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AoC ---> lament, but healthy warning to industry!!!
Draccan
Member Posts: 1,050
I think it is evident that Age of Conan is now on a skeleton crew, the value of the company has deteriorated and by the time the next Q3 report hits the street the investors will bail completely. Funcom as a gaming company is dead unless the Norwegian government posts more funding to it.
I am really split. One part of me is sad it had to go this way, but considering the attitude of the company, I have to say, I have never seen anything as arrogant since the NGE in SWG. Maybe even worse. The NGE was stupidity followed up by lack of will to admit their mistake, but Funcom really cheated their customers and lied.
When I flip through the CE graphical book for AoC I can't help thinking how the art direction surpasses anything I have ever seen in a computer game before. The art is really cohesive, sinister and interesting. If I was the lead art director I would be pissed at company to see my work thrown out in a buggy, non-sensical gaming system.
So when Funcom closes shop, probably by the end of the year, I hope this is a lesson learned for the industry. Stop pushing out crap in hope of getting our $.
While SWG was the only real MMORPG - and even that wasn't in a finished or proper state (at pre NGE) - WoW is the only game that holistically is in a finished state. The rest is either early mmos that are dated and primitive today or crap that is copies of other games or half-baked potatoes. Now I don't play WoW and was never a F A N, but you have to respect how finished and polished the game is. Despite all the bravour, WAR is stale when compared to WoW combat. WoW is a RAIDfest which means it is not for me, as I like sandbox, but it certainly has a lot of things right.
I cancelled my WAR CE for now and taking a break until a real sandbox comes along. Cancelling WAR was 50% RL time issues and 50% because of concerns over the quality.. And I am a hardcore Warhammer fan, played GW and Warhammer games since the beginning (well 2nd ed.)!! I just can't stomach another (potential) dissappointment right now.
I really hope FUNCOM will NEVER MAKE ANOTHER GAME. And that people will stop supporting them!!
On a final note, I also think Game Reviewing websites and magazines shares a big part of the blame. They are so hungry for advertisement handouts, that they have ZERO journalistic pride or independence. It is all about getting money so they hand out 90%ish scores to half finished crap like AoC. SHAME ON YOU!
Draccan
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CASUAL CONFESSIONS - Draccan's blog
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Comments
On a sidenote: I wish I had access to the old pre-launch AoC forum. O my god. All the stuff I said was true. I was very active there and was flamed non-stop by the fan crowds.
Now I don't see any of them any more, except 1 - no names mentioned.
If people had seen the obvious 1-3 years before launch - we might not have been here today.
But I really wish I could have looked at my old posts and threads from back then. I called them foul on DX10, brawling, lies about launch dates, the combat system etc. etc. - and that was before I was in BETA!
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CASUAL CONFESSIONS - Draccan's blog
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I agree with you.
Seems most developers these days are just phoning it in. Unfortunately they won't learn... AOC isn't the first failure with such promise and won't be the last.
Doubt they'll go out of business though. If anything they'd sell off AOC to another company. Ever hear that saying 'The bad never die' seems to go for games too. If Hellgate London, Asherons Call, Vanguard are still around. Then this turd will linger around forever.
Think we all saw the potential for this game. Then we saw it all blown. Wasn't an easy thing to watch.
Didn't Hellgate close shop?
Vanguard only lives due to Sony big bucks and no new investment combined with the Station Pass, I think.
Reading through Funcom's financial reports and knowing the stock rate as well as the huge drop of players combined with the cost of developing AoC and the profit they managed to get, it seems to me they are tight-rope walking atm.
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CASUAL CONFESSIONS - Draccan's blog
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Same here. We tried to point out what was wrong - we tried to say this game was not ready. CB testers did everything possible to do their job right but the game was just months and months away from anything finished enough to give real feedback.
This is where Funcom went overboard. They never listened - they were never going to in the first place.
Same here. We tried to point out what was wrong - we tried to say this game was not ready. CB testers did everything possible to do their job right but the game was just months and months away from anything finished enough to give real feedback.
This is where Funcom went overboard. They never listened - they were never going to in the first place.
I really smelled something very bad was happening when they didn't let the main testers test the sieges..
But all the fans charged in and said there was a special team for it.. HA!
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CASUAL CONFESSIONS - Draccan's blog
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Bioware is the only major studion currently working on a MMORPG.. and Bioware has always had a good track record of delaying things until they are finished ( " When it's finished"). I think the lesson that coulld have been learned by Funcom isn't going to impact the future because of the lack of new games.
Warhammer is going to slip to the 200k subscriber level, then you will have a bunch of games like AOC that will have 50k-100k.. and then WOW at 11M. Bioware is the only question mark. It's a great company using a popular IP ( Star wars).
"On a final note, I also think Game Reviewing websites and magazines shares a big part of the blame. They are so hungry for advertisement handouts, that they have ZERO journalistic pride or independence. It is all about getting money so they hand out 90%ish scores to half finished crap like AoC. SHAME ON YOU!"
Thank soooooo much for mentionning this my Friend, this was a huge part of the problem and it made Funcom think they were so much bigger then reality!
Much appreicated to see others say this about the "Gaming reviewers", not all of them but unfortunetely many of them.......
Its worse to actually think about doing something then actually doing it!!!
Bioware kicks ass... They are like Valve. If it takes 10 years to get the game right they take 10 years. But niether one will release a product as flawed as AOC. Just no way...
If there's any MMO I'm stoked about it is the KOTOR MMORPG from BIOWARE. I played KOTOR 1 & 2 through probably 50 times. Then there's Jade Empire very amazing game. Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights. Even Mass Effect was good.
Unlike Funcom I have faith in Bioware and bet your sweet ass I'll be preordering their MMO.
Maybe one day these companies will realize how important word of mouth is in the gaming world.Just reading the WAR forums I can see they're already screwing up... When people start saying it's AOC all over again that's terrible, lol. I played the preview weekend and absolutely hated it. Guess I wasn't alone.
Bioware, Valve, Blizzard, Turbine.
I buy almost everything they put out because they deliver quality products.
Hell I quit WOW in April but preordered the cheapie WOTLK already. I know I'll get my 40 bucks worth- take my geared rogue to 80 and probably quit again. Then I'll probably buy Diablo3 as well. Blizz will get my business because they never screwed me over or lied to me.
Turbine is totally underrated. They'd been big if they only knew how to advertise on the level of an AOC. They deliver quality I even bought a lifetime membership to LOTRO. Which is something AMAZING for me to do. They deliver such a quality product it was well worth the investment and they only keep making the game better. If Turbine had headed AOC it would have been something amazing.
Valve. They aren't into MMO's but when you talk about great companies that make great games. You can't help think of them. Half Life Episode 3 WTF are ya!! They are slow but never deliver bug infested crap or need to lie to sell their games.