General Discussion

To Ngeldu5t:

So according to this logic, LOTRO is a flop because it didn't allow unrestricted access in OB? I would expect grindfests without a story to allow unrestricted access. But lately it seems that the games with a strong backstory seem to want to prevent players from spoiling all the surprises.

This is not the first game that has level restrictions, nor will it be the last. The game might be unpolished after the starting areas, but the level restriction is not a direct indication of such a thing. It just raises concerns.

"So, why not just go with a free Torrent download?

“To that I can only say we were one of the first gaming companies to start Torrent distribution a few years ago with Anarchy Online, and of course we know a lot about Torrents, but setting up this for such an event would have served to make us lose focus right before launch. It would not have helped any of us, and running Torrents are about a lot more than just letting the world do it themselves. It needs a lot of work to get it right, and ensure good speed and a smooth customer experience."

I dont know what they are talking about....The torrents are already set up, if you are in the Real Beta you can DL directly or grab a torrent for the client. I find that whole interview very funny indeed.

the big amount of haters just leaves me guessing... why? why are there so many ppl bitching?

1. they are all trolls / they have nothing better to do then bashing a game which doesnt even interest them, if u dislike a game then why? why are u here? if i saw a game that sucked balls id turn around and look for something more entertaining. Do u all have so much free time that u are flaming at a piece of software? ur all soo funny... if it fails then thats that, what does it matter to you if u didnt like it anyway?

2. they all want it to succeed, but dont agree to choices FC makes

I have been paying FilePlanet for years, and they are well worth the money. Frankly if someone is not in a place to afford to pay for services like FilePlanet then there stand a much higher chance of not being able to purchase the game, and pay the monthly subscription rates. So who cares about them.

Having said that there are other large concerns about patching from Funcom. I have been patching the client for 18 hours now, and I have broadband. I think I am only half of the way done with the patch also. I see on the Conan forum others are having the same lousy speed. This is with 50,000 testers and not 600,000 subscribers. How Funcom thinks they are going to pull this off is cleary a  . 

I preordered, but if this beta is like some of their other games beta was I might be forced to back out and return to WOW  .  Already I know that large portions of what was advertised has not been in the closed beta. I remember that SWG did this also, and look how that turned out.

Originally posted by therain93

I think people whining about charging for the beta are acting ridiculously and their accusation is baseless.

Funcom isn't charging for it -- the keys were reserved exclusively for fileplanet subscribers.  Existing subscribers already saw value to the service and for them the key was a perk.  People running out to subscribe just for access and then complaining that they aren't getting value for the service because they only wanted the key....are silly.  The key is a perk of the service as a whole -- if they didn't do research before making the purchase, well the old saying holds true: a fool and his money part quickly.

Whether it is called an open beta or a fileplanet beta is meaningless.

The part about "If they didn't do research before making the purchase" is problematic for me, since FilePlanet isn't saying whether any keys are available before you have to join.

And since I personally feel that FilePlanet is overrated, their services are crap, and the level of tracking cookies and spyware is too high (like mentioned above) I only access their site on a live cd computer which gets wiped ASAP after any browsing or download is done, any subscription to their crap is a complete waste of money.

All in all I think I'll wait for the first real trial to see if it's worth anything.

And about polished n00b areas, FunCom did make the n00b isle for the Alien Invasion expansion for Anarchy Online which didn't feel or play like the normal game (not even with all the expansions, yes I DO have a fully expanded AO account which I haven't played on for ages (When FC did the ShadowLands expansion they at least made the n00b area like the rest of the expansion, even though the rest of it still lacked the polish, quest density and testing that the n00b area had)).

Originally posted by Beta1234

 
And since I personally feel that FilePlanet is overrated, their services are crap, and the level of tracking cookies and spyware is too high (like mentioned above) I only access their site on a live cd computer which gets wiped ASAP after any browsing or download is done, any subscription to their crap is a complete waste of money.

Let me guess. You never leave the hourse without a tinfoil hat in case the government is scanning your thoughts?

Overall, I thought the article was pretty direct about the Open Beta and their reasons behind it.

Too many games get lost in the beta process and make the beta more about marketing than they do about control and testing.

Funcom, to me has done the best job of controlling and focusing a beta on testing, rather than marketing. And I work in Software Development.

Many people complain and flame developers when things don't go their way, in this case, a free and open to anyone beta. They question their abilities, motives, and anything else.

From technical betas, to the PvP, to the "Not so Open" Open Beta, I think and fully anticipate Age of Conan to have one of the most stable launches in this genre. In the stress tests, I didn't see any "show stoppers" as devs would call em.

I personally like the fact they limited the levels in Open Beta to Level 13. It allows them to focus on the content, lag/latency, and issues that revolve around the most used and abused area come launch time.

The goal of betas is not to let you sample and try as you please, its still to test, even in open ones. I think many people are just passionate about this game coming out, and for some people who may seem to be close, but can't get into the open beta, the last thing they see fit to do is flame the people who have created a game we all I am sure will enjoy for years to come.

Originally posted by Samuraisword

A bunch of lame excuses from Funcom. Paying to beta test is retarded. I call shenanigans.

  Nobody is paying to beta test, if you have a file planet subscription then good for you, you get the perks that goes along with it...but if you want to plop down a subscription fee  JUST to test out a game then thats your business and yes you are paying, but that s on you

Originally posted by DefiledF

Originally posted by Beta1234

 
And since I personally feel that FilePlanet is overrated, their services are crap, and the level of tracking cookies and spyware is too high (like mentioned above) I only access their site on a live cd computer which gets wiped ASAP after any browsing or download is done, any subscription to their crap is a complete waste of money.

Let me guess. You never leave the hourse without a tinfoil hat in case the government is scanning your thoughts?

But then I guess you never leave your house without posting your banking details and a complete password list on your front door?

I don't pay to test a product and make it better so a company can make more money. Thanks for playing Funcom but I will pass on your game.