The Champions Online team is ready to unleash the PR dogs with the recent announcement of the On Alert! update which is, by all accounts, supposed to be HUGE. We caught up with Rob Overmeyer to ask him a few questions about On Alert. Keep reading!

MMORPG.com: How has the game been since moving to the free to play model?

Rob Overmeyer: Champions Online has enjoyed a great many high-quality content updates and releases since going Free to Play, as well as some excellent Events! From Adventure Packs such as Serpent Lantern and Resistance, to Comic Series like Aftershock and Whiteout, players have had several new story-driven content updates to enjoy. In addition, Events have offered lots of unique encounters, from epic battles with Takofanes or Black Harlequin to special celebrations like the Anniversary Concert featuring Sapphire!

Read more of Garrett Fuller's Champions Online: On Alert Update Interview.

Hey first, first.

I never thought this game was as bad as people made it out to be.  I'm glad to see that they're still trying to support it and bring it up to date.  Kudos

Making Adventure Packs free for everyone was probably the best move they could've done. Although I do wonder how well they have re-balanced the game with On Alert because there was some pretty major tweaking done, if the release notes are any indication.

RIP until they decide to let freebies customize their power choices.

Originally posted by Methos12

Making Adventure Packs free for everyone was probably the best move they could've done. Although I do wonder how well they have re-balanced the game with On Alert because there was some pretty major tweaking done, if the release notes are any indication.

Champions Online is not about play balance.  It's about customization.  It's not like the play balance was great before the patch, either.

"RIP until they decide to let freebies customize their power choices."

So now you're shocked that a subscription game only gives away some things in the free trial rather than everything?

its an awesome game, if your into superheroes. and i am.

They could've locked sets, but locking power customization made it way unbalanced for non-subscription players.

Originally posted by Alphamojo

They could've locked sets, but locking power customization made it way unbalanced for non-subscription players.

Umm... yeah.  That's the point.  If they give away everything for free, then why would anyone subscribe?  It's a very generous free trial as it is.

Obviiously you miss the point...

Is this still a nerf-centric game as it started out to be at release?

I'm glad to see that they're still trying to support it and bring it up to date.  Kudos

Originally posted by adam_nox

Originally posted by Quizzical

"RIP until they decide to let freebies customize their power choices."

So now you're shocked that a subscription game only gives away some things in the free trial rather than everything?

 

There's plenty of things they could monetize, but there's no reason anyone should give this game a chance if they can't even customize their power choices without committing money to these thieves.

Well then, what do you think they should charge for, if not freeform builds?  Do you think it would be a more generous trial if they let you have freeform but capped you at level 15, the way they used to?  They can't reasonably be expected to give away everything for free, and only selling fluff won't fund the game.  I'd much prefer the current subscription model to an item mall where whoever pays the most wins.

Actually many games work just fine making money off of their free model, many times making more than their subscriptions. Star Trek Online is also owned by cryptic, there are no class restrictions over there and the cash shop items aren't super necessary. There's also a way to exchange game currency to other people's cash points, which  I'm not sure as I haven't played in a while but pretty sure Champs never implemented this.

Anyway, I've been hitting alerts for the past few days now and it's the most fun I've had since launch. At first it was chaotic. Remember, this was a complete powers, stats, talent tree and itemization update so we're all effectively playing a new game. Gear need to be equipped back to pre-patch levels and thas gonna take some time. That being said it is pretty cool seeing the different combos that folks come up with. The new talent trees are very well done and even the ATs get some more customization with it, not as much as paying players obviously. Bugs exist but will get ironed out blah blah blah. The point is they renewed the entire core mechanics of the game and it seems very well done.

Originally posted by ahall1983

Actually many games work just fine making money off of their free model, many times making more than their subscriptions. Star Trek Online is also owned by cryptic, there are no class restrictions over there and the cash shop items aren't super necessary. There's also a way to exchange game currency to other people's cash points, which  I'm not sure as I haven't played in a while but pretty sure Champs never implemented this.

I believe the Questionite currency they just implemented in the update Friday sound like it works the same way that Dilithium works in STO, which is the system you're thinking of (that lets you buy points for the cash shop from other players).

Having said that, there are some significant differences between the two games as far as monetization is concerned.  Star Trek is a far more recognizable IP, and a STO character is comprised of a lot of different pieces and systems that I believe is easier to monetize.

This update is really about adding a grind that will encourage people to spend money to overcome the annoyance factor.

Robobo (the interviewee's CO forum handle)  even alluded to this in a forum post where he stated that the update was intended to introduce penalties to be overcome with c-store purchases.

Much of what is going on in this update is the monetization of more of the game, essentially requiring that subscripers pay microtransactions in addition to their subscription fee in order to pursue the upper ends of the game's power curve. Technically one willing to grind (one set of calculations estimated as much as 1.5 million MOD drops...each of the same type so perhaps as many as 4 times that number of actual drops in order to get enough of the type you need...then of course there is the failure chance inherent in combining mods...)

Or you can buy "grab bags" in the c-store in order to gamble for an item that bypasses the grind.

I am hopeful that perhaps eventually things wil turn around for CO, but the current changes are questionable at best. They are designed to increase the cost of experiencing the full scope of the game for those willing to pay to play the game.

it doesn't matter how known an IP is, when you make a good game the IP doesn't have any influence.

just look at guild wars, perfect world, team fortrest 2, etc...

they started out as games barely anyone knew, now they are one of the most famous games out there.

better yet, they are all ether F2P or B2P and everything is available, no stupid archtypes grimping a player and no annoying limits no one likes.

i rather have cryptic revise there idea and make the game truly free, currently it's bad enough they lie to the players with false promises, it's even worse they only think of the player's wallet and not on how to really make the game fun.

i am not gonna go on about the flaws of the game, i don't think i have room enough to write a 20 page post.

It's a free game that allows a bunch of 5 people to group together for some classic super-powered villain-bashing and people still complain.

You want to choose your own powers and be a FreeForm, pay for it, it's not like the game's PvE features anything Archetypes can't handle.

Don't get me wrong, there's much to be desired regarding how Cryptic does certain things, mainly Star Trek Online, but once a game goes F2P and you can play it without paying a cent other than Internet fees, complaining about it seems very entitled and unrealistic.

Originally posted by LordOfPit

It's a free game that allows a bunch of 5 people to group together for some classic super-powered villain-bashing and people still complain.

You want to choose your own powers and be a FreeForm, pay for it, it's not like the game's PvE features anything Archetypes can't handle.

Don't get me wrong, there's much to be desired regarding how Cryptic does certain things, mainly Star Trek Online, but once a game goes F2P and you can play it without paying a cent other than Internet fees, complaining about it seems very entitled and unrealistic.

----------------

 

Except that the increased monetization of the game actually targets paying customers more than it does free players. Monthly subscribers and Lifetimers are the one's being hit by this update.

The update was just what this game was missing to be able to move further in development the team did an excellent job with the planning of the changes.