My mind boggles
So I'm bored and trolling for a new mud to entertain myself with. I see one called Threshold that looks like it has some neat systems, very rp-intensive, looks like fun. So why not try it out? I see that they have a registration system of some kind, but I figure it's probably just a nominal fee. If I like the game, it might be worth the $10 or so to play as a full member, right?
Well god damn if I didn't waste 2 hours reading help files and building my char, and THEN they give me access to the help file on registration (there's no info on their website, conveniently enough):
..You can play Threshold for 100 hours for free, but after that you are required to register...
Okay, fair enough.
..The minimum to register your character is $50...
Holy cats! Dude, I don't even have $50 to spend on this. There are games I have demos of that I would love to purchase, but they cost $20-$30 to register and I don't want to pay that much. Not to mention the fact that there are literally thousands and thousands of muds out there which are completely FREE, and dozens more which are either significantly cheaper or pay-for-perks (like Achaea, which I played for almost 3 years and never spent a single real-world dime on). But this is the part that just fried my bacon:
If you play Threshold regularly you are expected to contribute regularly. While Threshold does not have a specific recurring fee, you are expected to add at least $50 to your registration total during each year you play Threshold.
Okay, first of all...that is not registration, that is a yearly fee, and it kind of pisses me off that they dishonestly frame this as some kind of charitable donation when it's clearly mandatory. Second- blow me, okay? Fucking $50 a year for a text-based game when I can play any number of similar games for free? Yeah, immediately typed quit. Bastards! Wasted my whole evening on that bullshit.
Well god damn if I didn't waste 2 hours reading help files and building my char, and THEN they give me access to the help file on registration (there's no info on their website, conveniently enough):
..You can play Threshold for 100 hours for free, but after that you are required to register...
Okay, fair enough.
..The minimum to register your character is $50...
Holy cats! Dude, I don't even have $50 to spend on this. There are games I have demos of that I would love to purchase, but they cost $20-$30 to register and I don't want to pay that much. Not to mention the fact that there are literally thousands and thousands of muds out there which are completely FREE, and dozens more which are either significantly cheaper or pay-for-perks (like Achaea, which I played for almost 3 years and never spent a single real-world dime on). But this is the part that just fried my bacon:
If you play Threshold regularly you are expected to contribute regularly. While Threshold does not have a specific recurring fee, you are expected to add at least $50 to your registration total during each year you play Threshold.
Okay, first of all...that is not registration, that is a yearly fee, and it kind of pisses me off that they dishonestly frame this as some kind of charitable donation when it's clearly mandatory. Second- blow me, okay? Fucking $50 a year for a text-based game when I can play any number of similar games for free? Yeah, immediately typed quit. Bastards! Wasted my whole evening on that bullshit.