Opinions on Changes in Free Trial

[ummax]

And do you seriously believe a single one of them will suddenly gain the intention of subscribing, by cutting them off at a lower level? I don't.

The only thing cutting the trial off at a lower level could possibly accomplish is to decrease the total # of people trying the game out for free. Since the servers do not appear to be under any strain whatsoever (at least in terms of lag, server load, etc), this will not benefit anyone at all. Instead, it will turn off (or more accurately, the brevity of the trial will fail to attract) some proportion of that crowd of free-trial people who would otherwise have subscribed. This is going to make the "trial to pay" conversion number go down, not up.

This move will likely not gain them one single subscription they would not have otherwise obtained, and will most likely lose a huge number that they would've obtained had they not become so Draconian about it.



I think this is going to come out in the wash. There will be less people trying the game, which will take less resources from the servers and CSR/GM time (helping them etc). But with less trials there will be less subscriptions, which means there are less resources coming in (money to pay for server load, CSRs, etc). In fact at BEST it will be a wash... I predict it will be far worse than a wash for Nevrax.



Doesn't change the fact that this is a big, fat mistake (in this homin's opinion, at any rate).

I suppose I mis-worded my post in the sense that I do see the reason they THINK this is a good idea. I think they are flat out wrong, though. And I have been proven right on these matters in other games, so I will stand by my assessment.

C

I'm quoting you because you are saying exactly what I would say

its simple human nature and personality at play here and this cut to level 21 will not cause more people to suddenly subscribe.

Those that had no intention of paying will still not subscribe and those that had every intention of paying as soon as they logged in and hit 3 animals will subscribe as soon as they can. The market they are loosing are those that are in the middle the less impulsive shopper who wants to really kick all the tires before they buy. I am one of those people. I liked the game well enough when i logged in but stuff like the foraging etc was really not so likeable until about level 30+ I shop for quality in stuff and if i am not given a chance to take a long hard look i move on.

Also I hazard a quess here and say that even those free players who had no intention of paying had a roll and it was this they provided a sub community on that island which was probably the biggest sellers. In any event I do not see how this move will improve subscription rate, but I can see how its going to take the "undecided" population and cut them off and have them walk away sooner when they might have subscribed if they were able to experience it for longer like I did.

Also quite a few people have already said that they would NOT have subscribed if they had been limited to 21 levels becaues they weren't quite sure at that point & I am one of them.

just found this in another thread this is someone who was free its not a jab at the person but its just more information

As you can see the level cap has not made this person pay if this is the intention it has not worked here is an example of what is being said. People who did this will not ever subscribe this level 21 cap will not make them subscribe.

http://www.ryzom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26542

[rothimar]

If people are coming to Ryzom only to play a free game, the level 21 cap will not encourage them to subscribe, unless they get hooked on the game.

I have a background of sales and marketing (mostly in management) which extends back about 13 years. I am currently working in a business development position for an international communications company. My experience tells me that offering a free trial with no time limit, but limiting some of the features of the product is a GREAT way for people to get a feel for the product, learn the basics, and make an informed decision as to whether the product is right for them or not.

MMORPG's are no different than any other software product. Many that offer a free trial, or demo version, are restricted in features (even more harshly than Ryzom) to prevent people from just "playing for free". You have to pay to unlock the rest of the features.

Nevrax is a relatively small company, and as a PAYING CUSTOMER, I would much rather see their resources go towards development, marketing, mainland customer support, and free-to0paid conversions rather than providing a free mini-game to people who have no intention of signing on.

I can think of a few mainstream MMO's that don't even offer a free trial. I can also think of a few players who have been on Silan for a long time, have earned a few million dappers there, and who have no intention of coming to the mainland.

The level cap is a good idea from a sales perspective, for it will increase the conversion rate of trial to paid accounts, it is a good idea from a marketing perspective because it offers an unlimited amount of time to figure out if the game is right for the player, it is a good idea from the support perspective due to a shift in focus from providing (unintentionally) support/system resources to people that won't end up contributing to their payroll, and it is a good idea from a financial perspective because it will focus on more paying customers and people who will become paying customers.

[rothimar]

its simple human nature and personality at play here and this cut to level 21 will not cause more people to suddenly subscribe.

What it will do is prevent people from stealing system resources from paying customers. It is a free trial, not a free game.

Those that had no intention of paying will still not subscribe and those that had every intention of paying as soon as they logged in and hit 3 animals will subscribe as soon as they can. The market they are loosing are those that are in the middle the less impulsive shopper who wants to really kick all the tires before they buy. I am one of those people. I liked the game well enough when i logged in but stuff like the foraging etc was really not so likeable until about level 30+ I shop for quality in stuff and if i am not given a chance to take a long hard look i move on.

The idea of the trial is to show off the graphics, show an example of gameplay, learn some of the mechanics, etc etc. I am by no means an impusive shopper. I am the guy that takes time to research a product, its value, compare prices, and go for the best deal I can get. As someone whois in sales and marketing, I don't look at something and start screaming "OMG OMG OMG I just HAVE to have this!! Look!! It's shiny!!" I knew within a relatively soon after playing Ryzom that it was going to be a good investment. I could have played for free until I hit level 50, but I didn't, I chose to pay for my time to both support a game I think is rather spiffy and to get to the mainland and start seeing the huge and rather beautiful "rest of Atys".

Also I hazard a quess here and say that even those free players who had no intention of paying had a roll and it was this they provided a sub community on that island which was probably the biggest sellers. In any event I do not see how this move will improve subscription rate, but I can see how its going to take the "undecided" population and cut them off and have them walk away sooner when they might have subscribed if they were able to experience it for longer like I did.

I would rather not have people on Ruins of Silan encouraging other players to play for free and avoid subscribing. Those people are not welcome here, not by me anyway. When I was on the trial... TRIAL... I had a couple people suggest that to me. It aggrivated me then almost as much as it does now.

Also quite a few people have already said that they would NOT have subscribed if they had been limited to 21 levels becaues they weren't quite sure at that point & I am one of them.

Perhaps if people come at the game knowing they have 21 levels to try the game, and can use a bunch of alts to level to the cap as well, perhaps they would be ready to make a decision by level 21. I would suggest to such people that they pay the first month's subscription and come to mainland. It's cheaper than a pizza and a beer, and you have 30 whole days with NO caps to evaluate further.

just found this in another thread this is someone who was free its not a jab at the person but its just more information

As you can see the level cap has not made this person pay if this is the intention it has not worked here is an example of what is being said. People who did this will not ever subscribe this level 21 cap will not make them subscribe.

http://www.ryzom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26542

You are makign reference to an example of why there should be a level cap. This person has been on the isle for 3 months, with no intention of subscribing. If half the population of RoS is like this guy, eliminating them from the "free trial" will reduce lag significantly.

Ryzom is not a free game. It has a free trial with limitations. This is a wonderful game with a great community, and many of us feel that people who take advantage of the unlimited trial to play for free, are really taking advantage of US. We're paying to provide people with a free game, and personally, I think that's rather distressing.

[ummax]

I have a background of sales and marketing (mostly in management) which extends back about 13 years. I am currently working in a business development position for an international communications company. My experience tells me that offering a free trial with no time limit, but limiting some of the features of the product is a GREAT way for people to get a feel for the product, learn the basics, and make an informed decision as to whether the product is right for them or not.

.

Good for you !

however i will still state that i guess your background would have failed against about 1/3 or possibly even 1/2 of present subscriber types moving into this game because you would NOT have sold me this game at level 21. Here is the reason is simple really. The rest of the market offers an average of 14 days trial. I managed to get to level 21 in every single area in about 2 days max. The quests give massive xp that is why. Therefore i would look at the trial and think wow short meh okay but where is the rest if they think that 2 days is sufficient to try their game but Joe blow's game that is not that much different and possibly NEWER offers 14 days. The foraging frustrated me in this game and its level 21 now i guess that is foraging and how it works. DAng i want to forage and craft for myself and the system sucks therefore the game sucks and i am not going to buy it if this is what foraging is like in the game (because it must be the cut of for trial is level 21 so that is all they have to show for it meh blech)


Took me till about level 35 to decide if i liked the foraging and crafting system well enough to pay for the game until that point i had no intention of doing so. I moved to the mainland when my foraging hit 40 and paid. What does that say to you about this customer who's business you didn't have yet at level 21. Or is my money not good enough for you?

Because that is pretty much what your saying your marketing experience tells you that either i would have bought it or not at level 21 yup your right but you lost a sale if since you decided to not give me that added little bit of time ot make up my mind.

Also i note you have been playing a long time. The reason I didnt play this game or try it before now was because upon release i was told it was terrible. I decided out of curiousity to visit this website and try this now 2 year oldish game. Now remember I was also told it was terrible by players I play other games with to this day.

YOU got a sale because I took their information with a grain of salt but because I had that information I had to take possibly a bit more time to decide. YOu didn't have me at level 21 sorry and a lot of other people are saying that as well.

p.s. People quoting credentials on forums well i dont believe it just an aside

[rothimar]

Good for you !

Thanks!

however i will still state that i guess your background would have failed against about 1/3 or possibly even 1/2 of present subscriber types moving into this game because you would NOT have sold me this game at level 21. Here is the reason is simple really. The rest of the market offers an average of 14 days trial. I managed to get to level 21 in every single area in about 2 days max. The quests give massive xp that is why. Therefore i would look at the trial and think wow short meh okay but where is the rest if they think that 2 days is sufficient to try their game but Joe blow's game that is not that much different and possibly NEWER offers 14 days. The foraging frustrated me in this game and its level 21 now i guess that is foraging and how it works. DAng i want to forage and craft for myself and they system sucks therefore the game sucks and i am not going to by it.

The rest of the market? There are a few games I can think of off the top of my head that don't give a free trial. You get NO time to evaluate before purchase. Rushing through 21 levels in two days won't give you a good feel for a game either. But that's just my opinion, results may vary.

Took me till about level 35 to decide if i liked the foraging and crafting system well enough to pay for the game until that point i had no intention of doing so. I moved to the mainland when my foraging hit 40 and paid. What does that say to you about this customer who's business you didn't have yet at level 21. Or is my money not good enough for you?

The level cap wasn't designed to keep people out who will subscribe... but the lion's share of players who are basically cheating the system are costing Nevrax more in support and system resources than your $15. For the record, I moved to mainland in the early 30's, but would have sooner. I leveled up a bit more and finished some of the missions for the gear before I subscribed. I knew before level 21 that I was rather happy with the game.

Because that is pretty much what your saying your marketing experience tells you that either i would have bought it or not at level 21 yup your right but you lost a sale if since you decided to not give me that added little bit of time ot make up my mind.

It is a given that some sales would be lost with the level cap. But the costs involved in providing a free game to people who are truly supposed to be evaluating it exceed the expected losses. That's acceptable loss. It's common in business to do what's best for the overall picture, not a few people within part of that picture.

Also i note you have been playing a long time. The reason I didnt play this game or try it before now was because upon release i was told it was terrible. I decided out of curiousity to visit this website and try this now 2 year oldish game. Now remember I was also told it was terrible by players I play other games with to this day.

Long time? Beginning of August is a long time? I didn't even hear about Ryzom until July.

YOU got a sale because I took their information with a grain of salt but because I had that information I had to take possibly a bit more time to decide. YOu didn't have me at level 21 sorry and a lot of other people are saying that as well.

I didn't get a sale. I don't work for Nevrax.

p.s. People quoting credentials on forums well i dont believe it just an aside

You can believe me, or not believe me. That's all you. This remark has provided me with some humor, however, thank you for that. Now if I had posted that I was a rocket scientist... or perhaps the ruler of a small country somewhere... that I would expect people not to believe. But sales/marketing?? hahahaha It's not like it's all that glorious.

[ummax]

The rest of the market? There are a few games I can think of off the top of my head that don't give a free trial. You get NO time to evaluate before purchase. Rushing through 21 levels in two days won't give you a good feel for a game either. But that's just my opinion, results may vary.







Long time? Beginning of August is a long time? I didn't even hear about Ryzom until July.



I didn't get a sale. I don't work for Nevrax.



You can believe me, or not believe me. That's all you.

I see someone on the defensive

firstly those games that dont offer free trials i play exactly none of them.

Now i am telling you that I would not have played this game at level 21 cap. So therefore that is another subscription being missed.

As for your literal interpretation of "you didn't get the sale" i wont go there hehe

Those who quote credentials on forum feel some need to validate their opinions and are afraid to just let them stand on their own. Therefore this means that they are a bit rocky about these "facts", "studies" whatever you want to call this subjective information that you feel you need to back up with a credential which may or may not exist. The fact remains you didn't feel secure enough to just state it without putting some kind of "paper weight" behind it that says a lot to me. It says your not totally sure but your going to fall back on those credentials as a safe guard

[ajsuk]

[calel]

The quests give massive xp that is why.

I'll agree with you there. It's way to easy to reach 21 in each skill due to the experience rewards for the tutorials. When RoS first went live there were mixed reactions to it. Under the current trial system it could prove to be a downright pain. And it probably has already for some. Funny thing is there's on the other side people already complaining that 'it's a grind to get there'.

There used to be a 14 day trial about a year and a half to two years ago. There was no cap on skill levels, but you were down to xp gain based on the max lvl and ql of mobs and foragable materials, and that was lvl/ql 20. People complained back then as well that it wasn't enough time to get to know the game; they complained back then as well that 'it is a grind to get anywhere'.

Bottomline is: I agree this probably wasn't THAT well-thought off with the mission rewards and the current cap as far as a trial would go, but in the end you will never be able to please everyone. If this 'free game' trialing is hogging up to much resources and adding extra costs it means the already paying customers will eventually be the ones paying for more than THEIR subscription fee and entertainment.

15 bucks, that's all it takes to get access to the full game for a month and the free expansion, no skill level cap and you're not restricted to the island.
If you don't like it after a month, cancel the account; Nevrax is very honest in it's billing, they don't pull an SOE on you.

And what game did these 'this is a grind' people play? Because I'd sure like to know.

[geezas]

<snip> We're paying to provide people with a free game, and personally, I think that's rather distressing.

That's the nail on the spot right there.

If free trails cost to much in time/resources then it delivers in new subsciptions nevrax would be shooting itself in the foot by still supplying it to non-paying customers. As a subscriber I'd like my subscribtion money sensibly spent.

No matter what kind of solution nevrax chooses, somebody will complain/cheer

[geezas]

firstly those games that dont offer free trials i play exactly none of them.

Are you a active subsciber to any online game atm ?