.
Champions Online, and even Star Trek Online, seem well suited to this sort of free-to-play/subscription hybrid model. These aren't the sorts of games players are likely to make their "main" MMO. These are side games that you play now and then, because the story lines are shallow. You show up to just bash and zap things, then get that out of your system and go back to the main game for a few weeks. But the key to being a good free-to-play or hybrid game is to encourage the free players to pay money (subscribe or use the store). The best way I think to accomplish this is to make the core game accessible to free players but have the extras require money or subscription or grinding. But I felt too restricted from the core of Champions Online (customizing your own character) so I haven't gone back and I think they really screwed up a good opportunity. Not sure if Star Trek Online will stumble as well or if they have figured it out.
That's why I think Dungeons and Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online do this well. You get the full game free, all the way to max level. You get a large chunk of leveling up accessible without being hit by a "you need to spend more points" until mid level. Some advanced classes may be restricted at the start. Some content needs more points but you can earn points in game as well. The main story line in LotRO is free, only the side quests and instances require questpacks. No one payment system is treated more special than any other and you don't know who is who so you can discriminate either. So the free player is treated with respect, they're able to actually play for free if they want, there is subtle encouragement to spend some money later on but you never hit a brick wall that stops you in your place, and the core game is accessible to all.
Of course both of those games got a lot of pissed off players but much of that is either righteous indignation at the concept, being upset that subscribers aren't treated as special compared to free players, wishing there weren't any free players, misinformation about "pay to win", conflating points with cash, etc.