Funcom: after 2 mmorpgs, will you buy their third?

Zorvan · July 2008

Note to mods: this concerns Funcom as a developer of multiple games, Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, and the supposedly upcoming The Secret World. Therefore, I ask that it remain in The Pub for discussion rather than placing it in one or the other games' forums.

Now then, I'm not going to bash or praise Funcom here, as I want honest opinions. For those of you that have played and/or are familiar with both of Funcoms' current 2 mmorpgs, have they earned your attention and/or loyalty for their next mmorpg or have they completely destroyed any interest you may have had?

The obligatory poll:

Narshe · July 2008

Well, the game they are working on is currently set in present times, and that does interest me a great deal--unfortunately I have lost a great amount of respect and faith in funcom after Age of Conan so I don't have any desire to give them any more of my money. Of course, if the Secret World turns out to be an amazing MMORPG, then that could change (third times a charm right?), but I really don't think it'll be anything special.

I have played both of the Dreamfall games and liked them alot, even for an adventure game they did some really great dialogue and story plots, it's a shame they don't continue that series instead of MMOs.

Anyway, I have little interest or hopes in the Secret World. I'll probably try it with a trial key before giving them 50$ for the box if it earns some praise, but again... I think it'll turn out to be a very mediocre game.

Zorvan · July 2008

Originally posted by Narshe

Well, the game they are working on is currently set in present times, and that does interest me a great deal--unfortunately I have lost a great amount of respect and faith in funcom after Age of Conan so I don't have any desire to give them any more of my money. Of course, if the Secret World turns out to be an amazing MMORPG, then that could change (third times a charm right?), but I really don't think it'll be anything special.
I have played both of the Dreamfall games and liked them alot, even for an adventure game they did some really great dialogue and story plots, it's a shame they don't continue that series instead of MMOs.
Anyway, I have little interest or hopes in the Secret World. I'll probably try it with a trial key before giving them 50$ for the box if it earns some praise, but again... I think it'll turn out to be a very mediocre game.

I agree with you about their singleplayer games, such as The Longest Journey series. Those games owe their success to the creative genius and storytelling ability of Ragnar Tornquist more than Funcom, though. That's why I made the poll strictly regarding their mmorpgs, and not the singleplayer games.

Gotta say, the poll looks interesting so far. Keep the votes coming in, guys. We've had about 50 people view so far, but only 11 votes.

DragonShark · July 2008

First game was a fiasco at launch... but it's turned into something of a gem over the years. Second game some people say was a fiasco, worked fine for me, but whatever. Launch is one just one aspect of a game. You have to look at the long term as well. Funcom's first game ended up fine. I've seen nothing to indicate the second one won't either. I'll buy the next one if it appeals to me.

xephonics · July 2008

After how they raped AO, and now with the AoC fiasco, there is no way in hell I'd give them any more of my money.

Enigma · July 2008

its a hard question.

I loved Anarchy Online. I have many FOND memories of that game and is very in-depth.

On the other hand you have Age of Conan, which is probably one of the worse AAA MMO to have graced us in 2008 (and certainly in the top 5 for AAA MMOs in the last 4 years). Anarchy Online = Very indepth, increadible game system, UI, Lore, etc. Age of Conan = Simplistic, moronic, and immature.

So, maybe the third game will even itself ok and be "ok."

Who knows. I am dissapointed in Funcom's handling of community concerns, the handling of their GMs and Mods, and their general elitist attitude. Funcom is above that but apprently not anymore.

BlueCadwal · July 2008

Honestly, those who put down Anarchy Online most likely have a limited connection to it and probably started playing at launch. I'll be the first to admit that it had a horrible launch, and even has graphical glitches (some of which haven't been fixed to this day). But overall it's not a bad game. It gives players a unique opportunity to shape their own future and game. Those who take advantage of the unique opportunity to make history are the ones who enjoyed it the most.

I can't defend Age of Conan so much though because I know it had an equally rough launch (maybe even worse), but from what I hear it's not a bad game. I don't mind the gameplay issues though because I've seen far worse... LOTRO had a similar problem at launch in the beginning. I most likely won't be buying the game anytime soon though since I recently got back into FFXI.

Something I have noticed about Funcom is that they tend to create games that are a bit more complex than other games. They truly cater to a niche audience.

Violette · July 2008

There's no option for 'Will buy their next adventure game' . I loved Dreamfall!

Zorvan · July 2008

Originally posted by Enigma

its a hard question.
I loved Anarchy Online. I have many FOND memories of that game and is very in-depth.
On the other hand you have Age of Conan, which is probably one of the worse AAA MMO to have graced us in 2008 (and certainly in the top 5 for AAA MMOs in the last 4 years). Anarchy Online = Very indepth, increadible game system, UI, Lore, etc. Age of Conan = Simplistic, moronic, and immature.
So, maybe the third game will even itself ok and be "ok."
Who knows. I am dissapointed in Funcom's handling of community concerns, the handling of their GMs and Mods, and their general elitist attitude. Funcom is above that but apprently not anymore.

You pretty much summed up my feelings on the subject.

I love AO the game. However, Funcom as the developer has totally waysided AO in order to focus on the shipwreck that is AoC. As you said, the elitism, total lack of customer support ( including dozens of billing issues in AO ).

I have always been a fan ( even fanboi ) of AO as a game. And up 'til recently I would have defended Funcom to the death. Sadly, Funcom has managed to blow away years of enthusiasm I had for them and their mmorpgs in just a few short months. Maybe someday they'll earn it back, but at the moment I don't see it happening, honestly.

Originally posted by Violette

There's no option for 'Will buy their next adventure game' . I loved Dreamfall!

No, there isn't. As I stated in another post above, their singleplayer games are the result of being handled by Ragnar Tournquist with Funcom strictly implenting what he dictated. Their adventure games are top notch due to Mr. Tournquist. My focus here is on their mmorpgs, which are developed and implemented by Funcom alone.

xephonics · July 2008

Originally posted by BlueCadwal

Honestly, those who put down Anarchy Online most likely have a limited connection to it and probably started playing at launch. I'll be the first to admit that it had a horrible launch, and even has graphical glitches (some of which haven't been fixed to this day). But overall it's not a bad game. It gives players a unique opportunity to shape their own future and game. Those who take advantage of the unique opportunity to make history are the ones who enjoyed it the most.
I can't defend Age of Conan so much though because I know it had an equally rough launch (maybe even worse), but from what I hear it's not a bad game. I don't mind the gameplay issues though because I've seen far worse... LOTRO had a similar problem at launch in the beginning. I most likely won't be buying the game anytime soon though since I recently got back into FFXI.
Something I have noticed about Funcom is that they tend to create games that are a bit more complex than other games. They truly cater to a niche audience.

I've played AO on and off since 2003

So my connection is not limited. They destroyed it with SL's heck grind - they never changed it for the better, grinding for 170+ lvls on the same damn monsters i just dumb and uncreative on their part. They have also went down the shitter in terms of support.

Pre-SL AO is still probably my favorite mmo ever. Hell it even saved my life and my wife's life (helped get us off meth). But FC ruined the game.

SomeOldBloke · July 2008

Even though I never bought AoC, I was burnt by Vangaurd at launch so I'm now adopting a "wait and see" policy with any new MMOs or expansions to current games. I'm not wasting my money on crap anymore...

BlueCadwal · July 2008

Originally posted by xephonics

Originally posted by BlueCadwal

Honestly, those who put down Anarchy Online most likely have a limited connection to it and probably started playing at launch. I'll be the first to admit that it had a horrible launch, and even has graphical glitches (some of which haven't been fixed to this day). But overall it's not a bad game. It gives players a unique opportunity to shape their own future and game. Those who take advantage of the unique opportunity to make history are the ones who enjoyed it the most.
I can't defend Age of Conan so much though because I know it had an equally rough launch (maybe even worse), but from what I hear it's not a bad game. I don't mind the gameplay issues though because I've seen far worse... LOTRO had a similar problem at launch in the beginning. I most likely won't be buying the game anytime soon though since I recently got back into FFXI.
Something I have noticed about Funcom is that they tend to create games that are a bit more complex than other games. They truly cater to a niche audience.

I've played AO on and off since 2003

So my connection is not limited. They destroyed it with SL's heck grind - they never changed it for the better, grinding for 170+ lvls on the same damn monsters i just dumb and uncreative on their part. They have also went down the shitter in terms of support.

Pre-SL AO is still probably my favorite mmo ever. Hell it even saved my life and my wife's life (helped get us off meth). But FC ruined the game.

I was actually referring to the rough launch since a lot of players are judging Funcom here off their rough launches. While playing Asheron's Call, I remember hearing people talking about it as though it were a horrible game just because of the launch which I feel is what people are doing again here with Age of Conan. It's sort of like my spite for EA just because they couldn't live up to the glory of Goldeneye.

Based off the info at MMOChart.org, the majority of the "700,000 players" in Age of Conan have probably never played Anarchy Online before... at least not during its prime, thus most people won't be able to judge Anarchy Online and Age of Conan side by side since they didn't share the same experiences in both games.

Draccan · July 2008

I missed the "hell no" option in that poll

bluealien1 · July 2008

Hell no.

They haven't learned a single thing. They know people will continue to buy unfinished games based on hype.

Thradar · July 2008

Having been a Hyboria fan since I was about 12 (and that was a long time ago) and seeing how they filled AoC with utter fail...no, Funcom is going to have to blow me away in the future. And based on past history I doubt that will happen.

kenshinxxx · July 2008

After playing AOC, hell no. They came to be known as Failcom on the forums, horrible patches, they don't have a clue.

Shivah · July 2008

While mostly epic failures, both of their games have had some very proising ideas. I'd trial before I bought.

Josters · July 2008

No idea, I mean i'm playing Vanguard and that says alot....

used to be a SOE hater bleh but different case though.

Torak · July 2008

Nope,

They are not learning their lessons.

Ozmodan · July 2008

If you want to play a MMO that has virtually no support behind it, Funcom is your developer. Good luck when you get a character stuck and can't get help to get him unstuck. I had to wait over a week to get one of my characters unstuck, so I won't be purchasing nor playing a funcom game again.

M1sf1t · July 2008

NO! NEVER AGAIN!

Turbine showed they learned from their mistakes but Funcom has not.

shamall · July 2008

I played AO on day one and it had problems a plenty but I still had a lot of great memories from that game. I eventually left due to its age and to try other games that were just comming out.

As far as AoC goes, I can't help but feel like I was duped into buying this game. The way funcom handled beta and the fileplanet open beta by making the first 20 levels in Tortage seem like the rest of the game was just as polished feels dishonest. Atleast Mythic is comming out up front telling everyone that they will not be able to get everything they planned one in by release so you wont be saying WTF! come release day.

All I know is that I will never buy another Funcom product on release and do a lot of research on it before giving them my cash.

sokkyu · July 2008

I'll decide when sufficient information on the 3rd mmo comes out. I have not major problem with Funcom's last and would still give the newest one a chance if I hated both. Afterall I still look to The Agency regardless of SOE's many follies.

Innoss · July 2008

I wont. Theres 2 companies i wont ever buy another game from. Thats sigil and since its no longer a company thats not a problem, and Funcom. I will not touch another funcom product ever.

vladww · July 2008

Originally posted by xephonics

I've played AO on and off since 2003

So my connection is not limited. They destroyed it with SL's heck grind - they never changed it for the better, grinding for 170+ lvls on the same damn monsters i just dumb and uncreative on their part. They have also went down the shitter in terms of support.

Pre-SL AO is still probably my favorite mmo ever. Hell it even saved my life and my wife's life (helped get us off meth). But FC ruined the game.

As an old AO player i agree 100%

xAlrythx · July 2008

My black-list now looks like:

SOE

Turbine (removed from the list due to improvement)

Sigil (deceased, no longer a threat)

Funcom

Howdy, Stranger!

Funcom: after 2 mmorpgs, will you buy their third?

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Funcom: after 2 mmorpgs, will you buy their third?

Comments