Let's hear from turbine on F2P vs VIP

[Captain_Wizbang]

Ive read all kinds of posts, rants, whatever, And the one opinion Id like to hear is from Turbine people!

Let's get their take on what THEY like better;;; F2P or VIP

We all promise not to change our current account status!

[Robi3.0]

good luck with that. Turbine will never come out with a officially we think this is better then everything else. I suspect if they do respond they will give a "We think VIP is special because of its unique BLAH BLAH BLAH, but F2p is also special because of its unique BLAH BLAH BLAH.

[Mockduck]

It can be tough for a dev to say stuff like this. I remember feeling like I was pulling their teeth out when I tried to get them to say what their favorite classes are in DDO personally during an Ask the Devs a while back. They like to be Switzerland when it comes to personal opinion on stuff like that.

[captain1z]

Ive read all kinds of posts, rants, whatever, And the one opinion Id like to hear is from Turbine people!

Let's get their take on what THEY like better;;; F2P or VIP

We all promise not to change our current account status!

They sell a product and they wanna sell the whole product, not just parts of it. Each aspect of the product is attractive to a different set of people. They try to make all of it as rewarding as possible and leave it up to the buyer to decide which parts they want.

To come out and say they like one over the other sends a bad messege to the people who purchased said product and almost certainly hinders your abilty to sell "the whole product".

I'm sure they love for people to have discussions like "which is better a or b" as it gets people talking and thinking about both and plants the seeds for people to convert or try one the other or both at some point in time. Successfully selling "the whole product" without saying anything.



They like to be Switzerland when it comes to personal opinion on stuff like that.

I use this phrase from time to time as well...... except I refer to France :)

[Lorien_the_First_One]

Well I'm sure they don't like F2P, its a necessary evil. After all, those people drain resources and don't pay the bills.

As for Premium vs VIP, I'm sure both are good revenue streams now, no need to choose. When I ran a gym we liked both our monthly members and our annual members. Heck, even day pass users played a part in our revenue stream.

[Yagi]

Well I'm sure they don't like F2P, its a necessary evil. After all, those people drain resources and don't pay the bills.

As for Premium vs VIP, I'm sure both are good revenue streams now, no need to choose. When I ran a gym we liked both our monthly members and our annual members. Heck, even day pass users played a part in our revenue stream.

I think he probably meant premium instead of F2p since comparing that to Vip is valid whereas comparing straight ftp vs paid isnt something to even bother asking a dev about =D

[Lorien_the_First_One]

I think he probably meant premium instead of F2p since comparing that to Vip is valid whereas comparing straight ftp vs paid isnt something to even bother asking a dev about =D

I know, thats why part 2 of my answer :)

[Captain_Wizbang]

Well I'm sure they don't like F2P, its a necessary evil. After all, those people drain resources and don't pay the bills.

As for Premium vs VIP, I'm sure both are good revenue streams now, no need to choose. When I ran a gym we liked both our monthly members and our annual members. Heck, even day pass users played a part in our revenue stream.

Yes Lorien I agree on all types of income being important.
And all other replies, I agree!

My point is to get some feedback on their personal experiences, not a recommendation or endorsement from staff.

[captain1z]

Yes Lorien I agree on all types of income being important.
And all other replies, I agree!

My point is to get some feedback on their personal experiences, not a recommendation or endorsement from staff.

For certain they all have vip access but if/when they play on open servers they remain incogneto.

I imagine they pug in twos, when one joins he/she askes if his friend can join, if not they probably leave the group.

I can see them sitting in a group with some vet or new guy reciting facts that the hidden devs clearly know are wrong and having to bite thier tongues the whole time. Sending tells back and forth to each other and having as much fun as Madonna has when she takes off her makeup, throws on a baseball cap and takes the kids to afternoon movies in a crowd full of unknowing people.

You have probably grouped with a dev at one time or another and just didnt know it. I also see them playing on Orien more than others.


unrelated true story - I used to deliver dry cleaning in high school on the west side of Manhattan near Lincoln Center and one of my weekly deliveries was to Madonna's apartment (she had the whole floor actually). She does have a tendency to walk around in sweats and a baseball cap and will even walk outside by herself and only because I would see her 2-3 times a week was I able to spot her walking down the street doing whatever it is she does when shes out. She a pretty big tipper, $5-$15 depending on what was in arms reach.....quiet lady but nice enough.

[Memnir]

They won't say anything publicly about this, because I'm sure Turbine has a contract-clause that would prevent them from doing so. Most companies do.

[Oeuf]

It can be tough for a dev to say stuff like this. I remember feeling like I was pulling their teeth out when I tried to get them to say what their favorite classes are in DDO personally during an Ask the Devs a while back. They like to be Switzerland when it comes to personal opinion on stuff like that.

So basically they will never take a stand on one side or the other, but they are willing to hold our wallets.

:cool:

[captain1z]

So basically they will never take a stand on one side or the other, but they are willing to hold our wallets.

:cool:


well look at it this way,

The devs dont own the game, whatever reason they chose to work for Turbine (love of the game, bills, whatever) at the end of the day they gotta do thier job (the job as decided by Turbine) or lose it.

The executive staff decides on long term goals and direction for the company, they pass down these goals to management who then needs to work towards shorter term goals in hopes of meeting those long term goals

So by the time it gets to devs it looks something like this.


Executives - "we dont feel this game is making the money it could be making. Market research tells us that people love the D&D license and more people should be playing. We want you guys to make the game accessible to more people by th end of the year or you are all fired"

Management - " Ok devs, I want you to make the game a little easier for people who mostly play console games"

Devs - " ok, we can creat a solo difficulty and create some new ways to get rid of some of the more crippling status ailments... perhaps over time"


2 months later.......

Management - "good job on that guys, I need you to mke the parts of the game that new players have the most access to look more flashy, I need more POP to it and I need it to be easy to pick up and play"

Devs - " Ok, we will get to work on creating a better new player experience"

6 months later.........


Managment - "good work on revamping all that old stuff. We want to introduce a new "free" play option and need input on how much access we can limit, while still seeming mostly free"

Devs " ok, we will get that info for you and go from there"

4 months later.......

Executives - "Well its 1 year later and we have lots more customers. But you guys did some bacon puzzle and grossed out a large number of vegetarians and we need to get those customers back, there are too many pork products in DDO. Make it happen or your fired"

Management - OK Devs, you did a great job with all this new stuff but we need more broccoli in the game"

Devs - "LOL... thats funny boss...good one"

Management - "no I'm serious. I want some quests or weapons or something. Your best ideas by next week or your all fired"




Meanwhile...... back in the board room....

< a humansized stalk of broccoli with red glowing eyes and beast like fangs emerges from behind a false wall. Lord Vegios addresses the board members who have vacant looks in thier eyes.

Vegios - "Good work slaves. Soon they will all accept us, then they will come to worship us. Then we shall grow your people and feast upon them as you have done to our cousins for far to long. mwahahahaaaa."

[Impaqt]

Turbine likes anyone that spends money.

[Kalari]

I dont want to know who they like better, as a parent not even getting into the buisness perspective you know you never tell your kids you have a favorite even if its not true. Why cause such disharmony? Its not worth it in the long run. All the company needs to do is start really making an effort to take our feed back on things not just the ones who whine about stuff being to hard.

Give us the time sinks, more original content a way to keep characters who get to level 20 and dont want to redo themselves reason to play (epic aint cutting it for a lot of us) Give us ways to be creative in game with our bards and rogues and the like.

Im telling you id rather see that then any kind of pandering to one pay style or another. Just make us all feel like we are worth it and believe me it would go further then do you like vip or f2p.

I think Impaqt said it best either way.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

They won't say anything publicly about this, because I'm sure Turbine has a contract-clause that would prevent them from doing so. Most companies do.

There is a reason Merlask, with all her well known character names, had to disappear. Yet we know Tolero still plays...

[Captain_Wizbang]

I guess what Im asking for is, for the staff to relate to us the things they experience in both P2P & vip as a player, and not as staff.
I am also aware that they most likely have a non-disclosure clause, but I just wanted to hear from them on current stuff.
Instead of a dev tracker, etc...

[Robi3.0]

I guess what Im asking for is, for the staff to relate to us the things they experience in both P2P & vip as a player, and not as staff.
I am also aware that they most likely have a non-disclosure clause, but I just wanted to hear from them on current stuff.
Instead of a dev tracker, etc...

Well considering they are employees of Turbine, I think that it is safe to assume that none of them have current personal experience with either, since they more then likely get their accounts for free as an employment perk. So you are asking them a question they can honestly not answer.

[Rice]

Sigh...

You realize without F2P more VIPs would be quitting because of lack of server populations.

You realize without F2P there wouldn't be any new VIPs because people would be much more inclined to have a trial then pay than to just pay and pray their money was good.

You realize without F2P there wouldn't be near the amount of buzz about this game as there currently is.

F2P is not a "necessary evil," it is a smart business decision that they, I guarantee, have not regretted for a split second. F2P are not simply "freeloaders" piggybacking on the rest of the paying players, they contribute more player activity and buzz which is extremely important, because more often than not they WILL end up giving Turbine a few bucks, along with their friends, and their friends' friends, etc.

[Captain_Wizbang]

Well considering they are employees of Turbine, I think that it is safe to assume that none of them have current personal experience with either, since they more then likely get their accounts for free as an employment perk. So you are asking them a question they can honestly not answer.
Good Point, case closed!:cool: