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Thread: Free Forever? Really ?

  1. #1

    Default Free Forever? Really ?

    Over a number of years of reviewing many different games, I have noticed a trend in the last few years.

    Back in the 80's and early to late 90's free was a word when used on the internet actually meant free.

    Then a trend started. Free until you sign up, or free for a limited time.

    Saying free to play forever is very deceiving unless in the advertising and promotional stage, unless it is stated that free is only a limited version of the game.

    Civony has a lot of potential; however, I do not see a bright future that limits such features ad chat in open channels.

    It is these chat areas on every game that I have reviewed that that keeps the gamers active.

    Paying for World chat is an interesting concept, one that actually leaves the ther "free" behind.

    The disadvantage of solvent player’s vs insolvent players and a less than level playing field will in the long run bring a lot of negative publicity through word of mouth from player to potential players.

    I would suggest that the DEVS consider and ADD supported (Free Play) server
    for non solvent players.

    Of course that is just a suggestion.

    The game play is relatively slow after a point which is typical of turn based games. Other than that, game play is very good and interaction with Alliances is fair. I can see room for improvement in the Alliance areas in a number of ways.

    I am certain that after a time with larger member Alliances there is more interaction due to the amount of active players online from different time zones.

    The graphics are fair though reminiscent of Conquer Online.

    The game in development is good over all and the concept is good.

    The difference though in making a “Free Browser Based” game that will stand out from all the others, is the ability to develop one that does not look, function and cost the same as others.

    It is kind of like, Once you buy one, you have bought them all.

    Time will tell if the Dev Team will actually bring about a greater Vision of if it will like many before it, collect what it can and then say so long.

    It will be interesting to watch the development and see if long-term improvements are added or if Dev requests, ideas and suggestions submitted by players are ignored or followed up on.

    It will also be interesting to see how professional the Support Team are in their responses in the Forum.

    That alone is a very strong indicator of how similar games have been successful or doomed to fail.


    For now I will with hold judgment, play the game, watch the forums, and talk to other players.

    I do look forward to watching as game play is developed.

  2. #2
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    Translation: "I want coins, mang!" Don't we all.

    Age 2.... it's coming.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kempion View Post
    Translation: "I want coins, mang!" Don't we all.

    Age 2.... it's coming.
    lol Actually I don't want coins.

    I am just an Old gamer who enjoys reviewing games.

    My first computer was an 80/86 with one floppy and no hard drive with 512k of memory.

    My first review was of a text game called Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

    It was posted on a Wildcat Bulletin Board, long before there was a concept of the internet.

    During the old days, everything was free and every body hacked. lol Only it was not called hacking back then.

    What I do want is to see Free mean free.

    Deception hoever slight it may be is still deception.

  4. #4
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    Out of curiosity, how can free ever truly mean free? To run a game like this, you have to code the game, test the game, revise the game, update the game, patch the game, monitor the game, provide some form of customer service, host multiple servers, etc. All of that costs money and time. If you are a professional putting hours upon hours into developing a game, I bet you'd like to get paid for it. And if you put your own cash on the line for it, I'd bet you'd like to make a profit. A business that does all these things is absolutely guaranteed to want to make a profit. There's no point for them to do it otherwise.

    My question is this: Who really wants to wade through 17 million ads, pop-ups, spam and other annoyances to play a game? I don't. Not only that, but the ads don't pay as well as people might think. To support a game like this, you have to smash ads into every nook and cranny and then it still might not be enough.

    OK, so they decide to make paying for the game optional. You can still (and always) play for free, but you could pay too if you wanted. Now, why would anyone pay for a free game unless there's a really good reason to do so? You are going to have to give the paying customers some kind of advantage, extra gameplay, etc. You must tempt them into giving up those credit card numbers, and the way to do it is to make what they get be something they really want.

    Now, we have the situation where the free players complain. They say, "We should get all the same advantages the paid players do! Why don't we get the extra items/perks that they do? It's unfair! I can't compete with that! All you care about is money!"

    This is every free game on the internet. It happens over and over and at some point I keep thinking that people will realize that free does mean free, but paid means better-than-free. It's common sense. Why do we all still get so worked up over it?

  5. #5

    Default

    I have to disagree. This game is, essentially, free.

    To address the example you brought up (World Chat). You'd have to pay me to listen and/or respond to what goes on in World Chat. World Chat is almost always filled with idiotic exchanges. Switch to a different channel - you'll have more faith in humanity that way.

  6. #6
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    First off...Civony/Evony came out of the gate with a very expensive banner ad campaign. Where did this ad money come from in the first place?? It certainly wasn't from players, since, at the time the campaign was launched, there was only 1 server. This means their parent company certainly has the funds to pay for it, or they got a sweet deal from GoogleAds. Or perhaps...both.

    Second, all those nice things you listed: "To run a game like this, you have to code the game, test the game, revise the game, update the game, patch the game, monitor the game, provide some form of customer service, host multiple servers, etc."...Haha...what a laugh. WHAT "customer service"? WHAT "monitoring"? The only real "patches" so far have been designed to separate player from money.

    In NO other game like this has the extra's one can pay for been able to "enhance" the paying players game to the point of being an ubergod compared to the free players. The "enhancements" should do just that...enhance...not boost a player to the point of being unbeatable.
    U noć idem, sjećanje jedan trn od zalosne, dalje prema smrti.
    Into the night I go, memory a thorn of sorrow, onward toward death.


    Death feels like the butterfly, can't escape the scarred lie
    ~Skinny Puppy: haZe~


    So, drifting through the dark
    The sympathy of night's mercy inside my heart
    Is your life the same? Do ghosts cry tears? Do they feel years?
    As time just goes on and on and on

    ~TransSiberian Orchestra: Back to a Reason, pt2~

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by StormWolf View Post
    In NO other game like this has the extra's one can pay for been able to "enhance" the paying players game to the point of being an ubergod compared to the free players. The "enhancements" should do just that...enhance...not boost a player to the point of being unbeatable.
    I've bought Evony cents, but I can honestly say that the greatest breakthroughs in my game did not come from Cents - they came by figuring out (or being told about) certain strategies in the game that took my play to a whole different level.

    Besides, what advantages can Evony Cents provide?
    • Level 10 Barracks (Micky-Script): These are now moot, because catapults are worthless.
    • Level 10 Walls (Micky-Script): Nice to have, but definitely not a requirement in order to play the game.
    • Level 10 Town Hall (Micky-Script): One of these is a requirement to get to the rank of General, but they give you one Micky-Script free anyway.
    • Speed-Ups: What's the worth of a 2.5 hour speed-up when this game lasts practically forever? Just wait the 2.5 hours.


    You cannot buy troops with Evony cents, and while you can buy resources, it's a very, very small amount. You can't "buy" your way to the top. You might be able to leapfrog your way out of the middle, but if you want to reach the top you have to figure out certain things.

  8. #8

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    i have been playing games for over 3 decades myself. and its true back then free meant free. but games were also written by 1 person they had no server and you got it in the form of printed code on the page of a magazine
    industry was different back then there was no sound or graphic techs games only focused on gameplay and would be the product of 1 or maybe 2 people largely working out of their bedrooms.
    its a bit naive to expect a modern web game like this which has the servers to host millions of players worldwide and teams of developers working on it to be free in the same manor.

    that being said i play evony for free its cost me nothing , im ranked 110 on server 6 and found myself totally able to compete with paying players. i have to say i think this business model is the future.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by StormWolf View Post
    First off...Civony/Evony came out of the gate with a very expensive banner ad campaign. Where did this ad money come from in the first place?? It certainly wasn't from players, since, at the time the campaign was launched, there was only 1 server. This means their parent company certainly has the funds to pay for it, or they got a sweet deal from GoogleAds. Or perhaps...both.

    Second, all those nice things you listed: "To run a game like this, you have to code the game, test the game, revise the game, update the game, patch the game, monitor the game, provide some form of customer service, host multiple servers, etc."...Haha...what a laugh. WHAT "customer service"? WHAT "monitoring"? The only real "patches" so far have been designed to separate player from money.

    In NO other game like this has the extra's one can pay for been able to "enhance" the paying players game to the point of being an ubergod compared to the free players. The "enhancements" should do just that...enhance...not boost a player to the point of being unbeatable.
    The parent company of this game hosts other games as well. This is not their only business venture. The money they have accrued from other things went into the launch of this game. I think that is rather obvious.

    As for the things I listed, there most certainly is customer service. It may be inadequate at the moment, as some people have argued, but it exists. The monitoring, while not in the form of in-game mods at the moment, exists, or you would never have server maintenance and when the servers went down, they'd never ever go back up. Numerous patches and fixes to correct problems have been implemented already, and as bugs crop up, more are always in the works. Read back in the forums. The problems of last month are not the same as the problems of this month.

    As I stated previously, there is no incentive to pay a single dime for a free game unless you get some advantage for doing so. I don't think the advantages are all that "uber", there is no god-mode, and in other games I've played I have seen the paying players absolutely slaughter the free players repeatedly. This is one of the few I have seen where an intelligent free player can give the paying players a good run for their money and have an absolutely fair chance to win. Now, if the only way to get defensive trebuchets was to pay, or something like that, THEN I would agree with you that it is unfair. But there's nothing in this game that a paying player has that is unavailable to the free players as well.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by FoxyBunny View Post
    Out of curiosity, how can free ever truly mean free? To run a game like this, you have to code the game, test the game, revise the game, update the game, patch the game, monitor the game, provide some form of customer service, host multiple servers, etc. All of that costs money and time. If you are a professional putting hours upon hours into developing a game, I bet you'd like to get paid for it. And if you put your own cash on the line for it, I'd bet you'd like to make a profit. A business that does all these things is absolutely guaranteed to want to make a profit. There's no point for them to do it otherwise.

    My question is this: Who really wants to wade through 17 million ads, pop-ups, spam and other annoyances to play a game? I don't. Not only that, but the ads don't pay as well as people might think. To support a game like this, you have to smash ads into every nook and cranny and then it still might not be enough.

    OK, so they decide to make paying for the game optional. You can still (and always) play for free, but you could pay too if you wanted. Now, why would anyone pay for a free game unless there's a really good reason to do so? You are going to have to give the paying customers some kind of advantage, extra gameplay, etc. You must tempt them into giving up those credit card numbers, and the way to do it is to make what they get be something they really want.

    Now, we have the situation where the free players complain. They say, "We should get all the same advantages the paid players do! Why don't we get the extra items/perks that they do? It's unfair! I can't compete with that! All you care about is money!"

    This is every free game on the internet. It happens over and over and at some point I keep thinking that people will realize that free does mean free, but paid means better-than-free. It's common sense. Why do we all still get so worked up over it?
    Agreed, games cannot exist without money. So it should be intuitive that games cannot be free. BUT, it is dishonest to suggest that a game can be free. The devs (GOs) have made a public stand that this game is FREE FOREVER. Which is basically a lie. But then the company promoting is appears to be basically dishonest anyway.

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