Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

I don't want any of this

124

Comments

  • Mylan12Mylan12 Member UncommonPosts: 288
    edited August 2020
    Well in EQ, you dropped everything. So a character with high level equipment has little chance of every getting it back as most of it was bind on acquire and you can't really do the raids without decent equipment.
     It was no problem getting a group to help you recover a corpse in EQ1. Heck I died in a raid zone due to an internet problem and another raiding guild started their scheduled
    raid early so I could get to my corpse before the timer ran out.
     This dungeon was designed for groups except for the lower area which was a raid. Like most dungeons in EQ1.  So you should be able to recover a corpse with a group.

    I guess you mean by "that type of game" -- a buggy piece of sh_t with customer service that sucks.

    Anyway I did get my corpse back about 15 minutes before the timer ran out due to another guild in a different time zone that played at that time that lost a group in the same dungeon and then sent in 5+ groups in and either killed everything or crashed and reset the zone one.
     Anyway if they have the death penalty like early EQ and don't have a way for you to recover it  if its not recoverable due to circumstances beyond your control. Well or at least  suspend the decay while you appeal the GM decision. I not be playing it. 




  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,058
    Nanfoodle said:
    Funcom's "The Secret World" MMORPG, was a lot about solving mysteries, riddles, and puzzles.  People seemed to enjoy it a lot and took pride in not looking up stuff.
    I had totally forgot about that game. People really enjoyed not having their hands held. They had a great community as well. 
    People "enjoyed" it so much it basically failed twice.....great game right?
    RoinSensai

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    tzervo said:
    Tanist said:
    There is? What reasons would those be? I see no logical position that could validate cheating in a game as such other than to avoid the game harming your efforts (ie eating a quest item). 

    Ok, I read that wrong... so peer pressure is a reason? If you feel pressure by peers, better gain  back bone or find another game. This is not a valid reason to cheat, rather it is an excuse for the weak willed.

    I mean, if you can't keep up, find another group to play with, cheating is pathetic in that sense as it affirms the person IS lazy or inept. 
    Now I remember: tantrum guy who screamed at everyone and said he is done and will not come back.

    Welcome back! :)
    Funny you say that because he threw a fit on the Pantheon forums and got banned...so now he comes here until he rage quits and then is back a few weeks later.  He's just a joke.  Ignore and move on...or don't if you find it entertaining hah.  
    [Deleted User]
  • TanistTanist Member UncommonPosts: 280
    Kyleran said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Funcom's "The Secret World" MMORPG, was a lot about solving mysteries, riddles, and puzzles.  People seemed to enjoy it a lot and took pride in not looking up stuff.
    I had totally forgot about that game. People really enjoyed not having their hands held. They had a great community as well. 
    People "enjoyed" it so much it basically failed twice.....great game right?
    It failed because it started catering to mainstream.

    1) it started dumbing down the quests, severely.

    2) It streamlined combat to the point where spammers could win regardless of their choices in combat, which started making the dungeons pathetically easy. They also went the WoW route in dungeon design, removing all the trash content and turned them into "quickie" runs to farm. 

    3) It started pushing PTW items/consumables/etc... in the store. I can't remember, but I think they also went FTP at some point around that time. 

    The game went south during that, so they tried to "reboot" it with a massive change that turned it into a mega-mainstream title, which naturally drove off the rest of the lifetime subs and supports leaving only the mainstream locusts to cannibalize it and move on.

    Yeah, mainstream kills games. 
    Scot
  • WellspringWellspring Member EpicPosts: 1,464
    TwoTubes said:
    tzervo said:
    Tanist said:
    There is? What reasons would those be? I see no logical position that could validate cheating in a game as such other than to avoid the game harming your efforts (ie eating a quest item). 

    Ok, I read that wrong... so peer pressure is a reason? If you feel pressure by peers, better gain  back bone or find another game. This is not a valid reason to cheat, rather it is an excuse for the weak willed.

    I mean, if you can't keep up, find another group to play with, cheating is pathetic in that sense as it affirms the person IS lazy or inept. 
    Now I remember: tantrum guy who screamed at everyone and said he is done and will not come back.

    Welcome back! :)
    Funny you say that because he threw a fit on the Pantheon forums and got banned...so now he comes here until he rage quits and then is back a few weeks later.  He's just a joke.  Ignore and move on...or don't if you find it entertaining hah.  

    Looks like he got himself banned here too. :P
    cheyane
    --------------------------------------------
  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    edited August 2020
    Rhoklaw said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    @Rhoklaw

    I want a ridiculously harsh death penalty - see the Wolfshead post I link ad nauseam for its importance:  https://www.wolfsheadonline.com/the-death-penalty-mechanic-and-loss-aversion-in-mmo-design/

    However, the Pantheon Death penalty never changed.  Even on the Kickstarter Brad had posted about it being somewhere between EQ - VG which the current Pantheon death penalty meets.  With that said, I also want a more harsh death penalty, and I think not having naked corpse runs is a bad idea, which I’ll continue to argue for until release - but its disingenuous to say that its changed or become less harsh.
    Except it did change, because I was there when it happened. Pantheon used to have EQ1's death penalty where you dropped everything, including what you were wearing. They only recently changed it to dropping your inventory only. It may have been Brad's intention in the beginning, but I'm just explaining the actual mechanic in the game was more EQ1 to start than it is now.
    Fair enough - I was just disputing your claim the original vision changed.  I’d much prefer EQ1s system (or harsher) as well. 
    He is wrong, they never knew what they were going to do with Death Penalty. Anything they had in place, was a placeholder as they decided what would be added. They have had dussions on the Pantheon forums. VIP backers feedback and the vision Bard had for the game. They always said that the death penalty would be in the game but what they landed on would fit their game and its game systems. The Death Penalty they landed on, closed the topic on the forums and they have been clear, no feedback will be looked at but by people testing the game. There has been a progression thats been very natural to the conclusion that have landed on. Never once has it been a change of direction. 
    So why did they change the mechanic? If the vision was so clear. Why not implement the current vision when they put the death mechanic in the game in the first place? There was NO definitive answer on the death penalty in the beginning. They didn't know what they wanted until recently, which is why they changed it. Seems rather awkward to implement one death penalty than all of a sudden change it.

    I don't normally throw around $1000 on crowdfunded games if their vision is simply lacking a definitive answer. In fact, I never heard anything about the death mechanic but that it would be more harsh than most other MMOs. Probably why they implemented the EQ1 death penalty in the first place, wouldn't you say?
    Did you just reply or did you read what I posted? They wanted a death penalty. As said in my post above.

    1. They put one in the game as a placeholder.
    2. Opened a discussion on the forums on what players wanted.
    3. Talked to the VIP members like yourself.
    4. Took in Bard's direction and vision. He always said they would land between EQ and Vanguard when they picked their death penalty. 
    5. They decided on what death penalty would be in the game and implemented it
    6. VR closed all discussions on death penalty. 

    Was no they changed it, they were open it was a process they were trying to see what would fit their game and systems they have added. 
    dcutbi001Catibrie
  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    edited August 2020
    Rhoklaw said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    @Rhoklaw

    I want a ridiculously harsh death penalty - see the Wolfshead post I link ad nauseam for its importance:  https://www.wolfsheadonline.com/the-death-penalty-mechanic-and-loss-aversion-in-mmo-design/

    However, the Pantheon Death penalty never changed.  Even on the Kickstarter Brad had posted about it being somewhere between EQ - VG which the current Pantheon death penalty meets.  With that said, I also want a more harsh death penalty, and I think not having naked corpse runs is a bad idea, which I’ll continue to argue for until release - but its disingenuous to say that its changed or become less harsh.
    Except it did change, because I was there when it happened. Pantheon used to have EQ1's death penalty where you dropped everything, including what you were wearing. They only recently changed it to dropping your inventory only. It may have been Brad's intention in the beginning, but I'm just explaining the actual mechanic in the game was more EQ1 to start than it is now.
    Fair enough - I was just disputing your claim the original vision changed.  I’d much prefer EQ1s system (or harsher) as well. 
    He is wrong, they never knew what they were going to do with Death Penalty. Anything they had in place, was a placeholder as they decided what would be added. They have had dussions on the Pantheon forums. VIP backers feedback and the vision Bard had for the game. They always said that the death penalty would be in the game but what they landed on would fit their game and its game systems. The Death Penalty they landed on, closed the topic on the forums and they have been clear, no feedback will be looked at but by people testing the game. There has been a progression thats been very natural to the conclusion that have landed on. Never once has it been a change of direction. 
    So why did they change the mechanic? If the vision was so clear. Why not implement the current vision when they put the death mechanic in the game in the first place? There was NO definitive answer on the death penalty in the beginning. They didn't know what they wanted until recently, which is why they changed it. Seems rather awkward to implement one death penalty than all of a sudden change it.

    I don't normally throw around $1000 on crowdfunded games if their vision is simply lacking a definitive answer. In fact, I never heard anything about the death mechanic but that it would be more harsh than most other MMOs. Probably why they implemented the EQ1 death penalty in the first place, wouldn't you say?
    Did you just reply or did you read what I posted? They wanted a death penalty. As said in my post above.

    1. They put one in the game as a placeholder.
    2. Opened a discussion on the forums on what players wants.
    3. Talked to the VIP members like yourself.
    4. Took in Bard's direction and vision. He always said they would land between EQ and Vanguard when they picked their death penalty. 
    5. They decided on what death penalty would be in the game and implemented it
    6. VR closed all discussions on death penalty. 

    Was no they changed it, they were open it was a process they were trying to see what would fit their game and systems they have added. 
    I guess I never caught wind of this discussion, but even still. The game was initially advertised as being a more difficult old school style MMO, niche, not mainstream. This death penalty is not what I'm looking for, so now what? I guess I can attempt to request a refund.
    I guess you could but ask yourself this. Is there another game that will have that EQ1 feel? Is there another game like EQ out there, that has as big a death penalty as Pantheon? You get everything in the death penalty that EQ1 had, you will be going back for your bags. Only difference is everyone will keep their gear on them, so you can as a team. Fight back to your corpses. EQ1 sucked as melee when you died. As a caster you were just as effective. This move works with their game systems but also makes things fair between melee and casters. 
    Post edited by Nanfoodle on
    dcutbi001Catibrie
  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 44,058
    TwoTubes said:
    tzervo said:
    Tanist said:
    There is? What reasons would those be? I see no logical position that could validate cheating in a game as such other than to avoid the game harming your efforts (ie eating a quest item). 

    Ok, I read that wrong... so peer pressure is a reason? If you feel pressure by peers, better gain  back bone or find another game. This is not a valid reason to cheat, rather it is an excuse for the weak willed.

    I mean, if you can't keep up, find another group to play with, cheating is pathetic in that sense as it affirms the person IS lazy or inept. 
    Now I remember: tantrum guy who screamed at everyone and said he is done and will not come back.

    Welcome back! :)
    Funny you say that because he threw a fit on the Pantheon forums and got banned...so now he comes here until he rage quits and then is back a few weeks later.  He's just a joke.  Ignore and move on...or don't if you find it entertaining hah.  

    Looks like he got himself banned here too. :P
    He made it too easy...   B) à
    [Deleted User]

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • Mylan12Mylan12 Member UncommonPosts: 288
    Nanfoodle said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Nanfoodle said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    Rhoklaw said:
    Raidan_EQ said:
    @Rhoklaw

    I want a ridiculously harsh death penalty - see the Wolfshead post I link ad nauseam for its importance:  https://www.wolfsheadonline.com/the-death-penalty-mechanic-and-loss-aversion-in-mmo-design/

    However, the Pantheon Death penalty never changed.  Even on the Kickstarter Brad had posted about it being somewhere between EQ - VG which the current Pantheon death penalty meets.  With that said, I also want a more harsh death penalty, and I think not having naked corpse runs is a bad idea, which I’ll continue to argue for until release - but its disingenuous to say that its changed or become less harsh.
    Except it did change, because I was there when it happened. Pantheon used to have EQ1's death penalty where you dropped everything, including what you were wearing. They only recently changed it to dropping your inventory only. It may have been Brad's intention in the beginning, but I'm just explaining the actual mechanic in the game was more EQ1 to start than it is now.
    Fair enough - I was just disputing your claim the original vision changed.  I’d much prefer EQ1s system (or harsher) as well. 
    He is wrong, they never knew what they were going to do with Death Penalty. Anything they had in place, was a placeholder as they decided what would be added. They have had dussions on the Pantheon forums. VIP backers feedback and the vision Bard had for the game. They always said that the death penalty would be in the game but what they landed on would fit their game and its game systems. The Death Penalty they landed on, closed the topic on the forums and they have been clear, no feedback will be looked at but by people testing the game. There has been a progression thats been very natural to the conclusion that have landed on. Never once has it been a change of direction. 
    So why did they change the mechanic? If the vision was so clear. Why not implement the current vision when they put the death mechanic in the game in the first place? There was NO definitive answer on the death penalty in the beginning. They didn't know what they wanted until recently, which is why they changed it. Seems rather awkward to implement one death penalty than all of a sudden change it.

    I don't normally throw around $1000 on crowdfunded games if their vision is simply lacking a definitive answer. In fact, I never heard anything about the death mechanic but that it would be more harsh than most other MMOs. Probably why they implemented the EQ1 death penalty in the first place, wouldn't you say?
    Did you just reply or did you read what I posted? They wanted a death penalty. As said in my post above.

    1. They put one in the game as a placeholder.
    2. Opened a discussion on the forums on what players wants.
    3. Talked to the VIP members like yourself.
    4. Took in Bard's direction and vision. He always said they would land between EQ and Vanguard when they picked their death penalty. 
    5. They decided on what death penalty would be in the game and implemented it
    6. VR closed all discussions on death penalty. 

    Was no they changed it, they were open it was a process they were trying to see what would fit their game and systems they have added. 
    I guess I never caught wind of this discussion, but even still. The game was initially advertised as being a more difficult old school style MMO, niche, not mainstream. This death penalty is not what I'm looking for, so now what? I guess I can attempt to request a refund.
    I guess you could but ask yourself this. Is there another game that will have that EQ1 feel? Is there another game like EQ out there, that has as big a death penalty as Pantheon? You get everything in the death penalty that EQ1 had, you will be going back for your bags. Only difference is everyone will keep their gear on them, so you can as a team. Fight back to your corpses. EQ1 sucked as melee when you died. As a caster you were just as effective. This move works with their game systems but also makes things fair between melee and casters. 

     It was not bad in EQ1 if it was outside in a reasonable open area, just ask a bard to train the mobs around while you got your corpse. Of course then the bard had to dump the train somewhere. I never did figure out why so many people like to hang around the zone lines, well at least it be easy for them to recover their corpse if they didn't zone in time.
     In dungeons it was a bit more complicated unless you could find a necro which made it trivial as long as you could actually zone into the dungeon.
    If no necro, you could go invisible and try and make it to the corpse and drag it out but if you were detected then it was a run to the zone with the nice mobs following along. But it did get a bit messy especially as people oddly enough seem to like to stand around near the zone.

     In this game it depends on how they do the environment stuff, It maybe that you die in a zone that you can not survive for long without proper equipment that reduces the environmental effects. 

    Nanfoodledcutbi001
  • dcutbi001dcutbi001 Member UncommonPosts: 49
    I've seen a few other VIP's that have made a stink over the death penalty not being ripped straight out of EQ, but, by and large, most of the active VIPs in the official discord seem to be fine with it as a system right in-line with what Brad originally outlined. It's a bit of a silly hill to die on imo. It's a totally different game and the PA testers have not had a chance to feel it out yet. There is still no other modern game around that has any corpse recovery system at all. It sounds like a small handful of folks only care about having the exact corpse recovery system from EQ being used or they're threatening to take their ball and go home. It seems a bit shortsighted considering they have not even had the chance to test it. That being said, even if they still think it's a weaker death penalty than they had hoped for then the alternative is P99 or stop playing mmorpgs as a whole. I know the current death penalty is not a dealbreaker system that would make me wish I had my VIP pledge back, and it makes me question how much research some of the other VIP backers did before opening their bank account.

    Nanfoodle
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    That sounds like the response of someone who hasnt been paying attention.  Just because someone has pledged a large sum doesnt mean they have been following closely from the beginning or that they have gaming experience to have played early eq at the high end to even know how that death penalty affected the gameplay.  (Most of the current developers don't...maybe none do? For that matter)  

    Until recently VR has advertised naked corpse runs.  They have showed it in dozens of streams.  To show it to the community repeatedly for 5+ years and then go back on such a major system after taking pledges from people who were expecting it to be what they have shown repeatedly seems shady..

    Personally, I will give the current system a chance but the way it was handled was poor at best. 

     Info leaked that they were going away from naked corpse runs and people were confused or upset so joppa went onto the unofficial discord channel one night and set it straight that it was true.  It was very unprofessional how it was handled which is pretty standard for VR in a lot of circumstances.  The team doesnt have a lot of experience or professional PR people and it shows.


  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    edited September 2020
    TwoTubes said:
    That sounds like the response of someone who hasnt been paying attention.  Just because someone has pledged a large sum doesnt mean they have been following closely from the beginning or that they have gaming experience to have played early eq at the high end to even know how that death penalty affected the gameplay.  (Most of the current developers don't...maybe none do? For that matter)  

    Until recently VR has advertised naked corpse runs.  They have showed it in dozens of streams.  To show it to the community repeatedly for 5+ years and then go back on such a major system after taking pledges from people who were expecting it to be what they have shown repeatedly seems shady..

    Personally, I will give the current system a chance but the way it was handled was poor at best. 

     Info leaked that they were going away from naked corpse runs and people were confused or upset so joppa went onto the unofficial discord channel one night and set it straight that it was true.  It was very unprofessional how it was handled which is pretty standard for VR in a lot of circumstances.  The team doesnt have a lot of experience or professional PR people and it shows.


    Sounds like you have not been following closely. Bard has always said, the death penalty would always land between EQ1 and VR. (he has said this more than a few times) The team had feelers on the forums and VIP members as to feedback on the death penalty. Why would they do this if it was all decided?

    Anything in the game was a placeholder till they figured out what worked best for their game. When they landed on what death penalty best suited their game and its systems, VR closed all discussions on death penalties. The only feedback they will take on the subject now, is from testers. So try again.
    achesomaBrainy
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    Sigh...more misinformation. 
     The accurate part of that post is that statements were made by VR that the death penalty would likely land between EQ and VG.  

    They had also stated at one point that naked corpse runs were planned and showed multiple streams confirming this.  They later went back on that and made statements that naked corpse runs were still being decided upon but continued to show gameplay with naked corpse runs.

    Very similar to how originally they said there was going to be level loss.  Since then that has been stated as being very much up in the air and is still undecided at this point.  Just another example of something they have gone back on.

    Its like when they have given us multiple date estimates for testing/release in the past and those dates end up being multiple years off. 

    At some point it becomes disingenuous to tell the community something and have the timeline be so far off that it is simply completely wrong..and people have been donating expecting what they are told to be accurate.

    Kyleran
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,936
    TwoTubes said:
    ... and people have been donating expecting what they are told to be accurate.


    People should ALWAYS donate expecting things to change.
    KyleranNanfoodle
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    Sovrath said:
    TwoTubes said:
    ... and people have been donating expecting what they are told to be accurate.


    People should ALWAYS donate expecting things to change.
    Maybe I should have worded that better...
    People expected not be lied to in order for the company to make money.
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,936
    TwoTubes said:
    Sovrath said:
    TwoTubes said:
    ... and people have been donating expecting what they are told to be accurate.


    People should ALWAYS donate expecting things to change.
    Maybe I should have worded that better...
    People expected not be lied to in order for the company to make money.

    I don't think those who donated were lied to.

    I fully think that they had an idea as to what the game was going to be and then as development went on the discussion of who would actually be their player base continued and after playtesting came up with the changes.


    KyleranNanfoodle
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    Maybe, at what point do date "estimates" being multiple years off repeatedly be considered no longer reasonable?  
    At some point people feel like they are being lied to or at least taken advantage of.
  • achesomaachesoma Member RarePosts: 1,768
    From 2016. 

    Preaching Pantheon to People at PAX  PAX East 2018 Day 4 - YouTube
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    Ya, there ^ is one of the  "between eq and vanguard" quotes..  They have told us so many different things over the years on death penalty it rivals the amount timeframes we have been given that never came to fruition.
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,936
    TwoTubes said:
    Maybe, at what point do date "estimates" being multiple years off repeatedly be considered no longer reasonable?  
    At some point people feel like they are being lied to or at least taken advantage of.

    The one thing I know, from having a life time of "creating things" is that it really is like shooting a bullet with a bullet.

    And as I've mentioned this before, and I feel it's a good example, I was supposed to have been finished with my Skyrim mod last January. Then I pushed it back two months. Surely I'd finish it. I even told people at work and friends that it would just take a two more months.

    Now I'm 7 months behind my finish date and working on it whenever I can so it's not another 2 months.

    Granted, there is a difference between creating a game from scratch and creating a video game mod (though for some, like the skyblivion project, they are practically creating it from scratch) but did I lie to the people I told "end of January?" Did I lie when I said two more months?

    No. I was just wrong.
    Kyleran
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    edited September 2020
    Ya, thats a good example and I like giving them the benefit of the doubt.  It does seem like things have progressed since Brad...but not necessarily in the direction that has been advertised from the beginning.

    On the flip side there is a big difference between you slacking on a mod and a team of people earning millions of dollars and not producing what is advertised anywhere close to the timeline they advertised.  Giving them the benefit of the doubt 6 years after they have missed so many self designated timelines seems to be lenient to say the least...

    In most professions this wouldnt fly and they would be let go.
  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,936
    edited September 2020
    TwoTubes said:
    Ya, thats a good example and I like giving them the benefit of the doubt.  It does seem like things have progressed since Brad...but not necessarily in the direction that has been advertised from the beginning.

    On the flip side there is a big difference between you slacking on a mod and a team of people earning millions of dollars and not producing what is advertised anywhere close to the timeline they advertised.  Giving them the benefit of the doubt 6 years after they have missed so many self designated timelines seems to be lenient to say the least...

    In most professions this wouldnt fly and they would be let go.

    Just to clarify, there wasn't really any slacking. Oh sure, I took some time a few years ago here and there (I've been working on this a very long time "when" I could find the time,) but I work on it as much as I can. It's a rather large mod. (crap! it's about 110 maps of varying sizes)

    The issues were as follows ... (and will bend around to my point about Pantheon)

    1, not being clear on the initial scope or design. Or "look ma, I'm makin' a mod!" Which boils down to me just being excited to make rooms and spaces and fill them with "stuff."

    2, Feature creep. Adding a few things that I knew would make it better but because of their scope and because bugginess of the creation kit, lack of any scripting knowledge (my philosophy, for lack of a better word, is "what can I do without any scripting knowledge" - quite a bit actually) and figuring out the "how" added time.

    3, Going from a macro design workflow (that sort of sounds right) to getting into the minutiae and creating the "quest/events" pretty much taught me that what happens on the larger scope always has to be looking toward what will eventually happen on the smaller level.

    That's a really bad paragraph so let me explain.

    When creating all the rooms, hallways, large expanses, I always knew what would happen in each place. Then, when all that was done and it was time to get into the events/quest like info, dialogue, etc, I realized that I had spun out a considerable amount of work without even realizing it.

    Example: When I created a room with a vampire that would rise and attack I didn't realize how much work the "fine-toothed mind" would create when I decided that would be "same old same old" and instead created a more elaborate space with a Vampire that engages the player in conversation... yadda, yadda yadda ... more work.

    So I now have an understanding, albeit small, of what developers must go through when creating the world of a game, the events, how the player moves through the space, etc.

    4, not willing to edit out stuff or "kill my darlings" as we used to say in school.

    So getting back to Pantheon, small budget, restarting their teams several times, death of the "leader" and possibly bad or at least troubled project management (or just inexperience,) I am amazed that any such game can get finished. I don't think the developers are making millions of millions of dollars. I think everyone is kind of getting by so they can finish it.

    And I hope they do, though I do have doubts.

    And huge thanks to anyone who got through that! :#
    Post edited by Sovrath on
    Brainy
    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

    Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w


    Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547

    Try the "Special Edition." 'Cause it's "Special." https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64878/?tab=description

    Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo 
  • TwoTubesTwoTubes Member UncommonPosts: 328
    edited September 2020
    Ya, I hope they finish it to.  
    While we expect VR to be more professional than your Skyrim mod lol its probably a closer comparison than it should be unfortunately.
  • goldwheatgoldwheat Member UncommonPosts: 69
    TwoTubes said:
    ...
    While we expect VR to be more professional than your Skyrim mod lol its probably a closer comparison than it should be unfortunately.
    I don't expect them to be more professional, and I'm not disappointed.
    They're a bunch of independent software developers.  Visionary Realms has never produced a product as a group of employees.  Why would I expect more professionalism out of them than Sovrath?  They're functionally equivalent.

    A large publisher has policies, guidelines, rules and in some cases, regulations they must follow in every task or action any employee performs.  This is not the case with Visionary Realms.  They're the equivalent of a garage band making music.  No-one can hold them accountable for anything.  Ever.

    They are artists supported by anonymous/private donations.  They don't have to pay back, return, or provide anything to the donators, ever.  It's the dream of every software developer who has ever wanted to create a video game, and they have squandered it.

    They could take all the money and walk away and there is zero recourse for anyone.  At least with Kickstarter, they don't get the money until they deliver something.  That this project failed in their Kickstarter was the first of many very large red flags.
    [Deleted User]Sovrath
  • DafAtRandomDafAtRandom Member UncommonPosts: 129
    Investing money in a crowdfunded game is very much like investing time (and money) into a relationship.  You get into it knowing the general idea of the concept (person or game).  However, games, as well as relationships and people, evolve over time.  It is completely absurd to expect a game being in early stages of development to not evolve into its own thing over the course of several years.  Same with a relationship.  The significant other will evolve outside of the relationship as well.  They may start having new interests you don't care about, or develop character traits they didn't have initially.  If it comes to a point you're not satisfied with your investment, then you always have the option to leave.

    Getting riled up for something like the death penalty changing is about the equivalent of being with someone who initially said they love to go watch a ballgame live twice a month, then over the course of several years they evolve into preferring to watch the games on TV.  Were you lied to ? No.  It's called evolution, which is to be 100% expected from something that is in constant development (a game still in development, or a relationship).  It is up to you, as a person, to decide if you still want to be in that partnership, or to go your own way looking for greener pastures.

    It kind of blows my mind that the same crowd who constantly make excuses for a genre (well, the game is still in beta, so even if the game releases in 3 hours, the devs still have time to fix this completely broken feature before release !) is also very reluctant to accept change can and will happen over the course of several years (Hey look, I found this one quote taken out of context from an article 6 years ago, which proves without a doubt that they never intended to do things this way !)

    If you don't like the direction a game in development is going, then leave.  The money you invested was always to buy in an idea.  It's not like Pantheon decided to change its entire premise and became a farming simulator.  If you're someone that gets easily upset about features that represent 0.2% of a game at release, then waiting for games to be fully released and examining their feature set in their entirety is probably the route you should take from now on.
Sign In or Register to comment.