DDO Goes Free to Play

[Cerebrix]

DDO Goes Free to Play!

Originally Posted by ddo.com

Guts: use them or lose them in DDO Unlimited. Get unlimited combat, unlimited adventure, and unlimited fun without a credit card or a subscription when DDO Unlimited launches later this summer.
Level cap raised to the natural limit of 20
New class, and new high and low level adventures
Play without subscription – no purse strings attached
Feel every blow with DDO's awesome action combat
Alone or with friends, slay your way – solo, raids, guilds...
Premium features for free – hirelings, crafting, auctions...
Shop 'till they drop at the new DDO Store

Originally Posted by press release

TURBINE® ANNOUNCES DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE®: EBERRON UNLIMITED™
Free Digital Upgrade Introduces Unlimited Free Play and Raises Level Cap; Beta Begins Today
WESTWOOD, MA – June 9, 2009 – Turbine, Inc. announced today the start of the Beta program for Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ (DDO Unlimited), a free digital upgrade for Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Stormreach™. DDO Unlimited will raise the level cap and add major new content, as well as make the game free to play for everyone. The new DDO Unlimited delivers heart-pounding game play featuring the industry’s best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found only in premium subscription-based MMOs. Launching later this summer, DDO Unlimited will introduce an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Players interested in getting a sneak peak of the new DDO Unlimited can sign up for a chance to participate in the Beta program at Home | Dungeons & Dragons Online.

“Our team has spent years crafting DDO Unlimited into a powerhouse experience featuring cutting-edge graphics, a kick-ass combat system, high level content, and cutting-edge social tools. Today marks a major milestone as we prepare to launch the world’s most exciting free MMO,” said Kate Paiz, Senior Producer.

“Turbine is blazing a new trail with an innovative new pricing structure that will deliver a new era of choice for the growing market of online gamers, and we are very excited to invite players to work with us in the DDO Unlimited Beta program as we redefine how people play and pay for MMOs,” added Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer.

DDO Unlimited delivers the best combat of any MMO and the most heart-pounding action this side of a keyboard, plus a lot more!

Brand New Content & Features – DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12-player raid, major combat improvements and more!

The Fiercest Combat – DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary and heart stopping combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.

Mind-blowing Visuals – Explore a vast and dangerous online world that features the most advanced graphics in the industry and is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world’s best known RPG.

Full-featured MMO – Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, arena death matches (Player versus Player), NPC hirelings, gambling, crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!

Easier Than Ever! – DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.

DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS), under license to Infogrames Entertainment S.A.® Published by Atari, Inc.®, DDO has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please visit Home | Dungeons & Dragons Online.

Originally Posted by ign website article

June 9, 2009 - In an exclusive meeting at E3 last week, we spoke with Fernando and Kate Paiz, producers of Turbine's D&D Online, about their plans to significantly adjust the game's subscription model and allow players free access to the game. It's a bold step but one that Turbine feels is right for the property.

The game, set to launch this summer, will be renamed D&D Online: Eberron Unlimited (or simply DDO Unlimited). Available as a digital upgrade to existing subscribers, newcomers will be able to download and start playing the game for free. A new DDO store, instantly accessible anywhere within the game itself, will sell equipment, new adventures, added character content (including the brand new monk class), hirelings and a host of other things. All the new items are loaded within the client, so once a player purchases an item, it's immediately available.

Free players will not be restricted in their progress through the game and will have constant access to the game servers and be able to progress all the way up to the game's new level cap. The producers emphasized that players can still obtain their adventuring kit within the game itself. In fact, there are some high-level items that simply aren't for sale in the store and will instead have to be earned through play. As players adventure through the world of Eberron they will also earn points they can spend at the store, meaning that it's possible to reap the benefits of the store without ever having to get out their credit cards.

Players who wish to explore what the store has to offer can spend cash to get store credits. The producers' demo of the store showed how seamless the whole process is. Whenever a player is confronted with premium content, whether at the door of a locked dungeon or selecting a purchasable option during character selection, there's a handy link right to the store and with a minimum of clicks, players will have instant access to the new feature. Players are also free to browse through all the store listings at any time and any purchases items are immediately placed in their character's inventory.

Current players who wish to continue their paid subscriptions will now be known as VIPs. Their fees will give them automatic access to many of the additions that other users have to purchase a la carte. VIPs will also have priority server access and a shared bank slot that can be used to transfer items from one character to another on the same account. Additionally, VIPs will receive a monthly allotment of store credits that they can use to buy whatever additional items the desire. Though the store's pricing structure is still being balanced, VIPs are likely to get a bit more for their money than a player who chooses to buy all the additions individually.

DDO is taking the new approach because Turbine felt it's the right title to explore free-to-play MMOs and microtransactions. Not only does the concept of paying for additional content adhere to the pen-and-paper game's reliance on modules, sourcebooks, miniatures, and such, but it also helps players who don't have as much time to play a chance to stay competitive with their friends by purchasing XP boosts and improved adventuring gear.

The new system may also smooth over a few of the MMO's design issues. Since leaving a dungeon early to resupply results in an XP hit, players can now purchase new arrows and potions (and even resurrection tokens) inside the dungeons. Solo-minded players can more easily take on tougher challenges by purchasing a full party's worth of retainers.

Turbine hopes to launch D&D Online: Eberron Unlimited this summer. Players who would like early access to the game can sign up for the beta at the DDO website.

[misterbear]

Will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[brohawk]

Well I agree that DDO has the best combat system I have ever played, however unless they allow more solo play, I won't go back even if it is free. Great game other than that flaw.

[merwood]

to be honest i'm not happy to see turbine to take this route . i know that ddo has it flaws like every other game but seeing this happen makes me wonder what it will do to turbine's reputation and even more so with microtransactions .

Make no mistake i like dnd and i was happy to see turbine take a shot at making a decent mmo with the ip but personally i think if turbine put more money into the game since launch and imo they havent . then i dont think they would of taken this path .

Anyways microtransactions are a major turn off for me and i highly doubt it i will play ddo even if its free . but i wish everyone well that plays ddo

[Cerebrix]

you should keep in mind that if someone just wants to subscribe they basically play the game as if micro transactions don't exist.

im not a huge fan of RMT either. but I think this is the best compromise ive seen. it really puts a hard limit on how much someone would spend and i think rather than encouraging more transactions, just encourages subscribing.

[Zilch]

Micro transactions are a pain in the arse. I think they would do better to simply slash the subscription price. I guess then they couldn't claim the game was "free" though.

[Reoh]

Well its a mixed blessing and curse. On the one hand I'm pleased to see them accomodating to a larger audience, more people will come try the game and they can be a subscriber or free2player as they wish. The downside however, is that with microtransactions you run the problem of essentially being your own gold sellers and letting people purchase funds can damage the in-game economy. Its an interesting angle though and I wish them luck with it.

[merwood]

Originally Posted by Reoh

Well its a mixed blessing and curse. On the one hand I'm pleased to see them accomodating to a larger audience, more people will come try the game and they can be a subscriber or free2player as they wish. The downside however, is that with microtransactions you run the problem of essentially being your own gold sellers and letting people purchase funds can damage the in-game economy. Its an interesting angle though and I wish them luck with it.

Hehe right on the money reoh , That is exactly my point as i've seen more harm then good come out of microtransactions and even more so turbine doesnt realize by allowing microtransactions it won't be long till the market is so overpriced and because the game is now free the community will very much be ruined cause this will give gold sellers all the leeway they need to hurass others hence the players becoming even more less

Hence hurt turbine reputation down the road

[brohawk]

I don't mind microtransactions actually as long as there isn't an unbalanced play experience. Guild Wars, FreeRealms, Dungeon Runner, and Exteel I all did microtransactions and was happy with it. Of course 3 of those 4 are NCSoft.

As far as the manufacturer being a gold seller, well I would prefer that to the real 'gold sellers' any day. They have to make money to stay in business and provide the service that we enjoy. If not then they close down and you don't get to play it anymore.

I would certainly play a free2play DDO if they had more solo content, but their decision was to make grouping required for anything past lvl 4. I understand their decision having had played D&D back in the early 70's and plenty of other PnP games, however that is not my style of play. I was in the closed beta for DDO and got one character to cap (lvl 12) at the time in live, as well as several other characters. If you have the numbers and can get a group all the time, then it is a great game. Best combat system I have played to date.

[Reoh]

Yeah same here Bro, I like group content... but I need a game to have a lot of solo content for me at anytime I just want to pop in, play a bit while I chat with friends.