WAR (Warhammer Online)

Originally posted by Arkane_A

I agree with your post except the reference to the CE subbers. I would think every single person buying a CE currently knows there is no official forums and knows where the four or five main fan sites are located at.

Maybe, maybe not.

It's possible that some of the CE's could go to tabletop gamers that will be playing their very first MMO with WAR, and only because it's a Warhammer game. They might have very limited experience with the way Mythic works, and that's a potential hazard that Mythic has to take into consideration.

I will readily admit that a lot of official forums become a cesspool of whines and flames. However, it's still a service that a game company should offer as an incentive to potential customers. It all goes back to justifying the expense for people. If you have to pay retail, then pay again on top of that before you ever get to play, shouldn't you get something in return that goes above and beyond being told to go to a bunch of unofficial fansites for any information?

Originally posted by acidblood

This thread (and all the others like it) just goes to prove EAmythic is making the right choice by not having official forums. I mean if you get this worked up about something that probably won't even effect you, and you haven’t even spent a single cent on, just imagine the uproar when Class A on Side B has a better skill than Class F on Side A.

Have all you people complaining about the lack of official forums even tried to read the WoW ones? They are nothing but a s*** slinging match over the latest 'issue' of class balance (cause, you know, your class is perfectly fine, it's all the others that are broken) or the endless debate over 'casuals' vs. 'hardcore', there is very little useful feedback and genuinely good ideas there, and personally I don't blame anyone for not want to read them professionally as I still maintain the be best way to kick a WoW habit it to start reading the forums.

Also, there is nothing official posted there that could not be put in:

A. A newsletter.

B. The front page of the official site, probably with a link to a more in-depth article on it.

C. In a dedicated tech support area FAQ / Recent Issues and Solutions sections of the official site where you can communicate with tech support via a form and they could e-mail you back directly, rather than you having to keep checking for a response on a forum ever few minutes.

Personally I don't care if WAR has an official forum or not, but I like that they don’t as hopefully this means the devs can spend more time and more money on making a better game and less shifting through rubbish. Maybe the monthly fee will even be cheaper because of it (though it is EA so I doubt that... speaking of EA I don't even want to imagine all the 'F*** EA' threads that will inevitably drown out any sort of sensible discussion every time there’s even the slightest issue with the game).

See this stupid class fight argument again this IS NOT ABOUT HAVING A FORUM TO MOAN ABOUT CLASS IMBALANCE ! its about having a offical forum to discuss issue affecting the game customer service , server issues , account problems , client problems.....And then some offical server forum would good aswell ive played mmorpgs since i was 18 (25 now) and i never knew anyone who used a fansite and half didnt even know the names of any.Sure they used website to find out info for quests and addons but thats a diffrent subject.And you get omg this class is overpowerd on any kind of game forum. Your not forced to read that crap anyway !

forums i would be fine with a offical tech and server forum and dont give me this you can get all that on a fan site because i cant thats not good enough im a eu player the vast majority of fan sites are by americans and run by rabbid and i mean rabbid fan boys who will ban for any negative comment you mite make. ie those vanguard forums.And if devs are you supose to post on the american fan sites then what about the eu fansites will they be posting there about eu issues ? i dont think there going to have the time to go everywhere at once now do you ?

Oh and they arent charging less than the usualy monthly fee THERE CHARGING MORE .....

Originally posted by Lidane

 

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Originally posted by therain93

 

Subscription-based games capture and retain their customers by sheer virtue of the subscription model.

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What? Not even close. Subscription based games capture and retain their customers by offering a game that people enjoy along with extra services (which includes official forums, BTW) that give more value to -- and therefore, more reason to pay for-- their product.

If you want people to pay full retail plus a monthly fee to play your game, you have to give them a reason to justify the expense. It's not just the game, but the whole package, including services offered, that have to be taken into account. Making them pay to play your game, then expecting them to go elsewhere to get any answers undercuts that added value.

 

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Non-subscription games can only reinforce their memberships by expanding their reach as much as possible, i.e. using the forums as tool to make the players invest/re-invest personal interest in the game.

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This is partly true. Also, some people just don't see a reason to pay for an MMO when there are free games to play too, so they're naturally drawn to a free model. For proof of this, please see Guild Wars, which has more players than all of SOE's games combined.

Thank you Captain Obvious for these amazing observations -- people will pay for games they like and people are naturally drawn to free stuff.  Where do you come up with this?  Seriously though, of course those tendencies are true but that wasn't my point.

My mistake was not elaborating on why someone returns froma moment to moment basis.  In a subscription model, because you are purchasing 30 days (or some period of time) at a pop, the issue of returning or abandoning a game typically comes up near expiration -- it's a small window and the quality of the game/experience (more than access to a forum) will dictate resubscribing.  On the other hand, a free game has no window -- the user can abandon it at any time and therefore the best method to retain that user is to make them invest as much into it personally (and frequently vis a vis forums when they cannot be in game) as possible. 

The ROI for forums is significantly lower for a subscription service than for a free game.

    Wow you guys are pretty silly. If you all are so worried about there being an official forum go to

www.warhammeronline.com, click the Herald Button found at the top of the page, on the left side of the page

under the COMMUNITY heading click Forums and Fansites, click on Warhammer alliance, click forums at the

top of page.

   There you go all you fkn whiners who want a place to talk about the game start making that forum the official

"I want to cry about no Official Forums Official Forum" and quit wasting HD space on mmorpg.com with\

rediculous whining.

    I want someone to please explain the game/social breaking elements between a Official Forum and a

Non-official forum. I have been into MMO's since eq and my total post count across all these official forums

is zero. You know why? Because what does wasting 10 minutes of your life on debates and issues that

pertain to a video game really accomplish in your life? JACK SHlT. if you play the game and like it keep

playing it. If you find a bug report it. Or does it make you feel all squishy and warm inside when an "Official"

Forum poster says "Thanks for your feedback we are currently aware of this issue and will be looking into it."

  WOW now thats Official

p.s before I get flamed about saying posting is a waste of time so why am i making this post? Well

because I can do whatever I want ,whenever I want, however I want.

Originally posted by XImpalerX

    Wow you guys are pretty silly. If you all are so worried about there being an official forum go to

www.warhammeronline.com, click the Herald Button found at the top of the page, on the left side of the page

under the COMMUNITY heading click Forums and Fansites, click on Warhammer alliance, click forums at the

top of page.

 

   There you go all you fkn whiners who want a place to talk about the game start making that forum the official

"I want to cry about no Official Forums Official Forum" and quit wasting HD space on mmorpg.com with\

rediculous whining.

 

    I want someone to please explain the game/social breaking elements between a Official Forum and a

Non-official forum. I have been into MMO's since eq and my total post count across all these official forums

is zero. You know why? Because what does wasting 10 minutes of your life on debates and issues that

pertain to a video game really accomplish in your life? JACK SHlT. if you play the game and like it keep

playing it. If you find a bug report it. Or does it make you feel all squishy and warm inside when an "Official"

Forum poster says "Thanks for your feedback we are currently aware of this issue and will be looking into it."

 

  WOW now thats Official

p.s before I get flamed about saying posting is a waste of time so why am i making this post? Well

because I can do whatever I want ,whenever I want, however I want.

 

Fact is, there are a lot of really great fansites. The question is whether or not EA will establish a presence on all of the ones on their "Forums and Fansites" list (the one on the Herald). They're taking steps in the right direction with the monthly "Grab Bags".

Originally posted by XImpalerX

    Wow you guys are pretty silly. If you all are so worried about there being an official forum go to

www.warhammeronline.com, click the Herald Button found at the top of the page, on the left side of the page

under the COMMUNITY heading click Forums and Fansites, click on Warhammer alliance, click forums at the

top of page.

 

   There you go all you fkn whiners who want a place to talk about the game start making that forum the official

"I want to cry about no Official Forums Official Forum" and quit wasting HD space on mmorpg.com with\

rediculous whining.

 

    I want someone to please explain the game/social breaking elements between a Official Forum and a

Non-official forum. I have been into MMO's since eq and my total post count across all these official forums

is zero. You know why? Because what does wasting 10 minutes of your life on debates and issues that

pertain to a video game really accomplish in your life? JACK SHlT. if you play the game and like it keep

playing it. If you find a bug report it. Or does it make you feel all squishy and warm inside when an "Official"

Forum poster says "Thanks for your feedback we are currently aware of this issue and will be looking into it."

 

  WOW now thats Official

p.s before I get flamed about saying posting is a waste of time so why am i making this post? Well

because I can do whatever I want ,whenever I want, however I want.

 

You played EQ, eh? So did I. I spent time on the official boards especially on the day it launched because all of EQ kept crashing and I wanted updates. Our concerns were expressed in one place in masse and were answered in one place. No need to search, no need to figure out which fan site was the "most connected". Going forth from that day, every mmo I played had an official board where I research server based events, particiapted in the give and take of bug threads and player related issues. My personal experience is that I prefer official boards to be present because issues are addressed with efficiency because the community comes to said places as a whole and expresses their concerns.

Again, accountability is the key. I see nowhere that the employees of the company in question are responsible for reading the fan sites. If they are not required to read, then there really is no way to hold them accountable. Yes, there will be certain sites that have the inside track..but then again - it will be represented as a splinter rather than the log a community really is.

Again, its not game breaking. For those who have pasts where posting or reading forums was not an issue. Honestly, I acknolwedge their existence. They are no less a gamer than I. I respect that. That being said - I am actively searching for an MMO. I like MMOs with official forums as my personal experience has them being necessary and effective. The fact that this thread exists indicates that I am not alone in this. Respect our experiences and the fact that we are no less gamers. And then when you want our subscriptions to help depose WoW (and you will need every one that you can grab to beat its fabled numbers) - grant us a service that has become an industry standard. Until then, for me it really keeps me from really becoming a fan.

its about having a offical forum to discuss issue affecting the game customer service , server issues , account problems , client problems.....

And what part of that can not be done just as effectively, if not better, with a well designed, frequently updated and informative support page on the official website?

It would have a form so people could submit questions, but because the only thing people would see ‘posted’ is what has been put there by the support team it stops it from turning into a giant mess, and don’t think that just because it’s a tech support forum that 12 year olds won’t bring their other ‘issues’ there.

They will see it as the place to go to communicate directly with the devs, and as such will feel entitled to post about all sorts of rubbish. Sure you could justifiably suspend / ban them but would you really want to go through all the hassle just for the appearance of having an official forum when your goal can be achieved just as effectively in a way that doesn’t have those drawbacks?

Originally posted by kefkah

 

Originally posted by XImpalerX

    Wow you guys are pretty silly. If you all are so worried about there being an official forum go to

www.warhammeronline.com, click the Herald Button found at the top of the page, on the left side of the page

under the COMMUNITY heading click Forums and Fansites, click on Warhammer alliance, click forums at the

top of page.

 

   There you go all you fkn whiners who want a place to talk about the game start making that forum the official

"I want to cry about no Official Forums Official Forum" and quit wasting HD space on mmorpg.com with\

rediculous whining.

 

    I want someone to please explain the game/social breaking elements between a Official Forum and a

Non-official forum. I have been into MMO's since eq and my total post count across all these official forums

is zero. You know why? Because what does wasting 10 minutes of your life on debates and issues that

pertain to a video game really accomplish in your life? JACK SHlT. if you play the game and like it keep

playing it. If you find a bug repo