I started a trial account a couple weeks ago because I had heard Eve was going free to play. I like the game and I was thinking of subscribing so I could take the training wheels off. However, other than unlimited skills what is the incentive to subscribe? I know that if you were a subscriber by a certain date you will get a ship in an up coming patch. But what about going forward for new players and of course those who have been subscribing for years?
Please understand I am not asking for anything. Its just a question. Other games I have played have free to play models that offer different things to subscribers. Of course Eve not offering many skills to the free to play players can be seen as a reward for the loyal supports of the game.
Just wondering where the free to play model verses play to play in Eve is going.

Its really just an un-timed DEMO. Get the free-to-play thing out of your head as that's really not what they are offering in the least. Bait-N-Switch is alive and well.....

>>If everyone "played the entire game without spending a penny" then where would CCP get income?<<

How does any actual Free-To-Play game make money?

Oh.. I see I didn't realize that I get regular access and do not have to pay for regular access.... wait... thats not what I got. Where did you get the free-to-play Omega?

By compromising integrity. world of tanks has golden ammo, does it not? CCP got leaked just TALKING about golden ammo and the entire community **** itself. This and many other things is what separates Eve from all the other games. We don't want cheezy shortcuts to glory, we don't want advertisements and over the top vanity items. That's why its lasted 10 plus years, and now the flood gates are open to all to participate. I'm sorry but if you can't see the direction I'm coming from, maybe someone else will explain it better.

Guess what, "Gold ammo" can be purchased with regular in game coin so EVERYBODY can use gold ammo and it does not require real money to get.

I'm guessing when they talked about premium ammo it was going to cost you real like money, and not just ISK.

It was stated by another poster. You can literally do everything in this game that is normal gameplay, just not extremely well, with the skills they have given you as an alpha account. Eve has had a steep learning curve and now you can learn at your own pace for as long as you wish, enjoy what you wish in the game just at a lower/slower level than others that pay. It removes ALL of the "I have to do this in 14-21 days!!!" to enjoy this game or I am forced to pay to play a game I dont get or havent gotten into yet because I know nothing yet.

Imagine being a 2-5 year old and being thrown to the wolves by your parents. This is historically what the trial amounted to. Tossing a toddler into a shark pool and expecting it to survive. Now you can grow and do and not worry about the fiscal costs, out of game of course, so you can enjoy it without getting to scarred for life.

Single race mix of weapons so no mixing projectile/missle etc... .no missions above 2 and nothing heavier than a cruiser so you will never fight anything heavier than another cruiser if you mission run. Thats what... 2% of the ships you can use? Drones limited to just small and medium,no salvage, mining etc...

yah, you can do a fair bit, enough to categorize it as a DEMO.. not free-to-play.

You can, with some effort, farm a PLEX with your Alpha. Once you have that first PLEX, you should be able to make a PLEX every month. So yes, the game is F2P and just like any F2P game, it requires some effort in order to keep up with the paying customers.

It's a Demo man, pure and simple. I think you guys have been playing this game so long that you have not actually tried a legitimate free-to-play game to even know what that means.

Perhaps it should be renamed "Free-To-Grind" That I would be OK with as its at least more accurate.

It's funny. An alpha player could train up for a week, join a nullsec alliance, stroll into battle, ninja some faction mods, make some friends, score some more fat loot, pay for plex all in the course of about two weeks. Then you get better ships to ninja that loot.

Thats the type of opportunities that have just been given out for free.

And this persons... "wahh, I can't use heavy drones"

Is that what you think will happen with new players? This game has a pretty steep learning curve and I don't see any rookie getting in and running to nullsec to ninja-loot faction mods because before he finishes the starter missions/tutorial he will have long since hit the cap on all the skills and stopped seeing any progress.

What this game has (had) that no other game out there has is that "Eve Atmosphere" but then they pull boners like replacing the voice with some terrible new one...and they will never go back no matter how many threads they have to lock. Its just the way they think.

When did that change? Used to be HEAT (as well as some ACPR?) ammo had gold exclusive versions.

Is that what you think will happen with new players? This game has a pretty steep learning curve and I don't see any rookie getting in and running to nullsec to ninja-loot faction mods because before he finishes the starter missions/tutorial he will have long since hit the cap on all the skills and stopped seeing any progress.

You guys keep talking like all this stuff you can do is so damn obvious that people off the street will be on long enough to discover any of it. Stop thinking like people who have played this game for 10 years and pretend you started yesterday.

Clearly CCP has no idea how to capture new people...this game is awesome but if you want new blood to discover that, you have to give them a big phrapping crumb to compete with all the virtual plates of cheese other games offer and without having to grind to plex to do it.

Wake up man, this is NOT the only game out there and people will gravitate to those that are both easier to learn and offer more to do than this bread crumb they are dangling out there.

I came back because I saw the free-to-play and I about wet my panties... then I got here and.... meh. Same old same old with a new wrapper.

What this game has (had) that no other game out there has is that "Eve Atmosphere" but then they pull boners like replacing the voice with some terrible new one...and they will never go back no matter how many threads they have to lock. Its just the way they think.

Years ago, been so long I can't even remember when it changed. Same for rations and large repair kits. However, it's not the same situation: not many people actually bought that ammo with gold and now that they can with credits it heavily affects profitability which can be solved by... running a premium account so if you want tot talk about bait and switch, there is it.

People all want to drive the big tier 10 tanks which just aren't profitable on a basic account unless you're quite good, which most people aren't. WOT was to be a f2p game from the outset, it was meant to be annoying without premium being super grindy and annoying because of it. EVE is not. It has been relying on a sub that hasn't really changed in 13 years which due to inflation means they get less and less. They should have upped the sub fee, not go f2p imo.

Bait and switch? A game that required payment for regular access now requires no payment for regular access. FREE to PLAY.

Indeed. It's funny seeing people here and on other EVE related social media calling it an "indefinite trial" or "untimed demo" or other such euphemisms. They just can't bring themselves to say "free to play"

Oh.. I see I didn't realize that I get regular access and do not have to pay for regular access.... wait... thats not what I got. Where did you get the free-to-play Omega?

I have no problem with what they are doing, they should just not call it Free-To-Play as there are plenty of FTP games out there but you can literately play the entire game and you just pay for either faster advancement, vanity items etc... but you can literately never spend a penny and do everything they have to offer.

Path of Exile
World of Tanks
League of Legends
many others.

Those games are Free-To-Play and you can pay for bonusxp, camo/skins ect.... but you are not required to pay anything to level right to the top.

By your definition World of Warcraft is free to play because you can level to 20 and play that starter toon forever. Hell, the WoW demo is closer to Free-To-Play than what they are offering here.

They will expand alpha benefits once they realize not many people are joining and subscribing and alphas can't do as much as ever the old trial accounts.

Expect an expanded skill tree, and No faction ban for t1 ships so you can fly whatever you want from the 4 main branches.

Indeed. It's funny seeing people here and on other EVE related social media calling it an "indefinite trial" or "untimed demo" or other such euphemisms. They just can't bring themselves to say "free to play"

Single race mix of weapons so no mixing projectile/missle etc... .no missions above 2 and nothing heavier than a cruiser so you will never fight anything heavier than another cruiser if you mission run. Thats what... 2% of the ships you can use? Drones limited to just small and medium,no salvage, mining etc...

yah, you can do a fair bit, enough to categorize it as a DEMO.. not free-to-play.