Add a starter planet that is a lvl1 lush. Totally F2P (like a live demo).
Players on this planet can only have 4 plots & one beacon, maximum.
They cannot travel to other planets.
They can only craft the basic machines + the workbench.
No tools beyond copper or iron.
Once a player leaves this planet, they can never return.
Regular players will have no access to this planet.
This might give them some time to learn & play the game…and to get hooked. If they want access to the rest of the Boundless Universe, they have to buy it.
I’ve played games that had a similar set-up where they let you f2p to a certain level or a certain map area. If you decide you like it, you have to pay to get access to the rest.
How about a Free to Play planet with no rules except that free accounts can’t use teleporters or sanctuary warp off planet…? And this is their only planet to spawn on, maybe limit 1 character per account. Or even if there is no character limit, they still can’t leave. Would be interesting to see someone reach lvl 50 without ever leaving the starter world… would be even more interesting to see someone with enough motivation to start forging max lvl gear under these circumstances.
Would be an interesting project to occasionally give out Keys for free accounts just to see where it goes. And they always have the option to buy and upgrade to a real account… maybe 1 free planet per region
I admit, my sleepy mind fog was wondering where this was going until this part. Then it clicked.
This is a good idea! ^^
I’d also suggest putting a level cap of maybe 15 or 20 as well, otherwise we might see something similar to the lvl 1 boar incident that was removed from WoW. ;]
I do not agree with this, even if it is limited to 4 plots, a player can still become somewhat attached to his and/or hers 1st build. I have a 6 plot build on angel I that was my 1st, and while it has been a long time since I have been there. At some point I will go back to it for sentimental reasons.
Forcibly denying a player to his and/or her 1st build, is a kick to the face, even if the player goes in to the situation understanding the fact.
As I mentioned else where. I do not agree with anything that is connected to the main universe that select players, no matter what the reason is, are barred from entering, outside of an GM banning someone from the game.
I hear ya, but I’m talking about a demo basically. Most ppl won’t bother even trying a game for a minute if they have to plunk down $40 and can’t try it first. The “learner planet” has a specific purpose.
I would prefer the demo be done in a time limited way, such that, the player still can access anything and everything he and/or she did, if he and/or her picks to buy the game shorty after playing the demo.
If people haven’t paid the $40 I don’t think they should have the right to the entire universe that everybody else has so I think they need a separate trial planet.
I don’t understand how adding a time limited demo instead of saying “you can never go back to this world” would also mean there would not be a new world?
That is a problem, and therefore the allowed time in the demo would have to reflect that to some degree, but since it is a demo, They don’t need to do mass crafting that take an hour+ to try to get a good feel of the game, simple wandering around, seeing how the game works, and building for 6 to 12 hours or so, i think should give a player enough time to get hooked, or not.
Eh. I still don’t like it, even if it is planned to happen, doesn’t mean there should be even more of a bad thing. I tend to prefer to keep the bad stuff if there is already bad stuff to a minimal, but I understand why they did that, since they supported the game with what, 800USD? I just do not agree with it, but I understand it for that case.
But regardless how it is done. My original point remains. I do not feel a player should be kicked out of his and/or hers 1st build, because that player picks to buy the game. even more so because that build might have been what caused that player to buy the game in the 1st place. they might want to keep working on it. with the better tools and stuff they can not get while in the demo version.
So if there was a free or demo version, the devs would need to figure out what a demo account could and could not do. People are going to want to re-visit their first builds so you probably don’t want to restrict their ability to return. If it’s a T1 planet, us regulars won’t be rushing away from our high end bases to build there anyway, so crowding shouldn’t be an issue.
I would set up demo accounts like this
Level Cap: 50
Max # of Characters: 1
Can use portals: Yes, home planet only
Can warp: Yes, home planet only
Max # of plots: 20
Max # of saved locations: 10
Crafting/Skill restrictions: None
Without help from the outside, these demo players would have an entire planet to roam and could experience what, like 10% of the game? With help, maybe 20%? Having such a generous demo should offer enough of a taste to get players hungry for more, and those with outside help are probably just actual veteran players goofing around.
Edit: I would also say no shared beacon permission access, and no sharing their beacon. Regular players could give them beacon permission, but when they try to interact they receive an error message saying Please buy the game <3
Doesn’t the forge require tech components and/or silver to craft? Neither of those are available at all on starter worlds. So there would be no forging on the demo planet.
“A player can still become somewhat attached to his and/or hers 1st build. I have a 6 plot build on angel I that was my 1st, and while it has been a long time since I have been there. At some point I will go back to it for sentimental reasons”
I here ya, I still miss my ice House in solum some days.
Yes, I agree people can become really attached to their builds.
The idea behind a demo/trial is to give people a chance to play the game for a little bit…to get a little taste. Then they buy the full version.
Almost every large game has something like this…Trove you can get to level 4, Runescape = f2p with very limited gear/map access etc, WoW, city builders same…etc. There should be stuff that they can only access once they’ve paid for the game…something to look forward to. There was one MMO (can’t remember which one) but the demo was limited to something like 10 hours of play time and then you had to buy it.
Having a f2p planet will allow them enough access & time to learn/play to see that the game is awesome & that they should buy it.