Mortal Online goes Free-to-Play, Well Almost
I'll be honest here, when I heard Mortal Online had gone Free-to-Play I didn't even realize the game was still in operation. Mortal Online was originally released as a P2P game back in 2010, and attempted to pay homage to the old Ultima sandbox style MMOs of yesteryear. Unlike most traditional MMO's, Mortal Online does not use the traditional level and class system but instead focuses on a more free-form skill and attribute system not unlike the Elder Scrolls.
However, upon release the game was riddled with bugs and performance issues. Over the next two years the MMO would see a variety of performance patches and the introduction of two expansions whose deployments could easily be summed up as mildly catastrophic. The expansions introduced new features but in doing so suffered from a variety of technical issues, including a multitude of bugs that affected the game's mechanics, performance and stability which in one case, lead to some game features being disabled directly after release.
With the introduction of the F2P model the developers behind Mortal Online, Star Vault, hope to breathe new life into the MMO. Unfortunately they seem to be going the way of EQ/EQ2/SWTOR (though maybe not as extreme).
New players will have access to the entire game but will have a skill restriction of 60 (from a possible 100). F2P players will also be locked from using thievery skills, owning houses, looting expensive objects and trading said expensive objects. Additionally, F2P players will be restricted to just one character slot.
Anyone wishing to unlock the additional features will have the opportunity of purchasing a monthly subscription. You can find the full F2P breakdown on the official site here.
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About the Author
Michael Dunaway has been part of the MMOBomb team for years and has covered practically every major Free-to-Play MMO title since 2009.
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There is SO MUCH FREAKING STUFF you can do in this game.
Its ultima online on steroids with upgraded graphics.
it has a long way to go, but if it gets the support it needs and keeps growing i could be a big hit.
addicting as all heck. not cookie cutter like 90% of the other games out there.
something challenging and completly different then whats on the market.
theres PVP and full loot. a criminal system (if you attack innocent players) in place.
you can craft just about anything. hunt animals. take over area of the game for your guild. build entire forts.
the only problem is the graphics, animations and sounds.
The environment looks AWESOME! a lot like Dark Souls. But character models are not so great. animations are kinda choppy as well. The sound effects in combat are weak as well.
But even as a free user, the sheer amount of things you can do is insane.
Most likely subbing to this game.
i recommend anyone that like sandbox MMORPGS, UO or just like something different and challenging (it does have a learning curve) to check it out.
Beware. it will make you think. its not WoW where you can just die and come back with your sword of 1000 truths and uber gear.... this game will set apart the real gamers from the people that just play COD all day...
started a 10 am.... 5pm and its still patching....
"Free to play" it says....
play what? restrictions are !@#$ing ridiculous...
-quote-
Free to Play accounts will have a skill restriction of 60 (from a possible 100). Subscribing will unlock all the features of the Premium Account. Free to Play accounts will be able to experience all of the basic gameplay and basic features found in Mortal Online.
Accounts that switch from Premium account to Free to Play will have their character skills max potential locked at 60. Should Free to Play accounts re-activate a subscription, their skill cap will raise again to 100 and previously earned skill points restored.
Both Free to Play accounts and Premium accounts start Mortal Online with 1 character slot. Additional character slots may be purchased for a maximum of 4 slots. Players who purchased the client previously (active sub or not) will grandfather in 3x character slots and will have the ability to purchase the 4th character slot. Grandfathered character slots will remain to the player, even if switching to the Free to Play model.
-end quote-
can we get a few thousand players to tell them how stupid their model is?
basically only subscribers or potential subscribers will be playing. the F2P player base will be almost non-existent on this game.
Fun game, reminds me of UO but 3D. Shame some of the restrictions make it more of a casual extra game to play than a main one to gather your pals to.