My Analysis of “Free to play model”
C4 says:
This is a big point and one of the main differences with the previous games. Creatures 4 is a free-to-play game and this means several things that will most likely shock/upset/depress those of you that are completely happy with a classic buy-to-play game.
I say:
I would have to say this disappoints me more than anything. When we bought the game it was ours. No one could take this away; if we have to rely on being online this will be a huge disappointment. I have a small hope that the Box version (which they are calling it a client and not really explaining that really well) will somehow function if it is offline, perhaps maybe someone out there will write a patch so we can have our game regardless of if we are online. The Free to play models that I have run across has only let me down, disappoint me and has left me feeling “ripped off”
C4 says:
We’re ourselves a bunch of hardcore gamers and we haven’t sold our soul to the devil or whatever, we just think this model works both for us and the user base.
I say:
I think it “rips off” the players if they have to sink in more than the total cost of a buy it game. Other games conned us out of money to where when we added up what we spent it was insane! If the total cost of playing is more than an old school version would have cost, then it is not worth it. I will keep in mind the prices of addons, but to nickel and dime us is really cheesy. And again I hope this bubble busts so that people are not lulled into the game and paying through the nose without them even aware of it, greed sprouts up in these types of games. SO yes I do think it is evil and Creatures or should I say Fishing Cactus must prove me wrong. I really hate the fact that they have done this to this game. I also have hope for Steve Grand’s project, although I will have to wait along time, but it is something to keep in the back of my head.
C4 says:
A Creatures 4 online profile will be required to play so that the game will be able to keep track of all the relevant data (progress, currency, etc.)
I say:
I could understand this, but we should be able to turn it off and still be able to play offline, this is where them adding the term “client” makes me nervous. I want to buy a basic version, anything I might download I want to keep in the long run. We don’t know how long they will stay up and I refuse to buy things that I cannot keep in the long run.
C4 says:
There will be a leveling system linked to the player’s progress. The player’s level will increase as in-game goals are completed. Higher levels mean new unlocked content in the Shop and in the machines (more customization options for example).
I say:
I do not like this I like to play my way and sometimes it is not according to the general play, I will miss having many worlds/ships/docking stations.
C4 says:
There will be an in-game Shop that will house all the content you will be able to insert into the game: toys, genetic mutators, food, medicine… Most of this is still being designed so don’t take this as final.
I say:
When games are controlled because they are free, we really lose a lot of freedoms. Plus we have to hope they make it, no more agents from users that I have enjoyed in the past, what made this game great was our freedom, and creativity. Our creativity will be gone. I am sad that gone are the days where the people made some great items, machines and toys. Now it will be just what fishing cactus makes and I don’t like that one bit.
C4 says:
There will be two currencies in the game: Coins, which are gathered in-game with various interactions. Golden Eggs which are either received in the game on special occasions or bought in packs from the in-game Shop in exchange for real money. Golden Eggs will allow buying some stuff from the Shop (a payment option in Coins will be available too) and speed up production cycles in machines.
I say:
What I do hate about the idea of Gold is that it has been done before over and over and it is a way that I think can get people to spend way more than they ever thought. The longer you are on the more you spend. However if what we buy, besides the Boxed version/client can be used in our game of the company decides to drop it later (believe me companies get bought and sold and games get axed!) if I could still use what I bought even if the company folds then I have no problems with that. If these “purchases” are only good as long as the online part is up, well then it is a no go for me. I might sound real picky but you have no idea how much I have lost and others also.
I also have a feeling that the “Gifted Golden Eggs” is like a sample to get people hooked. I have seen, in other games, people resist and play the game without spending anything and enjoying a gift here and there. Until I find out everything this will be me. I do plan on the buying the CD to add to my collection though. Since getting ripped off by the other game I have a feeling that I will not fall for wanting to have my machines (whatever they may be) run faster .. But again this is even insulting to have to pay to have the game run better? I am aware there are regular coin which means game points. I bet they will make certain popular things run really slow and cost a lot of “coin” to drive people batty so they just buy it.. Well I can tell you ahead of time that will not be me.
I am sorry if I sound rude but all these tricks were already done. One difference is that things are bought with coin or gold.. so that means buying points, Like the farming app. Not as bad as SPP having coin items and gold items and the coin items being very plain and ugly and the gold items being much nicer causing tension in the community. If C4 does that, then I am out in that instant I see that.
C4 Says
All the content will be free, provided you have enough Coins/Golden Eggs to pay for items in the shop. Most (if not all) the content will be available for a set number of Coins so you can get all the content just by playing. Players willing to get things faster than they would by simply playing the game will have the option to do that by spending Golden Eggs. Practical example, let’s say you want your hatchery to create a new Egg, it will take a variable amount of time depending on the Norn breed you chose. You will be able to speed the hatching process by using a Golden Egg or simply waiting for it to complete.
I say:
Oh Oh … Most (if not all) the content will be available for a set number of coins so you can get all the content just by playing? What the hell? What does “Most (if not all ) mean? See this hints to gold items and that is no good! They are not being clear here at all! This is double speak. This I do not trust. This means at any time they can introduce items that can only be bought with real money and not points earned. Which means people can be lulled into spending an insane amount if they are not very careful.. This is why I hate premium items and why I prefer the buy the game and play the game; hey I would buy the game and even play a monthly online fee. This gold only items is no good at all.
C4 says:
For those of you that are familiar with social games, the model we chose is fairly classic stuff. I know some of you see it as controversial as social games have several detractors. In truth we believe this business model has several advantages. First of all it makes the game really accessible to a lot of players who can play the game for free and still experience all the content. Not all gamers know about Creatures and this is the best way to get people on board (after delivering a great game of course). Also, to give you a little bit of developer’s insight, one of the reasons we chose the free-to-play model is that it ensures we’re getting a regular income that will allow us to provide continuous updates to the game and do some basic stuff like, you know, eat
I say:
See this is what we were told in other games, so programmers can eat, so they can keep the lights on, so they can deliver better upgrades and so on, what really happened is we paid thinking we were supporting the site and the site kept getting worse, the glitches were happening all the time and the customer service sucked because it was a free to pay site so the employees didn’t treat the players right at all, it all just tumbled down and now it is going to be turned off and all those people who put in a great sum of money because they thought they were helping are left out in the cold. The company got big sold for 200 million to Google and Google is shutting it down .. too bad for us. To bad so sad! Now we are begging for a downloadable version just to play on our computers but I highly doubt that Google cares.
This is why the PC and MAC versions can help with this fear. If we could still play the game with the cds we would feel more secure.
The “Social” parts of the game only benefit the company, not the players really, they get their game out there and get people hooked, but then the charges happen and it begins to cost way more than a game should cost. Say for example that you can buy a certain thing or norn, a special breed, but only 600 norns will be available, so people rush to buy it up, some buy more than a few and resell them at an inflated price off of paypal (that is if C4 allowed gifting) here is where the greed comes in, causing a frenzy and a very negative environment (I have seen it and it is UGLY). It is actually better for us players to pay for the game like the old days and then maybe addon packs like the old days and maybe an online fee to use the server, but with the option of offline play.
Being able to play it for free, well that sounds good, but it actually is not. This means that the whole game will depend on sales of gold eggs and items, this means pressure to buy. I don’t care what they promise, you have to have a certain portion of people buy in order to support the whole thing, people will buy if they can buy things that others can’t have, it is human nature. Then the nasty stuff begins. This I why I would rather just pay and then play with buying add-on packs as I go along and not having to rely on a server being up or as I said before paying a server fee.
C4 says:
A full-content “pay 50$ to play” version is definitely possible in the future but not planned at the moment
I say:
That statement has me puzzled.. So we buy the cd and then we might be able to pay 50.00 to play the game? Actually if they did this, the 50.00 would be like buying the game, or a lifetime account .. well life of the website/server this tells me that the cd or boxed version is not what I hoped it was. And I really do not think that they will do the 50.00 to play concept because then they will miss out on the extra gold sales. I’m telling you, you can end up spending 100s if not 1000’s of dollars over the course of the game without realizing it. Why would they pass this up for a 50.00 to play option? Which is why they say “Definitely Possible” I call them buzz words, they really are not clear at all. All they are saying is that is it is a possibility, adding the word “definitely” just makes it sound like a fact without it being a fact. And they do not have to commit to that concept, it can be forgotten a long the way. Just like the buzz words “Foreseeable Future” LOL
Now Fishing Cactus I want you to prove me wrong. I love all the past Creatures and I hope you do the right thing for all the loyal players.
I will watch, read and play and I will come back to this article to see what will have come to pass. if I am wrong I will also make a note of it here.
For the players, I urge you to be on the watch for what I have written. If it goes bad please do not make the same mistakes I did with another game, because I can tell you now, you will be angry, hurt and have a lot of regrets even if you love the game. I believe Free to Play models are not meant for long term play and has a higher failure rate than a monthly fee game. Like any other money making scheme it will not last forever, it was have a beginning and a middle but once any capitol starts to fall it will be axed or new thing that cost more will be tried to keep the money coming in. Once they decide it is no longer lucrative to them (not really caring about you, because you are only a virtual cash cow) they will close shop and you will have none of your Creatures 4.
http://fishingcactus.com
http://www.creatures4.com
http://blog.fishingcactus.com
