I think I'll give it a try. I never played a super hero mmo before.

What they fail to realize is it has nothing to do with the cost but the games just aren't good. I really doubt that these life time free trials will get anymore people in than the 7 day ones because people just don't stay past their first play time if they aren't enjoying themselves.

The next big MMO will be the one that innovates because right now people are tired of playing the same old recycled bullshit. As soon as you log into these games you just get the feeling "I've done this all in WoW back in 2004 and WoW did it 10 times better" and I got tired of WoW and want something new.

That's why out of the few friends that found a new MMO after WoW brought them into the genre,  the only one they moved to was EVE.

I think Cryptic just killed themselves. The beauty of their games isn't the higher lvl content, once you hit lvl 15 you end up going back and building another character anyways.  The cool part of their games is the character creator, not the end game content.  In fact given the option I would make my account lvl this just so I could go back after 15 lvls and rebuild my character over again and create new characters over again.

I think now I am going to get rid of my current sub with CO (which I was thinking about doing anyways) and just go this route.

In this economy with companies competing for subs, I think this is a EXCELLENT thing. I am glad my buddies at Biomythic finnaly came up with a epic idea that others take note.

This is a good, good trend. Anyone who thinks free play time is a bad idea...well you have to much money, send me some.

I might download this just to keep tabs on the game.

Worst case, my kid enjoys building characters.

Originally posted by Hrica

In this economy with companies competing for subs, I think this is a EXCELLENT thing. I am glad my buddies at Biomythic finnaly came up with a epic idea that others take note.

This is a good, good trend. Anyone who thinks free play time is a bad idea...well you have to much money, send me some.

Agreed. I think every MMO should have an endless early level try out.

Well, people can use the hero builder for free now, im not sure why anyone would pay for the game as it is.   It was my biggest regret as a game purchase in years (I paid full retail, since I was looking forward to this game, for years).

Theres only one reason as to why they're doing this after only 3-4 months after release - subscriber numbers are falling flat, fast. Theres just no way they sat round and thought hey this would be a cool idea for players. The exact same reason WAR is offering a similar option. 

 Its a shame Cryptic didn't focus on one MMO, but launching 2 within around 6 months of each other is an insanely ambitious task.

In general, this is one mmo trend that's good to hear of.

They should make it as easy as possible for people to try the game.

Its up to level 15 but you cannot leave the starting area.. the quests there should only get you up to level 6 or so and you will need to grind the rest of it.. or I missed some quest hubs.

Originally posted by Halow

Its up to level 15 but you cannot leave the starting area.. the quests there should only get you up to level 6 or so and you will need to grind the rest of it.. or I missed some quest hubs.

You can finish the zone at lv.6 you just have to finish the Public Quest thing.

But yeah this trial is a complete waste of time, lv.15 my ass I mean....the first zone is by far the worst and can be completed in roughly an hour. Whoever thought this trial scheme was a good idea to limit players to the first zone should be fired / put to work in the mail room.

Doesn't even give you a preview of how a character will play and such...should at least open 2 or 3 zones and let people play with the Travel Powers.\

/rant wasted my time last night on this.

 Its a tough market right now. Everyone is skeptical and everyone is quick to jump on the hate bandwagon. Cryptic got what they deserved to an extent for trying to make a CoH 1.5. This new trend only seems to be by games which are struggling to stay above water and hope people like the first few levels enough to continue. The unlimited part is kind of dumb except for the ability to hop in game and keep tabs on it. I sort of like what FE is doing with limited time trials so people get a solid feel for the game but the game isnt polluted with what a everyday trial seems to bring. 

People being able to try the game is important but in reality what do you learn from a trial you can play levels 1-10 or 15 on that you cant figure out in a few days. Its desperate.

the game looks like failing from the $$$$$ expected so they are trying all the ways to boost their pockets...

with all the free crap games online,  i wont spend any $$ on online game... more power to f2p!

and before the flames against the free games quality start, its about bussines, not quality here... if u arent some kind of hardcore game ( about gametime spended on a game in total  in months, not by day ) and with all these new free games launched every month even with crap u can always spend one week at each and lost some funny hours without $$$ enjoying the full game system not with a dog-collar... if u wanna something special "that in principle dont affect the wholle system", just use the cash shop cos all free games actualy arent that free as some of you free game haters think ^^ some are even more unscrupulous than the p2p ones...

some other bad examples of this = DungeonDragon online is now as free as these ones ^^.... and many more other p2p failed and ll fail too, also a lot of free too, if its not good ll fail ... can be p2p or free, but p2p ll fail from higher places =P

Sounds good to me. Character creation is the best part of the game. My fun factor with CO declined generally after logging in with my hero.

To do this shows a weakness of sort in my opinion.  I mean it is a good idea to try to get new players to join the game, but I personally think it ruins the game in a sense and also shows that it is in decline.

Some words in the title of this thread is already very inviting: Levels 1-15, Free and Forever.
One way to get everyone to atleast give it a go, but imo in reality you will be greatly dissappointed and somewhat fooled.

Levels 1-15: The given missions and some extra ones like "lost cat" and "police car" will get you somewhere at level 6. Although it starts out as fun making your way to level 6. It only takes a short time to get to that level,  which makes it too short to get a feel for the game.

I suggest not to go through the whole city after you done the last thing in the starter area, you end up exploring an empty city with nothing to do or kill. Instead just go back into the headquarters and just choose to go back to the invasion.

Only then you'll able to grindfest your way from level 6 to 15. Yes the word "grind", people want to be entertained not feel like it is a grind. Sending out a wrong message here.

Free and Forever: Sounds nice, but the starter area is so short and you do not even have your travel power or dabble with other powers and stats. For me those would be the things that would pull me over the edge and buy the game and give it atleast a month a try to see if the content is enjoyable enough to make me wanna stay longer.

Conclusion: This is the wrong way to really get new subs or get people excited. The thanksgiving free playtime was a much better approach. You got further and you were able to dabble with a lot of things and once the days were over, you just craved for more.

In short:

This demo is too short to really get a feel what CO is all about. Although the words like lvl 15, free, unlimited playtime sound so sweet, someone failed to mention that it is only enjoyable to play from level 1-6 and the rest is grind.

To top it off:

They still haven't fixed the last part where you fight along side Defender. The NPC gets stuck behind a pilar and when going to the last panel, the npc also gets stuck in front of closed doors(were the doors suppose to open?). When you figured it out you'll have to walk around the room to get to the last panel, after that you do not know where to go and a minute goes by(which feels like is the game pausing? What am I waiting for?) suddenly a door is blinking with the npc spawning right in front of that door( I would assume he walk and fight with you, not suddenly appear at a door lol). Very sloppy, I mean first impression sets the tone.

I don't mind bugs here and there and later it will be fixed, but not in a demo and certainly not in a starter area.
I mean cmone, your standing there before big doors stepping into an instance on your own and not knowing what to expect.
You see the hero of the game, fighting alongside him, working your way to the end goal and you get these bugs?  :)

I have never objected to a game offering some sort of demo for curious potential customers to try out. I think letting the player try out the game and see for themselves if it appeals to them not only helps draw in new people, but also indicates the game's quality. A successful demo will bring people in and retain them as active subscribers. A bad demo will either push players away or only keep them around to play the demo again since it's free. Whether Champion's Online, or any other game following this trend, presents a good demo is determined by the people who try it out.

I like this trend in general.  I, for one, don't like dumping $40-60 to buy an MMO, play it for a month, decide I don't like it and quit.  Hence, I hardly buy any new MMOs when they come out.  If I don't get into a beta, odds are I'll never even try them. 

Since most MMOs make huge strides in the first six months, free trials are the only real way to get me to consider buying them post beta.  Limited time trials (10 days, 14 days, etc...) all result in me feeling like I'm losing my chance to try the game whenever I decide to spend a night doing something with my wife or raiding with my guild in WoW, etc...  An unlimited trial is much more appealing to me, since it will give me a chance to really see what the game is like and whether or not I want to actually buy it.

That said, having played the tutorial zone of Champions ad nauseum in beta, the thought of the demo being limited to that zone only is disappointing to say the least.  I'd rather see a lower level cap with access to the Canada and Desert Crisis zones.

Originally posted by korvix

Originally posted by Halow

Its up to level 15 but you cannot leave the starting area.. the quests there should only get you up to level 6 or so and you will need to grind the rest of it.. or I missed some quest hubs.

 

You can finish the zone at lv.6 you just have to finish the Public Quest thing.

But yeah this trial is a complete waste of time, lv.15 my ass I mean....the first zone is by far the worst and can be completed in roughly an hour. Whoever thought this trial scheme was a good idea to limit players to the first zone should be fired / put to work in the mail room.

Doesn't even give you a preview of how a character will play and such...should at least open 2 or 3 zones and let people play with the Travel Powers.\

/rant wasted my time last night on this.

 

Two scenarios:

Before these free trial offers, I can only trust your view, you someone I do not know.  If I trusted you and moved on, somewhere down the road, I might be thinking, wondering, maybe I missed a game I might like, just because I can only rely on what you type here.

After these free trial offers, I can read your ideas and try it out myself as well.

Which route gives me more options?  What do I lose from having such free trial offers?

No matter what anyone thinks about the game, you can't complain about having a free trial with unlimited play time.

Not to mention that, if you do decide to buy it, the game is currently only 13€ on steam =)

Originally posted by Unrealevil

No matter what anyone thinks about the game, you can't complain about having a free trial with unlimited play time.

Oh but they can and they will as is demonstrated quite clearly in this thread, thats a real shame.

More MMO's need to offer free trials, no matter the limitations, the only other option is to buy the game and I'm sure the more sensible amongst us would much prefer to use a trial than handing over cash for something we may not enjoy.

 it was a good idea but they really dropped the ball.

You complete the tutorial by lvl 6 and then their nothing to do, hell if you finish the ingame promps you wind up at the ceelebration around lvl 6 and told to go to a helicopter to go to a new trial and...they dont work cause it's a demo

PvP nope, none of that either.

And you can't level up without a power house, whick dont exisit in the tutorial

 Marvel had reasons to pull out their IP from this.

hehe clever. Level 1-15 in the game was actually fun, then it is all downhill from there.

Oh wait a second… you can only play in the “Alien Invasion” area? … to level 15? … and can’t level up or use travel powers? So, inreality, you can play a lvl TWO character for free.

BWHAHAHAHAHHA…. GG Cryptic. More of the same half-assed shit from you all. It’s the equivalent of McDonalds offering free cheeseburgers, and when you show up, all that free is the paper wrapper. What a stupid and pathetic attempt to draw people in.

They'll file for bankruptcy within a year or two. Mark my words.

Originally posted by Jammaslam

Well, people can use the hero builder for free now, im not sure why anyone would pay for the game as it is.   It was my biggest regret as a game purchase in years (I paid full retail, since I was looking forward to this game, for years).

Agreed whole heartedly, and seconded ( if that's a word )

I bet within a year or so of the STO launch Crappions will sunset. It's only purpose is to fund the development of STO. IMHO

Oi now I have to try the trials for those games. It is an excellent idea, because if I actually like the games it's how they will see any money from me (that they otherwise would have not). I learned my lesson from more than one MMO about buying before trying. More companies releasing MMORPG's need to start releasing trials with the games, or in my opinion have a free option and have it so you can spend money for extra perks (like DDO's model).

It's good to have a demo that gives you a feel for the game, but this is a joke. You learn next to nothing about the game from being stuck in the very first zone. I could see their concerns by letting people out into the rest of the world because of gold farming, griefing or some other bug up Cryptic's ass. But honestly, how much damage could you do at level 15 anyways? They need all the help they can get and this just makes them more of a laughing stock.

At least games like AoC have a fully fleshed out tutorial zone that really gives you a feel of how the game is going to play out. It may not be 100% of the experience, but you know pretty much what you are going to get. Also WA R would fit into that category. Vanguard should go ahead and make their tutorial area free forever type of trial, it may be too late, but anything helps.

This just sounds like a gimmick to get people talking about Champions again. It's 95% fluff with no substance unless they think that somone will actually spend days killing thousands of aliens for a couple xp or doing Ironcald open missions ad nauseum. If anything, I see this move backfiring because people will find out how little the demo experience was and how it took longer to intsall the game that the actual amount of content they have access to.

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Originally posted by MikeB
What do you think about this new trend of unlimited free trials? I think it's an excellent idea, and it's a wonder it took this long to start taking off! Here's hoping the trend continues!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Time-limited trials always bothered me, because too often I'd sign up, the clock would start ticking, but then I wouldn't get the chance to really get started right away. So by the time I'd be ready to give it a real try, there'd be no time left.

I understand that with some games, or some other types of software, there's really no viable alternative, but for MMOs, putting a level limit on trials instead of a time limit makes so much more sense.

Just don't prohibit trial accounts from grouping, the way WoW does. I know it's WoW and all, and they seem like the shining example to follow, but that made the game impossible to give a serious try, when my gf and I downloaded it. So, not that they'll miss me, but that was that. Never played again. Although, that was also because we were busy playing another MMO, when our trials expired.

Originally posted by bigdaddysfe

At least games like AoC have a fully fleshed out tutorial zone that really gives you a feel of how the game is going to play out. It may not be 100% of the experience, but you know pretty much what you are going to get. Also WA R would fit into that category. Vanguard should go ahead and make their tutorial area free forever type of trial, it may be too late, but anything helps.

 

 

 

Thank you for bringing that up, bigdaddy. Love it or hate it, at least the Tortage zone in Age of Conan gives you 20 levels to give you a pretty good idea of your alt's capabilities and has trainers where you can pick up new abilities, as opposed to CO where you have to leave the tutorial zone in order to get them.
 

I played the CO demo today and honestly thought I was doing something wrong when I couldn't leave the tutorial zone. Having the ability to level to 15 sounds like a great idea but not when you're stuck in a zone where you're done with all missions at level 6. The idea of grinding out 9 levels in a learning zone is an ordeal I won't be enduring anytime soon, thank you very much.  I guess it sounded like a good idea at the time. But then again so was trying to turn Stephen King's "Carrie" into a stage musical. ;)

Originally posted by dhayes68

Sounds good to me. Character creation is the best part of the game. My fun factor with CO declined generally after logging in with my hero.

Yeah same here, I kept deleting my character and starting over just to see what I could come up with, and I also was re-creating some Marvel universe characters. I saw a guy who was Santa Claws from Futurama. It was flawless.

Things I didn't like about the game:

People can easily take your kills or loot or quest objectives.

You only start with 2 powers, and they don't seem that diverse.

You can't fly at all in the starter area. People want to be able to see how fun the game can get, and flying is a big part.

I tried the melee class martial artist, he only has like 3 animations. Too bland!

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Originally posted by TarotMage
I played the CO demo today and honestly thought I was doing something wrong when I couldn't leave the tutorial zone. Having the ability to level to 15 sounds like a great idea but not when you're stuck in a zone where you're done with all missions at level 6. The idea of grinding out 9 levels in a learning zone is an ordeal I won't be enduring anytime soon, thank you very much.  I guess it sounded like a good idea at the time. But then again so was trying to turn Stephen King's "Carrie" into a stage musical. ;)

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So, the level 15 cap is misleading - it's really more like a soft cap of level 6, which is barely much of a trial at all. They should decide whether to let people into higher level areas or just make an honest cap of level 7. Either way would feel more honest, and then people could move on to discussing whether or not level 7 is really too low, without the ambiguity of the cap technically being level 15..

Yeah I guess these endless trials are great! Now everybody can easy see how games are getting along! If they are good, no endless trials for you, if bad - then you are free to try them till the next millenium (not sure those game will survive that long though)...

How would people react to a "time spent ingame" cap for trials? In other words, you would be unrestricted in terms of the number of days the trial remained open, or on levels or where you could go, the skills you could get etc, but after you'd played for a certain number of hours ingame your account would be frozen until you had subbed. Would that kind of trial make sense?

WOW this game's not even 4 months old and they're already so desperate for subs they're doing this?  Oh my...

I would say I'm sure the Chinese gold farmers will love this news, but does this game have enough people playing to even rate having gold farmers?  Then of course you have all the people who live to make other peoples' lives miserable that will play just to be a-holes to others without having to care if they get banned because they'll make a new free account.

 When I first read that Warhammer and Conan were doing the free unlimited trial I figured it was because they weren't making money and this was a last ditch effort to staying P2P.  If this doesn't work then they'll either go F2P or dump the game all together.  I thought Champions was doing well but I haven't really read any subscription results lately so maybe people are jumping ship. I guess we'll see, in 2010 I think either these games will become F2P like DDO or they'll be gone.  I like Conan so hopefully that'll just become F2P, but then again with Star Trek Online, Star Wars Old Republic, Stargate Worlds and APB coming out I think I'll be playing one...if not more...of those instead.  I think 2010 will be the year even WoW meets its match.

 All the talent left Cryptic and went to Paragon Studios when Cryptic sold off City of Heroes to NCSoft. The "New" Cryptic team has yet to prove their ability to craft a game. City of heroes just keep getting better, while Champions is flopping even though it has the advantage of a fresh new engine.

How odd that customization seems to be the focus, and selling point of the game, but then take away any sort of freedom with the storyline, and character progression. You create you completely custom and creative character, but then you are forced to play out a linear story line that might not even remotely fit with your creation. Players should be free to develop their own stories by just choosing missions that fit with their characters. At least that way people can pretend that the game revolves around their character, and not cryptics idea of a storyline for your character.  I think that is the biggest failing point.

Originally posted by AngelBurst

 All the talent left Cryptic and went to Paragon Studios when Cryptic sold off City of Heroes to NCSoft. The "New" Cryptic team has yet to prove their ability to craft a game. City of heroes just keep getting better, while Champions is flopping even though it has the advantage of a fresh new engine.

Agreed 100%. I can only think that the Paragon Studios people didn't want to work with Jack Emmert anymore.

Originally posted by MikeB

What do you think about this new trend of unlimited free trials? I think it's an excellent idea, and it's a wonder it took this long to start taking off! Here's hoping the trend continues!

I'm going to echo one of the other posters here in that I think the concept of a unlimited (time) free trial is great. 

Be it 7, 10 or even 21 days I always feel I HAVE to play or I'm not going to see what I need to see or get the play time I want out of it.  I don't like being forced to play every day.

A good example is the AoC free trial I started prior to the holiday.  I enjoyed playing while waiting for Christmas to come, but now I'm going to put it down and take care of some other stuff.  I might be back in a week or not until the end of Jan.  Either way that free trial is going to be waiting for me. 

A bad example would be the last LotRO vet trial.  Skirmishes AND the Yulefest.  1 week (with 2 of those days work days) was not long enough.

More power to it.  I hope we see this trend continue.

I can only think that this will be some sort of bait and switch, for those who aren't savvy enough to read up on what the higher levels are like and get all excited in the first fifteen, only to discover that it just peters out til the end. Those poor people will feel quite upset that they could have been playing the best part of the game over and over again for nothing rather than carrying on to realize just how boring the game truly is.

I dont buy mmogs without trial first, since most are very bad, so this is something I been waiting since its launch, I was a big fan of coh, and champions promised to be more fo the same with several tweaks wich would be enough to me.

I did try the free weekend altho it was plagued with update and connection problems, and now a trial sounded so sweet to actually see something, but then i find out its limited to that small start area i finished in a couple minutes allready during the free weekend  -.-

So this sucks, you dont get to see much of the game except the creation, basic interface and 2/3 basic attacks.. It still has some connection problems since im from europe it seems and the game is really heavy on high settings, looks crap in low settings.. damn, it was a huge let down.. All this done for me was thinking about reactivating my coh account.