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[Lexx McDwarf]

Ok, I understand that ideas is not what you seek here (i'm guessing you have full truck of your own). But still, maybe adding some interactions between the islands to the game? Maybe some wars (see: "NetStorm: Islands At War" for inspiration)? or trading and other stuff.
This way people would be more invested in their islands. Creating islands and stories is fun, but it's really more fun to see how your creation developing and interacting with the world.
Also, this lead me to another idea. It's about pay system. If you don't want to limit people's creativity AND not scare them away (personally I wont pay monthly fee for building islands when i can build Dwarf Fortresses almost for free) sooooo make creating islands free and then take money for people actually playing them. Even better, make creators themselves decide how much money they gonna take from people playing on their islands, and you just take some % from these transactions. It's a "win-win" situation. Even "win-win-win" coz players too benefits from this system. Nice huh?
yeah i'm that good :3

[Aklyon]

If we're doing things the optional subscription way, I'd say the ay DDO (Dungeons & Dragons Online) works is the nicest, though Shadowgandor sems to have beat me to it suggesting that, since it seems to be the same way as those two games. Adding something like the Favor system could be nice as well, if it was done right.

[ashton1993]

Ok, I understand that ideas is not what you seek here (i'm guessing you have full truck of your own). But still, maybe adding some interactions between the islands to the game? Maybe some wars (see: "NetStorm: Islands At War" for inspiration)? or trading and other stuff.
This way people would be more invested in their islands. Creating islands and stories is fun, but it's really more fun to see how your creation developing and interacting with the world.
Also, this lead me to another idea. It's about pay system. If you don't want to limit people's creativity AND not scare them away (personally I wont pay monthly fee for building islands when i can build Dwarf Fortresses almost for free) sooooo make creating islands free and then take money for people actually playing them. Even better, make creators themselves decide how much money they gonna take from people playing on their islands, and you just take some % from these transactions. It's a "win-win" situation. Even "win-win-win" coz players too benefits from this system. Nice huh?
yeah i'm that good :3

Hmm... not so sure about that idea either but what if you REVERSE that system, several default islands exist which you can play for free and then you can buy a tool which lets you create your own islands and share them, that would drive up the quality of the levels, make sure good content was seen more, be something large enough to be worth buying and could give a lot of satisfaction.

[Nyhm]

Everyone is suggesting good, valid options, and I don't outright _disagree_ with any in particular. One philosophical point I'm trying to keep with is that island creation (as well as gameplay) should not be limited by what you're willing to pay. I do like the DDO model, but of course they have the D&D license, which brings in a large audience (not to mention that Turbine also has the LotR license). Puzzle Pirates started with a subscription model, then went free when they had enough players. Maybe that's how Island Forge will progress, but to get started, I'm still of the opinion that the simplest and most stable plan is to put everyone into the same tier and charge a monthly fee. In summary (but this is not conclusive), I want to charge a fair price for all the features offered.

Since everyone here has been so helpful with your opinions, here are some preliminary details (no promises). We're planning to offer a free trial (maybe 7 or 15 days), then require subscription (via PayPal). Subscribers get 2 (3? 4?) characters slots, 4 island slots, and get another island slot every month. Does that sound reasonable? (Some of this info is shown on the membership page).

It would be tempting to charge for extra island slots, but I don't want to stifle island creation. Charging for extra character slots (maybe per month, maybe one-time payment) is possible, but I don't see that as a big draw. Am I wrong?

Again, thanks for your insights. The MMO market is going strong, and I'll be excited to just have a little nibble off the fringes.

[Aklyon]

You're going to need to have more payment options than just Paypal, you'll get more people by not being stuck with it as your only avenue of paying. Some people don't like it, some people can't use it, but it still is viable.

[Nyhm]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Here's an update. The Island Forge site ( islandforge.com ) is updated with a new front page, and I've rearranged it a bit. Any comments on the site are appreciated. In particular, does it explain the game and make you want to play? Thanks for having a look, bay12 folks!

[ashton1993]

Definitely clearer, I'll play it a bit later today or tomorrow I think

[Dariush]

Downloading the game.

Pros:
None.
Cons:
The 'updating content' window can't be moved, minimized or moved to background, forcing us to sit there and stare at it. Was it so hard to make it minimizable, really?

[FritzPL]

Where was this game my entire life? Checking it now.

[Nyhm]

Where was this game my entire life? Checking it now.

That sounds good! I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

[Nyhm]

Today's Island Forge Beta update (v0.9.8.4) includes a bunch of enhancements and one rule change. Details at the player forum. Thanks to all who check it out, and your feedback is appreciated!

[Jacos]

I keep trying to bloody register on the damn site, so I can play, but I get the damn message "ERROR: Terms of Service non-compliance.", and below the message "We are required by law to block registration of minors. If you are 13 to 17 years of age, an adult may register on your behalf (see the Terms of Service for details).", even when I lie about my age. Anybody have an idea why this is happening?

[mattie2009]

I keep trying to bloody register on the damn site, so I can play, but I get the damn message "ERROR: Terms of Service non-compliance.", and below the message "We are required by law to block registration of minors. If you are 13 to 17 years of age, an adult may register on your behalf (see the Terms of Service for details).", even when I lie about my age. Anybody have an idea why this is happening?

That's nothing. Not only is the ToS blocking a large gaming age group from the game without any true reason, it also has a clause in it saying that registration is restricted to the USA.

An ONLINE GAME with an advertisement posted on a forum people from MULTIPLE PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT AREN'T AMERICA visit has USA-RESTRICTED REGISTRATION (According to its' terms of service). I can't even begin to tell you how ass-backwards this ToS seems to me, especially considering this brit circumvented said ToS by signing up.
Also I lied about my age because blocking teenagers from a game that teenagers would be interested in, and then posting an advertisement for said game on a popular forum with what I can only assume is at least a half-decent teenage demographic is COMPLETELY STUPID.

Also, wait a few days, possibly clear your cache and cookies and try again. Worked for me.

[Sirus]

This looks interesting. I'll check it out later.

[Nyhm]

Hello bay12 community, I would like to respond to the discussion regarding our ToS. First, let me say that on a personal level, I do not disagree with you. However, we are a very small operation (you're talking to it), and don't have the resources to cover all the laws of every country in the world. Games run by large corporations can afford the management required for an international audience. If we are fortunate enough to build a modest user base, this will certainly be one of the first walls I'd love to take down. In fact I have personally questioned the lawyer on residency restriction on more than one occasion. In the end, this is simply an undesirable, but necessary, part of starting a small business.

Regarding age restrictions, there are specific laws in the USA for online services. Again, I personally fought to request as little information from players as possible. As it was explained to me, I have to put up a fence. The minimum requirement is to request your birthday (with a timeout) and check-box the ToS. If somebody, as a hypothetical example, puts in a false birthday and is not a US resident but ticks the box anyway, I still maintain a strong legal position that you were made well-aware of the rules.

One feature of Island Forge that complicates both of these matters is the central role of player-created content. This is still considered a very new type of service - it's downright bleeding-edge where the laws are concerned. So, I hope the community appreciates a small independent game trying to break the mold. It's all about community support, and I am more than willing to discuss these matters further. In any case, it is very worthwhile to hear what potential players have to say, so I know what to improve when we get there! Thank you for your feedback and your interest!