To be completely honest, a server merge means this game obviously is not expanding, which at this point in an MMO's lifecycle, it should be doing nothing short of. If you look at all the top MMO's of the past, they had expansion periods spanning as long as several years. What could that possibly indicate about AoC? One of two things; A) It simply isn't that good.
It's far too much of a niche game. Take your pick, just remember that what I'm stating isn't opinion. There are people that enjoy Age of Conan, but that doesn't make it a good or successful game.
Just because you say its "fact" and not just "your opinion" doesn't mean anything.
ITS YOUR OPINION.
If the devs of Age of Conan didn't merge servers, you people would bitch at it. If they do merge servers, you people bitch about it.
Suck it up. The devs are trying to do whats best for its players. Why do you HAVE to rag on them for that. Its just a damn game, some people like it, some people don't. MOVE ON.
How is that post ragging on the Devs? It simply states that servers merges indicate a low population. What a surprise, most people know by now the game was pretty much a failure and has turned into a niche game.
Servers merges will be a good thing for the few who enjoy the game. MMO's are supposed to be about community and server merges will probably help thegame, provided Funcom can do it without pissing off the few players that are left.
Simple fact is Jack, both you and Battlekruse were calling the game niche this very spot two years ago.
Let me ask you, do you consider Lotro and War niche, and how many servers do those games have?
How many servers should a niche game have?
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games?
LOTRO = 11
AoC + WAR = 50 some each
If the game was failure then the door would be shut - it is not, it is obviously still massively profitable for Funcom therefore it can't be called a financial failure unless the game ever shuts down before it broke even.
Lord of the rings online is said to have 120-175k pop over that many servers, we'll see what AoC and War end up with.
Hmmm so you actually believe that AoCs first 6-7 months can be considered a sucess? Massively profitable?? Its not a niche game now?
What does the amount of servers have to do with anything? They are about to merge them and even that they are having problems with. And why compare LotrOs US servers (11) to the World wide servers of AoC and WAR (about 50 each)? You know LotrO also have servers in EU/Russia/Japan/China and S Korea.
It is said that LotrO have 120-175k pop? Yea it have been said it has 800k aswell it doesnt make it true. And I would think that having 120-175k subs on 22 servers would be better than having 60-85k subs spread out on 50 servers (I estimate AoC having about half the amount of subs that LotrO but thats me being nice)
But if you think that AoC is a huge sucess then its your opinion and thats fine by me.
If WoW = The Beatles and WAR = Led Zeppelin Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games? LOTRO = 11 AoC + WAR = 50 some each
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games? LOTRO = 11 AoC + WAR = 50 some each
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch, even though at launch I would have not thought that 11 would be enough. Pretty damn professional if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Nope. You and Azrile predict merge down to 4 or 5. Let me remind you, you don't play the game. lol
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games? LOTRO = 11 AoC + WAR = 50 some each
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Just a correction but there is 11 not 6 EU servers in LotrO.
If WoW = The Beatles and WAR = Led Zeppelin Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games? LOTRO = 11 AoC + WAR = 50 some each
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Just a correction but there is 11 not 6 EU servers in LotrO.
thanks for the correction, I thought there were more than 6. The post I had pulled up only listed 6, but that was a pre launch thread. community.lotro-europe.com/news.php from April 2007.
and I would have seen it has 5 EU English language, 4 EU German language and 2 EU French language, with a RP server for each one.
I miss DAoC
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by Papadam
Originally posted by AmazingAvery
Originally posted by Jackdog
Originally posted by CujoSWAoA
Originally posted by Battlekruse
To be completely honest, a server merge means this game obviously is not expanding, which at this point in an MMO's lifecycle, it should be doing nothing short of. If you look at all the top MMO's of the past, they had expansion periods spanning as long as several years. What could that possibly indicate about AoC? One of two things; A) It simply isn't that good.
It's far too much of a niche game. Take your pick, just remember that what I'm stating isn't opinion. There are people that enjoy Age of Conan, but that doesn't make it a good or successful game.
Just because you say its "fact" and not just "your opinion" doesn't mean anything.
ITS YOUR OPINION.
If the devs of Age of Conan didn't merge servers, you people would bitch at it. If they do merge servers, you people bitch about it.
Suck it up. The devs are trying to do whats best for its players. Why do you HAVE to rag on them for that. Its just a damn game, some people like it, some people don't. MOVE ON.
How is that post ragging on the Devs? It simply states that servers merges indicate a low population. What a surprise, most people know by now the game was pretty much a failure and has turned into a niche game.
Servers merges will be a good thing for the few who enjoy the game. MMO's are supposed to be about community and server merges will probably help thegame, provided Funcom can do it without pissing off the few players that are left.
Simple fact is Jack, both you and Battlekruse were calling the game niche this very spot two years ago.
Let me ask you, do you consider Lotro and War niche, and how many servers do those games have?
How many servers should a niche game have?
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games?
LOTRO = 11
AoC + WAR = 50 some each
If the game was failure then the door would be shut - it is not, it is obviously still massively profitable for Funcom therefore it can't be called a financial failure unless the game ever shuts down before it broke even.
Lord of the rings online is said to have 120-175k pop over that many servers, we'll see what AoC and War end up with.
Hmmm so you actually believe that AoCs first 6-7 months can be considered a sucess? Massively profitable?? Its not a niche game now?
What does the amount of servers have to do with anything? They are about to merge them and even that they are having problems with. And why compare LotrOs US servers (11) to the World wide servers of AoC and WAR (about 50 each)? You know LotrO also have servers in EU/Russia/Japan/China and S Korea.
It is said that LotrO have 120-175k pop? Yea it have been said it has 800k aswell it doesnt make it true. And I would think that having 120-175k subs on 22 servers would be better than having 60-85k subs spread out on 50 servers (I estimate AoC having about half the amount of subs that LotrO but thats me being nice)
But if you think that AoC is a huge sucess then its your opinion and thats fine by me.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch.
People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch. People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
niche you said?. Funcom tried to go mainstreameven when the game was addressed as niche game. That's not a formula for success. Special, when you create the demand and aren't able to deliver, you create a situation where it stalls. Age of Conan cost more then 100 million US. Dollars and then you get 150K subs. To make things even worse is Funcom PR is very arrogant and incorrect.
This sort of soft-headed fantasy is why people some time make fun of Funcom.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would drditieam about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an adonal 6 at launch. People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
I am sorry Avery. This is a sad post IMO.
Did you actually read what Papadam was commenting on? (your own post)
Anyway you end up saying that AoC sold more copies than a game with a comparable number of subs could never dream of... Not exactly a seal of approval for AoC is it? You might as well have said that AoC lost subs at a rate that LOTRO could only have (bad) dreams about.
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!! (repeat ad infinitum)
Many people thought they would like the FFA style of PvP that AoC has, but when they played it they didn't. Many of these people went to WAR and are loving the instanced RvR mini game grind that is PvP over there. As for PvEers, I dont see why any PvE would buy a new MMO since PvE is the same in pretty much every game out.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch. People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
Umm Sir Bruces numbers are so relevant he does not even list AoC. His charts have been a joke in the industry for years now. If you seriously believe LoTRO only has 150K subs then where does that put AoC ? Around 50 to 75K maybe?
AoC biggest problem is it trying to be both a PVE and A PvP game and is failing miserably at both. It is missing scads of features that PvE gamers took for granted since the days of EQII. It's PvP ruleset has been a joke since launch and the new ( Octobers?) ruleset still allows for newbie ganking, rez pad camping and the only real strategy is zerg zerg zerg, or gank newbies LOL.
So I figure Funcom had better just resolve itself to 40 - 50K subs and maybe 4 US servers and 5 to 6 EU's for a long time to come. That may be a bit more than niche but itr certainly will never be a big hitter.
Xfire wins. I cant open xfire during patching or it just stops.
Man I gotta laugh...lol. It's like 4 months since we battled this one out and now it finally start to dawn on you that AoC and Xfire are not friends.
They arent friends right now but if some miracle happens and the numbers start going up than xfire will be a great friend......right?
988 users for a saturday is the lowest ive ever seen. Server merges better happen quick!
1st, Xfire never was and never will be a decent indication of player numbers for a game. Far too few people use Xfire and those that do fit a certain type of gamer.
2nd as we have just read, Xfire causes problems with AoC...still dont see why you screwed up?
ok Xfire+AoC=crash thus less people would use Xfire while running AoC reducing numbers on Xfire. refer back to 1 at to why this all doesnt really matter in the end
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds -Solid non level based game -Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
1st, Xfire never was and never will be a decent indication of player numbers for a game. Far too few people use Xfire and those that do fit a certain type of gamer.
2nd as we have just read, Xfire causes problems with AoC...still dont see why you screwed up?
ok Xfire+AoC=crash thus less people would use Xfire while running AoC reducing numbers on Xfire. refer back to 1 at to why this all doesnt really matter in the end
1st - AoC was # 4 on XFire with 80k per days hours logged when it first released, as of the end of the first month it was still in the top ten on XFire. Now it is the low 50's with about 5K hours on weekends. That tells me the population has dropped by about 80%.
2nd - rumor has it that AoC coding causes problems with XFire so most XFire people decided to get rid of AoC and keep using XFire with a different game.
No one should use XFire to judge population between Game A and Game B but it is great for tracking the population withing a given game . Refer back to #1
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch. People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
Umm Sir Bruces numbers are so relevant he does not even list AoC. His charts have been a joke in the industry for years now. If you seriously believe LoTRO only has 150K subs then where does that put AoC ? Around 50 to 75K maybe?
AoC biggest problem is it trying to be both a PVE and A PvP game and is failing miserably at both. It is missing scads of features that PvE gamers took for granted since the days of EQII. It's PvP ruleset has been a joke since launch and the new ( Octobers?) ruleset still allows for newbie ganking, rez pad camping and the only real strategy is zerg zerg zerg, or gank newbies LOL.
So I figure Funcom had better just resolve itself to 40 - 50K subs and maybe 4 US servers and 5 to 6 EU's for a long time to come. That may be a bit more than niche but itr certainly will never be a big hitter.
Res pad ganking hmmm not really. All a player has to do to disable it is to remove any gear that procs while they are on the pad. Fixed
Zerg or gank? Ganking happens a lot at the lower levels due to PvP exp which everyone knew would happen when they implemented it, but people demanded that PvP be given more meaning so there you go. Zerg still happens, but then so does players that dule and epic GvG.
Hmmm so you actually believe that AoCs first 6-7 months can be considered a sucess? Massively profitable?? Its not a niche game now?
What does the amount of servers have to do with anything? They are about to merge them and even that they are having problems with. And why compare LotrOs US servers (11) to the World wide servers of AoC and WAR (about 50 each)? You know LotrO also have servers in EU/Russia/Japan/China and S Korea. It is said that LotrO have 120-175k pop? Yea it have been said it has 800k aswell it doesnt make it true. And I would think that having 120-175k subs on 22 servers would be better than having 60-85k subs spread out on 50 servers (I estimate AoC having about half the amount of subs that LotrO but thats me being nice) But if you think that AoC is a huge sucess then its your opinion and thats fine by me.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch.
People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
I would think that someone with the "AoC corespondent" title would bother to read the post he is quoting before answering but others have already pointed that out...
So AoC sold maybe 4x as many boxes than LotrO did during its first month? And they now have half the amount of subs? Yea thats a great sucess right there keep up the good work Funcom! Erling and Avery have really worked hard to make the game a huge sucess!
If WoW = The Beatles and WAR = Led Zeppelin Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
Comments
Just because you say its "fact" and not just "your opinion" doesn't mean anything.
ITS YOUR OPINION.
If the devs of Age of Conan didn't merge servers, you people would bitch at it. If they do merge servers, you people bitch about it.
Suck it up. The devs are trying to do whats best for its players. Why do you HAVE to rag on them for that. Its just a damn game, some people like it, some people don't. MOVE ON.
How is that post ragging on the Devs? It simply states that servers merges indicate a low population. What a surprise, most people know by now the game was pretty much a failure and has turned into a niche game.
Servers merges will be a good thing for the few who enjoy the game. MMO's are supposed to be about community and server merges will probably help thegame, provided Funcom can do it without pissing off the few players that are left.
Simple fact is Jack, both you and Battlekruse were calling the game niche this very spot two years ago.
Let me ask you, do you consider Lotro and War niche, and how many servers do those games have?
How many servers should a niche game have?
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games?
LOTRO = 11
AoC + WAR = 50 some each
If the game was failure then the door would be shut - it is not, it is obviously still massively profitable for Funcom therefore it can't be called a financial failure unless the game ever shuts down before it broke even.
Lord of the rings online is said to have 120-175k pop over that many servers, we'll see what AoC and War end up with.
Hmmm so you actually believe that AoCs first 6-7 months can be considered a sucess? Massively profitable?? Its not a niche game now?
What does the amount of servers have to do with anything? They are about to merge them and even that they are having problems with. And why compare LotrOs US servers (11) to the World wide servers of AoC and WAR (about 50 each)? You know LotrO also have servers in EU/Russia/Japan/China and S Korea.
It is said that LotrO have 120-175k pop? Yea it have been said it has 800k aswell it doesnt make it true. And I would think that having 120-175k subs on 22 servers would be better than having 60-85k subs spread out on 50 servers (I estimate AoC having about half the amount of subs that LotrO but thats me being nice)
But if you think that AoC is a huge sucess then its your opinion and thats fine by me.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
I miss DAoC
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch, even though at launch I would have not thought that 11 would be enough. Pretty damn professional if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Nope. You and Azrile predict merge down to 4 or 5. Let me remind you, you don't play the game. lol
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Just a correction but there is 11 not 6 EU servers in LotrO.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
As Papadam pointed out LoTRO does indeed have 11 US servers.It also has 6 EU servers. No idea of how many in Japan, China and Russia. Never had any server merges. Myself I am on a "low pop" server and it seems pretty populated to me. I saw people in all lvl ranges even before the recent expansion.
however AoC currently has 24 N american servers. Most estimates on the official forums are predicting a server merge dow to 4 or maybe 5
Warhammer has 30 N American servers. Not sure if they plan on a server merge but I think they did a free character transfer.
What this mainly tells me is that Turbine had a very accurate estimate of how many servers it would need before the launch. Pretty damn professional of them if you ask me.
In short WoW is the # 1 western style MMO. LoTRO, Eve, and Warhammer are battling it out for #2, 3 and 4 spots. AoC is a distant 5th will probably fall behind EQII and SWG in the next three months if the devs don't get it together real fast.
Just a correction but there is 11 not 6 EU servers in LotrO.
thanks for the correction, I thought there were more than 6. The post I had pulled up only listed 6, but that was a pre launch thread. community.lotro-europe.com/news.php from April 2007.
I should have looked here
community.lotro-europe.com/service.php
and I would have seen it has 5 EU English language, 4 EU German language and 2 EU French language, with a RP server for each one.
I miss DAoC
Just because you say its "fact" and not just "your opinion" doesn't mean anything.
ITS YOUR OPINION.
If the devs of Age of Conan didn't merge servers, you people would bitch at it. If they do merge servers, you people bitch about it.
Suck it up. The devs are trying to do whats best for its players. Why do you HAVE to rag on them for that. Its just a damn game, some people like it, some people don't. MOVE ON.
How is that post ragging on the Devs? It simply states that servers merges indicate a low population. What a surprise, most people know by now the game was pretty much a failure and has turned into a niche game.
Servers merges will be a good thing for the few who enjoy the game. MMO's are supposed to be about community and server merges will probably help thegame, provided Funcom can do it without pissing off the few players that are left.
Simple fact is Jack, both you and Battlekruse were calling the game niche this very spot two years ago.
Let me ask you, do you consider Lotro and War niche, and how many servers do those games have?
How many servers should a niche game have?
How many servers does AoC have compared in comparison to those two games?
LOTRO = 11
AoC + WAR = 50 some each
If the game was failure then the door would be shut - it is not, it is obviously still massively profitable for Funcom therefore it can't be called a financial failure unless the game ever shuts down before it broke even.
Lord of the rings online is said to have 120-175k pop over that many servers, we'll see what AoC and War end up with.
Hmmm so you actually believe that AoCs first 6-7 months can be considered a sucess? Massively profitable?? Its not a niche game now?
What does the amount of servers have to do with anything? They are about to merge them and even that they are having problems with. And why compare LotrOs US servers (11) to the World wide servers of AoC and WAR (about 50 each)? You know LotrO also have servers in EU/Russia/Japan/China and S Korea.
It is said that LotrO have 120-175k pop? Yea it have been said it has 800k aswell it doesnt make it true. And I would think that having 120-175k subs on 22 servers would be better than having 60-85k subs spread out on 50 servers (I estimate AoC having about half the amount of subs that LotrO but thats me being nice)
But if you think that AoC is a huge sucess then its your opinion and thats fine by me.
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch.
People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
niche you said?. Funcom tried to go mainstreameven when the game was addressed as niche game. That's not a formula for success. Special, when you create the demand and aren't able to deliver, you create a situation where it stalls. Age of Conan cost more then 100 million US. Dollars and then you get 150K subs. To make things even worse is Funcom PR is very arrogant and incorrect.
This sort of soft-headed fantasy is why people some time make fun of Funcom.
I am sorry Avery. This is a sad post IMO.
Did you actually read what Papadam was commenting on? (your own post)
Anyway you end up saying that AoC sold more copies than a game with a comparable number of subs could never dream of... Not exactly a seal of approval for AoC is it? You might as well have said that AoC lost subs at a rate that LOTRO could only have (bad) dreams about.
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
Many people thought they would like the FFA style of PvP that AoC has, but when they played it they didn't. Many of these people went to WAR and are loving the instanced RvR mini game grind that is PvP over there. As for PvEers, I dont see why any PvE would buy a new MMO since PvE is the same in pretty much every game out.
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
Umm Sir Bruces numbers are so relevant he does not even list AoC. His charts have been a joke in the industry for years now. If you seriously believe LoTRO only has 150K subs then where does that put AoC ? Around 50 to 75K maybe?
AoC biggest problem is it trying to be both a PVE and A PvP game and is failing miserably at both. It is missing scads of features that PvE gamers took for granted since the days of EQII. It's PvP ruleset has been a joke since launch and the new ( Octobers?) ruleset still allows for newbie ganking, rez pad camping and the only real strategy is zerg zerg zerg, or gank newbies LOL.
So I figure Funcom had better just resolve itself to 40 - 50K subs and maybe 4 US servers and 5 to 6 EU's for a long time to come. That may be a bit more than niche but itr certainly will never be a big hitter.
I miss DAoC
Man I gotta laugh...lol. It's like 4 months since we battled this one out and now it finally start to dawn on you that AoC and Xfire are not friends.
They arent friends right now but if some miracle happens and the numbers start going up than xfire will be a great friend......right?
988 users for a saturday is the lowest ive ever seen. Server merges better happen quick!
1st, Xfire never was and never will be a decent indication of player numbers for a game. Far too few people use Xfire and those that do fit a certain type of gamer.
2nd as we have just read, Xfire causes problems with AoC...still dont see why you screwed up?
ok Xfire+AoC=crash thus less people would use Xfire while running AoC reducing numbers on Xfire. refer back to 1 at to why this all doesnt really matter in the end
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
1st, Xfire never was and never will be a decent indication of player numbers for a game. Far too few people use Xfire and those that do fit a certain type of gamer.
2nd as we have just read, Xfire causes problems with AoC...still dont see why you screwed up?
ok Xfire+AoC=crash thus less people would use Xfire while running AoC reducing numbers on Xfire. refer back to 1 at to why this all doesnt really matter in the end
1st - AoC was # 4 on XFire with 80k per days hours logged when it first released, as of the end of the first month it was still in the top ten on XFire. Now it is the low 50's with about 5K hours on weekends. That tells me the population has dropped by about 80%.
2nd - rumor has it that AoC coding causes problems with XFire so most XFire people decided to get rid of AoC and keep using XFire with a different game.
No one should use XFire to judge population between Game A and Game B but it is great for tracking the population withing a given game . Refer back to #1
I miss DAoC
Umm Sir Bruces numbers are so relevant he does not even list AoC. His charts have been a joke in the industry for years now. If you seriously believe LoTRO only has 150K subs then where does that put AoC ? Around 50 to 75K maybe?
AoC biggest problem is it trying to be both a PVE and A PvP game and is failing miserably at both. It is missing scads of features that PvE gamers took for granted since the days of EQII. It's PvP ruleset has been a joke since launch and the new ( Octobers?) ruleset still allows for newbie ganking, rez pad camping and the only real strategy is zerg zerg zerg, or gank newbies LOL.
So I figure Funcom had better just resolve itself to 40 - 50K subs and maybe 4 US servers and 5 to 6 EU's for a long time to come. That may be a bit more than niche but itr certainly will never be a big hitter.
Res pad ganking hmmm not really. All a player has to do to disable it is to remove any gear that procs while they are on the pad. Fixed
Zerg or gank? Ganking happens a lot at the lower levels due to PvP exp which everyone knew would happen when they implemented it, but people demanded that PvP be given more meaning so there you go. Zerg still happens, but then so does players that dule and epic GvG.
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
If you don't understand that the amount of servers is fudamental to gameplay in a game like AoC then there is not much point. Why do you think they are merging them? They sold more copies than a game like lotro would dream about. Fact is lotro still has more than twice as less current servers than AoC. mmochat puts lotro at 150k, nielson rating due out this month should be interesting to see from last years lotro position. A lot of people put AoC's pop at 150k to, spread over twice as many servers has everything to do with it. AoC even added an additional 6 at launch.
People use the word niche when it really isn't relevant.
I would think that someone with the "AoC corespondent" title would bother to read the post he is quoting before answering but others have already pointed that out...
So AoC sold maybe 4x as many boxes than LotrO did during its first month? And they now have half the amount of subs? Yea thats a great sucess right there keep up the good work Funcom! Erling and Avery have really worked hard to make the game a huge sucess!
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd