The Free Agent hops into the cockpit of his very own star-fighter

Ooh! Shinies.

On their FAQ StarGem has made the claim that Star Conflict will not limit players that choose not to pay for features, "You'll have to spend more time training and tuning your modules but no content limitations are planned." However, it seems to me at this point that the game's content is almost entirely tied up in simply ship and equipment selection. Shudder to think if they would ever restrict free-to-play users to fewer of the already repetitious game modes. So let's take a closer look at what money could buy, if nothing else to convince ourselves that we can do without it.

From what I can tell in the two weeks that I have been playing Star Conflict, the devs might be making good on the claims. As you can see in the screenshot above, an equivalent set of T4 Assault Lasers can be purchased for 3,405 Galactic Standards (pay-to-play) or 1,293,750 Credits (free-to-play). There is no difference in the performance of these items.

The premium version (shown in gold) is available to you immediately, provided you have a ship capable of equipping it. All it will cost you is around $11 (USD) and you can be cooking your foe with the best laser beams money can buy. Conversely, while the Mk.III version (shown in blue) is certainly just as adept at blowing things up as the premium version, I would need to play anywhere from 20-30 matches (assuming a reasonable win/loss ratio, say 1.1-1.2) to be able to afford these with in-game currency.

You might be thinking that's not really all that bad, as it equates to about 2-3 hours spent actually in matches. But don't get to comfortable with the numbers, because that's on top of saving up for new ships, paying for repairs and resupply and buying a ton of other items for your arsenal.

Add to this that the Mk.III version also has a faction loyalty (aka reputation) requirement of lvl 12. After two weeks of playing I'm only lvl 5 with the required faction, and this is only one of six available factions. And what if I want Mk. III T4 Heavy Plasma Cannons instead? Too bad for me, I haven't even started building loyalty with that faction yet. Of course I could always just pay real money for them right?

"NOOOOOO! Don’t do it Free Agent, think of the children!"

Whew, that was a close one, thanks.

I've only touched on one element of the paid versus free content, but be aware that it is reflected throughout the entire item shop, and even worse in the purchasing of new ships, as I've tried to show in the above screenshot showing two near equivalent T3 Empire Frigates.

You'll notice that to get your hands on a T3 ship, once again you can play your way toward it or just buy some Galactic Standards with your credit card. In this instance the real money ship actually has slightly better stats, requires 2 less reputation levels, and has the added bonus of never requiring repairs.

I hope you see the point I'm trying to make. Yes, StarGem has set things up so that for the most part you never have to spend a dime in order to compete with the best of the best, and that's great because some free-to-play games won't even go that far. But I'm not sure if it's fair to just go right out and say that it’s not a pay-to-win scheme.

While one day I might be able to go toe to toe with my arch nemesis Mr. Spendy-pants, with all his fancy top tier ships and equipment, while I'm saving up credits and grinding away at faction rep he's going to be blowing my sorry arse up. Of course he forgot one thing, the great equalizer in Star Conflict, player skill.

Suck on that Mr. Spendy-pants.

Empty bravado aside, for me there is no doubt about it. If I continue to play Star Conflict it is only a question of when, not if, I will throw down some real money; whether it's to try to gain an edge, or just to compete at the same level, with less time spent.

On the Next Episode of the Free Agent

Either way, there you have it, consider yourself warned. For the Free Agent, the temptation of spending real money, coupled with my earlier comments about the content and game play standing on a knife’s edge, lead me to believe it's time to move on.

Don't be sad for me though, this not really the end, only a beginning of something new. For on the horizon lies another free-to-play title, full of action, and excitement and cool costumes. Marvel Heroes is set for release on June 4th, and when it does the Free Agent will be there to find out if superheroes really can be free to play.

I know it’s going to be hard to wait, but you can do it. And in the meantime stay tuned to ZAM.com, because rumor has it that fellow ZAMer Tyler "TovarishGaming" Solley may have purchased his way into earlier access through a founder’s pack, and plans to bring you a first glimpse before the Free Agent can even get to it. But never fear, this will not deter the Free Agent. In two weeks time, I'll be there to bring you all the details on the free-to-play aspects that a founder’s pack player never could.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Star Conflict, and any other free-to-play you'd like to discuss. So please, post a comment below or follow me on Twitter @Caergan and let me know what free-to-play games you'd like the Free Agent to take on next.

See you next time, on The Free Agent.

Robert "Caergan" Gray