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[DC Universe Online] Going free-to-play in October

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Posts

  • Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Queue talk about how the game is doomed because they are offering a lifetime subscription.

    From (ugh) IGN:
    IGN: In today's announcement, you pegged lifetime membership at $199 – that's a little more than 13 months. To you, how long does DCUO go on? How long are those servers kicking? Do people need to worry about getting their money's worth?

    Chris Cao: Frankly, it's a golden opportunity. We're going to be here for far more than a single year. We've got a lot of universe to build, and we're not going to stop anytime soon. If you take your math and only double it, the value grows. If you take your math and spread it across five years… or more… well, there's no better value for your entertainment dollar.

    I'm sorry, but that answer is so cookie-cutter I'm going to use it for my holiday baking.

    Doctor Detroit on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • PonyPony Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    lifetime subscriptions are an ugly cash grab for when you have no faith in your game's longevity

    see: Hellgate London, Champions Online

    Pony on
  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2010
    LotRO Star Trek.

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Queue talk about how the game is doomed because they are offering a lifetime subscription.
    ssshhhh we're still discussing how this is game is doomed because it offers less tweaking options than CoH.

    Aldo on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!
    I'm sorry, but why? We've got a stable client, relatively balanced powers and enough content in to get characters to max level. Are we still missing social features like friendslists and guilds? D:

    Aldo on
  • MadroxMadrox NYRegistered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Aldo wrote: »
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!
    I'm sorry, but why? We've got a stable client, relatively balanced powers and enough content in to get characters to max level. Are we still missing social features like friendslists and guilds? D:

    not really balanced anymore since the change to energy recharge. healers are borked.

    Madrox on
  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2010
    Aldo wrote: »
    Queue talk about how the game is doomed because they are offering a lifetime subscription.
    ssshhhh we're still discussing how this is game is doomed because it offers less tweaking options than CoH.

    Shi... I'll just stand in line over there then.:arrow:

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!

    Welcome to every MMO beta ever in the history of MMO betas. Remember, WoW was released missing a ton of content - especially in terms of zones being relatively unfinished (i.e. Azshara, Silithus, Deadwind Pass, etc), no real PvP to speak of (you could pvp but it didn't do anything - honor, battlegrounds or any of that didn't exist), only two raids, and so many bugs you'd think the game was still in alpha.


    P.S. - I should probably play this since I got a beta key, but Cataclysm keeps eating my time :P

    Warlock82 on
    Switch: 2143-7130-1359 | 3DS: 4983-4927-6699 | Steam: warlock82 | PSN: Warlock2282
  • Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Warlock82 wrote: »
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!

    Welcome to every MMO beta ever in the history of MMO betas. Remember, WoW was released missing a ton of content - especially in terms of zones being relatively unfinished (i.e. Azshara, Silithus, Deadwind Pass, etc), no real PvP to speak of (you could pvp but it didn't do anything - honor, battlegrounds or any of that didn't exist), only two raids, and so many bugs you'd think the game was still in alpha.


    P.S. - I should probably play this since I got a beta key, but Cataclysm keeps eating my time :P

    The thing is, when WoW was released, what else was out there? When DCUO comes out, Cataclysm is out there. Its been said before but it bears repeating, the playerbase expects current-WoW polish in newly-released MMOs.

    And your postscript, I second that. :P

    Doctor Detroit on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Madrox wrote: »
    Aldo wrote: »
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!
    I'm sorry, but why? We've got a stable client, relatively balanced powers and enough content in to get characters to max level. Are we still missing social features like friendslists and guilds? D:

    not really balanced anymore since the change to energy recharge. healers are borked.

    Oh. :( I haven't played in a while.

    So friendslists and guilds are in then?

    Aldo on
  • MadroxMadrox NYRegistered User regular
    edited December 2010
    hey now, either of those keys for the ps3 version?

    i could keep it warm, yknow. for the holidays. 8-)

    Madrox on
  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Hmm, if this releases close to what it is now and I buy it, I see the same think happening as when I preordered STO. I'll play for a few weeks, then cancel before the free month is up, coming back on and off throughout the life of the game.

    Docshifty on
  • Warlock82Warlock82 Never pet a burning dog Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Warlock82 wrote: »
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!

    Welcome to every MMO beta ever in the history of MMO betas. Remember, WoW was released missing a ton of content - especially in terms of zones being relatively unfinished (i.e. Azshara, Silithus, Deadwind Pass, etc), no real PvP to speak of (you could pvp but it didn't do anything - honor, battlegrounds or any of that didn't exist), only two raids, and so many bugs you'd think the game was still in alpha.


    P.S. - I should probably play this since I got a beta key, but Cataclysm keeps eating my time :P

    The thing is, when WoW was released, what else was out there? When DCUO comes out, Cataclysm is out there. Its been said before but it bears repeating, the playerbase expects current-WoW polish in newly-released MMOs.

    And your postscript, I second that. :P

    Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, and pretty soon after Everquest 2. But you're right. The way I see it, the MMO genre is kind of a no-win genre since you are competing against someone who has been improving their product for the last six years (probably eight or more total when you factor in initial dev time). And you're expected to do that much effort with about a year of dev time. Not gonna happen.

    Only real way to compete with WoW is to *not* compete with it. Come up with something really original that is different enough to attract customers.

    Warlock82 on
    Switch: 2143-7130-1359 | 3DS: 4983-4927-6699 | Steam: warlock82 | PSN: Warlock2282
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Warlock82 wrote: »
    Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, and pretty soon after Everquest 2. But you're right. The way I see it, the MMO genre is kind of a no-win genre since you are competing against someone who has been improving their product for the last six years (probably eight or more total when you factor in initial dev time). And you're expected to do that much effort with about a year of dev time. Not gonna happen.

    Only real way to compete with WoW is to *not* compete with it. Come up with something really original that is different enough to attract customers.
    Seriously, there's enough folks who loathe WoW and everything it stands for and even more folks who have grown bored of WoW's setting. A new fantasy MMO doesn't have to be that different from WoW, it just needs to be run by different people and not have close to a decade of history attached to it.

    Aldo on
  • Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    The only way to win, is to not play the game. :D

    But the other problem is, the media and the general public will hear "MMO" and thing "Warcraft". So even if it is different enough, that message may not get through.

    Also, my beta key is for the machine that really does everything. :P And my goal is to get it installed tonight.

    Doctor Detroit on
  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    I hope they're planning on getting cross platform sorted out. Was talking with my old friends the other day and it was like "Oh you're in the DCUO Beta? Me too! Pretty cool, huh? You gonna get it?" And of course, every single one is buying it on the PS3. The console I don't have.

    So infuriating.

    Docshifty on
  • MaouMaou Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    So is this game going to die or survive at it's current state?
    Jan 11.

    Reason why WoW is King = It has been polished over the years.

    It's pretty much impossible to release a pay to play mmo as polished as WoW.

    Maou on
  • ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    LotRO Star Trek.

    This. Lifetime subscriptions are by no means a cash grab on a failing product by default.


    Some companies use the money as actual start up funding to help spur development on at an accelerated pace, you know, like a real business!


    In fact even Champions did this before it got side-lined in favor of making Star Trek Online awesome. Champions problem was less it being a cash grab, and more their original executive developers apparently having fuck-all knowledge on how to design a balanced game.

    Just because there's been a few sleazy companies in the past does not automatically mean that every company that offers a lifetime sub is out to dick you over.


    That being said. I do not believe this game will be ready for release in three weeks.

    This reeks of executive meddling from someone higher up in the chain of command at SOE. I can't recall a single time off-handedly where a MMO release date was actually pushed forward. Nevermind the sudden offering of lifetime subs where there was no intention of doing that previously.


    If you have to look for a reason to be wary, I would be leery of this, if only because it's SOE. SOE has a rich and detailed history of putting the almighty dollar before their customers and the quality of their own games.

    Archonex on
  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    So people on the forum's are already placing dates on when the game will go F2P. Comparing it to CO and claiming extra time the DC license gives it, 2 years?

    I, I've avoided so far. I really have, but I had to mention that CO went completely silent for like, nine months, having all the focus shifted to STO. I had to mention this and I don't even want to see the replies.

    Docshifty on
  • ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    This game really could be something. It's got enough "character", to be one of the big MMO's of it's time. The content is, largely finished, from a gameplay perspective. And the powers are relatively balanced (Outside of the fucking CC spam in PVP.).


    They just need to get all the VA's in, polish the content, and clean up the bugs. Which is not a three week task.


    Anyone else encounter Batman in Gotham yet? I was playing my villain, when all of a sudden I heard him talking to me from somewhere else on the roof top. As I was slinking around paranoid and looking for him, he suddenly swooped down on me from a higher point on the rooftop.

    Dick kicked me off of the top of the roof before swooping away. Superdickery is alive and well, apparently. :lol:



    Apparently every major hero and villain from DC is actually an active NPC in the game, and they react accordingly to you depending on whether you're a hero or villain. IE, Batman will jump you and rough you up if he sees you as a villain in Gotham, Superman will try to intimidate you into doing the right thing, but will only stare angrily at you unless you attack him (Then the pain comes.), etcetera etcetera.

    Archonex on
  • darkmayodarkmayo Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    does Power Girl beat the living snot out of you if you stare at her rack too much?

    darkmayo on
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  • Modern ManModern Man Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Archonex wrote: »
    This game really could be something. It's got enough "character", to be one of the big MMO's of it's time. The content is, largely finished, from a gameplay perspective. And the powers are relatively balanced (Outside of the fucking CC spam in PVP.).
    You can't really overstate the importance of having a game based on something as familiar as the DC Universe IP. Champions is sort of the picked over corpse of the aborted Marvel MMO. That was one of my problems with the game- it was tough to get immersed in the backstory because I didn't really have any attachment to characters like Defender or Dr. Destroyer.

    But a game where Batman occasionally shows up to kick your ass if you're a villain, or you get to see the Outsiders drinking at that metahuman bar in Metropolis? That's some awesome immersion right there. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the IP will be able to dive right in.

    I think this game could do really well. But the developers seem to have made a few strange design decisions (such as how the customization options look more limited than either CoX or CO).

    As for the lifetime subscriptions, I don't think that should bother anyone. $199 now is worth more to a company than probably 3+ years of monthly subscription fees. Plenty of perfectly respectable companies give you a discount for paying your entire balance ahead of time.

    Modern Man on
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  • Doctor DetroitDoctor Detroit Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    So I think I waited too long to claim my beta key. I keep getting errors when I try and enter the key and start the download.

    Damn you, Cataclysm! :P

    Doctor Detroit on
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Aldo wrote: »
    Klyka wrote: »
    I thought this was supposed to release in April?

    With the state the Beta is in, there is NO WAY they can release this in just 3 weeks!
    I'm sorry, but why? We've got a stable client, relatively balanced powers and enough content in to get characters to max level. Are we still missing social features like friendslists and guilds? D:

    I haven't had time to hop in for a few weeks, but no, friends and supergroups haven't been on any patch notes I've seen.

    Scooter on
  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2010
    darkmayo wrote: »
    does Power Girl beat the living snot out of you if you stare at her rack too much?

    At least in the comics she is kinda resigned to the fact now that it is just gonna happen and doesn't get angry. That one dude in the vest and the speedo tread hard on her last nerve though.

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    More importantly, now you can stare up Supergirl's skirt whenever you want.

    Scooter on
  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2010
    Is she wearing the bike shorts on under it like in the comics? Inquiring minds want to know!

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • MaouMaou Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Is she wearing the bike shorts on under it like in the comics? Inquiring minds want to know!

    Wait for the nude patch?

    Maou on
  • Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2010
    Come on man, what kind of joke setup is that? Give me something to work with here!

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
  • AstaleAstale Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Picked up Batman:AA during the christmas sale, and I'm going to reiterate what I'm pretty sure I commented long ago:

    They should have just made it Gotham Online and every player starts out as either a regular thug or masked (but normal) vigilante, and you pick up powers as you level up, either better fighting techniques ("normal" people like Gordon or Joker, in that they're still human) or mutations or such (Poison Ivy, Killer Croc kind of stuff). That'd allow the game to be very personal in nature, since you're literally building your hero/villian up as you level, and not just "look, Iceman33 just got another ice power!"

    I guess that's what's really bugging me, the game just doesn't seem to have a soul. There isn't any real personal advancement other than 'ding' and better gear, and you can't even customize your character as much as those other hero games. And to me, superhero stories are character stories above all, and I don't really see how this game provides that (though to be fair, I had to do a lot of mental stretching in CoX and CO even with the additions those games had, but they worked).



    Oh well. I mean, it's not the game I wanted it to be, but if DCUO is still 'around' (as in not floundering) in a few months, and is actually seeing regular updates without Sony screwing it up royally somehow, I'd still pick it up and join in. It's not THAT BAD after all, it's just the question is if it's 'that good' enough to not die in the shadow of WoW as so many other games have done.

    Astale on
  • sidhaethesidhaethe Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Given the abrupt 1/11 release date, I'm suddenly less confident SOE will be able to do the 'new content every month' thing they were talking about. But hey, maybe they'll pull it off. I don't enjoy seeing MMOs fail, so I wish them luck.

    As for floundering in WoW's shadow, I just don't see superhero games, period, as competing for that audience. My husband and I had a LOT of fun playing with the beta, but we ended up cancelling our pre-orders because ultimately we just can't get pulled into a comic-book world the way we are with high-fantasy games. I think there is overlap in the audiences, to be sure, but I think comic-book videogame fans and high-fantasy MMO fans (not console fans and MMO fans) are looking for different things overall.

    sidhaethe on
  • KlykaKlyka DO you have any SPARE BATTERIES?Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Ok I now played it with the newest patch and I am convinced. They can release it in January.

    Klyka on
    SC2 EU ID Klyka.110
    lTDyp.jpg
  • ShanadeusShanadeus Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    I really think they'd be better off delaying it with just 3-4 more weeks and cut out a couple of more bugs.

    Shanadeus on
  • FoefallerFoefaller Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    So, who is planning on picking this up?

    I'm kinda on the fence. While I'm having a blast in the beta, I'm not 100% convinced they can dish out enough new content to keep me beyond a couple months. Then again, "A couple months" past thier launch would bring it close to SWTOR's planned release, so maybe, at least in my case, they don't have to...

    Either way, if there's a number of fellow PAers looking to playing this when it hits live, the amount of entertainment I'm getting out of it now would make it worth it.

    Foefaller on
    steam_sig.png
  • ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Just a heads up, but the newest patch for the actual beta servers hosed up the game's balance and entertainment factor terribly. I don't know if it's breaking the NDA to say this, but the beta forums are pretty much on fire over this, since the game is all but unplayable, especially compared to how fun it was before.


    For those who don't know, it looks like they've basically pulled the same schtick the CO developers and a ton of freebie MMO's in beta did. Only instead of bait and switching folks at release in an attempt to retain subs longer by upping the difficulty, they've pushed the changes through in late beta. Which has not made a good deal of people happy.

    There are some some serious balance issues now, like people in the best gear in the game verifiably being no longer able to beat the end-game bosses without heavily exploiting bugs. A good deal of the alerts are damn near unwinnable now without heavily exploiting bugs or doing them when you're overleveled.

    I should also mention that doing the alerts when you're overleveled is pointless, unless you want a special costume part, as their main reward, aside from the story, are the kickass statted items they give you.


    In fact, it's so bad, that basic mobs like lieutenants are now more of a threat then most bosses. A group of mobs in a dungeon (And these are the cheap hired help in most cases. Gangsters off the street.) are kicking the asses of super-heroes.



    Needless to say, outside of the e-peen wanking thirteen year olds who want a "hardcore" game, pretty much noone is happy about this.

    The game's less "Arkham Asylum the MMO" and more "World of Warcraft" now, given the heavy reliance on roles and need to bring a competent healer and tank to alerts.




    EDIT: As an example from my own experiences, I just ran the Ultra Humanite alert a few hours ago on a new character and we only beat the final boss because we had a level thirty yanking the swarm of insanely powerful lieutenants that were spawning nonstop off of us while we suicided the boss.

    To clarify. A max level character was needed for us to beat the damn boss. Which is a far cry from the dynamic battlefield sort of thing the developers had going on before.

    Also, that level thirty was the only reason we got past the first objective without having all our gear break on us, since the NPC's are viciously powerful now. Kudos to that guy for taking the time to help us, since he sure as shit didn't get anything useful from the loot drops.


    Even then, it took us a full fifteen to twenty minutes of nonstop combat to take down this one boss. That was after we found a way to glitch the boss into not murdering us horribly in five hits. I should also mention that I switched my character over to a tank build and was still getting my ass kicked. Each hit was knocking off up to 1/5th of my HP bar. Even a healer at that level couldn't heal through that level of DPS.

    By the time I was done, almost all of my gear was busted. This was also not a unique experience for me at all since the patch went through.


    Also, on top of all of that, they boosted the prices for everything while severely nerfing the rate you gain money.

    Those soda's you need to be constantly chugging to stay standing now? Fucking expensive. The tier 2 soda (Which you will need to use when you first gain access to it. And you will die in instances, solo, or group, without.) easily costs a sixth of my cash, per healing item. That means that if I want to stay reliably stocked with healing items, i've got to grind my ass off to find items I can sell to the vendors.


    Suffice it to say that i've shelved the beta and i've considered canceling my pre-order if this crap isn't sorted out by release. There's difficult, and there's fucking tedious. This game is currently way into the realm of the latter for me.

    Archonex on
  • AstaleAstale Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Sure it's not just some weird bug doubling every non-boss mob's attack rate?

    I ask that silly question because CO actually once introduced a bug that did just that on a patch day.




    Oh that was a funny one.

    Astale on
  • ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    No. The patch boosted NPC strength to an insane level, since apparently the developers felt the players thought the game was "too easy" (Note: Noone except for a very small number of people wanting the "Vanilla WoW Raid" experience was saying that. It was pretty much perfect before.).


    There is an issue with certain attacks happening too fast, looking at a bug report. But i'm not familiar with that one, and it isn't what i'm talking about. The feature i'm talking was is a massive increase to mob strength and durability across the board. To the point where a bunch of guys with crowbars and pistols can take out Superman style heroes and villains, which are supposed to be the "tanks" of the game.


    Which, if it weren't so fucking infuriating, would honestly be kind of funny to watch. When I think of Darkseid expy's and ripoffs, I don't think of them being subdued by a belligerent college campus security guard with a baton (I actually saw this happen.).



    Edit: Apparently, some min-max builds like Sorcery/Fly (IE, the "spam ranged skills and stack power boosting stats build". This build basically reduces mobs to their pathetically weak ranged attack, and gives you the range to dodge most of those attacks by moving constantly while firing off skills or decently powerful ranged attacks.) aren't having too much trouble with this patch. But then, that's not a good thing. For a game that touts a fairly decent power customization system, you want all but the worst builds to at least be viable.

    Archonex on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    As much as I enjoyed closed beta I'm not touching MMOs that are fresh out the womb any more. I'll give it a few months or more to see how they're going to manage this game. It is SOE after all.

    *e: ooooh yea the beta forums are NOT AMUSED. Apparently someone suggested you're supposed to run away more often and plan ahead more. Everyone's reaction to this is "bitch, we're roleplaying god damned superheroes in an action game".

    *ee: quote of the day. Why do I play superhero mmos? "It saves me wandering about town in tights and a cape beating crackheads with a golf club."

    Aldo on
  • PikaPuffPikaPuff Registered User regular
    edited December 2010
    Archonex wrote: »
    qq

    You should have picked up regen.
















    I keed, I KEED!

    PikaPuff on
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