Topic

Isn't There A Free Subscription Option?

I've already upgraded mine, so I can't tell anymore, but I'm pretty sure I was on a free subscription before I put any credit card info in...those of you that aren't subscribed, why haven't you done so yet? I'm seriously just curious, not trying to start a debate. 

(And yes, I searched to the best of my ability before the forum patrol starts in on me :P)

Posted 17 months ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I only see paid options. Maybe there was some free option during Alpha or something like that?
    Posted 17 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You can play for free, but it's not considered a subscription.
    Posted 17 months ago by FrankenPaula Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You can play for free without being a subscriber, and there was a period of free subscriptions to test out the subscription process, but there is not currently a free subscription. You're only a subscriber if you're paying or if your free subscription hasn't run out yet.
    Posted 17 months ago by duien Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm on a free subscription right now, it was only supposed to be for a month, but its been like 2
    Posted 17 months ago by Taylor Swift Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There is a free subscription, which I'm on. If you don't have a subscription, then go to the wardrobe and try on/try to buy one of the subscription-only items. There should be some sort of message that says that for being a beta tester, you get a free month of a subscription.

    That's how I got it, anyway. I don't know how to find it anywhere else... those of you that don't have a subscription should try that perhaps? Or maybe it's gone now? I just know that a few weeks ago when I got it, there was no option on the subscription page, but there was a message on the wardrobe page when you tried to put on subscription-only clothes.
    Posted 17 months ago by Nea Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Alpha and early beta testers received free test subscriptions (that expired some time after the ability to purchase subscriptions was implemented).

    Edit: I think the players who are still on free subscriptions probably got them right before purchased subscriptions became available.
    Posted 17 months ago by Varaeth Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, you can always play for free but you get limited looks and clothing, no "votes" (when they go live) and no teleport tokens. Plus we have been guessing and hoping that housewares are in our near future. That is a main reason a lot of us joined prematurely on a spankin'-good deal.
    Posted 17 months ago by Mistress*of*Fishies Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks, Zoei. I did what you said, and I got a month of free subscription. But... ¡no credits! Maybe I'll get them after release? It's not clear.
    Posted 17 months ago by Ximenez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If I recall correctly, each beta tester got a small amount of credits when they first signed up.

    After that, you had to either purchase a credit pack, or you had to subscribe in order to get more credits.  The "Beta Tester Special" still seems to be available.  If you purchase credits now, you'll get that amount again once the game goes live. 

    If you haven't subscribed and if you don't purchase a credit package, then you won't be getting more credits.
    Posted 17 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Free subscription = previewing the game without perks. It was my impression that subscriptions mean someone would pay for upgrades. When you say free subscription do you mean plain membership?
    Posted 17 months ago by Spellbound Subscriber! | Permalink
  • At one point we all got free subscriptions if we wanted them.  You had to have a subscription to acquire 'subscriber only' articles of clothing.  It was not the same as being admitted to play the game.

    Now you have to have a paid subscription if you want those items.  Some items are free and some cost credits, but they are still only available to subscribers. 
    Posted 17 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You're welcome. :) And yep, WindBorn is right. You don't get credits/votes, but you get access to all of the subscription-only clothes. For free, it's not too bad. =) There are a lot of free subscription-only clothes?
    Posted 17 months ago by Nea Subscriber! | Permalink
  • "those of you that aren't subscribed, why haven't you done so yet?"

    because i have all the clothes i need, and teleportation tokens are lame : ]

    not really any compelling reason to buy a paid subscription beyond those two things, so i'd rather not waste mah money.

    i used to have a free subscription, but it expired as will all the current free subscriptions.

    if you really like swapping clothes, which is a totally legitimate thing to like to do, then i could see the paid subscription being very much worth it .. otherwise not so much.

    i suspect at some point tiny speck will end up adjusting the game or the teleportation skill in order to make teleportation tokens an essentially necessary ingredient for 'involved' gameplay, at which point i would have to buy a subscription to do all the different things i enjoy doing in the game, but until then i'd rather not waste mah money.
    Posted 17 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree with striatic. Fully. And I decided to get a subscription, knowing that I was gambling. My argument was that since tokens and credits roll over month to month and that the earlier I jumped on it, the more value the subscription was worth (seeing as it doesn't start counting down until launch), I took the gamble.

    But was absolutely aware that I was betting that there would be things I would want later on.
    Posted 17 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • see, but that's the corner the devs have painted themselves into with this imho premature release of paid subscriptions.

    if the transportation tokens or credits are truly valuable, with the amount that early subscribers will accumulate over this sporadic testing, they will be at a massive advantage over new sign ups post-public-launch.

    if the tokens are just a nice thing to have as a small convenience, and not really necessary to keep up with involved gameplay, then early subscribers will end up with a token glut. i guess they could bake the tokens into scripts and sell them in-game to non-subscribers but then you have a competitive advantage again.

    at any rate, so far i'm pocketing the 5 dollars a month and spending it on iPhone apps instead - and i can't even imagine spending 15 dollars a month on teleportation tokens given how irregularly the game is open .. i mean you'd have to be a little bit crazy to spend that much, wouldn't you? ; ]
    Posted 17 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Perhaps, except that since the 12 months don't start counting down until the game launches. So, for me, every month the game doesn't launch, mean my subscription is worth more (as it were).

    I also don't view the game as competitive. Admittedly, that is more of a mindset than anything else.

    (I also don't spend money on an iPhone as I hate phones in general  and am quite fine with my dumb phone. We all make choices.)
    Posted 17 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • to follow up .. here is my suggestion .. if you're thinking about buying a molybdenum subscription, don't.

    most people have a monthly budget, right? like, i know my wife and i have a budget item labelled "subscriptions" .. ok, so at some point you know you're going to be a molybdenum level glitch enthusiast, since you think the game rocks so hard and you're absolutely sure you're going to have 15 dollars worth of interest in the game for each month of the entire next 12 months of the upcoming year.

    so what you do is, you buy the copper subscription for 5 dollars a month, but you leave room in your personal or family budget for the full 15 dollars a month so you're all set to buy it when the game opens for more than a few days a month and it is actually worth it.

    so you've got 10 dollars laying around each month, and you give it to a charity of your choice, or maybe just stick it into savings or pay off debt. then, when the game is actually open all the time you stop donating the 10 dollars to the charity or putting it into savings or paying off debt and instead buy the moly-b subscription and it'll be like nothing in your family/personal budget ever changed!
    Posted 17 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Completely agree with Lord Bacon-o. 

    I'm a chick, so I love to change clothes, and well, being a chick, I'm also very impatient. ;) I'm happy to spend my tokens and have my votes (whenever they become useful!) 

    Plus, like he said: 12 months starts at launch, when game is open 24/7 ;) 
    Posted 17 months ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • yeah but it is a big gamble on the moly-b .. you're guessing that you're going to be interested in playing the 24/7 game to the point where you're able to burn through all your tokens each month, or being able to put in enough play time to actually wear all the clothing items you'll be able to buy.

    the only thing you get in return for this gamble, as Lord Bacon-O rightly points out, is extra credits and tokens accrued during the testing phase, as well as the very sporadic use of those tokens during the limited spurts of testing.

    granted, these things might turn out to be super valuable, but it is totally a gamble .. and not even a gamble on how worthwhile playing the game will be, but how specifically valuable teleportation tokens will be.

    i think the better bet is that Tiny speck isn't going to screw over people who buy Moly-b subs post-launch, and so will adjust the utility and spending power of the teleportation tokens and clothing credits so that no moly-b subscriber ever feels limited, in which case there is very little incentive to buy now.

    in the current testing framework i have difficulty figuring out how to spend my two map teleports each day, let alone dip into tokens.
    Posted 17 months ago by striatic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, with the demise of [unowhat] and not buying many casual games at [unowhere] I had enough extra dollars to gamble on tiny speck.
    I have had so much fun Alpha and Beta testing, I consider the subscription money well spent and look forward to everything and anything whenever.
    I have no problem hoarding my TP tokens, clothing and votes. Just wish I could be as thrifty with my pre-launch credits.
    :o)
    Posted 17 months ago by Poney Tails Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Also, none of the subscription benefits (tokens, credits, etc) expire, so even if your subscription lapses, you'll still have those until they're used.
    Posted 17 months ago by Magic Monkey Subscriber! | Permalink
  • To answer the initial question (and clear up some what appears to be some confusion with some of the later answers): new players still get a free month subscription which they can start when they first try a subscriber-only option in the wardrobe or vanity. And they also get 100 credits. And the free "month" usually lasts longer than a month.

    This didn't go away when we started selling subscriptions — it's just that we started expiring the very earliest free subscriptions a few weeks after subscriptions became available for purchase. You can't get another free subscription so people whose free subs have already expired would have to pay to continue subscribing.

    Also, you can get teleportation tokens without a subscription by using credits instead — they are not a subscriber only feature.
    Posted 17 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks stoot.  Nice to know that the 'free month' is still happening, along with the 100 credits. 
    Posted 17 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thank you!
    Posted 17 months ago by Sita Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for clearing it up, Stoot! A few other glitches and I were talking and all agreed- really, to us, buying a subscription is more of a donation to Tiny Speck showing our appreciation for an awesome game, and trying to help develop the company (not that $80 compares to a million, but hey, it's a lot for a single mom! ;)) - the credits and tokens are just a nice bonus ;)
    Posted 17 months ago by NutMeg Botwin Subscriber! | Permalink