Radaxys

Impractical? Why? You find this type of metered usage everywhere....phones, internet, rides at a carnival, taxes, buses, planes, coffee shops, arcades, the list goes on. It is not new to the world, just video games. I don't see what is so hard for people to understand. You take the average of time of all players in the game, for illustrations sake say "1.5 hours a day" = 45 hours a month = 30cents an hour. Then we do a simple comparison..... If someone plays 20 hours this month they are charged $6. If someone plays 30 hours this month they are charged $9. And for the die-hards set the cap at $15 for the month even if you play more than 45 hours. Now, how does this change the dynamic??? Well, NQ still gets paid, yay! It opens it up to a larger spectrum of people with time limitations. And allows the player to evaluate and make decisions based on RL. If I take 3 weeks off from the game, I still pay for my time playing without having to worry about paying pointlessly for my NON-play time. It will also make my investment in the game mean a little more without taking away my freedom. Whether or not you think this argument is irrelevant, is irrelevant. This argument takes into consideration more people than just yourself. Thinking about other people and their lifestyles, is not a new concept either, you should try it sometime. This entire game is being built in order to utilize teams and community. So before you write someone off, how about you pause for a second and think about someone other than yourself.

I think everyone "can" afford it if they so choose. The question is..... "Is it worth it?" A nice easy answer says, "If the game is good enough, then it is worth it." However, when considering someone who has a limited amount of time to play the game (Job/Travel), that person must also consider if their limited amount of time spent is worth it. Personally, I would love to play games everyday, and if I could put in 2-10 hours a day to play the best game ever, then a sub is no problem. But if I only have a few hours to play a week/month then maybe the cost is not worth it for me. Someone pays $15 and gets to play 2-10 hours a day. I pay $15 and get to play 2-10 hours A MONTH. There is a big difference, and it doesn't matter how good the game is. Can I afford the sub? sure, but I can't always afford the time + the sub. I would much rather play a game, where I can take 2-3 weeks off from playing and not have to pay for that time that I am not actually playing. Free to play is broken = Agreed. Unfortunately, no one has been creative enough to come up with a NEW model that incorporates casual players or sporadic players (due to job, etc).

If there should be any type of subscription model it should be something new, redesigned for our modern times. Pay for Time. Like a prepaid phone or gift card. If I only play 12 hours a month, I only pay for 12 hours a month. If I play 300 hours in a month then I pay for 300 hours. The hours would only count down WHILE LOGGED ON AND PLAYING. No offline cost. It could even be on a scale with varying preset amount of hours. You could put a cap on it too. If a person reaches the top tear (say $15) then the rest of the month is unlocked. So = pay per hour OR $15 a month. This model benefits the casual player while also supporting the long term gamer. I get the server costs. I get that you must pay your employees. Is there another way to bring in income then through taxing the players? Maybe.... with some creativity. I love the ideas of this game, I see this as a stepping stone to what games should/will be like in the future. Secondly, However, NQ has designed a game mechanic, players then build and inhabit the game. There are no quests, NPC, voices, NPC animations, dialogue, buildings, (exterior/interior) etc in this game!!!!! Those things listed are the majority of the cost for any game. That is why games cost 10s of millions of follars to make because all the cost is in designing the stuff that inhabits the game. And DU has none of it. Why? Because the players design all of those things. Essentially, the players are the ones who design and run this game. I love this idea of giving players full reign of building the game. I think this idea will help to reform the future of gaming. I am glad that since NQ does not have to deal with all of the individual NPC design they can put more effort into the working mechanics. But as fun as building is, you are charging us to develop that part of the game for you. Which is really funny to think about. My hope is that NQ will not become a dead game simply based on cost vs product. They are building a giant box and then expecting people to pay money regularly to help build the rest of the game. Lastly, future content is not the biggest issue. NQ will continue to better their game and upkeep the servers. The problem is this....... both rl money and in-game DAC model for payment benefits people who have lots of time to play. For those who do not have hours upon hours to throw into a game because of RL, the cost is problem. Not because we don't want the game to make money, but because cost vs time. I am not going to go to theme park for 30min and purchase an all day pass. And I simply do not wish to pay the full monthly price and only put in 12 hours of game-play for the MONTH. It is just not worth it. So, maybe this game is ONLY for people who don't have jobs, or families, or any RL. If there should be any type of subscription model it should be something new, redesigned for our modern times. Pay for Time. Like a prepaid phone or gift card. If I only play 12 hours a month, I only pay for 12 hours a month. If I play 300 hours in a month then I pay for 300 hours. The hours would only count down WHILE LOGGED ON AND PLAYING. No offline cost. It could even be on a scale with varying preset amount of hours. You could put a cap on it too. If a person reaches the top tear (say $15) then the rest of the month is unlocked. So = pay per hour OR $15 a month. This model benefits the casual player while also supporting the long term gamer.