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Crunch Time Interview with Mark Jacobs

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
edited March 2016 in News & Features Discussion

imageCrunch Time Interview with Mark Jacobs

A “Crunch” is a time when studios hunker down, dig in their heels, block out all distractions and grind like its launch day in a new MMORPG! It’s an emotional rollercoaster of hard work and determination during which the outside world must simply be put on hold in the name of the game! Here to create a distraction and break through the bubble is MMORPG.com!

Read the full story here



¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


Comments

  • Ammon777_newAmmon777_new Member UncommonPosts: 306
    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!
  • SEANMCADSEANMCAD Member EpicPosts: 16,775
    System said:
    imageCrunch Time Interview with Mark Jacobs

    A “Crunch” is a time when studios hunker down, dig in their heels, block out all distractions and grind like its launch day in a new MMORPG! It’s an emotional rollercoaster of hard work and determination during which the outside world must simply be put on hold in the name of the game! Here to create a distraction and break through the bubble is MMORPG.com!

    Read the full story here

    ok that screenshot alone just catapulted my interest from 'whatever' to  very interested because I know what it means.

    Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.

    Please do not respond to me

  • ScorchienScorchien Member LegendaryPosts: 8,914


    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!






    I thought the same thing thru his Warhammer campaign and constant videos and communication with the community ... then .... well we all know how that ended....
  • SEANMCADSEANMCAD Member EpicPosts: 16,775
    Scorchien said:


    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!






    I thought the same thing thru his Warhammer campaign and constant videos and communication with the community ... then .... well we all know how that ended....
    yeah speaking for myself I am never impressed that a developer communicates or doesnt. All communication tells me is that during the time of the interview they are not working on the game, that is pretty much it.

    Communication is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAy over rated

    Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.

    Please do not respond to me

  • FranciscourantFranciscourant Member UncommonPosts: 356


    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!



    Me too! It makes me feel that the developers care about those who support their project and that they listen to suggestions / feedback.

    CSE people are by far the most transparent and honest developers I know.

    I'm looking forward for the next live streams
  • JamesGoblinJamesGoblin Member RarePosts: 1,242
    SEANMCAD said:
    System said:
    imageCrunch Time Interview with Mark Jacobs

    A “Crunch” is a time when studios hunker down, dig in their heels, block out all distractions and grind like its launch day in a new MMORPG! It’s an emotional rollercoaster of hard work and determination during which the outside world must simply be put on hold in the name of the game! Here to create a distraction and break through the bubble is MMORPG.com!

    Read the full story here

    ok that screenshot alone just catapulted my interest from 'whatever' to  very interested because I know what it means.
    @SEANMCAD just by the way, that shot is more than half a year old - very rough beginnings of building destruction.
     W...aaagh?
  • JamesGoblinJamesGoblin Member RarePosts: 1,242
    Just by the way, that OP link leads to the second page of interview - it makes it look like interview has only two questions!?
     W...aaagh?
  • Ammon777_newAmmon777_new Member UncommonPosts: 306
    SEANMCAD said:
    Scorchien said:


    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!






    I thought the same thing thru his Warhammer campaign and constant videos and communication with the community ... then .... well we all know how that ended....
    yeah speaking for myself I am never impressed that a developer communicates or doesnt. All communication tells me is that during the time of the interview they are not working on the game, that is pretty much it.

    Communication is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAy over rated
    Not really. I remember waiting for Darkfall. Aventurine hardly communicated at all for YEARS. So I know the opposite situation...
  • JamesGoblinJamesGoblin Member RarePosts: 1,242
    Torval said:
    Just by the way, that OP link leads to the second page of interview - it makes it look like interview has only two questions!?
    For some reason that happens a lot lately. It's not just this article/interview.
    Yes, and similarly thread links sometimes "default" to last post (and not the OP or page top, unless you manually remove the unwanted extension from the hyperlink) - I had to do lots of doublechecking lately.


     W...aaagh?
  • zotelfzotelf Member UncommonPosts: 13
    edited March 2016
    "I thought the same thing thru his Warhammer campaign and constant videos and communication with the community ... then .... well we all know how that ended...."


    @Scorchien I hear you man, Mark will be the first to tell you he was disappointed with how War turned out. He has said many a time, we're going to prove our words with our deeds. The deed that won me over was them declaring we're doing this as a truly independent gaming studio or not at all. Mark has cut the strings that once bound him, with a resounding "never again". That was all I needed to give the man another chance.

    PS They're still an independent studio. :)
  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!
    Even though he is communicating through advertising lol.

    I guess this means since sending word via mmorpg that the game is going to be pushed out soon,not so sure i have seen enough to say it is ready.

    BTW Warhammer was incredibly awful,i almost instantly logged out in the first 5 minutes.A VERY similar problem to the same one he faces now,lack of budget.That game was VERY obviously pushed out too early.About 6 weeks out i had some hope for that game,then soon i started to see a couple dev videos i was like wow this game is so not ready and so cutting corners to get it out.
    The video that really stood out as a deal breaker was the one they discussed crafting cuts and changes to original design.

    SO it leaves me very skeptical,a poor budget is just that,no way to spin that as positive,you can only do for your game what money allows,unless people are working for free and even then you wouldn't have a large team working for free,maybe 2-4 people.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    edited March 2016
    Fingers crossed,put on your hope rings,lucky charms,maybe he can pull it off,i am a realist and quite doubtful.However i am not some EGO type person,he pulls it off i will be one the first to give him praise,but i am no blind observer,i know what is going on in game design when i see it.
    Let's hope for you ,me and anyone else mildly looking in from the outside that it turns out good.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381
    Lost all interest in instant when read there it is PVP only. :-(
  • Bacher108Bacher108 Member UncommonPosts: 2


    Lost all interest in instant when read there it is PVP only. :-(



    See, I think this is why we shouldn't say PvP only when describing this game. It should be described as RvR only. Plus their have been hints that its actually RvR focused, not 100% only. They have mentioned features, or aspects of the Depths, that we know nothing about, that may contain NPC's in some fashion. Their might be NPC guards to fight protecting enemy castle/keeps.

    I don't think of CU as PvP only. I think of it as an RvR, faction war game, centered around working with your realm (weather you are solo or in a group) to fight the enemy realms.

    I think what is meant by PvP only, is that there wont be the traditional do quests and grind dungeons/mobs to gain exp and lvl up. Progression will be through RvR only.

    image
  • ApexDescendApexDescend Member UncommonPosts: 27
    edited March 2016




    SEANMCAD said:




    System said:




    Crunch Time Interview with Mark Jacobs

    A “Crunch” is a time when studios hunker down, dig in their heels, block out all distractions and grind like its launch day in a new MMORPG! It’s an emotional rollercoaster of hard work and determination during which the outside world must simply be put on hold in the name of the game! Here to create a distraction and break through the bubble is MMORPG.com!



    Read the full story here









    ok that screenshot alone just catapulted my interest from 'whatever' to  very interested because I know what it means.






    I've been waiting 12ish years for a MMO to have this.



    do u realize how many games have this? [mod edit]
    Post edited by Vaross on
  • ApexDescendApexDescend Member UncommonPosts: 27

    Bacher108 said:





    Lost all interest in instant when read there it is PVP only. :-(






    See, I think this is why we shouldn't say PvP only when describing this game. It should be described as RvR only. Plus their have been hints that its actually RvR focused, not 100% only. They have mentioned features, or aspects of the Depths, that we know nothing about, that may contain NPC's in some fashion. Their might be NPC guards to fight protecting enemy castle/keeps.



    I don't think of CU as PvP only. I think of it as an RvR, faction war game, centered around working with your realm (weather you are solo or in a group) to fight the enemy realms.



    I think what is meant by PvP only, is that there wont be the traditional do quests and grind dungeons/mobs to gain exp and lvl up. Progression will be through RvR only.



    yeah yeah we get it ur a fanboy that has been waiting for this game for 25years and now that its close everything has to be perfect
  • ApexDescendApexDescend Member UncommonPosts: 27

    Wizardry said:

    Fingers crossed,put on your hope rings,lucky charms,maybe he can pull it off,i am a realist and quite doubtful.However i am not some EGO type person,he pulls it off i will be one the first to give him praise,but i am no blind observer,i know what is going on in game design when i see it.
    Let's hope for you ,me and anyone else mildly looking in from the outside that it turns out good.



    we need more realists :)
  • JamesGoblinJamesGoblin Member RarePosts: 1,242
    Bacher108 said:


    Lost all interest in instant when read there it is PVP only. :-(



    See, I think this is why we shouldn't say PvP only when describing this game. It should be described as RvR only. Plus their have been hints that its actually RvR focused, not 100% only. They have mentioned features, or aspects of the Depths, that we know nothing about, that may contain NPC's in some fashion. Their might be NPC guards to fight protecting enemy castle/keeps.

    I don't think of CU as PvP only. I think of it as an RvR, faction war game, centered around working with your realm (weather you are solo or in a group) to fight the enemy realms.

    I think what is meant by PvP only, is that there wont be the traditional do quests and grind dungeons/mobs to gain exp and lvl up. Progression will be through RvR only.
    @Bacher108 Hey, welcome to the site!

    Also @daltanious Yes, there will be all kinds of NPCs and lots of PVE which is very much connected with RvR(vR!) not being just PvP, while lots of people seem to identify these two.

    I'd say CSE is one of partners in this "crime" of confusing, but good thing is - we are far from the start of real hype.
     W...aaagh?
  • FranciscourantFranciscourant Member UncommonPosts: 356
    edited March 2016
    Wizardry said:
    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!
    Even though he is communicating through advertising lol. I guess this means since sending word via mmorpg that the game is going to be pushed out soon,not so sure i have seen enough to say it is ready.
    He's discussing about the development of CU in an interview on mmorpg.com.

    Mark and the rest of the team are constantly communicating with us via the forums, updates, comments on websites, live stream, newsletters, etc. In term of quantity and quality of the information, they easily share with us an order of magnitude more than any other studio I've followed.

    Wizardry said:
    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!
    BTW Warhammer was incredibly awful,i almost instantly logged out in the first 5 minutes. [...] That game was VERY obviously pushed out too early.

    Warhammer Online got an average meta score of 86 on Metacritic. 52 positive critic reviews, 2 mixed, 0 negative. I'm aware that there were issues and that some things apparently got rushed during development.

    Wizardry said:
    I love devs that communicate regularly. Thank you Mark!
    SO it leaves me very skeptical,a poor budget is just that [...]


    Dark Age of Camelot had a budget of $2,500,000.
    Camelot unchained has a budget of over $7,000,000 (and the crowdfunding continues).
    Last time I've read something about financial stuff, the team was still under-budget.

     
  • CrazKanukCrazKanuk Member EpicPosts: 6,130

    Wizardry said:

    Fingers crossed,put on your hope rings,lucky charms,maybe he can pull it off,i am a realist and quite doubtful.However i am not some EGO type person,he pulls it off i will be one the first to give him praise,but i am no blind observer,i know what is going on in game design when i see it.
    Let's hope for you ,me and anyone else mildly looking in from the outside that it turns out good.



    we need more realists :)

    Yes we do.... Don't know if someone who claims not to be "..some EGO type person.." and then goes on to say "...i know what is going on in game design when i see it." represents someone who is a realist. Unless he's a designer on this project, in which case, my bad. 

    However, overall, I do agree, we do need more realists. Based on history, I don't think this is one. 

    Crazkanuk

    ----------------
    Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
    Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
    Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
    Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
    Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
    ----------------

  • FranciscourantFranciscourant Member UncommonPosts: 356
    SEANMCAD said:
    [...] All communication tells me is that during the time of the interview they are not working on the game, that is pretty much it.
    I agree that if the developers spend so much time on communication with the audience, to a point where it hinders the development, then they should probably refocus their energy on making the game.

    In the case of Camelot Unchained, the live stream doesn't cost much money to make and they're often showing the developers working on stuff, so I wouldn't consider it unproductive, even though it can surely be distracting.

    The things I believe are the most time consuming would be the User Stories (creating new cards, listing the items, keeping track of the updates, etc.), the monthly newsletter and weekly updates, along with the forum interactions (reading posts, answering, searching...). Most of this stuff is done by the community manager and Mark I believe, and that's part of their job, so I think it's not really considered a huge loss of productivity.
  • snoopehsnoopeh Member UncommonPosts: 40
    Thoroughly excited about this game :)
  • ComafComaf Member UncommonPosts: 1,150
    edited March 2016


    Lost all interest in instant when read there it is PVP only. :-(



    Not your fault for thinking that if you aren't familiar with Dark Age of Camelot or really, with this project. PvP only just sounds like another mindless FFA Darkfall Mortal Online Shadowbane gear/grief fest. (While I do NOT blame you) Please don't include your memories of very low end game design with this Dark Age of Camelot inspired mmorpg. It's a world of difference, i.e., you've had barely cerebral pvp - the kind a bunch of folks with a cave-man mentality might have put together. Folks that have no clue as to what Medieval history was, or about the epic grandeur of high fantasy in a medieval setting, or simple concepts like the non mirrored build of classes that ESO so horribly forgot about.

    And so on.


    Without boring anyone - why don't you kindly delve more deeply. It will be worth your time :)

    /salute

    image
  • NanulakNanulak Member UncommonPosts: 372
    Great write up and interview. The future is looking brighter :) The move from engine tech to real game play mechanics is exciting.

    Nanulak

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