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Does cryptic get an Unfair wrap
gotha
Member UncommonPosts: 1,074
Do you think cryptic gets an unfair wrap?
I cannot disagree about the quality of there games at launch. But after marvel kind of screwed them over and pulled out last minute what do you expect. They basically sold COX (which is still flourishing) to make marvel.
Champions was basically a last ditch effort to try and salvage the game. Everyone knew it would be rather budget.
Also when the picked up the startrek game due to their ability to produce the game fast. Its not like they had a lot of choice in rushing it out or not.
Now we might be able to see if they give neverwinter nights the love it diserves or if they are just gonna spit it out like their other crap.
Comments
The only major issue I can see that is valid against Cryptic is perhaps a lack of content at launches and perhaps maybe over promising. Their games when released have been solid for me in terms of gameplay and stability. I've gone back to City of Heroes (when they ran it and after), Champions Online, and Star Trek Online several times now. When I get bored I leave until the desire to play comes back for a month or two. So I do think they they get unfairly bashed at times. It's not like they released unplayable games or anything like that. They've continued to support the games they released as will instead of ignoring them. I've never felt disappointed by their games to be honest.
There have been major changes in both Champions and Star Trek Online. While I rather liked Champions at launch, I did not stay with it as I was just awaiting Star Trek Online. STO, at launch was in fact not a bad game but it was evident from Closed and Open Beta that it was a bit rushed. Since launch, however, STO has come a long way towards becoming a very good game. The recent Season 3 update made a lot of thing better and has set the stage for some pretty good improvements and additions in the coming months. This last weekend I was trying out the new crafting system. I like it much better then the old one but still not what you might want if you want more depth...functional though. Sector space no longer looks likes "loli-pops on sticks". The only thing I am really waiting for (and expecting) is a revamp of ground combat. Was one of the biggest reasons that STO probably should not have been launched when it was in my opinion. Cryptic has stated they plan to revamp ground combat so there is still hope.
Let's party like it is 1863!
Crytpic has one big boil it needs to pop and it's name is Jack Emmert. Until they drop that egomanic, they aren't going to improve. His "my way or the highway" arrogant approach, where he bascially shuts out not only the fans, but his own developers has IMO been Cryptic's kryptonite. Jack is awesome at Lore, Storylines, and all the artsy stuff. But he also gets involved with game mechanics and he is just god AWFUL at that and refuses to listen to anyone.
As for CO... well currently there is literally NOTHING interesting to do for endgame except roll another toon. I kid you not. It's one of the more vocalized complaints on that game's official forum. Team action and replayability prospects are looking very dismal right now. I will tell you that you'll get about 3-4 months worth of "ooooo this is fun and cool" like I did, but after that, you'll be yawning and looking elsewhere for a game. If that's ok with you then I would definitely say go ahead in that context.
Couldn't agree more with this, I still remember the old COH I3 saga we're Dear Jack thought all of the classes were playing wrong so they had to be changed, without any consultation from a community who enjoyed the game the way it was. What happen? Mass exodus when they decided to do it anyway.
Co/STO and Cryptic in general have a bad 'rep' because for the most part they deserve it. From Beta tests were noone is listened, to launchday patches which change everything randomly, through too terrible customer service and to the general attitude of, 'lets get as much money from our customers as possible', without offering much value to said people, (For instance they wanted to charge for Adventure Packs before it was pointed out to them CO didn't have enough content in the first place).
Maybe things have changed, but fans in this industry have long memories and hold grudges even longer. Also, really if someone sells you a duf product your not likely to buy from them again are you?
Going to have to agree with these guys.
They release their games, lacking in almost every category when compared to other MMO's, all while charging exactly the same for the box and for the monthly sub. And have the Cryptic store to boot.
In no industry would you cut someone slack for charging you the same price for a product that is universally inferior to its competition. NONE.
Cryptic made their bed long ago with the release and re-work of CO and the dismal launch of STO. Even though there has been a few changes in the company, they still need to develop a mmo to a quaility finished product instead of poping out some beta crap.
If they do NeverWinter right then they might get some consideration that would redeem them a bit. Right now Cryptic has a long way to go to redeem themselves.
Speaking as a beta tester, pre-order and lifetime subscriber to STO, they do NOT get an unfair wrap. I will leave it at that before i start ranting.
As another beta tester and naive fool that subbed to each of their newer games, I'd also say the rep is well deserved. At the end of the day you get game designers that overeach and are overly ambitious...their games end up with a lot of problems but at least you can respect what they attempted. Cryptic are the exact opposite no real ambition or imagination in what they do, bare minimum and more of the same are their watchwords. In beta they have periodic panicked 'we are listening really' threads essentially because they so obviously aren't (or just don't care), in the end the result is what you expect of unambitious, underachievers, and it all down to their design/business philosophy imo. Not sure if that means I am agreeing its this Jack Emmet guy or not, but I do think the problem comes from the top.
Jack was also the one who made enhancement diminishing gains in COX. His arrogance there though was right. He was also not in direct control of a lot of these titles and cash shops. Much of those ideas came from the guy who use to run hellgates london, who recently got canned,.
Cryptic burned their own bed, now they have to lie in it
Making a contract with IP owner, making sure there is adequate time, and gathering money from investors are part of the game development business just like the actual developing is.
If some part fails, then the game fails, and the developer is a failure.