Why pay full price for this game? I mean really.
 

Pirates of the Caribbean Online has been out for almost 4 years now. I know a lot of you guys know this, but heres some information.

1. Lord of the Rings Online became free to play last fall.
2. Pirates of the Burning Sea became free to play a year ago.
3. Recently, Team Fortress 2 has become free to play.

Those are just a few example of games that have more depth, more effort, better gameplay, graphics, sound, and controls than Potco that have become f2p. On another plus side, they actually update their games more than twice a year!

Potco doesn't even have a trial period for membership, besides the random F2p to P2p events that happen every so often.

Why should we continue to support and pay 20$ (at least) for a shovelware title that never gets updated? Honestly, what ARE we paying for? Unless the Potco team can step up, I don't believe this game should have a price tag on it. Thoughts?

No game is ever going to not have a price tag on it... They are gonna wanna make money. VMK didn't last because it was free.

Well you have to remember that if the game went f2p, it might not be completely free. Games that are f2p like Pirates of the Burning Sea or Perfect World International require players to purchase in game credit or optional memberships to get most of the more interesting and powerful content. So its a question of how would POTCO work as a f2p game, would it have an option for premium membership that offers more than now, or would you have to buy credits to use certain clothing, items, ships etc. Also remember that some f2p games are much more expensive in the long run depending on how you play, so this could be bad for game play in POTCO for gamers who would not wanna go broke playing the game. I admit that POTCO does not get updates as frequent as other mmos which is a little sad considering its part of a massive franchise, but remember that Disney may not have a massive department of game development like other companies that make f2p games like Sony or Perfect World.

Trust me, I have heard this before.

I have accounts on both LOTRO and POTBS, my Rings character in the 30s and my Pirate at 23. Both of them are pretty good games, though I haven't played LOTRO in a while (I'm taking a stronger liking to the Burning Sea nowadays.) It's a good thing to get involved in whenever I'm having a slow day or the game is down - but I don't see myself playing them.

Why? Because it just doesn't appeal to me as POTCO does.

Call me irrational or unthoughtful, but we all have our preferences. Whether it's the community, the difficultly, or just plain how the game is run, I don't know. And although the main reason I'm still here in because of my guild, it's not the only reason - I just prefer this game.

And in the end, we, as gamers, all have to respect what we all prefer.

I play POTBS every once in a while, and used to play LOTRO, but I quit because it's just not my style of MMO. But. just like Del, I don't play them all the time. Now, granted, I don't play POTCO constantly like I used to, but I have been on a lot lately in an effort to master my main and get some Legendaries.

I do like this game more than the others, mostly because of it's lack of seriousness. POTBS is a very serious game, with a lot of PvP. Basically, the economy is almost reliant on being good at PvP, which I am not. :P As for LOTRO, it's just not me.

And, as Del said, everyone has their own preferences and can choose what they want. And most of the people on POF have a preference to POTCO.

It really comes down to whether you think the price is worth it and that goes for any game, including those with the F2P option.

If you think your money is well spent on something you enjoy, play frequently, and are happy with, then great. If you are not happy with the price, the game, or any other part of it, it's time to decide whether to stay or go.

Personally, I loved Pirates for the time I played, which was quite a while and I felt the cost was worth it ... at that time. I have since moved on to other things for entertainment, when I have the time or inclination, and if you were to ask me today if I'd resubscribe to POTCO, the answer would be a very decisive NO.

I really don't see Disney going with an F2P version of Pirates or their other games. Although Toontown does offer an unlimited free trial basis of the game, with restrictions on how much you can do of course. And even a game that has F2P options, is still not totally 'free' - you either earn credits ingame or have to buy credits for certain things.

Personally, when I look at online games, I see them as pay to play, no matter what.

Games that aren't pay to play need to survive off of ads, which can happen if there are enough companies which will profit because of the game but POTCO doesn't look like a game you'd play for free.

To be honest, I'm disappointed at the lack of updates just as much as you. When I look at Toontown and POTCO I see huge potential. And I mean HUGE potential. These are Disney run games, games which SHOULD prosper and be the basis that other online games shoot for.

Disney is a billion dollar company and should invest in this game. The problem is the amount of content they push out isn't enough to keep us entertained for years. We get bored within months of releases and then we have to wait more months for more content to come out. If Disney would just hire some more developers and put more money into this game, it would be great. I fear they look at these games as side attractions so the company can claim to be big in online gaming. Truth is, these two games are very creative and have great potential but Disney doesn't care enough about them.

POTCO and Toontown both should be pay to play, but I agree that they just don't get updated enough to be pay to play. this game is a few years old and we still haven't seen things like the Kraken(promised by developers to come out near the end of 2009!)

I don't think these games will be around much longer if Disney continues on this lazy track. The only way they're going to make millions off of these games is if they invest millions into it. We'll see what happens over the next decade, though.

Very good observation, Disney could make a great profit if they put more effort into their online games. The MMO market is a huge one which draws in a large amount of money each year, Disney seems to be focusing on other things more so than it which is rather sad. I believe the reason they do not want to put more effort into the game is that it would of course mean more money would be spent in development. Though more money would be spent they would be able to build the game up much more, and appeal to an even broader player base which is missed because of the lack of updates.

I honestly don't know how many times this has had to be explained.

The game isn't necessarily RUN by Disney as much as it is OWNED by Disney. The Pirates developer team is its own separate thing. I'm pretty sure they can't just go ask Disney for money. Disney has SO many other things going on. Don't you think they would much rather gather money from the box office than from people subscribed to a game? Movies are the basis of Disney. Movies are what makes Disney so successful. Yes, the smart thing would be to invest in this game, as it could possibly generate as much revenue as films. But then what would happen to their films? They would flatten out, and people would lose interest. Movies have a wider audience than games. Think about it, a single movie probably makes more money than this game does in a year, let alone a franchise like the POTC films.

What I'm trying to get at is that the POTCO team can't just hire more developers and be throwing out the updates. Finding someone that can make the game the way it has been isn't as easy as plucking them from a crowd. And even if they did start pumping the updates out, they would eventually have nothing else to give to us. They'd be fresh out of ideas and then the game would collapse. Sooner than if they take their time like they are now.

Updates take money, so they have to collect the money they've earned from paying players to do these sort of things. When they hit a really big update is when more money usually starts coming in, and they can either use this to hire more developers, or have another big update. More developers = faster updates, but not necessarily big updates every time. More big updates = more cash flow and even more big updates.

Basically it's whatever road they choose. If I missed anything, I'm sure someone will point it out.

Well. Its just like Disneyland and Disney World. Sure, if you are a total roller coaster freak, you look to Disneyland as a pushover and go to Six Flags. But, if you don't have that in you, (Such as myself xD) it seems that Disneyland is great, even though everything is expensive inside the place. (But THATS another story... I could talk for a bit about that.) Its the exact same with gaming. Some people are total graphics, updates, better weapons and such, who think POTCO is a waste of money. Then there is others who don't care about graphics, (At times) enjoy seeing movie spots, (Was I the only one somewhat excited when I met Jack Sparrow in the beginning?..) and aren't serious SERIOUS gamers on a computer. Now, to get to my point, as that was a comparison. Sure, Pirates Online may not get to many updates, or not be like POTBS, but is it just me, or do you always feel that adventure when you are doing Pirates Online? It just feels adventurous, like when your running away from skeletons or getting on the Black Pearl like the Pirates in Pirates of The Caribbean movies. I don't know if I had that in POTBS, (More likely because it didn't load) but I feel it here. And I'm not being a repeater but people are right! Its all on preference. Sure, I want some new updates, but who knows whats in store. Anybody remember the huge update when we got new Padres, Port Royal, and Tortuga? Then we got new weapons. Then we got SOTL and QAR (Later..) Now, they may be creating more! So, the final say from me is, if you don't like the game besides you have to pay, don't play. If you do like the game otherwise paying, then maybe play for a bit. I know what helps me here is to make a Pro's and Con's list. Yeah, old right? It actually works. Anyways, I think I have written too much.

The problem is that none of us really know what goes on out there or what is really going to happen with the game. We often try to romanticize the way any business works Disney included. I keep saying money will generate more money. And the Walt Disney Co. is an expert if not the master of this. POTCO will never go to F2P.

ahoy pieisbetter2,
I must ask... where are you getting this perspective from Mate?
for the record... This absolutely is full blooded Disney, as much as the attraction of Pirates is, so is this MMO.
The Pirates developer team located at DIMG Lankershim, 500 S. Buena Vista Street to be exact, IS 100% Disney and are all Cast Members. The Moderation Team who oversees the in game chat may be located two states above the Mouse house, but final resting and judgment resides with a Cast member located at DIMG Lankershim. Many, perhaps most of the people who work (or worked) at Disney do so for more than just money, although payment is a factor, there is a heritage or prestige that goes with employment with Disney esteemed by many.
Respectively “pieisbetter”, your perspectives on the game management were not accurate my friend. But, your certainly right in that the lead Overseer cannot just hire developers without justification for the request, and seeing the state our MMO (and many others) is in, Staff additions are not likely any time soon. :(

Actually, in POTBS you can get just about everything you need. You never need to buy anything you don't want. You can get all the ships you want and any building you want. And frankly, what you get is enough. The subscriptions and Treasure Aisle stuff are for people who want to specialize as sailors or traders. Just pointing out that it isn't absolutely necessary to have to pay for anything in POTBS. :P

You seem to be defending the fact that this game can go under any year now. Disney makes millions of dollars a day at the parks and attractions alone, not to mention the movies also bring in more money.

You're telling me that if Disney gives the developers, say, ten million more dollars to work on the game and update it, along with hiring new developers, that things would flatten out?

You really don't understand the amount of money Disney makes if you think spending a few million dollars on their online games would flatten the company out. Nothing would flatten out. They would still have billions of dollars left over for the theme parks and the movies. I don't understand why you think things would flatten out just because their online games would be boosted.

Disney has no excuse for giving up on these games. They own these games and right now they're just bragging rights. They can say they produce video games and MMO's, but that doesn't mean they produce good MMO's.

I'm completely disappointed by whoever is in charge of making these games survive. They have SO much potential, more than any other MMO out there, possibly even more than WOW. The problem is, Disney looks as these games as show cases, not profit.

EDIT: I love Toontown and POTCO both and that's why I'm being harsh on Disney. These two games are amazing to play and they're simply beautiful to look at.(for MMO's, that is) Playing Toontown since 2004 and POTCO since Beta in 2007, I've been a fan of the two games since the beginning. Each year I see these games decline, the majority of the decline being since 2008 to 2011. Toontown hasn't seen a major update(such as a new Cog HQ) since 2008 and we haven't seen a new story quest(involving the Kraken) since the beginning of POTCO.

Something is telling me these games are slowly getting cut out of the Disney equation. Whoever wanted to put these games out on the market must have thought they could spend a little amount of money and make an even greater amount. It just doesn't work that way and I fear within the next ten years these games will be out of the MMO contest. With each year other games soar and these get left in the dust. Disney needs to open their eyes and realize they're sitting on a diamond mine.

I'd just like to add my two gold coins worth to this thread....

I am pretty new to online gaming, having followed my kids into the Caribbean earlier this year. My kids have now moved on to pastures new while I have stayed.

Kat is now on the brink of making Master Pirate, I am in a guild which I enjoy immensely and I take part in all sorts of adventures and escapades around the Caribbean with a group of good friends. I am only limited by my imagination and ingenuity ( or lack of...!).

What's the attraction? For me it is the social aspects of this game that make it worthwhile....it was so easy to make friends in the early days, join a guild and plunder and loot with different crews. I also find it fascinating to meet so many different players from around the world in a location which I really enjoy.

Like many others, I have also ventured into other sites like Lotro, but still prefer POTCO, even though it costs me my hard earned loot.

Yes, I would like to see more updates and less lag, the chat restrictions drive me insane at times and being disconnected every so often can be irritating too. I have many ideas about how to improve the game for older as well as younger players but I can still see myself staying here for a while yet because of the pirates I have met in game.

So far then, the good points outweigh the bad ones, I'm starting to play with a second pirate now too and rediscovering the joys of dying every time I tackle an enemy........and I am still willing to pay good money to do it.

All a matter of opinion. I paid for POTC online for over a year and then took a break for 2 years. Now I'm back since they have made changes to the game. I think no matter what the game is you need a break every now and then. All a matter of what you feel the worth of it is. Nobody is forcing anyone to pay for anything. If you want more than basic access options then you need to pay. If you feel what Disney is charging is unfair, then don't play. Pretty straight forward if you ask me. I know plenty of POTC online players that also play other games......but once a Pirate, always a Pirate in my book.

:dancetl6:

Everyone is just running over my good points.

Basically, don't say the POTCO team ISN'T trying. They give us an update and then everyone is all excited, and next thing you know everyone is complaining. I don't see the need for an update every week. If that's what you're expecting, this probably isn't a game for you. Like other's have said, this isn't really a game for hardcore gamers. I mean, it is aimed at a younger audience after all. So if you think Disney is being lazy and isn't really trying, then go ahead and leave. Nothing's stopping you.

Take a look at the economy, mates-worldwide. Even, big corporations are affected. And from what I have learned, POTCO cannot just take money from other divisions of Disney. It is a seperate entity. It's not like borrowing money from your friend-there are legalities & borders which affect the influx of monies from other Disney divisions. Although, I am not an expert at all this, I have gathered that Disney MMO games are dependant, for the most part, on the paid accounts. When you have a job-you earn wages. Then you pay your bills according to necessity. Any money left-over-if there is any-can be used for extras. Everyone has their own preferences like stated above, but, I for one will stick with POTCO as long as it is around.

Remember.....the game is much more than just playing. It's about making great Pirate friends (in my opinion). That to me....is priceless.......

:dancetl6:

No one is saying that they are not trying, we all can agree that the POTCO team try. They are just not getting the proper backup from Disney to really make this game what we all would expect from a Disney product that's all. Your points were good points but not valid points. Nothing against you PIB.

Imagine watching Toy Story 3 and then the animations begin to slow down and get very rough and pixelated like an old N64 game. Then it stops and abruptly ends. Then you get a message that you'll be able to continue the story soon, somehow, somewhere. In the mean time, you can still watch and enjoy the part that is good and enjoy the company of other moviegoers. And they'll make candy and popcorn available while you wait for the rest of the movie.

I am hard on them because like many others, I too see the great potential this game has. And I bet that the POTCO team knows this too. They just need support to make it happen. And not just moral support. I will stay with the game until the ship fully sinks. Also the game is not aimed at younger audiences, the game is suitable for younger audiences.

When did anybody say we wanted an update every week?

An update every week isn't necessary, sure. But when you have an entire year and you only put out ONE "large" update, people are going to complain. People complain when new releases come out because they're poorly tested, and lazily created, which means that you have to wait another week of maintenance before you actually get to play the update. Games that are aimed towards a "younger" audience aren't exempt from ever making quality games. Telling somebody to "Go ahead and leave" isn't a solution for this problem.

There really isn't an excuse for the poor quality of this game after 3 years. The more and more I explore the realm of freeware titles, the more and more I see how easy it is to make and provide upkeep for a game despite a non-existent budget. Look at Cube: 2 Sauerbraten for example. When you have a budget, especially when operating under the Disney flagship, there simply is no excuse. Looking at the quality of this game and the quality of the updates, it's rather obvious that the potco team is lazy, yet they feel more and more content to dig their own grave. They're intentionally vague about updating their game and have absolutely no interaction with the paying customers. If they came out and said "Hey, we don't have the experienced programmers to release obligatory things such as the Kraken" i'd regain my respect for them. But saying that would lose money, and money is everything in a shovelware title.

To go for the record, I realize that many of you enjoy hanging out with guild/friends. Hanging out with friends is the perfect excuse to play this game, but the community shouldn't be one of the few things good about this game.

The PotcO team MUST create several updates increasing the quality of this game (Latency, more servers, more upkeep, better interactions with community, more updates) otherwise I don't see this game open for much longer.

Here's a little perspective for those who question whether or not this is a "money-maker" for Disney, and therefore, whether it's in their (pocketbook) interest to make this game attractive.

As of today there are 155,100 pirates registered with the game, under the beginning letter of their name A only.

I didn't bother to search any further...seemed like a good enough place to start.

Charitably, let's say that only 10% of them P2P...that's 15,510 folks forking out their hard-earned money.

Those 15,510 people (the 10% of the registered A names) would account for a minimum of $1,240,800 in Disney's coffers per year. And that's if they're paying annually...if they pay semi-annually, or monthly, it's even more.

And, by the way, I stink at math, but I can grasp those figures.

Over a million dollars a year from one letter of a pirate's name? I didn't bother to go onto B. There's 26 letters in the alphabet, folks.

Even if you cut the percentage to 1%, you're talking $155,510 a year. From one letter in the alphabet. Times 26 is $4,043,260.00 a year.

Yes, we can argue about Q-names and X-names, and Y-names and Z-names and their frequency being less all day long, but that's not the point. Disney is making money on this game that is not being funneled back into content/gameplay.

Panda3d is Disney's baby. This entire game is Disney from the beginning to the end.

I play another MMORPG which is, on the surface, F2P, but if you want to accomplish anything you use real money to buy things. However...they update weekly. They introduce new content, at the minimum, monthly.

Don't get me wrong...I've been playing PotCO since the beginning. I take breaks (sometimes extended) from the game out of frustration. But don't think Disney couldn't do a MUCH better job of delivering content and enhanced gameplay.

They're making money on this game. No doubt about it. But the money isn't going back into the game.

I love this game. I'll stick by it until...but I know it could be so much more.

Again I insert the fact that if there was more than one 'large' update a year, the game would easily run out of things to include. A couple small to medium updates every month or whatnot is how the POTCO team DOES keep people here. And yes, people also complain because sometimes new releases are buggy and don't work. But that's all part of the process. I don't expect a PERFECT game. I mean, there's really no such thing. Game aimed at a younger audience have to be more simple. Imagine a 10 year old trying to learn the aspects of a more in depth game. It just doesn't work that way often. And if someone just leaves, it usually fixes the problem of not liking where the game is at.

Well what else would you expect from a game of three years? I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of criticism for saying this, but I honestly think Disney is still learning how to keep up with gaming. Sure sure, Toontown has been around for like, 10 years now, and yes, there are still a lot of things wrong with it. I won't deny that. But it doesn't mean that they've given up or decided that they don't care. After all, they're paid to do the best they can. Making accusations that they are lazy with it is absurd. Everything has flaws.

More servers, updates, and all of that takes money. And I'm pretty positive that a good majority of the money earned from paying players is passed onto the large branch of Disney. The rest is used to pay the people on the POTCO team and updates. It's simple as that.

So in essence some of us are paying for them to learn how to make a game? This is Disney we are talking about. A company that doesn't half-do things. And as someone pointed out, if the game is aimed at a younger audience that doesn't give them an excuse to have such a mediocre-at-best product. It's aimed at younger audiences lets just learn how to this whole gaming business, because they are kids what do they know? You seem to forget that 10 year old play other much more "sophisticated" games on consoles like... say Call Of Duty.

A year One game should be ready to lunch specially since there are so much examples out there to emulate when it come to success. And more importantly because they have to compete with those "veteran" games out there. After 3 years, me as a consumer of Disney products in all of their varieties, I expect nothing but the best from them. This game should be running smoothly without all the issues that we all have dealt with. Lets use Zynga as an example they had a breakout year last year and they are continuing their success, granted the games are very different, but they knew what to do and they did it right. They didn't stop and learn a few things along the way, no they opened their checkbooks and started hiring people like the former Chief Creative Officer of EA.

I don't see how this great and awesome game, that we all unquestionably love and enjoy, will survive in the next 2 years if they don't invest in their own product.

I agree with the lack of input into this game. I do want to see more updates, but I think disney is doing an extremely good job when it comes to being original, which they seem to receive no credit for. Many ideas are completely different from other games, while ideas that are inspired from other games (like loot) are made so that they appear different, and new, instead of just ripped off from another game, which is what many games are doing.

I think it may be that a lot of time is being spent on making their updates original. I have often looked at other games, and have realized how diffucult it is to be inspired by it, but not copy it. it takes a lot of thought, imagination, creativity, and time.

So while we are waiting for updates, i think it is a very good idea to play other games while you wait. This way, you can both enjoy the creativity of POTCO, but experience lots of updates from a game that is... less creative.

I highly doubt this game is going down any time soon. Look at Toontown. See how long it's been up? They haven't had a whole lot of big updates in a while either. But they've still pounded through 10 years. We're going through the same thing.

Nah.

Pirates Online's community is mostly based on the pirates films. Since we just got our last pirates film (probably) we're going to be losing interest in this game from Disney. Disney likes the "this game was a promotional tool" excuse when closing down games.

Nah.

The doomsday prophecy for POTCO has been around since At World's End was released from the theaters. People frenzied, thinking we were on the edge of extinction and began to come up with delirious rumors, saying that they weren't releasing the Karken because they were shutting down the game, blah blah.

People always say the world is going to end during their generation - same for MMO's. And I think that with how the game is doing compared to the content drought of 2008, we should be fine for now. I'll head to that bunker underneath my tavern when I hear the word from Disney themselves :pirate6:

That's true. Forget what I said.

On stranger tides is far from being the last pirates film. Disney is going to continue milking that cash cow until they run out of ideas.

Swash is correct. They will continue making films until they star losing major box-office revenue. In fact, the 5th movie is reportedly in "talks" (possible casting options, screenplay, writing and such) though at this point I'm not putting much faith in the reports. By next January it'll be certain or not.

After reading through this entire thread, I need to make some very clear points made.

1. Disney does NOT use the money made from movies to make games. Money made from movies is pumped right back into more movies. Same with games- money made from games is pumped right back into those games.

2. Do you know how MUCH programming is required just to allow you to hit "shift" and walk through a door, much less to program ONE table of Blackjack? I recently began to learn how to program computer games. After I finished reading the book on how to program, my first computer game was a very, very, simple blackjack game, with the cards as white blocks with numbers on them. You know how much programming that took? Over 1200 lines of numbers, parentheses, brackets, and other such things. In fact, when you read the program, it looks like a bunch of gibberish. It most likely takes well over several BILLION lines of code to program a game as extensive as Pirates. Plus, you have to have specially trained programmers for a game like Pirates.

3. With my second point in mind, remember this: The Pirates team also has to animate, draw, color, and everything else that makes this game have any color or graphics at all. To program something like the Kraken would take a very long time.

Finally, the Pirates team listens more than you think. They do read the forums, and they do care about what the players want.

lol I used to think like that too. I know what it takes to make a game and how boring code can be.. but think about it. They REALLY need to step it up if they want to last much longer... A ton more games beats this game in ammount of quests, story, map size, graphics. I mean this game is pretty low on the totem poll now.. I still enjoy it don't get me wrong. I just like this genre and I'm a huge pirates fan. If I was just looking for a fun game to play though. This would probably be my last choice. You can understand how hard it is for them to do these things, but there are countless examples of others doing better.

Alright, so there are others who have some better games. How many of them are kid-friendly? Very few. How many kids play this game? A lot.

I personally play Pirates above, say... WoW or games along that line, because I would rather cut the gore out of my gameplay. Sure, I kind of want to try LOTRO, but only because I want to see how it plays against POTCO. Plus, Pirates supports Mac. Many, many games do not support Mac. Sure, they may have better graphics, quests, etc... but what does it benefit the wonderful Pirates who use Mac computers?

I play LOTRO. Its kid friendly there is no gore. The graphics are extremely polished way over top of POTCO. Updates are meaningful. Theres thousands of quests. Their updates are very nice. A few weeks ago there was an update adding 50 new quests for higher lvl players. Then 2 weeks later another 20 for higher lvl players. Now I'm not very high so I've not reached that content but I think that beats out POTCO's new island every 3 years.. :/ I really wanna keep playing POTCO but its becoming harder when theres other games that can beat out POTCO so easliy and theres no real meaningful updates within a good range. Granted I will be playing potco much less when SWTOR comes out.

I think the fact that the POTCO community(and Toontown's community) is so friendly is the reason it's a decent online game. POTCO and Toontown bans the people most other online games won't. If there's any sign of threats or bad language they're on top of it, so the majority of the community is full of "nice" people.

The only problem I have with the game is that the content doesn't roll in as fast as other games. That's not necessarily bad(I'm patient) but other people want content every three months or a new boss battle every year. We just don't get that from a game like POTCO.

I'd just like to see Disney hire more developers to get the content rolling out. What the developers put out is very entertaining and has good replay value but it's just too little in these days where games like call of duty get a new map pack every two months.

In-game, POTCO does not ban players the right way. There was a player who dropped the F bomb at another player but did not get banned. However there was a player who got banned for saying a forum website based on potco??? POTCO needs a lot of reorganization in the game as far as everything goes....


I think the game does not need new content as much as it needs fixing what already is there for the time being. There is so many issues compared to other games that i personally hate more than i like new content. After fixing the game then the POTCO developers need a plan for their updates. An example would be uploading patches of new quests, enemies, place changes, bosses, ships, weapons, etc. every 5 months. Updates For mastered Pirates such as quests only for level 50s, A cave or Two with high levels and bosses only for level 50s pirates, etc. Quests for pirates on the low levels. In a few words, LONG TERM CONTENT ADDED A FEW TIMES A YEAR.

QAR was added, in a week, it became boring for many. Invasion was added it became boring for a lot withing a few months for many pirates. Fleet was added, It became boring within a few weeks. Now the Scoundrel of the seas with the Bounty Hunters got added and it was fun in the beginning however after doing it a few times, it becomes boring. PLAYERS DO NOT LIKE TO SEE A REPEAT. That's what QAR, SOTL, Invasions have been, Repeats for all level players. That is fun only in the beginning then after a few days, weeks or maybe in the rare case months its plain boring.

I play potco for the social aspect...I don't pay anymore and doubt I ever will again...but I'll still play

Totally agree with you. I played potco for a while, and i have been retired for almost a year now. There have only been maybe 3 long-term content updates(Correct me if i'm wrong) Those are Svs, the new looting system, and ravens cove(maybe). What i find very wrong with this game, is the lack of end-game content. Once we reach level 50 (Which almost everyone eventually does) then what? Sure, we could hunt for legendary weapons but that could be very very frustrating. Svs could be fun, but that will die out eventually.

Now i dont know if anyone remembers that weekend about 2 years ago, where svs was glitched. And if you launched a spanish ship, and ported at the french island, you could kill anyone on the french island. It was a warzone, one of the most fun times ive ever had on this game. I remember, me and 3 other people would stand on top of the tower on the french island, and just throw seige and pretend like we were in an actual war. Potco needs something like that, Just like a pvp island, where there are 2 teams, and they could just kill the other team.
Honestly, i dont think thats too much to ask for.

@Leo. I agree 100% about the banning. I'm sick and tired of seeing rude players go around and not get banned even if I report them. I had someone once make threats towards me and my real life. That, IMO, should be an instant Perma/IP ban. Now lets turn to Abassa, where people drop curses like Leo said all the time (maybe with a little dot between the letters or something) and never get banned. And yet people get warnings for saying completely innocent things. POTCO, if you are reading this, which I hope you are, drop everything. FIX THE REPORT SYSTEM! I'm sick and tired of seeing idiots get away with rotten attitudes towards others get reported and be just fine. I'm sorry but if you want to make a great game, start with cleaning up the community. I have a friend who plays Dungeons and Dragons online and the community is AMAZING! Sure, the game is directed to a slightly older audience (teens, mostly) so you can get away with things like cursing, but as for manners and friendliness, the game is amazing. The players are extremely friendly. My brother was playing on his character, not very low of a level, and some nice person he never knew before went out of his way to forge him a really powerful sword. Why? Because he was nice. POTCO has few people like that these days.

I pay for this game for several reasons. The first being that I like to level. I have one pirate mastered and I'm hoping to master my second soon. I find leveling, looting, using weapons, etc. fun. I am not the kind of person who gets bummed out because I don't have something new. I'm perfectly happy using what I have. In NEW ways. I am happy meeting new FRIENDLY people, running my guild, and other things. Plus, giving POTCO my money will be one more person giving them money, so they can release more updates in the future.

Leo, all your other ideas are good. A PvP island would be great not just for fun but it would be great to build infamy points. Ship customization is probably coming soon, based on looking at the bounty hunters and their unique looks to them. Probably new ship classes with them. New skills are needed, 'nuff said. Raids, I'm not completely sure what you mean. Do you mean things like a Treasure Map you could do with your crew that takes you to a separate area, and you have to do something like get to the center of a cave for a reward? If so, I agree. Sort of like a dungeon in other games.

Overall, I do like this game. While others may disagree with me and call me an idiot, I pay for it because I like it. I like the laid back theme, the socialization, the fighting, and my guild. I have enough reason to pay right now. Why pay for this game? Because I want to. I enjoy it, and I feel that, while there are aspects of it that are inferior to other online games, it is something that, if you look in the right places, is worth playing in every way.

In my experience games that are free-to-play are usually below average. I guess everyone has different likes/opinions.

Well then, Potco could fall very easily in that category, then ;)

The games I listed aren't below average. (unless you somehow hate their gameplay) Team Fortress 2 is brought up in every "What is the greatest FPS ever" conversation, and now it's free. Lotro has perplexing depth, as does Potbs.

Also, i'd like everyone to check out Leo's thread... it has some interesting things there.

...

This conversation is how pirates online is NOT above average, or if it is able to warrant payment considering that there are so many games that are actually up to par out there.
heres a link to leos thread.

http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...ad.php?t=26313

Have you ever played the games listed? I've played LOTRO and continue to play LOTRO although I play pirates more. This game is F2P all the way to lvl 65 which is just 10 levels below max. Theres at least a thousand quests to do and all are interesting and long not little short go kill this and ur done and get no reward quests like POTCO. Theres raids and all sorts of things to do there for FREE. You even have the chance to earn the turbine points they use.. which you can buy with real currency they let you earn that IN-GAME. You can then purchase all the locks that F2P membership has and you've got a good account there. POTCO has nothing like this at all. They have one strong storyline quest that is pretty short. the LOTRO map is extremely larger there. If it weren't for my guild and the community here at POTCO I would not be spending my money here I'd be there. Then later on I'd be moving to SWTOR.

Guys, coming to a FANSITE to complain about the very game that we (and apparently you were, at one point) are fans of, just makes you a griefer in my mind. I won't care if you provide constructive criticism, because the game is far from perfect, but putting the game down for no real reason is another thing.

Nobody here is complaining. I've read the previous posts completely and thoroughly. Everyone has brought up legitimate, caring responses to this pressing matter. Not everyone on POF is an unequivocal "fan" of this game. If you truly believe otherwise, read everyone's posts in this topic ;) There clearly are some people who care about our "biased all to negative opinions." I don't see any bias in this topic either. Everyone has brought up problems that actually exist in this game, such as unexplained lagging on top-notch computers due to server instability, and insufficient clipping allowing for the ease of glitching. There's nothing all to-negative about that, as they actually exist. We aren't stretching the actual impact that this has on our experiences when we play. It's interesting to hear what people have to say about this topic, as PotcO is seriously lacking in a large amount of gaming requisites that other modern, free to play games have. This is a real issue. It's not about if you like the game or not. Additionally, constructive criticism on this game is nearly useless, as the PotcO team is in the dark to it's community.

Most of us want to like this game. I've really, really tried to come up with excuses to play this game. But Disney is so intent on making it as frustrating as possible to actually play the game correctly, you start to wonder if the money is really going towards this game.

Embracing different opinions is a necessary part of life. In the course of my 3 years at POF (mostly lurking,) i've created a total of 2 topics that addressed PotcO's inherent unplayability. This topic is one of them. The other topic I made a year ago, which brought up the scarce amount of updates to the gameplay, game engine, and the servers that PotcO desperately needed. All of these problems are still present today, ironically.

If you can't express your opinion on a fansite, then what has the POF come to?

Please remember to debate the TOPIC and not the person.
Thanks..

Alright, perhaps this thread goes any further, I should say a few things.

Tay's main post was NOT an attack on Pirates Online. In my eyes, his post was certainly not along the lines of other threads we have seen, which have expressed flat out hatred towards the game. Instead, he was trying to make us realize that compared to other MMO's, Disney needs to step up it's game if it wants to survive in today's market. Whether you agree with this or not, is up to you - but everybody has a right to express their opinion in their own way, just as Tayseth did, minus the personal attacks.

That being said, I have played two out of the three games, and I think we all have misconceived them for what they are.

LOTRO is a very large and expansive game, with enough areas and quests that as soon as you finish one thing, you have plenty of other things at your disposal. Not only that, but the game itself has very unique missions at every turn, with all sorts of instanced areas, dungeons, and all that stuff. It's at times like you have an entire game that fits your own actions, made just for you.

POTBS starts out a little slower than LOTRO, but it definitely has something to it. I keep finding myself going from port to port, stopping in one to do as many quests as possible, and doing them there, while I work on the two story arcs that I have with me. And each quest has it's own creative spin or challenge that keeps you involved - and trust me when I say that the sailing in POTBS almost becomes addictive after a while.

In the end, everything here is constructive. Nobody in this thread is telling you what to do or where to go - but they are making you aware that POTCO isn't the only thing in the world gunning for our money.

I believe if the game went with the same payment options as Wizard 101, Lord of the Rings Online, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Dungeons & Dragons Online, etc etc... it can definitely still gain the money needed for more content and probably gain more members. They just have to be sure to satisfy people who pay a monthly subscription and those who play for free but stuff via point system.

Like for example, in Wizard 101, once I hit locked areas... I had the choice to buy them using crowns (their point system) or pay a monthly fee. I chose crowns because once I pay for those areas, they are unlocked for life. I also bought a house with crowns and some unique pets. If I were to sub, I wouldn't be able to access those areas if I chose to go back to free-to-play. They also sell pets, mounts, clothes, houses, etc etc via crowns. However, some of the stuff can be gain through in game currency rather than paying with crowns.

POTCO can definitely do what the others are doing but again, they have to make it work for both people who sub to play and people who don't sub. At it's current state, it is definitely not working on the free-to-play side. I understand, in order for a game to keep going money is required but to be like "you can't use certain skills cause you don't pay" as well as restricting basic members to just TWO light ships was kinda meh in my book.

I think Disney needs to setup some kind of section on the website, with articles or videos of the developers explaining the status of Pirates Online, what's coming up in the future, etc, and the interview would actually have the real developers in it.

More communication, is what I am saying, as they do not respond to what issues we bring up to them anywhere public, such as their Blog.

After communication, then I believe should come the bug/glitch fixes and performance fixes, then I think they could change the payment system as the game will be more stable.

I suggest we all continue to send them feedback. Playing on Test and submitting reports to fix existing issues and/or issues in new content is essential in my opinion.

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G using Tapatalk

Definitely, I agree. The game has to be in tip-top shape before anything. I really do want this game to be successful and become better. It has a lot of potential.

Lets go back to the main question: Why pay full price for this game?: Because I out of all the MMO's I have played, this is the one thst I think is worth my money.

Nuff said.

Well stated......

Why pay full price? Well, you don't have to.

Either pay for more months in advance for a discounted rate (Disney site) , or play basic access.

The other option is don't play if it truly bothers you that much.

I think all points have been addressed.