Producer Letter: What's to come Sept to Nov!

You say that like this were Minecraft or World of Warcraft

Well considering i have two accounts my wife has one and each of my three kids have an account as well. I naturally assumed folks did the same thing. Sure its not wow numbers but given SOE's nack for underestimating server loads. Its a safe bet.

I recently ( two days ago in fact ) came back and was considering buying the new expansion in November.

However, I see things have not changed and are in fact just getting worse. "Milk it! Milk it! Nickel and dime! Nickel and dime!" continues to be SOE's preferred business mantra.

So, given the choice of whether to buy the expansion, or buy the race that should have been included with the expansion, I shall choose to do neither.

It's turning out that micro transaction business models are surprisingly profitable, so you can't really blame them for wanting to make money (perhaps how much they charge for some things, you can however...). Not only are other MMOs finding this works, but it's been proven very effective in piles of those flash games on FB and Android and i* devices. This is very likely the way of the future. Hell, even Adobe and Microsoft are testing it, with online a la carte or tier-based subscription models for things like Office and Master Suite applications. It's likely that within 20 years the entire idea of "buying a piece of software outright" will be an abandoned business model.

It's one thing to one day pop up and say "Hey, we just created this new race that's nt really connected to anything ( Freebloods ), and we're going to sell it to you!"

It's another thing to make a race that is an integral part of an expansion and say "Hey, see this new race? We call it "Altar of Madness: Part Two!".

The first I'm fine with, the second I am not.

Yes the game has tons of micro transitions but when you have buy a basic expansion every year to keep current with game on top of paying for different features like races to play the game its a real PITA. Plus monthly fees are needed for people that want to use all their chars and broker ect. Now mercs have become a big part of game esp if your doing advanced solo in ToV and hey buy some merc slots so you wont be inconvenienced. Need a rez potion np we got you covered for a price. Whats in the game is not being sold for real money that we need? I love this game but I hate how SOE has handled it.

Eh the race thing doesn't bother me as we already have tons to chose from, and for all we know it'll be like ten bucks. *shrugs* everyone is entitled to their opinion but I'm not gonna get worked up over what might happen in a video game. I'm sure it'll all be okay.

I just realized, SOE is banking on all the conditioning we were bombarded with as kids. SOE is the new Kenner ( or Hasbro for you youngers ).

" Buy the new Action Play Set!* "

*Action figures sold separately.

Sure, and I can agree with that. However, this is SOE we're talking about, and when has upper management here ever been known to understand how a market trend should work?

See I don't buy most of the various "add-ons" (not expacs, things like Freebloods). They aren't necessary to play the game. The monthly fee has been a staple for a long time, but that's slowly going away in the industry as well (you can, if you want, not pay it and buy broker tokens, or krono in game for plat, for example). Buying expacs has been something that games have been doing for a very long time, and should be viewed independent of the micro transaction stuff. The worth of one is mainly driven by unlocking the end game expansion (levels, zones). If these were also available as micro transactions, you would probably see expacs more or less go away as we understand them now. That mercs are being "necessary", well that's a separate issue (and one that should be considered by the dev and planning teams). And again, SOE execs make the final decisions here, so even if dev has something planned right, it may not stay that way to release...

Did I miss the mention of the AA increase?

Yeah you missed it. No AA love this time around.

Um...how are Aerakyn integral to the upcoming expansion? What do they have to do with Lanys T'Vyl (who is apparently central to the upcoming expansion). They were big in the last expansion, I don't see where they'd have much to do with the next one.


I also don't see much nickle and diming to be honest from SOE especially compared to other 'F2P' titles, unless you are the type who wants to play 'free' and just can't stop yourself from buying all the crap you absolutely don't need to play the game. The only thing one might argue that you NEED is the adventure feature pack stuff (aka Age of Discovery). Everything else is fluff or expansions that we've always had to buy if we wanted the newest stuff.

OMG . . I would LOVE the Village of Shin also!! I absolutely adore that place. I would keep some of the buildings on it like the tower . . . the bridge/Gazeebo . . . .but I think we have enough talented peopole whi could design houses from scratch for the courtyard area.

*sory for all the mispellings. . .only one cup of coffee and I just got up. . . .not awake yet and too lazy to go back and do minor corrections*

I might be wrong - but I think the trend is to alternate AA and Level increases each expansion. This means those who play at the top tier must buy each expansion to continue to advance their characters.

DoV raised AA limit.

AoD raised AA limit. (Considered a Feature Pack)

CoE raised Level cap.

ToV raised AA limit.

AoM raises Level cap. I think it adds Prestige as well.

Heres a ZAM link for Altar of Malice timeline.....

http://eq2.zam.com/story.html?story=35024

Just to be certain, does this mean that you do not need to buy the expansion to get access to purchase the Aerakyn race?

Because if I am going to buy the race, then I wont need the expansion right away because I will be leveling a new character. Still decidiing whether to buy the expac. If it was a pre-order all my 6 accounts would have it but since that is not the case I will wait to see if there is a discount first. If not I will still buy it for my main (begrudgingly) and get it for my slave accounts when it goes on sale in the distant future.

I am going to guess that no, you don't need to buy the expac to buy the aerakyn race. It'll probably be a separate purchase, most likely through the SC Marketplace.

It's entirely possible that our PC's will be pre-loaded with the expansion prior to Nov 11th via standard patches and updates. It's just that they'll be inaccessible/unusable until the expac is purchased to unlock them.

I could have sworn the Refugee island was a reward given to people who had gotten to the 10 year played time point, but it wasn't going to be made available until November, so there would still be a separate reward for people who reached the 11 year played time point. I don't remember them being specific on how it was going to be awarded though. /claim, quest, purchase... I'll have to find it in the videos Feldon posted and listen closely.
XD I just hope it's the same island we knew and loved.. and kept making alts on. =P

Hey! you forgot the one-per-character prestige home with duck pond! (The house is why I even buy collector's editions!.. well, and the mount. XD)

Oh, another of those people who don't use sales crates. /facepalm
You have NOOOOOOOooooo idea how long we've been BEGGING SOE to give us the colony/refugee islands as a house. NOooo idea... Kindly find some one elses parade to piss on, please? This island is the most requested and anticipated item ever to be released for me and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only player who thinks so.
Also, if you've been playing as long as I have, you have potions and ability scrolls coming out your ears from vet rewards already.... free....




And on a side note, people who complain about how SOE handled the FTP model.... go play Perfect World to max level, beat all the dungeons there, then come back to EQ2... I guarantee you won't complain about this business model any more.. unless you like plopping down hundreds of dollars on micro transactions for items that GAMBLE (yes, GAMBLE!! there is a chance on every gem or ticket you will get exactly crap for your dime) for the materials to get the only pets/gear that will actually enable you to SURVIVE in max level areas.... There is not a single thing on the SC market place you HAVE to have... Expansions, sure, but everything else is appearance or convenience, not necessity. (I do admit though, I was sad to learn the new race would be the second not just included in an expansion... well frogloks weren't in an expansion, but they were just a questline before the first expansion. But on the bright side, people who want them but need time to save up for the expansion will be able to get them. XD Honestly, I'm going to buy them just to unlock the appearance on the house actors. XD)
The same people complaining need to be given a tour of a business, with a narrative on how much each item, employee, daily electricity bill, item made, etc.. costs. You can log in for free. You get all but the most recent 2 expansions for free. Going to be happy about that? noooo of course not. XD ....Just because someone FEELS entitled doesn't mean the world is obligated to hand everything over. Reality says energy (in a business's case, money) is required for action. Without money, the game would disappear. I pay a yearly sub and buy a bit of SC because this is my favorite R&R activity.
And for cryin out loud, tip your waiter/waitress too!

macatk said: ↑

“Oh good another prestige home I have no use for and not one potion, rez items free merc slot or any other items I could have used. I think it great for those who need their own Island to build which you can make or buy items with your SC but even a 110 xp potion to be included would be nice but I guess have to buy those also on my own dime.”

Oh, another of those people who don't use sales crates. /facepalm
You have NOOOOOOOooooo idea how long we've been BEGGING SOE to give us the colony/refugee islands as a house. NOooo idea... Kindly find some one elses parade to piss on, please? This island is the most requested and anticipated item ever to be released for me and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only player who thinks so.
Also, if you've been playing as long as I have, you have potions and ability scrolls coming out your ears from vet rewards already.... free....

HOW RUDE
Griffon Lady

I got a few things I like to say to your comments but not going to stoop to your level. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......