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Q3 financials out: Population decline confirmed...
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I've led development efforts for some time, yes. I can't speak to game specific mechanics or code; I don't know the way that it's coded nor am I familiar with the mechanics and constructs to build a game and support it.
I am however, familiar with programming, structure, object oriented code, exception handling (try/catch), functionalizing and some other things. It helps me oversee work others do without having to look at all the code.
The problems with MO's code are pretty simple -- there is no object oriented layer. I don't even have to see the code to know this is true. When you create proper object oriented code, you can't break other 'objects' in the code because they are compartmentalized. So for example, a proper written game would have say, 'location' (x/y/z coordinates) as an object. So if you introduce a new patch that has a bunch of new features, you aren't touching location objects so they will stay working as is. It's how you test individual pieces of code and pass objects through stress tests to ensure they work.
With MO's code however, that location is NOT an object. It's just strung together code with everything else. So if they introduce a new patch, the likelihood of breaking something becomes very high, because it's all running as one piece. Think of it in human terms. The way object oriented code works is that you have a human body, and each part of the body, the arms, the legs, fingers, etc -- are objects. When one object 'breaks' (you break your fingers), your feet still work. With MO's code, if you break your fingers, they are somehow tied to your feet and now those are messed up too.
In terms of fixing it... any simple code review would turn up these problems, and nobody in their right mind would take over the project to fix it. I'll give you another example -- offshore programmers, usually from India. When you are a good programmer and learn how to create object oriented code, you don't do the work that the offshoring programmers do. They write code without worry of performance, objects, etc, because they don't maintain the project over time, and because they simply aren't good enough to know any better. Therefore when you offshore some project to them, it takes a long time and it's completely unupgradable and impossible to maintain. Then you have to hire them again to rewrite or fix it, and it's an endless hole of time. But a programmer that works for the company and makes a good salary has an incentive to write it properly, because he is going to have to ugprade it and maintain it over time, so making it object oriented and easy to follow is a built-in incentive. That's also why good programmers can make a lot of money, whereas "code monkeys" (as SV employs) make peanuts because they are only writing simple things that are passed on to better programmers to build into a larger project.
The "fix" really is a re-write of the entire game. And a re-write may only get you as far as they are now, but then another company would be able to MAINTAIN it more easily. There is a huge cost in having to support a broken codebase, and it's not a hard calculation to figure that: it will cost us X hours to re-write the game, and it will cost us Y hours to try to maintain the broken codebase. In MO's case the "Y" is far bigger than the "X" value, so nobody would buy MO even if it was up for sale. Every sale of software is ALWAYS contingent on code review, and as soon as they see it they will run for the hills. Unless of course, the customer base was somehow huge, then it actually makes the value of Y less important... but in MO's case that's really not an issue either.
Not just that, tho I'm not sweedish, but don't little kids start learning english in the very early gades and everyone in Sweeden supposed to be speaking fluent english?
Sorry but I find the language excuse really really a poor argument, actually is one of the lamest excuses for Henrik I've heard thus far, and I'm not buying it.
So it's been a tough ride for sure. And I can see there is a community over here - that has some folk embedded that I am not ever going to be able to sway - no matter how hard I try or how long I spend on here - I am not ever going to give up tho.
I have always said that I would be with MO until the lights are turned out - I think it'll be many years in the future and I hope it'll be because we're launching MO2 when that does happen.
It is quite painful reading through some of the comments on this thread - there seems to be so much anger and some folk that will so anything to say something nasty about SV, Henrik or MO.
The comments about Henrik's Father are really awful to read.
The constant asking about a definitive population numbers... (why just not get in-game and look) - you are *NOT* going to get a release of the number any time soon (so let's be honest) you're not going to get a number form me or anyone else is sv. Have a little rage if you want on this thread but then get over it and stop flogging a dead horse - it doesn't matter how upset you get or how often you ask - you'll have to accept that as in life you will not always get what you want. SV will not comment on pop.
{mod edit} I have repeatedly said that we have made mistakes - we're trying with the veteran rewards to sort out the DVD issue - but I do get the feeling that the only thing that will please some of you will be the shut-down of SV. That is their call - not yours. Given the level of doom-saying over here... you’d have thought it’d be dead in the water 18 months ago – but we are still here!
{mod edit}
Business plans that are medium-term often show big losses for a company before they break even and then go forward into making a healthy profit. I am no business expert however - so I'm not qualified to go into that side of it - but - if it was a lost cause surely after so long they would have cut their losses and given up by now? Thankfully they are made of much stronger stuff than that. Can I please suggest that some of the folk commenting on Q3 possibly aren't business experts like me either?
We are (I am) trying to do something to make ammends for that - so isn't that worth something to you guys?
I'm starting to see a pattern around the same 'core' of individuals saying really negative stuff - that is counter-productive and a little unhelpful, rather that acknowledging that we're making progress.
To the individual that said I must have plenty of time to reply to your comments - no, not really, I am on IRC, MO Forums and in-game dealingwith tickets, managing the sword of tears event (Part 1 of the Epic Weapons Campaign) (hint hint - u gotta be in it to win it) as well as helping with the testing team. Yesterday I logged on and started at 6:30 am - I finished at 22:40.
{mod edit}
To those of you that have contacted me in-game or on the MO Forums to say thank you for posting on this board – I really appreciate it, I really do, it keeps me going! To the extra Subs we've garnered from this effort - I am truly grateful that you can see past some of the chaff on this board - thank you for giving MO another chance!
Thanks!
GMTheia
Er... I edited that...
GMTheia
Special people? You have got to be joking right? So you are calling people who haven't even really posted in this section retards? Here's an idea: Why don't you and SV act professional for a change. It's not anyone else's fault except SV for being in the position the company is in. The fact that you guys think Slapshot has that much influence over anything is laughable. What I do take from him posting is he's hitting a nerve posting stuff that SV would rather not be posted. He's basically trolling without even trying.
You and whoever else at SV need to take lessons from companies like Funcom. No where near the best company in the industry. Though they've had one of the best CM's I have ever seen from any company. Anarchy Online was plagued with many problems so similar to Mortal Online. The unrest in the community was huge. Bugs lasting for years plagued the game. Ruberbanding was a huge problem in some zones. They broke content whenever they introduced a new patch. Not to mention the length of time between patches. However Silirron (Craig Morrison) and the dev's knew how to roll with the punches and have fun with it. Which goes a very long ways.
People don't have a problem paying for a sub par product. They do it all the time. I'd say the attitudes of staff from SV do the most damage.
"But no it's everyone else's fault except ours."
GMTheia
You guys are getting a bit silly with all the colors and poor formatting. I can not tell who is posting or what is being commented on anymore.
GMTheia
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=special
Theia I have a serious question is english not your first language because you have a real naive way of answering questions.
For instance.
Betel said to you.
"Another claim of "the population is rising!!" with zero evidence, when all the ACTUAL evidence points to a long term decline in population. Like others have said, if you say that Henrik and co were correct in previous "population rising!!" posts, it means they are lying in their financial reports - a criminal offence. So which is it?"
You replied with.
"We have sen a surge post TC - which is also after Q3....
And you are accusing them of being criminals now?"
He is in no way of accusing them of being criminal for a surege in pop he is replying to you saying earlier in the thread the pop has always been on the rise. And if that were true then the financials would show it. And if they are declaring a loss on their financials when they are actual not that is fraud which is against the law.
It really seems either you have a language barrier or you have a clever way of not really answering questions.
These tools wonder why they can't keep subscribers. Man it must suck for him/her to know they can't delete this thread or others.
Special people means retarded, even I know that, yet I'm french.
Oooooh - thanks - No, not the case there have been times - a while back - that it was very quiet in-game. VERY quiet. In fact I used to log in a few months ago into my fave spot and hardly see anyone. Thankfully those days are gone and I hope they don't come back. ( sorry for any mis-understanding on my part there)
GMTheia
But I am glad I have gotten the chance to talk to you from time to time. You have talked me into not resubbing. You come off as seriously unprofessional. I find it funny that Henrik sent you here. And it seems to me you were not sent here to answer real questions, but to promote the game. You don't really answer anything with an answer. Almost every answer is hype.
If Henrik is so worried about people talking trash about the game tell him to make a better game. There is be little trash to go around then. The reason MO is struggling for money is not because people are talking trash on a gaming website. If you guys think that is the case you need to go back to school. Thousands of people here talk trash abotu WoW and they have millions of subs. Maybe people don't play because they think it is a bad game, NOT what some dude on some website said. Hell there is a free trial I am sure thousands of people have tried it. Why are they not staying? Cause of Slapshot?? LOLOLOL
I have been with MO for a long time and most the time now I log in for an hour or 2 and that is it. I am sick of MO catering to the pvpers or big guilds.
Nobody on this site has a clue what "hipster" means. It's quite irritating. I think they've ended up just changing the definition of the word to "elitist" as it refers to MMOs. That's NOT what a hipster is, trust me - people need to get out more. Why not just say elitist? But they'll keep throwing the term around and making themselves sound like jackasses.
Either way, it's another tragedy of a potentially great game gone down the crapper - I mean you really can't blame them for attempting to make the state of affairs sound better than it is, no compony wants to just come out and say, "our game sucks and is losing money."
Progressive free-thinkers (FTW!)
GMTheia
Cookery? Potion making? Gathering (with resources spread across the world? The AI re-write? New Magic? (ok that's prolly pvp)
Real shame you're not coming back
GMTheia
Cooking?
Oh you mean that skill were the base ingrediants are better than anything you can actually make.
Potion making?
Isn't everyone still using the duped big pots? Doesn't matter, as vendor ones are as good and cheaper than alchemy ones.
Great selling points!
GMTheia
See this is exactly what I am talking about. You answer my question with hype. AI and Magic are not in game yet so WHO CARES~!!!!!?!?!? I have been there for a lot of the dev process and if you think by you telling me AI and or Magic is close I will lauigh at you. I remember the last time SV said that and then all of a sudden they switched to TC. And I am not even going to mention how it will come in the game broken for weeks or months,
Cooking is useless how many threads have been in the MOFO attesting to that. Buying my posts is cheaper from venders than people. And WHOA gathering...... You are acting like that is a big inovation. Every game has gathering. I was pissed it was not in on release over a year later it is finally in. Thanx man!
When MO is a REAL sandbox I will be back to check it out.
Seeing GMTheia post here is like watching someone try to pop a really horrible zit*. I want to look away, but I really can't. I (again) applaud the bravery of anyone from SV posting here, but (again) I wonder how useful it will actually be.
* Not that you're wondering, but GMTheia is trying to pop the zit of anger that is the mmorpg forums.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
i see you've not found any of the good ones then! There are something like 4M variations. So there is hidden depth here.
Try asking some of the Guilds that have worked it out rather than assuming because you can't find them there's nothing to it!
GMTheia
Look, the gathering was actually nice, small but prolly one of the best thing that was introduced. But its like 0,2% of all that needs to be done. Just tell the devs to plays Skyrim some more, learn from it and try to understand how to introduce some content and fluff and render it fun to the player.