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Thread: Froob->Sloob and free month plx

  1. #1

    Froob->Sloob and free month plx

    I would like FC to make one last, probably final push for population increase. And I feel that the upcoming Steam release, or very shortly thereafter, would be the most opportune time.

    1. Free month for old players. It's been a long time since the last one. There's been a lot of QoL improvements since 2011. If they saw people actually playing they might be impressed.

    2. Upgrade the free experience to SLOOB. Think about it, when the FROOB experience began in late 2004 the original game content was "only" 3.5 years old. SL content is now 13.5 years old. I personally know several people who have been playing the free game, off and on, for the full 12 years. They just aren't going to pay you no matter what. Are the servers suddenly going to overload if they are killing things in SL instead of on RK now? The game desperately needs these SLOOBs - to populate leveling areas and battlestations, to farm symbiants, to buy, sell, and build the weapons and armor that are now too outdated for any fully paid player to want (tier, crep, perenniums, inferno dyna weaps, etc). It still leaves plenty for the free players to drool over to try to entice them to upgrade. Froob experience was originally half a game, now it's like a quarter of a game - and after level 100 paid and free players barely interact. Making them into sloobs just works!
    2b. Allow the new SLOOBS access to mail (after a certain level), and GMI. Their inability to participate in the economy is frustrating to both sides and GMI is no longer tied to AI cities.

    3. Price reduction. People beg for this for years. Maybe introduce $5 or $10 per month and see how it works. Even if you only offer it for 6 months or something, if timed correctly maybe it could help the population. A lot of people might be willing to pay $5 just to have the ability to log on, even if they don't actually log on.

    That's it. Combine all this **** into a perfect storm of bait.

    Oh yeah and Rocker for game director.
    New Engine - Announced: June 2007 ETA: Soon™ I'm speechless (June 2015)
    Rebalancing - Announced: January 2009 ETA: December 21, 2012 Started! (April 2015)
    New TL7 Pets - Announced: March 2009 ETA: Uh...
    AS Changes - Announced: July 2009 ETA: TBA
    Parry/Riposte - Announced: October 2009 ETA: ??? Did it! (April 2015)
    Perk Changes - Announced: October 2009 ETA: Right after server merge Started! (April 2015)
    Breed Change - Announced: November 2009 ETA: Hell freezing They did it!!! (Oct 2012)
    Beta Server - Announced: January 2010 ETA: Pigs Flying Did it! (Feb 2014)

  2. #2
    I tried real hard to find something to disagree with, and couldn't really find any

    Well, there is one exception: Never let free players use GMI. As much as I sympathize with froobs, free GMI access will allow those few ******* to abuse the living jesus out of GMI. It is fragile enough as it is now.

    Also: making froobs sloobs would spoil the pristine froob experience That is, froob experience is challgenging and that is reason enough for even a paid player to play froobs. But this argument is not strong enough
    * Cryborg Nano-Technician - Have a shoulder to cry on!
    Aramlash Fixer - Can't catch me!
    Aramsunat Engineer - 4 Blockers of the Apocalypse


    Devil Inside

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by aramsunat View Post
    I tried real hard to find something to disagree with, and couldn't really find any

    Well, there is one exception: Never let free players use GMI. As much as I sympathize with froobs, free GMI access will allow those few ******* to abuse the living jesus out of GMI. It is fragile enough as it is now.

    Also: making froobs sloobs would spoil the pristine froob experience That is, froob experience is challgenging and that is reason enough for even a paid player to play froobs. But this argument is not strong enough
    They can always make it optional, i.e. "Click here to upgrade to Shadowlands for free". Most froobs have separate accounts for each character anyway. As for the GMI, maybe level lock it to 100 or something? Not exactly sure what abuse you are implying, fake buy orders or whatever?
    New Engine - Announced: June 2007 ETA: Soon™ I'm speechless (June 2015)
    Rebalancing - Announced: January 2009 ETA: December 21, 2012 Started! (April 2015)
    New TL7 Pets - Announced: March 2009 ETA: Uh...
    AS Changes - Announced: July 2009 ETA: TBA
    Parry/Riposte - Announced: October 2009 ETA: ??? Did it! (April 2015)
    Perk Changes - Announced: October 2009 ETA: Right after server merge Started! (April 2015)
    Breed Change - Announced: November 2009 ETA: Hell freezing They did it!!! (Oct 2012)
    Beta Server - Announced: January 2010 ETA: Pigs Flying Did it! (Feb 2014)

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Louderer789 View Post
    They can always make it optional, i.e. "Click here to upgrade to Shadowlands for free". Most froobs have separate accounts for each character anyway. As for the GMI, maybe level lock it to 100 or something? Not exactly sure what abuse you are implying, fake buy orders or whatever?
    Fair enough

    the storngest argument against GMI access is the following scenario:

    imagine someone with a colossal amount of sploited creds (talking 100b+, one player was even bragging about it ingame) suddenly has access to GMI without fear of repercussions (his paid account not getting banned) and starts buying up every single sell order on GMI no matter which item. Result is a massive amount of illicit creds in the system and a sudden shortage of phats. I leave the rest of the dots for you to connect :/
    * Cryborg Nano-Technician - Have a shoulder to cry on!
    Aramlash Fixer - Can't catch me!
    Aramsunat Engineer - 4 Blockers of the Apocalypse


    Devil Inside

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by aramsunat View Post
    Fair enough

    the storngest argument against GMI access is the following scenario:

    imagine someone with a colossal amount of sploited creds (talking 100b+, one player was even bragging about it ingame) suddenly has access to GMI without fear of repercussions (his paid account not getting banned) and starts buying up every single sell order on GMI no matter which item. Result is a massive amount of illicit creds in the system and a sudden shortage of phats. I leave the rest of the dots for you to connect :/
    yes froobs can never ever get acces to the gmi, i totaly agree. there is so many sploited froob accounts that would destroy it then.

    but wtb 1 free mounth for old players and new ones.
    would kinda be perfect to release something like that now in the xmas days, make population increase some before steam, and let the steam release have some weeks aswell.
    funcom cant possible have any loss of trying giving out a free mounth.

    and i for sure wouldnt mind that only people that isnt subscribed gets free playtime, as long something happens

  6. #6
    I've been banging the froob -> sloob drum for years! Hell, even a B2P one-off account upgrade fee would be something. A small amount like $10. (Oh, and stop charging Sloob accounts - the 3 or 4 of them which are left ) Could extend the one-off DLC cost to allow froobs to use GMI. That way those accounts are less untraceable because credit card details. Or perhaps allow froob accounts under a paid Veteran account to use them - again see less-untraceable.

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    :: 220/30/80 Melee 4lyfe
    Khurkh :: 220/30/80 healtankpew
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    : 210/26/60 nanostab
    Spidershiva :: 165/23/42 kite? eh?
    Silentmotion
    : 150/20/42 tankthink
    The Union

  7. #7
    9.99 € A month seems like an ok price for monthly.
    7.99 € For quarterly.
    6.99 € For 6 months.
    5.99 € For a Yearly sub.

    In addition to that I would make the 6 month and yearly subs splittable. As in if I have a number of accounts connected I can disperse the months onto several accs. So.. I for instance buy 12 months. I can put those on one acc. Or I can put them into two accs for 6 months. 3 for 4 months or however I see fit.

    As for the sloob thing. Idk.. Maybe it's a good idea. Would certainly bring prices down on some silly symbs and stuff. :> Perhaps it's good. regardless I think that as a froob you should get the first month of paid play for 1 buck. Or 1 euro or whatever. And then you'll need to pay. Should be able to lure a lot of ppl into becoming paying subscribers that way.

  8. #8
    I'm pretty sure there was a sloob program in the past with greatly reduced monthly costs.
    I still regret upgrading one of those accounts to paid to this day, now permafrozen.

    For 5/month I would definitely sub to a SL-only account (I believe this was the old pricing).

    Going from 17 to 10 a month for the regular sub seems a bit much though. I don't think they will get 70% more subscriptions to compensate.
    Bringing it in line with other subscription-based MMO's (14.99) would be a good step in the right direction though. I mean hell, even AoC is cheaper than AO...
    Dear developers,

    Rock is OP, paper is fine.

    -Yours faithfully, Scissors

  9. #9
    I also second the free month offer. Many of my friends are curious of the changes but are hesitant to resub
    * Cryborg Nano-Technician - Have a shoulder to cry on!
    Aramlash Fixer - Can't catch me!
    Aramsunat Engineer - 4 Blockers of the Apocalypse


    Devil Inside

  10. #10
    i think shadowlands should just be opend up with full item acces as the new ''froob'' but as long as its not paid you do not get gmi acces.

    on a steam release shadowland is gonna be the thing that would be the real bait for new subscribers. the artwork in nasc and ely is so good if you actualy run there and think about it.
    and people seem to just love shadowland stuff, it is somewhat similar playfield ish like world of warcraft, and there is no secret that people seem to just love such content

  11. #11
    I logged in just to echo the exact same sentiments as everyone else here.

    Froobs should become sloobs.

    No access to GMI w/o AI expansion (i think the current sub model gives you all expansions upon going paid, as long as that functionality remains it can be tied to any of the expansions other than SL really)

    Consider giving out free game time before steam release to boost player population for steam launch, to increase the odds of gaining as much activity as possible when the game is brand new to steam. It will most likely garner the most attention when it first hits steam, as opposed to later down the line. Short of AO content going viral somewhere online, but with its age that is unlikely unless you open up more for free (froob->sloob) or have enough going on in-game on release that people are driven to find out what is so great for themselves.

    This is Funcom's last chance to, not necessarily "revive" this game - but to extend its life. I am confident beyond any doubt that if Funcom wastes this opportunity then it is only a matter of time before the doors on AO close for good.
    Leave "Marinegent" AScar - 220/23/65 Atrox Agent
    Wakeup "Marinesold" Screaming - 220/30/70 Nanomage Soldier
    "Moonmarin" - 220/30/80 Solitus Martial Artist
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    Quote Originally Posted by CuisinartBlade View Post
    to be fair, 2.8k ar is enough to perk anyone except fixers, mas, advs, shades, nt's that blinded you, shield mps, bow mps that landed dazzle, def docs, crats, or marinesold

    so all in all it's a fairly viable setup

  12. #12
    I totally agree with the idea of froobs becoming sloobs. The leveling experience would be better for froobs as they'd finally have people to team with, and access to more content might make them more inclined to purchase a monthly sub and all of the expansions. The froob experience originally was to restrict content, but still let players try out the game in hopes that they would purchase a sub. Back then, froobs and paid players interacted all the time; the population was higher and since SL was new and AI cities well all over RK, there was constant interaction between everyone. Now most paid players stay in SL, coming to RK only to grab loot and such. The game has been around so darn long, it's time we let the froobs into SL so we can all be friends again!

  13. #13
    Would be a smart move to do this as part of the new "steam era".

  14. #14
    Sounds good to me but there needs to be some restrictions, such as not being able to access pandemonium or the Pyramid of home instance or everyone will just stay froob, as there is no incentive to upgrade.
    -Equilibrium-
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    Enforcblack - 220/30 Enf
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    Blackhawkd - 29/3 Tard

  15. #15
    This isn't a new concept, I'm not trying to antagonize in saying that, but it has its share of problems. The most significant is likely that FC doesn't feel it would be in their financial interests, and - realistically, it might not be.

    So, for the time being, I'm going to put aside all other concerns and simply focus on the marketability of Froobs becoming full Sloobs.


    The core construct of Froobs is that they get a taste of the game. It was initially intended to effectively act as a trial, obviously it's evolved far beyond that. However, even today Froobs have a substantial number of incentives to pay.

    SL alone unlocks...

    1. New maps which effectively double the size of the game world
    2. Hundreds of new items and armors
    3. The best XP spots in the game
    4. 20 New levels which are well-established among the player-base to be the equivalent of the previous 200 (Though that's less true these days)
    5. 2 New Professions
    6. A more fluid leveling experience due to SL often covering the worst ranges for RK leveling
    7. 40 Perks, which is a complete new method of playing the game. To elaborate on this a Froob Engi would likely use burst, pet commands, and possibly shift auras during combat. A Sloob Engineer has DD perks, Pet perks, Defensive Perks, and - through the use of perks - access to far better weapons at any given level-range.
    8. Symbiants - The absolute go-to for implants except in a rare handful of cases
    9. Tons of new story; this is less true now, but for those who don't know when SL released there were a handful of narrative driven quests in the game. Each zone has a handful or a large unified one.
    10. Many of the best Nanos available

    From just one of the expansions Froobs get access to all of this. If every other expansion added as much I wouldn't see a problem, however - they don't. AI, LE, and LoX don't add meaningful content beyond end-game raids. I'm not suggesting that the raids are inconsequential, but they're certainly not the focus point of everyone playing. It's hard to justify giving away the majority of paid content for free, and that's what full Sloob status would be. AI, LE, and LoX have their strong points, but SL is without a doubt the most iconic and impressive expansion of all.

    Why would Froobs, or paid players for that matter, feel encouraged to pay when they can get so much for free?

    Often when I return to AO I do so on a whim, as I'm sure many veterans of the game do. You decide to check out the website and nostalgia just drowns your senses; you wash up the next day regretting that you resubbed - only to then play for another substantial chunk of time. If I could return to play as a Sloob for free I imagine I'd be less inclined to subscribe.

    I've always been open to the idea of entry-SL experiences being free, but at a certain point I don't think it's unfair to suggest it needs to be paid. My thoughts on that have always tended towards Nascence and the first six perks. I'd also be open to the idea of paid Sloob accounts returning for a discounted rate as they were previously, but I have to admit that even in that instance I could see it as being a bad business decision. AO is a game supported by a core of fans and many of them pay for multiple accounts, cheaper accounts with most of what you want, but not all, are hard to pass up.

  16. #16
    As the long term owner of an SL-only account, among my others, the power differences between sloob and full expac are an interesting challenge for me. I agree that if you were to pick any 1 expac to add power then SL offers the most, but with SL only and no AI, LE or LoX the gulf between the sheer power of the two account types is vast. I say that as someone who has a very well geared sloob 220 doc who can self the DB nanos. She can heal like my full expac 220 Doc, but in every single other aspect he absolutely runs rings around what she can do. It's not even a contest. If the argument here is that there's almost no difference in what they can do, I can assure you that's not the case. She also cannot participate in anything to do with the Xan area, so ofc that means DIO and like like are right out. Yes she can heal PoH but she can't use much of the loot in it like the weapons. If I didn't have a full expac 220 doc to go and do those things that she cannot then being stuck behind those walls would have been enough motivation to upgrade that account, despite the fact I'm keeping that one SL only for the challenge.

    Yes, it would be a huge change and upgrade for froobs. But then my suggestion did include it being perhaps a 1-off small account upgrade fee as opposed to autoforcing it on everyone.

    Ophiuchus : 220/30/80 HAHA etc
    Nahuatl
    :: 220/30/80 Melee 4lyfe
    Khurkh :: 220/30/80 healtankpew
    Transcendence
    Msanthropic
    : 210/26/60 nanostab
    Spidershiva :: 165/23/42 kite? eh?
    Silentmotion
    : 150/20/42 tankthink
    The Union

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Lenaro View Post
    AI, LE, and LoX don't add meaningful content beyond end-game raids.
    AI gives me: perks and perk actions, AI armor (!!!), AI weapons (especially S7 Special Edition ones), AI city raids (Comm Relay, EoE, AI armor stuff, compiler, NCUs, ...) and AI dailies, and then things like S10, S7. All before you are entitled to join the big AI playfields, and stuff from these can be used on lower level chars, too (De'Valos rings, pillows, CRU, AI armor stuff, AI weapons, ...).

    LE gives me: research and resulting proc actions and ability/skill bonuses, Ofab armor and weapons (some of them, while obtained from high level encounters, can be used at much lower level), LE/AI missions with these funky PsyMod "/disco" bosses, and a number of additional things from high level encounters usable on lower level toons as well (weapons?), victory points and being able to use them actually (Ofab terminals, includes access to nanos and research HUDs, for example). My first paid toon was a doc and at 125, with considerably few paid equipment resources, I kicked Fezael (IS 1st floor boss). Guess what? Ofab profession ring proc saved my rear end there, would have run out of nano otherwise.

    So, dunno what you see as "content"; all the above counts to me as game content, things which enrich the overall game play and make you stronger in one or multiple aspects. Way before 220.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Dustfly View Post
    AI gives me: perks and perk actions, AI armor (!!!), AI weapons (especially S7 Special Edition ones), AI city raids (Comm Relay, EoE, AI armor stuff, compiler, NCUs, ...) and AI dailies, and then things like S10, S7. All before you are entitled to join the big AI playfields, and stuff from these can be used on lower level chars, too (De'Valos rings, pillows, CRU, AI armor stuff, AI weapons, ...).

    LE gives me: research and resulting proc actions and ability/skill bonuses, Ofab armor and weapons (some of them, while obtained from high level encounters, can be used at much lower level), LE/AI missions with these funky PsyMod "/disco" bosses, and a number of additional things from high level encounters usable on lower level toons as well (weapons?), victory points and being able to use them actually (Ofab terminals, includes access to nanos and research HUDs, for example). My first paid toon was a doc and at 125, with considerably few paid equipment resources, I kicked Fezael (IS 1st floor boss). Guess what? Ofab profession ring proc saved my rear end there, would have run out of nano otherwise.

    So, dunno what you see as "content"; all the above counts to me as game content, things which enrich the overall game play and make you stronger in one or multiple aspects. Way before 220.
    This isn't content, this is new gear. You don't have new leveling paths by virtue of having AI, LE, or LoX. There aren't new dungeons or quests. There's no new Professions. Ultimately all these three expansions provide is power. You're correct in that they collectively provide new opportunities for twinking and new character edvelopment, but again, you have to consider that there are plenty of Froobs and people who use Froob accounts currently who have chosen not to upgrade. This is considering all three of the expansions spoken about - in addition to SL, indicating that the increased options and power isn't an incredibly compelling reason to go paid for many.

    The relevant discussion is whether making Froob into Sloob, even with a one-time payment, would increase the likelihood of having more paid accounts. I think it wouldn't; I think it would likely decrease the number of paid accounts.

    To be clear, I'm not suggesting that AI, LE, and LoX don't have their charms in-terms of reasons to upgrade. AI perks and armor are amazing. LE and LoX collectively provide new gearing opportunities and character power, in particular at 220. All three provide interesting new content end-game. That said, the three collectively don't come even close to adding the amount of relevant leveling content as SL does alone. SL is an impressive expansion, it was AO's best expansion (I heavily doubt any would disagree with this). The core issue I see is that money is rarely a non-issue for people. Most will look for opportunities to save money where they can. If you could return and play AO with almost everything in the experience, but just missing a few things (More noticeable at end-game) I think many would take that opportunity, myself included.
    Last edited by Lenaro; Dec 21st, 2016 at 12:21:44.

  19. #19
    Personally, if Funcom included SL for free players, I wouldn't consider canceling my paid accounts for a single second.
    Vinkera - Soli NT - 426k DPM - Setup
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  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Lenaro View Post
    This isn't content, this is new gear. You don't have new leveling paths by virtue of having AI, LE, or LoX. There aren't new dungeons or quests.
    So what are Alien PFs, org cities with alien ships, LE ships, Arete, Neretva to you if they are not "dungeons"?
    And eg. Uncle Bazzit Quest, Arete Quest, Neretva Quest are no quests?
    And AXP and research in general are no new leveling path? wtf man...

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