tc3 for free?

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

but to play in tc3 you have to pay for an account. the idea is that tc3 would be free for everyone, like beta testers until ea land is open, even those who don't have existing accounts, thus bringing in new people. hope that clears it up for you, da

[/ QUOTE ]

Nobody is unclear Mario, we just disagree. Playing in TC3 is a choice.....if you don't want to pay to be a 'beta tester' then you certainly don't have to, but nor should you expect to get that privilege for free should you choose to utilize it. Back in beta days ALL the cities were free, there was no differential between pay cities and non pay cities.....as Polly pointed out, what you're suggesting and advocating would cause a huge billing nightmare for EA. People would create sims in TC3 and then not play them, simply so they could say they had a sim there and therefore should be eligible to have that account free. Soon nobody would be paying for their TSO accounts between now and the time EA Land opens up, and if that ever happened, I can guarantee you EA Land will never be because they are not, contrary to popular opinion, doing this strictly out of the goodness of their hearts. They are not going to put up with not making a profit indefinitely, or even for much longer at all. It seems you are the one who doesn't understand why this idea seems like a good one on the surface, but has too many 'holes' in the scenario for the 'ship' to stay afloat.....I hope some of these answers have been an eye opener for you, and you might understand a little bit better why so many people are saying no no no when you might have thought everybody would be for getting something for nothing

 

[mariotso]

whether players say no, understand, think it's brilliant, think it's a billing nightmare or whatever matters not

the intention was not to create a debate, it is to communicate to the devs/ea/maxis who have yet to reply.

and so we wait

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

whether players say no, understand, think it's brilliant, think it's a billing nightmare or whatever matters not

the intention was not to create a debate, it is to communicate to the devs/ea/maxis who have yet to reply.

and so we wait

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is not the place to do that, if you want to present this to the developers then the way do to that, to have them see it the fastest and to respond to it in a timely manner is to present it as a page on the Wiki site since the blog seems to be only for responding to posts that are created by Luc and team rather than submitting your own ideas. Yes the developers read here, but as I understand it this forum is pretty low on their priority list of places to check for ideas. The mindset seems to be that if players feel strongly enough about their ideas to really want to see them in game, then they will take the time to formulate a Wiki page, or they will hit one of the fine helpers we have here that are familiar with the Wiki format up to do it for them. I am sure that if you organize your thoughts a little better into something that is more of a formal proposal of sorts that Niki, or Isaac, or anybody else who are pro's on the Wiki would be happy to submit it for you and credit you with the idea. So, the ball is in your court. The proof is in the pudding so to speak, how passionate are you about your idea? Passionate enough to put some real time and thought into tying up the loose ends, thinking of ways to plug up the loopholes in the theories that people have pointed out to you? Link us back to it if/when you do decide to make a Wiki page, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would like to see it and would like to see what the devs might or might not say about it there

 

[imported_DutchAmerica]

<blockquote><hr>

whether players say no, understand, think it's brilliant, think it's a billing nightmare or whatever matters not

the intention was not to create a debate, it is to communicate to the devs/ea/maxis who have yet to reply.

and so we wait

[/ QUOTE ]

If you don't want a debate on something then why start a thread? You could also just IM your suggestion to the devs.

However, I hope the devs continue to work towards getting the merge done and fixing the bugs and not waste time setting up tc3 for 'freebies' accounts.

There are free trial accounts that people can use if they'd like to play the game for free.

 

[mariotso]

your statement simply is not true as polly confirmed above

the pub, wiki AND the forums are all places to communicate ideas and concerns

as i do not enjoy the pub, don't have the time or interest to learn a wiki, i'm grateful for this logical choice

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>


your statement simply is not true as polly confirmed above

the pub, wiki AND the forums are all places to communicate ideas and concerns

as i do not enjoy the pub, don't have the time or interest to learn a wiki, i'm grateful for this logical choice

[/ QUOTE ]

Polly said:

<blockquote><hr>

To answer a question raised here, yes the developers very definitely read these forums.

[/ QUOTE ]

and I never contradicted what she said. I did not say the devs do not read these forums, I said they do not make these forums a PRIORITY and therefore you will not get as timely a response or as thorough a response as you would if you visited the Pub, the Wiki and/or the blog where the devs regularly do make their presence a priority. I'm sorry if you misunderstood what I said to mean that they do not read here at all, I simply thought that you wanted your idea to be seen by the 'big cheese' as soon as possible and wanted maximum benefit and exposure for it. Somehow I knew you were going to say that you didn't have the 'time or interest' to learn about the Wiki, but then that answers my question of how passionate you are about your ideas and how much you really want to see them in the game. If there was something that I really wanted dev feedback in particular on, and REALLY really wanted to see it in the game, and I had not figured out the Wiki or the blog, wild horses couldn't stop me from learning it, no matter how much time it took. Whether I had to spend my free time after work or school or whatever for days and days to finally get the hang of it, I would if it was an issue I was truly empassioned about. That's all I was saying, and that's what I was trying to find out from you was how commited you were to doing everything you could do to see that your idea came to fruition. Doesn't mean that it would, but it would mean that you could honestly sit back and say that you did everything within your power to make it happen......the rest is out of your hands. By simply posting here, I don't believe you can say that, because as others have pointed out, this is a sounding board for getting feedback primarily from other players, which is what you said you DON'T want or don't care about, so actually posting it here was almost counterproductive, IMHO.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

your statement simply is not true as polly confirmed above

the pub, wiki AND the forums are all places to communicate ideas and concerns

as i do not enjoy the pub, don't have the time or interest to learn a wiki, i'm grateful for this logical choice

[/ QUOTE ]

Baloney!

If you had any real interest in seeing your idea implemented, rather than stirring drama for the sake of attention, you would PM, anyone of the team that have accounts here, directly, instead of posturing in front of other posters.

If you are too uncommitted to your own idea to do that, why should anyone waste time and effort discussing it with you?

Stratics is a player run site, for player game discussion. When someone posts a thread here, it is for players, by players, and about players.

The fact that the Devs sometimes take part in player discussion, does not make this the main communication channel to them. They in fact, found this to be such an unsatisfactory place, for the purposes of communicating the changes they are making in the game, that they created the Blog and the Wiki for that purpose.

If you don't "have the time or interest" to use the tools they gave you, then why should they or anyone else take the "time or interest" to give you a response?

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

your statement simply is not true as polly confirmed above

the pub, wiki AND the forums are all places to communicate ideas and concerns

as i do not enjoy the pub, don't have the time or interest to learn a wiki, i'm grateful for this logical choice

[/ QUOTE ]

Baloney!

If you had any real interest in seeing your idea implemented, rather than stirring drama for the sake of attention, you would PM, anyone of the team that have accounts here, directly, instead of posturing in front of other posters.

If you are too uncommitted to your own idea to do that, why should anyone waste time and effort discussing it with you?

Stratics is a player run site, for player game discussion. When someone posts a thread here, it is for players, by players, and about players.

The fact that the Devs sometimes take part in player discussion, does not make this the main communication channel to them. They in fact, found this to be such an unsatisfactory place, for the purposes of communicating the changes they are making in the game, that they created the Blog and the Wiki for that purpose.

If you don't "have the time or interest" to use the tools they gave you, then why should they or anyone else take the "time or interest" to give you a response?

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[mariotso]

yeah umm, i'm thinking i'm not all those things you described wild horses empassioned live or die etc

i'm really just happy to have them read it here

 

[mariotso]

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

 

[Guest]

You stirred the pot by doing this:

You asked a question with a reason behind it and directed it towards the devs. You wanted an answer straight from the devs. You posted it in a public place where everyone could see it, on purpose.

Is that clear enough for you??

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

The bold part, if you wanted it for them only to see, you should have sent a PM. Posting it out in the open like you did is an obvious attack at the community.

On topic, should tc3 be free, hell no!!!!! There is no reason for it, not to mention the financial situation that the game is in. Sure, make tc3 free, if you really want EALand to fail.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

The bold part, if you wanted it for them only to see, you should have sent a PM. Posting it out in the open like you did is an obvious attack at the community.

On topic, should tc3 be free, hell no!!!!! There is no reason for it, not to mention the financial situation that the game is in. Sure, make tc3, if you really want EALand to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, hold on just a minute here. I read the opening post and I don't see how in any way that is an attack on the community here. Its a well worded, calm suggestion, its not attacking anyone, its simply one person's suggestion.

Last I heard anyone was entitled to come here and make a suggestion. For the life of me I don't see how this could be construed as an attack on the community.

To those of you that don't like the original suggestion, thats fine. Give your reasons for not supporting it, but please lets not get into questioning the motives and the integrity of someone that simply came here and posted an opinion.

Polly

edited to correct typo

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

The bold part, if you wanted it for them only to see, you should have sent a PM. Posting it out in the open like you did is an obvious attack at the community.

On topic, should tc3 be free, hell no!!!!! There is no reason for it, not to mention the financial situation that the game is in. Sure, make tc3 free, if you really want EALand to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

You must not of caught Luc's post on the blog awhile back before Sarah changed the blog entry, if you doubt me go look through the blog and you will see where Sarah edited Luc's entry. Luc himself wanted to make TC3 free to attract more players to the game. There is a thread about it here somewhere also, I really see no need to look for it as I already know.

As far as cheerleaders go, I think it has gotten to the point that they are doing more harm than good now, and I can honestly say I have been on both sides of that fence. Maybe it's time to allow others to have an opinion without the attacks, might just make your points seem slightly valid to those that oppose them. TYVM and have a SUPER -D-DUPER day.

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

The bold part, if you wanted it for them only to see, you should have sent a PM. Posting it out in the open like you did is an obvious attack at the community.

On topic, should tc3 be free, hell no!!!!! There is no reason for it, not to mention the financial situation that the game is in. Sure, make tc3, if you really want EALand to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, hold on just a minute here. I read the opening post and I don't see how in any way that is an attack on the community here. Its a well worded, calm suggestion, its not attacking anyone, its simply one person's suggestion.

Last I heard anyone was entitled to come here and make a suggestion. For the life of me I don't see how this could be construed as an attack on the community.

To those of you that don't like the original suggestion, thats fine. Give your reasons for not supporting it, but please lets not get into questioning the motives and the intergrity of someone that simply came here and posted an opinion.

Polly

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you Polly, I am glad you see that as well. WTH has gotten into this forum lately?

 

[Guest]

It's not the original post that is the problem, it is all the subsequent 'in your face', snotty replies to the other posters, who also have a right to their opinion on a subject posted on a discussion forum.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not Gilly but I'll tell you why I agree with her 118%! Its where you said you don't care what the other players think, you just want Dev feedback. If you don't think that remark was highly inflammatory and was gonna get you some grief, well, consider yourself educated now.

She's right, if you are too lazy to get up off your butt and post things where they ought to be posted so they can be read in a significantly faster frame of time by the audience you're aiming at, then you really don't care about the subject you're talking about, and are just looking to stir the chamber pot. Here's a clue, buddy.....[censored] floats, and [censored] in a chamber pot stinks more when stirred

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

The bold part, if you wanted it for them only to see, you should have sent a PM. Posting it out in the open like you did is an obvious attack at the community.

On topic, should tc3 be free, hell no!!!!! There is no reason for it, not to mention the financial situation that the game is in. Sure, make tc3, if you really want EALand to fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, hold on just a minute here. I read the opening post and I don't see how in any way that is an attack on the community here. Its a well worded, calm suggestion, its not attacking anyone, its simply one person's suggestion.

Last I heard anyone was entitled to come here and make a suggestion. For the life of me I don't see how this could be construed as an attack on the community.

To those of you that don't like the original suggestion, thats fine. Give your reasons for not supporting it, but please lets not get into questioning the motives and the integrity of someone that simply came here and posted an opinion.

Polly

edited to correct typo

[/ QUOTE ]

We started questioning motives when he put stipulations on who could and could not reply. How many times have you quoted the old, 'when a thread is posted on Stratics it becomes the property of the community, not the original poster'. By stating what he did he basically told us that our opinions meant jack [censored] to him in so many words, so yeah, that was an attack on the community in general, IMHO.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]
I accept your hug. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not Gilly but I'll tell you why I agree with her 118%! Its where you said you don't care what the other players think, you just want Dev feedback. If you don't think that remark was highly inflammatory and was gonna get you some grief, well, consider yourself educated now.

She's right, if you are too lazy to get up off your butt and post things where they ought to be posted so they can be read in a significantly faster frame of time by the audience you're aiming at, then you really don't care about the subject you're talking about, and are just looking to stir the chamber pot. Here's a clue, buddy.....[censored] floats, and [censored] in a chamber pot stinks more when stirred

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. Maybe you've forgotten something that you just posted in another thead:

<blockquote><hr>

but I would rather see people walk away than I would a continuation of the atmosphere that has been around here for a while now....one of hostility, and anger and intolerance just because someone will not see things 'your way'. And that's something all of us, myself included have been guilty of falling into the trap of. People when you find yourself getting this worked up over a game its time to either get a grip on it and put it into it's proper perspective,

[/ QUOTE ]

Time to walk away and put things into proper perspective perhaps?

Polly

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

wow, the mods on this forum are so in need of a hug! why must every post spiral into such a mess? why do you aid and abet it? it's no wonder why i've seen players with negative comments about this forum in their bios.

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]
I accept your hug. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's another

mines bigger, lol.

 

[Guest]

The original post itself was not an attack at the community. The underlying intention was the attack. He stated he did not care what people thought and would only take an answer from a developer AKA LFancey, Parizad, GregK, and the rest of them. You don't post out in the open for an answer directly from one of them. You PM them for the answer. This underlying reasons on this post are how it attacks the community because it tears the community apart. Had he not responded until a developer did, that would be fine. Then it, would in fact, be the community people that are here fighting amongst themselves for the sake of fighting. When he said that he didn't care what people thought and when he said he needed an answer from a developer, that is what started the attack process. I read that and was infuriated that someone would post this where everyone could respond, but then say that our responses were a total waste of time. That is what infuriates me as well as others I'm sure(not speaking for everyone). And by infuriating a few people, that itself is an attack on the community.

 

[Keep It Real]

 

[imported_Dali Dalinza]

TTL

Just read the original couple of posts from the author of this thread. If those posts qualify as "highly inflamatory" and infuriating then some of you have a really low flash point.

What if a dev answered and said, yeah, we agree, free accounts all around?

I disagree with comments on these boards -- frequently -- but what is the use of going postal? I think too many people watch Jerry Springer. Switch to Oprah.

Decrease the steroid dose. Take a deep breath. Ohmmmm.

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

TTL

Just read the original couple of posts from the author of this thread. If those posts qualify as "highly inflamatory" and infuriating then some of you have a really low flash point.

What if a dev answered and said, yeah, we agree, free accounts all around?

I disagree with comments on these boards -- frequently -- but what is the use of going postal? I think too many people watch Jerry Springer. Switch to Oprah.

Decrease the steroid dose. Take a deep breath. Ohmmmm.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[Guest]

Now would be a good time to get back to the original topic of whether or not TC3 should be free.

 

[Keep It Real]

Original Post to help steer this thread back to the topic as Milton suggested.

<blockquote><hr>

dear devs/ea/maxis/ptb:

given the play experience in tc3, i'm reminded of the good ole days of beta. back then however, i experienced much less frustration when i encountered any kind of technical problem. the obvious reason is because i did not have to pay for the pleasure of sometimes not even being able to log in.

with such big design and technical changes on the horizon, the bugs and outages will no doubt continue. i'm wondering if any consideration has been given to making tc3 free, the way it was when we were beta testers.

not only would this be less frustrating for the existing players to put up with technical issues and the pace of change, but if you announced a new beta (or what comes after beta in greek?!), you no doubt would get a ton of new players who would become subscribers when ea land is all nice and pretty.

what do you think? thank you for your reply.

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[imported_fajjaa]

The dev team needs to let TC3 be free...eventually. If it was free right now, what the new visitors would see right now wouldnt keep them around for very long, and that would mean a lost future customer. They need to make the city enticing enough first, to keep the players that are there to stay by voting positively with their wallets. Once we have all of Sims1 items in the catalog, that would be a good time to let TC3 be free until ealand opens.

 

[Guest]

So lets say they let me play TC3 free does that mean I have no access to production cities? Adding TC3 to the game didnt raise my subscription price, so essentially it is "free". No one forces anyone to test. Everyone continues to have full access to all production cities (not including down servers). We arent paying to test, we are paying to play TSO, the only way we would be paying to test is if we were totally denied the production cities. Considering the future free acct will have limited game access I will continue to pay for my acct.

 

[imported_fajjaa]

KIR said it quite plainly:

not only would this be less frustrating for the existing players to put up with technical issues and the pace of change, but if you announced a new beta (or what comes after beta in greek?!), you no doubt would get a ton of new players who would become subscribers when ea land is all nice and pretty.

Free beta testing would get a larger crowd drawn to the game faster than the cc we will be gradually getting. If you want creative sims in the game, you need not go any further then the original beta testers, true the wildest of them refused to pay, but at least it is proof that it does draw a wide variety of online gamers. The words, beta testing, spread through online gaming communities rather rapidly, and for free I might add.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

gilly, i honestly don't see what you read into my op that makes you think i was stirring the pot or looking for any kind of controversy. it's an idea and a suggestion i wanted to make for the devs/ea/maxis. if people want to talk about it, go for it. but i really thought this was a good and appropriate place for it to be seen by them. your accusation that i had some evil ulterior motive is unfounded, untrue and unfair

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not Gilly but I'll tell you why I agree with her 118%! Its where you said you don't care what the other players think, you just want Dev feedback. If you don't think that remark was highly inflammatory and was gonna get you some grief, well, consider yourself educated now.

She's right, if you are too lazy to get up off your butt and post things where they ought to be posted so they can be read in a significantly faster frame of time by the audience you're aiming at, then you really don't care about the subject you're talking about, and are just looking to stir the chamber pot. Here's a clue, buddy.....[censored] floats, and [censored] in a chamber pot stinks more when stirred

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. Maybe you've forgotten something that you just posted in another thead:

<blockquote><hr>

but I would rather see people walk away than I would a continuation of the atmosphere that has been around here for a while now....one of hostility, and anger and intolerance just because someone will not see things 'your way'. And that's something all of us, myself included have been guilty of falling into the trap of. People when you find yourself getting this worked up over a game its time to either get a grip on it and put it into it's proper perspective,

[/ QUOTE ]

Time to walk away and put things into proper perspective perhaps?

Polly

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. Which is why after making that post that's exactly what I did....realized I'd had enough of it for one day. Came back today to see if anything was different

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

So lets say they let me play TC3 free does that mean I have no access to production cities? Adding TC3 to the game didnt raise my subscription price, so essentially it is "free". No one forces anyone to test. Everyone continues to have full access to all production cities (not including down servers). We arent paying to test, we are paying to play TSO, the only way we would be paying to test is if we were totally denied the production cities. Considering the future free acct will have limited game access I will continue to pay for my acct.

[/ QUOTE ]

Once again, Niki = wise. There's no question whether TC3 should be free or not, because it already is!

I'd ask if this would lay the issue to rest, but I already know the answer, so asking the question would be superlative

 

[Guest]

I was in beta....I was posting and reading the boards during and after beta....and I remember the huge drop in population when it came time to pay for the game and the truly ugly attitudes of some beta players when they could no longer play for free. Don't want to see that again....it didn't 'save' the game, the first time, why would it save it, now?

*Also worth noting, that generally speaking, beta players subscribe in order to maintain their game advantage and position when the game goes public....nothing from TC3 will transfer to EA Land, so where is the motivation to subscribe? By not playing in production cities, there won't even be a nice house and skills to help them start over.

*The bottom line, is that this is not like beta, because there *is* a non-testing game and everyone in TC3 has access to that game. In order to make it free to play in TC3, they would have to stop what they are working on and work on setting up a program to seperate free players from paid players and to lock free players out of production cities. Waste of time and resources, especially while we are under such a tight deadline.

*Better to give free trials to EA Land, where folks can actually see the working model, rather than the experimental one.

*They will be working on game experiments in TC3 for years......and it makes little sense to make it free, just until EA Land launches, which is just the beginning for testing.

No, if some benefit needs (and I am not sure it does) to be given to testers, then it should not be something that interferes with developer's time or focus...or undermines the profit motive for the corporate bean counters.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

There's no question whether TC3 should be free or not, because it already is!

[/ QUOTE ]

TC3 isn't free. Instead, it is free*.


*free only to paying subscribers


In my opinion, saying TC3 is free is like saying you get 129 cable channels for free after you pay $125/month for the first one.

 

[imported_fajjaa]

Its too bad we cant all be cheerleaders and root for the same ideas. I like the idea of a diverse addition to the current population in tc3. Opening tc3 to a free beta shouldnt be that tough to figure out. They did it midstream with Star Wars Online, and I dont think that was just a huge money making project.

On the 4th, its time for my wallet to vote again, I will let you know how free it is to play in tc3 on the 5th.

 

[Guest]

*Better to give free trials to EA Land, where folks can actually see the working model, rather than the experimental one.

Yes. I wouldn't want anyone who didn't have a history of playing TSO visiting TC3. That city is definitely not ready for the masses. But it is great for those who want an inside view of what EA Land may be like.

 

[imported_DutchAmerica]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

There's no question whether TC3 should be free or not, because it already is!

[/ QUOTE ]

TC3 isn't free. Instead, it is free*.


*free only to paying subscribers


In my opinion, saying TC3 is free is like saying you get 129 cable channels for free after you pay $125/month for the first one.

[/ QUOTE ]

But cable does have premium channels Milton.

I may pay for my cable and get 129 channels. But I have to pay extra to get HBO and the movie channels?

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

There's no question whether TC3 should be free or not, because it already is!

[/ QUOTE ]

TC3 isn't free. Instead, it is free*.


*free only to paying subscribers


In my opinion, saying TC3 is free is like saying you get 129 cable channels for free after you pay $125/month for the first one.

[/ QUOTE ]

But cable does have premium channels Milton.

I may pay for my cable and get 129 channels. But I have to pay extra to get HBO and the movie channels?

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo. Took the words out of my 'fingers' so to speak. I could see the uproar if TC3 was made premium like those channels, where people had to pay an extra $1-$3 a month if they wanted to play there, but they don't. Your subscription is the same whether you choose to play there or not. It's your choice to put up with the 'BS' or not to. If you choose not to, that's fine if testing is not your thing, but I don't think people who are truly testers expect anything for their efforts. If the production cities were shut down, and TC3 being the 'beta' for EA Land was the only place to play, then yes, I believe that should be free like it was when the whole game was in beta, but if you have a choice of where to play, then if you don't feel you should 'pay to be a tester', then don't choose to have a sim in TC3.....why is that so hard to understand?

Another point, nobody has ever said that TC1 ought to be free to play in, and that is essentially a 'beta' environment where they test new things and work out bugs before they release it to the production cities......or was before TC3 was opened. If you didn't expect that to be free, then why now?

 

[Keep It Real]

TTL

Well ya sure have to wonder what Luc was thinking when he made that blog entry about making TC3 free.

Isn't he like the cheerleaders GOD and all knowing...an stuff?

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I may pay for my cable and get 129 channels. But I have to pay extra to get HBO and the movie channels?

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you get 129 channels for free?

 

[Guest]

that blog entry about making TC3 free

Do you have a link to that entry? I tried 'The Search' function, but like many other aspects of the blog it either isn't working or is user hostile.

 

[Guest]

I can't find it either, but I did find this

<blockquote><hr>

I was thinking that only paying subscribers will be able to join test center 3 and the new city. As mentioned before, the loyal base of fans gets reserved seats for this. You seem to think differently, so how can I open it to most, and yet give more to the loyal fans? Give me suggestions please.



[/ QUOTE ]

Polly

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

that blog entry about making TC3 free

Do you have a link to that entry? I tried 'The Search' function, but like many other aspects of the blog it either isn't working or is user hostile.

[/ QUOTE ]


Sarah edited his post shortly after he made the entry and removed it. There is also a thread about it here someplace, but I'm just too damn lazy to look it up. I read it, I know it's a fact so thats good enough for me.

 

[Guest]

I copied this from the July 7th Chat Log:

<blockquote><hr>

Brekkee - *PJ* will all paying accounts be able to access the tc3? for example if I start a new acct will that new account be able to create a sim in that city? I don't want to delete my old sims
MaxisLuc - Yes new account can and will be able to build in tc3
MaxisLuc - in the future we might limit tc3 to paying accounts though
MaxisLuc - one big change coming soon is that the free accounts will get no starting funds
MaxisLuc - so that the economy is not unbalanced by the free accounts

[/ QUOTE ]

Keep in mind that information is almost 4 months old. A lot changes in 4 months.

 

[Keep It Real]

Yeah a lot has changed in that time Milton, it was not long after that when Luc posted on the blog about free TC3 accounts. I'm gonna guess no more than 2 months ago, but again, I'm just too damn lazy to look it up or the thread about it here.

 

[Guest]

If Sarah edited the post then obviously they changed their minds about it, because Luc would not allow her to edit his post and say something that wasn't true at the time, I don't think......if she edited it incorrectly he'd just go back and change it to what it should be, and I'd imagine she'd be in deep [censored]. So even if it *was* an idea (which I don't believe it was until somebody is not 'too lazy to look it up' and shows the evidence of it) then we know by the editing of the blog that that is NOT the CURRENT plan. What was said in the past is irrelevant if later on they change their minds and make a new statement. Same thing with the 'button' for TC3 arguments, people kept going back to that old post where Luc said not to delete a sim to go to TC3, and pointing that they said they were gonna add the button, but leaving out the fact that they later obviously changed their minds. With things moving this fast we've got to look at the here and now, not 2 years ago, not 3-4 months ago. Things change on a DAILY basis sometimes.....gotta be prepared for anything.

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

If Sarah edited the post then obviously they changed their minds about it, because Luc would not allow her to edit his post and say something that wasn't true at the time, I don't think......if she edited it incorrectly he'd just go back and change it to what it should be, and I'd imagine she'd be in deep [censored]. So even if it *was* an idea (which I don't believe it was until somebody is not 'too lazy to look it up' and shows the evidence of it) then we know by the editing of the blog that that is NOT the CURRENT plan. What was said in the past is irrelevant if later on they change their minds and make a new statement. Same thing with the 'button' for TC3 arguments, people kept going back to that old post where Luc said not to delete a sim to go to TC3, and pointing that they said they were gonna add the button, but leaving out the fact that they later obviously changed their minds. With things moving this fast we've got to look at the here and now, not 2 years ago, not 3-4 months ago. Things change on a DAILY basis sometimes.....gotta be prepared for anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

......email or PM him and ask him if your so damn concerned about MY credibility. That is unless your too damn lazy to do that.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

If Sarah edited the post then obviously they changed their minds about it, because Luc would not allow her to edit his post and say something that wasn't true at the time, I don't think......if she edited it incorrectly he'd just go back and change it to what it should be, and I'd imagine she'd be in deep [censored]. So even if it *was* an idea (which I don't believe it was until somebody is not 'too lazy to look it up' and shows the evidence of it) then we know by the editing of the blog that that is NOT the CURRENT plan. What was said in the past is irrelevant if later on they change their minds and make a new statement. Same thing with the 'button' for TC3 arguments, people kept going back to that old post where Luc said not to delete a sim to go to TC3, and pointing that they said they were gonna add the button, but leaving out the fact that they later obviously changed their minds. With things moving this fast we've got to look at the here and now, not 2 years ago, not 3-4 months ago. Things change on a DAILY basis sometimes.....gotta be prepared for anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

......email or PM him and ask him if your so damn concerned about MY credibility. That is unless your too damn lazy to do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not concerned about it. *shrugs* If you read the entire post that you quoted, I said even if that WAS true, its obvious that they have changed their mind. What they may or may not have said 3-4 months ago isn't relevant to today when they later went and either modified or nullified what they'd said previously. That was my point, so get your knickers out of a twist

 

[Keep It Real]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

If Sarah edited the post then obviously they changed their minds about it, because Luc would not allow her to edit his post and say something that wasn't true at the time, I don't think......if she edited it incorrectly he'd just go back and change it to what it should be, and I'd imagine she'd be in deep [censored]. So even if it *was* an idea (which I don't believe it was until somebody is not 'too lazy to look it up' and shows the evidence of it) then we know by the editing of the blog that that is NOT the CURRENT plan. What was said in the past is irrelevant if later on they change their minds and make a new statement. Same thing with the 'button' for TC3 arguments, people kept going back to that old post where Luc said not to delete a sim to go to TC3, and pointing that they said they were gonna add the button, but leaving out the fact that they later obviously changed their minds. With things moving this fast we've got to look at the here and now, not 2 years ago, not 3-4 months ago. Things change on a DAILY basis sometimes.....gotta be prepared for anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

......email or PM him and ask him if your so damn concerned about MY credibility. That is unless your too damn lazy to do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not concerned about it. *shrugs* If you read the entire post that you quoted, I said even if that WAS true, its obvious that they have changed their mind. What they may or may not have said 3-4 months ago isn't relevant to today when they later went and either modified or nullified what they'd said previously. That was my point, so get your knickers out of a twist

[/ QUOTE ]

pfft...

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

If Sarah edited the post then obviously they changed their minds about it, because Luc would not allow her to edit his post and say something that wasn't true at the time, I don't think......if she edited it incorrectly he'd just go back and change it to what it should be, and I'd imagine she'd be in deep [censored]. So even if it *was* an idea (which I don't believe it was until somebody is not 'too lazy to look it up' and shows the evidence of it) then we know by the editing of the blog that that is NOT the CURRENT plan. What was said in the past is irrelevant if later on they change their minds and make a new statement. Same thing with the 'button' for TC3 arguments, people kept going back to that old post where Luc said not to delete a sim to go to TC3, and pointing that they said they were gonna add the button, but leaving out the fact that they later obviously changed their minds. With things moving this fast we've got to look at the here and now, not 2 years ago, not 3-4 months ago. Things change on a DAILY basis sometimes.....gotta be prepared for anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

......email or PM him and ask him if your so damn concerned about MY credibility. That is unless your too damn lazy to do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not concerned about it. *shrugs* If you read the entire post that you quoted, I said even if that WAS true, its obvious that they have changed their mind. What they may or may not have said 3-4 months ago isn't relevant to today when they later went and either modified or nullified what they'd said previously. That was my point, so get your knickers out of a twist

[/ QUOTE ]

pfft...

[/ QUOTE ]

*passes over a bottle of Beano*

*ducks out of the way of flying fists*