The Best Kept Secret

[80Maxwell08]

Honestly the first time I saw the Secret World I was definitely intrigued. Then I found out about the subscription fee and saw EA's logo on it. At this point I've heard plenty of people who both hate and love it so I really don't know but I'm just not paying for subscription fees or EA games anymore.

 

[Beretta]

TSW is good.
Not spectacular, but enough not like WoW to be worth the time and money.
I have an Assault Rifle. And pair of suppressed MAC-11's.
They do magic. Against mini-Cthulu.
It's satisfying.

Also, the old lady with the shotgun rambles. It's her style of speaking. And she makes a _single_ Greek myth reference. C'mon now.

 

[Yal]

And also add Lineage to the list of successful sub based MMOs, which back in the day actually had more subscribers than EQ.

Lineage had a pay-per-hour internet cafe system that made it difficult to compare with its western contemporaries. They had a whole hell of a lot of "active accounts" with a relatively low revenue per user number. Not all that much different from straight up free to play, really. I don't think they ever actually broke down the numbers for home users with a monthly subscription, which suggests that wasn't where they made their money.

 

[Mike Fang]

I don't think it sucks because it's an MMO, I think it sucks because it's a subscription-based MMO. Actually, I don't even think the product itself might suck because of that, I just think the business model behind it sucks. I hold no secrets about the fact that I have a paid subscription for WoW, but that's exactly why I'm not interested in The Secret World: For however interesting I thought it looked before it was released, the fact that it's a subscription-based MMO means I don't have the ability to play it because I don't want to hemorrhage $30 US a month for two video games. It's the same reason I lost all interest in Tera after it released.

True, the subscription-based MMO is becoming more and more unpopular as more and more MMOs prove they can remain stable (though perhaps not an endless waterfall of money) using a F2P model with a cash shop for specialty items and abilities.

 

[the7ofswords]

"Which really makes me wonder why someone decided to staple a piss-poor MMO to the side of its head."

This. So, so this. The Secret World could have been brilliant.

Instead, we got an over-priced MMO with just these little "what might have been" moments scattered throughout.

Ah, disappointment ... my constant companion.

 

[Mysnomer]

The Best Kept Secret

Training Day

Read Full Article

I request photographic evidence of this strange life-form, the "occult pimp." Truly, it must be a sight to behold.

 

[Trololo Punk]

My friends were all hyped for this game and they told me about it. Looked it up and was just turned off by the combat system, among other things. Might think about playing if it goes free to play. Doubt that I will though.

 

[1337mokro]

Because investors like the word MMO.

It makes Blizzard dollars light up in their eyes.

Like with The Old Republic. It never needed to be an MMO. It could never be an MMO as shown by the current failure of a MMO we have. All people wanted was KOTOR3 and now that it's going FTP they made the story entirely free... meaning absolutely no one will actually pay for it. Because that is all anyone ever asked for.

MMO. Sounds good on paper. Only worked Once.

I dunno... MMOs do tend to work, just not in the subscription market anymore. Secret World will eventually head to F2P town, much like TOR has. Not sure if it'll happen quicker because the game's bottom line is lower. Still... MMOs will continue to be made until they start to fail and disappear more regularly.

And no, that's not happening yet. Right now the F2P model is righting every MMO that looks ready to disappear. Champions Online, Star Trek Online, LOTRO, DDO, City of Heroes... these all went F2P and are all doing various degrees better than when they were subscription only.

But that is kinda of the point isn't it.

What do most of those MMO's actually add by the fact they are MMO's? Friends to play with? Make the game coop and have the Host carry the burden and offer dedicated servers or allow players to host the game.

Continuous content? DLC. If I am going to pay 5 dollars anyway I'd rather pay it once than get nickel and dimed.

What does the F2P model have over just making the game a single player or coop rpg? In the end nothing really. We could have had a nice singleplayer superhero game without the rubberbanding done so everyone looks equal in powers.

Without the MMO part we could have just gotten a deep and thorough story for KOTOR. Rather than a seriously weak raiding and PvP section with a nice story, a nice story which is soon free meaning no one will actually pay money for it.

In the end a simple RPG without the server costs will be more lucrative and require less on going support.

Sure F2P is a good Lifeline for MMO's... but why do MMO's require these lifelines? Maybe it's because people really just want singleplayer experiences, which they can have for cheap change now compared to a full release.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Dont forget EVE.. Or any of the non-english MMO's out there.

Doh!

How the hell did I forgot EVE, if there's one MMO I'm 100% certain it will never go F2P it's definitely EVE, I would bet WoW would go F2P before EVE does.

And also add Lineage to the list of successful sub based MMOs, which back in the day actually had more subscribers than EQ.

Thanks for reminding me.

Of course not. Didn't Yahtzee call it a 2nd job you have to pay for?

 

[Mike Fang]

By no means does it make the game suck but, for me at least, it makes it significantly less appealing, and feel like wasted potential of an interesting setting.

I love Star Wars, I love RPGS, I (generally) really like Bioware games. But I hated the constant grind, the repetitive quests and bumping into six other dudes with the same npc partner as me, shouting into the chat box "HAVE DARTH REVAN LIGHTSABER ACCPETING OFFERS!!"

All of those un-fun things take me out of the experience and ultimately made me cancel my subscription. While that might not be the case with The Secret World, I'm just not willing to pay 60 bucks plus a subscription to find out. A shame, really.

This is understandable, and yes, the MMO's that follow the bog-standard, cookie-cutter, WoW-cloned formats tend to eventually be a letdown. Some parts you can't do much about. Other parts you can. For example, the chat box spam? You can minimize your exposure by turning off the general, trade, and other such channels when you don't need them. True it can't get rid of the twerps (I'd use another word that has t and w as it's first two letters, but the censor feature wouldn't let me...) who leapfrog around you, teabag corpses, etc., but it's a start, at least.

 

[1337mokro]

MMO. Sounds good on paper. Only worked Once.

Well if we're talking about subscription based MMOs they've technically worked 3 times, once with Ultima Online, twice with EverQuest and thrice with World of Warcraft.

If we're talking about the F2P market, as Quiotu said there's plenty of MMOs that have been WAY more successful once they went F2P than when they had a subscription.

Dont forget EVE.. Or any of the non-english MMO's out there.

Of course I was exaggerating. The point I was making was they are just chasing after WoW's 350 million dollar annual revenue. A hopeless dream that is impossible in this day and age. The other MMO's you named really can't come close to that, if an investor names an MMO they don't think Drakensang Online, they think WoW! As in WoW I sure would like 350 million dollars a year.

Even so to say EVE worked isn't really that correct. EVE works but has a VERY limited new player stream. They have their market but not much else outside of that. Same goes for Ultima and Everquest. I think Everquest is F2P btw. That is really the thing about subscription MMO's nowadays.

Subscription MMO's are dying. But that is not my point. An MMO has a certain amount of rules and mechanics. Most of those mechanics just get in the way of an actual story. I have played the game above, got a trial invite from a friend, and what I thought constantly was "Wow this game would have been awesome if it hadn't been an MMO."

Just to share an experience with you. I was speaking with my friend about getting some stylish outfits. Tight suits, black ties, fedoras the whole work (we sadly couldn't as far as I can remember maybe those things aren't even in the game) so we just went with standard T-shirt and cap. We join a mission for the first time and BAM! Bright PINK POLKA DOT poncho illuminati joins us. I also get a taste of the "combat" which thanks to the MMO portion is really really horrible.

The MMO mechanics are literally Crowbarred into the game. Shooting would have been great in real time rather than being the regular hotkey bullshit. The story would have been much better if I could actually stay immersed without "trading xxxxxxx" spamming the chats or other stuff

The only thing going through my mind was. This game would have been awesome with internet coop or even solo. The atmosphere is awesome if it wasn't for the bright pink polkadot polka shotgunning goons in the face.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

I like the MMO lots of customization, it just needs more of it and less annoying MMO stuff >> LOL

 

[weirdee]

I think the main driver behind the MMOness was having factions tangle with each other on a deeper level than what you could ostensibly set up as a static world with staged conflict.

ofc who knows how effective it is in practice without playing

 

[Blunderboy]

The Best Kept Secret

Training Day

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Always good to discover another Dark Tower fan.
Dad a chum?

 

[AbstractStream]

Agreed. Secret World has so much great potential, but I hate the fact that it's a MMO. It's a bummer.

 

[LordFisheh]

Keep in mind it's not like it's bad because it's an mmo. The problem is that it goes with the same old kill ten bears do we have buffs up okay let's wipe ten more times oh sweet purples mechanics. These things make MMOs that will sell, but they aren't mandatory. Granted it's pretty difficult to deviate and still get investment, but it can be done.

Eve Online, whatever you think of it, does throw most of that in the toilet and offers a completely different type of game while still being an mmo. I'm sure someone, somewhere, could make gameplay centred around secrets and espionage with no boar livers in sight, and still have it work in an MMO.

 

[Fleetfiend]

I really really wanted to play The Secret World... but I will not pay per month for an MMO, I'm sorry. I mean, I already payed once. If anything, go freemium. Pwease?

 

[Sartan0]

Honestly the first time I saw the Secret World I was definitely intrigued. Then I found out about the subscription fee and saw EA's logo on it. At this point I've heard plenty of people who both hate and love it so I really don't know but I'm just not paying for subscription fees or EA games anymore.

I had the same concerns but it turns out EA only did the box sales. You can order the game directly from Funcom and get a digital copy with no involvement with EA at all. http://www.funcom.com/games/tsw


I personally love the game. It is not without issues but the content is amazing and I am enjoying the challenge of the game. Not to mention the setting.

As for Subscriptions: For the price of going to a movie with one snack or out to eat once a month I can swing it. I get why someone might not like ongoing payments but I am willing to do it. Way better return of entertainment hours per dollar then a movie.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Simple solution to make a profitable MMO.

Make a Pokemon MMO like people have wanted for years.
Make it F2P with Microtransactions for aesthetic things or to help buy more actual in-game items (potions, pokeballs, etc.)
Charge $10 for each subsequent region released after launch.
Profit!

here is a cookie for start up capital! *gives cookie*

 

[Mauler]

I don't understand why are ther allways EWIL ILLUMINATI... They historically were anti chrystian, anti dogmatic scientists who wanted nothing more than to tell masses the truth about the universe and start the rennesance... Illuminati wanted to illuminate(not ewil kinda slave - obidient way but earth turns around the sun way) the people of europe subjugated by Vatican... Although Illuminati sounds kinda ewil...