With yesterday's leak that STO is going free to play, I have some Foundry questions that I think we, the authors, need answers to.
1. We need a definitive answer on whether we'll need to subscribe to build missions. That bit about "This is not a sign of impending anything" was put out before the leak, and is now looking very suspect.
2. What level of subscription is required to PLAY Foundry missions? Will F2P players be able to run our missions or will it be limited to subscribers.
3. What level of subscription is required to rate Foundry missions?
4. If we need to pay to build missions, will there be some mechanism in place for those of us who choose not to pay to fix our missions if Cryptic breaks them again. Given the season 4 debacle, this is a real concern. If some of our authors decide to opt for F2P for financial reasons, but would still like to see their missions endure as they left them, under F2P can they have any assurance that they can fix and republish if something goes wrong? Perhaps players could choose to have Cryptic can take ownership of their missions that are completed and wish to "archive" so that it then becomes cryptic's responsibility to keep the up.
Those are my questions if anyone else thinks of more, please post below and I'll add them.
1. We need a definitive answer on whether we'll need to subscribe to build missions.
I can answer that!
To use the Foundry you'll require a "Gold account", i.e. monthly subscription of LTS. I'm sorry I can't prove it right now, but it was on the forum just yesterday: Sb. who went from demo aco**** to subscription had this Foudnry-error. A video is also available on Youtube but I can't find that either.
I highly doubt one the major features of the game will be free. My bet is you can play missions but not create.
Agreed. If free players could flood the database with missions, what would stop someone from creating a gazillion accounts to do so ? What Foundry authors need is a way to expand their slot limit. And if I had to guess I´d say it will be through the c-store.
Because at the moment there's nothing else keeping me around. My only interest is the Foundry. I've done everything else, most of my friends are playing other games.
Now, if that situation has improved when my sub is up (I'm on yearly so March-April-ish) I may consider resubscribing, that's a choice I was going to have to make anyway. But I don't think its worth it to pay the sub fee just to do the Foundry, much as I enjoy it. Especially when I'll be subbing to The Old Republic and possibly Guild Wars 2 if its released by then.
But that's just me. For plenty of authors, it's not going to be a hard choice one way or the other.
Personally, I'd love to keep coming back to the Foundry for free. I'd even fork over c-points for more slots were that the case. But if I can't, then I'll have to make the choice of where my resources, which are not infinite, go.
As you noted in your OP Drogyn. It was information leakage, which meant that they are not necessarily completely ready to officially announce it with all the details. dStahl has said they are still working out the details and F2P matrix so I hate to say it the details will be ready when they are ready.
Things not being ready is probably the only single reason why the official announcement had not been made and we've found out via the circuitous route we have.
Patience my friends, information is being settled upon now.
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