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I am yet another one of the long time players coming back after around two years. I saw F2P and got pretty excited.
After about a day or two messing around with it. Certain restrictions started to show themselves and I just couldn't
do it anymore. I don't feel like I'm getting the experience I should be in gemstone. I'm completely with you in the last post.
Unless something major changes that makes this F2P model worthwhile I will go back to my other games. I really miss Gemstone and feel
like it could be huge still. But this new direction you guys are taking just needs to be quite a bit less restrictive.
Thats my 2 cents anyway.
Longesten
While I understand and sympathize with those who say F2P is "too restrictive"...the F2P model isn't meant to replace a basic subscription. Come on people...$14.95/month is still an incredible deal for a game as complex, engaging and huge as Gemstone IV. If you came back on F2P and checked out the world, then it did what it was supposed to do. And if you hang in there a wee bit longer, I suspect some of your concerns will be addressed, making F2P more enjoyable. But again, it's not intended to provide the same level of play as a subscription. It's just to get your feet wet, check things out and get a taste of the amazing awesomesauce that is GS4.
That's my take on it, anyway.
Just a reminder, $14.95/month gets you the whole game. You don't have to pay a dime more for anything, ever, to fully enjoy the game and almost everything it has to offer. If you want to go to the next level and take advantage of all the impressive premium perks, you can bump up to the premium tier. But it's not necessary. There are a lot of "free" games out there that can easily cost you way more than $15/month with all the extra crap you have to buy for any chance of enjoyment. That cannot be said of GS4.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying the F2P model couldn't/shouldn't be improved. I'm just trying to offer some perspective. If you come back to Elanthia with F2P and discover you still love the game, subscribe. That's what F2P is for. Or keep playing F2P and just shell out for whatever enhancements you feel you need via the SimuCoin store. Whatever you're comfortable with.
Gemstone IV has a free to play option now and that is awesome, regardless of limitations. But the full GS4 experience is not free, nor was it intended to be. Pay for the game you love, support the community and help GS4 continue to thrive for many years to come.
~ GtG
That's my take on it, anyway.
Just a reminder, $14.95/month gets you the whole game. You don't have to pay a dime more for anything, ever, to fully enjoy the game and almost everything it has to offer. If you want to go to the next level and take advantage of all the impressive premium perks, you can bump up to the premium tier. But it's not necessary. There are a lot of "free" games out there that can easily cost you way more than $15/month with all the extra crap you have to buy for any chance of enjoyment. That cannot be said of GS4.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying the F2P model couldn't/shouldn't be improved. I'm just trying to offer some perspective. If you come back to Elanthia with F2P and discover you still love the game, subscribe. That's what F2P is for. Or keep playing F2P and just shell out for whatever enhancements you feel you need via the SimuCoin store. Whatever you're comfortable with.
Gemstone IV has a free to play option now and that is awesome, regardless of limitations. But the full GS4 experience is not free, nor was it intended to be. Pay for the game you love, support the community and help GS4 continue to thrive for many years to come.
~ GtG
I'm seeing a lot of posts from past players and I think it's awesome that you guys are coming back to gemstone to give it another go.
My husband who has never been an avid gamer, never played a MUD and up until the f2p option was announced was content to ask me from time to time about various characters I have created over the years and share a laugh at some of the things said in game (after I spent a couple of minutes explaining the context)signed up for a free trial.
From conversations with him, here is what I know so far:
1. He finds the game engaging and fun.
2. He really likes the people he has met.
3. Ta'Vaalor doesn't seem like home to his human paladin but he's unsure if from the standpoint of an adventurer any place should really feel like home.
4. The bounty system has greatly diminished his fun factor when he tried to take on a gem task. Ten hunts in an area that dropped the desired gem prior to getting the assigned task and he was able to find 0 in 10 hunts. His comment was "Why would anyone do bounties if they are left with a feeling of continual failure with no forward progress?"
5. He has no issues over the banking or the treasure drops mostly because he's assured my chars will take very good care of needs in those areas.
6. As far as experience goes, he doesn't feel it's too slow at this time (however his character has not reached level 10 yet and probably won't for another month or longer).
7. There is so much information to get your head around when its all new, if it were a 30 day trial I suspect he would have quit 5 minutes after his first login to the game.
I just thought some of you might wonder what a truly new players experience felt like. I will ask him about posting here sometime, but to be honest I doubt he feels that he understands the game well enough to post something meaningful yet.
I've said it before and will say it again. This subscription level was definitely not built around powergamers. If your #1 priority is to rush to level 100, then that's a priority you may want to consider putting money behind.
Speaking as someone who had no hand in designing the free subscription level, there's nothing in the restrictions that prevents you from progressing at a reasonable rate and building a compelling and well-roleplayed character in the process, which are the primary points of this game.
Auchand
"I have passed through fire and deep water, since we parted. I have forgotten much that I thought I knew, and learned again much that I had forgotten. I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see."
Speaking as someone who had no hand in designing the free subscription level, there's nothing in the restrictions that prevents you from progressing at a reasonable rate and building a compelling and well-roleplayed character in the process, which are the primary points of this game.
Auchand
"I have passed through fire and deep water, since we parted. I have forgotten much that I thought I knew, and learned again much that I had forgotten. I can see many things far off, but many things that are close at hand I cannot see."
>> The bounty system has greatly diminished his fun factor when he tried to take on a gem task. Ten hunts in an area that dropped the desired gem prior to getting the assigned task and he was able to find 0 in 10 hunts. His comment was "Why would anyone do bounties if they are left with a feeling of continual failure with no forward progress?"
Hah! I feel his PAIN with gem tasks..and it's really the one thing I will pass up every single time. This is where I really do like the expediting passes from the simucoin store.
Stormyrain calls Murdos "The Madman"--and she cannot for the life of her figure out why people want to hunt down 2000 pink sapphires....
Thanks for sharing this perspective, I liked reading it!
~Nichoel, the Muse.
Nature of rebellion, means to an end. Sometimes men are tempted by money and power and they forget what end they're serving. ~Brendan Roarke, SOA Irish King
AIM: LdyStrmyRn
Hah! I feel his PAIN with gem tasks..and it's really the one thing I will pass up every single time. This is where I really do like the expediting passes from the simucoin store.
Stormyrain calls Murdos "The Madman"--and she cannot for the life of her figure out why people want to hunt down 2000 pink sapphires....
Thanks for sharing this perspective, I liked reading it!
~Nichoel, the Muse.
Nature of rebellion, means to an end. Sometimes men are tempted by money and power and they forget what end they're serving. ~Brendan Roarke, SOA Irish King
AIM: LdyStrmyRn
>Stormyrain calls Murdos "The Madman"--and she cannot for the life of her figure out why people want to hunt down 2000 pink sapphires....
All of those sparklies for all of those gem-encrusted alterations have to come from somewhere.
Signed,
Raelee and her Strings
>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."
All of those sparklies for all of those gem-encrusted alterations have to come from somewhere.
Signed,
Raelee and her Strings
>Speaking to Zyllah, Alyias says, "See? Raelee knows all."
<<<Hah! I feel his PAIN with gem tasks..and it's really the one thing I will pass up every single time. This is where I really do like the expediting passes from the simucoin store.>>>
I agree, I usually pass on gem bounties too. Unless you've got a large stock of bounty gems saved up, or are willing to buy them, the time vs. reward simply isn't worth it.
~ GtG
I agree, I usually pass on gem bounties too. Unless you've got a large stock of bounty gems saved up, or are willing to buy them, the time vs. reward simply isn't worth it.
~ GtG
While the point of $15 a month is not terribly expensive for entertainment most of the time in the last 8 years I have had to close my account has been due to not justifying the cost for a single PC in a MUD. In this time frame I have gotten married had 3 kids and bought a house. As well as take. Some college courses. That ment to me that the money needed to be spent else where for one reason or another. While I agree that some small tweaks may need to happen with the new F2P accounts let me enjoy without having to cancel he account when life happens. Plus I am currently lucky to play more than 3-4 hours a week because of my commitments with life and work. 15 a month buys a new table top game or so that I can play more often with my wife and children so money is more likely to get budgeted that way instead.
Please let me know what tabletop games you can get for fifteen bucks, that you can manage to play more than two or three times before the pieces fall apart.
(For reference, if you're going to get a good-quality four-player table-top game, you're looking at $40+; even a card game--King of Tokyo, say--is around $30.)
(For reference, if you're going to get a good-quality four-player table-top game, you're looking at $40+; even a card game--King of Tokyo, say--is around $30.)
