Yeah 3 that weren't doing very well at all. The only MMO's that NCsoft worries about are the ones that are doing well in korea as well as NA. Or just korea seeing as L1 is still going with like 200 active people on at a time in NA while in korea it is still really popular.
APB is a fun game. Probably the most fun I've had in an online game since first playing AO.
Its major problem is that it is also the most frustrating game I've ever played. Hackers, lucky/unlucky missions, and a flawed matchmaking system (which would be fine if people didnt cherry pick missions) really hamper the potential, and RTW just hasnt been able to combat those problems just yet, though the patch on test world atm looks to fix nearly all of that.
Give RTW some credit. They made a unique experience in online gaming, and its a real shame that people ruined it by hacking and cherrypicking missions (guilty myself of the latter, though). Especially when the reward fo rdoing so is so much more mediocre than the reward for playing with friends--having fun.
Its the best game ive played in three years, I've never understand the reasons people gave for not liking it, well, apart from the fact that they were too nooby and lacked the patience to practise.
IMO they spent to much time on customisation and not enough time spent on the action part.
This, and not to mention the 'MM' part of the MMOG... I was a beta tester for a number of months before release, and I constantly wondered when they were going to get to the persistant world part of the game. And to be perfectly honest, the combat and driving still needed some work too. The only place this game really shined is the customization, other than that it is mediocre at best. If they do recover from this somehow they need to revamp APB and come up with a revenue system that will work.
------------------------- "Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places..." ~ H.P.Lovecraft, "From Beyond"
Basically, to clear up the legal side of things. Adminstration in the UK means adminstrators are brought in to assess the viability of the business, and their main focus must be to keep the company running as a going concern (so that creditors get all or most of their investment back). For you guys over the pond its similar to what you guys call "Chapter 11" I think.
Adminstrators can seel the business off, they can sell off the majority of their assests or do whatever they think it will take to keep it going. Its happened loads of big companies in the downturn, and although it sounds like there is promise, I haven't heard of any business surviving administration except for football (soccer) clubs. Which investors seem to be intrested in recently for some reason.
At this point, the company is protected from their creditors while they look for financial sources etc, but in all liklihood, expect the company, or the game, to be sold to another company, or for it to be closed down entirely.
i said this before it went live i'll say it now. GTA 4 can't be minic'd! this game with the gta style n im sorry it failed horribly at it. Companies for the love of god need to start being original ><
I know many people will hate me for saying this, but i take it.
"Didnt i say it?"
This game tryed new stuff, but the payment methode wasnt worth compared to what the game offered. They went "niche niche niche way" but not really attracting mmorpg / fps or other players.
They tryed to appeal every genre a bit but not fully being one genre.
And dont forget rampant going hacking / exploiting which they failed to control.
I've been cynical of APB's success ever since it launched, yet despite that there are times when I am having a lot of fun.
$10 bucks for a month of unlimited game time is cheap. I resubbed for another month and I hope it helps them. But exploits, hackers and griefers also share a large part of the blame as to why APB is not more successful.
Hopefully the 1.41 patch will bring in more people. It's a pretty big overhaul to combat and driving, and I have a very good feeling about it personally.
I am so Glad I didn't buy this game now. I had my doubts when they annonced the pay plans. I'm glad I listened to my gut...
Maybe someday devs will actually listen to us true gamers and supporters of good mmo design and not the whining fanbois who have the attention span of a squirrel.
This is why I don't play these small MMO games (APB, Darkfall, Vanguard, etc.)---their future in uncertain. I will only trust MMOs that are backed by BIG companies like Blizzard, EA BioWare, etc.
You do realize that APB was backed by EA and Vanguard was backed by SoE, not gonna get much bigger than that for an mmo.
Just release under a f2p model and some improved security. It sucks that they made it this far and no one at their camp got the message across that maybe it wasn't such a great business model.
Basically, to clear up the legal side of things. Adminstration in the UK means adminstrators are brought in to assess the viability of the business, and their main focus must be to keep the company running as a going concern (so that creditors get all or most of their investment back). For you guys over the pond its similar to what you guys call "Chapter 11" I think.
Adminstrators can seel the business off, they can sell off the majority of their assests or do whatever they think it will take to keep it going. Its happened loads of big companies in the downturn, and although it sounds like there is promise, I haven't heard of any business surviving administration except for football (soccer) clubs. Which investors seem to be intrested in recently for some reason.
At this point, the company is protected from their creditors while they look for financial sources etc, but in all liklihood, expect the company, or the game, to be sold to another company, or for it to be closed down entirely.
I expect the next announcement to involve the word "receivership".
I've seen this whole thing play out before with Ryzom.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I seriously doubt EA - which distributes APB and handles support/financing etc - will now close APB immediately . They probably will want to switch to f2p+ cash shop prior to that . It is the end for the studio most likely though .
They made a horribly unbalanced launch with a myriad of issues, ignored a large majority of very vocal feedback on how horrid the new player vs. long time player curve, matching, and overall experience was. Took to much time correcting some fundamental game mechanics (drive control response, moving weapon accuracy, overpowered unbalanced weapons, bunny hop shottys, ring around the roise with every detoanted car, etc) and expect good sales. This as with many others should be a lesson. You cannot launch 1/2 ass 1/2 done games with major bugs in today's market. To many people are spoiled on 5 year old games on patch #4million. If you come, you have better come with your game face on. They simply did not.
This game in no way warrants any type of subscription. Quake is f2p online. This isn't that much better. Hence why I didn't jump on this game. After 3 days it was nonstop rinse and repeat.
"dress up my murderer" only has so much lasting appeal.
I seriously doubt EA - which distributes APB and handles support/financing etc - will now close APB immediately . They probably will want to switch to f2p+ cash shop prior to that . It is the end for the studio most likely though .
Its nothing to do with EA now. The business is in the hands of the Administrator and they decide what will or wont happen.
The worst of this is not the fact they ignore the negative feedback...
The worst is listening to the positive feedback from people that get amused and dont care to buy and pay for a subpair product that clearly is buggy, unfinished and has less content and lifespan then a single player game...
I dont understant what is wrong with people, these developers have no clue on how to make a good game, i mean all those people praising a game like this are easy to please so make a effort and please the majority that find the game poor.
Sometimes I think these companies should send me a pm before deciding to make a game to get a reality check. Game was just badly designed for an audience that doesn't exist other than the creators. Its the main reason most mmos are just crap.
This is why I don't play these small MMO games (APB, Darkfall, Vanguard, etc.)---their future in uncertain. I will only trust MMOs that are backed by BIG companies like Blizzard, EA BioWare, etc.
You do realize that APB was backed by EA and Vanguard was backed by SoE, not gonna get much bigger than that for an mmo.
Prior to being backed by Sony Online Entertainment, Vanguard was backed by none other than [b]Microsoft[/b].
To be honest, I bought this game, two copies in fact. One for me, one for the girlfriend.
We enjoyed this game a lot. At times its frustrating, but most of the time we found a nice clan and met lots of people. And enjoyed having fun with these guys. But to be frank, the life span isn't too long. I played for a month or two then it just got boring. Nothing new. They promised A LOT of stuff which they haven't delievered yet. They promised a "zombie server" and, I guess they meant litterly..a server named Zombie.
I was hoping for them to add new rule sets like Chaos Districts, Zombies, and the works. Guess they can't get that far yet.
Holy friggin' smokes! They must have stacked ALL their chips on this game... has it even been out a month? What size of launch were they expecting that would make the difference between going under and being successful?
Comments
@The_Grump, NCsoft has closed about 3 mmorpgs...
IMO they spent to much time on customisation and not enough time spent on the action part.
Yeah 3 that weren't doing very well at all. The only MMO's that NCsoft worries about are the ones that are doing well in korea as well as NA. Or just korea seeing as L1 is still going with like 200 active people on at a time in NA while in korea it is still really popular.
APB is a fun game. Probably the most fun I've had in an online game since first playing AO.
Its major problem is that it is also the most frustrating game I've ever played. Hackers, lucky/unlucky missions, and a flawed matchmaking system (which would be fine if people didnt cherry pick missions) really hamper the potential, and RTW just hasnt been able to combat those problems just yet, though the patch on test world atm looks to fix nearly all of that.
Give RTW some credit. They made a unique experience in online gaming, and its a real shame that people ruined it by hacking and cherrypicking missions (guilty myself of the latter, though). Especially when the reward fo rdoing so is so much more mediocre than the reward for playing with friends--having fun.
Its the best game ive played in three years, I've never understand the reasons people gave for not liking it, well, apart from the fact that they were too nooby and lacked the patience to practise.
Its a sad day for skill based games.
This, and not to mention the 'MM' part of the MMOG... I was a beta tester for a number of months before release, and I constantly wondered when they were going to get to the persistant world part of the game. And to be perfectly honest, the combat and driving still needed some work too. The only place this game really shined is the customization, other than that it is mediocre at best. If they do recover from this somehow they need to revamp APB and come up with a revenue system that will work.
-------------------------
"Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places..." ~ H.P.Lovecraft, "From Beyond"
Member Since March 2004
Basically, to clear up the legal side of things. Adminstration in the UK means adminstrators are brought in to assess the viability of the business, and their main focus must be to keep the company running as a going concern (so that creditors get all or most of their investment back). For you guys over the pond its similar to what you guys call "Chapter 11" I think.
Adminstrators can seel the business off, they can sell off the majority of their assests or do whatever they think it will take to keep it going. Its happened loads of big companies in the downturn, and although it sounds like there is promise, I haven't heard of any business surviving administration except for football (soccer) clubs. Which investors seem to be intrested in recently for some reason.
At this point, the company is protected from their creditors while they look for financial sources etc, but in all liklihood, expect the company, or the game, to be sold to another company, or for it to be closed down entirely.
www.noobwarfare.com - Marching to war against the morons of the world.
i said this before it went live i'll say it now. GTA 4 can't be minic'd! this game with the gta style n im sorry it failed horribly at it. Companies for the love of god need to start being original ><
I know many people will hate me for saying this, but i take it.
"Didnt i say it?"
This game tryed new stuff, but the payment methode wasnt worth compared to what the game offered. They went "niche niche niche way" but not really attracting mmorpg / fps or other players.
They tryed to appeal every genre a bit but not fully being one genre.
And dont forget rampant going hacking / exploiting which they failed to control.
EvE doors
See the best doors on EvE-on!
I've been cynical of APB's success ever since it launched, yet despite that there are times when I am having a lot of fun.
$10 bucks for a month of unlimited game time is cheap. I resubbed for another month and I hope it helps them. But exploits, hackers and griefers also share a large part of the blame as to why APB is not more successful.
Hopefully the 1.41 patch will bring in more people. It's a pretty big overhaul to combat and driving, and I have a very good feeling about it personally.
Maybe someday devs will actually listen to us true gamers and supporters of good mmo design and not the whining fanbois who have the attention span of a squirrel.
You do realize that APB was backed by EA and Vanguard was backed by SoE, not gonna get much bigger than that for an mmo.
Just release under a f2p model and some improved security. It sucks that they made it this far and no one at their camp got the message across that maybe it wasn't such a great business model.
I expect the next announcement to involve the word "receivership".
I've seen this whole thing play out before with Ryzom.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I seriously doubt EA - which distributes APB and handles support/financing etc - will now close APB immediately . They probably will want to switch to f2p+ cash shop prior to that . It is the end for the studio most likely though .
They made a horribly unbalanced launch with a myriad of issues, ignored a large majority of very vocal feedback on how horrid the new player vs. long time player curve, matching, and overall experience was. Took to much time correcting some fundamental game mechanics (drive control response, moving weapon accuracy, overpowered unbalanced weapons, bunny hop shottys, ring around the roise with every detoanted car, etc) and expect good sales. This as with many others should be a lesson. You cannot launch 1/2 ass 1/2 done games with major bugs in today's market. To many people are spoiled on 5 year old games on patch #4million. If you come, you have better come with your game face on. They simply did not.
This game in no way warrants any type of subscription. Quake is f2p online. This isn't that much better. Hence why I didn't jump on this game. After 3 days it was nonstop rinse and repeat.
"dress up my murderer" only has so much lasting appeal.
Its nothing to do with EA now. The business is in the hands of the Administrator and they decide what will or wont happen.
I was about to buy the game then I learned it is instanced.
Better to be crazy, provided you know what sane is...
Ive played open beta and it had so many bugs , the game it self had to high system req and on top of it aim bot friendly.
You started a misson and u got headshot cby coming out of the corner lol every 2 player had some noob hack installed .
The would be very nice if they actually took time doing it and not realesing it in the middle of nothing
I am the punishment of God...
If you had not committed great sins,
God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you
Genghis Khan
The worst of this is not the fact they ignore the negative feedback...
The worst is listening to the positive feedback from people that get amused and dont care to buy and pay for a subpair product that clearly is buggy, unfinished and has less content and lifespan then a single player game...
I dont understant what is wrong with people, these developers have no clue on how to make a good game, i mean all those people praising a game like this are easy to please so make a effort and please the majority that find the game poor.
Sometimes I think these companies should send me a pm before deciding to make a game to get a reality check. Game was just badly designed for an audience that doesn't exist other than the creators. Its the main reason most mmos are just crap.
Prior to being backed by Sony Online Entertainment, Vanguard was backed by none other than [b]Microsoft[/b].
To be honest, I bought this game, two copies in fact. One for me, one for the girlfriend.
We enjoyed this game a lot. At times its frustrating, but most of the time we found a nice clan and met lots of people. And enjoyed having fun with these guys. But to be frank, the life span isn't too long. I played for a month or two then it just got boring. Nothing new. They promised A LOT of stuff which they haven't delievered yet. They promised a "zombie server" and, I guess they meant litterly..a server named Zombie.
I was hoping for them to add new rule sets like Chaos Districts, Zombies, and the works. Guess they can't get that far yet.
Holy friggin' smokes! They must have stacked ALL their chips on this game... has it even been out a month? What size of launch were they expecting that would make the difference between going under and being successful?