[Skybird]

Originally Posted by CCIP

It is on Steam, as a free-to-play feature.

Guys, please note what I wrote in the etiquettes guide for guest players:

Your guest status allows you to visit and watch all reserves in open MP sessions that allow guests, however, you are allowed to shoot-for-score just one species: Muledeer. And this species lives on Logger's Point only. If you want to shoot for score, there is no point for you to visit other reserves than Logger’s Point. Other species there you cannot score on. In other reserves you cannot score at all. So, guests indeed should focus on Logger’s Point.

The game so far gets delusively advertised as “free to play”. It is not really. The free content above is very limited in scope. In theory you can also shoot rabbits, but the ammo making such scores legal, you already need to pay for, so it is not really “free”. Better think of the option of free access as a guest as a DEMO version of the game. That’s what it is, and that is what the publisher should call it.

And on the business model, I wrote this:

A few words on the pricing model, since it gets plenty of fire. The Hunter is not the cheapest of games, but for an online game it also is not the most expensive. However, you can make the game an extraordinarily expensive game by buying all stuff there is – BUT THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT NECESSARY !! In principle, you can already get along with one shotgun and three kinds of ammunition (slug, birdshot, buckshot) – you then can hunt all species in all reserves. More realistic is to count with two rifles of smaller and big caliber, one shotgun and a bow as minimum weapons. Not all calibers are allowed for all species, that is why. You can also specialize in bow hunting – arrows can be used on all species. Just one bow is enough to get full access to all what the game has to offer. The argument by some critics in the Steam forum complaining about how much the game costs when you buy all weapons, is pointless, and underhanded.

Same is true with clothing. There is functional clothing that blocks visibility, scent and noise to varying degrees – or not, and it comes in variations for climate/season zones, and there is plenty of purely cosmetic stuff. You do not need most of that stuff, you can get along with very few things.

Some of the equipment beyond that, is essential indeed, especially a set of callers you need. But again, many things are available that you do not need at all.

The only thing where I share the criticism about the pricing model, is the hunting for waterfowl. The system stinks of trying to milk coins out of people, and honestly said, the experience of hunting geese and mallards is not the most impressive one in the game.I recommend to stay away from that as long as you do not feel real strong love for the game.

My tip would be, for testing it: invest into a 3 months membership, that gives you all reserves and species, and then see how much more credits you need to get the callers, and some basic minimum weaponry (if it does not come with the membership: I entered The Hunter in 2012 via the special German DVD edition “2013 Deutsche Wälder”, so for me things were different). When buying equipment, watch out for the “packs” section in the shop, you can save money there, for example a set of callers instead of buying them individually. Do not buy ammo, you get it for free (three boxes, 30 arrows) for any weapon at the beginning of every session.

All stuff you buy as guest or during membership is yours for lifetime. If you temporarily withdraw and have no membership after the current one ran out, and at a later time you come back to the game and log another time membership, all your former equipment you bought, will be there again. You do not need to buy your equipment twice.

The whole document "Etiquette and Basic Info for guests" can be found here:

http://forum.thehunter.com/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=55536



Maybe I will soon do a second guide for newbies on what equipment to buy and what not. The game can be made a very expensive game if you buy all and everything (which is not needed at all), but also it allows competitive and fully accessible gameplay with much less spending than in other online games. In other online games, you often have to invets to preserve further gains from "free gameplay", or to avoid gettign slaughtered when refusing to pay additional fees for additional stuff that is essential to sruvive beyond a vcertainb skill level. The Hunter does not use this extremely underhanded model, one has to give this to them.

Ammunition always is free.

I would not buy it via Steam. Steam is pointless in this game, completely. And that is not just becasue I do not like Steam. Expansive Worlds maintain their own server platforms.

Best advice: buy the game via the DVD. It is the same price like the most popular license pack to be bought online, but adds you a tremedous amount of additonal equipment that you then do no need to pay separately for. I did like this in 2012, when buying the 2013-version "Deutsche Wälder". The DVD can be ordered outside Germany as well, and directly at their shop.

---> http://forum.thehunter.com/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=55460

When considering a 6 month membership, this is BY FAR the best option you have.

I do not offer my own example as a reference, because obviously I am a little mad, I love the game and have spent quite some money on it (over 200€ since 2012), even for things that are not essential and even have no real function - just for cosmetics and immersive role playing elements. But that was not needed, I did that voluntarily and I always knew what I was doing, and so I do not complain to the company over my decision to go this way. When calculating only subscription fees and the DVD starter pack (including 6 months already), the same full gameplay could have been had for around 50€ as well. - Moral of the satory: when people tell you the game is hilariously expensive if you want to play it all, do not believe them, they do not know what they are talking about or - want to give the game a bad name. And that seems to be a hobby with many people at Steam, and regarding many games there.