Speaking to Strategy Informer, Robot Entertainment’s Danan Davis confirmed a new launch faction - the Egyptians - as well as details regarding the game’s pricing model.
”We’re not going to nickel and dime players,” he said during an interview. ”We’re not going to charge players for specific items. You will not be able to go and buy the Epic Sword of Boo, and just destroy everything and pay for that directly, right, that’s not what we’re about.”
”We’re also not going to charge a monthly fee - there’s no subscription, no monthly charge. You will be able to buy different packs. You pay for what you want.”
Age of Empires: Online’s pricing model is comprised of three distinct elements:
Premium Civilization Packs - these packs essentially offer a ‘premium’ version of your chosen civilization, with extra content. Free players get access to most things, however there are limitations in place, such as the tech-tree, the amount of crafting buildings you can own, what items you can equip your soldiers with and so on. This pack will unlock all these advanced options.
Boosters - From what information has been released so far, Boosters are going to be the main source of post-release content. From new modes and quests, to story-driven campaigns, ‘Boosters’ will offer select, premium content that players can pick and choose from, further enhancing their experience.
Think about what NCSoft want to do with Guild Wars 2. You don’t have to buy any boosters (and the Premium Civ Pack isn’t required either), but if you do, you can choose to buy only what content you feel like playing through.
Vanity Packs - the equivalent of The Sims 3’s ‘Stuff’ packs, these Vanity packs offer items that will hold purely aesthetic value in terms of designing how your Capitol will look like. Davies assured us that these packs will hold a lot of content, so you’re not shelling out just for a couple of pillars and a new building skin, or something like that.
Stay tuned for the complete transcript of our interview with Davies, where we find out about combat, quests, the new pricing model, and much much more…
