There is nothing wrong with his reasoning here. He is basically saying, when MMO developers ambitionlevel is high it might be harder to complete a smooth launch than if you develop a MMO that is already built on very welltested code and known ways of doing things. The game with the higher ambition level has however higher potential and will end up on the top as long as the Devs keep working on the game. That's exactly what FC do. They are not giving up on this one and I as a new player can absolutely not understand what all this bitching is about. The game blows me away. 10/10
Funcom's ambition level isn't any higher than most other company's, though it could be argued that their arrogance level was quite a bit higher. FC decided they were too good, too smart, to go with some of the established conventions, and recreated the wheel with many aspects of the game. Unfortunately, most of their new wheels were square, and have been or will be changed because of the lack of foresight it displayed (EX: lack of fast travel made the suicide teleport all the rage during the first couple of months). It made them look more than a little foolish.
Similarly, AoC has no more, or no less, potential than any other game out there, given developer motivation. I find it humorous how the fanbois of just about any game, AoC included, somehow believe that their game is intrinsically "better", with more potential, and that somehow their game's developers care more than those of other games. What hogwash! At least making some sort of attempt at objectivity would be a good start when assessing the game.
AoC is a below average MMO, in my opinion. Though they are correcting a lot of the bugs it had, they still have to correct many of the basic design flaws it has to make it a more appealing game.
They will also have to correct consumer perception as well. And that's going to be the most difficult one to do.
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines
They will also have to correct consumer perception as well. And that's going to be the most difficult one to do.
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
They will also have to correct consumer perception as well. And that's going to be the most difficult one to do.
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
History so repeats itself...Vanguard where are you?
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines
What AOC has going for it? It is a fairly good game with really good graphics. What AOC has going against it? It has a terrible PR problem that will prevent new players from ever buying the box, and old players from ever returning. It has severe population issues that prevent widescale pvp on most servers. And finally, it is owned by a company that will be going bankrupt soon and probably has a very minimal development team working on the game. Buy the box, ask on the forums and find a high population server.. enjoy the next 2-3months. If you are a fairly hardcore players, you can easily get a couple hundred hours of entertainment out of AOC over 2 months. Just don't plan on AOC being the game you play for the next year. But unless you consider staring at graphics as entertainment.. there really isn't any reason to play AOC over WOW, which is more fun and will be here next year.
There is nothing wrong with his reasoning here. He is basically saying, when MMO developers ambitionlevel is high it might be harder to complete a smooth launch than if you develop a MMO that is already built on very welltested code and known ways of doing things. The game with the higher ambition level has however higher potential and will end up on the top as long as the Devs keep working on the game. That's exactly what FC do. They are not giving up on this one and I as a new player can absolutely not understand what all this bitching is about. The game blows me away. 10/10
Let's put this to rest. Yes, Funcom set out to break a couple of 'molds' of the industry
1. They greatly upped the poly count in the graphics of the game - When looking at a still picture of the game things look great. But the game does not run smoothly, animations are way off. Then you have to consider the cost of those graphics 1. They had to instance the game into very small pieces... in order for you to see that latern flicker in the tavern, you had to endure a loadscreen when going to it's basement. it also greatly reduced the number of players who could successfully play it, and even most of those had nightmares the first few months.
Bravo for being ambitious with your graphics... but boo for not being able to pull it off without destroying immersion and gameplay.
2. There revolutionary combat system - Again, they tried to add console-like gameplay to a MMORPG.. something that has never been done before. Not only did they not pull it off (players spoke with their wallets and left the game), but Funcom has since backtracked on the whole combo system and reduced it's 'differences' from normal games.
And that still doesnt' address the PR nightmare Funcom has. 90% of players have left in the first 3 months. Very few will come back and very few new players will ever get a 'postiive' review of AOC.
The game is playable now.... but it's kinda like cheering for a baseball player who gets a single in the 9th inning when his team is down by 10 runs.
Have any of you guys had a go at Ymirs Pass, the new area? What about you Avery?
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
But AOC is different.. AOC testlive is like the ultra-server merge. It's the only place where 75% of players can play on a server that has the critical mass to actually enjoy most things.
Take for example the 48x48 seige at 40fps thread that was posted. The fun stuff like that can't take place on the live servers because there aren't enough players and the updates never made it to the live servers to make it possible anyway.
Ho long has it been since you played? I've been in a few sieges recently and it ran fine for me. Theres still some stuff they could improve like the lag spikes (which I hear they wiped on test live so they may be gone soon) but we're getting there.
It still doesn't change the fact that the game is heavily instanced and the zones tiny to make it possible for the xbox360. Age of instances will remain a niche game on the Pc and have some success of the xbox360 where it's belongs.
Have any of you guys had a go at Ymirs Pass, the new area? What about you Avery?
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
They will also have to correct consumer perception as well. And that's going to be the most difficult one to do.
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
History so repeats itself...Vanguard where are you?
Im the OP and i can assure you that im no viral marketeer, unless you consider worth of mouth, be it positive or negative, to be viral marketing, in which case we are all guilty for stating our opinions.
There are so many misconceptions that get thrown around about this game that it isnt even funny. Many come from people that got burned at launch with tech issues, bugs, and lack of content. I don't blame anyone for having such opinions, but I can vouch that this is no longer the case. My mid-range comp has seen a better than 50% increase in FPS since last months patch went in. I havent come across a bug of any kind in in the same amount of time. I have leveled from 1-74 in the last 2 months and the only gaps i have found in quest content were 2 levels in my late 50's and 3 levels in my late 60's. This however was before the new quests were added to E. Mountains (which i would suspect would have covered my gap in the late 50's) and does not consider the new zone coming in with the next patch that just hit test servers this week.
I can honestly say that if you played the game at launch, but havent played in the last month, then a large majority of your complaints are no longer valid, and whether you care to believe ot or not, thats a fact.
Again, im not saying everything is fixed, but the game is 100% playable and enjoyable atm and judging by the last patch and the upcoming patch, it is only going to get better. I know alot of people feel burned by AoC and wouldn't come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer. But many, and i mean MANY, of the people who initially wrote off AoC will be eating their words in the coming months.
My best advice to anyone though, is if you come back, do it on a popular server. For PvP the high pop servers i have first hand experience on are Tyranny and Cimmeria. According to forums, Deathwhisper and a 2 others are high pop PvP. I don't play on PvE, but general concensus is that Set is the place to be for that.
Im the OP and i can assure you that im no viral marketeer, unless you consider worth of mouth, be it positive or negative, to be viral marketing, in which case we are all guilty for stating our opinions. There are so many misconceptions that get thrown around about this game that it isnt even funny. Many come from people that got burned at launch with tech issues, bugs, and lack of content. I don't blame anyone for having such opinions, but I can vouch that this is no longer the case. My mid-range comp has seen a better than 50% increase in FPS since last months patch went in. I havent come across a bug of any kind in in the same amount of time. I have leveled from 1-74 in the last 2 months and the only gaps i have found in quest content were 2 levels in my late 50's and 3 levels in my late 60's. This however was before the new quests were added to E. Mountains (which i would suspect would have covered my gap in the late 50's) and does not consider the new zone coming in with the next patch that just hit test servers this week. I can honestly say that if you played the game at launch, but havent played in the last month, then a large majority of your complaints are no longer valid, and whether you care to believe ot or not, thats a fact. Again, im not saying everything is fixed, but the game is 100% playable and enjoyable atm and judging by the last patch and the upcoming patch, it is only going to get better. I know alot of people feel burned by AoC and wouldn't come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer. But many, and i mean MANY, of the people who initially wrote off AoC will be eating their words in the coming months. My best advice to anyone though, is if you come back, do it on a popular server. For PvP the high pop servers i have first hand experience on are Tyranny and Cimmeria. According to forums, Deathwhisper and a 2 others are high pop PvP. I don't play on PvE, but general concensus is that Set is the place to be for that.
High pop servers? But, I thought they ALL said medium population....
Seriously, unless you have something documenting the populations of the servers, I'm not sure any of the servers could be classified as high, medium, or low, though there do appear to be some that are better populated that others. Only Funcom knows for sure, and they aren't telling. They also aren't making any promises or predictions about whether or not they will be merging servers. So, roll on a server at your own risk, and be prepared to re-roll if there aren't enough people. That seems to be the case on most servers.
I don't think anyone will be eating anything in the next few months. That's because.... it's a game. Contrary to your position, however, they haven't added nearly enough to fundamentally change the game, other than some bug fixes, and corrections to the OOM issues. The half of the PvP system they did add is just a rep grind for gear - not exactly what they had talked about through development. Overall, this supposedly PvP-centric game has been a serious disappointment in that regard.
Hopefully, they will add a lot more things to the game to make it a better MMO experience. But, in my opinion, the bugs, breaks, and missing systems aren't the main reason so many people stopped playing. The game just isn't fun, even if it had been working perfectly at launch. It's too shallow for an MMO, and that's from the base design, not bugs. In short, it's boring.
They are going to have to reexamine their design philosophy and make a lot of changes/additions to really improve the game. It'll take more than just a patch.
Im the OP and i can assure you that im no viral marketeer, unless you consider worth of mouth, be it positive or negative, to be viral marketing, in which case we are all guilty for stating our opinions. There are so many misconceptions that get thrown around about this game that it isnt even funny. Many come from people that got burned at launch with tech issues, bugs, and lack of content. I don't blame anyone for having such opinions, but I can vouch that this is no longer the case. My mid-range comp has seen a better than 50% increase in FPS since last months patch went in. I havent come across a bug of any kind in in the same amount of time. I have leveled from 1-74 in the last 2 months and the only gaps i have found in quest content were 2 levels in my late 50's and 3 levels in my late 60's. This however was before the new quests were added to E. Mountains (which i would suspect would have covered my gap in the late 50's) and does not consider the new zone coming in with the next patch that just hit test servers this week. I can honestly say that if you played the game at launch, but havent played in the last month, then a large majority of your complaints are no longer valid, and whether you care to believe ot or not, thats a fact. Again, im not saying everything is fixed, but the game is 100% playable and enjoyable atm and judging by the last patch and the upcoming patch, it is only going to get better. I know alot of people feel burned by AoC and wouldn't come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer. But many, and i mean MANY, of the people who initially wrote off AoC will be eating their words in the coming months. My best advice to anyone though, is if you come back, do it on a popular server. For PvP the high pop servers i have first hand experience on are Tyranny and Cimmeria. According to forums, Deathwhisper and a 2 others are high pop PvP. I don't play on PvE, but general concensus is that Set is the place to be for that.
You sir are WRONG. What you just wrote is complete BS. I would totally come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer!
Im the OP and i can assure you that im no viral marketeer, unless you consider worth of mouth, be it positive or negative, to be viral marketing, in which case we are all guilty for stating our opinions. There are so many misconceptions that get thrown around about this game that it isnt even funny. Many come from people that got burned at launch with tech issues, bugs, and lack of content. I don't blame anyone for having such opinions, but I can vouch that this is no longer the case. My mid-range comp has seen a better than 50% increase in FPS since last months patch went in. I havent come across a bug of any kind in in the same amount of time. I have leveled from 1-74 in the last 2 months and the only gaps i have found in quest content were 2 levels in my late 50's and 3 levels in my late 60's. This however was before the new quests were added to E. Mountains (which i would suspect would have covered my gap in the late 50's) and does not consider the new zone coming in with the next patch that just hit test servers this week. I can honestly say that if you played the game at launch, but havent played in the last month, then a large majority of your complaints are no longer valid, and whether you care to believe ot or not, thats a fact. Again, im not saying everything is fixed, but the game is 100% playable and enjoyable atm and judging by the last patch and the upcoming patch, it is only going to get better. I know alot of people feel burned by AoC and wouldn't come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer. But many, and i mean MANY, of the people who initially wrote off AoC will be eating their words in the coming months. My best advice to anyone though, is if you come back, do it on a popular server. For PvP the high pop servers i have first hand experience on are Tyranny and Cimmeria. According to forums, Deathwhisper and a 2 others are high pop PvP. I don't play on PvE, but general concensus is that Set is the place to be for that.
You sir are WRONG. What you just wrote is complete BS. I would totally come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer!
p.s. it's "word of mouth"
If they did offer lapdances and beer to come back, you get to the agreed upon location and there would be O'Douhls Beers and Transvestites dancing for you... knowing funcom - thanx but ill pass....
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
Have any of you guys had a go at Ymirs Pass, the new area? What about you Avery?
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
He could play it himself if he has a valid account and actually playes the game. No need to ask about it.
Have any of you guys had a go at Ymirs Pass, the new area? What about you Avery?
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
He could play it himself if he has a valid account and actually playes the game. No need to ask about it.
Actually, if you have multitable hard drives like I do you can't do the test-live copy to another hard drive, and a lot of people don't want to take up another 10-20gigs for the test live game client.
Yeah because the supposed "fully complete" MMo's on release don't have test servers. Oh wait. . .
I don't beta test games I pay for, even the fully complete ones.
If they need someone to test it, they can pay someone to test, or give me free time to do it.
You see, there is an interesting concept.
Funcom would do itself a HUGE favor by allowing players who have played AOC in the past, but have quit for whatever reasons, to have a free AOC account for the TestLive server only. Have the Test account active for only 2 months so these players can see what has improved since they left. If these players are diligent in the actual testing of the game then FC should extend the free account for another 2 months.
What would this accomplish?
First, it would allow the owners of cancelled accounts to try out the game once again to see all of the improvements.
Second, it would give AOC a very large testing group to point out bugs/fixes.
Honestly, I wont be playing AOC again until they send out a free month of play to all of the cancelled accounts. At that time I will decide if I will resubscribe to the game again or not.
Yeah because the supposed "fully complete" MMo's on release don't have test servers. Oh wait. . .
I don't beta test games I pay for, even the fully complete ones.
If they need someone to test it, they can pay someone to test, or give me free time to do it.
You see, there is an interesting concept.
Funcom would do itself a HUGE favor by allowing players who have played AOC in the past, but have quit for whatever reasons, to have a free AOC account for the TestLive server only. Have the Test account active for only 2 months so these players can see what has improved since they left. If these players are diligent in the actual testing of the game then FC should extend the free account for another 2 months.
What would this accomplish?
First, it would allow the owners of cancelled accounts to try out the game once again to see all of the improvements.
Second, it would give AOC a very large testing group to point out bugs/fixes.
Honestly, I wont be playing AOC again until they send out a free month of play to all of the cancelled accounts. At that time I will decide if I will resubscribe to the game again or not.
Even with all the great stuff coming out this fall? Suit yourself
Even with all the great stuff coming out this fall? Suit yourself
Lol. Ex-Aoc players couldn't care less about "great stuff coming out *insert time here*". We've all heard that lie before.
Previous poster is right. A free month for ex-players is probably the only thing that could save AoC. And they said they will do it once the game is ready for it, maybe sometime next year.
Even with all the great stuff coming out this fall? Suit yourself
Yeah, just like all the great stuff that was supposed to be in the game at launch.... oh wait, it's STILL not in yet. Darn.
Seriously, we've been hearing "coming soon" for months. I don't think anyone can predict when FC will do anything with the game, and it's probably dishonest to make claims that even FC won't promise.
I don't think anyone who's interested in the complete game should subscribe until AFTER Funcom has actually put everything in that they were supposed to, and it's working. Suggesting that people come earlier, predicated on the promise of "it'll be in there soon, this fall" isn't being particularly honest, in my opinion, given FC's history.
I don't think anyone who's interested in the complete game should subscribe until AFTER Funcom has actually put everything in that they were supposed to, and it's working. Suggesting that people come earlier, predicated on the promise of "it'll be in there soon, this fall" isn't being particularly honest, in my opinion, given FC's history.
Comments
Funcom's ambition level isn't any higher than most other company's, though it could be argued that their arrogance level was quite a bit higher. FC decided they were too good, too smart, to go with some of the established conventions, and recreated the wheel with many aspects of the game. Unfortunately, most of their new wheels were square, and have been or will be changed because of the lack of foresight it displayed (EX: lack of fast travel made the suicide teleport all the rage during the first couple of months). It made them look more than a little foolish.
Similarly, AoC has no more, or no less, potential than any other game out there, given developer motivation. I find it humorous how the fanbois of just about any game, AoC included, somehow believe that their game is intrinsically "better", with more potential, and that somehow their game's developers care more than those of other games. What hogwash! At least making some sort of attempt at objectivity would be a good start when assessing the game.
AoC is a below average MMO, in my opinion. Though they are correcting a lot of the bugs it had, they still have to correct many of the basic design flaws it has to make it a more appealing game.
They will also have to correct consumer perception as well. And that's going to be the most difficult one to do.
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
History so repeats itself...Vanguard where are you?
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines
There is nothing wrong with his reasoning here. He is basically saying, when MMO developers ambitionlevel is high it might be harder to complete a smooth launch than if you develop a MMO that is already built on very welltested code and known ways of doing things. The game with the higher ambition level has however higher potential and will end up on the top as long as the Devs keep working on the game. That's exactly what FC do. They are not giving up on this one and I as a new player can absolutely not understand what all this bitching is about. The game blows me away. 10/10
Let's put this to rest. Yes, Funcom set out to break a couple of 'molds' of the industry
1. They greatly upped the poly count in the graphics of the game - When looking at a still picture of the game things look great. But the game does not run smoothly, animations are way off. Then you have to consider the cost of those graphics 1. They had to instance the game into very small pieces... in order for you to see that latern flicker in the tavern, you had to endure a loadscreen when going to it's basement. it also greatly reduced the number of players who could successfully play it, and even most of those had nightmares the first few months.
Bravo for being ambitious with your graphics... but boo for not being able to pull it off without destroying immersion and gameplay.
2. There revolutionary combat system - Again, they tried to add console-like gameplay to a MMORPG.. something that has never been done before. Not only did they not pull it off (players spoke with their wallets and left the game), but Funcom has since backtracked on the whole combo system and reduced it's 'differences' from normal games.
And that still doesnt' address the PR nightmare Funcom has. 90% of players have left in the first 3 months. Very few will come back and very few new players will ever get a 'postiive' review of AOC.
The game is playable now.... but it's kinda like cheering for a baseball player who gets a single in the 9th inning when his team is down by 10 runs.
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Yeah because the supposed "fully complete" MMo's on release don't have test servers. Oh wait. . .
But AOC is different.. AOC testlive is like the ultra-server merge. It's the only place where 75% of players can play on a server that has the critical mass to actually enjoy most things.
Take for example the 48x48 seige at 40fps thread that was posted. The fun stuff like that can't take place on the live servers because there aren't enough players and the updates never made it to the live servers to make it possible anyway.
Ho long has it been since you played? I've been in a few sieges recently and it ran fine for me. Theres still some stuff they could improve like the lag spikes (which I hear they wiped on test live so they may be gone soon) but we're getting there.
I don't beta test games I pay for, even the fully complete ones.
If they need someone to test it, they can pay someone to test, or give me free time to do it.
It still doesn't change the fact that the game is heavily instanced and the zones tiny to make it possible for the xbox360. Age of instances will remain a niche game on the Pc and have some success of the xbox360 where it's belongs.
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
I agree. By releasing AoC far before it was ready, presumably to beat WAR and WotLK to the punch, Funcom has created a nightmare for themselves. The bad reputation they have is not some sort of conspiracy - it is exactly the reputation they have earned for themselves by selling a shoddy product.
They have a lot of work ahead of them just to maintain the playerbase they currently have, let alone trying to build upon it.
History so repeats itself...Vanguard where are you?
Heck, AO where are you?
Im the OP and i can assure you that im no viral marketeer, unless you consider worth of mouth, be it positive or negative, to be viral marketing, in which case we are all guilty for stating our opinions.
There are so many misconceptions that get thrown around about this game that it isnt even funny. Many come from people that got burned at launch with tech issues, bugs, and lack of content. I don't blame anyone for having such opinions, but I can vouch that this is no longer the case. My mid-range comp has seen a better than 50% increase in FPS since last months patch went in. I havent come across a bug of any kind in in the same amount of time. I have leveled from 1-74 in the last 2 months and the only gaps i have found in quest content were 2 levels in my late 50's and 3 levels in my late 60's. This however was before the new quests were added to E. Mountains (which i would suspect would have covered my gap in the late 50's) and does not consider the new zone coming in with the next patch that just hit test servers this week.
I can honestly say that if you played the game at launch, but havent played in the last month, then a large majority of your complaints are no longer valid, and whether you care to believe ot or not, thats a fact.
Again, im not saying everything is fixed, but the game is 100% playable and enjoyable atm and judging by the last patch and the upcoming patch, it is only going to get better. I know alot of people feel burned by AoC and wouldn't come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer. But many, and i mean MANY, of the people who initially wrote off AoC will be eating their words in the coming months.
My best advice to anyone though, is if you come back, do it on a popular server. For PvP the high pop servers i have first hand experience on are Tyranny and Cimmeria. According to forums, Deathwhisper and a 2 others are high pop PvP. I don't play on PvE, but general concensus is that Set is the place to be for that.
High pop servers? But, I thought they ALL said medium population....
Seriously, unless you have something documenting the populations of the servers, I'm not sure any of the servers could be classified as high, medium, or low, though there do appear to be some that are better populated that others. Only Funcom knows for sure, and they aren't telling. They also aren't making any promises or predictions about whether or not they will be merging servers. So, roll on a server at your own risk, and be prepared to re-roll if there aren't enough people. That seems to be the case on most servers.
I don't think anyone will be eating anything in the next few months. That's because.... it's a game. Contrary to your position, however, they haven't added nearly enough to fundamentally change the game, other than some bug fixes, and corrections to the OOM issues. The half of the PvP system they did add is just a rep grind for gear - not exactly what they had talked about through development. Overall, this supposedly PvP-centric game has been a serious disappointment in that regard.
Hopefully, they will add a lot more things to the game to make it a better MMO experience. But, in my opinion, the bugs, breaks, and missing systems aren't the main reason so many people stopped playing. The game just isn't fun, even if it had been working perfectly at launch. It's too shallow for an MMO, and that's from the base design, not bugs. In short, it's boring.
They are going to have to reexamine their design philosophy and make a lot of changes/additions to really improve the game. It'll take more than just a patch.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
You sir are WRONG. What you just wrote is complete BS. I would totally come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer!
p.s. it's "word of mouth"
You sir are WRONG. What you just wrote is complete BS. I would totally come back if FC sent out vouchers for lapdances and beer!
p.s. it's "word of mouth"
If they did offer lapdances and beer to come back, you get to the agreed upon location and there would be O'Douhls Beers and Transvestites dancing for you... knowing funcom - thanx but ill pass....
Some people are like slinkies, they dont really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
He could play it himself if he has a valid account and actually playes the game. No need to ask about it.
Ymir's pass isn't in the game yet.
People are still waiting for it to be implemented. Don't you even play the game?
If you played and read the AoC forums you would know that...
it's on the TL server, so anyone with an active account can test it
Oh, that explains it.
Like I said on the AoC forums when TL was brought up. I already have two games I'm beta testing FOR FREE, I don't feel the need to have to pay to beta test a game, just because it was released way to early.
Who cares if you want to play on TL or not? WargPest wanted to know about Ymir's Pass, you insinuated that he couldn't because it wasn't in game. But everyone can in fact see how the new content is working, and I doubt anybody cares if you want to test it or not.
He could play it himself if he has a valid account and actually playes the game. No need to ask about it.
Actually, if you have multitable hard drives like I do you can't do the test-live copy to another hard drive, and a lot of people don't want to take up another 10-20gigs for the test live game client.
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
I also like playing this game a lot.. I find it funny that anytime you beat someone in PvP they scream OP'd!
It couldn't possibly be that I was better than them right that second..
I don't beta test games I pay for, even the fully complete ones.
If they need someone to test it, they can pay someone to test, or give me free time to do it.
You see, there is an interesting concept.
Funcom would do itself a HUGE favor by allowing players who have played AOC in the past, but have quit for whatever reasons, to have a free AOC account for the TestLive server only. Have the Test account active for only 2 months so these players can see what has improved since they left. If these players are diligent in the actual testing of the game then FC should extend the free account for another 2 months.
What would this accomplish?
First, it would allow the owners of cancelled accounts to try out the game once again to see all of the improvements.
Second, it would give AOC a very large testing group to point out bugs/fixes.
Honestly, I wont be playing AOC again until they send out a free month of play to all of the cancelled accounts. At that time I will decide if I will resubscribe to the game again or not.
I don't beta test games I pay for, even the fully complete ones.
If they need someone to test it, they can pay someone to test, or give me free time to do it.
You see, there is an interesting concept.
Funcom would do itself a HUGE favor by allowing players who have played AOC in the past, but have quit for whatever reasons, to have a free AOC account for the TestLive server only. Have the Test account active for only 2 months so these players can see what has improved since they left. If these players are diligent in the actual testing of the game then FC should extend the free account for another 2 months.
What would this accomplish?
First, it would allow the owners of cancelled accounts to try out the game once again to see all of the improvements.
Second, it would give AOC a very large testing group to point out bugs/fixes.
Honestly, I wont be playing AOC again until they send out a free month of play to all of the cancelled accounts. At that time I will decide if I will resubscribe to the game again or not.
Even with all the great stuff coming out this fall? Suit yourself
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
Lol. Ex-Aoc players couldn't care less about "great stuff coming out *insert time here*". We've all heard that lie before.
Previous poster is right. A free month for ex-players is probably the only thing that could save AoC. And they said they will do it once the game is ready for it, maybe sometime next year.
I spent money on the game, and was disappointed.
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice...shame on me.
Watch Led Zeppelin, Darkfall Tribute
Watch Johnny Cash, Darkfall Tribute
Yeah, just like all the great stuff that was supposed to be in the game at launch.... oh wait, it's STILL not in yet. Darn.
Seriously, we've been hearing "coming soon" for months. I don't think anyone can predict when FC will do anything with the game, and it's probably dishonest to make claims that even FC won't promise.
I don't think anyone who's interested in the complete game should subscribe until AFTER Funcom has actually put everything in that they were supposed to, and it's working. Suggesting that people come earlier, predicated on the promise of "it'll be in there soon, this fall" isn't being particularly honest, in my opinion, given FC's history.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.