Originally posted by rusmurf There are much smaller teams creating better games then Landmark. I've been in beta for a bit, and am trying a bunch of other beta games.
Do you know how many people are working on Landmark? It's probably a lot less than you think (hence the slow update process).
You are not alone.. Especially that last part.. I wouldn't just say voxel, but including Storybricks as well.. Landmark feels like it's in delay mode, waiting for some miracle technology to come along and save the day.. My gut tells me that the hardware needed to run all that EQN wants to run, just isn't there yet.. How many times in the past do we have software that is great, but the hardware hasn't caught up yet.. I think EQN is at that point..
In my opinion Smed and gang set the bar too high, and now are finding out they can't jump it.. It would be surprising to see EQN actually come to life without some needed changes.. Especially too that Smed has announced their desire to go console with the games.. EQN to console? That would require some SERIOUS game alterations, with multiple formats and servers..
You could be right, but everything they've said seems to point to them having some understanding of what is possible. It is new tech, but not a new company with zero experience of how software and hardware has to come together (regardless if they've actually done it well in the past or not).
Saying it would be on the PS4 is instantly limiting the game to the PS4's power. While I honestly doubt he checked with the devs on the matter, he could have and they could have some in-house model to play with that can work on PCs with PS4 power. No idea though.
Unfortunately, without that outside tech and risky design choices, they wouldn't have much else.
If we break EQN down to the individual features and what not, Storybricks and Voxels are really the stand outs to me. The creative take on character design sounds good to me, but really isn't anything groundbreaking.
Which is why I'm assuming they scrapped EQ3 a couple times and decided to go risky and add in SB/Voxels. If not, they have a newer EQ without any of the nostalgia features that EQ fans loved or enjoy currently depending if you like early EQ or EQ the WoW Years. Those demanding EQ3 or a sequel seem to not realize what EQ/EQ2 have become.
To me it is either go big of go home. They are trying to go big, but it is possible hardware, devs, even fans aren't ready.
Hopefully we get some form of a working model in the near future, but I doubt it. Very glad a couple other games are looking good to me now.
SoE has value. Venture capital companies don't buy properties that don't have value. It's pretty simple. That doesn't mean that the old SoE won't change dramatically showing little semblance the its former self. But to say the problem was at SoE is to overlook the larger problem.
The larger problem is that Sony lost its focus and was entrenched in a stifling culture rooted in an outdated mindset. They have had an outdated mindset with hardware and gadgets, media, corporate culture, and if anything have been holding SoE back not the other way around.
Now that the studio is free of Sony it will be interesting to see how it evolves and whether Smedley can drive it somewhere successful or if he is even the right person for that.
He has to have some redeeming qualities. Most don't survive through one of the situations he has. I don't know. rather curious as to how.
SoE has value. Venture capital companies don't buy properties that don't have value. It's pretty simple. That doesn't mean that the old SoE won't change dramatically showing little semblance the its former self. But to say the problem was at SoE is to overlook the larger problem.
The larger problem is that Sony lost its focus and was entrenched in a stifling culture rooted in an outdated mindset. They have had an outdated mindset with hardware and gadgets, media, corporate culture, and if anything have been holding SoE back not the other way around.
Now that the studio is free of Sony it will be interesting to see how it evolves and whether Smedley can drive it somewhere successful or if he is even the right person for that.
This will go two ways.. Either a massive restructuring like what GM did, finding their focus, and becoming profitable.. This will probably result in downsizing, and reevaluating their finance structure such as subscriptions and cash shops.. OR The new company will trim off the fat where it can, still downsize into a smaller profitable company, then find a new owner with hopes of turning a profit for the investors..
If I am an exec like Smed and Georgie.. I would expect to be let go before the end of 2015, along with many others..
Smed is a survivor and I expect him to stick around as he promises the venture capitalists that he can deliver what they want, and what they want is to be a big time player in the mobile games market. The only people getting let go are people who aren't on board with mobile games or whose talents don't lend themselves to mobile gaming.
Don't kid yourselves that the venture capitalists give a damn about Everquest or see EQN as viable, SOE to them is just a big pot of people with experience in online gaming that could be had for pennies.
Originally posted by Rouan It's so cute that MMORPG.com is STILL full of people looking for every opportunity to crap on SOE because EverQuest changed, or the NGE, etc. The $60 million "loss" is the write-off for the canceled MMOs to be used for tax reasons. Glassdoor is full of negative crap about EVERY developer. Don't even have to confirm you worked there. We know SOE prefers to promote from within, and there's nothing wrong with that. Bunch of controversy scared up by a bunch of old disgruntled players in this thread. Move on already.
Those old people are always wrong. I wouldn't worry about it.
Originally posted by Rouan It's so cute that MMORPG.com is STILL full of people looking for every opportunity to crap on SOE because EverQuest changed, or the NGE, etc. The $60 million "loss" is the write-off for the canceled MMOs to be used for tax reasons. Glassdoor is full of negative crap about EVERY developer. Don't even have to confirm you worked there. We know SOE prefers to promote from within, and there's nothing wrong with that. Bunch of controversy scared up by a bunch of old disgruntled players in this thread. Move on already.
Those old people are always wrong. I wouldn't worry about it.
#NoDaveNoDream If Everquest touched your life and you're disgusted at recent business decisions made by SOE (or whatever you wish to call it) then stick it right in their eye. Let social media hear how you feel. #NoDaveNoDream
Originally posted by AndMusicForAll #NoDaveNoDream If Everquest touched your life and you're disgusted at recent business decisions made by SOE (or whatever you wish to call it) then stick it right in their eye. Let social media hear how you feel. #NoDaveNoDream
Can I bring a bucket for drum circles?
Someone looked at the numbers and he got fired. Happens every day. I mean shit, Smed is, once again, still standing. What does that say about Dave or EQN?
Played alpha for this game and taking cues from the player base on what the tools needed as far as streamlining was a huge red flag. I stuck around until beta and having to mine resources to pay for rent for space and at the time wasn't even able to drop current/past builds or build over claimed land lines which pretty much negated all together needing more than one land claim( much less three) pretty much killed it for me.
Developers paid by them ..on their payroll.. were showcasing sub par development builds in comparison to what the community was putting out.
They made claims about being able to sell builds in the final game..sell development props made by the community and then back peddled on that...then they changed the name while struggling with the very most basic tool engines (I've seen better from 12 yr old engines)
I spent approx two weeks waiting for them to fix it so I could drop builds and continue work and finally threw my hands up and quit. I couldn't be bothered to log in and mine copper when they could not even promise that my work could be saved.
A year later?....yes, a year later and my post is quite relevant. That's unacceptable for the "big boys" in todays Corporate Gaming Industry.
Played alpha for this game and taking cues from the player base on what the tools needed as far as streamlining was a huge red flag. I stuck around until beta and having to mine resources to pay for rent for space and at the time wasn't even able to drop current/past builds or build over claimed land lines which pretty much negated all together needing more than one land claim( much less three) pretty much killed it for me.
Developers paid by them ..on their payroll.. were showcasing sub par development builds in comparison to what the community was putting out.
They made claims about being able to sell builds in the final game..sell development props made by the community and then back peddled on that...then they changed the name while struggling with the very most basic tool engines (I've seen better from 12 yr old engines)
I spent approx two weeks waiting for them to fix it so I could drop builds and continue work and finally threw my hands up and quit. I couldn't be bothered to log in and mine copper when they could not even promise that my work could be saved.
A year later?....yes, a year later and my post is quite relevant. That's unacceptable for the "big boys" in todays Corporate Gaming Industry.
But it's Landmark... you should be falling over backwards to help Rosie Rappaport. Since she is incompetent and can't build or deign anything herself, YOU... have to help do her job.
Maybe if Smedly would stop trying to figure out how to monotize the hell out of everything he touches and instead focus on how to make a game that's actually FUN, Daybreak Games would have a chance of turning a profit.
EQ1 was a fun game, for the time. EQ2 was pretty fun too, although some of the choices they made didn't pan out well. However, while the first couple of years improved the game's playability quite a bit, the changes made after that had nothing to do with making the game more fun, and had everything to do with trying to lure casual players who might be bored of WoW into the fold.
SOE purchased quite a few games that sounded good on paper, but clearly they never bothered to try playing them before the papers were signed. A couple hour demo on an afternoon after lunch doesn't count as due dilligence. Vanguard had huge potential, but was so buggy and unfinished, they should never have spent a dime on it. Pirate of the Burning Seas had two games... a horrible land game, and a fun but super-repetative sea battle game. Playing it for a few days in beta would have made it obvious it would never work as a long term MMO-style game, yet they forked out the bucks to acquire it.
Stop making technology toolkits and pretending that's the accomplishment. Free Realms was a nice example of new server technology, and a fun kid's game, but not something that would bring in any money on its own. Landmark is a nice as a minecraft-ish tech demo, but also not a finished product to crow about... Landmark might be a worthwhile project *IF* while it was being worked on, they also had a full team working on EQN lore, quests, storylines, timelines, and artwork... but I get the feeling they have lots of tech people poking at Landmark and only a handful of others who are probably half idle waiting for direction from above.
If Sony sold SOE is because they had a reason to do so. Probably the company was in the red. Well, this shows that the layoffs and the Daybreak taking over the lead is something good.
Comments
Do you know how many people are working on Landmark? It's probably a lot less than you think (hence the slow update process).
You could be right, but everything they've said seems to point to them having some understanding of what is possible. It is new tech, but not a new company with zero experience of how software and hardware has to come together (regardless if they've actually done it well in the past or not).
Saying it would be on the PS4 is instantly limiting the game to the PS4's power. While I honestly doubt he checked with the devs on the matter, he could have and they could have some in-house model to play with that can work on PCs with PS4 power. No idea though.
Unfortunately, without that outside tech and risky design choices, they wouldn't have much else.
If we break EQN down to the individual features and what not, Storybricks and Voxels are really the stand outs to me. The creative take on character design sounds good to me, but really isn't anything groundbreaking.
Which is why I'm assuming they scrapped EQ3 a couple times and decided to go risky and add in SB/Voxels. If not, they have a newer EQ without any of the nostalgia features that EQ fans loved or enjoy currently depending if you like early EQ or EQ the WoW Years. Those demanding EQ3 or a sequel seem to not realize what EQ/EQ2 have become.
To me it is either go big of go home. They are trying to go big, but it is possible hardware, devs, even fans aren't ready.
Hopefully we get some form of a working model in the near future, but I doubt it. Very glad a couple other games are looking good to me now.
He has to have some redeeming qualities. Most don't survive through one of the situations he has. I don't know. rather curious as to how.
Smed is a survivor and I expect him to stick around as he promises the venture capitalists that he can deliver what they want, and what they want is to be a big time player in the mobile games market. The only people getting let go are people who aren't on board with mobile games or whose talents don't lend themselves to mobile gaming.
Don't kid yourselves that the venture capitalists give a damn about Everquest or see EQN as viable, SOE to them is just a big pot of people with experience in online gaming that could be had for pennies.
"Negaholics are people who become addicted to negativity and self-doubt, they find fault in most things and never seem to be satisfied."
^MMORPG.com
Avatars are people too
Don't bet on it. Regardless, the reality of the situation is indeed pretty grim.
Those old people are always wrong. I wouldn't worry about it.
Sweet, finally some drama. LOL
Let the domino's fall........
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Agree, everything's fine
Can I bring a bucket for drum circles?
Someone looked at the numbers and he got fired. Happens every day. I mean shit, Smed is, once again, still standing. What does that say about Dave or EQN?
Played alpha for this game and taking cues from the player base on what the tools needed as far as streamlining was a huge red flag. I stuck around until beta and having to mine resources to pay for rent for space and at the time wasn't even able to drop current/past builds or build over claimed land lines which pretty much negated all together needing more than one land claim( much less three) pretty much killed it for me.
Developers paid by them ..on their payroll.. were showcasing sub par development builds in comparison to what the community was putting out.
They made claims about being able to sell builds in the final game..sell development props made by the community and then back peddled on that...then they changed the name while struggling with the very most basic tool engines (I've seen better from 12 yr old engines)
I spent approx two weeks waiting for them to fix it so I could drop builds and continue work and finally threw my hands up and quit. I couldn't be bothered to log in and mine copper when they could not even promise that my work could be saved.
A year later?....yes, a year later and my post is quite relevant. That's unacceptable for the "big boys" in todays Corporate Gaming Industry.
But it's Landmark... you should be falling over backwards to help Rosie Rappaport. Since she is incompetent and can't build or deign anything herself, YOU... have to help do her job.
You... not her.
Maybe if Smedly would stop trying to figure out how to monotize the hell out of everything he touches and instead focus on how to make a game that's actually FUN, Daybreak Games would have a chance of turning a profit.
EQ1 was a fun game, for the time. EQ2 was pretty fun too, although some of the choices they made didn't pan out well. However, while the first couple of years improved the game's playability quite a bit, the changes made after that had nothing to do with making the game more fun, and had everything to do with trying to lure casual players who might be bored of WoW into the fold.
SOE purchased quite a few games that sounded good on paper, but clearly they never bothered to try playing them before the papers were signed. A couple hour demo on an afternoon after lunch doesn't count as due dilligence. Vanguard had huge potential, but was so buggy and unfinished, they should never have spent a dime on it. Pirate of the Burning Seas had two games... a horrible land game, and a fun but super-repetative sea battle game. Playing it for a few days in beta would have made it obvious it would never work as a long term MMO-style game, yet they forked out the bucks to acquire it.
Stop making technology toolkits and pretending that's the accomplishment. Free Realms was a nice example of new server technology, and a fun kid's game, but not something that would bring in any money on its own. Landmark is a nice as a minecraft-ish tech demo, but also not a finished product to crow about... Landmark might be a worthwhile project *IF* while it was being worked on, they also had a full team working on EQN lore, quests, storylines, timelines, and artwork... but I get the feeling they have lots of tech people poking at Landmark and only a handful of others who are probably half idle waiting for direction from above.