---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
Seems like more ex-funcom devs are speaking out in that comments section. " RE: ååååh Skrevet av Fra en annen ex-dev 19.08.2008 kl. 15:18
Jeg skulle ønske verden var så enkel som dette.. Ja, man skal rose de som tør tenke nytt, men Funcom er og blir en useriøs bedrift, mye på grunn av deres personalpolitikk. Jeg har selv jobbet minst 600 overtidstimer i året der uten å få noe spesielt tilbake for det, bortsett fra overtidsmat da selvfølgelig. (Arbeidsmiljøloven tillater 200 overtidstimer i året og da skal man ha minst 40% ekstra betalt for hver time.) De presser for overtid, men samtidig sier de at all overtid er frivillig og at det er så morsomt å jobbe med dataspill, så derfor trenger man ikke få betalt for det. De utnytter den unge arbeidskraften de har for det den er verdt, for unge mennesker er ofte ikke så opplyste når det kommer til rettigheter, det tar ofte tid å lære seg lover og regler, og man vil jo gjerne tro på ledelsen når de sier noe. Selv om Gaute har en del av skylden så synes jeg det blir feil å gi han all skyld. Gaute ble presset fra veldig mange kanter og det er ikke alltid like lett å tenke klart og være konsistent til enhver tid under slikt press. Når det kommer til personalpolitikken så må personalsjefen ta på seg størsteparten av ansvaret og CEO'en i Funcom må også ta på seg ansvar når han vet hva slags politikk personalsjefen bedriver, men lar det slippe mellom fingrene. Når det kommer til antall bugs og tekniske mangler så er det Technical Director som bør ta på seg en del skyld. Et annet stort problem som de fleste AoC spillere er smertelig klar over er all løgnen de serverer. Dere kan jo selv lese her hva mange spillere tenker om dette: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?GAME=191&PLAY=1248&BHCP=1&VIEW=videos&bhcp=1 De har mange problemer som bør og må rettes opp i. Skal man opp i gradene på Funcom så går det nesten utelukkende på trynefaktor og prøver man å ta opp problemer med ledelsen så er man heldig om man i det hele tatt får et svar tilbake. F.eks ble en god kollega av meg presset ut av bedriften etter at han kom med konstruktiv kritikk til sjefen sin. (Det var forresten ikke Gaute som var sjefen hans.) Et stort problem er også det at Funcom er veldig dårlig til å holde på og øke kompetansen, de gjør veldig lite for å holde på talenter. I mange tilfeller vet de ikke engang at talentene er talenter, for de har ikke ledere som har god nok faglig kompetanse til å se det. Regjeringen må nok også ta på seg en del ansvaret, for det er ikke bare bare å drive et spillfirma i Norge på en lønnsom måte, så jeg har litt forståelse for at ledelsen i Funcom oppererer på gråsonen så ofte de kan, det er bare så synd at det går utover så mange enkeltindivider.. Uansett så håper jeg Funcom kan klare å rette opp i disse tingene og det er ikke slik at Conan nå er dømt til å floppe helt. De tjener fortsatt en del penger og klarer de å holde på minst 200 000 spillere over en lengre periode så vil det gå dem veldig bra økonomisk sett. Jeg håper iallefall Funcom tjener nok penger til å gi de ansatte den fete bonusen CEO'en muntlig lovte dem om Funcom skulle tjene nok penger, for det har de fleste av de ansatte der virkelig fortjent etter å ha investert sjela si i dette spillet."
My translation:
I wish the world was as easy as this...
Yes, one should praise those who dares think new, but Funcom is and will remain an "unserious" company, much due to their personnell policy. I have myself worked at least 600 overtime hours a year there without getting much back from it, apart from overtime food of course. ( [Norwegian] Labor laws allows for 200 overtimehours a year og with at least 40% extra paid per hour). They pressure you to work overtime, but at the same time saying all overtime is voluntarily and that it is fun to work with games, so that's why you don't need to get paid for it. They exploit the young workforce they have for what it is worth, becayse young people are often not so enlightened/knowledgeable when it comes to labor rights, it often takes time to learn laws and rules and you often want to believe the management when they say something.
Even though Gaute is to blame, it is wrong to give him all fault. Gaute was pressured from several sides and it is not always so easy to have a clear mind and be consistent at all times under such pressure. When it comes to the personell policy then the HR manager (I reckon) has to take most of the blame and the CEO in Funcom also has to own up to his responsibility when he knows what kind of policy the HR Manager is working from, but lets it "slip through the cracks". When it comes to number of bugs and technical faults/errors then it's the Technical Director that is to blame.
Another huge problem that most of the AoC players are painfully aware of is all the lies they serve. You can yourself read what many players' thoughts are regarding this:
They have many problems that needs to get straightened out. If you are to raise in the ranks at Funcom then it's almost exclusively through "face factor" and if you try to take up issues/problems with the management then you are lucky if you even get a reply. For example a good colleague of mine pressured out of the company after he came with constructive criticism to his boss (Gaute was not his boss btw). A large problem is also that Funcom are very bad at keeping and increasing their expertise, they do almost nothing to keep talents. In many cases they don't even know that their talents have talents, because they don't have managers with good enough industry expertise to see it.
The government should also take on part of the responsibilty, because it's not easy running a gaming company in Norway in a profitable manner, so I have a little bit of understanding in that the Funcom management is operating in the "legal borderlands/greyzone" as often as they can, it's just a shame it has consequences for so many individuals.
Whatever happens, then I hope Funcom can fix these issues and it's not like Conan is doomed to be a complete failure. They still earn a bit of money and if they manage to keep at least 200 000 players over a longer period of time then they will be financially well. I hope at least that Funcom earn enough money to give their employees the fat bonus the CEO orally promised them if Funcom made enough money, because most of the employees have really deserved it after putting their soul into this game.
----------
My take. Seems a bit legit, but not so sure after reading a few comments here so make up your own mind.
it failed to me, and that is all that matters in my eyes.
If you look at the subs, it has failed alot of other people also. Pretty much any serious pvper, anyone that is a hardcore gamer, or people serious about RP, people serious about a mature game, people who wanted a deep and intelligent character development system ( ala AO ). People who wanted something more than a tank and spank game.
Yes, AoC did fail alot.
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by Vhati
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by rav3n2
This may come as a shock to you but... You won their contest to visit their offices do you really think they were gonna show you unhappy personal? Seriously think for a second, ofc everyone looked happy, I wouldnt expect anything less, I can assure you everyone was instructed to act like they were working in heaven. Its like when you going to a restaurant as a food critic, your food is always gonna be extra carefully cooked and triple checked.
Actually might come as a shock for you, but some of us took a deviated tour on Sunday, turned up unannouced, even met the CEO coming out of the meeting with Eidos to delay the game (but didnt know at the time). I met many people who didn't know who I was or the people with me, whom all were professional. This was totally outside scheduled time.
Of course they want the food critic to be pleased, but I think I got a good glimpse outside the box too.
Of course I was posting the same things over a year before the visit as I was after
Is that suppose to impress us? your blind fanboism is what terrorists use religion zealots to blow themselves up. Funcom could easily turn you into a explosive fanboi if they want.
No but it obviously bothers you. Its just a fact as I have previously posted the same thing. In your opinion Im blind, but if something like this bothers you so much, I suggest you open your eyes, pop outside and take a deep breath.
EDIT: It bothers you that people like the game, that much is obvious now, thanks. I can respect your opinion of dislike but it seems you can't see the other side.
Holds no majority over MMO market, Funcom is rapidly losing money and stock value... What do you consider a failure?
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
Holds no majority over MMO market, Funcom is rapidly losing money and stock value... What do you consider a failure?
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
Those are some great examples of complete failures. The question should really be is the game holding up as a success?
There are plenty of games that started out hot and successful, but soon after took a nose dive. SWG, MxO, EQ2, Hellgate, VG, etc. None of those I would point to as a success story and there are various degrees of failure all over them.
So is Conan successful? The game did break sales records, lots of servers compared to any other game launched in recent history, 700k accounts, over a million copies shipped, etc. The player interest is there, initial expectations have been surpassed and so on. Only time will tell if the game has what it takes to retain the success noted by those milestones.
Long story short, if Conan meets or exceeds their intial projections over a sustained time I would say yes. If not then I would call it a failure. It may not be an earth shattering failure like the list above.
Its a finical success, yes. 400k+ is nothing to scoff at. In a time before wow, this would have been a huge number of players; there are other MMO's out that hover around the same number. it has more current players than eq1 ever had at it peak. Don’t see anyone but the haters calling them a failure. Wow was a fluke, 400k+ is a good number, you’d be hard pressed to find any AAA3D MMO that would complain about it.
And player subscription (for the most part) still have no bearing as to weather an individual enjoys a game.
Unless your a trendy sheep gamer.
---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
I fully agree with you. 400k is a great number, though not as high as EQ got at its peak, but still a great number. I'm not of the mindset that every game needs millions of people to be a success. In fact we would all be better off if there were many games with 200-500 users all over the place. That would hopefully mean there are more diverse choices catering to more specific subscribers tastes. However if a game launched with 50 some odd servers, sold more than twice the amount of copies expected and soon after has to start merging servers, then there sure as hell is something gone wrong. It sounds like that is a possibility for Conan.
My point wasn't about how an individual enjoys a game, hell some people like collecting stamps. There are always going to be some people that enjoy a game no matter how buggy or feature lacking it is. Some people just like to associate with the underdog, even when logic says they shouldn't.
You are right that subscriber numbers have no bearing on an individuals enjoyment of a game. Just like one person liking something that many others also find enjoyable does not in any way make them sheep. That shoe you toss around fits both feet you know.
Holds no majority over MMO market, Funcom is rapidly losing money and stock value... What do you consider a failure?
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
I love how people use mmorpg as an example. Anyone can go to the official forums and see worse. Or any forum discussing AoC for that matter.
---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
This may come as a shock to you but... You won their contest to visit their offices do you really think they were gonna show you unhappy personal? Seriously think for a second, ofc everyone looked happy, I wouldnt expect anything less, I can assure you everyone was instructed to act like they were working in heaven. Its like when you going to a restaurant as a food critic, your food is always gonna be extra carefully cooked and triple checked.
Actually might come as a shock for you, but some of us took a deviated tour on Sunday, turned up unannouced, even met the CEO coming out of the meeting with Eidos to delay the game (but didnt know at the time). I met many people who didn't know who I was or the people with me, whom all were professional. This was totally outside scheduled time.
Of course they want the food critic to be pleased, but I think I got a good glimpse outside the box too.
Of course I was posting the same things over a year before the visit as I was after
Is that suppose to impress us? your blind fanboism is what terrorists use religion zealots to blow themselves up. Funcom could easily turn you into a explosive fanboi if they want.
No but it obviously bothers you. Its just a fact as I have previously posted the same thing. In your opinion Im blind, but if something like this bothers you so much, I suggest you open your eyes, pop outside and take a deep breath.
EDIT: It bothers you that people like the game, that much is obvious now, thanks. I can respect your opinion of dislike but it seems you can't see the other side.
LOL you dont get it at all which seems strange since you seem smarter than the average internet poster.
What bothers people is your blind fanboyism not that people like the game. Some people like eating roadkill. People that find that distasteful that doesnt mean they hate eating.
AoC isn't even in your xfire, but you're defending it. The reason why haters will prevail is because of one word responses like "What?". GG
<Mod edit>
As far as your haters comment, Im not sure what war you have created in your head, but I wish you all the luck. Also, i havent logged into xfire, in like....years now. I guess I should remove it. Its confusing the children.
I am also not defending anything, just pointing out stupidity where I see it. So, i hope it helps you.
---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
I just got done writing another long post which I dont want to re-write again, so I'm just going to sum things up a bit here.
Aside from the management, and only focusing on the game itself, AoC is actually "close" to being a very good game.
Having reached level 80 and sticking in for awhile, seeing why the level 80 players left, staying until my guild, as well as many other guilds left, I can honestly say the game will be in much, much better shape once they have the PvP system in, and fix the balance/gems/1-shotting. These were the biggest reasons people gave in and quit.
With those things added, people would at least have enough to do at end-game, working on their PvP levels, and the gainable/loseable Ranks beyond that, that they would have time to add more content. There would be more meaning to PvP, there would be penaltys for dying so you dont jus run back repeatedly. PvP minigames would actually be up. There would actually be a large enough player base for some real fun world PvP instead of gank groups at Khesh. There might be some actual keep raids so we can see what the raid improvements actually did - the guild I was in had a keep for months we never even got attacked once. Noone did mini-games so there was no guild points for people to even raid. And finally, with the 1-shotting gone, fights would actually be fun.
I'm sure the anti-funcom crew is going to tell me how I'm wrong and the game is a complete utter failure and so-on, but look in to all the big-name guilds that actually reached 80 and look at the reason they left. I guarantee you most of them will mention the things I just did. I've seen many guilds say the same things, including my own.
I'm sure people are going to call me a fanboy, u can do that all you want, but you would make no sense as I'm taking a break right now until they fix things up as well. I just dont do what most others do as they over-exaggerate their complaints, which is all too common here in american culture. People can say how big of a failure AoC is and that they are never going to go back because they lost all faith in funcom and so on, but if they heard the game has been fixed up to a better state, I'd bet most of them would be back. Just like most of the WoW players who quit say that WoW sucks and their never giong back, will be back when the next expansion comes out. People like to talk.
I just got done writing another long post which I dont want to re-write again, so I'm just going to sum things up a bit here. Aside from the management, and only focusing on the game itself, AoC is actually "close" to being a very good game. Having reached level 80 and sticking in for awhile, seeing why the level 80 players left, staying until my guild, as well as many other guilds left, I can honestly say the game will be in much, much better shape once they have the PvP system in, and fix the balance/gems/1-shotting. These were the biggest reasons people gave in and quit. With those things added, people would at least have enough to do at end-game, working on their PvP levels, and the gainable/loseable Ranks beyond that, that they would have time to add more content. There would be more meaning to PvP, there would be penaltys for dying so you dont jus run back repeatedly. PvP minigames would actually be up. There would actually be a large enough player base for some real fun world PvP instead of gank groups at Khesh. There might be some actual keep raids so we can see what the raid improvements actually did - the guild I was in had a keep for months we never even got attacked once. Noone did mini-games so there was no guild points for people to even raid. And finally, with the 1-shotting gone, fights would actually be fun. I'm sure the anti-funcom crew is going to tell me how I'm wrong and the game is a complete utter failure and so-on, but look in to all the big-name guilds that actually reached 80 and look at the reason they left. I guarantee you most of them will mention the things I just did. I've seen many guilds say the same things, including my own. I'm sure people are going to call me a fanboy, u can do that all you want, but you would make no sense as I'm taking a break right now until they fix things up as well. I just dont do what most others do as they over-exaggerate their complaints, which is all too common here in american culture. People can say how big of a failure AoC is and that they are never going to go back because they lost all faith in funcom and so on, but if they heard the game has been fixed up to a better state, I'd bet most of them would be back. Just like most of the WoW players who quit say that WoW sucks and their never giong back, will be back when the next expansion comes out. People like to talk.
I don't think you understand the haters. We agree with you in the most part except we don't see Funcom as the company that can actually fix things. They are taking way too long fixing things like the memory leak and lag spikes. Each patch breaks 1/3 as much as it fixes. We do not expect any end game content because no one at Funcom has the vision to write it. They seemed to have burned themselves out with Tortage.
The game was released in a Beta state. Three months has done little to improve that. I wish for the most part that Gaute was axed and someone reasonable was hired.
PS I really miss Earth and Beyond. For a buggy game that thing was a blast. Long live the Orion Server.
If an adept developer (like Arena Net) took over for Funcom and fix/update AoC, the game would be amazing. I know it wouldn't happen, but my point is, AoC has so much potential if a good developer took over patching and updating from here on out.
Too bad. I'm giving AoC another month before I decide whether to quit or not. I'm leaning towards quitting more and more each day.
Simply if you think Funcom will fix this mess, you are living in one deluded world mate. How can you fix the economy, when dupes been going on for 1-2 months? There is no gain in AoC anymore, all you do will be for nothing. Think about all the thousands and millions golds been duped over hundreds of accounts and characters. Funcom may not endorse cheating, but they sure sends out the signals that they do when cheaters are getting away with it.
Like I said before, any company in their right mind would lock down the servers and fix a dupe in minutes no matter how much devs and money it would take to do it.. this have lasted for 1-2 months, and it was very very known to the player base.
Some say they fixed the duping now, and they havent even cared to write it in the patch notes. Doesnt it ring a bell for you?
Even if the dupe is fixed, there are other ways to cheat for gaining unfair amount of golds, exploiting the game mechanics. Heck, even my entire guild did exploits, while I was trying to tell them that was wrong way of doing thing. Nobody listen, and in shock I just gave up the game with all the bugs/static/claustrophobic feel it had.
I have only read the first three pages of this thread but I had to comment on some arguements.
To all people saying games like aoc and vanguard will be better over time.
You may be right but it 's too late then.
I 've been playing every major p2p mmo from the moment they 've been released for the last 3-4 years now.
I still remember Wow launch and there where a few minor bugs but the game was finished, so they kept the customers they had at the start.
The games that will be finished over time lost a lot of potential custommers just because they where not finished and a lot of players who where there at the release will never go back, no matter how good it gets.
Now on to the graphics part.
For me, this is not what makes a great game. And I think this goes for most gamers (although they won't admit it).
What makes you keep playing a game over and over again is the gameplay and replayability.
These are points where WOW is absolutely amazing.
Call me a blizzard fanboi all you want but at least they give their custommers finished games, maybe cause they don't have a publisher rushing them but that's not the point.
FC is well known to "exploit" their employees. That said, Norwegian laws is more strict than those in the states or GB. As I understand it from x-employees is that it's a good environment for gamers (you can play games during workours etc). This article for a couple of years ago confirm that you don't get paid for overtime.
--- And when we got more women on the team, it was like No, no, no. We need puppies and horses in there. John Smedley, SOE
Why in God's name would they keep a tool like Gaute Godager? It's not like it's the first tine someone speak up about Gaute Godager and his constant failures and roaming around like a "king"
If it ain't dead you're not pressing 2 hard enough.
Why in God's name would they keep a tool like Gaute Godager? It's not like it's the first tine someone speak up about Gaute Godager and his constant failures and roaming around like a "king"
That's easy enough, he's one of the main founders. Take an act of Congress to remove him. Which is why Funcom is toast.
Wow..exactly what I was thinking while reading....To quote Han (not the one SOE killed for me):
"Illusions of grandeur"
AoC had so much potiental then they started breaking things. If they had just fixed what they broke I would still be logging in. I can handle the balancing (to an extent, not stuff that should have been caught in beta) but to break things and then not fix for weeks. Boggles the mind. Seems to be the trend nowdays and we all pay.
yes the same thing aoccurred to me as well.
However it is exactly what i was expecting because this pattern is actually very common when you have head guy who is a very bad manager and thinks he has all the answers.
Its repetition is not really shocking, in fact if I didn't hear this i would have been surprised.
Hordes of people playing this???? (august 22) all servers are at the medium.. doesn't look like hordes are still playing this game to me.. some servers use to be packed with people when the game came out yet there is not one that is populated passed medium.
Comments
AOC didn't fail.
Next?
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
My translation:
I wish the world was as easy as this...
Yes, one should praise those who dares think new, but Funcom is and will remain an "unserious" company, much due to their personnell policy. I have myself worked at least 600 overtime hours a year there without getting much back from it, apart from overtime food of course. ( [Norwegian] Labor laws allows for 200 overtimehours a year og with at least 40% extra paid per hour). They pressure you to work overtime, but at the same time saying all overtime is voluntarily and that it is fun to work with games, so that's why you don't need to get paid for it. They exploit the young workforce they have for what it is worth, becayse young people are often not so enlightened/knowledgeable when it comes to labor rights, it often takes time to learn laws and rules and you often want to believe the management when they say something.
Even though Gaute is to blame, it is wrong to give him all fault. Gaute was pressured from several sides and it is not always so easy to have a clear mind and be consistent at all times under such pressure. When it comes to the personell policy then the HR manager (I reckon) has to take most of the blame and the CEO in Funcom also has to own up to his responsibility when he knows what kind of policy the HR Manager is working from, but lets it "slip through the cracks". When it comes to number of bugs and technical faults/errors then it's the Technical Director that is to blame.
Another huge problem that most of the AoC players are painfully aware of is all the lies they serve. You can yourself read what many players' thoughts are regarding this:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?GAME=191&PLAY=1248&BHCP=1&VIEW=videos&bhcp=1
They have many problems that needs to get straightened out. If you are to raise in the ranks at Funcom then it's almost exclusively through "face factor" and if you try to take up issues/problems with the management then you are lucky if you even get a reply. For example a good colleague of mine pressured out of the company after he came with constructive criticism to his boss (Gaute was not his boss btw). A large problem is also that Funcom are very bad at keeping and increasing their expertise, they do almost nothing to keep talents. In many cases they don't even know that their talents have talents, because they don't have managers with good enough industry expertise to see it.
The government should also take on part of the responsibilty, because it's not easy running a gaming company in Norway in a profitable manner, so I have a little bit of understanding in that the Funcom management is operating in the "legal borderlands/greyzone" as often as they can, it's just a shame it has consequences for so many individuals.
Whatever happens, then I hope Funcom can fix these issues and it's not like Conan is doomed to be a complete failure. They still earn a bit of money and if they manage to keep at least 200 000 players over a longer period of time then they will be financially well. I hope at least that Funcom earn enough money to give their employees the fat bonus the CEO orally promised them if Funcom made enough money, because most of the employees have really deserved it after putting their soul into this game.
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My take. Seems a bit legit, but not so sure after reading a few comments here so make up your own mind.
RIP Blackguard. May a resurrection come.
it failed to me, and that is all that matters in my eyes.
If you look at the subs, it has failed alot of other people also. Pretty much any serious pvper, anyone that is a hardcore gamer, or people serious about RP, people serious about a mature game, people who wanted a deep and intelligent character development system ( ala AO ). People who wanted something more than a tank and spank game.
Yes, AoC did fail alot.
Actually might come as a shock for you, but some of us took a deviated tour on Sunday, turned up unannouced, even met the CEO coming out of the meeting with Eidos to delay the game (but didnt know at the time). I met many people who didn't know who I was or the people with me, whom all were professional. This was totally outside scheduled time.
Of course they want the food critic to be pleased, but I think I got a good glimpse outside the box too.
Of course I was posting the same things over a year before the visit as I was after
Is that suppose to impress us? your blind fanboism is what terrorists use religion zealots to blow themselves up. Funcom could easily turn you into a explosive fanboi if they want.
No but it obviously bothers you. Its just a fact as I have previously posted the same thing. In your opinion Im blind, but if something like this bothers you so much, I suggest you open your eyes, pop outside and take a deep breath.
EDIT: It bothers you that people like the game, that much is obvious now, thanks. I can respect your opinion of dislike but it seems you can't see the other side.
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
well, AoC hasnt outlasted any of those yet. So lets not go there.
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
Those are some great examples of complete failures. The question should really be is the game holding up as a success?
There are plenty of games that started out hot and successful, but soon after took a nose dive. SWG, MxO, EQ2, Hellgate, VG, etc. None of those I would point to as a success story and there are various degrees of failure all over them.
So is Conan successful? The game did break sales records, lots of servers compared to any other game launched in recent history, 700k accounts, over a million copies shipped, etc. The player interest is there, initial expectations have been surpassed and so on. Only time will tell if the game has what it takes to retain the success noted by those milestones.
Long story short, if Conan meets or exceeds their intial projections over a sustained time I would say yes. If not then I would call it a failure. It may not be an earth shattering failure like the list above.
Its a finical success, yes. 400k+ is nothing to scoff at. In a time before wow, this would have been a huge number of players; there are other MMO's out that hover around the same number. it has more current players than eq1 ever had at it peak. Don’t see anyone but the haters calling them a failure. Wow was a fluke, 400k+ is a good number, you’d be hard pressed to find any AAA3D MMO that would complain about it.
And player subscription (for the most part) still have no bearing as to weather an individual enjoys a game.
Unless your a trendy sheep gamer.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I fully agree with you. 400k is a great number, though not as high as EQ got at its peak, but still a great number. I'm not of the mindset that every game needs millions of people to be a success. In fact we would all be better off if there were many games with 200-500 users all over the place. That would hopefully mean there are more diverse choices catering to more specific subscribers tastes. However if a game launched with 50 some odd servers, sold more than twice the amount of copies expected and soon after has to start merging servers, then there sure as hell is something gone wrong. It sounds like that is a possibility for Conan.
My point wasn't about how an individual enjoys a game, hell some people like collecting stamps. There are always going to be some people that enjoy a game no matter how buggy or feature lacking it is. Some people just like to associate with the underdog, even when logic says they shouldn't.
You are right that subscriber numbers have no bearing on an individuals enjoyment of a game. Just like one person liking something that many others also find enjoyable does not in any way make them sheep. That shoe you toss around fits both feet you know.
ETC...
AOC does have a good subscriber base, is finically sound, and is moving forward after a great launch. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t need work, or doesn’t have bugs. But saying a game failed, just because you don’t like it, is stupid.
Doom saying seems to be a lifestyle here, a lifestyle of the sensationalist uninformed.
I love how people use mmorpg as an example. Anyone can go to the official forums and see worse. Or any forum discussing AoC for that matter.
Gamer Plus+
What?
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Actually might come as a shock for you, but some of us took a deviated tour on Sunday, turned up unannouced, even met the CEO coming out of the meeting with Eidos to delay the game (but didnt know at the time). I met many people who didn't know who I was or the people with me, whom all were professional. This was totally outside scheduled time.
Of course they want the food critic to be pleased, but I think I got a good glimpse outside the box too.
Of course I was posting the same things over a year before the visit as I was after
Is that suppose to impress us? your blind fanboism is what terrorists use religion zealots to blow themselves up. Funcom could easily turn you into a explosive fanboi if they want.
No but it obviously bothers you. Its just a fact as I have previously posted the same thing. In your opinion Im blind, but if something like this bothers you so much, I suggest you open your eyes, pop outside and take a deep breath.
EDIT: It bothers you that people like the game, that much is obvious now, thanks. I can respect your opinion of dislike but it seems you can't see the other side.
LOL you dont get it at all which seems strange since you seem smarter than the average internet poster.
What bothers people is your blind fanboyism not that people like the game. Some people like eating roadkill. People that find that distasteful that doesnt mean they hate eating.
Fungerer som det skal
AoC isn't even in your xfire, but you're defending it.
The reason why haters will prevail is because of one word responses like "What?". GG
Gamer Plus+
As far as your haters comment, Im not sure what war you have created in your head, but I wish you all the luck.
Also, i havent logged into xfire, in like....years now. I guess I should remove it. Its confusing the children.
I am also not defending anything, just pointing out stupidity where I see it. So, i hope it helps you.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I just got done writing another long post which I dont want to re-write again, so I'm just going to sum things up a bit here.
Aside from the management, and only focusing on the game itself, AoC is actually "close" to being a very good game.
Having reached level 80 and sticking in for awhile, seeing why the level 80 players left, staying until my guild, as well as many other guilds left, I can honestly say the game will be in much, much better shape once they have the PvP system in, and fix the balance/gems/1-shotting. These were the biggest reasons people gave in and quit.
With those things added, people would at least have enough to do at end-game, working on their PvP levels, and the gainable/loseable Ranks beyond that, that they would have time to add more content. There would be more meaning to PvP, there would be penaltys for dying so you dont jus run back repeatedly. PvP minigames would actually be up. There would actually be a large enough player base for some real fun world PvP instead of gank groups at Khesh. There might be some actual keep raids so we can see what the raid improvements actually did - the guild I was in had a keep for months we never even got attacked once. Noone did mini-games so there was no guild points for people to even raid. And finally, with the 1-shotting gone, fights would actually be fun.
I'm sure the anti-funcom crew is going to tell me how I'm wrong and the game is a complete utter failure and so-on, but look in to all the big-name guilds that actually reached 80 and look at the reason they left. I guarantee you most of them will mention the things I just did. I've seen many guilds say the same things, including my own.
I'm sure people are going to call me a fanboy, u can do that all you want, but you would make no sense as I'm taking a break right now until they fix things up as well. I just dont do what most others do as they over-exaggerate their complaints, which is all too common here in american culture. People can say how big of a failure AoC is and that they are never going to go back because they lost all faith in funcom and so on, but if they heard the game has been fixed up to a better state, I'd bet most of them would be back. Just like most of the WoW players who quit say that WoW sucks and their never giong back, will be back when the next expansion comes out. People like to talk.
I don't think you understand the haters. We agree with you in the most part except we don't see Funcom as the company that can actually fix things. They are taking way too long fixing things like the memory leak and lag spikes. Each patch breaks 1/3 as much as it fixes. We do not expect any end game content because no one at Funcom has the vision to write it. They seemed to have burned themselves out with Tortage.
The game was released in a Beta state. Three months has done little to improve that. I wish for the most part that Gaute was axed and someone reasonable was hired.
PS I really miss Earth and Beyond. For a buggy game that thing was a blast. Long live the Orion Server.
Waiting for the next thing
If an adept developer (like Arena Net) took over for Funcom and fix/update AoC, the game would be amazing. I know it wouldn't happen, but my point is, AoC has so much potential if a good developer took over patching and updating from here on out.
Too bad. I'm giving AoC another month before I decide whether to quit or not. I'm leaning towards quitting more and more each day.
Simply if you think Funcom will fix this mess, you are living in one deluded world mate. How can you fix the economy, when dupes been going on for 1-2 months? There is no gain in AoC anymore, all you do will be for nothing. Think about all the thousands and millions golds been duped over hundreds of accounts and characters. Funcom may not endorse cheating, but they sure sends out the signals that they do when cheaters are getting away with it.
Like I said before, any company in their right mind would lock down the servers and fix a dupe in minutes no matter how much devs and money it would take to do it.. this have lasted for 1-2 months, and it was very very known to the player base.
Some say they fixed the duping now, and they havent even cared to write it in the patch notes. Doesnt it ring a bell for you?
Even if the dupe is fixed, there are other ways to cheat for gaining unfair amount of golds, exploiting the game mechanics. Heck, even my entire guild did exploits, while I was trying to tell them that was wrong way of doing thing. Nobody listen, and in shock I just gave up the game with all the bugs/static/claustrophobic feel it had.
I have only read the first three pages of this thread but I had to comment on some arguements.
To all people saying games like aoc and vanguard will be better over time.
You may be right but it 's too late then.
I 've been playing every major p2p mmo from the moment they 've been released for the last 3-4 years now.
I still remember Wow launch and there where a few minor bugs but the game was finished, so they kept the customers they had at the start.
The games that will be finished over time lost a lot of potential custommers just because they where not finished and a lot of players who where there at the release will never go back, no matter how good it gets.
Now on to the graphics part.
For me, this is not what makes a great game. And I think this goes for most gamers (although they won't admit it).
What makes you keep playing a game over and over again is the gameplay and replayability.
These are points where WOW is absolutely amazing.
Call me a blizzard fanboi all you want but at least they give their custommers finished games, maybe cause they don't have a publisher rushing them but that's not the point.
FC is well known to "exploit" their employees. That said, Norwegian laws is more strict than those in the states or GB. As I understand it from x-employees is that it's a good environment for gamers (you can play games during workours etc). This article for a couple of years ago confirm that you don't get paid for overtime.
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And when we got more women on the team, it was like No, no, no. We need puppies and horses in there.
John Smedley, SOE
Why in God's name would they keep a tool like Gaute Godager? It's not like it's the first tine someone speak up about Gaute Godager and his constant failures and roaming around like a "king"
If it ain't dead you're not pressing 2 hard enough.
That's easy enough, he's one of the main founders. Take an act of Congress to remove him. Which is why Funcom is toast.
Wow..exactly what I was thinking while reading....To quote Han (not the one SOE killed for me):
"Illusions of grandeur"
AoC had so much potiental then they started breaking things. If they had just fixed what they broke I would still be logging in. I can handle the balancing (to an extent, not stuff that should have been caught in beta) but to break things and then not fix for weeks. Boggles the mind. Seems to be the trend nowdays and we all pay.
yes the same thing aoccurred to me as well.
However it is exactly what i was expecting because this pattern is actually very common when you have head guy who is a very bad manager and thinks he has all the answers.
Its repetition is not really shocking, in fact if I didn't hear this i would have been surprised.
Hordes of people playing this???? (august 22) all servers are at the medium.. doesn't look like hordes are still playing this game to me.. some servers use to be packed with people when the game came out yet there is not one that is populated passed medium.