Is Graal really going to be free to play? Well...

skillmaster19 · #1 03-27-2011, 10:49 PM

We have all seen many posts from Stefan and Unixmad saying that they will make the servers free to play as they add gelat shops, and that is what they mean by "Graal is becoming free to play". Zodiac and Era have each implemented a gelat shop; Zodiac sells character slots and exp boosting potions, and Era sells potions that boost maximum hp, speed, and working.

First of all, the only thing that has been done to the servers to make them free to play is the removing of observer mode. Players still cannot choose their heads other than from the first 10. This greatly kills the fun of customization, maybe Stefan could add the right to sell a "customization pack" on their server for some gelats like on the iPhone servers.

Also, on Zodiac trials can not play events, and on Era trial accounts can be disabled with the ET saying something like ":notrials". Is this really a removed subscription system? Clearly there is still a large difference between being a trial and being Gold. Also, on Gold players on Zodiac gain 50%more EXP than trials and classic players. (correct me if I'm wrong about the classic players part)

As someone who actually pays for gold,I feel I would be more likely to buy items from Gelat shops if I knew that gelats were not necessary for gold subscriptions.

Lastly, trials cannot develop. There are many new players that could become great developers for Graal and deliver exciting new content in the future; however they cannot develop if they do not pay for gold.

In conclusion, it seems that Unixmad is only trying to trick us into earning him more money by convincing playerworld owners to add gelat shops. As posted by some of the Playerworld owners, their shops have generated a decent amount of revenue. is the removal of observer mode really stopping players from subscribing to Graal? The answer is no; if anything it is just enough to stop them from quitting and making them want to purchase gold. I hope that Graal will actually become free, and that the whole subscription system will be removed.

xAndrewx · #2 03-27-2011, 11:04 PM

If you owned Graal- would you not do the same? He's learned from his mistake(s) if you ask me.

He's aware that not everyone would keep upgrading to play Zone / GK & to develop, so why continue? Having a one off payment system didn't work out as well as he thought it would. Which if you ask me was a good idea, so I thought...

He's noticed from iPhone's and such, that players are more willing to pay for in-game stuff rather than to play the game. Think about it, would you play to go on Facebook or the games on Facebook? He's got his target audience, in which Graal is expected to be getting alot of new players via Facebook.

WhiteDragon · #3 03-27-2011, 11:04 PM

I believe everything you have mentioned is going to go away. I'm pretty sure gold accounts won't even exist anymore when everything is overhauled.

Fulg0reSama · #4 03-27-2011, 11:06 PM

Whatever is going to happen, I'm going to be scared for my life when I go onto Facebook from now on.

Luda · #5 03-27-2011, 11:07 PM

What happens when Facebook dies out just like Myspace? :P

Fulg0reSama · #6 03-27-2011, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luda

What happens when Facebook dies out just like Myspace? :P

People are too stupid to leave it, for most it's an addiction.
Myspace was just ugly.

fowlplay4 · #7 03-27-2011, 11:09 PM

Well, actually they can play events on Zodiac and classic players receive the same amount of EXP as gold players.

I agree with your point about head customization, it should be a lifetime "given" upon purchasing a month of gold. Hopefully they get rid of it and just lets PC players use whatever they want.

kia345 · #8 03-28-2011, 12:39 AM

Shame they want to depend on Graal as a primary source of income, or going back to the whole "pay once and then never have to pay again" formula would be a rad suggestion.

swimdude · #9 03-28-2011, 02:55 PM

PC should be free play period, we should be making enough off iphone if it was that great as people say.

WanDaMan · #10 03-28-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimdude

PC should be free play period, we should be making enough off iphone if it was that great as people say.

It's not cheap to have 100+ gaming servers online - I don't agree that it should be free.

kia345 · #11 03-28-2011, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WanDaMan

It's not cheap to have 100+ gaming servers online - I don't agree that it should be free.

The problem with that logic is that there are plenty of higher quality games that are free with nothing more than a cash shop, or games that only require a single payment for unlimited access.

"Oh but wait, graal is a development platform"

okay but when was the last UC server to actually become something important? Let people host their own servers (for free). No reason Eurocenter should make money off people who are wasting their own money to have Eurocenter pay to host a server that won't matter in a couple months.

WanDaMan · #12 03-28-2011, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kia345

The problem with that logic is that there are plenty of higher quality games that are free with nothing more than a cash shop, or games that only require a single payment for unlimited access.

"Oh but wait, graal is a development platform"

okay but when was the last UC server to actually become something important? Let people host their own servers (for free). No reason Eurocenter should make money off people who are wasting their own money to have Eurocenter pay to host a server that won't matter in a couple months.

Yes, a game with 10,000 + active members who log on to the game each day would be able to achieve a profit from the shops but because Graal hasn't got an active community on the PC it's not going to bring in any substantial amount of money to provide for maintenance . You can purchase cards on PC to enhance the game play but I highly doubt these are going to make a significant impact comparing what's coming in to the business and what's going out.

Graal is a great development platform in my opinion; I personally don't play or enjoy any of the servers currently online. I pay my subscription because I like to develop and I get enough satisfaction from my contribution which keeps me paying the monthly fee.

I am going to suggest we start giving UC player worlds the opportunity to have their servers on the player list for a fee each month providing they follow the rules and don’t abuse their power when it's on the list. This would increase motivation for more players to invest in Graal PC and start developing their own servers.

Demisis_P2P · #13 03-28-2011, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WanDaMan

Yes, a game with 10,000 + active members who log on to the game each day would be able to achieve a profit from the shops but because Graal hasn't got an active community on the PC it's not going to bring in any substantial amount of money to provide for maintenance.

Catch 22 right here.
Graal doesn't have a substantial playerbase on the pc because the current subscriptions suckkkkkkkk.

And unless they change gelat purchases it might still suck when it goes free.
$40 for however many gelats is still not a microtransaction.

sssssssssss · #14 03-28-2011, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WanDaMan

It's not cheap to have 100+ gaming servers online - I don't agree that it should be free.

We pay for almost all of them to be there...

xAndrewx · #15 03-28-2011, 10:28 PM

lolol you all should get a job if you can't afford it