Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Questions by Garrett Fuller
Answers by Chris 'Ulric' Dye, Community Manager for RF Online

When it comes to dealing with imported games, few companies do it as well as the folks at Codemasters. As one of the first companies to begin importing games from the Korean MMOG marketplace, Codemasters Online set many of the standards concerning localization and commitment to product. Over the last few years, Codemasters has released titles like ArchLord and RF Online to eager audiences and have continued to work their way into the MMOG marketplace.

Yet Codemasters also tried to push many of their games from the Korean companies as full-blown MMORPGs – which they are – but many of them have been developed to essentially operate as free-to-play games. Recently, Codemasters decided that their previously pay-to-play game, ArchLord would become completely free-to-play, resulting in a terrific increase in users online. With that in mind, they opted to switch another of their imported MMOGs, RF Online, to the free-to-play model as well.

To get a few more details on this business decision, Ten Ton Hammer’s industry relations specialist, Garrett Fuller, sent some questions to Codemasters to get their take on the entire process. Chris “Ulric” Dye, the community manager for RF Online, was selected to respond to Garrett’s questions and we’ve posted his answers for you – the readers – to view. Enjoy!

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Ten Ton Hammer: Tell us about RF Online’s choice to go free to play? How will this benefit players and bring in more competition?

RF Online is now completely free-to-play.

Chris Dye: There are literally hundreds of MMO’s on the market and a large majority of them charge a monthly fee, which can represent a barrier to anyone who may want to play but aren’t prepared to pay monthly fee. Also there are groups of gamers who for various reason cannot or will not pay monthly fees.

We feel that by making RFO free to play we help remove these barriers and enable a much larger and more varied player base to try out what we feel is one of, if not the biggest free to play MMO’s in existence. Additionally, by making the game free to play and removing that initial barrier, we’re making the whole RF Online experience a lot more enjoyable for both new and existing players. There is no denying that RF Online doesn’t work quite as well when there are only a small number of people playing. RF Online shines when the game world is full of players, competing and working together to ensure that their faction/race is the dominate force within the galaxy.

Since we went free to play, our more “mature” existing players have been great in helping any new comers to the game. It’s in their best interest to get these guys on their side so that they can assist them in the fight against the other factions; I mean we even have more established members of each race trying to recruit new members on the forums!

Ten Ton Hammer: The game has been out for a while now, can you talk about its lifecycle and how it has been doing lately?

Chris: RF Online has gone through a crazy 18 months which has seen three major content updates that have grown the RF game world by over 100% and added many features for both solo  players and groups alike, such as all new monster AI, New Level caps and various armors and weapons.

In terms of its lifecycle, I would say RF Online has just had its 21st Birthday, has shaken off its adolescence to become a very mature MMO offering which I'm confident new and returning players will enjoy.

Ten Ton Hammer: What can players expect in the near Future for RF Online? Do you have any development plans on the way?

Don't be afraid of the RF Online community. According to Chris, they're nice people.

Chris: Both ourselves and the Korean development team at CCR are working extremely  hard on the future of RFO. We have many things on the horizons, from new NPC races to a brand new space battles system which will enable players to leave their home world and take the epic battle into space and beyond.

But its not just about new content, we hope to build on both the quality of the existing game, and add in features such as improved community interaction to give RF Online a much more inviting place for solo players and guilds looking for a new MMO home

Ten Ton Hammer: Now that the game is free to play, what would you say to a player coming in to try the game for the first time?

Chris: Don’t be afraid to ask anything. One of the strong points of RFO is the community that builds between players of the same race due to the strong emphasis on race vs. race combat (RvRvR). This means it is in the best interest of the more established players to assist newer players with advice, quest help etc. Also, I would recommend they sign up to the forums and say “Hi.” This is a great first step to making contacts in the RFO player base.

Ten Ton Hammer: Is there anything you would like to say to the community about RF Online that players and fans might enjoy?  

Chris: Whether you like huge robots, sci-fi cyborgs, or are a magic casting fantasy fan, RFO has an epic blend of sci-fi and fantasy that is unrivaled, as such I believe there is a race and class for any style / class of player and as its free to play there nothing to be lost in coming in and giving it a try.

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