Free MMOs and games...

[Anomaly1964]

Man, I didn't realize there were so many FREE MMOs and Games out there!

What FREE MMOs or games do you play?

Pretty cool site to check them out: www.mmobomb.com

 

[shortylickens]

I just saw a shit load on Steam. Will start a couple this weekend.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Fallen Earth looks kinda cool, can't tell when it will go F2P yet...

10 hrs left to download?

WOW

 

[pontifex]

free mmos are garbage.

i've tried enough to know to stay away from them now. hell, even most pay mmos are garbage.

 

[Nik]

Having played almost every major MMO out there, I'm inclined to say that the ones that aren't free > the ones that are free.

Adding "free" to the title seems to send the dev teams running and screaming while attracting every 8 year old moron on the planet.

You get what you pay for.

 

[terry107]

I've played Lord of the Rings Online for a little bit now and it doesn't seem too bad for a F2P MMO.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

After putting 10K hours into WOW, I'm done with MMO's altogether.
Also. Most "free" games these days come heavy with micro-transactions. So in essence, it's not really free, if they want you to pay micro-transactions for a moderately optimal experience.

 

[Nik]

I've played Lord of the Rings Online for a little bit now and it doesn't seem too bad for a F2P MMO.

I put years and years and years into that game. That game officially died when it went F2P. It used to be a seemingly mature haven for people who have the ability to read, comprehend, make logical decisions, and was a delightfully pleasant change of pace from the likes of WoW and CoH and the rest of the huge list of MMO's that are chalk full of stupid little kids.

Sure, F2P may have lined their wallets with so much cash that they dont' know what to do with themselves and was the right business decision to make, but it was absolutely the wrong decision to make as far as the player community is concerned.

When it comes down to it, when the gameplay arguments are over, when the graphics and UI arguments are over, when the pricing arguments are over, every single MMO is weighed and measured by the quality of its player community plain and simple.

Lotro died the day F2P hit.

 

[Merad]

So in essence, it's not really free, if they want you to pay micro-transactions for a moderately optimal experience.

This. Every free MMO I've seen so far is a massive grind unless you pay.

 

[Dankk]

APB: Reloaded is quite fun. It's in open beta, and been majorly improved since when the original game was released (and we all know how that went).

You need a really good group of friends to play it with though. Me and three of my friends like to play as enforcers; we drive around in a van carrying out various police missions. It's a thinking man's shooter too... it's very tactical, usually the only way to win is to discuss with your team how you're going to infiltrate a building or an allyway. (You go around back, I'll go up front over the fence, and you climb up to the top and drop in below.) The missions can get kind of repetitive but it's still pretty dang fun.

 

[Nik]

APB: Reloaded is quite fun. It's in open beta, and been majorly improved since when the original game was released (and we all know how that went).

You need a really good group of friends to play it with though. Me and three of my friends like to play as enforcers; we drive around in a van carrying out various police missions. It's a thinking man's shooter too... it's very tactical, usually the only way to win is to discuss with your team how you're going to infiltrate a building or an allyway. (You go around back, I'll go up front over the fence, and you climb up to the top and drop in below.) The missions can get kind of repetitive but it's still pretty dang fun.

What the fuck are you smoking? First of all, the first APB went tits up because this KingAsshole running the company (I can't remember his name for the life of me) STOLE money from the company. So much of it that he couldn't pay payroll. This single man laid off most of the people working on the original APB so he didn't have to pay them and then conveniently ignored the fact that he hadn't given them paychecks for more than a month (at that time) anyway. He stole money intended for server hardware upgrades. He stole money intended to pay developers to continue working with Punkbuster to fix the PB problems. He stole money intended to pay devs to boot hackers. He stole money that was intended to fix the problems the beta players were screaming about. He ROBBED APB of everything and left it to die. Literally.

You know what the biggest kicker is? He stole so much money that he couldn't pay payroll for MONTHS and left AMERICAN developers who had to MOVE THEIR WHOLE FAMILY to Europe to work on this game... he left them stranded in Europe with no paycheck for months and no money to move their entire family and all their belongings back to The States. Many of them had to take out a fucking loan from a bank just to move back home and they STILL haven't been paid and will never get the balance of their due wages because US courts don't have jurisdiction in Europe.

...all the while cackling with glee at his millions and millions that he got away scott-free with after stealing.



...however, there's ANOTHER kicker! Guess what.

Reloaded hired the guy.


I played ABP since the original launch and have been a big fan. Played the new beta, played the new game. I hate that guns are now only 10-day leases. You have to keep buying guns! Oh, but for someone who wants to spend $10, you can have a gun from the store that is overpowered to the point that nobody in game can EVER match that gun, even by working hard over time and unlocking the open 3-slot version and slotting the very same mods that come from the store. You can pay $10 and beat everyone who didn't also pay $10.

There's loads more about hackers and exploits and general assholery, but I put up with all of it until I heard that Reloaded hired that asshole.

The game was uninstalled before I even finished reading the news article about him being hired.

APB, I have loved you through thick and thin, but fuck you and I hope you die.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

After putting 10K hours into WOW, I'm done with MMO's altogether.
Also. Most "free" games these days come heavy with micro-transactions. So in essence, it's not really free, if they want you to pay micro-transactions for a moderately optimal experience.

That translates to 8 hours a day, every day, for roughly 3 1/2 years! Dear lord, you weren't playing a game, you were living it. Welcome back to the real world (well sorta).

 

[Dankk]

(wall of text)

Woah... calm down there buddy. Now tell me how you really feel.

Seriously though, I'm sorry that I played the game and had fun. Really sorry. I wasn't aware that any of those things happened. If you choose to not play the game out of moral/ethical feelings toward the developer that makes it, then by all means, you're fine. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't played it for a couple weeks because it was getting boring for me. Happy now?

I agree that it has a few balance issues. Mostly the NTEC, which is the most overpowered rifle in the game (my friends and I usually badmouth opponents who use it). For the most part though, I've had minimal problems. I might start playing it again soon, because, you know, it's still pretty fun. No, I haven't spent any real-world money in the game and I don't plan to. It's free and I enjoy it, so nothing is lost.

Ok. You can step off your soap box now.

 

[Nik]

You die a little inside every time you click launch on APB.

I just don't understand how you can support that man in any way. The simple fact that you're playing it puts +1 in their pocket that they can use as a bargaining tool for loans and development funding from investors.

Your clicking launch is paying him.

I'm just passionate, is all. Additionally, I can't bring myself to support such a criminal.

 

[Dankk]

I'm just passionate, is all. Additionally, I can't bring myself to support such a criminal.

Thanks for letting me know, at least. I actually understand where you're coming from. I'm one of those people who won't buy another Call of Duty game... not just because they suck, but because Bobby Kotick is an asshole and I'd rather not support him.

So yeah. I dunno, I'll probably just uninstall APB. It's taking up precious hard drive space anyway.

 

[Nik]

Hear that? That's the sound of your horns breaking off of your forehead due to the perfect sonic resonance of the halo that's coming down from heaven to rest upon your head after you uninstall that evil sickness.

 

[terry107]

When it comes down to it, when the gameplay arguments are over, when the graphics and UI arguments are over, when the pricing arguments are over, every single MMO is weighed and measured by the quality of its player community plain and simple.

This is true - it's one of the reasons I quit WoW. Too many idiots.

/offtopic - Nice bass

 

[imaheadcase]

I been playing Aika online lately, its pretty fun mmo. Pretty polished to.

Sure you can buy stuff in it like others, but you don't have to. Most the stuff you can buy you can get in game.

 

[Malladine]

Speaking of LOTRO - tried that again "free". You know it's a good game, but i definitely saw a huge increase in the amount of trash talk in general chat...

I considered playing it again until swtor, but i need a question answered first: when it went "f2p", what happened to everyone who bought a lifetime subscription?

 

[Skott]

Only one I play that is free is World Of Tanks. Although its more like a big multiplayer game than a true MMO but they call it and advertise it as a MMO.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Isn't it also possible that free 2 play schemes are also a buildup to "free to play but microtransactions for meaningful play"? There was recently an audio released of a company's stockholder conference where they were talking about charging people to reload, because at the moment they need the ammo they are a captive customer(NOT a direct quote because I can't remember the exact wording).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I considered playing it again until swtor, but i need a question answered first: when it went "f2p", what happened to everyone who bought a lifetime subscription?

What do you mean? There are 3 kinds of accounts on LOTRO: Free, Premium, and VIP. Anyone who holds a subscription is a VIP, former subscribers or people who bought points at the store are Premium IIRC, and Free is for F2P players. There is a comparison chart on the differences, but I'm too lazy to search for it and link it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Isn't it also possible that free 2 play schemes are also a buildup to "free to play but microtransactions for meaningful play"?

That is exactly what they are. They typically give access to the basic quests/areas/weapons but to go to other areas or get more advanced weapons, you might need to pay. LOTRO, for example, has quest packs for most areas so if you want to do the quests in a certain region, you'll likely have to buy the quest pack.

 

[gothamhunter]

On the LOTRO topic:

I bought a lifetime sub back in the day. If you have one, you get 500 of the in-game points per month for free (the ones to use in the cash shop), plus you have access to everything and don't need to buy anything - mainly you have points to purchase stuff to HELP you. Plus you can use the points for expansions.

With regards to it dying when it went f2p - I disagree wholeheartedly. Sure, the userbase grew with people who are morons, but that's why there's /ignore, and that really only happens in the beginning areas. Once I hit bree, I haven't seen any trashtalk like that. I'm on Dwarrowdwarf, btw.

My best friend for 15 or so years never got on the lifetime sub deal, and didn't want to pay monthly. Now he plays with me using the f2p model, and from his acquisition of points by completing the in-game achievements (yes, you can earn the currency in-game just by playing), he's unlocked content to make him through the entire game, plus has been using points for extra bags and slots and etc.

I think the f2p model was a genius idea to a game that may have been getting near the end of its life, and has given them a way to keep pushing out content to those that enjoy the game even more than the 2 or so idiots that you can easily ignore.

tl;dr version:

LOTRO is a freemium LOTRO that is of subscription based quality. And even the freemium term is used loosly, because you can get to end-game and everything without buying anything, and you can earn the cash-shop curreny in-game.

 

[gothamhunter]

What do you mean? There are 3 kinds of accounts on LOTRO: Free, Premium, and VIP. Anyone who holds a subscription is a VIP, former subscribers or people who bought points at the store are Premium IIRC, and Free is for F2P players. There is a comparison chart on the differences, but I'm too lazy to search for it and link it.

Back when it was subscription based, you could buy a lifetime account for $200. If you did, you'd never have to pay for a sub as long as the game existed. When it went f2p, the lifetime players now get 500 of the cash shop points each month for free since they are VIP but don't need to pay for a sub.