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Irth says to fans: "BEND OVER AND SHOW ME DA MONEY"
Roldown
Member Posts: 20
Irth has created a following of loyal fans by claiming to be player-oriented. They claimed to be empathetic to the player's needs by "opening up" their beta for suggestions. They claimed to be the embodiment of humanity compared to those soul-less, greedy corporate game developers. All that sounded good and everybody felt warm and fuzzy in the embrace of Irth's group-hug campaign.
Now it's time to cash in. $$$$$$$
They toss a half-finished game to the fans and make them pay $30 for the privilege of hearing more: "We love our fans. Your $30 donation will be used to fight the scourge of the Evil SOE empire. We are on your side. Join our rebel cause and tithe $14 per month to continue this good fight. And remember, we love you. But we can only continue our love if we receive your donation. MasterCard and Visa accepted."
Comments
You want to post a link? I'd like to read the truth and not your cynicism.
http://www.irthonline.com/pr_release_announcement_10102005.aspx
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Killer 86%, Socializer 53%, Explorer 33%, Achiever 26%
*shrug*
If Irth promises would be exactly what I want from a MMO, I would not mind supporting them endlessly, as long as I see the work progressing and everything.
I think everyone will concur that they work HARD and the game is progressing. No? (I didnt check that much, but this is the impression I get from checking FAST)
Now, if you dont like what they intend to do with the game or if you want to buy only a polished product, I encourage you to do so. And so are saying Irth Devs. They are not lying about the state of the game. They allow open beta + feedbacks so everyone know what is the current state of the game. They sell only online to avoid trapping unwary customers shopping in the malls, so peoples who buy it SHOULD know what they buys. And they state clearly what their goals with the game are.
I can only praise them myself, even if I dont share all their ideas and objectives, and I can confirm that they are indeed open minded and trying hard to listen to the players, yet, they have a "vision" and they work toward it and they try to consider every option and how it mix with the perfect game they envision.
If you rather pay for a game that has no direction and merely implement popular aspect after popular aspect, goes play WoW and enjoy this "great" product, but please, dont blast peoples who are REALLY working hard for nearly no candies. Or if you prefer have a company that will tell you what you want to hear but do whatever they think is good, SoE is all there for you! Or if you really are PvP oriented and like to shaft non-PvPers, goes with NCsoft!
Irth is a tiny cellule and they are honest, hardworking, improving, loyals, kinds...so if you dont like them, good for you. But I didnt see any post of Irth complaining at the rude treatment they get. They accept it with nobility and humility and...they keep advancing and doing their best against everything, with kindness!
If they keep that and survive for a few years, they may become (unlikely) 1 of the big company in some years! If I was Microsoft, I would consider to make sure that they dont goes bankrupt (maybe make them sign something for a few peanuts or whatever, but I would not even fight a rival should a rival be interested in them), invest a little in them, yet would not take them over, to dangerous to spoil them...but I am just tiny me, so I will just observe and cross my fingers as a gamer, since even if this is not my dream game, a good game that can appeal to a lot of players in the long run is always a + for the industry. Of course, they may be a flop...this is a risk. But risk VS reward...hein Brad?
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Big deal it's the new model for beta testing.
It used to be that beta testing was supposed to be a very very rare opprotunity to help the developers work on the game.At 1 point it was understood that the more you posted on the boards the more your chances increased for getting in.
Not so anymore.
With fans of the genre demanding better games it takes longer to develop them.So developers are faced with a dillema.
Release early and put out a game that is unpolished or take their time and possibly go broke?Going broke means the game never gets released and everyone involved has 2 years of their life wasted.
To solve this problem the devs of games are now offering a "pay to beta test" form of gameplay.This is really a good idea imho.Players get to help and possibly get some perks later on such as character carry over to launch or a name reservation.The devs have a cash flow to keep the game going and someplayers get to play and help with it's development.
Personally im surprised this wasnt done long ago.This isnt the 1st time its been done either.NCSOFT did it with L2 and CoH and probably will with AA.
Get used to it this is the new form of beta testing.
Want to ENJOY an mmo?
Dont start a guild and dont be a leader or volunteer to be coleader or captain.
Just play the damn game:)
Sadly Puoltry is absolutely correct.
Devs have realised that they can charge people to do the mindless grunt work of reporting bugs and not only does it work but people flock to the cause.
I doubt the trend will ever be reversed.
In fact if you take the theory to it's logical conclusion you basically come to the MMO Centre that is charging for people to be involved in the theory stage of development. One of thier games has nothing more than a single screenshot with no accompanying details whatsoever, yet there is a button to pre-order.
Go figure
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Ahhh, then the same goes for Mourning too eh? I mean Mourning only released their game by download to avoid ripping anyone off, ofcourse! They also clearly stated what their goals of the game were too... even though barely any of their promises were ever met. Yeh, right. The only thing I can see clearly here is a raging fanboy, everything else about their promises and protecting all their potential customers from getting ripped off that you claim is very foggy indeed and I damn sure don't see your points there clearly at all bro.
Uhhhhhhhhh. Comfirmation of raging, foaming at the mouth fanboy with your words "perfect game they envision". E'nuff said there.
Why don't you try actually playing this garbage mmo game you think is so perfect nowdays and look at it. Look at the clone trees. The un-inspired mobs. The boring, dull fighting. The flawed user interface. The speed at which you run. The populations that make my 6 person family Thanksgiving dinner seem crowded in comparison. The awful color that has absolutely no blend, no detail, and no artistic value, and so much more. You really think this is the "perfect game" and is 100% ready for release huh? Look, I won't quote you on what you said trying to make it seem that WoW and EQ pale in comparison of this great game here, but you're in so deep here I don't think you can be rescued. I will say this however... that playing this game will be similar to playing an old Atari 2600 game, except for the fact that the old Atari games were atleast finished before they were released and that they had a lot less bugs upon their release. I do apologize to Atari for the embarrassing comparison, however.
Irth. Even the spelling is buggy, uninspired, and bland - They could have atleast called the damn game "Earth" instead and only been uninspired and bland.
- Zaxx
Personally I dont see what the big deal is. Since when did 15-30 dollars breaks the bank. People who have a problem paying for beta shouldnt pay, simple. I dont see how people who have nice enough computers to play the newest and the greatest games are all of a sudden so broke they wont put down money on a beta or even 15 bucks a month to play a game.
Paying for beta has a perk for the devs that maybe some people have looked over. Id bet money that if you compared the people who got the beta free---- to the people who paid, no doubt the people who paid will put more into there beta experience. In general I bet the pay'er would play longer even if he wasnt completely interested in the game just so he could get his moneys worth.
Having to pay also separates the "IRTH enthusiast" from the randomn beta tester. If you were devs wouldnt you want people playing your game that were really interested ?
Its just another fantasy game casualty. Maybe a company will get the hint and try something new. but wait.............theres more..............
How many times are we gonna have to see this senerio played out?
Ahhh, then the same goes for Mourning too eh? I mean Mourning only released their game by download to avoid ripping anyone off, ofcourse! They also clearly stated what their goals of the game were too... even though barely any of their promises were ever met. Yeh, right. The only thing I can see clearly here is a raging fanboy, everything else about their promises and protecting all their potential customers from getting ripped off that you claim is very foggy indeed and I damn sure don't see your points there clearly at all bro.
Uhhhhhhhhh. Comfirmation of raging, foaming at the mouth fanboy with your words "perfect game they envision". E'nuff said there.
Why don't you try actually playing this garbage mmo game you think is so perfect nowdays and look at it. Look at the clone trees. The un-inspired mobs. The boring, dull fighting. The flawed user interface. The speed at which you run. The populations that make my 6 person family Thanksgiving dinner seem crowded in comparison. The awful color that has absolutely no blend, no detail, and no artistic value, and so much more. You really think this is the "perfect game" and is 100% ready for release huh? Look, I won't quote you on what you said trying to make it seem that WoW and EQ pale in comparison of this great game here, but you're in so deep here I don't think you can be rescued. I will say this however... that playing this game will be similar to playing an old Atari 2600 game, except for the fact that the old Atari games were atleast finished before they were released and that they had a lot less bugs upon their release. I do apologize to Atari for the embarrassing comparison, however.
Irth. Even the spelling is buggy, uninspired, and bland - They could have atleast called the damn game "Earth" instead and only been uninspired and bland.
- Zaxx
Zaxx...man you didn't have to lean on him that hard. I laughed till it hurt. Definately have to give your post two thumbs up. Funny and Accurate.. a rare combination.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
I can't say I agree with their idea of releasing this fast but comparing them to mourning is unfair.
-Irth didn't open pre-orders 6 months before release of the game
-Irth devs has only lied to testers once (the whole not releasing untill ready) thing.
-Unlike with Mourning, with Irth I can say THERE IS a game.
-Irth devs work on their game seven days a week and unless like with mourning, you can see the improvements with each patch.
If some of you would have plaid Anarchy Online from beta till release you'd agree with me that this game reminds it more than Mourning.
At release Anarchy Online did have most of features in but it was promised land of bugs and memoryleaks...
oh, and irths lead dev said in irc we could quote him, so...
Irth's pre-order bonus: Discount account (you'll only pay 9.90/month)
I do believe Irth has what it takes to survive, seeing that their goal is only 10 thousand players.
They'd better work HARD. They laid everyone off. And you think their game is progressing? Like progressing from diapers to potty training?
Everyone on this planet has a "vision". But the question is, do they have a "game" ? For $30 and $14 every month, I'm not sure anyone wants to buy their "vision".Wow, they got you with that group-hug thing, huh? You're even talking all warm and fuzzy. I guess a $30 investment to feel all warm and fuzzy is money well spent. You can either buy this half-limping game or buy a bottle of Peach Schnapps.
Microsoft would file an injunction against them to stop installing this embarrassement onto Windows. Microsoft will lobby the courts to spread the damage by demanding that MagicHat develop a version of Irth for Apple and Linux.
IMO - the game is not ready for release and certainly not worth the DL fee & monthly subs they've outlined. I think they would have done much better by being honest & explaining they need to bring revenue in & to charge a smaller fee (pre-order scheme) with real benefits for those that take up the offer.
Unfortunately very few beta testers actually test a game, most are there for a free game experience & these people deserve to pay something back, if beta tests were made up of 100% testers then it would be unfair, but it's not the case.
It's all about communication and this has been done poorly, I do however completely support some form of paid for testing for the smaller indie titles, many have risked everything they have to make a game & deserve to recoup those costs at an earlier stage than the huge multi-national corporations. It's about how you spin that story, I mean Project Entropia was basically a paid for beta test for over 2-years & they received very little negative press for this strategy.
Benny...................................
People bitched about Mourning doing it and now they're bitching about Irth doing it. Bottom line folks:
Anyone who's ever bought a game the DAY it was released from beta (or worse, pre-ordered it) has perpetuated this syndrome of companies releasing unfinished MMORPG's to market. YOU have taught them that it's OK to do this because people WILL pay them to play an unfinished game that isn't ready for release.
Some of us out here have started to try to reverse the trend. I haven't bought a NEW MMORPG in ages. I have taken the stance for about 2 years now that I will not buy an MMORPG any longer until I can play a *FREE TRIAL* of the MMORPG AFTER it has been released. (Beta does not count as a trial period). This is precicely why I currently play EQ2 but am unwilling to buy WOW. EQ2 came out with a trial and I tried it *after release* and liked it. So I added it to my SOE All Access Pass and now enjoy it. Same for EVE, which I also play. I beta tested both games and didn't *purchase* either until well after they were released. Same for SWG. I didn't purchase SWG until about 2 months before Jump to Lightspeed hit. I've since left because of Jedi but the bottom line: DO NOT BUY AN UNFINISHED PRODUCT!
Join the cause, stop buying MMORPG's the day they hit the shelves. Only pay once you can play the FINISHED product to see what it's like.
THAT, my friends, is the ONLY way these companies (yes, even the indy's) are going to get the message.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Once again Kishe finds himself drinking the Kool-Aid being poured by the devs ....LOL, he even needs Damian to say how tasty and good it is for him.
Wow, you are so far gone. I once thought you had some independent thought but I see that you would prefer to be a lemming vacationing in the land of denial.
Irth devs already slashing their prices ...LMAO pre-orders for a half arsed game!