Scott Hartsman, one time head-man of RIFT, the man with apparently the best dressed photo of all devs on the planet, sat down to have a discussion with Forbes.com. Since RIFT’s launch, RIFT has gone from a full subscription game with no trial to having a Rift-Lite version where you can play the first 20 levels for free. Now that Scott has left Trion and rumors swirl around the internet that Rift is heading towards a full F2P model, we get a glimpse of the future og gaming subscriptions according to Mr. Hartsman.

Continue reading to see what he had to say about the subject.

Patch 1.6.2 hit live servers yesterday, and with it came one addition to the Cartel Market that’s been requested since SWTOR’s free-to-play announcement was first made. Players are finally able to purchase additional character slots! They cost 600 Cartel Coins each and work across multiple servers once purchased. BioWare also increased the total character amount allowed across servers, raising that number to 350 characters total. Players of all subscription types can raise their cap in this manner. For example, a Free-to-Play player could have 8 character slots instead of the restricted 2 after purchasing 6 slots.

Later in the day, we also received a dev tracker post explaining one important detail– all players can gain up to 10 additional character slots in this manner, but this doesn’t extend the total amount of 350 characters between every server. Here’s the announcement, which was posted by Joveth Gonzalez:

Originally posted by JovethGonzalez (Source)

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Just wanted to correct something I said earlier. The information I received earlier was incorrect. Players may have their base character slots and up to ten extra character slots. For example, a subscriber with 12 character slots may increase their character slots up to 22. You can still have 350 characters overall. Apologies for the confusion.

For all of yesterday’s Patch Notes, check here.

Recently, Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic, talked a bit about how important player feedback has been to the BioWare team during the transition to free to play. He cited some examples of just how the team has changed things due to feedback, and talks about future changes that will make the Preferred Player status much more enjoyable for players. Here’s what he had to say:

Recently, we’ve seen your feedback on some of the other aspects of our Free-to-Play option and once again, we are working to improve the experience for all of our players.

Starting today, Preferred Status Players will see an increase to their default Quickbars from two (2) to four (4). If you’ve already purchased additional Quickbars, don’t worry: we will be refunding your Cartel Coins for any Quickbar-related purchase.

Additionally, in an upcoming patch (no exact date yet, but players won’t have to wait long), Preferred Status Players will be given four (4) additional character slots, which means that they will have a total of six character slots. As always, Free-to-Play Players can reach Preferred Status simply by purchasing anything from our online store or purchasing a physical copy of the game.

Last but not least, I wanted to share the news that the 50 character limit on Global Active Characters for Subscribers will be removed and increased substantially in the same, aforementioned patch. If you wanted to, you can truly create your own army of Troopers or a legion of Sith Warriors.

Good news all around with this announcement! BioWare in the past hasn’t been overly receptive to player feedback, but so far, the free-to-play adjustments being made seem to mirror a turnaround in that regard. Make sure and check out the full developer blog for all the details.

Yesterday BioWare announced the second official SWTOR LiveStream event, which will take place on November 29th at 3:00 PM to 3:00 PM CST. This live stream will cover the upcoming The Ancient Hypergate Game Update as well as the recent free-to-play addition. The team is asking for questions prior to the event. Questions can be submitted via Twitter, Facebook, or on the official SWTOR forums. Questions can also be asked during the actual live stream on BioWare’s LiveStream channel, which is where the event will be held.

For additional information regarding the event, please see BioWare’s announcement.

In other news, BioWare also released more information about Ancient Hypergate, the new Warzone coming in Game Update 1.6, in a recent developer blog. The developers delve into some of the strategies behind the Warzone, and show off screenshots. Here’s a snippet:

From a gameplay standpoint, Ancient Hypergate plays like a combination of a 2 point objective map, team death match, and a multi-flag game of capture-the-flag. Each of the two energy pylons is synchronized on a power cycle. At the end of this cycle, each pylon discharges energy into the gate of the faction that controls its objective point. Holding one or both of the pylons directly leads to gaining points at the end of each cycle.

For all the info, check out the latest developer blog.

Yesterday BioWare showcased a brand new F2P trailer that gives prospective players quite an impressive view of some of the game’s cutscenes, class story events, space missions, and a hint of what looks like may even be some early scenes from the future Makeb addition. The trailer is being called “A Galaxy of Possibilities.”

Keep reading to take a peek!

Now that Star Wars: The Old Republic has gone free to play, many players are questioning the worth of items on the Cartel Market. Does it really pay to be a subscriber? Darth Hater recently published an article where they have done a little math and come up with some real life cash value comparisons for items sold on the Market. Here’s the price breakdown for their list:

The more coins a player buys, the more value they get. The smallest package is $4.99 for 450 Cartel Coins. That comes to 90 Cartel Coins per dollar or 1.1 cent per Cartel Coin. The most expensive package is $39.99 for 5500 Cartel Coins. That comes to 137 Cartel Coins per dollar or 0.73 cents per Cartel Coin.

Under this model, a simple Warzone/Flashpoint weekly unlock, for example, costs $2.64. Cargo Hold access plus two additional tabs will cost about $10.50 per character. Additional quickbars cost around $2 a character per bar. Even a single ‘hide head slot’ unlock costs around $3.

STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ LAUNCHES

FREE-TO-PLAY OPTION TODAY

Award-Winning MMO from BioWare and LucasArts also adds New Content

AUSTIN, Texas – Nov 15, 2012 – BioWare™, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), and LucasArts announced today that the new, Free-to-Play option for the critically-acclaimed, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: The Old Republic is now live. Players can experience the complete storylines of all eight, iconic Star Wars™ classes, all the way to level 50 for free. This new option complements the existing subscription offering, providing players with maximum flexibility in how they choose to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic.

“We want to give our players the freedom to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic when and how they want,” said Matthew Bromberg, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “There has never been a better time to start playing with us.”

Also today, BioWare released Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activated, which adds new areas to explore, a new Companion character and more, including:

• Get ready for an action-packed adventure to earn control of one of the galaxy’s most deadly Assassins, HK-51. Submerged beneath the icy surface of Belsavis lies a derelict ship and if you are brave enough to venture through the wreckage, you will embark on a mission that ultimately rewards you with a powerful new, yet familiar, ally: the ruthless Assassin Droid, HK-51.
• Explore Section X, a previously untouched area of the prison world of Belsavis. The Dread Masters’ servants are searching for a powerful and ancient weapon. Fly to Section X and secure the target of their search to be richly rewarded.
• Travel to Denova to take on Operation: Explosive Conflict – now with a Nightmare Mode! Teams who complete in this new mode can earn the final pieces of the Dread Guard gear set and a brand new mount that will be sure to cause tank envy!

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a story-driven, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a Free-to-Play option from BioWare and LucasArts. Set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies, players team up with friends online to fight in heroic battles, explore a galaxy of vibrant planets and experience visceral Star Wars combat, all set to a sweeping musical score. Players are asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent.

BioWare announced a release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic’s switch to its free-to-play model yesterday– November 15th is when we’ll be able to experience all the goodies players have been testing out on the PTS. The team is also extending the Rewards Program for past subscribers:

Additionally, we are extending the Rewards Program! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at 11:59pm CST will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to November 15, 2012. For more information on all of the rewards you could potentially receive, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE.

Check out the full announcement on BioWare’s developer blog.

Damion Schubert, SWTOR’s Lead Designer, also took the time recently to explain his thoughts to the community on the game’s move to free-to-play. BioWare, overall, seems quite excited to bring this plan into action. They have also released a second free-to-play video that shows off some of the fun items obtainable from Cartel Packs, the cool random boxes that players can buy on the Cartel Market.

Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic, issued an official State of the Game post to the SWTOR community yesterday. In it, he addressed many issues that are on players’ minds, including the reasoning for the move to free to play, the fact that content updates were often behind schedule, the amount of bugs that were released in Game Update 1.4, Oceanic server populations, and BioWare’s internal transition after losing quite a few staff members. It’s an interesting read, and one that I feel the community very much needed.

Keep reading to see a sample.

Yesterday, Blaine Christine, Sr. Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic, answered some questions SWTOR’s forum community raised in a thread specifically made for player questions. Most of the answers were recently provided in the announcement of the Preferred Status player model, but there was some new information available in this Q&A of sorts. One answer in particular that delivered new information was one regarding character slots. Currently on the PTS, there is no restriction on character slots even during the time when our accounts were temporarily flagged as free to play.

Originally posted by JovethGonzalez (Source)

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Ripster: There is a welcome screen that lists a benefit of subscribing as 10 additional slots. Will this mean subscribers will have 22 or that F2P will have 2?

Blaine: Great question and we want to make sure we’re clear on this one. Subscribers will still have 12 character slots available on a single server. F2P players will have 2 (as will Preferred). At Launch, we are not enforcing the penalty on subscribers who convert to Free-to-Play, but we will in a subsequent patch. A further wrinkle is that if you have more than two and you delete characters at Launch, you will not get that slot back. Example: I have 10 characters as a subscriber this November, but in December I cancel my subscription. When I login, I can still use all 10 characters (for now), but I cannot create new ones and if I delete one, I will have 9 and not be able to create another until I go down to 1. Make sense?

Very detailed answer, and great information for players who are still on the fence about which subscription model is right for them. I would naturally assume that players dropping to one of the lower models will be able to choose which characters they want to access, and which will remain locked, as that’s how it generally works in other F2P games.