From what I've played, Spellborn will still be one of the best MMOs of 09, as long as Acclaim changes nothing (which i don't think they have the rights to.) They just need to hurry up, or at least make it seem like they're TRYING to hurry. At this point, it seems like they're taking their sweet time, and this is not a case where "it's ready when it's ready" works, as it does for Blizzard. The game is out in Europe, it should be out here by now. There is nothing stopping Acclaim from releasing it other than the fact that they're being slow at what they're doing.
I defend common sense and I am not dedicated to Acclaim or SiL as much as I am TCoS itself. But I'm not talking about the game, I'm talking about what developers can choose to disclose to the public. And that is again, WHATEVER THEY WANT. In whatever time frame they want.
Cut developers (all, Acclaim and others) some slack. The gaming public are basically pirahnas with opinions and are the some of the hardest customers to really please, especially in an industry that requires long term subscriptions.
Gamers bitch if they delay the game and gamers bitch if the game launches with bugs and missing features. The fact of the matter is this is according to plan, you want to play as much as everyone else, and that is the point. You want to play, you didn't get a client 2 months ago and encounter bugs and have a shitty gameplay experience and quit.
If you think that the EU launches mean that this game is ready to be played and free of bugs, you're very wrong, there have been tons of patches and fixes and there are still more needed. 1.0.2 will be a huge fix and expansion to an already great game and by 1.0.2 the game will be ready for commercial launch.
I commend SIL and Acclaim for INVESTING in their own game by making sure it is UP TO PAR.
I was of the same impatient philosophy that by delaying the game you are losing customers, but look at the millions that went into WAR and AoC and how fast they are losing customers. If you ask me this is the smartest business move to make.
In fantasy land we get MMOs that are polished on launch day and are never delayed. In reality we wait patient or troll forums.
If you guys think Acclaim is so horrible then please go start your own game publishing company to show us how its done. There is a good reason why you scrubs are here b*&tching and they are the ones working to get the game released. Lets let the big boys handle the release of TCoS while the wannabe armchair publishers take a big STFU pill.
If you guys think Acclaim is so horrible then please go start your own game publishing company to show us how its done. There is a good reason why you scrubs are here b*&tching and they are the ones working to get the game released. Lets let the big boys handle the release of TCoS while the wannabe armchair publishers take a big STFU pill.
... and here they come! To those watching from the outside. Acclaim has a number of very loyal fans.
We could almost call them friends and family (wink wink) who are quick to come to the defense of
Acclaim and hurl insults and put downs at the other side. Notice how they never even mention all of
the many failures by Acclaim and their general level of asshattery. They can't even pretend well enough
to appear impartial. Astroturfing at its worst.
Personally I'll be glad to see Acclaim fail like they are destined. Couldn't happen to a shadier bunch of
Cut developers (all, Acclaim and others) some slack. The gaming public are basically pirahnas with opinions and are the some of the hardest customers to really please, especially in an industry that requires long term subscriptions. ... I commend SIL and Acclaim for INVESTING in their own game by making sure it is UP TO PAR
Let's keep the companies straight here.
Spellborn International is the developer. They don't know much about publishing, which is why they aren't the publisher. They probably shouldn't be blamed for publishing delays with the game out in some places. One could perhaps blame them for the choice of publishers, but somehow I really doubt that having three separate publishers was their first choice on how to do things. If the publishers you'd like to have manage your game say no, there's not much you can do about it.
Acclaim is the publisher, at least for the United States. They haven't demonstrably done anything with the game yet. I'm sure they've done some stuff behind the scenes, but they may or may not be responsible for the delays. Supposedly they're waiting on some third party developer, so I really have no idea what's going on. For that matter, I'm fuzzy on what it is that a publisher actually does.
If you guys think Acclaim is so horrible then please go start your own game publishing company to show us how its done. There is a good reason why you scrubs are here b*&tching and they are the ones working to get the game released. Lets let the big boys handle the release of TCoS while the wannabe armchair publishers take a big STFU pill.
... and here they come! To those watching from the outside. Acclaim has a number of very loyal fans.
We could almost call them friends and family (wink wink) who are quick to come to the defense of
Acclaim and hurl insults and put downs at the other side. Notice how they never even mention all of
the many failures by Acclaim and their general level of asshattery. They can't even pretend well enough
to appear impartial. Astroturfing at its worst.
Personally I'll be glad to see Acclaim fail like they are destined. Couldn't happen to a shadier bunch of
lazy, incompetent guys.
Do you copy this crap from notepad or something? You're formatting is all whacked.
OK lets try to talk this through. I'll even tolerate your notepad formatting. Specifically what has Acclaim done wrong here?
I'm not talking about these generic drive-by insults like "destined to fail" and "lazy, incompetent guys guys". As far as I can tell, the only thing that has got you all worked up is that there are publishing territories enforced by IP filtering. Is that it? That's what you're blaming on Acclaim?
Let's keep the companies straight here. Spellborn International is the developer. They don't know much about publishing, which is why they aren't the publisher. They probably shouldn't be blamed for publishing delays with the game out in some places. One could perhaps blame them for the choice of publishers, but somehow I really doubt that having three separate publishers was their first choice on how to do things. If the publishers you'd like to have manage your game say no, there's not much you can do about it. Acclaim is the publisher, at least for the United States. They haven't demonstrably done anything with the game yet. I'm sure they've done some stuff behind the scenes, but they may or may not be responsible for the delays. Supposedly they're waiting on some third party developer, so I really have no idea what's going on. For that matter, I'm fuzzy on what it is that a publisher actually does.
A while back Spellborn International was waiting on GameGuard to modify their security code for a different set of NA requirements. GG pretty much dropped the ball for a couple weeks. I would guess they are a small company and don't move too quickly. Then SiL gets the code from GG and they need to integrate it. It takes longer than expected. It was holiday season, so its understandable. Then Acclaim gets the server and client code. This isn't like installing MS-Office. They've got to integrate it into their own authentication servers. They need to get not only the game going, but the GM tools as well. Acclaim is not a development company so I doubt they have many developers around to get all of this integrated. Also keep in mind that Acclaim will be supporting the game as well as hosting it so they gotta be ready for that as well.
These things take time. I don't like it either, but its life. Get a job in any technical related field and you'll understand that the general rule of thumb is to take a reasonable time estimate and multiply it by PI to get the amount of time it will actually take.
I'm not saying that they're doing things right or doing things wrong yet. I prefer to wait for the advantage of hindsight to make those calls. Come back and ask me in 2011 if the companies are any good and I'll probably have an informed opinion on it.
the historian isnt a dev lol. but nice try backing that shit up...didnt really work well for you in the end lol
In defense of xenageo, I had some specific questions about Spellborn development. The Historian had a real living developer answer those questions for me. Considering how sheltered developers usually are from end users, I was impressed.
If I wasnt in need of a new good mmo to play I would never try this game due to acclaim but as of now I will still give it a shot IF acclaim ever figures out a way to release it. If the game is good I am reasonably sure it can sell itself, however if its anything less than good its doomed, because people are loosing intrest and fast. This is not an ideal way to release a new mmo.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
Again, to clarify why I put SiL and Acclaim in the same boat for publishing and launching is this. SiL is not the publisher, but the game DID launch in 7 EU countries when it wasn't finished and Frogster hasn't put up significant advertisement for it. The EU forums represent a sad, dying game.
THIS is why Acclaim is either choosing to wait for, or SiL is insisting Acclaim must wait for 1.0.2 patch. Which will fix a ton of bugs and add a lot of necessary content.
So while Acclaim is responsible for publishing, if SiL is saying "Wait for 1.0.2" Then SiL is calling shots. Maybe Acclaim can choose to release the game at 1.0.1 now but are choosing to wait based off of what they have seen in Frogster's launch, in which case I would say that is good business.
I hope this explains a little bit of where I'm coming from, I don't care about Acclaim or SiL, all I care about is that the game succeeds. And I think all of the speculation and theories that are generated about what Acclaim and/or SiL are doing with TCoS right now also acts as an example of how Companies do not release their private dealings and information to the general public, some times ever, and some times not until everything is finished and in place.
Part of me hates the delays, but I refuse to believe the delays are because everyone's been taking a sick day at Acclaim for the past 2 months, or because they are focusing on other games and ignoring TCoS. I firmly believe both SiL and Acclaim are working tireleslly to get this AMAZING game comercially launched, why would they want to hold back a huge cash-cow like TCoS unless they needed to.
I would like a release date too, i don't want to sound like I am in disagreement with you guys, I just understand why they don't announce anything if they are waiting for SiL to release 1.0.2 and they don't have an exact date when it will be finished.
The news about the delay which is mentioned above needs to be clarified.
A forum member, not an employee of Acclaim, went to the devs and asked questions. Then acclaim added some more words to it and proffered it as their good communication. It's not there anymore but there was even a post from an Acclaim employee which had conflicting information as to the first delay. Acclaim has no problem deleting threads, locking posts, and their whole mindset is wrong when it comes to locking.
Acclaim didn't notify anyone of the delay. They just let people sit there and post on the forums. They couldn't bother to update a web page. Every single bit of information about the state of Spellborn for US was from forum members who were in beta and had contacted the developers.
Acclaim's Spellborn page, today, is still missleading.
Seriously, these guys need to actually do some work or effort to show that they even exist. Because right now Acclaim has the appearance of a sham company with five to ten people who are all related or in on it.
Porovaara, now it is you who needs some fact checking, you are making stuff up. A) Acclaim did notify the community of all delays in the forums, you can look it up yourself. A lot of information has come directly from acclaim, hardly just beta testers and personal contact with SiL. C) Accurate information is posted all over the Acclaim site and forums, the misleading information is on tcos.com when people click the button "Download to play" thinking the game is released in their region. tcos.com even has information descriping the regional publishing but no one reads it.
You sound like you are on some troll campaign to tarnish Acclaim. Again, I don't really care about the company Acclaim, I have nothing to gain from supporting them, and I'm not. As a regular of the forums I'm not going to let you spread lies and misinformation. Get real buddy.
I don't know which delay you're talking about, but the first delay was for the 27th and the second was for the 5th, and on both of those occassions Acclaim announced these delays in their forums. Since they have not set a launch date since they had to delay a 2nd time they have not failed to report any other delays.
As to individuals inquiring why the delay is happening, that is up to the individual. Frankly not every developer knows every reason, or will share everything they know. I encourage people to collect info and PMing devs is a great way to try. But don't act like any individual uncovered any significant information that hasn't been announced other places. If its of real significance its announced by Acclaim, if its little tidbits, you might here it from individuals.
Xeno point me to the slpash page or email where Acclaim says they won't make the launch on the 27th or the 5th please?
The only communication from Acclaim was, as you stated, in the forums by a post from the Moderator Histrorian. Again, this was *after* the promised time had come and passed. This should have been a web page update... as the old web page stayed up for WEEKS saying the beta was still coming.
Surely it appears I have a vendetta or something against Acclaim, but the truth of the matter is I have
a serious problem with lazy people who can't even be bothered to put forth the slightest effort. Acclaim's role in this game is housing some servers. Can anyone honesty trust them to manage them correctly? Would you trust this company with your credit card information?
Spellborn is a great game. I''d go so far as giving a 7.5/10 perhaps up to an 8 when they add more high level content. But this publisher Acclaim is not a viable entity. For purely selfish reasons I want this game to go well (I love playing it!). That's why my tone is so hard on Acclaim. It's like someone handed them a fragile china dish and they just threw it in the sink.
I've been following the release of TCoS for quite a while. I never got the feeling that Acclaim was witholding any information from us about delays. It was usually clear what was going on. No, they didn't put up neon signs on the interstate on my way to work, but keeping up with the forums, it was clear what was going on.
The various delays came from a variety of places and its only reasonable if The Historian wasn't fully aware of the details about every delay. He's only a middleman and with so many delays coming from so many places, it makes sense that he would err on the side of caution and wait till he has some concrete information before making official posts. If a community member learned something before it was officially posted then good for them, but I don't see how it makes Acclaim any worse for it.
Porovaara, I think you're expecting too much from a small company. They aren't Activision or Electronic Arts. Are you trying to imply that they would do something underhanded with my credit card info just because it took The Historian an extra day to post something on the forum?
I agree that their website was confusing. It still is, but its a whole lot better. If the website is still confusing AFTER launch, then I'll agree that Acclaim has problems, but right now TCoS is still a game in development as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to hold them to a released-game level of expectations until they are ready to take subs.
Lol wow, they managed to make a barely functional copy of the official TCoS site, hurray. The flash banner that should be at the top is now a static image that doesn't even link to the article it's showcasing, the background image has been cut off half way down and the forums and account pages are the same. After all this time I assumed they would at least have the site fully functional when it went live. Ideally, I had hoped for a site better than the official TCoS one. Oh well, it's a start I guess. Doesn't matter much though. The game has been gimped by poor decision after poor decision. Even if it does stay afloat after launch, the community and overall game will be a fraction of what it could have been. Given how great the game really is, it sure is a shame.
Well with all the bickering..What is worst Acclaim with TCOS or Aventurine with Darkfall.. Now Something tells me that Acclaim is not bad after all. Compare to others..
Some people rob you at gun point..Others will rob you at "Ball Point Pen"
Well with all the bickering..What is worst Acclaim with TCOS or Aventurine with Darkfall.. Now Something tells me that Acclaim is not bad after all. Compare to others..
Hey, at least TCoS has official forums. I've seen plenty of big name companies make the fatal mistake of not having them. My guess is that Acclaim has 'a website guy' that is in charge of all Acclaim websites. Maybe an artist as well that splits their time between web work and marketting.
If that is the case and they don't have large teams for each of these then I'm not going to expect much beyond a servicable website. If I find out otherwise then I may be more judgemental. But for a company that was bought for a mere $100,000 just a few years ago, I'm not going to get my hopes up.
Comments
From what I've played, Spellborn will still be one of the best MMOs of 09, as long as Acclaim changes nothing (which i don't think they have the rights to.) They just need to hurry up, or at least make it seem like they're TRYING to hurry. At this point, it seems like they're taking their sweet time, and this is not a case where "it's ready when it's ready" works, as it does for Blizzard. The game is out in Europe, it should be out here by now. There is nothing stopping Acclaim from releasing it other than the fact that they're being slow at what they're doing.
porovara, please don't assume to know me.
I defend common sense and I am not dedicated to Acclaim or SiL as much as I am TCoS itself. But I'm not talking about the game, I'm talking about what developers can choose to disclose to the public. And that is again, WHATEVER THEY WANT. In whatever time frame they want.
Cut developers (all, Acclaim and others) some slack. The gaming public are basically pirahnas with opinions and are the some of the hardest customers to really please, especially in an industry that requires long term subscriptions.
Gamers bitch if they delay the game and gamers bitch if the game launches with bugs and missing features. The fact of the matter is this is according to plan, you want to play as much as everyone else, and that is the point. You want to play, you didn't get a client 2 months ago and encounter bugs and have a shitty gameplay experience and quit.
If you think that the EU launches mean that this game is ready to be played and free of bugs, you're very wrong, there have been tons of patches and fixes and there are still more needed. 1.0.2 will be a huge fix and expansion to an already great game and by 1.0.2 the game will be ready for commercial launch.
I commend SIL and Acclaim for INVESTING in their own game by making sure it is UP TO PAR.
I was of the same impatient philosophy that by delaying the game you are losing customers, but look at the millions that went into WAR and AoC and how fast they are losing customers. If you ask me this is the smartest business move to make.
In fantasy land we get MMOs that are polished on launch day and are never delayed. In reality we wait patient or troll forums.
You know it would be nice if they stated on their main news page that the client is only avalible to Europeans and not availible for the US.
My Artwork http://tras-h.deviantart.com
If you guys think Acclaim is so horrible then please go start your own game publishing company to show us how its done. There is a good reason why you scrubs are here b*&tching and they are the ones working to get the game released. Lets let the big boys handle the release of TCoS while the wannabe armchair publishers take a big STFU pill.
Xeno your post is without true facts. I just find it quite shocking how
unaware you are of your defensive tendencies here and on the Acclaim
forums. Your level of expectations is so low from a product that you could
invest hundreds of dollars in, well to be frank, is unfathomable.
Also, I've been playing on the European servers for months since launch.
How else do you think I posted all those screenshots of the major cities
and content after the F2P portion? Unfortunately the EU servers *are* just
as dead as everyone says. If you don't have local friends who play with
you good luck ever getting a group for anything.
... and here they come! To those watching from the outside. Acclaim has a number of very loyal fans.
We could almost call them friends and family (wink wink) who are quick to come to the defense of
Acclaim and hurl insults and put downs at the other side. Notice how they never even mention all of
the many failures by Acclaim and their general level of asshattery. They can't even pretend well enough
to appear impartial. Astroturfing at its worst.
Personally I'll be glad to see Acclaim fail like they are destined. Couldn't happen to a shadier bunch of
lazy, incompetent guys.
Let's keep the companies straight here.
Spellborn International is the developer. They don't know much about publishing, which is why they aren't the publisher. They probably shouldn't be blamed for publishing delays with the game out in some places. One could perhaps blame them for the choice of publishers, but somehow I really doubt that having three separate publishers was their first choice on how to do things. If the publishers you'd like to have manage your game say no, there's not much you can do about it.
Acclaim is the publisher, at least for the United States. They haven't demonstrably done anything with the game yet. I'm sure they've done some stuff behind the scenes, but they may or may not be responsible for the delays. Supposedly they're waiting on some third party developer, so I really have no idea what's going on. For that matter, I'm fuzzy on what it is that a publisher actually does.
... and here they come! To those watching from the outside. Acclaim has a number of very loyal fans.
We could almost call them friends and family (wink wink) who are quick to come to the defense of
Acclaim and hurl insults and put downs at the other side. Notice how they never even mention all of
the many failures by Acclaim and their general level of asshattery. They can't even pretend well enough
to appear impartial. Astroturfing at its worst.
Personally I'll be glad to see Acclaim fail like they are destined. Couldn't happen to a shadier bunch of
lazy, incompetent guys.
Do you copy this crap from notepad or something? You're formatting is all whacked.
OK lets try to talk this through. I'll even tolerate your notepad formatting. Specifically what has Acclaim done wrong here?
I'm not talking about these generic drive-by insults like "destined to fail" and "lazy, incompetent guys guys". As far as I can tell, the only thing that has got you all worked up is that there are publishing territories enforced by IP filtering. Is that it? That's what you're blaming on Acclaim?
the historian isnt a dev lol. but nice try backing that shit up...didnt really work well for you in the end lol
A while back Spellborn International was waiting on GameGuard to modify their security code for a different set of NA requirements. GG pretty much dropped the ball for a couple weeks. I would guess they are a small company and don't move too quickly. Then SiL gets the code from GG and they need to integrate it. It takes longer than expected. It was holiday season, so its understandable. Then Acclaim gets the server and client code. This isn't like installing MS-Office. They've got to integrate it into their own authentication servers. They need to get not only the game going, but the GM tools as well. Acclaim is not a development company so I doubt they have many developers around to get all of this integrated. Also keep in mind that Acclaim will be supporting the game as well as hosting it so they gotta be ready for that as well.
These things take time. I don't like it either, but its life. Get a job in any technical related field and you'll understand that the general rule of thumb is to take a reasonable time estimate and multiply it by PI to get the amount of time it will actually take.
I'm not saying that they're doing things right or doing things wrong yet. I prefer to wait for the advantage of hindsight to make those calls. Come back and ask me in 2011 if the companies are any good and I'll probably have an informed opinion on it.
the historian isnt a dev lol. but nice try backing that shit up...didnt really work well for you in the end lol
In defense of xenageo, I had some specific questions about Spellborn development. The Historian had a real living developer answer those questions for me. Considering how sheltered developers usually are from end users, I was impressed.
If I wasnt in need of a new good mmo to play I would never try this game due to acclaim but as of now I will still give it a shot IF acclaim ever figures out a way to release it. If the game is good I am reasonably sure it can sell itself, however if its anything less than good its doomed, because people are loosing intrest and fast. This is not an ideal way to release a new mmo.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
Again, to clarify why I put SiL and Acclaim in the same boat for publishing and launching is this. SiL is not the publisher, but the game DID launch in 7 EU countries when it wasn't finished and Frogster hasn't put up significant advertisement for it. The EU forums represent a sad, dying game.
THIS is why Acclaim is either choosing to wait for, or SiL is insisting Acclaim must wait for 1.0.2 patch. Which will fix a ton of bugs and add a lot of necessary content.
So while Acclaim is responsible for publishing, if SiL is saying "Wait for 1.0.2" Then SiL is calling shots. Maybe Acclaim can choose to release the game at 1.0.1 now but are choosing to wait based off of what they have seen in Frogster's launch, in which case I would say that is good business.
I hope this explains a little bit of where I'm coming from, I don't care about Acclaim or SiL, all I care about is that the game succeeds. And I think all of the speculation and theories that are generated about what Acclaim and/or SiL are doing with TCoS right now also acts as an example of how Companies do not release their private dealings and information to the general public, some times ever, and some times not until everything is finished and in place.
Part of me hates the delays, but I refuse to believe the delays are because everyone's been taking a sick day at Acclaim for the past 2 months, or because they are focusing on other games and ignoring TCoS. I firmly believe both SiL and Acclaim are working tireleslly to get this AMAZING game comercially launched, why would they want to hold back a huge cash-cow like TCoS unless they needed to.
I would like a release date too, i don't want to sound like I am in disagreement with you guys, I just understand why they don't announce anything if they are waiting for SiL to release 1.0.2 and they don't have an exact date when it will be finished.
The news about the delay which is mentioned above needs to be clarified.
A forum member, not an employee of Acclaim, went to the devs and asked questions. Then acclaim added some more words to it and proffered it as their good communication. It's not there anymore but there was even a post from an Acclaim employee which had conflicting information as to the first delay. Acclaim has no problem deleting threads, locking posts, and their whole mindset is wrong when it comes to locking.
Acclaim didn't notify anyone of the delay. They just let people sit there and post on the forums. They couldn't bother to update a web page. Every single bit of information about the state of Spellborn for US was from forum members who were in beta and had contacted the developers.
Acclaim's Spellborn page, today, is still missleading.
Seriously, these guys need to actually do some work or effort to show that they even exist. Because right now Acclaim has the appearance of a sham company with five to ten people who are all related or in on it.
Porovaara, now it is you who needs some fact checking, you are making stuff up. A) Acclaim did notify the community of all delays in the forums, you can look it up yourself.
A lot of information has come directly from acclaim, hardly just beta testers and personal contact with SiL. C) Accurate information is posted all over the Acclaim site and forums, the misleading information is on tcos.com when people click the button "Download to play" thinking the game is released in their region. tcos.com even has information descriping the regional publishing but no one reads it.
You sound like you are on some troll campaign to tarnish Acclaim. Again, I don't really care about the company Acclaim, I have nothing to gain from supporting them, and I'm not. As a regular of the forums I'm not going to let you spread lies and misinformation. Get real buddy.
Xeno: acclaim did notify *AFTER* forum members got the information.
What is wrong with this picture?
Acclaim produced nothing on their own. It was all spawned from the community pushing against them and asking question after question.
I don't know which delay you're talking about, but the first delay was for the 27th and the second was for the 5th, and on both of those occassions Acclaim announced these delays in their forums. Since they have not set a launch date since they had to delay a 2nd time they have not failed to report any other delays.
As to individuals inquiring why the delay is happening, that is up to the individual. Frankly not every developer knows every reason, or will share everything they know. I encourage people to collect info and PMing devs is a great way to try. But don't act like any individual uncovered any significant information that hasn't been announced other places. If its of real significance its announced by Acclaim, if its little tidbits, you might here it from individuals.
Xeno point me to the slpash page or email where Acclaim says they won't make the launch on the 27th or the 5th please?
The only communication from Acclaim was, as you stated, in the forums by a post from the Moderator Histrorian. Again, this was *after* the promised time had come and passed. This should have been a web page update... as the old web page stayed up for WEEKS saying the beta was still coming.
Surely it appears I have a vendetta or something against Acclaim, but the truth of the matter is I have
a serious problem with lazy people who can't even be bothered to put forth the slightest effort. Acclaim's role in this game is housing some servers. Can anyone honesty trust them to manage them correctly? Would you trust this company with your credit card information?
Spellborn is a great game. I''d go so far as giving a 7.5/10 perhaps up to an 8 when they add more high level content. But this publisher Acclaim is not a viable entity. For purely selfish reasons I want this game to go well (I love playing it!). That's why my tone is so hard on Acclaim. It's like someone handed them a fragile china dish and they just threw it in the sink.
I've been following the release of TCoS for quite a while. I never got the feeling that Acclaim was witholding any information from us about delays. It was usually clear what was going on. No, they didn't put up neon signs on the interstate on my way to work, but keeping up with the forums, it was clear what was going on.
The various delays came from a variety of places and its only reasonable if The Historian wasn't fully aware of the details about every delay. He's only a middleman and with so many delays coming from so many places, it makes sense that he would err on the side of caution and wait till he has some concrete information before making official posts. If a community member learned something before it was officially posted then good for them, but I don't see how it makes Acclaim any worse for it.
Porovaara, I think you're expecting too much from a small company. They aren't Activision or Electronic Arts. Are you trying to imply that they would do something underhanded with my credit card info just because it took The Historian an extra day to post something on the forum?
I agree that their website was confusing. It still is, but its a whole lot better. If the website is still confusing AFTER launch, then I'll agree that Acclaim has problems, but right now TCoS is still a game in development as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to hold them to a released-game level of expectations until they are ready to take subs.
Lol wow, they managed to make a barely functional copy of the official TCoS site, hurray. The flash banner that should be at the top is now a static image that doesn't even link to the article it's showcasing, the background image has been cut off half way down and the forums and account pages are the same. After all this time I assumed they would at least have the site fully functional when it went live. Ideally, I had hoped for a site better than the official TCoS one. Oh well, it's a start I guess. Doesn't matter much though. The game has been gimped by poor decision after poor decision. Even if it does stay afloat after launch, the community and overall game will be a fraction of what it could have been. Given how great the game really is, it sure is a shame.
Do you realize how big of an upgrade it would be for SOE if they could make a barely function web site?
Well with all the bickering..What is worst Acclaim with TCOS or Aventurine with Darkfall..
Now Something tells me that Acclaim is not bad after all. Compare to others..
Some people rob you at gun point..Others will rob you at "Ball Point Pen"
Hey, at least TCoS has official forums. I've seen plenty of big name companies make the fatal mistake of not having them. My guess is that Acclaim has 'a website guy' that is in charge of all Acclaim websites. Maybe an artist as well that splits their time between web work and marketting.
If that is the case and they don't have large teams for each of these then I'm not going to expect much beyond a servicable website. If I find out otherwise then I may be more judgemental. But for a company that was bought for a mere $100,000 just a few years ago, I'm not going to get my hopes up.
The company was not bought for $100.000
It was just the Acclaim name and nothing else, Acclaim entertainment auctioned off all its properties when it went bankrupt.
Howard Marks just bought a name for 100k and then founded another company using that name.