Building a Social, Community-Based MMO - The Pros & Cons of Group Finders - Saga of Lucimia - MMORPG

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Building a Social, Community-Based MMO - The Pros & Cons of Group Finders - Saga of Lucimia - MMORPG.com

Saga of Lucimia News - The latest Saga of Lucimia "Mondays in MMORPGs" article has been posted on the game's official site. In this week's edition, the team takes a look at the always-hot issue of group finders in MMOs. The article examines the pros and cons of group finders, but ultimately comes to the conclusion that Saga of Lucimia is "a social, community-based MMORPG".

Read the full story here

shetlandslarsen

Good article. In my opinion gruop finders cross servers ruins the social aspects in games.

Renfail

shetlandslarsen said:

Good article. In my opinion gruop finders cross servers ruins the social aspects in games.

There's no doubt they have some pros to them, but a hell of a lot more cons in our opinion.

Darthturk

Group finders are amazing in games with smaller amount of players. Not being able to find people for group content kills a game really fast.

Bluefish

Personally, I'm disappointed that the group size for dungeons is so high (8) for this game, with raids on top of that. Would love a new group focused game with some ability to scale based on players present, with mechanics in place to deal with, say 3-6 players. Failing that, a game that is designed around a smaller group size. As far as I'm aware, Pantheon will be developed for a fixed (large) group size too.
I know we all have different views on this based on our personal situations, but this is mine.

Renfail

Bluefish said:

Personally, I'm disappointed that the group size for dungeons is so high (8) for this game, with raids on top of that. Would love a new group focused game with some ability to scale based on players present, with mechanics in place to deal with, say 3-6 players. Failing that, a game that is designed around a smaller group size. As far as I'm aware, Pantheon will be developed for a fixed (large) group size too.

I know we all have different views on this based on our personal situations, but this is mine.

There will be plenty of group-based content in the outdoor zones for groups of 2-4 players (and small groups of 3-6). Only the dungeons are geared towards 8-player parties (with raids beyond that).

postlarval

Interesting article.

IMO, group finders are one reason why MMOs suck these days, along with global chat, multiple currencies, utility "services" (insta-levels, etc.), cash shops, and auto-pathing.

Renfail

postlarval said:

Interesting article.

IMO, group finders are one reason why MMOs suck these days, along with global chat, multiple currencies, utility "services" (insta-levels, etc.), cash shops, and auto-pathing.

Indeed!

vectrexevo

I can agree that group finder may cause a lack of "a social, community-based MMORPG". However, group finder is a great tool for any MMO. FFXIV has a way for you to create a group, say what your looking for, and shows what spots have been filled. Saves tons of time spamming in chat and its cross server. Its just how things are progressing in the MMO market. Even IRL people don't wanna go outside any longer and when they do they are always looking down at the phone.... lol

Renfail

vectrexevo said:

I can agree that group finder may cause a lack of "a social, community-based MMORPG". However, group finder is a great tool for any MMO. FFXIV has a way for you to create a group, say what your looking for, and shows what spots have been filled. Saves tons of time spamming in chat and its cross server. Its just how things are progressing in the MMO market. Even IRL people don't wanna go outside any longer and when they do they are always looking down at the phone.... lol

Quoting myself from the article: “For us, community trumps convenience every day of the week.”​

Renfail

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag/jerk/idiot so I prefer to solo" mentality/stereotype.

Renfail

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

vectrexevo said:

I can agree that group finder may cause a lack of "a social, community-based MMORPG". However, group finder is a great tool for any MMO. FFXIV has a way for you to create a group, say what your looking for, and shows what spots have been filled. Saves tons of time spamming in chat and its cross server. Its just how things are progressing in the MMO market. Even IRL people don't wanna go outside any longer and when they do they are always looking down at the phone.... lol

Quoting myself from the article: “For us, community trumps convenience every day of the week.”​

Hmm but to have a community you need a game first, then you need to have enough sustained playerbase to build a community.



You dont have much of either - but I do recall that you would be happy even with a few thousand players.

Our community is hands-down one of the best out there. Gotta give 'em props for getting us where we are today! Austin Game Conference in the top 10 at the Intel Indie Game Dev Showcase, our recent round of private funding...they're the reason we're still here after four years, and growing every day

musiker

I never see this game before

postlarval

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

vectrexevo said:

I can agree that group finder may cause a lack of "a social, community-based MMORPG". However, group finder is a great tool for any MMO. FFXIV has a way for you to create a group, say what your looking for, and shows what spots have been filled. Saves tons of time spamming in chat and its cross server. Its just how things are progressing in the MMO market. Even IRL people don't wanna go outside any longer and when they do they are always looking down at the phone.... lol

Quoting myself from the article: “For us, community trumps convenience every day of the week.”​

Hmm but to have a community you need a game first, then you need to have enough sustained playerbase to build a community.



You dont have much of either - but I do recall that you would be happy even with a few thousand players.

Our community is hands-down one of the best out there. Gotta give 'em props for getting us where we are today! Austin Game Conference in the top 10 at the Intel Indie Game Dev Showcase, our recent round of private funding...they're the reason we're still here after four years, and growing every day

If you want a good template for building communities, go back to the roots and look at MUDs. Of all the long-term MUDs alive today, even the worst community is still significantly better than the best MMO community.

There are many reasons for that, some which DMKano outlined above.

Sovrath

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

my guess is that the players who don't "bounce games" are still out there. This game is most likely for them.

How many times have people said "if you don't like the games out there build your own". Well, they're doing that based on what they believe in. And sure, maybe they only want a few thousand players. I think that's ok and is to be lauded.

If they don't need a million players then maybe that's a good thing.

I should add "so what if you make "friends" with a player and they leave"?

I've made game friends over the years and don't see them for a bit then suddenly they reach out or I'll see them and reach out and then rinse repeat. There are different types of relationships out there. And though I have a large group of real life friends, I'm ok with having a group of internet/game friends I enjoy as I see them in game/on forums.

It's like having work friends.

postlarval

musiker said:

I never see this game before

Past, Present, and Future walk into a bar. It was tense.

Neanderthal

I actually agree with most of what was said in that article.  However, there was an underlying assumption that they were talking about people who will log in on a regular schedule.  Say from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. every evening, for example.  All that talk about getting to know people and continuing to group repeatedly with those same people works great for those who can commit to a regular gaming schedule like that but not so great for people who log in haphazardly when they happen to get the chance.

I would really like a grouping game again but my personal needs would require it to be at least reasonably possible to find groups to join even though I can't play every day and can't predict exactly when and for how long I can play.  I know that this is possible without an automated group finder but I doubt if the guys making this game would have any interest in accommodation people like me.

Are they still planning for soloing to be completely impossible?  I know the ultimate focus of the game is going to be on no-life raiding.  It all paints a very unattractive picture for me. 

I can imagine how things would go if I ever tried this game.  My first day I would wander around unable to do anything because I can't solo anything.  I would go to the tavern and try to find a group but when they ask about my play schedule and I can't commit to a regular daily time frame----nobody wants me.  Ok, maybe I could occasionally scrape together enough other scrubs like myself to fill out a group and do something but most days I would probably end up just logging off again after a half hour or so.  If, by some miracle, I actually managed to progress through the game for a while I would eventually hit the raid-or-quit wall at which point I would quit while wondering why I even bothered playing the game in the first place.

Renfail

Sovrath said:

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

my guess is that the players who don't "bounce games" are still out there. This game is most likely for them.

How many times have people said "if you don't like the games out there build your own". Well, they're doing that based on what they believe in. And sure, maybe they only want a few thousand players. I think that's ok and is to be lauded.

If they don't need a million players then maybe that's a good thing.

This

Scot

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

Note for DMKano's Guild Leader: Don't put him in charge of the Christmas celebrations or recruiting new members...Bah humbug!

Seriously, I know what you mean, but I have made more than one group of guild friends in MMO's. There are decent people who like you won't quit after a few weeks. But expecting to find new members who stay forever is a big ask, as is expecting those you new from back in the day to stay committed as you are. Having a few groups of good people I have met over my time in MMO's has been what keeps me coming back.

postlarval

Renfail said:

Sovrath said:

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

my guess is that the players who don't "bounce games" are still out there. This game is most likely for them.

How many times have people said "if you don't like the games out there build your own". Well, they're doing that based on what they believe in. And sure, maybe they only want a few thousand players. I think that's ok and is to be lauded.

If they don't need a million players then maybe that's a good thing.

This

Unfortunately it seems the trend 'du jour' is not to jump to another game, but to hang around in the forums and complain about the one you're not playing. ;-)

Renfail

Neanderthal said:

I actually agree with most of what was said in that article.  However, there was an underlying assumption that they were talking about people who will log in on a regular schedule.  Say from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. every evening, for example.  All that talk about getting to know people and continuing to group repeatedly with those same people works great for those who can commit to a regular gaming schedule like that but not so great for people who log in haphazardly when they happen to get the chance.

I would really like a grouping game again but my personal needs would require it to be at least reasonably possible to find groups to join even though I can't play every day and can't predict exactly when and for how long I can play.  I know that this is possible without an automated group finder but I doubt if the guys making this game would have any interest in accommodation people like me.

Are they still planning for soloing to be completely impossible?  I know the ultimate focus of the game is going to be on no-life raiding.  It all paints a very unattractive picture for me. 

I can imagine how things would go if I ever tried this game.  My first day I would wander around unable to do anything because I can't solo anything.  I would go to the tavern and try to find a group but when they ask about my play schedule and I can't commit to a regular daily time frame----nobody wants me.  Ok, maybe I could occasionally scrape together enough other scrubs like myself to fill out a group and do something but most days I would probably end up just logging off again after a half hour or so.  If, by some miracle, I actually managed to progress through the game for a while I would eventually hit the raid-or-quit wall at which point I would quit while wondering why I even bothered playing the game in the first place.

At no point in time have we ever stated that our game is about "no life raiding". That is an assumption based on some article somewhere who claimed that it was so.

We've publicly stated, in many different places, that our game is no different than a tabletop game: somewhere you meet up to play 2-3 hour sessions with people you regularly enjoy grouping with. That's our "core" audience. Maybe they meet once a week...maybe they meet once a month...maybe they meet every day...that's up to the players and the guilds they join.

 Beyond that, players can enjoy micro-sessions just outside the safety of cities and outposts with 2-3 of their friends for 30 minutes to an hour whenever they choose to...no one is forcing anyone to do dungeons or raid.

Renfail

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's because games these days aren't built to attract player's attentions for more than the 2-6 weeks they need to level up to max in the modern generation of games.

Renfail

DMKano said:

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

Change starts with you, my friend. Be the change.

Sovrath

DMKano said:

Sovrath said:

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

my guess is that the players who don't "bounce games" are still out there. This game is most likely for them.

How many times have people said "if you don't like the games out there build your own". Well, they're doing that based on what they believe in. And sure, maybe they only want a few thousand players. I think that's ok and is to be lauded.

If they don't need a million players then maybe that's a good thing.

Exactly right. From what Renfail said previously in other threads they would be happy with a couple of thousand players.

the thing is small communities are always subject to people leaving due to RL stuff - and when key players leave like guild leaders its tough.

But yes - there are players who dont bounce games, but they are an exteme minority

I agree, they are a minority but I suspect they are a minority because of how large "gaming" has grown over the years.

I know a guy who is part of a community that creates maps for something like the original unreal tournament game.

Now, I don't believe that everyone is wedded to doing that for the rest of their lives but they have been doing it for years. Small community dedicated to some really old game.

These people are still out there. Heck, if Pantheon works out then I'll drop Black Desert and play that.

I play Elder Scrolls Online but only as a single player game so that doesn't count. What I'm trying to say is that I'm one of those people who doesn't really need many mmorpg's. One is fine as long as it captures the feeling of a world.

Renfail

Sovrath said:

DMKano said:

Sovrath said:

DMKano said:

Renfail said:

DMKano said:

"This is a living, breathing world populated with living, breathing human beings,every single one of whom is worthy of your time and friendship"

Umm, I am going to have to disagree with this premise.

IMO most people online are not worthy my time - but actual frienship? Not even close.

I game with a group of RL friends, people Ive known since 1995-2000. I need to know a person IRL to be considered a friend.

People in MMOs - they might as well be NPCs, passer byes. Yes some I get to know over a few weeks eveb months but inivitably they quit and are never heard from again.

So not worth my time nor my friendship.

I know this sounds cold, but yeah mh expectations from other MMO players are basically zero.

This is exactly the reason why toxicity exists in modern-day MMORPGs. You have to be willing to be the better person, to make the first step, and be open to friendships with people. Until that happens...well, it only perpetuates the "everyone online is a douchebag so I prefer to solo" mentality.

Be open, be first to initiate contact - sure you can get someone to group with you a couple of times and then they bounce days later.

Look at how often people jump games today - average is probably 2-3 weeks.

Heck even in a single game, how often do players hop guilds?

Its not that people are "douchebags" - no its that people simply dont care as they know they wont be around for months and years, so they dont put any effort in forming meaningful relationships.

An average MMO player is not toxic nor a douchebag, but a realist who knows that they will be playing something else in 2-6 weeks, so they dont bother forming any meaningful friendships.

Apathy.... its real


This is why group finders are so popular - because players dont give a crap about making friends - they just need others long enough to complete a dungeon and are fine never talking to them again.

Its the players - cant force masses into being social when they simply dont care.

my guess is that the players who don't "bounce games" are still out there. This game is most likely for them.

How many times have people said "if you don't like the games out there build your own". Well, they're doing that based on what they believe in. And sure, maybe they only want a few thousand players. I think that's ok and is to be lauded.

If they don't need a million players then maybe that's a good thing.

Exactly right. From what Renfail said previously in other threads they would be happy with a couple of thousand players.

the thing is small communities are always subject to people leaving due to RL stuff - and when key players leave like guild leaders its tough.

But yes - there are players who dont bounce games, but they are an exteme minority

I agree, they are a minority but I suspect they are a minority because of how large "gaming" has grown over the years.

I know a guy who is part of a community that creates maps for something like the original unreal tournament game.

Now, I don't believe that everyone is wedded to doing that for the rest of their lives but they have been doing it for years. Small community dedicated to some really old game.

These people are still out there. Heck, if Pantheon works out then I'll drop Black Desert and play that.

I play Elder Scrolls Online but only as a single player game so that doesn't count. What I'm trying to say is that I'm one of those people who doesn't really need many mmorpg's. One is fine as long as it captures the feeling of a world.

We had a great discussion this morning on Elloa's FFXIV stream on this topic (last week as well). Most of us are "one primary" game players (within our circle of friends/community). But there's nothing wrong with playing multiple. For example, we're playing EQ on M/W/F nights. We play FFXIV on Monday mornings. I play ESO in my spare time when I want to solo. And I run D&D sessions with a completely separate party of players. But EQ is still my "primary" game, even though it's not the only one I play.


I don't forsee us becoming the "game to end all games", but rather a primary game for a niche group of players. And we're fine with that. ESO is still going to fill a niche, FFXIV will fill a niche, Pantheon will fill a niche, Camelot Unchained will fill a niche, and so on and so forth.

Neanderthal

Renfail said:

Neanderthal said:

I actually agree with most of what was said in that article.  However, there was an underlying assumption that they were talking about people who will log in on a regular schedule.  Say from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. every evening, for example.  All that talk about getting to know people and continuing to group repeatedly with those same people works great for those who can commit to a regular gaming schedule like that but not so great for people who log in haphazardly when they happen to get the chance.

I would really like a grouping game again but my personal needs would require it to be at least reasonably possible to find groups to join even though I can't play every day and can't predict exactly when and for how long I can play.  I know that this is possible without an automated group finder but I doubt if the guys making this game would have any interest in accommodation people like me.

Are they still planning for soloing to be completely impossible?  I know the ultimate focus of the game is going to be on no-life raiding.  It all paints a very unattractive picture for me. 

I can imagine how things would go if I ever tried this game.  My first day I would wander around unable to do anything because I can't solo anything.  I would go to the tavern and try to find a group but when they ask about my play schedule and I can't commit to a regular daily time frame----nobody wants me.  Ok, maybe I could occasionally scrape together enough other scrubs like myself to fill out a group and do something but most days I would probably end up just logging off again after a half hour or so.  If, by some miracle, I actually managed to progress through the game for a while I would eventually hit the raid-or-quit wall at which point I would quit while wondering why I even bothered playing the game in the first place.

At no point in time have we ever stated that our game is about "no life raiding".

Right, well you wouldn't say that would you.  I just poked around your site in case I was remembering incorrectly or to see if you changed something.  In your FAQ it states that there will be 32 person raids. 

Clearly if you're going to have raids like that then that will be the only way to progress your character after a certain point.  It is a an unavoidable fact that people would not do big raids if there was any alternate progression path, therefore we can safely assume that there won't be. 

Progressing our characters is the only motivation these games give us to log in and do stuff.  After a certain point the only way to progress in your game will be through large, multi-group raids---therefore your game will be Raid-or-quit. 

As to the "no-life raiding" comment, I'm sure it annoys you but it's another unavoidable fact that large raid gameplay of the type you are planning to have consumes huge amounts of time.  Even if the actual raids themselves only take a few hours per session there is so much other crap associated with it that the time investment is unacceptable for any relatively normal person with a life outside of gaming, thus the "no-life" modifier is entirely true and applicable.