The Captain, on seeing that his ship is sinking, makes a quick get away on the only liferaft.
All the vision in the world doesn't matter a damn if you lack the application to actually deliver it. As game dicretor it was his job to get an over view of what they were capable of producing in the time frame that they had and to protest that there were things he did not like although HE was responsible as a Director is laughable.
And yes, he stuck his grinning mug in front of every camera and journo to sell his product when he, as a Game Director, should have known it was BS.
A lot of vitriol from gamers are aimed at him and removing him from the picture might help some. But it is going to take a ton of work and some good offers to old players to grab back some people. Personally, I love the "Conan" property and would very much have loved to play a halfway decent Conan game. If I was to get an email in 6 months time offering me a free week, I would probably take a look. But FC have squandered the trust of gamers and will never see a penny from me unless I have had a hands-on go first.
Step one for Sil has to be to get out there where the players can see him - accept that there is a problem and lay out a clear and defined plan of what to do. More Godager style bullshit is going to make matters work. Unfortunatly, if we are honest, I suspect FC is now in so much trouble that the money needed to fix the problems is just not available to them. I fear Sil has been handed a poisined chalice and is destined to fail.
So this means you will start playing again? Again didn't think so. And I believe that most of you are underestimating the size of Funcom's bank accounts Hence the reference to Sony/MS. If anyone can point me to a SINGLE company that went bankrupt because their game launched poorly then I will retract my statement. It's all meant to point out that these screams of vindication are futile since you gain nothing because Funcom won't go bankrupt or whatever. And for the record I DO NOT play AoC, so Funcom Fanbois I am not. I have just heard this argument from too many people about every single MMO ever released lol.
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Just so you know AoC has plenty of money in fact they have millions in the bank to cover their expenses and now that they have significant revenues from subscriptions they should at least be able to break even and that includes all the operating expenses of AoC Xbox Aoc Expansion The Secret World and The Casual MMO Project that is 5 projects all being funded by AoC so if there is a BIT of a loss that is acceptable consider how much money and profit it would make if AoC only had to support itself!
Originally posted by keltic74 So this means you will start playing again? Again didn't think so. And I believe that most of you are underestimating the size of Funcom's bank accounts Hence the reference to Sony/MS. If anyone can point me to a SINGLE company that went bankrupt because their game launched poorly then I will retract my statement. It's all meant to point out that these screams of vindication are futile since you gain nothing because Funcom won't go bankrupt or whatever. And for the record I DO NOT play AoC, so Funcom Fanbois I am not. I have just heard this argument from too many people about every single MMO ever released lol.
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Clover didn't dissolve due to a bad launch. They made very good NICHE games, that the majority of people couldn't get their heads around. Okami most certainly didn't sink Clover because of a bad launch. Especially considering Okami was very well put together overall. Not a complete sham like some games at launch. Dying and bankrupt...different. And by my last check every studio is dying according to the masses. I remember distinctly how SOE was done with after the changes to SWG and the VG launch.
So this means you will start playing again? Again didn't think so. And I believe that most of you are underestimating the size of Funcom's bank accounts Hence the reference to Sony/MS. If anyone can point me to a SINGLE company that went bankrupt because their game launched poorly then I will retract my statement. It's all meant to point out that these screams of vindication are futile since you gain nothing because Funcom won't go bankrupt or whatever. And for the record I DO NOT play AoC, so Funcom Fanbois I am not. I have just heard this argument from too many people about every single MMO ever released lol.
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Just so you know AoC has plenty of money in fact they have millions in the bank to cover their expenses and now that they have significant revenues from subscriptions they should at least be able to break even and that includes all the operating expenses of AoC Xbox Aoc Expansion The Secret World and The Casual MMO Project that is 5 projects all being funded by AoC so if there is a BIT of a loss that is acceptable consider how much money and profit it would make if AoC only had to support itself!
After the last two flops, you've really lost your mind if you think ANYONE will invest to see the release of either of those future games. If they're lucky and get AoC at least stable and in the black, Funcom will remain a developer with two mmos and a couple singleplayer rpgs and that's it. They've borked any future they may have had as far as developing/releasing more mmos.
And have you noticed there has been no Xbox 360 news in quite awhile? Microsoft has dumped promising games in the past, they're not going to bet on a market loser. expect to hear an announcement of the Xbox360 AoC cancellation in the near future.
Just so you know AoC has plenty of money in fact they have millions in the bank to cover their expenses and now that they have significant revenues from subscriptions they should at least be able to break even and that includes all the operating expenses of AoC Xbox Aoc Expansion The Secret World and The Casual MMO Project that is 5 projects all being funded by AoC so if there is a BIT of a loss that is acceptable consider how much money and profit it would make if AoC only had to support itself!
After the last two flops, you've really lost your mind if you think ANYONE will invest to see the release of either of those future games. If they're lucky and get AoC at least stable and in the black, Funcom will remain a developer with two mmos and a couple singleplayer rpgs and that's it. They've borked any future they may have had as far as developing/releasing more mmos.
And have you noticed there has been no Xbox 360 news in quite awhile? Microsoft has dumped promising games in the past, they're not going to bet on a market loser. expect to hear an announcement of the Xbox360 AoC cancellation in the near future.
Well I think AO was not successful but AoC sure was it sold nearly one million box copies if you look at the Eidos financials it was one of only two bright spots on their entire balance sheet. And also if they offer new public equity the shares would be inexpensive for FUNCOM to offer and that is a bonus in of itself. As for the XBox 360 FUNCOM has proven they can keep things under wraps like the Gaute thing so expect a massive announcement I think it will compete against the release of the WoW expansion myself but im not a soothsayer/ethor so dont quote me on that!
http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2319032/thread/202285#2319032 "Former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager has chosen to resign from Funcom after working on Age of Conan since the initial conception, and he leaves the company after 16 years. Godager was one of the original founders of Funcom, and leaves a large legacy, having contributed to making Funcom the largest MMO company in Europe. “I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”
I think this is a step i nthe right direction but they still have a ways to go I think.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2319032/thread/202285#2319032 "Former Producer and Game Director Gaute Godager has chosen to resign from Funcom after working on Age of Conan since the initial conception, and he leaves the company after 16 years. Godager was one of the original founders of Funcom, and leaves a large legacy, having contributed to making Funcom the largest MMO company in Europe. “I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with. I have decided to act on this, and as a result I have chosen to leave Funcom. It is time to get new, fresh eyes on Age of Conan, and I wholeheartedly support the appointment of Craig. I have had a fantastic time these last 16 years, and I am very proud of the many things Funcom has achieved. Funcom and Conan will always be a big part of me, but as I now look to new ventures outside the gaming industry I am certain Age of Conan’s future is in the best of hands.”
When GG posted that part about being dissatisfied, I knew right there he didnt leave, he lost a battle in the board room!
After the last two flops, you've really lost your mind if you think ANYONE will invest to see the release of either of those future games. If they're lucky and get AoC at least stable and in the black, Funcom will remain a developer with two mmos and a couple singleplayer rpgs and that's it. They've borked any future they may have had as far as developing/releasing more mmos.
If Morrison pulls this one out of the fire they'll give him a shot at the big chair. That could get financed. It'll be a couple of years though.
I'll say yes and no to that.
If Craig can not only stop the downward spiral, but actually get the game up to at least 200-300k solid subscription numbers and keep them there for at least a year, then the possibility the others will come out is there.
However, If Craig is only able to stem the tide, and stabalize the subs enough to hit the black but little in the way of pure profit ( like AO ), then the possibility of the other games being financed becomes pretty much nil. Investors are funny that way. They don't like "break even", they like profits.
Funcom knowingly sold us an incomplete game. Period. IDGaF who they fire, who they promote, or what new games they make, they will never see another dime from me.
Funcom knowingly sold us an incomplete game. Period. IDGaF who they fire, who they promote, or what new games they make, they will never see another dime from me.
Funny how people are shocked about it, well guys you really should DO SOME RESEARCH before you buy because Funcom had far worse launch with AO it went so far that they removed subscription while they were fixing critical bugs.
Most MMO's are released unfinished ( and without some features ) but Funcom top that with AoC.
imo AoC will become pretty decent game after few months-
They are using him as a scapegoat. I remember listening to an interview with (around 6 months before release) where he was asked what makes games fail. He listed 3 or 4 things, and one of them was bugs.
I don't remember when was the last time I played a mmo which didn't have bugs and disbalances at launch. However most mmorpgs didn't have this much hype tied to it. And amount of bugs AoC had was ridiculous. Just look at patch notes.
They are acting too arrogant, and doing too little to salvage their reputation. They can now polish it to the hell and back, people won't come back. No real incentive for them to do so.
So what will you do to salvage yours, since not only are you A.) Repeating something you could have put in the official thread, but also B.) Added a gagillion exclamations to show just how important your thoughts were?
You've got me confused with OP. I didn't start the thread, I just replied to it.
Also I am not in a business of selling my opinions. They are in a business of making and selling games. Their reputation matters. My reputation as a gamer is irrelevant.
That's a bit of a bombshell! I'm guessing that things are not as rosy as Funcom are claiming and are dire enough to force the replacement of the top man.
This company doesn't have any credibility they have not said a signle thing that is true in regards to this game so you can best believe all the earlier defections and such was the truth of the matter
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
So what will you do to salvage yours, since not only are you A.) Repeating something you could have put in the official thread, but also B.) Added a gagillion exclamations to show just how important your thoughts were?
You've got me confused with OP. I didn't start the thread, I just replied to it.
Also I am not in a business of selling my opinions. They are in a business of making and selling games. Their reputation matters. My reputation as a gamer is irrelevant.
Ahh the sweet taste of victory... feels so good to be proven right.
Gaute - One liar down, one to go... EE.
Funcom also needs professional community reps. Lufkin got fired after 10000 complaints and 2-3 months. Thats way to slow to react. Tahitoa should also get the boot.
Ahh the sweet taste of victory... feels so good to be proven right.
Gaute - One lier down, one to go... EE. Funcom also needs professional community reps. Lufkin got fired after 10000 complaints and 2-3 months. Thats way to slow to react. Tahitoa should also get the boot.
Lufkin got fired? I missed that one, sadly. About time they took him out, though.
Gaute in my view was actually a really good ambassador for Funcom ...this is a lose . Also the vision for AOC was never the problem...it was really inspiring .The problem was the delivery of the vision .....they failed technically to achieve it.
Lets' see.
Anarchy Online had a horrid launch and almost died out the gate. Director: Gaute Godager.
Age of Conan had a horrid launch the minute players saw past level 20 and is now on the brink of death. Director: Gaute Godager.
Who was in charge of delivering this "vision" you speak of? Gaute Godager.
Yeah, REAL good ambassador for Funcom.
I've never played AO so I cant comment
However you don't seem to understand the difference between a vision and the delivery of that vision.
AOC had a vision to revolutionize the MMO community with features like epic Siege battles ,unique PVP and an immersive game set in Conan universe. The vision required the technical ability to deliver that from the developers.Gaute is not a developer . Funcom failed in that respect ...he is responsible to a certain degree but can you blame him for the programming ineptitude of the Devs...maybe you can ?I don't think it's fair ?The problems with AOC cannot be fixed by him...they are fundamental and serious Dev issues and the way the game is coded ...egg instances ...and there is no quick fix
Yes he's to blame and yes, it's fair.
Gaute is not an ordinary peon. He co-founded the company. He was in charge of hiring and firing devs. He was in charge of making sure he had the right team to build the game as desired. Is it a devs fault for lacking certain skills, or is it the game directors' fault for not recognizing this and getting someone who could?
He was pretty free with all those millions, you'd think he'd have researched the talent he was spending those millions on.
Actually Wise if we are going to be correct about this then the person to blame should be Quality Assurance and Beta Team who should have reported back to Gaute the glaring issues .Then if he still chose to release the game in it's state if he had the information then yes he is to balme
Dude...the beta team is to blame? Are you joking? I'm sure the DevTrack was full of bugs, the problem wasn't finding them, it was fixing them. At the time AoC launched it had already been pushed back countless times (3 that i can remember of the top of my head since 10/21/07). They had to get the thing out the door since they firmly comitted themselves to the 5/20/08 date and likey didn't have time to fix them. Its not a case of inept dev's, they simply ran out of time.
IMO the Investors are to take the most blame! Too bad about Gaute though, he always seemed like a nice guy in the videos...I dunno.
Comments
Hmm. I really cannot make my mind up on this one:
Sacrificed on the altar of shareholders
OR
The Captain, on seeing that his ship is sinking, makes a quick get away on the only liferaft.
All the vision in the world doesn't matter a damn if you lack the application to actually deliver it. As game dicretor it was his job to get an over view of what they were capable of producing in the time frame that they had and to protest that there were things he did not like although HE was responsible as a Director is laughable.
And yes, he stuck his grinning mug in front of every camera and journo to sell his product when he, as a Game Director, should have known it was BS.
A lot of vitriol from gamers are aimed at him and removing him from the picture might help some. But it is going to take a ton of work and some good offers to old players to grab back some people. Personally, I love the "Conan" property and would very much have loved to play a halfway decent Conan game. If I was to get an email in 6 months time offering me a free week, I would probably take a look. But FC have squandered the trust of gamers and will never see a penny from me unless I have had a hands-on go first.
Step one for Sil has to be to get out there where the players can see him - accept that there is a problem and lay out a clear and defined plan of what to do. More Godager style bullshit is going to make matters work. Unfortunatly, if we are honest, I suspect FC is now in so much trouble that the money needed to fix the problems is just not available to them. I fear Sil has been handed a poisined chalice and is destined to fail.
Wake me up if this actually makes the game not suck anytime soon. I doubt it.
Exactly
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Just so you know AoC has plenty of money in fact they have millions in the bank to cover their expenses and now that they have significant revenues from subscriptions they should at least be able to break even and that includes all the operating expenses of AoC Xbox Aoc Expansion The Secret World and The Casual MMO Project that is 5 projects all being funded by AoC so if there is a BIT of a loss that is acceptable consider how much money and profit it would make if AoC only had to support itself!
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Clover didn't dissolve due to a bad launch. They made very good NICHE games, that the majority of people couldn't get their heads around. Okami most certainly didn't sink Clover because of a bad launch. Especially considering Okami was very well put together overall. Not a complete sham like some games at launch. Dying and bankrupt...different. And by my last check every studio is dying according to the masses. I remember distinctly how SOE was done with after the changes to SWG and the VG launch.
Ok companies that failed after launch.
Clover Studios died real quick after the launch of Okami. Excellent game, not enough press, not enough sales, hit them hard.
Flagship Studios is dying from the Hellgate London launch right now.
There was a third example I had a minute ago but I can't remeber now. darn.
Actually they died some months ago.
haha, its feels like brad all over again with some differences
After the last two flops, you've really lost your mind if you think ANYONE will invest to see the release of either of those future games. If they're lucky and get AoC at least stable and in the black, Funcom will remain a developer with two mmos and a couple singleplayer rpgs and that's it. They've borked any future they may have had as far as developing/releasing more mmos.
And have you noticed there has been no Xbox 360 news in quite awhile? Microsoft has dumped promising games in the past, they're not going to bet on a market loser. expect to hear an announcement of the Xbox360 AoC cancellation in the near future.
After the last two flops, you've really lost your mind if you think ANYONE will invest to see the release of either of those future games. If they're lucky and get AoC at least stable and in the black, Funcom will remain a developer with two mmos and a couple singleplayer rpgs and that's it. They've borked any future they may have had as far as developing/releasing more mmos.
And have you noticed there has been no Xbox 360 news in quite awhile? Microsoft has dumped promising games in the past, they're not going to bet on a market loser. expect to hear an announcement of the Xbox360 AoC cancellation in the near future.
Well I think AO was not successful but AoC sure was it sold nearly one million box copies if you look at the Eidos financials it was one of only two bright spots on their entire balance sheet. And also if they offer new public equity the shares would be inexpensive for FUNCOM to offer and that is a bonus in of itself. As for the XBox 360 FUNCOM has proven they can keep things under wraps like the Gaute thing so expect a massive announcement I think it will compete against the release of the WoW expansion myself but im not a soothsayer/ethor so dont quote me on that!
I think this is a step i nthe right direction but they still have a ways to go I think.
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
When GG posted that part about being dissatisfied, I knew right there he didnt leave, he lost a battle in the board room!
-Lum
Eidos's scion kain needs to impale conan on his soul reaver and end the partnership. Vae victus.
If Morrison pulls this one out of the fire they'll give him a shot at the big chair. That could get financed. It'll be a couple of years though.
I'll say yes and no to that.
If Craig can not only stop the downward spiral, but actually get the game up to at least 200-300k solid subscription numbers and keep them there for at least a year, then the possibility the others will come out is there.
However, If Craig is only able to stem the tide, and stabalize the subs enough to hit the black but little in the way of pure profit ( like AO ), then the possibility of the other games being financed becomes pretty much nil. Investors are funny that way. They don't like "break even", they like profits.
Funcom knowingly sold us an incomplete game. Period. IDGaF who they fire, who they promote, or what new games they make, they will never see another dime from me.
Funny how people are shocked about it, well guys you really should DO SOME RESEARCH before you buy because Funcom had far worse launch with AO it went so far that they removed subscription while they were fixing critical bugs.
Most MMO's are released unfinished ( and without some features ) but Funcom top that with AoC.
imo AoC will become pretty decent game after few months-
As for what AO players things about Silirrion ( ex AO Game Director -> new AoC Game director ) you can read here: http://forums.anarchyonline.com/showthread.php?t=537176
Lets hope he can turn AoC in something it should be at release.
p.s. Heh hes cleaning after Gaute again as he did for AO too.
Futilez[Do You Have What It Takes ?]
after today i give aoc and funCON 2 more months.
They are using him as a scapegoat. I remember listening to an interview with (around 6 months before release) where he was asked what makes games fail. He listed 3 or 4 things, and one of them was bugs.
I don't remember when was the last time I played a mmo which didn't have bugs and disbalances at launch. However most mmorpgs didn't have this much hype tied to it. And amount of bugs AoC had was ridiculous. Just look at patch notes.
They are acting too arrogant, and doing too little to salvage their reputation. They can now polish it to the hell and back, people won't come back. No real incentive for them to do so.
EDIT: I finally made a mistaken post in a forum.
You've got me confused with OP. I didn't start the thread, I just replied to it.
Also I am not in a business of selling my opinions. They are in a business of making and selling games. Their reputation matters. My reputation as a gamer is irrelevant.
This company doesn't have any credibility they have not said a signle thing that is true in regards to this game so you can best believe all the earlier defections and such was the truth of the matter
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
You've got me confused with OP. I didn't start the thread, I just replied to it.
Also I am not in a business of selling my opinions. They are in a business of making and selling games. Their reputation matters. My reputation as a gamer is irrelevant.
Sorry man.
Had two windows open.
Ahh the sweet taste of victory... feels so good to be proven right.
Gaute - One liar down, one to go... EE.
Funcom also needs professional community reps. Lufkin got fired after 10000 complaints and 2-3 months. Thats way to slow to react. Tahitoa should also get the boot.
Lufkin got fired? I missed that one, sadly. About time they took him out, though.
Lets' see.
Anarchy Online had a horrid launch and almost died out the gate. Director: Gaute Godager.
Age of Conan had a horrid launch the minute players saw past level 20 and is now on the brink of death. Director: Gaute Godager.
Who was in charge of delivering this "vision" you speak of? Gaute Godager.
Yeah, REAL good ambassador for Funcom.
I've never played AO so I cant comment
However you don't seem to understand the difference between a vision and the delivery of that vision.
AOC had a vision to revolutionize the MMO community with features like epic Siege battles ,unique PVP and an immersive game set in Conan universe. The vision required the technical ability to deliver that from the developers.Gaute is not a developer . Funcom failed in that respect ...he is responsible to a certain degree but can you blame him for the programming ineptitude of the Devs...maybe you can ?I don't think it's fair ?The problems with AOC cannot be fixed by him...they are fundamental and serious Dev issues and the way the game is coded ...egg instances ...and there is no quick fix
Yes he's to blame and yes, it's fair.
Gaute is not an ordinary peon. He co-founded the company. He was in charge of hiring and firing devs. He was in charge of making sure he had the right team to build the game as desired. Is it a devs fault for lacking certain skills, or is it the game directors' fault for not recognizing this and getting someone who could?
He was pretty free with all those millions, you'd think he'd have researched the talent he was spending those millions on.
Actually Wise if we are going to be correct about this then the person to blame should be Quality Assurance and Beta Team who should have reported back to Gaute the glaring issues .Then if he still chose to release the game in it's state if he had the information then yes he is to balme
Dude...the beta team is to blame? Are you joking? I'm sure the DevTrack was full of bugs, the problem wasn't finding them, it was fixing them. At the time AoC launched it had already been pushed back countless times (3 that i can remember of the top of my head since 10/21/07). They had to get the thing out the door since they firmly comitted themselves to the 5/20/08 date and likey didn't have time to fix them. Its not a case of inept dev's, they simply ran out of time.
IMO the Investors are to take the most blame! Too bad about Gaute though, he always seemed like a nice guy in the videos...I dunno.