# Membership Restrictions



## chillv (Jul 23, 2013)

This is the main reason why I skip all MMOs. First off, I do get that they need money to maintain ths website, but that is not your users' problem. You shouldn't force people to pay you monthly to have access to the actual "cool" stuff just because you need money so badly to maintain your website. If you need money, ask for donations instead. I know about a sandbox PC game called Osu!. It's a free game and its website asks for donations to help maintain it and it's doing very well.

Anyway, my main problem is how they execute this. Most MMOs lock almost everything from unpaid members. Some even result to just ridiculous restrictions. For example, Club Penguin allows you to play the games and earn coins. However, the only stuff you can buy with them are profile backgrounds, colors for your penguin and two variations of the puffles. Everything else is locked away, you can't buy furniture, clothing, or any of the other puffles. They even lock away some of the modes to some of them minigames.

Oh, but that's not the worst. Toontown is the worst offender. You barely can do or buy anything. They only let you do stuff in toontown central (in other towns, you can only fight cogs), they only let you play one race track in goofy's speedway and they give you barely any customization options for your car. You can't buy any clothing or furniture. You can only buy these pet things called doodles.

The more ridiculous membership restrictions is the fact that if someone gives you any gifts, you can't take them unless you are a member and that you can't fish in ponds, go into buildings or go on trolleys that aren't in toontown central. 

Stuff like this is why I don't even bother with MMO's at all.


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## MadCake (Jul 24, 2013)

Toontown is a fun game, actually ; It lets you go in Level 1 buildings, Lets you talk to players.
Club Penguin is filled with snobby children, doesn't let you get clothing, You get bullied and EVERYTHING.
So yeah, Toontown is a better game. Besides, it has a better bargain than Club Penguin, DEFINETLY.


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## chillv (Jul 24, 2013)

MadCake said:


> Toontown is a fun game, actually ; It lets you go in Level 1 buildings, Lets you talk to players.
> Club Penguin is filled with snobby children, doesn't let you get clothing, You get bullied and EVERYTHING.
> So yeah, Toontown is a better game. Besides, it has a better bargain than Club Penguin, DEFINETLY.



Here's the problem, I can't find the membership cards anywhere and my parents don't allow me to buy anything online. Plus, this is about membership restrictions. I don't like how you barely can do any of the cool stuff in the game unless you pay them monthly. Not to mention that toontown has ridiculous level grinding.

My point is that memberships and membership restrictions are unnecessary and they can use other ways to get money from that is more fair.

If I ever decide to create an MMO, I will allow people to have access to everything for free and just ask for donations to maintain the website.

Oh, and by the way, I never said that toontown is not fun. I just find the membership restrictions to be ridiculous and very limiting.


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## Kaiaa (Jul 24, 2013)

Check out RIFT, it went free but it's not "going down the drain" nor is a "pay to win" type MMORPG. 
The only piece of gear you can buy with real money is a ring from tier 1 but tier 2 is already out.
If you like raiding, pvp, dungeons, questing, then check it out. 

It does require that you have a PC, however. It is also geared more towards older teens and adults so I'm not sure if you would find it interesting or not.


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## Miya902 (Jul 24, 2013)

GaiaOnline has a pretty fun MMORPG, and its free. =3


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## Jizg (Jul 24, 2013)

Aion is a pretty fun F2P MMO, and it just got an update with new classes from what I heard.

You need a decent computer but nothing too high end.


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## Lellyna (Jul 24, 2013)

I used to play swtor then it became free to play and force you to switch server or your character gets deleted.


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## PoppyAndPeanut (Jul 24, 2013)

MadCake said:


> Toontown is a fun game, actually ; It lets you go in Level 1 buildings, Lets you talk to players.
> Club Penguin is filled with snobby children, doesn't let you get clothing, You get bullied and EVERYTHING.
> So yeah, Toontown is a better game. Besides, it has a better bargain than Club Penguin, DEFINETLY.


Actually, now Club Penguin has clothing for non-members. (Wait so your calling me snooty? o.o)


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## MyLittle3DS-GamingisMagic (Jul 24, 2013)

I used to play Club Penguin when my Dad brought me the full year membership but when that ran out I couldn't wear ANY of my membership clothing and there was literally no point to the game any more with my membership so that's when I just stopped playing. And pretty much the same happened to Toontown. I didn't want to buy the membership again because it would just waste more money because it will run out again  It really sucks :/


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## XTheLancerX (Aug 3, 2013)

Ugh, Runescape. LOVED that game to no end... Until I reached level 40 in everything. And had Adamantite armor. And had an Adamantite Scimitar. And I couldn't use any Rune equipment until I paid them. And fought this dragon thing I was too scared to fight. Everyone said that they did it at lvl 30-40 without a membership, I saw videos, and everything. NO WAY could I ever do it.

Oh yeah I actually did end up getting a membership. But, it was charging the credit card 7$ a month, and was annoying to cancel. They do have cards now that you can buy and it is 25-50$ that is used towards a membership so you don't need to get your credit card (Thank goodness). I never saw these cards before but I actually saw them in Walmart the other day. Now I feel like playing runescape again, but last time I tried playing it I couldn't log in. :/

OH! Also: I play this amazing game called "Realm of the Mad God" It is fricking boring in the beginning but once you get the hang of it, and max out the stats on one of your characters, omfg its great  I have had the game for over a year and a half, and actually just started playing it again a few weeks ago. I have put a shameful amount of money into this game, but I still play it, and it is extremely fun for me still. I have 11 out of the 14 classes maxed out (Not entirely) and with pretty much the best equipment. (I have no life) But anyway, I have put 85$ into this stupid game >_> It is available on steam and in browser. I play on steam, but most everyone says it lags like nothing else. It is a 2d 8bit hell shooter MMO. Pretty much, monsters everywhere firing these things that you need to dodge, you kill them, get drops, and you work your way up with the better equipment from the more difficult dungeons and monsters. The community on the game sucks now compared to last year... So just a warning. There are still plenty of nice people, although there are still things I want to spend money for on this game, I have put almost 700 hours into it. -_-

***WARNING***

This game can be incredibly frustrating because it is a PERMA DEATH game and if you die with your character, you lose all of your equipment, all the stats you maxed... But you do acquire "fame" which determines how high you are on the leaderboards and you can use the fame to buy very minor things and feed "pets" that actually level up as well and help you in battle.. rediculous, I know.


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## oath2order (Aug 3, 2013)

X_The_Lancer_X said:


> Ugh, Runescape. LOVED that game to no end... Until I reached level 40 in everything. And had Adamantite armor. And had an Adamantite Scimitar. And I couldn't use any Rune equipment until I paid them. And fought this dragon thing I was too scared to fight. Everyone said that they did it at lvl 30-40 without a membership, I saw videos, and everything. NO WAY could I ever do it.


Rune equipment is for free players stop talking crap.


Realm of the Mad God is fun. I just suck at it XD


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## darkzero (Aug 7, 2013)

The reason MMOs ask for a membership subscription (or microtransactions if you're playing an F2P game) is solely for keeping the game running, paying the people working on the game, and creating new content for the game. If they don't ask you for money in some way or form, there'd be no game to play in the first place...


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## kittenrobotarmy (Aug 7, 2013)

I don't play Club Penguin a lot anymore(don't pin anything on me, I'm 11) and I still have the same membership I had from back in 2011. They have tons of parties nowadays and less things are member-limited than they used to be since they got new staff and older staff retired. They also have some clothes for non members too.

Like darkzero said, the only reason they have membership and ask for money is because it is used to maintain the game, add content and pay the staff. No membership = no game at all.


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## sourburst (Aug 7, 2013)

PoppyAndPeanut said:


> (Wait so your calling me snooty? o.o)



I was about to say this... My little cousin plays on this website and has a lot of fun on Club Penguin. She's 7 and not a snob...


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## kittenrobotarmy (Aug 10, 2013)

Membership would be ridiculous if you had to pay 5 bucks to continue the main story, if it has a story. I doubt there's a game out there that does that though. 

If you don't like the membership, then don't play. Games still run because of membership/purchasable DLC. If owners ask for donations to upgrade the game further and they offer special in-game items for donating, well, that's fair. You pay, usually, around 5-10 bucks, you get a special item and the game gets awesomer. That's like a membership. If they just ask for money for no reason, that's when you get angry. As I said, without membership, half the games we play would not exist. (Does not include pure-Disney games because Disney is one hell of a rich company.)

- - - Post Merge - - -

Membership would be ridiculous if you had to pay 5 bucks to continue the main story, if it has a story. I doubt there's a game out there that does that though. 

If you don't like the membership, then don't play. Games still run because of membership/purchasable DLC. If owners ask for donations to upgrade the game further and they offer special in-game items for donating, well, that's fair. You pay, usually, around 5-10 bucks, you get a special item and the game gets awesomer. That's like a membership. If they just ask for money for no reason, that's when you get angry. As I said, without membership, half the games we play would not exist. (Does not include pure-Disney games because Disney is one hell of a rich company.)


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## chillv (Aug 13, 2013)

darkzero said:


> The reason MMOs ask for a membership subscription (or microtransactions if you're playing an F2P game) is solely for keeping the game running, paying the people working on the game, and creating new content for the game. If they don't ask you for money in some way or form, there'd be no game to play in the first place...



Did you read my this thread carefully? I mentioned a game called osu! which asks people for donations to keep the site running.  Also, disney is a wealthy company, why do they need money to maintain their website? Nintendo doesn't do that with their online stuff.


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## BellGreen (Aug 13, 2013)

chillv said:


> Did you read my this thread carefully? I mentioned a game called osu! which asks people for donations to keep the site running.  Also, disney is a wealthy company, why do they need money to maintain their website? Nintendo doesn't do that with their online stuff.



Are you aware that you need to actually buy the system and you get online connectivity? That money they get from the buyer goes to them. So technically you pay 100-200 dollars for quality entertainment. ONCE.


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## chillv (Aug 13, 2013)

Also, to everyone who is saying "without membership they wouldn't be able to maintain the servers and everything", I know that. I never said that they shouldn't ask for money at all. I am mostly complaining about them locking away the majority of the game unless you pay them monthly. What I feel is that they should make users have access to everything. However, they can give little bonuses to people who pay or donate but it doesn't make it seem like they are getting more of game then the non-paying players.

This membership stuff that disney is doing is nothing but a money grab in my opinion. That's why I no longer play any of their MMOs.

- - - Post Merge - - -



BellBringerGreen said:


> Are you aware that you need to actually buy the system and you get online connectivity? That money they get from the buyer goes to them. So technically you pay 100-200 dollars for quality entertainment. ONCE.



Yeah, but disney gets paid for making their merchandise, cartoons, tv shows, movies etc. so my point still has credibility considering that many people buy their stuff and watch their stuff.


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## StiX (Aug 13, 2013)

I'm still playing WoW every few months, mostly just for lore though... I don't mind paying either. Ever since i tried a lot of F2P MMO's World of Warcraft is pretty nice and clean~ (besides some jerks and childish players on some servers)


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## Aiyana (Sep 4, 2013)

That's why I haven't played Runescape since my membership ran out, all the things I really like, I'm fairly sure I need the membership back. (Maybe next month...)

At least in the meantime, I can just vicariously experience it through my wife's account because she's a lot farther in everything than me, since she's gotten several skills to level 99 and stuff.  

Micro-transactions and stuff are more annoying to me than actually paying for a membership, it's like they're just trying to gouge every last cent out of you. -.-


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## Garrett x50 cal (Sep 4, 2013)

When you provide a free experience to the masses paid restrictions are basically required. Especially if said provider is a small time business.

However I believe monthly payments is absolute bull****. If you have a premium service have it at a one time fee.


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## chillv (Sep 4, 2013)

Garrett x50 cal said:


> When you provide a free experience to the masses paid restrictions are basically required. Especially if said provider is a small time business.
> 
> However I believe monthly payments is absolute bull****. If you have a premium service have it at a one time fee.



^^What he said^^

The only problem I really have about paid memberships is that they ask you for this fee for each and every month or year. An example is Club Penguin. 8 dollars a month doesn't sound like much right? Every single month though, will add up to about $90 a year. However, you can pay yearly for $60. I still feel that is ridiculous. There are "way" better games that will last you a year and is cheaper than Club Penguin. Oh, and you only have to pay for them once. 



Spoiler: Hint



Animal Crossing


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## Bones (Sep 5, 2013)

Monthly memberships are daft. I'd much rather have pay2win content, so long as it's within reason. (which, honestly, it usually is)

And Toontown.. eh, they're literally the only company that I understand and agree with them charging monthly, since there really wasn't any other way for them to make money, unlike other games, who could easily have cashshop stuff. My only issue was that they raised the price from $5 a month to $10 a month.


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## Midoriya (Sep 9, 2013)

Gaming online nowadays is sad because of multiple reasons:

The only games that survive for a really long time usually are quest-style medieval stuff because they release tons of stuff you can buy that will help you.  The really fun games like Toontown are closing because they don't do that.  I tried playing a quest-style medieval game for an hour and couldn't do it.  It's so boring.  I don't understand why most people here and other places recommend stuff like that to people like me.  Those type of people are the ones who get lucky and highly skilled at the game, but I feel sorry for them because they're eating garbage that these types of MMOs' give them.

Games like Wizard101 have a large amount of bullies because of how many people play the game.  The internet in general gives more access to bullying, but this game and others are horrible because of it.  Most gaming staff nowadays don't even do anything about it.  I had a friend that said some of the staff were hanging out in a shop and would ban members whenever they came in.  The only reason bullying is not as consistent in those kinds of medieval games is because most of the time the people can just kill each other in PVP, or sometimes even without PVP if the game was made that way.

Lots of people that get highly skilled at games don't help the new players.  In fact, sometimes, they even make the younger players die on purpose.  Their snobby attitudes make them want to separate the community into different sections and therefore divide it as a whole.  If you're one of those people, I hope you enjoy your crap on a silver platter.  It won't last long.


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## Riesz (Sep 18, 2013)

I've played free-to-play MMOs, only-buy-the-game MMOs, and subscription-based MMOs.  I've also played some free private servers.

In my experience, the quality and quantity of gameplay is always best in the subscription games.  It makes sense, after all -- I'm paying more in the long run but every minute of play is more enjoyable than the free alternatives.  I played Ultima Online for 4 years and I've been playing World of Warcraft for 5-6 years now.  There is so much to do in WoW I don't even have time for all of it and the quality of play and activities is excellent so I can't complain about the fee.  When I'm playing this I typically don't want to play other games or even have time for other games anyway so spending $15/mo vs. $30-60/mo for a new console game is cheaper in the end, as long as I'm having fun and enjoying myself (and I am!).

MMOs where you only need to buy the game then can play forever are typically very limited in activities.  I've played Guild Wars 1 and 2 and Diablo 2 and 3 and while those games are definitely fun, they get boring rather quick compared to subscription MMOs.  There just isn't as much content, mostly because the company doesn't have the steady stream of income that a sub-based MMO does.

In my experience, most free to play MMOs are either awful and filled with jerks and trolls or eventually require buying something to stay competitive.  I played Mabinogi and constantly felt nickel-and-dimed with that game.  I would end up spending more per month than most subscription games, so the "free to play" felt like a sham.  Also the game quality wasn't so great because the company can't depend on x amount of money per month and seem to lag on releasing content because of that.

Private servers are usually a trainwreck.  I've tried them for Ultima Online, Ragnarok Online, and WoW.  The server is usually just hosted in someone's home and is constantly unstable.  If the server crashes you might even lose character progress from the last few hours.  Really too frustrating for me to bother with.  Since it's 100% free these are usually filled with jerks and trolls too.

Overall I'm happy with my subscription MMO.  I usually pay for 6 mos - 1 year in advance so I get the best rate per month and while I'm playing this I only buy a few extra console games per year.  I buy the console games that are really good and pass on the others, and in the meantime I have a steady stream of gaming content to play on my MMO.  Works for me!


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## Zanessa (Sep 22, 2013)

AnimalCrossingExpert(ACE) said:


> Games like Wizard101 have a large amount of bullies because of how many people play the game.



I've been on that site for years and I've never seen anyone get bullied. I suck at it and no one has ever yelled at me. Even when I play with Level 60+ people.. :L


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