Why do you guys argue about such non-sense? Pantheon is catering to a group of gamers who played MMO's when they were actually MMO's. You folks don't get it because all you know is WoW and MMO's after WoW. I'm hoping Brad can pull this off and I can't wait to play it for myself and then pass judgement.
Uh, no. A good many of the people who've outgrown "MMOs" (since apparently only the old crap counts) were playing way before WoW. We've just adapted, unlike those stuck in the past.
That being said, I hope it meets the needs of what those people are looking for.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
If they are going to self publish - they will need to secure datacenter colo space in US and EU, buy the network and server gear, hire operations and IT staff, hire security team, hire CS, hire BI etc..
They havent even moved an inch on this yet.
So who will publish and host?
They use cloud hosting. The info is right in their wiki for all to see. They can secure it from a number of providers at any time. It wouldn't be required at this stage in development just like Camelot Unchained hasn't finalized yet who will host there game (although they currently use AWS).
Hopefully you realize this means they don't hire the staff and purchase the hardware themselves nor would they anyway beyond what is required at this stage in development for testing even on conventional tech.
You are talking about current state of development servers.
I am talking about scaling this up to actual launch numbers.
We all know that they have talked internally about the hosting/publishing options - they are just not ready to come out to the general public with it yet - because yes they are focusing on dev right now.
However if they decide to self publish when the time is right - huge investment.
If they decide to go with a publisher - they might have to compromise on monetization options - including cash shop.
They don't want to talk about this because it would be upsetting to current backers
No. I am stating what their server tech will be. You assume they aren't planning for this in any way. I do not know why you would come to this conclusion.
They get the game to work on limited lease. The game launches. They scale the lease up and launch virtual servers to meet demand. The only difference is the cost per shard for hosting. It's just project management and nothing to do with the state of development as long as the release build is functional.
It puzzles me that you worry about what "might" happen. Anything "might" happen with any company. This is their job, not yours.
thats not saying much - kind of like aiming for mediocrity
Aiming for mediocrity is better than aiming for a target beyond reach.
While a mediocre audience for a title striving to appeal to the mass market would be a poor showing, a following of the same size could be quite sufficient for a title niche by design.
So long as those making the game keep the scale of their intended audience in mind and keep their development costs in line with that, a niche title could well be viable.
What won't work is a title with a niche market developed at a mass market cost.
Aw, it's McQuaid. Him and Smedley are doom for any game they work on. This will not end well.
EQ was huge because it had no real competition. Now the market is flooded. Competition is great for the consumer. Great time to be a gamer.
Keeping their same "Vision" will not/has not worked in recreating their one time success.
I wish them both the best in life I just wish they would leave mmorpgs alone. It's not working guys. Take the hint.
Did you read the article? Yes the market is flooded, with MMOs designed to keep you entertained for about as long as a multiplayer FPS. They want to change that.
Imo, the only way to change this is to foster community in the game. That is the key ingredient missing in MMOs today. Modern MMOs are a "wham-bam-thank you ma'am" experience these days. Play for a month, get bored, go to the next one and maybe come back later for another month or two. Basically these are just solo games other people are running around in with you, no sense of community outside your guild, very little reason to interact at all. It will be nice to have an MMO that is designed to foster community again.
I get the feeling there are a lot of people who are going to be disappointed in this game. Watch some of the trailers, it is extremely slow paced. Most of the action is not designed for solo adventurers. So that leaves you with pickup groups for the most part and we all know all the problems associated with those. You can have a good experience one moment and a horrible one the next.
Personally I much prefer grouping, but not with just anyone. It will depend on finding people that like to play in a similar manner to your style. With that in mind, you need a healthy population for such and it is still unknown if that will occur. We will just have to wait and see.
If they do still intend to use a cloud for hosting, your response times are going to vary greatly, which means a lot of deaths due congestion. Clouds and MMO's just do not mix.
Comments
That being said, I hope it meets the needs of what those people are looking for.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
The same goes for CU and Crowfall.
They get the game to work on limited lease. The game launches. They scale the lease up and launch virtual servers to meet demand. The only difference is the cost per shard for hosting. It's just project management and nothing to do with the state of development as long as the release build is functional.
It puzzles me that you worry about what "might" happen. Anything "might" happen with any company. This is their job, not yours.
You stay sassy!
Aiming for mediocrity is better than aiming for a target beyond reach.
While a mediocre audience for a title striving to appeal to the mass market would be a poor showing, a following of the same size could be quite sufficient for a title niche by design.
So long as those making the game keep the scale of their intended audience in mind and keep their development costs in line with that, a niche title could well be viable.
What won't work is a title with a niche market developed at a mass market cost.
get butthurt
Personally I much prefer grouping, but not with just anyone. It will depend on finding people that like to play in a similar manner to your style. With that in mind, you need a healthy population for such and it is still unknown if that will occur. We will just have to wait and see.
If they do still intend to use a cloud for hosting, your response times are going to vary greatly, which means a lot of deaths due congestion. Clouds and MMO's just do not mix.