[baddox]

> When the game is playable, it will be free. Not free to play, just free.

> We’ll eventually create a marketplace where developers, modders, artists and gamers can give away, buy and sell mods and content. Earnings from the marketplace will be split between the mod/content developer, and Epic. That’s how we plan to pay for the game.

What distinction are they trying to make between "free to play" and "free"? To my understanding, "free to play" means the game is largely free, but with the implication that there is additional content that can optionally be purchased. "Free" means the game is free, with no implication either way of whether optional purchases exist.

[ColinDabritz]

Free to play is typically monetized. While they are allowing others to publish paid mods, and profiting from it, they seem to be indicating that they will provide a quality core UT class game, for free, without charging for any of it. Which is pretty awesome.

You're definitely right that the distinction they are making isn't very clear, and they could message that part better.

[acegopher]

>What distinction are they trying to make between "free to play" and "free"?

I think the distinction is that Android Platform is "free". The Unreal Tournament Platform is "free".

Both give you usable functionality out of the box, and free. Both give you the opportunity to purchase additional functionality in a "store".

"Free to play" generally means the developer will add more content, or cheats, or whatever to purchase, whereas "free" in this case means they will offer a platform and a store where they will take a cut.

[xarball]

I fully intend on cheating, and it will be amazing!

1) Free to play. 2) Free accounts. 3) Free access to the source code.

This will end magnificently =)

[pydave]

Source access is $20/mo.

[danudey]

The distinction is that they won't be monetizing Unreal Tournament 'the game'; there won't be gems to purchase, or hats to buy, or whatever else.

They will be providing a marketplace where other people can sell their own content that they create, which is optional and not (necessarily?) integrated into the main game.

The implication of 'free to play' is that the game itself is full of opportunities to monetize players, or that progression can be sped with currency which you can earn/buy, etc, and that the developer will be splitting their time between bugfixes/features and producing new content to sell to people (at varying levels of balance between the two).

The difference here is that the developers are producing two separate things: one, a 3D tournament-style FPS; and two, a shop where people can sell game content that they've created, and make money from it (or presumably give it away for free).

[icegreentea]

We we're only talking about gameplay effecting purchases (so not skins and what not) I think it's used to draw the distinction between where you can purchase changes to gameplay that take effect in a mixed population of purchasers and non-purchasers (free to play), and where you can buy into access to segregated gameplay populations (free with mod marketplace).

For example, free to play in a FPS could be purchasing weapons that cannot be accessed in other ways. On the other hand, free + mod marketplace could say... imagine for some reason UT4 ships without a certain game mode... say CTF with Vehicles. Some enterprising fellow can now make a mod with CTF with Vehicles, and sell it on the marketplace. Or maybe a game mode where everyone has bow and arrow and a knife. The point is that there is now a 'different' game that you pay to get access to.

Fundamentally, it would be like say... if Half Life multiplayer was free on release, but someone still went and sold Counter Strike anyways.

[palcu]

I guess they are talking about Team Fortress 2 here. In TF2 you are allowed to buy actual weapons and power packs in the marketplace, not just skins for them. You could also get them by playing, but it takes an awful amount of time.

[alceufc]

Another important aspect that I hope they adopt from TF2 is that even if you use default items (e.g. weapons) you will not be in disadvantage when playing with users that spent money on items.

[wlesieutre]

I'm assuming that you won't be able to buy things in the marketplace and bring them into other people's games. With mods in the previous UTs it's been very much that every player in a game is on exactly the same footing except for player skill.

You start with the same gear, and anything else you can get is sitting around the level to be picked up by everybody.

[LaikaF]

Could be CSGO style weapon skins, where when it's on the group it's the base model, but picking it up changes it to whatever weird skin you bought.

[wlesieutre]

I'm not sure how the community would feel about that. UT puts you in situations where your opponent is carrying around 10 different guns at once, and the split second "he just pulled out a sniper rifle" reaction can be pretty important.

If they do have weapon skins carry into the game, Epic will have to be gatekeeper on approving all of them. If not, you'd have people reskinning their rocket launcher to look like it's something else, with negative gameplay effects.

Perhaps we'll see two tiers of aesthetic mods? Ones that anybody can create and use in their local / self-hosted games, and others that have been approved for online play?

[leoc]

All the gameplay-affecting weapons cost mere pennies in TF2 though (and most of them are sidegrades or downgrades anyway). The money in TF2 is basically all in purely-cosmetic items and effects.

[esrauch]

Most of the gameplay-affecting weapons are $2+ each (example [1]). It's true that they are sidegrades (it isn't just pay-to-win), but its kind of disingenuous to say they cost "mere pennies"

[1] http://store.teamfortress.com/itemdetails/62839546

[leoc]

Unintentionally a bit misleading, but not disingenuous. The market value for an ordinary TF2 weapon, on sites like http://scrap.tf/ but also in the TF2 aftermarket generally, is usually the equivalent of about $0.014 . One you have a basic acquaintance with TF2 trading, the idea of buying weapons at the official store is so outlandish that it had genuinely slipped my mind that it was even possible until you reminded me. (Even if you don't want to mess around with item crafting or trading with bots or humans, at Valve's other official item store you can buy a fancier, kill-counting version of that same weapon for 15% the price! http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/440/Strange%20Clea... ) I suppose there must be a significant number of people still doing it though.

[esrauch]

Ah, interesting. I haven't played TF2 since the player marketplace was introduced. It uses to be either buy from the official store or go through some pretty shady websites.

[gtaylor]

I think this distinction will be largely moved along by the people who contribute to their eventual content marketplace. If there's a ton of interest in commercial mods, then you'll see non-free mods, though the base game itself will be free.

It's very hard to predict how this will shake out right now, though.

[moistgorilla]

I guess it's free in the sense that UT4 is a complete game, you will not need to pay to experience UT4. The extra content is made by the players themselves and can be given away for free or sold.

[Joona]

I think they mean that there won't be "pay-to-win" content.

[DatBear]

That seems like it would be hard to enforce with an open modding system...

[wlesieutre]

If it's like previous UTs, you don't get to bring your own mods into somebody else's game. Each game is played with a particular set of mods (set by the host), and they apply equally to everyone.