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Bulkfarmer

Make Wurm Free To Play

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If you're worried that we don't get new players, I feel that Wurm just needs exposure... Not to change its model.


 


A Steam release would instantly increase populations.


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might as well add dungeons and anime farming while we're at it


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I am a big advocate of improving F2P options in Wurm however I think a fullscale F2P system would not be good for the game. In order to "make up" the profits the game would have to be tailored away from its current niche audience and instead towards a mass market appeal.  It would no longer be WURM and that would be a horrible horrible turn of events.


 


On the other hand I think Wurm would benefit from some improvements to F2P players. Having a "bustling game population" is something many players here have been wanting (I am actually one of the hermits who are FINE with the current population levels), and not all free players are immature and troublesome.  I used to run a "new player resource center" and I would say it was rarely ever the free players causing the majority of conflict in the game.  They are too weak to mass clearcut forests, dig out perimeters, steal wagons, bash fences, tunnel into mines, etc. They are usually much more absorbed in just simple survival.  


 


They can make loyal villagers and pleasant teamspeak companions.  I am glad we finally let them ride cows again ^_^  


Edited by Brash_Endeavors
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its already free to play if you have the time to invest in it,i know people who have played and had premium and deeds for years without ever paying any money


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This game is already Free to Play. If you save coins for some months then you should be able to buy one month premium ingame and really work on your character.


Another option would be: all chars will be free to play, but you can buy nice items (armor, weapons, tomes) at the shop that cannot be made ingame. Or you have to pay an entrance fee for access to some servers.


But in general, its ok the way it is now.


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Overall its a cheap game to play even after the price hikes last year.


 


Also true f2p doesn't really exist, the game devs/publishers make their money someplace. Personally f2p is an illusion.


Edited by Klaa

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+1


 


F2P is the future of MMOs.  They are all heading that direction, with micro transactions for vanity, or to unlock more elite features, which are nice to have, but totally not needed to fully enjoy the game.  You need to get the players hooked in hard, to be able to inspire them to start dropping their coins, to enhance their play, or show off a new outfit.


 


F2P + micro transactions works.  Games that force the subscription model are becoming dinosaurs.  Hitting level 20 in wurm happens so fast, that it isn't realy enough time to make most new players feel fully invested, to the point where they are willing to subscribe.


 


I play multi account for every MMO I play.  It always makes the game more interesting to me.  The thing I enjoy least is that pesky subscription.  I always pay plenty more than any subscription, in every F2P game, but the fact that I have to keep a running subscription, or resub, when I want to use this alt or that alt is annoying to me. 


 


I just started playing Elderscrolls Online.  One time fee to buy the game and no subscription needed.  All micro transactions after that - which is NOT required to fully enjoy the game.  Having a blast with my 10 alts there and quite possibly going to let most of my subscriptions lapse here.  Tired of having a crappy account management system here and having to use a spreadsheet to do my own account management.


 


(End mini rant)


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Hi,

 

as mentioned Wurm already offers a F2P modus. IMHO it isn't done this well, let's have a look at it:

 

Pro:

The possibilities as F2P are heavily limited, and your choices are few: You'll get killed over and over, no way for the F2P player to evade hell hounds, scorps and trolls.

You'll see all the cool things Premiums can build, and you cannot do it. But you can play F2P forever.

Result: A strong desire to become Premium.

Con:

The possibilities as F2P are heavily limited, and frustration may hit you before you even learned the hidden beauty of Wurm. You'll be the pariah on the server, you'll get chased away from every other deed, and even if you manage to get help & shelter by friendly people, no way to play by your own.

Result: You'll probably drop Wurm before you even started it.

Besides: Fresh F2Ps are, naturally, not really known to "the unwritten rules of behavior in Wurm" - they haven't just learned 'em yet. So they are a constant source of grief, anger and GM work - just because they didn't know. This way they easily, without any mean intentions, spoil the experience of paying Premiums.

It wasn't always like this. Years ago there was a small server named "Golden Valley" where all F2Ps resided. This server still exists, you'll hit it every time you log in, because it's the log-in-server too. Tutorial is in it, additionally.

 

Big problem was that some people stayed there forever. Dunno how big this problem really was, when I was there all the talk was about "getting Premium" and about leaving this island ...

Anyways, this was a newbie/ F2P server with a reduced rate of enemies (max. bears at first, max. wolves later), with a 3x decay for structures, and with a healthy population that offered any newcomer sufficient help & a good experience.

Something like this is lacking, IMHO. You realize me saying "like this"? Because in good old Wurm tradition it was completely dropped once it was seen as not fitting, instead of analyzing and learning of the mistakes, and improving.

This, like any novelty, brought up the subscription numbers for about 6 months, before they declined back to the old values. Not only this, opening Independence for F2Ps (and the mess they created) caused a whole crowd of former long term Premiums to leave for good.

So I'd advocate a "Golden Valley 2.0", using the information we learned to make it a better solution:

  • As mandatory starting area for any newcomer, with a tutorial to the left, and a set of portals to the right. And an exit to "Newbie-land" in the middle ;-)
  • 3x decay, as before. It shouldn't be too easy.
  • No deeds for F2Ps.
  • Usual mobs up to wolves, additionally rare bears, maybe a spider every now and then.
  • Skill cap yes, but not at 20. Large carts should work, riding horses is not necessary. (Cows are good, too ...)
  • No money. Money gained with foraging, butchering, selling to token etc. should be blocked (for later).
  • Maybe a central GM deed as "Wurm exhibition", where all the cool Premium features are displayed, and where Premiums of other servers can "teleport in", but only to chat. No trade. For help.
  • And, with a time limit. 100h play time? Maybe more?

    Idea is to get them ppl hooked. After 100h enjoyable play time, would you start another alt, or better prem your char?

This should be an advanced learning and training area, free from OP monsters, where new players can learn.

They could live in (relative) peace for a while, we Prems would enjoy the lesser pressure every time a new name enters local, and the conversion rate might rise.

Have a good time!

 

PS: And now, you few GV-haters, grab your kindlings!

Edited by Xandra
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You know I never did cast a vote in my post...


 


+1


 


A free to play wurm is something I want to see and, I think, the majority of silent players also do.  It may be worth the devs holding a vote on (just double deed upkeeps/costs and you'd soon make the cash back!)


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Wurm is expensive to play, just because some long time players can play for free doesnt mean its true or achievable for everyone. The cap shouldnt be at 20 instead it should be a total of points like in the old sytem in Ultima Online where you could have 500 or 600 skill points before you hit the cap. That way you can have high skills but eventually will hit a wall when you are at a point where you want to pay to advance. The wall could be lower in wurm perhaps start at 200 or 300.


 


Payment could be through skill books which increase level cap and work similar to meditation system where you can only advance skill point level by studying one book per month. Books could be sold by traders or made by high skill players with a component bought from trader.


 


Priest would still require premium. There could still be a premium system that most long timers would pay but casual players can still enjoy the game from time to time without having to feel the need be either completely in or completely out.


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As several others have stated, one of the benefits to the game community is that free players have certain restrictions placed on them that prevents them from ruining the paying players work, either inadvertently or intentionally. For this reason alone I would never like to see free players have these advantages.


 


Sorry, free players will just have to pay and reach certain skill levels to be able to screw things up. Hopefully by then they will have learned better than to do so.


 


Also, this is a small indie game and needs the premium income to continue to develop in a positive direction. Plenty of the big corporates giving away game time to choose from and become part of the masses.


*waves bye*


 


=Ayes=


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This swedish game has swedish price I suppose, and in swedish  money two months prem (paypal) is worth 3 packs of cigarettes, or 2 big mac.

That  is cheap for two full months (nah 8 weeks  but they call it month)!

 

3 Packs of Cigarettes is only 16e in Sweden?!? 3 packs here is like 30e+

8e per month, with the option of earning it fully in-game for free is a great offer for a game with so much content.

 

F2P has SO MANY issues associated with it, it would destroy Wurm in a couple of weeks.

 

 

Wurm is expensive to play

 

8 euros for potentially 90+ hours of fun is expensive? (That's assuming 3 hours a day, many people play way...way more than that)

Earning 8 silver in-game is easily do-able for a f2p player, it is not restricted to top end accounts, especially now with selling to tokens and finding rare coins.

 

Even if you just buy your first 2 months from the Wurm store for 16 euro. With that, you get 2 months game time + a referral + 2s in your bank. After selling your referral, that's more like 8-9s in your bank, enough for a 3rd months premium. Inside those 3 months, you can easily get your stats high enough to make bulk goods easily and earn enough for 2+ months premium in that time too. After that, you've had 2 months paid for, 1 month from signup bonus and 2 more months just from selling what you make in those first 3.

That's 5 months of fun for 16 euro. Where else are you going to get that? A new xbox game at 60e isn't likely to last 5 months and that's almost 4x the price.

Edited by Outlaw
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As several others have stated, one of the benefits to the game community is that free players have certain restrictions placed on them that prevents them from ruining the paying players work, either inadvertently or intentionally. For this reason alone I would never like to see free players have these advantages.

 

Sorry, free players will just have to pay and reach certain skill levels to be able to screw things up. Hopefully by then they will have learned better than to do so.

 

Also, this is a small indie game and needs the premium income to continue to develop in a positive direction. Plenty of the big corporates giving away game time to choose from and become part of the masses.

*waves bye*

 

=Ayes=

 

Thats a good point that free to play players have nothing to lose by acting like jerks but it can be solved by not allowing them to do certain things.

 

Some people want to play wurm but they dont want to pay for things online using real money. When they run out of silver they quit playing.

Edited by Tsetse

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Some people want to play wurm but they dont want to pay for things online using real money. When they run out of silver they quit playing.

That's their problem if they have that mentality. The world doesn't work like that.

I wonder if those people also expect to walk into a movie theater without a ticket because they want to watch the movie without using real money... or a burger shop... or a sports arena.

-1 OP's idea and -1 to Xandra's GV rehashed.

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That's their problem if they have that mentality. The world doesn't work like that.

I wonder if those people also expect to walk into a movie theater without a ticket because they want to watch the movie without using real money... or a burger shop... or a sports arena.

-1 OP's idea and -1 to Xandra's GV rehashed.

 

Some of them would still be paying and some of them would be around to keep the economy going. Not everyone has a credit card that they want to use online. Wurm is a great game for free to play since they dont have to create new content and expansions like new raid encounters, new music, new character classes, new item sets, new pvp battlegrounds. The cost for each player is actually minimal, more players can only mean more profit for wurm.

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Some of them would still be paying and some of them would be around to keep the economy going. Not everyone has a credit card that they want to use online. Wurm is a great game for free to play since they dont have to create new content and expansions like new raid encounters, new music, new character classes, new item sets, new pvp battlegrounds. The cost for each player is actually minimal, more players can only mean more profit for wurm.

If they're not contributing by buying anything with real life money (because they lack a debit card or access to one... or simply believe they are entitled to free entertainment over the internet), how exactly are they benefiting the game economy or bringing in more profit for Wurm?

A more important question; how are the devs going to make a living with everyone being f2p and harvesting coins in-game that they never paid for?

Because, you know.... we're all not that dumb. If skills go uncapped, none of us are going to continue paying a premium when one can get the benefits for free. Do you really think that I and everyone else will continue to pay premium while others can forego it? C'mon...

Edited by As_I_Decay

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They benefit by keeping paying players in the game, you have someone there who will buy your items. There can still be caps but if the cap is a combined total of a few hundred skill points instead of flat 20 then people can still play the game and contribute but when they want to try new skills they have to buy books to raise the cap.


 


Premium can have other benefits, like sleep bonus only for premium, ability to be priest or use large ships, being able to make books.


 


When more people start playing they can then lower the premium cost.


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No please. 8eur per month is affordable although I play from the lower wages end of Europe. A committed wurmian can easily earn the monthly "rent" as well

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Speaking as someone living and working on the arse end of Africa for an African salary;


A month of premium time is dirt cheap.


Eating out at a restaurant by myself could cost twice as much for a single meal.


 


And it's not exactly an excuse to not have a card in the year 2015, unless you are literally to young to have one.


Edited by Alden

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No Thank you.  Everyone having 50 free alts, can't see that being a problem with PVP LOL.


 


-1


 


and as far as payment options go, you can now use gift cards from Burger King, Subway and various other places. So you can get them at those stores with cash.   And yes I know not all countries have these things, but if you are complianing that you have no payment options, I am betting you are probably too young to have payment options.


Edited by Lolabelle

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-1


It already is fairly free to play. Login, learn the game, forage some silvers, sell some foraged items to a token, take a job contract with another player, save up, buy premium > profit.


8 EUR really isn't a lot for an online game, especially when a lot of them are charging 14+ EUR.


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-1 as well.


 


Wurm premium is dead cheap with 8 Euro per month. And it doesn't even need a subscription.


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It's all ready Free to Play so there ya go Mr. BulkFarmer.


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At the moment a 2 month subscription would be even under $20, that would only be what, a few hours of work to get two months premium time. Subscription costs very little, and in the two months time you can easily make that money back with ingame jobs.


Going to have to say -1.


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