The thing FC need s to fix and fix right is make the game truly playable for players that meet and exceed the Requirements and recommended ones to play the game. Thats what made me leave the game no matter how many setting i tweaked and retweaked with every patch it would become unplayable. If they were to fix those issues AOC would have very high sub numbers and then there would have not been a metion of server merges this early in the games life.
This has been fixed in August and September. You just ask any playing Conan now. Very good and no performance problem.
Sorry for not reading the whole thread but i saw someone mention the expansion and had to reply to that....
the game shouldn't be anywhere near having a team working on an expansion yet, they should be working on fixing the bugs and adding the content they promised was gonna be in at launch... the thing i can't grasp is all the current players who like the game (fair enough and good on you cause i wanted to like it when i pre-ordered it) don't seem to realise that Funcom only wants MONEY, this is evident by them starting work on an expansion after such a bad launch and buggy/unfinished game... instead of fixing things and getting things right they split the devs in 2, 1 for expansion, 1 for patching.. this in essense cuts down the number of fixes the patches do or increases the time it takes to make a patch live..
I'm not an AoC basher btw as i pre-ordered the game looking forward to it, then spent 52 levels as a conqueror, 28 levels as a barbarian and 12 levels as a guardian only to find the game is, to put it simply, screwed and not what was promised.
Honestly, AoC had a lot of awesome concepts that nobody else had gotten right. If we are seriously looking at what would be best for AoC in the future and cause it to make billions, I think it would be best for someone else to buy it, temporarily shut down the servers, and revamp the game over the next 6 months of time, then re-release it and allow you to keep the characters you've had.
FC lacks vision and understanding of this type of game and what the players want.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Most ppl that stopped playing AoC could not care less for who the game director is. If you got served dirt and almost got killed, you wouldnt look back.
Btw, there is no thing as Anti-FC. I dont identify with good or bad, and I could care less if everyone else loved AoC and FC. What I care about is "What is true for me", and if I do not find AoC fun, then that is so, but I am no hater. Just the truth.
I went to gamestop yesterday to see if there was anything worth playing that I haven't already played. There was an older guy by the PC games wearing a shirt with the Failcom logo on it lol was funny as hell. Went over to em and asked if he played AoC. He said "Yeah, I played that POS". I asked what he thought about the new game director. Oddly enough he hadn't heard about it. Niether did the kid working there at the moment. Funny part was I saw someone with a Failcom shirt in gamestop lol Sad part was it seems some people that gave up on AoC aren't even following it anymore. So it made me wonder if Funcom has any commercials or anything planned to let people know that Gaute's out and Chris is in. Seems a lot of my friends that use to play didn't even know. Just a thought.
Do you really want such short sighted and judgemental people to come back to age of conan?
I went to gamestop yesterday to see if there was anything worth playing that I haven't already played. There was an older guy by the PC games wearing a shirt with the Failcom logo on it lol was funny as hell. Went over to em and asked if he played AoC. He said "Yeah, I played that POS". I asked what he thought about the new game director. Oddly enough he hadn't heard about it. Niether did the kid working there at the moment. Funny part was I saw someone with a Failcom shirt in gamestop lol Sad part was it seems some people that gave up on AoC aren't even following it anymore. So it made me wonder if Funcom has any commercials or anything planned to let people know that Gaute's out and Chris is in. Seems a lot of my friends that use to play didn't even know. Just a thought.
Its the price that companies get to pay for incompetance. Some people you can only screw over once.
Actually word of mouth is considerd one of the best forms of Advertising. Comercials are rarely watched on TV or listend to on the radio. Bill Boards are widely ignored. Obscure spokespeople are rarely believable to most. The best form of Advertising a company/Product could ever have is someone you know telling you about it and talking about it positively.
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
Actually word of mouth is considerd one of the best forms of Advertising. Comercials are rarely watched on TV or listend to on the radio. Bill Boards are widely ignored. Obscure spokespeople are rarely believable to most. The best form of Advertising a company/Product could ever have is someone you know telling you about it and talking about it positively.
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
I am curious too. Deceptive marketing is ok with you Avery? Anything to make a buck attitude? Avery?
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time.
I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully.
If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today.
AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into.
Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers.
Give me a break and think straight.
Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie.
It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies!
PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005.
Computer game is not one game director - Thinking that one person made the bugs that AOC turned out to be... no...
There is alot wrong with AOC - Far beyond what can be fixed any time soon. Many of the ppl that played AOC will never consider to play the game ever again - EVEN tho it would turn 180°. Cause thankfully - some ppl actually dont forget and dont forgive when they are robbed and lied to. AOC launch was nothing but robbery in bright daylight. What FC is doing with the money they robbed really doesn't matter now.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time. I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully. If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today. AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into. Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers. Give me a break and think straight. Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie. It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies! PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005. From
Aspiring Game Developer
I didnt read the MEDIA to know I was flat out lied to by FUNCOM. I didnt need the media to be pissed aobut being banned from the forums for asking questions about things now being addressed by the new game director.
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by courtsdad
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by ScaredToo
Originally posted by GrayGhost79
Actually word of mouth is considerd one of the best forms of Advertising. Comercials are rarely watched on TV or listend to on the radio. Bill Boards are widely ignored. Obscure spokespeople are rarely believable to most. The best form of Advertising a company/Product could ever have is someone you know telling you about it and talking about it positively.
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
Your going to need to elaborate on deceptive marketing for me to fully answer your question. Next time try doing it without the name calling and accusations, alright mate. Cheers. ( I reported your previous post )
Couple of points for your consideration too.
1. What I posted was in relation to another post, please don't take it out of context.
2. Funcom's marketing leading up to game launch was minimal in terms of TV (which I specified a couple of slots which I saw to my knowledge - they were from E3 and other shows and there was nothing deceptive about them. Simple fly thru zones - as for the magazine there are no lies or deception in there either - its on the news stands - pick it up and see.)
3. I am not talking about lack of DX 10 or PvP levels from launch - I agree that PvP levels were advertised before hand and weren't there when I loaded the game up. DX10 was said not to be in the game prior release (at short notice) and the box simply states "enhanced for" - I don't want to get into another debate about this area and it was not what I was talking about, its been done to death, and if you want to bitch about it half a year later then thats your right, but I'm not interested, thanks. So I agree in this area.
4. Please don't go posting around saying I agree with "this" or "that" until your sure that you fully understand the context of what I write.
5. If you want to sum up specifically the points I made into thinking I agree with deceptive marketing then thats just your opinion. I am not or did not say I agree with it. You want to think they were advertising in saying just to make a buck then I disagree and you can't change my mind in thinking that there is something wrong with that mindset into reading it that way in that regard.
6. I have many games of choice, I have 16 shortcuts on my desktop right now that I dabble in. Your positioning is that your labelling me still even minus the insults. Your not going to change your mental approach here, so I won't be replying back, it's just a waste. I don't need to convince anyone or justify to anyone about anything to do with the games I play. It seems however, that people with opinions such as yourselves seem to feel the need to justify and back up your own decisions in ceasing playing "oh so, however long ago" with the need to continue to whinge about issues that are pretty much past tense.
7. Obviously there are limit and moral rights to abide by. Promotion on the idea's and thinking of what a product should intentionally be is fine. I am in that line of business to some degree too. Not to mention in having pride in the un-finished product that your creating too. Things can change fast in this industry its how in particular with FC and AoC they addressed them and initally and before to some degree it was piss poor. As I stated in the quoted thread above they have more of an honest approach now that people are beginning to notice and appreciate more.
If the only things you can talk about are past 5 month old issues which have been clearly addressed thats lovely. I moved on, I'm more interested in the here and now. Just like the OP's friends and the those guys in Gamespot not knowing some changes that have happened. It's their loss and whatever suits them to make them happy, that great, its certainley no skin of my teeth.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time. I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully. If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today. AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into. Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers. Give me a break and think straight. Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie. It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies! PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005. From
Aspiring Game Developer
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time. I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully. If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today. AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into. Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers. Give me a break and think straight. Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie. It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies! PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005. From
Aspiring Game Developer
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I suggest you stay confused. :P
But yes, the impression I get that they make new mistake with new technology but not the same once, so they are in my eyes not doing the same mistakes they did with AO. I should point out that as far as my funcom source mentioned, Funcom themself never wanted to release the game until 2009 but due to warhammer and another wow expansion they were forced to do so.
As you might be aware of, Funcom doesn't make all the choices and desicion they are binded by commitment and agreements made with publishers, distributiors and others.
But unlike many other posters around the forum I do not claim anything to be fact which I am aware of , nor do I claim I know what is going on nor do I really care, as I am not THAT picky if a game doesn't keep the promise, I for one know that that is never the case but at least 60% make it into the game within 1 - 2 year. And thest makes it in eventually in time.
It all comes down to how much a player knows about the industry, how it works and how good they are not to think they understand it and how good they are at stopping for a minute and realizing they talking out of their ass. Not you, just saying as an example that...that seems to be the case with most players like you and I. Clearly I am not including either of us. :P
Anyway, I never specifically claimed that Craig was brought in to fix the game because I for one do not think I know whether Gaute actually quit or was let go. Even though I know Gaute said last year that he would return to his educated career if Age of Conan didn't end up as he hoped.
That said, I think players should not fall for the hype and just try the game and see if they find anything they like regardless of what was told the game would feature. And have an open mind to return when they hear or feel the game might have improved the features "you" were looking for.
I do know how the business work and I understand how hard it is but I also know how it is to be a player. So no one is right or wrong, there is just two sides on this matter and it is about understanding the issue rather then trying to prove "you're" right or someone is wrong.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time. I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully. If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today. AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into. Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers. Give me a break and think straight. Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie. It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies! PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005. From
Aspiring Game Developer
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I suggest you stay confused. :P
But yes, the impression I get that they make new mistake with new technology but not the same once, so they are in my eyes not doing the same mistakes they did with AO. I should point out that as far as my funcom source mentioned, Funcom themself never wanted to release the game until 2009 but due to warhammer and another wow expansion they were forced to do so.
As you might be aware of, Funcom doesn't make all the choices and desicion they are binded by commitment and agreements made with publishers, distributiors and others.
But unlike many other posters around the forum I do not claim anything to be fact which I am aware of , nor do I claim I know what is going on nor do I really care, as I am not THAT picky if a game doesn't keep the promise, I for one know that that is never the case but at least 60% make it into the game within 1 - 2 year. And thest makes it in eventually in time.
It all comes down to how much a player knows about the industry, how it works and how good they are not to think they understand it and how good they are at stopping for a minute and realizing they talking out of their ass. Not you, just saying as an example that...that seems to be the case with most players like you and I. Clearly I am not including either of us. :P
Anyway, I never specifically claimed that Craig was brought in to fix the game because I for one do not think I know whether Gaute actually quit or was let go. Even though I know Gaute said last year that he would return to his educated career if Age of Conan didn't end up as he hoped.
That said, I think players should not fall for the hype and just try the game and see if they find anything they like regardless of what was told the game would feature. And have an open mind to return when they hear or feel the game might have improved the features "you" were looking for.
I do know how the business work and I understand how hard it is but I also know how it is to be a player. So no one is right or wrong, there is just two sides on this matter and it is about understanding the issue rather then trying to prove "you're" right or someone is wrong.
Thank you for reading my post.
Responding to the part i highlighted i have to say i agree with not listening to hype but that it's the features of a game that sell it, so by saying not to listen to the features is like saying the example below.
Company : Our game will be set in an open world, no instances. We'll have 8 classes for people to choose from including X, Y, Z.. Crafting will also be very complex. etc etc etc
Consumer A : I aint listening to what the game features, i'm just gonna try it anyway.
Comsumer B : oooh those features sound great, i'll have to get that game.
I may have worded things wrong there but the part i highlighted is like saying you'll play any game for the sake of playing it, rather than hearing what the features will be like and if it's a game you'll enjoy. With MMOs in particular Features are what lure people in, no one in their right mind buys every single MMO out and hopes it's for them.
Nah, basically the deal is that developers like to talk about the features and they hope that they get implemented. And sometimes it just doesn't make it because they bump into obstacles and the realize this or that might not work or that it actually ruins the fun factor or the core design is being ignored.
So either a person understand all of these things I fail to mention or they don't. I understand it but it is a big task explaining it to each invididual person.
Therefore one should obviously read up on the features but also remind themself that they would like to implement this and that, that they are trying to add it and make it work but that it might not be in the final game.
It is the ability to understand the difference between, trying to make something and actually getting it done and regardless of how many games a company have done, there is always a new problem and often the same problem for many different reason which I will not point out in this discussion, just take my word for it.
Making a game and especially an MMO is like like coming up with a new recipe for a new dish for a new food restaurant. The cook is talking about what he would like to have in the dish and it should taste like this and that but then it comes down to actually doing it. And this is what I want people to understand.
When most developers advertise their game it's just that, advertisement and creating hype, their challenge is actually delivering it. What developers talk about are often what THEY want in the game but to their disappointment as we all know, it is easier to wish for a feature then succesfully implement.
Often because of outside influence, desicion or lack of money or technology and many many other factors that comes into creating a game and especially mmo.
Basically as a player one need to be in a mental state where you say "I like those features but I realize they might not deliver all or half of this, but I will try the game and see if iy offers something that I might like". Do you understand what I mean? People should think positive and not just negative which is hard, but if one try it is very possible to do just that.
Often times when I have tried making a game and we write down what we want and everything that goes into the planning phase, I have yet to hit a home run where I didn't run into a issue, a problem for whatever reason that stopped the production of a feature.
And you know, sometimes people aren't just ready. Sometimes players think they know what they want and mostly they don't, we don't, I don't.
Anyway, it is a very deep topic where no one is right or wrong. It is a matter of experience, understanding and a persons ability to understand someones elses story,situation and problem.
I do not thinkg anyone is wrong in the matter nor do I feel I am correct. I am just stating from both a professional and personal point of view that it is easy to watch someone get bullied then stop it. The same goes for judging based on ones own experience as a customer, which we are all entitled to do.
It is just that most people refuse to understand the whole deal as they are emotional and angry about something.
But let us not forget that there is more to the whole picture then just you and me.
Nah, basically the deal is that developers like to talk about the features and they hope that they get implemented. And sometimes it just doesn't make it because they bump into obstacles and the realize this or that might not work or that it actually ruins the fun factor or the core design is being ignored. So either a person understand all of these things I fail to mention or they don't. I understand it but it is a big task explaining it to each invididual person. Therefore one should obviously read up on the features but also remind themself that they would like to implement this and that, that they are trying to add it and make it work but that it might not be in the final game. It is the ability to understand the difference between, trying to make something and actually getting it done and regardless of how many games a company have done, there is always a new problem and often the same problem for many different reason which I will not point out in this discussion, just take my word for it. Making a game and especially an MMO is like like coming up with a new recipe for a new dish for a new food restaurant. The cook is talking about what he would like to have in the dish and it should taste like this and that but then it comes down to actually doing it. And this is what I want people to understand. When most developers advertise their game it's just that, advertisement and creating hype, their challenge is actually delivering it. What developers talk about are often what THEY want in the game but to their disappointment as we all know, it is easier to wish for a feature then succesfully implement. Often because of outside influence, desicion or lack of money or technology and many many other factors that comes into creating a game and especially mmo. Basically as a player one need to be in a mental state where you say "I like those features but I realize they might not deliver all or half of this, but I will try the game and see if iy offers something that I might like". Do you understand what I mean? People should think positive and not just negative which is hard, but if one try it is very possible to do just that. Often times when I have tried making a game and we write down what we want and everything that goes into the planning phase, I have yet to hit a home run where I didn't run into a issue, a problem for whatever reason that stopped the production of a feature. And you know, sometimes people aren't just ready. Sometimes players think they know what they want and mostly they don't, we don't, I don't. Anyway, it is a very deep topic where no one is right or wrong. It is a matter of experience, understanding and a persons ability to understand someones elses story,situation and problem. I do not thinkg anyone is wrong in the matter nor do I feel I am correct. I am just stating from both a professional and personal point of view that it is easy to watch someone get bullied then stop it. The same goes for judging based on ones own experience as a customer, which we are all entitled to do. It is just that most people refuse to understand the whole deal as they are emotional and angry about something. But let us not forget that there is more to the whole picture then just you and me. Thank you for reading my post
Well I for one am angry that game launched in such bad shape and then rather than admit it funcom chose to ban people from their forums and alienate so many people that the CORE of the game really ceases to function when the population is as bad as it is now. Making your customers frustrated and angry wasnt the smartest thing Ive ever seen a game company do to where relations are concerned.
I mean on one hand they were trying to hide it and on the other they released more bugs every patch for a while. I had planned on making this game my new MMO home. Now its Ryzom for the time being.
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
What I don't like is when someone uses a company name for something a single or multiple invidiual people or voulenteer moderators have done which for all you know did it without actually funcom knowing, although they should keep track of such things you can not blame the core of the developers for something a single bad representative did.
People have a tendency to hold a grudge against a whole nation for something a single group did and this also seem to be the case when someone has a bad experience within a forum.
Unless you were banned from Craig himself or Gaute himself I don't think one should use such a bad experience and flag a whole company for it.
Anyway, it has been nice discussing this but I think I will let this rest now.
What I don't like is when someone uses a company name for something a single or multiple invidiual people or voulenteer moderators have done which for all you know did it without actually funcom knowing, although they should keep track of such things you can not blame the core of the developers for something a single bad representative did. People have a tendency to hold a grudge against a whole nation for something a single group did and this also seem to be the case when someone has a bad experience within a forum. Unless you were banned from Craig himself or Gaute himself I don't think one should use such a bad experience and flag a whole company for it. Anyway, it has been nice discussing this but I think I will let this rest now. Thank you for reading my post.
I CAN and I DO blame them for the actions of their mods. That's what they get for hiring volunteer monkeys when we told them not to.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Unless you were banned from Craig himself or Gaute himself I don't think one should use such a bad experience and flag a whole company for it.
Lol, posts here get funnier every day
You think management cannot be blamed for what low levels employees are doing? Of course they are to blame! They hired those guys and it's the responsibility of management to see that the job is done right.
If there is ONE incident, for example the AoC GM cyber sex scandal, I don't necessarily blame management. That GM might have seemed "normal" and might have done his job like a professional, until he decided to take his clothes of. Rotten apples are everywhere and it's difficult for management to find them in time.
However official forum has been a disaster since day one. Management has know about it and done nothing about it. Personally I believe all these bans were enforced by management.
Basically you get one chance to make a good first impression with MMOs.......If you fail in your first attempt it is extremely difficult to ever get those people back again or even entice new players once they have heard what bad experiences otehrs have had........AoC is probably about as strong as it is ever going to get barring a miracle...There are just way too many other games out there now.......
Comments
This has been fixed in August and September. You just ask any playing Conan now. Very good and no performance problem.
Sorry for not reading the whole thread but i saw someone mention the expansion and had to reply to that....
the game shouldn't be anywhere near having a team working on an expansion yet, they should be working on fixing the bugs and adding the content they promised was gonna be in at launch... the thing i can't grasp is all the current players who like the game (fair enough and good on you cause i wanted to like it when i pre-ordered it) don't seem to realise that Funcom only wants MONEY, this is evident by them starting work on an expansion after such a bad launch and buggy/unfinished game... instead of fixing things and getting things right they split the devs in 2, 1 for expansion, 1 for patching.. this in essense cuts down the number of fixes the patches do or increases the time it takes to make a patch live..
I'm not an AoC basher btw as i pre-ordered the game looking forward to it, then spent 52 levels as a conqueror, 28 levels as a barbarian and 12 levels as a guardian only to find the game is, to put it simply, screwed and not what was promised.
Honestly, AoC had a lot of awesome concepts that nobody else had gotten right. If we are seriously looking at what would be best for AoC in the future and cause it to make billions, I think it would be best for someone else to buy it, temporarily shut down the servers, and revamp the game over the next 6 months of time, then re-release it and allow you to keep the characters you've had.
FC lacks vision and understanding of this type of game and what the players want.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Most ppl that stopped playing AoC could not care less for who the game director is. If you got served dirt and almost got killed, you wouldnt look back.
Btw, there is no thing as Anti-FC. I dont identify with good or bad, and I could care less if everyone else loved AoC and FC. What I care about is "What is true for me", and if I do not find AoC fun, then that is so, but I am no hater. Just the truth.
Do you really want such short sighted and judgemental people to come back to age of conan?
Well, if they don't, then it's game over for AoC.
Its the price that companies get to pay for incompetance. Some people you can only screw over once.
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
I am curious too. Deceptive marketing is ok with you Avery? Anything to make a buck attitude? Avery?
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
I just want to point out that the latest patch shows that they will improve and fix age of conan in due time.
I would also like to point out that regardless of what you think you know, Craig is the one who saved and improved Anarchy Online from being laid off. This is the answer for a question that was asked earlier in this topic, something around "What has Craig done that Gaute hasn't already done"?
The answer, Craig already saved a game and knows how to do it again.
And even if AoC did get closed down which I know it won't and even if things go wrong for Funcom, they already have the funding they need to create their third mmo game called Secret World, the name might be wrong though as I don't remember it fully.
If you study their improvement closely by studying their offical launches of games both the once you know they made and the once you most likely do not even have a clue about they made, they learned from Anarchy Online, they improved it and saved it and people enjoy playing it still today.
AoC is and will be the way you expect it to be and it won't be solely because of your feedback, it is because of their experience in this area and by learning from AoC their next mmo will even be better.
But some players do not grasp the whole concept of running a games company and that it is most likely the only industry still fresh and difficult to understand and to even get into.
Some players are too busy thinking about their little money instead of supporting and encouraging people who work 14 hours a day, get their money taken from publisher and what is left is given to the developers.
Give me a break and think straight.
Running a games company is nothing like running a bakery.
Creating a game is nothing like shooting a movie.
It is easy to critize from the side lines, not really knowing what is going on and creating your opinion on from media, come on! Most of you should know already media lies!
PS: You people made me post and I haven't posted for a year and I have been around since 2005.
From
Aspiring Game Developer
Computer game is not one game director - Thinking that one person made the bugs that AOC turned out to be... no...
There is alot wrong with AOC - Far beyond what can be fixed any time soon. Many of the ppl that played AOC will never consider to play the game ever again - EVEN tho it would turn 180°. Cause thankfully - some ppl actually dont forget and dont forgive when they are robbed and lied to. AOC launch was nothing but robbery in bright daylight. What FC is doing with the money they robbed really doesn't matter now.
I didnt read the MEDIA to know I was flat out lied to by FUNCOM. I didnt need the media to be pissed aobut being banned from the forums for asking questions about things now being addressed by the new game director.
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
Yeah, I know. I'm studying MBA in Marketing.
You fail to see my point. I didn't say word-of-mouth sucks. On the contrary, it's probably the most important aspect of marketing in the world of MMO's.
I'm just saying in FC's situation it's not enough. They had their chance but they blew it. Gamers listened their lies and hype once, you think they will listen the same stories again from current players and re-subscribe? Doesn't matter if it's true or not this time, people have already moved on. FC needs to do some serious, agressive marketing if they want to survive. And I'm not talking about TV ads.
How good was their marketing to begin with? got you to play didn't it? Also has still got you interested. With regards to TV ad's they never had any, apart from a couple of stints on gametrailers tv on Spike and some on Space channel from some conventions months before launch plus the G4 stuff. Those weren't even paid for either. Your not going to see Ad's for North American from Finland or potential ad's from all the different language territories that AoC supports, let alone the whole PC Gamer N.A. AoC magazine for Fall '08 special.
By their own admission, they will do something when they feel the time is right to introduce more people back both new and old. Garriot once said that per mmo game they lose 90k customers per 9 months but at the same time new people are in to replace the old ones. EQ 2 had many players at one time which dropped right down only to grow again to previous levels without any major marketing.
FC looks to have now taken a more honest approach, in doing so it will raise the curiousity of players such as yourself (thats 3 new people I've seen from Oulu past 10 days now) even though you feel they "blew it". When it all comes to head and they think they have a product which is more inviting then it will be word of mouth which will either drive it forward or break it more, aggressive marketing is such a small percentage in this factor. Lookl at all the dislike for AoC ads on this site posts the past months.
As previously said when they are more confident in addressing issues and rounding their product more they will let us know and when that time comes it's the words that come from the experiences that will give the most accurate portrayal and watching for increase in playerbase.
Im guessing for some people like the gamestop guy and yourself it all depends on when you played and for how long in conjunction with your likes or dislikes in game and whats happened their. The core game will be the same but cleaned up properly just like we saw with AO.
So again , since it has seemed to have vanished, you are OK with deceptive marketing as long as it attracts paying customers to your game of choice? Nothing is off limits?
Your going to need to elaborate on deceptive marketing for me to fully answer your question. Next time try doing it without the name calling and accusations, alright mate. Cheers. ( I reported your previous post )
Couple of points for your consideration too.
1. What I posted was in relation to another post, please don't take it out of context.
2. Funcom's marketing leading up to game launch was minimal in terms of TV (which I specified a couple of slots which I saw to my knowledge - they were from E3 and other shows and there was nothing deceptive about them. Simple fly thru zones - as for the magazine there are no lies or deception in there either - its on the news stands - pick it up and see.)
3. I am not talking about lack of DX 10 or PvP levels from launch - I agree that PvP levels were advertised before hand and weren't there when I loaded the game up. DX10 was said not to be in the game prior release (at short notice) and the box simply states "enhanced for" - I don't want to get into another debate about this area and it was not what I was talking about, its been done to death, and if you want to bitch about it half a year later then thats your right, but I'm not interested, thanks. So I agree in this area.
4. Please don't go posting around saying I agree with "this" or "that" until your sure that you fully understand the context of what I write.
5. If you want to sum up specifically the points I made into thinking I agree with deceptive marketing then thats just your opinion. I am not or did not say I agree with it. You want to think they were advertising in saying just to make a buck then I disagree and you can't change my mind in thinking that there is something wrong with that mindset into reading it that way in that regard.
6. I have many games of choice, I have 16 shortcuts on my desktop right now that I dabble in. Your positioning is that your labelling me still even minus the insults. Your not going to change your mental approach here, so I won't be replying back, it's just a waste. I don't need to convince anyone or justify to anyone about anything to do with the games I play. It seems however, that people with opinions such as yourselves seem to feel the need to justify and back up your own decisions in ceasing playing "oh so, however long ago" with the need to continue to whinge about issues that are pretty much past tense.
7. Obviously there are limit and moral rights to abide by. Promotion on the idea's and thinking of what a product should intentionally be is fine. I am in that line of business to some degree too. Not to mention in having pride in the un-finished product that your creating too. Things can change fast in this industry its how in particular with FC and AoC they addressed them and initally and before to some degree it was piss poor. As I stated in the quoted thread above they have more of an honest approach now that people are beginning to notice and appreciate more.
If the only things you can talk about are past 5 month old issues which have been clearly addressed thats lovely. I moved on, I'm more interested in the here and now. Just like the OP's friends and the those guys in Gamespot not knowing some changes that have happened. It's their loss and whatever suits them to make them happy, that great, its certainley no skin of my teeth.
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I suggest you stay confused. :P
But yes, the impression I get that they make new mistake with new technology but not the same once, so they are in my eyes not doing the same mistakes they did with AO. I should point out that as far as my funcom source mentioned, Funcom themself never wanted to release the game until 2009 but due to warhammer and another wow expansion they were forced to do so.
As you might be aware of, Funcom doesn't make all the choices and desicion they are binded by commitment and agreements made with publishers, distributiors and others.
But unlike many other posters around the forum I do not claim anything to be fact which I am aware of , nor do I claim I know what is going on nor do I really care, as I am not THAT picky if a game doesn't keep the promise, I for one know that that is never the case but at least 60% make it into the game within 1 - 2 year. And thest makes it in eventually in time.
It all comes down to how much a player knows about the industry, how it works and how good they are not to think they understand it and how good they are at stopping for a minute and realizing they talking out of their ass.
Not you, just saying as an example that...that seems to be the case with most players like you and I. Clearly I am not including either of us. :P
Anyway, I never specifically claimed that Craig was brought in to fix the game because I for one do not think I know whether Gaute actually quit or was let go. Even though I know Gaute said last year that he would return to his educated career if Age of Conan didn't end up as he hoped.
That said, I think players should not fall for the hype and just try the game and see if they find anything they like regardless of what was told the game would feature. And have an open mind to return when they hear or feel the game might have improved the features "you" were looking for.
I do know how the business work and I understand how hard it is but I also know how it is to be a player. So no one is right or wrong, there is just two sides on this matter and it is about understanding the issue rather then trying to prove "you're" right or someone is wrong.
Thank you for reading my post.
I'm confused... You've pretty much said they are learning from their mistakes in the past with each game released right? how can this be the case when as you put it, they need to brinf craig back in to FIX yet another release they did? this isn't learning from their mistakes m8, it's repeating them all over again.
I aint an AoC basher btw, i loved the ideas the game was supposed to have and pre-ordered, got burned by doing so but i'm not bitter enough to deny the game can be saved, the difference is i beleive it will take a long time to do so, and as time progresses people come, people go, the income from AoC subs will be around the same as it is today in maybe 1 years time. the game doesn't need fixing, i encountered no bugs during the 2 month from launch i played, myself and most likely a lot of others got burned because the game doesn't have the features we were told it would have by FUNCOM...
With regards to someone saying patch 3 making a lot of improvements well, i'd suggest people read all posts first, more people say it's added more bugs than fixed any.
I suggest you stay confused. :P
But yes, the impression I get that they make new mistake with new technology but not the same once, so they are in my eyes not doing the same mistakes they did with AO. I should point out that as far as my funcom source mentioned, Funcom themself never wanted to release the game until 2009 but due to warhammer and another wow expansion they were forced to do so.
As you might be aware of, Funcom doesn't make all the choices and desicion they are binded by commitment and agreements made with publishers, distributiors and others.
But unlike many other posters around the forum I do not claim anything to be fact which I am aware of , nor do I claim I know what is going on nor do I really care, as I am not THAT picky if a game doesn't keep the promise, I for one know that that is never the case but at least 60% make it into the game within 1 - 2 year. And thest makes it in eventually in time.
It all comes down to how much a player knows about the industry, how it works and how good they are not to think they understand it and how good they are at stopping for a minute and realizing they talking out of their ass.
Not you, just saying as an example that...that seems to be the case with most players like you and I. Clearly I am not including either of us. :P
Anyway, I never specifically claimed that Craig was brought in to fix the game because I for one do not think I know whether Gaute actually quit or was let go. Even though I know Gaute said last year that he would return to his educated career if Age of Conan didn't end up as he hoped.
That said, I think players should not fall for the hype and just try the game and see if they find anything they like regardless of what was told the game would feature. And have an open mind to return when they hear or feel the game might have improved the features "you" were looking for.
I do know how the business work and I understand how hard it is but I also know how it is to be a player. So no one is right or wrong, there is just two sides on this matter and it is about understanding the issue rather then trying to prove "you're" right or someone is wrong.
Thank you for reading my post.
Responding to the part i highlighted i have to say i agree with not listening to hype but that it's the features of a game that sell it, so by saying not to listen to the features is like saying the example below.
Company : Our game will be set in an open world, no instances. We'll have 8 classes for people to choose from including X, Y, Z.. Crafting will also be very complex. etc etc etc
Consumer A : I aint listening to what the game features, i'm just gonna try it anyway.
Comsumer B : oooh those features sound great, i'll have to get that game.
I may have worded things wrong there but the part i highlighted is like saying you'll play any game for the sake of playing it, rather than hearing what the features will be like and if it's a game you'll enjoy. With MMOs in particular Features are what lure people in, no one in their right mind buys every single MMO out and hopes it's for them.
Nah, basically the deal is that developers like to talk about the features and they hope that they get implemented. And sometimes it just doesn't make it because they bump into obstacles and the realize this or that might not work or that it actually ruins the fun factor or the core design is being ignored.
So either a person understand all of these things I fail to mention or they don't. I understand it but it is a big task explaining it to each invididual person.
Therefore one should obviously read up on the features but also remind themself that they would like to implement this and that, that they are trying to add it and make it work but that it might not be in the final game.
It is the ability to understand the difference between, trying to make something and actually getting it done and regardless of how many games a company have done, there is always a new problem and often the same problem for many different reason which I will not point out in this discussion, just take my word for it.
Making a game and especially an MMO is like like coming up with a new recipe for a new dish for a new food restaurant. The cook is talking about what he would like to have in the dish and it should taste like this and that but then it comes down to actually doing it. And this is what I want people to understand.
When most developers advertise their game it's just that, advertisement and creating hype, their challenge is actually delivering it. What developers talk about are often what THEY want in the game but to their disappointment as we all know, it is easier to wish for a feature then succesfully implement.
Often because of outside influence, desicion or lack of money or technology and many many other factors that comes into creating a game and especially mmo.
Basically as a player one need to be in a mental state where you say "I like those features but I realize they might not deliver all or half of this, but I will try the game and see if iy offers something that I might like". Do you understand what I mean? People should think positive and not just negative which is hard, but if one try it is very possible to do just that.
Often times when I have tried making a game and we write down what we want and everything that goes into the planning phase, I have yet to hit a home run where I didn't run into a issue, a problem for whatever reason that stopped the production of a feature.
And you know, sometimes people aren't just ready. Sometimes players think they know what they want and mostly they don't, we don't, I don't.
Anyway, it is a very deep topic where no one is right or wrong. It is a matter of experience, understanding and a persons ability to understand someones elses story,situation and problem.
I do not thinkg anyone is wrong in the matter nor do I feel I am correct. I am just stating from both a professional and personal point of view that it is easy to watch someone get bullied then stop it. The same goes for judging based on ones own experience as a customer, which we are all entitled to do.
It is just that most people refuse to understand the whole deal as they are emotional and angry about something.
But let us not forget that there is more to the whole picture then just you and me.
Thank you for reading my post
Well I for one am angry that game launched in such bad shape and then rather than admit it funcom chose to ban people from their forums and alienate so many people that the CORE of the game really ceases to function when the population is as bad as it is now. Making your customers frustrated and angry wasnt the smartest thing Ive ever seen a game company do to where relations are concerned.
I mean on one hand they were trying to hide it and on the other they released more bugs every patch for a while. I had planned on making this game my new MMO home. Now its Ryzom for the time being.
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
What I don't like is when someone uses a company name for something a single or multiple invidiual people or voulenteer moderators have done which for all you know did it without actually funcom knowing, although they should keep track of such things you can not blame the core of the developers for something a single bad representative did.
People have a tendency to hold a grudge against a whole nation for something a single group did and this also seem to be the case when someone has a bad experience within a forum.
Unless you were banned from Craig himself or Gaute himself I don't think one should use such a bad experience and flag a whole company for it.
Anyway, it has been nice discussing this but I think I will let this rest now.
Thank you for reading my post.
I CAN and I DO blame them for the actions of their mods. That's what they get for hiring volunteer monkeys when we told them not to.
Error: 37. Signature not found. Please connect to my server for signature access.
Lol, posts here get funnier every day
You think management cannot be blamed for what low levels employees are doing? Of course they are to blame! They hired those guys and it's the responsibility of management to see that the job is done right.
If there is ONE incident, for example the AoC GM cyber sex scandal, I don't necessarily blame management. That GM might have seemed "normal" and might have done his job like a professional, until he decided to take his clothes of. Rotten apples are everywhere and it's difficult for management to find them in time.
However official forum has been a disaster since day one. Management has know about it and done nothing about it. Personally I believe all these bans were enforced by management.
Basically you get one chance to make a good first impression with MMOs.......If you fail in your first attempt it is extremely difficult to ever get those people back again or even entice new players once they have heard what bad experiences otehrs have had........AoC is probably about as strong as it is ever going to get barring a miracle...There are just way too many other games out there now.......