Originally posted by Doutrande ccp had a publisher that put eve out in retail boxes (simon and schuster interactive), but simon and schuster pulled the plug on their whole game software department, and ccp obtained (i assume bought) the rights to distribute the game themselves (it was not available for download when simon and schuster were the publishers).
One of best things that could happen to eve, because too often in mmorpgs there is some publisher trying to force some changes to game (because it work in other games, why not add to ours). Like in UO I remember one dev once said that they brainstorm bunch of ideas and then marketing team at EA decide what add to game. Look where it have got them... They are selling in game items (I am sure marketing team like it) and coping other mmorpgs (lack of orginality or vision).
CCP is now master of their game and no one is going to tell them what to do and they can work on their vision for eve.
Eve is the first MMORPG that I have ever considered a return to after I have left. All the other games I have left, I leave for good but for some reason Eve is a game I feel I can take a year off and then go back to and have fun all over again Right now EQ2 is my game of choice but later this year I will give Eve a spin once more
Eve is also one of the few game companies I am really rooting for. They really do care about the community and you can see it. I mean a free expansion? Thats good stuff
I seem to have been misquoted a little here eh? Anyways just have to add that the game is performing well and the changes are fantastic (hotfix even improved the voice )
Originally posted by leipuri One of best things that could happen to eve, because too often in mmorpgs there is some publisher trying to force some changes to game (because it work in other games, why not add to ours). Like in UO I remember one dev once said that they brainstorm bunch of ideas and then marketing team at EA decide what add to game. Look where it have got them... They are selling in game items (I am sure marketing team like it) and coping other mmorpgs (lack of orginality or vision). CCP is now master of their game and no one is going to tell them what to do and they can work on their vision for eve.
That is true in the cases where the publisher owns the company or runs some aspect of the game. For example, Turbine, developers of AC1 and AC2 were previously owned by Microsoft. Microsoft ran the servers and published the games. Therefor, Microsoft had a lot of influence on the game even though they weren't exactly the developers. The same thing is true for UO, EA owns UO now, they aren't just the publisher.
Turbine bought their freedom from Microsoft a year or two ago and are now independent. They signed a deal with Sony to distribute the games. Sony has no effect on the development of the game. They will put out pretty much anything Turbine makes. Sony serves only to print up the boxed goods and get the game in stores, they do nothing else.
I'm sure CCP could quite easily sign a deal like that with Sony or anyone else. The game is obviously a success, more so than AC1 and AC2. So. I'm sure Sony would distribute it unless they run into some troubles with CCP being foreign. I know the dealings are more complicated than that and perhaps Sony doesn't want to undertake any more games to publish or feels EVE doesn't live up to their standards. Either way I think CCP should have little problems finding a company willing to publish it. AND THEY NEED TO. I hope fans haven't been supporting their actions in the marketing department.
The free trial and buying it online is excellent but the game not on shelves is a huge flaw. The expansions can still be free to existing players. But they should have been releasing all the expansions in stores for $19.95. It's actually an awesome tactic that mixes Sony's practice of releasing expansions often, but unlike Sony, CCP would not require existing players buy them. The expansions still keep the game looking new and shows it's being updated with a ton of stuff. It keeps the game visible and all the players happy knowing that they don't actually have to buy the expansions every couple months.
One of best things that could happen to eve, because too often in mmorpgs there is some publisher trying to force some changes to game (because it work in other games, why not add to ours). Like in UO I remember one dev once said that they brainstorm bunch of ideas and then marketing team at EA decide what add to game. Look where it have got them... They are selling in game items (I am sure marketing team like it) and coping other mmorpgs (lack of orginality or vision). CCP is now master of their game and no one is going to tell them what to do and they can work on their vision for eve.
That is true in the cases where the publisher owns the company or runs some aspect of the game. For example, Turbine, developers of AC1 and AC2 were previously owned by Microsoft. Microsoft ran the servers and published the games. Therefor, Microsoft had a lot of influence on the game even though they weren't exactly the developers. The same thing is true for UO, EA owns UO now, they aren't just the publisher.
Turbine bought their freedom from Microsoft a year or two ago and are now independent. They signed a deal with Sony to distribute the games. Sony has no effect on the development of the game. They will put out pretty much anything Turbine makes. Sony serves only to print up the boxed goods and get the game in stores, they do nothing else.
This is a really really bad example. Since buying AC back Turbine hasn't accomplished anything. The game is still slumping and steadily losing players. It's just not a very good product, never was. And, contrary to what you say, Microsoft didn't tell Turbine what to write or how. They had a similar relationship to Turbine that they do now with Sigil.
Originally posted by -Jaguar- I'm sure CCP could quite easily sign a deal like that with Sony or anyone else. The game is obviously a success, more so than AC1 and AC2. So. I'm sure Sony would distribute it unless they run into some troubles with CCP being foreign. I know the dealings are more complicated than that and perhaps Sony doesn't want to undertake any more games to publish or feels EVE doesn't live up to their standards. Either way I think CCP should have little problems finding a company willing to publish it. AND THEY NEED TO. I hope fans haven't been supporting their actions in the marketing department.
The free trial and buying it online is excellent but the game not on shelves is a huge flaw. The expansions can still be free to existing players. But they should have been releasing all the expansions in stores for $19.95. It's actually an awesome tactic that mixes Sony's practice of releasing expansions often, but unlike Sony, CCP would not require existing players buy them. The expansions still keep the game looking new and shows it's being updated with a ton of stuff. It keeps the game visible and all the players happy knowing that they don't actually have to buy the expansions every couple months.
Very true. CCP is making a huge mistake not marketting this game through the retail market as well as online. The game being online is a good marketting deal but they will only get hard-core or avid gamers who spend time on the net looking for games to play. They won't get more traditional gamers who only look at what's out on store shelves. I suspect EvE would probably be over 100,000 players if they got it out on store shelves.
And since they got that huge shot in the arm last year when E&B shut down they should have the capital now to publish it properly. I'm very surprised that they haven't.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online. Sig image Pending Still in: A couple Betas
Very true. CCP is making a huge mistake not marketting this game through the retail market as well as online. The game being online is a good marketting deal but they will only get hard-core or avid gamers who spend time on the net looking for games to play. They won't get more traditional gamers who only look at what's out on store shelves. I suspect EvE would probably be over 100,000 players if they got it out on store shelves.
And since they got that huge shot in the arm last year when E&B shut down they should have the capital now to publish it properly. I'm very surprised that they haven't.
Here are a few reasons why:
1. They crave their independence in all things and they have grown accustomed to it. They don't want to go back to having a publisher. Honestly this is reason number one.
2. The technology of the game would not work with 100k regular users, at least not well. It's a fundamental game design issue in EVE not to have shards or galaxies or the like ... it would fundamentally change EVE and CCP really dont want to do that.
3. Part of EVE's appeal for the playerbase is precisely that it is a sort of "underground" game. The business plan is not to grow to be a gargantuan game, but to have a very loyal core player base that stays for a long period of time, which provides the relatively low-cost CCP with ample revenue to run the operation, while preserving the independence they have.
4. The realization by many at CCP that EVE is a niche game. In reality it was designed that way, but the criticisms that have come along over the past few years only reinforce that the market for a space RPG (that is, a space game where you do not control the spaceflight like a flight sim and there are no 3d ground elements) is limited to a niche market. Broader marketing might yield more people who try the game, but to be honest EVE is a very hot and cold type game ... it isn't really going to have a broad appeal because (1) most RPG fans like 3d walking around and (2) most space flight game fans dont want a point and click game.
For all of these reasons the decision of CCP to proceed as they have is a reasonable one. They sure as hell are getting a kick out of it, you can rest assured about that, and making more money than they ever thought they would.
Originally posted by Naos EVE-Online set a new server population record of 12895 at 21:17 07/10/2005 all together in one persistant unsharded game universe Congrats CCP!
If this is true, then EvE Online has the record of a MMORPG with the 2nd highest number of players online at the same time in 1 server/universe/gameworld. SWG is 3rd place with 12,000 players online at the same time in the same gameworld. (Each SWG server can hold a max of 12k players online at the same time, and store 24k players. During the first 4 months SWG was out, every single server was at maximum load.) And the mmorpg with the record for most number of players online at the same time in the same gameworld? The revolutionary Anarchy Online. During the first year it was out, there was noserverpopulation cap. The game had 2 servers for the entire game. It peaked with roughly 50k to 60k total players. IMHO it had upwards of 25k players online at the same time. Soo many players that the game was either unplayable, or almost unplayable. I still remember getting 1-5 FPS ..... lol! I had to log off. Fighting players was out of the question. Fighting NPCs was almost impossible LOL! AO finally announced that they were initiatinng server population caps. Took them long enough to realize it was necessary. AO now has 3 servers for the entire game. But it sank down to roughly 25k-30k total players. It would peak with 5k players on line at the same time. But now with AO having free accounts for 1 year, TONS of new players are flooding the game. AO though, no longer allows more than 12k players online at the same time heheh. IMHO 10k players online at the same time on each server.
Not sure where you get your numbers but I will have to question the one about each server supporting 24k characters total in the database.
The SWG game DEVs theirselves stated this on the old SWG forums. A few months before SWG released. Each server can hold 12k players online at the same time, and store 24k characters. This is where I get my numbers - from the SWG game DEVs theirselves. From what they posted on the old SWG forums.
That makes no sense. I have never seen or heard about someone being refused from making a character on even the heaviest servers.
I am not talking about making a character. I am talking about being able to login to the game and playing on the server. On Monday you create your SWG character. You play for 8 hours. On Tuesday you try to login and play, and the game tells you "Server Full". You are unable to play because 12k players are online at the same time playing. Your character still exists, since the server can store 24k characters.
Even when a server is at its heaviest burden anyone can make a toon there if they want too.
Again, I am not talking about making a character. I am talking about being able to actually login and play the game. See my example in the response before this one. Also in SWG, even if a server is full to the brim with 12k players, the game will still allow you to create a character as long as all 24k slots are not filled. BUT after making your character, when you arrive at the screen where you pick which planet to start out on, the game would litterally tell you the planets are FULL. You would see the words "FULL" on top of each planet. With the planet picture dimmed/unable to be highlighted. And you would be unable to enter the game.
(SWG currently directs all new players to one planet, with no choice which planet to start out on.)
Also that would mean a server could turn into a graveyard because it has too many inactive toons on it that people have made and never play there. Your statement makes no sense from a technical standpoint and I have to doubt it.
In any MMORPG a server could turn in to a graveyard because of too many inactive toons/characters/avatars. EQ is an example. AC2 is the best example. In AC2 the entire game turned into many graveyards. Some servers had only 200 players online at the same time LOL! Talk about thousands of inactive toons! LOL!
SWG actually makes it harder for the game to become a graveyard. Why? Because it is the only MMORPG with SCS. Furthermore, SWG is also the only MMORPG that activly erases inactive toons.. Almost all other MMORPGs will store toons for months, and years, even though their own rules say they have the right to erase the toons after 3-6 months of inactivity.
Next, all MMORPGs on purpose allow a server to store more toons than can be online at the same time. The reason is because 100% of their player base will never be online at the same time. There are three major gamer timezones in the world. USA, Europe, and Asia. When the players in one time zone sleep, work, etc.. the bulk of their characters are offline. For example if a MMORPG has 90k total players. It would continously have roughly 30k players always online at the same time in the entire game.
But in real life, the majority of gamers have jobs, school, a life, work, other responsibilites, and even play other games. So even the players in the same time zone will not all be online. Thus on avarage a MMORPG with 90k players would have roughly 5k - 10k players online at the same time in the entire game.
Even IF 100% of the players all tried playing online at the same time, server population caps would stop this from happening. (AO did not have caps when it first came out. Now it does though.)
Comments
One of best things that could happen to eve, because too often in mmorpgs there is some publisher trying to force some changes to game (because it work in other games, why not add to ours). Like in UO I remember one dev once said that they brainstorm bunch of ideas and then marketing team at EA decide what add to game. Look where it have got them... They are selling in game items (I am sure marketing team like it) and coping other mmorpgs (lack of orginality or vision).
CCP is now master of their game and no one is going to tell them what to do and they can work on their vision for eve.
grats to Eve!
Eve is the first MMORPG that I have ever considered a return to after I have left. All the other games I have left, I leave for good but for some reason Eve is a game I feel I can take a year off and then go back to and have fun all over again
Right now EQ2 is my game of choice but later this year I will give Eve a spin once more
Eve is also one of the few game companies I am really rooting for. They really do care about the community and you can see it. I mean a free expansion? Thats good stuff
I seem to have been misquoted a little here eh? Anyways just have to add that the game is performing well and the changes are fantastic (hotfix even improved the voice
)
That is true in the cases where the publisher owns the company or runs some aspect of the game. For example, Turbine, developers of AC1 and AC2 were previously owned by Microsoft. Microsoft ran the servers and published the games. Therefor, Microsoft had a lot of influence on the game even though they weren't exactly the developers. The same thing is true for UO, EA owns UO now, they aren't just the publisher.
Turbine bought their freedom from Microsoft a year or two ago and are now independent. They signed a deal with Sony to distribute the games. Sony has no effect on the development of the game. They will put out pretty much anything Turbine makes. Sony serves only to print up the boxed goods and get the game in stores, they do nothing else.
I'm sure CCP could quite easily sign a deal like that with Sony or anyone else. The game is obviously a success, more so than AC1 and AC2. So. I'm sure Sony would distribute it unless they run into some troubles with CCP being foreign. I know the dealings are more complicated than that and perhaps Sony doesn't want to undertake any more games to publish or feels EVE doesn't live up to their standards. Either way I think CCP should have little problems finding a company willing to publish it. AND THEY NEED TO. I hope fans haven't been supporting their actions in the marketing department.
The free trial and buying it online is excellent but the game not on shelves is a huge flaw. The expansions can still be free to existing players. But they should have been releasing all the expansions in stores for $19.95. It's actually an awesome tactic that mixes Sony's practice of releasing expansions often, but unlike Sony, CCP would not require existing players buy them. The expansions still keep the game looking new and shows it's being updated with a ton of stuff. It keeps the game visible and all the players happy knowing that they don't actually have to buy the expansions every couple months.
This is a really really bad example. Since buying AC back Turbine hasn't accomplished anything. The game is still slumping and steadily losing players. It's just not a very good product, never was. And, contrary to what you say, Microsoft didn't tell Turbine what to write or how. They had a similar relationship to Turbine that they do now with Sigil.
Very true. CCP is making a huge mistake not marketting this game through the retail market as well as online. The game being online is a good marketting deal but they will only get hard-core or avid gamers who spend time on the net looking for games to play. They won't get more traditional gamers who only look at what's out on store shelves. I suspect EvE would probably be over 100,000 players if they got it out on store shelves.
And since they got that huge shot in the arm last year when E&B shut down they should have the capital now to publish it properly. I'm very surprised that they haven't.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Here are a few reasons why:
1. They crave their independence in all things and they have grown accustomed to it. They don't want to go back to having a publisher. Honestly this is reason number one.
2. The technology of the game would not work with 100k regular users, at least not well. It's a fundamental game design issue in EVE not to have shards or galaxies or the like ... it would fundamentally change EVE and CCP really dont want to do that.
3. Part of EVE's appeal for the playerbase is precisely that it is a sort of "underground" game. The business plan is not to grow to be a gargantuan game, but to have a very loyal core player base that stays for a long period of time, which provides the relatively low-cost CCP with ample revenue to run the operation, while preserving the independence they have.
4. The realization by many at CCP that EVE is a niche game. In reality it was designed that way, but the criticisms that have come along over the past few years only reinforce that the market for a space RPG (that is, a space game where you do not control the spaceflight like a flight sim and there are no 3d ground elements) is limited to a niche market. Broader marketing might yield more people who try the game, but to be honest EVE is a very hot and cold type game ... it isn't really going to have a broad appeal because (1) most RPG fans like 3d walking around and (2) most space flight game fans dont want a point and click game.
For all of these reasons the decision of CCP to proceed as they have is a reasonable one. They sure as hell are getting a kick out of it, you can rest assured about that, and making more money than they ever thought they would.
In any MMORPG a server could turn in to a graveyard because of too many inactive toons/characters/avatars. EQ is an example. AC2 is the best example. In AC2 the entire game turned into many graveyards. Some servers had only 200 players online at the same time LOL! Talk about thousands of inactive toons! LOL!
SWG actually makes it harder for the game to become a graveyard. Why? Because it is the only MMORPG with SCS. Furthermore, SWG is also the only MMORPG that activly erases inactive toons.. Almost all other MMORPGs will store toons for months, and years, even though their own rules say they have the right to erase the toons after 3-6 months of inactivity.
Next, all MMORPGs on purpose allow a server to store more toons than can be online at the same time. The reason is because 100% of their player base will never be online at the same time. There are three major gamer timezones in the world. USA, Europe, and Asia. When the players in one time zone sleep, work, etc.. the bulk of their characters are offline. For example if a MMORPG has 90k total players. It would continously have roughly 30k players always online at the same time in the entire game.
But in real life, the majority of gamers have jobs, school, a life, work, other responsibilites, and even play other games. So even the players in the same time zone will not all be online. Thus on avarage a MMORPG with 90k players would have roughly 5k - 10k players online at the same time in the entire game.
Even IF 100% of the players all tried playing online at the same time, server population caps would stop this from happening. (AO did not have caps when it first came out. Now it does though.)