After the complete waste of time that was the recent CPM elections. I got thinking about what creates an engaged MMO community.

Part of it would be having a product that is fun and encourages people to spend time building and creating a lasting impact on the game (which dust does not have). But I wonder if part of it is due to the subscription model.

A monthly subscription (such as in EVE) creates a sense of investment. Players want to protect and continue to build upon their investment because they have spent money and time creating it. Players have an vested interest in the game. They like the game enough to continue investing money into it for access. It creates a more engaged community (but players can also go overboard with their sense of entitlement).

Free-to-play games don't seem to create an engaged community to the same degree. Why get passionate about something that has cost you nothing to create. If you choose to walk away from a game, all you are losing is your time.

The above are just some of my random thoughts. What do you think? Do you think Legion could survive with a subscription model? Or maybe an optional subscription that gives VIP benefits (access to certain customization, special quarters, rainbow rockets)? Or maybe stick with full free-to-play?

Sorry, Ghural. I have to agree with Hawk-Eye on this. Time is money and you can't argue with that at all. And unlike paper or internet money, you can't get a refund on Time itself. Once you waste it, it's gone. There are still people in Dust who are still playing the game mainly because they are already invested in it and are waiting for CCP to transfer their characters over to Legion when the time comes. No need for a subscription model here.

Sorry. But you guys have completely missed the point. Well done.

And where did I say that time isn't a commodity?. Nice technique. Insert meaning that wasn't there, then argue against it. All I said was that all you have wasted in was time... not that time didn't have value.

Exceptions
Free-to-play games are exempt from this requirement and can be played online with no PS Plus subscription. Examples of games that fall into this category are: Blacklight Retribution, DC Universe Online, and War Frame.

Sorry. But you guys have completely missed the point. Well done.

And where did I say that time isn't a commodity?. Nice technique. Insert meaning that wasn't there, then argue against it. All I said was that all you have wasted in was time... not that time didn't have value.

Free-to-play games don't seem to create an engaged community to the same degree. Why get passionate about something that has cost you nothing to create. If you choose to walk away from a game, all you are losing is your time.

Why get passionate about something that has cost you nothing to create. [...] all you are losing is your time.

I think CCP is trying to grow their player base, not shrink it.

Well having it free to play failed to achieve that. And EVE subscriptions apparently continue to increase.

I'm not saying that a subscription is necessarily the answer, rather to have a discussion on the merits of each option.

Well having it free to play failed to achieve that. And EVE subscriptions apparently continue to increase.

I'm not saying that a subscription is necessarily the answer, rather to have a discussion on the merits of each option.

One of the greatest selling points of DUST and Legion is that your friends can come and try it and play with you without spending money to do so.

Yeah, but most corps the existing players are in don't accept trial accounts, and you need more than a couple weeks to get into EVE, to be honest.

After the complete waste of time that was the recent CPM elections. I got thinking about what creates an engaged MMO community.

Part of it would be having a product that is fun and encourages people to spend time building and creating a lasting impact on the game (which dust does not have). But I wonder if part of it is due to the subscription model.

A monthly subscription (such as in EVE) creates a sense of investment. Players want to protect and continue to build upon their investment because they have spent money and time creating it. Players have an vested interest in the game. They like the game enough to continue investing money into it for access. It creates a more engaged community (but players can also go overboard with their sense of entitlement).

Free-to-play games don't seem to create an engaged community to the same degree. Why get passionate about something that has cost you nothing to create. If you choose to walk away from a game, all you are losing is your time.

The above are just some of my random thoughts. What do you think? Do you think Legion could survive with a subscription model? Or maybe an optional subscription that gives VIP benefits (access to certain customization, special quarters, rainbow rockets)? Or maybe stick with full free-to-play?

Well having it free to play failed to achieve that. And EVE subscriptions apparently continue to increase.

I'm not saying that a subscription is necessarily the answer, rather to have a discussion on the merits of each option.

Subscriptions do not equal actual players.

Regardless of whether one person owns three accounts or three people own one each, total subscriptions have increased. In any case, it is just as simple (even easier) for one person to open multiple accounts in a free to play game.

If Legion does go pure free to play, I guess the question becomes, how do you convince players to voluntarily part with their money? I don't know what the conversion rate for Dust was but I'm going to guess it was really low, that players weren't happy to spend money on destructible items, and that once they reached a certain point in terms of SP (full proto gear for example), the necessity to buy boosters isn't there any more.

Speaking of boosters in one sense Dust514 did have an optional subscription in the form of the 30 day boosters. Did people think they were worth the money for the accelerated skill gain.

I found them useful but expensive.

If they were to have something similar in Legion, would 30 days accelerated skill gain be value enough? Or should a 30 booster/VIP access come with other perks?

Regardless of whether one person owns three accounts or three people own one each, total subscriptions have increased. In any case, it is just as simple (even easier) for one person to open multiple accounts in a free to play game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhz9OXy86a0&list=UUCODtTcd5M1JavPCOr_Uydg

That is all.

Multiboxing on a FPS game is allmost impossible. You need 100% of your attention to stay alive with 1 char. Dust/Legion is not something that you can solo with 3 accounts at once all by yourself. If you think so then go ahead and try to provide OB support in PC matches and actually participate properly in the match (sitting in the MCC does not count).

Eve is a scrub game that has aswell 3rd party software that helps you to multibox cause all you gotta do is mirror your clicks on the other accoutns which then do exactly the same. Point and click has nothing to do with situtational awareness and actual gungame skill.

i didnt sayd that multiboxing is impossible without 3rd party software. But it makes it much more comfortable. And whats wrong with trying other stuff out with alt chars? Wheres the problem with that? Its not like you have all abilitys at once on a single char. And im strictly against multiboxing on any game cause it ruins the feel of a MMO where every 1 has a role that they are specialised in. Its even insulting cause with multiboxing you say to every other honest player in the game
"haha scrubs go and suck it i can do everything by myself at once."