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Embracing the truth about Age of Conan
croemar
Member Posts: 53
Over the last 6+ months we have seen countless posts on the financial face of Funcom as a company. This is of course only a dire consequense of the fact that Age of Conan failed utterly as a game.
We can have all the explanations and speculations we want, but the fact remains that today the debates that really are relevant to the game - is the financial numbers and predictions that sheds light on the demise of Funcom as a company. The game itself is shallow and hollow, the total opposite of what we found in the books of Robert E. Howard.
This to me is alarming. I'm not going to do a chronological speech about how the game affected me, if you are interrested you can read my first post on these boards.
This company, and their advertisement style has not only hurt the entire mmo-world, but it has contributed greatly to the disillusioning of the genre as a whole. This game, through ruining the legacy of Robert E. Howard - lying about the finished product to expecting loyal costumers - misinforming through speculative participants on public forums (espescially this board) - failing to fix the errors of the game - refusing to reveal the true figures of its subscribers etc., has contributed to killing a bit of the literature and fantasy of our predecessors. Has not this game killed a little bit of the fantasy and fun in our lives?
We are now reduced to mainly debating figures, where we ideally should have been discussing the dark dungeons and mighty dragons of a roleplaying game.
My question is simple - why have we accepted to associate the legacy of dungeons and dragons to financial figures and stock speculation? Why have we accepted to be reduced to financial analysts just because of the Funcom-aparatus. Why can't we draw a line in the sand against the recklesness of a company that does not understand the lore of the genre they are basing their products on (nor how to code properly, handling their own playerbase with respect, etc etc)? We should be really be furious about this shift of focus. We are debating stocks! I hope i am not alone when i say that Funcom has destroyed more than just some months of playing a game.
The C
We can have all the explanations and speculations we want, but the fact remains that today the debates that really are relevant to the game - is the financial numbers and predictions that sheds light on the demise of Funcom as a company. The game itself is shallow and hollow, the total opposite of what we found in the books of Robert E. Howard.
This to me is alarming. I'm not going to do a chronological speech about how the game affected me, if you are interrested you can read my first post on these boards.
This company, and their advertisement style has not only hurt the entire mmo-world, but it has contributed greatly to the disillusioning of the genre as a whole. This game, through ruining the legacy of Robert E. Howard - lying about the finished product to expecting loyal costumers - misinforming through speculative participants on public forums (espescially this board) - failing to fix the errors of the game - refusing to reveal the true figures of its subscribers etc., has contributed to killing a bit of the literature and fantasy of our predecessors. Has not this game killed a little bit of the fantasy and fun in our lives?
We are now reduced to mainly debating figures, where we ideally should have been discussing the dark dungeons and mighty dragons of a roleplaying game.
My question is simple - why have we accepted to associate the legacy of dungeons and dragons to financial figures and stock speculation? Why have we accepted to be reduced to financial analysts just because of the Funcom-aparatus. Why can't we draw a line in the sand against the recklesness of a company that does not understand the lore of the genre they are basing their products on (nor how to code properly, handling their own playerbase with respect, etc etc)? We should be really be furious about this shift of focus. We are debating stocks! I hope i am not alone when i say that Funcom has destroyed more than just some months of playing a game.
The C
Comments
Uh, Funcom is doing just fine, and your being a drama queen. Embrace the truth.
The self righteous nerdrage and false entitlement is a bit thick in this thread.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
*edit: never mind*
Well Croemar, this is the type of post that i expected to see 2-3 months after release, not now. Have you retryed AoC? Perhaps your position may change when you see the current state of the game. I'll not defend AoC stability or current content except to suggest that you should give it another try. As for the idea that funcom 'betrayed' the IP of Conan, you have to realize that they bought the rights to it, but are not held to following every single line that was ever wrote about conan.
For example just look at WAR, a good game on its own, but if you start asking anyone who are even the tad bit familiar with the Warhammer world, they will quickly point out that mythic while trying to keep the 'soul' of the world, are by no means making a copy. They took a bit of artistic license. The same is true for funcom. While i wish they were a little closer to the orginal hyboria, honestly they are a heck of a lot closer then other mainstream examples of conan. Other mainstream examples being the movies that were produced based around conan.
For the last complaint in your post, the discussing of financial status and subscription numbers as the subject of debate. The problem is that many gamers while enjoying the game for what it is, use these figures as a measure of the health and direction of the game. I'm optimistic when i see new player's great the server when they first log on, but i would not then use that as a estimate that the game population is growing and the game is doing well. Now if i take the fact taht i noticed more players joining, along with subscription numbers and financial news (such as an expansion announced and the hiring of new programmers for the expansion and/or the game); then i get a optimistic view that while AoC isn't fully blooming, it is budding.
So to make a long post short: Funcom really screwed the pooch on the release of this game. But the damage has been done, and the bleeding of subscriptions seems to have reversed. The game is good and definately due another chance, from you and others. I was pleasently surprised when i did.
All that remains now is if you're having fun playing the game. I could give a rats monkey ass about numbers. I don't work for Funcom so I don't care about numbers. That is their job not mine.
I care that I'm having fun, able to group up with people for certain quests and the overall content and gameplay. Which I am currently satisfied. Once that goes away and I'm sure it will in time I'll move on. I won't be in here bitching about it either.
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Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate.
I'm not happy debating numbers, but frankly it is the only way to remove all the personal bias' that we all have for our games.
As for Mythic, i honestly wonder how much they learned from funcom. Unlike funcom, as soon as it became apparent that they could not release it all by the release date, they quickly let us know. Even as annoyed as many of us were, there was a grudging respect for their honesty. Was it more because we were jaded by how funcom handled AoC's release, or was it respect for straight communication? Who knows.
On another note: I often wondered why AoC and WAR are compared so much since they differ so radically. In gameplay, art style, and of course the communities that play them; let alone the companies that produced them.
Edit: Whoops, bad english and spelling >.<
All that remains now is if you're having fun playing the game. I could give a rats monkey ass about numbers. I don't work for Funcom so I don't care about numbers. That is their job not mine.
I care that I'm having fun, able to group up with people for certain quests and the overall content and gameplay. Which I am currently satisfied. Once that goes away and I'm sure it will in time I'll move on. I won't be in here bitching about it either.
This is what people say.. and then they start asking " why is it that patches take forever to come out?" Why is it that dx10 has been on the test server for like 3 months now and is now about a year late. Why is it that itemization is still whacked beyond believe? Why is it that the 'standard' mode for beating most endgame raids requires an exploit because the boss mob will bug out if you don't use it? Why is it the only 'big' content patch in the last 9 months was a single zone that took players about 3hrs to finish.. and it wasn't even endgame content.
The answer is that the company behind the game has laid off their QA team and their playtest team, and the developers are working shorthanded.
Very little content being added to a game that won the award for 'no endgame content at launch'.
yeah, the financials of the company don't matter at all. Both AOC developers would argue with you.
Want more truth about AoC's "growing" numbers?
Here is what the boards look like over on AoC.
pve
Set = still posts on the first page since Feb 5th
Gwahlur = still posts on the first page since Jan 18th
Wiccan = Feb 9th
Ironspine (new server at merge) = A TOTAL OF 7 POSTS
pvp
Tyranny = all posts from today
Bloodspine = Jan 30th
Agony (new server at merge) = A TOTAL OF 14 POSTS
rp
Cimmeria = all posts from today
By lookin at the forums one can see that this game only has 2-4 servers that have anyone on them. I think a clear conclusion is that Funcom is in deep poopoo if this game costs the 40-45 million to make.
QFE, well put bruvah!
All that remains now is if you're having fun playing the game. I could give a rats monkey ass about numbers. I don't work for Funcom so I don't care about numbers. That is their job not mine.
I care that I'm having fun, able to group up with people for certain quests and the overall content and gameplay. Which I am currently satisfied. Once that goes away and I'm sure it will in time I'll move on. I won't be in here bitching about it either.
This is what people say.. and then they start asking " why is it that patches take forever to come out?" Why is it that dx10 has been on the test server for like 3 months now and is now about a year late. Why is it that itemization is still whacked beyond believe? Why is it that the 'standard' mode for beating most endgame raids requires an exploit because the boss mob will bug out if you don't use it? Why is it the only 'big' content patch in the last 9 months was a single zone that took players about 3hrs to finish.. and it wasn't even endgame content.
The answer is that the company behind the game has laid off their QA team and their playtest team, and the developers are working shorthanded.
Very little content being added to a game that won the award for 'no endgame content at launch'.
yeah, the financials of the company don't matter at all. Both AOC developers would argue with you.
To answer the big content point I think the answer would be the first 9 months were spent getting the game ready for launch. Ive said it 100 times but I really hope these companies geta clue and stop releasing these things too early. Very few people will stick with you while you play catch-up
Maybe you should stop complaining and playing the game again. Almost all bugs are being fixed and the game has got lots of other improved to make it better. The introduction of the next major patch will also introduce much more high level content, pvp improvements etc and maybe even DX10 (if there isn't DX10 yet its fine to cause they can better optimize it first before releasing a non finished product again which contain bugs and run problems. if it isn't in this patch its in the next, maybe 2 weeks later)...
So let me summerize your post
1. In 9 months they have fixed the client to be a playable version
2. In 9 months they have added almost no content
3. But they have promised to do lots of things in the future
Meanwhile, other games have surged ahead with new content and continue to introduce new content monthly... meanwhile all AOC has done is continue to talk about 'the future'.
Thats all an understaffed dev team can do.
To the OP, to allow people to read your post you need to put some paragraphs in,
then we can read it and hear your point of view.
So let me summerize your post
1. In 9 months they have fixed the client to be a playable version
2. In 9 months they have added almost no content
3. But they have promised to do lots of things in the future
Meanwhile, other games have surged ahead with new content and continue to introduce new content monthly... meanwhile all AOC has done is continue to talk about 'the future'.
Thats all an understaffed dev team can do.
And you know they are understaffed because you work there? or.............{feel free to post some facts}
Gaming since 1985 and still going strong.
/sign
p.s. Enter is your friend OP use it.
Futilez[Do You Have What It Takes ?]
Sorry, but, I don't see what the big deal is if the OP puts it into paragraphs or not....you can read right?....so, naturally, you can read whether it is in paragraphs or not...
ANYWHO...
To the OP, you went overboard with your post, very dramatic if I must say. Calm down, what's next? Funcom is going to bring about the apocalypse? Just chill and relax.
I know what you mean about everyone on this forum mostly talking about Funcoms economic state and if they have the money to support the game. People who play the game should be on here talking about what they enjoy, what they don't, what they think should be fixed, what should be done next, etc. Noobs should be on here asking for advice, giving their opinion on their experience with the game, etc. People who haven't played the game, and those who just want to talk about how the game ruined the industry or something like that, oh, and those who only want to talk about Funcoms money issues should just blog about it on Myspace or something. Nobody here, who is really here to discuss THE GAME itself, wants to here about Funcoms economic issues or if you have to say that "it is the end of AoC"....
PLAYING: NOTHING!!!
PLAYED:FFXI, LotRO, AoC, WAR, DDO, Megaten, Wurm, Rohan, Mabinogi, RoM
WAITING FOR: Dust 514
Sorry, but, I don't see what the big deal is if the OP puts it into paragraphs or not....you can read right?....so, naturally, you can read whether it is in paragraphs or not...
Some people, especially kids, have extremely low attention span and they just skim through every post. "Wall-of-text" makes this kind of fast reading more difficult which makes low attention span kids angry and they feel the need to complain about it.
To OP.. I complitely agree.
It's really sad what happened with AoC. While there seems to be "haters" here, I don't think anyone wanted AoC to fail as bad as it did. We all wanted to find that new awesome MMO that would be our home for years to come. Unfortunately AoC is not that game.
After launch about 90% of players quit, and for a good reason. Game was unplayable and missing most of the features. Now after 9 months it's slowly becoming what it was supposed to be at launch but most of these 90% will never come back.
Sorry, but, I don't see what the big deal is if the OP puts it into paragraphs or not....you can read right?....so, naturally, you can read whether it is in paragraphs or not...
Indeed i can read... But why should i have to go to the trouble of reading such a wall of text?
It is in his interest that we read what he writes, so he should really make it presentable and minimize the trouble iit takes to read it!
How far would you go to read someone's post before you found it to difficult to read? You must have a cut off point too.
Would you read a post if each word was posted on a different web page? Or would that be too much effort for you?
@ ChristianBal, you are mistaken, skim reading is not a hall mark of kids period.
In fact if you do skim read, a wall of text, will not make a difference. Further more there is no correlation between "low attention span" and "skim reading" , so your attempts at flaming fail, sorry.
its not about "being able to" its about "want to". i can read it but i dont want to read it.
He wrote that because he wanted us to read it. Using proper/correct form tells us how much he values what he wrote. I wont give more value than he himself gave.
I need more vespene gas.