Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Artermis

Although i like constructive critism, all of part one looks at 'issues' of the launch, and doesnt mention any good points. He thinks they did that bad? Personally, me and the rest of my wow guild got onto a server with 0 problems and have been playing hapily ever since.

Does he think double the amount of servers should of been opened on day 1 ? Hence having low population servers?

Is part 2 the same old bashing? and nothing good on funcoms behalf. In my opinion they have a massive task ahead of them for the first few months at least, and are doing a good job.

I have to head off home from work now or i would post more, but to me it seems to be just a bashing news post.

Again, as the article says, this is his own look at the launch. The point of the article is to look at what went wrong.

Having an article that shows both would of been the way to go.

I started to read his part 2, same old thing so i didnt bother reading it all.

Maybe all games released are scrutinised by mmorpg like this? In that case, Funcom/Age of Conan would be shown as standing tall above the rest.

It's just a really crappy and un-needed way to repay your advertisers.

Originally posted by tormunda

Anyone want to actually give a balanced review of the launch?

This one is just shockingly poor.

I walked into my nearest retailer and picked up a copy on the 23rd May, a few hours later i was happily playing age of conan.

So far, in 47 levels i have had 4 issues, raised a ticket for each and all solved.

-----------------------------------

Hows that? True story. For a new mmorpg I cannot grumble, and i bet many hundreds of thousands of people who bought the game have the same review as mine.

This is a sad and unbalance review which MMORPG.com should be ashame of

WOW the world leading MMO had a horrible game launch with them also adding servers and huge patches

the only point I get from this reviewer is he hates FUNCOM

I got the game a few days after launch...zero wait..zero lag..zero problems

one of the best playing MMORPG after only a few days after launch

this game also by far has the best starting mission set and story line, how can you be a grown person and know nothing about the world you live in.

there are of couse things about the game I do not like...group bars are to small and lack needed info....finding group members on map...group members sent to different instances at zoning to name just a few....

can only hope someone writes a review about the game instead of their hate for the company Funcom next time

The one thing that bothers me most here is the fact that most the criticism is coming from a bunch of  WoW Fanboi's. Lets look back on the history of releases of successful MMO's shall we? I think i'll start with WoW one of my favorites. WoW had the most DISAPPOINTING RELEASE PREPARATION of any MMO out other then Anarchy online. Lets see as the game was released didnt they take the servers down for an entire WEEK because they miscalculated the popularity of there product? Didn't WoW get released and was still not even stable there were class balance issues, various instance issues, there were just to many bugs to fix and look at it now. The most successful MMO in history and it had a worse start then AoC. AoC actually has managed there game ALOT better then blizzard did  in the beginning. Funcom knows what there doing and knows how to handle issues. Unlike blizzard who avoids the issues and would rather throw around random patches to cause more bugs. Anyone who played release knows what im talking about with WoW. Aside from that I think that AoC has the potential to put up a fight against other MMO's like WoW, Eve, Everquest, LOTR, COH and many others I believe that give it 2-3 months and it will be one of the most stable games out there. Funcom is know for making games stable look at anarchy online one of the best games ive ever played. One of the most buggy at release but after a couple months became one of the most successful games in history. I rest my case and my argument.

Thank you,

Reverb out!

Well,

All I have to say is AoC was the best launch I have been in!

So sure there where problems but for 95% of the people did not have problems.

I find myself coming less and less to this site due to all the negative comments and flat out lies I have read on this site in the fourms.

My advice is buy the game your going to have a lot of fun!

Originally posted by ajax7

So sure there where problems but for 95% of the people did not have problems.

There is nothing smooth about  this game.   Crafting is a total cluster****. 

At level 50 I have 4 quests in my book.... My higher level guildies are screaming for something to do other than grind. 

 The game was launched about 1 yr prematurely. 

Originally posted by Smilex0311

 

Originally posted by ajax7

So sure there where problems but for 95% of the people did not have problems.

LOL !!!!  Thats a good one.  Did you start  just yesterday?

 

There is nothing smooth about  this game.   Crafting is a total cluster****. 

At level 50 I have 4 quests in my book.... My higher level guildies are screaming for something to do other than grind. 

 The game was launched about 1 yr prematurely. 

Well you must be challenged because I hit 50 yesterday and have at least 11 quests not completed for my lvl. More false information.

The reviewer hit the nail on the head.  Funcom customer support has always been abysmal and I have extreme doubts they will ever get it right.

The game has such lack of content, especially past 50, that they will have cancelations before the 30 days is up.  Since you can get to 50 in two weeks easily, there will be a lot of players finding this out.

Funcom did as expected, foisted a half finished game on the gaming world.  Anyone commending it is really wearing blinders. 

The Lotr release makes Funcome look like a bunch of rookies, Lotr had 10 times the content at release than AoC.  

This is one of those games that will be much better in a year, of course Funcom has to wake up and fix their customer service blunders.

Originally posted by ajax7

Originally posted by Smilex0311

 

Originally posted by ajax7

So sure there where problems but for 95% of the people did not have problems.

LOL !!!!  Thats a good one.  Did you start  just yesterday?

 

There is nothing smooth about  this game.   Crafting is a total cluster****. 

At level 50 I have 4 quests in my book.... My higher level guildies are screaming for something to do other than grind. 

 The game was launched about 1 yr prematurely. 

Well you must be challenged because I hit 50 yesterday and have at least 11 quests not completed for my lvl. More false information.

No dude, no.....a PoM is challenged in this game LOL another good one.  Ok you have 7 quests more..... heh, all that means is i finished mine before you.  Funcom has even stated (I cant quote from where) they are aiming to add content for 50+ this summer....Hence 2 patches a week for bugs and adding content.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

This is one of those games that will be much better in a year

Couldnt agree more, anyone saying different needs to go look at WAR online. That game looks far more ready for release from what i have seen.  And it should be for the amount of time in development.

The thing is the the early game is pretty polished. You tend to over look or forgive issues you notice. The real problems  appear a bit further in. Really there is an awful lot missing stuff or stuff justjust slung in for the later game. Actually there is not much later game and that is more of a concern than a few bugs and slightly bumpy launch. There is nothing to do mid to end game (certainly after about 3 or 4 days played time) and it seems as if FC are not particularly what this game is going to be about.

In a nutshell worth playing but its an experience the early content and then move on deal for me.

I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to share their comments on this article.  I'll address each comment thread separately in order to try and keep a bit of continuity flowing within the threads.  I will do my best to be orderly as I do so.  Please forgive me if I introduce any confusing elements, as that is not my intent.  If you want clarification on anything, simply ask.  You took th time to write, so you deserve my time in return.  (People with multiple posts are actually replied to in separate sections under their names.)

Without further ado, my responses to your comments:

@Artermis - As the article is roughly chronologically based and was boken into two parts, the initial article contained what could be considered nothing but negativity.  In part two and in the Q&A I have a few more positive things to say.  That said, I don't believe that it is my task to artificially inject sunshine into a piece.  I wrote what I did because it was appropriate given my experiences, and the experiences of others around me.

It seems rather pointless to state that you didn't bother to read something and then render commentary . . . but since you bothered to type something, you get something back.  The first "m" in MMORPG stands fo MASSIVE.  Any company releasing a game in the market needs to accept the fact that it is possible for massive to mean "really really really huge" and to prepare accordingly.  The fact that Funcom in act failed to be adequately prepared is te entire point of the piece.  It is a post-mortem of a game launch, and is (probably) very close to what the company has admitted to internally.  If Mythic had released WAR and Funcom had delayed AoC you might very well be reading a similar article about what Mythic did during the launch of that title.  It has nothing at all to do with a specific company, and I would welcome the opportunity to cover every single launch from here on out with a similar article here on MMORPG.com if Stradden wants me to.  I believe the developers are tough enough to handle the criticism.  After all, they managed to stick out the five year journey to get to the release, and that's taken some serious fortitude.

The fact hat you personally have had a pleasant experience is great.  I'm happy for you.  I too have had numerous issues solved in game, but I don't find the amount of time it has taken support to do so at all satisfactory for a game in any stage.  Gamebreakers that hold you up over 24 hours due to insufficient support personnel are unacceptable to most gamers.  If any of the same had happened to you or to your friends I suspect you would not be so quick to condemn me as biased.  It is inaccurate to suggest that Funcom support is excellent and the game does not have issues.  Funcom support is overwhelmed (and hiring if anyone needs a job) and the game as numerous issues which affect a given percentage of players.  I could have said the same thing about the majority of MMORPG launches and been correct.

@mike470 - I do recognize the challenge of having success hit you in the face and then have difficulty dealing with it.  I certainly do wish to impart empathy, while maintaining my point: things could have been handled better.  I hope that in the future we can be candid about the things that go wrong because I believe that it is the best way to improve the industry as a whole.  Accountability starts with accepting your role in what has functioned poorly.  That goes for the MMORPG development companies, the investors, the distributors, the resellers, the players, and the press.

@Ben1778 - I certainly hope that lessons have been learned, and not just by Funcom.  To be honest the other MMORPG development companies should be paying attention to these events.  As should distributors and resellers.  Things went wrong in many different parts of he chain.  I'm with you in hoping that things improve from here.

@boinged - Things went wrong without any shadow of a doubt.  The launch was not perfect.  The reasons things went wrong are very important, but in the end it is the result which matters.  The end result was a game launch which left a large number of players dissatisfied.  While there may have been little Funcom could have done during the launch phase to remedy some isues, as I pointed out, there are others they simply failed to competently handle.

@galad2003 - While amusing, you are of course aware that your summary of my writing is wholly inaccurate.  No points awarded.  The interesting thing about an MMO launch is that you can actually "brace for impact" by spending more money (on a short term basis) to ensure that should you run into an aberration in your launch numbers, you are able to absorb the issues quickly and with little noticable impact.  The downside of this is that it requires a larger outlay of money the more protection you decide to build in.  It is evident that the built in protection was insufficient in this case.

@silverreign - The amount of polish present in a game is irrelevant to the ability of the developers to keep the servers open for paying customers.  The amount of content present in a game means nothing if customers are unable to register an account key.  I am not writing based upon the presence of DX10 or the inclusion of Battlekeeps.  I am simply detailing facts as they relate to the opening of the game, and the ability of the customers to play it.  Polish and content will come in time, and are immaterial to the subject matter of this article.

@MindTrigger - It remains to be see what the impact of this launch will have on the number of people willing to continue paying for the product.  With the lack of major releases in recent history (Tabula Rasa being the last fairly major title to hit shelves late in 2007) and the fact that no major titles will arrive on scene until late 2008, we may be seeing more a hope or desire for something new and  worthy than an actual belief that AoC is that worthy title.  Time, as they say, will tell.  Hopefully the game will be improved to address the issues many trialists (those not renewing after 30 days) have faced.

@Gorilla - I'd assume that you've seen by now that part 2 addresses the lack of Customer Support staff in and out of game.

I can agree that the firs part of the game is very much worth playing.  In fact a good strategy for those who find themselves enjoying the game might be to restart a new alt every time one of their characters reaches a point at which it becomes less fun to advance.  Giving Funcom some time to add in content at certain levels may be a good idea and help people enjoy AoC more.

@JK-Kanosi - There are some serious issues with mob respawn rates in some select areas, for sure.  Not unusual in a new (or even old) MMO of course.  Due to the dependence upon specific spawns and drops for the completion of content (quests) it does seem at times as if the content was designed from the perspective of adventuring in an area with just one person or one group.  On the FFA servers this leads to some rather serious fighting over spawns.  That could be considered "added content" but for many people is simply frustrating.  I am sorry to hear that your ssues have prevented you from enjoying the game enough.  I hope Funcom can resolve some of them quickly so you can rejoin the game soon.

@AikenDrum - Hopefully in the meantime your guildmates have all been able to join you.  It took a good deal of time but my guild is now able to adventure together and while we do face queue times some evenings it has smoothed out a bit in the interim.

@Myrathi - I can aree that games should be polished further than they are at his time.  We've been in a cycle for a long time with computer gaming where too many bugs are allowed through because "we can patch the game later" . . . something which does players no good.  In fact a lot of games have released and never patched the issues present.  MMOs generally clean up their mess fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things, but the number of open issues found in a standard MMO release happen to be far too high in my opinion as well.  The issues you point out  with itemization are indeed glaring.  The gear question is compounded by he fact that statistics do not function, or item characteristics are too nebulous to be understood.  I suspect a number of fixes will hit the game in the not-too-distant future and some of them should hopefully bring the game up to a more enjoyable level for you.  Keep checking back in any case!

@kitsunegirl - I think that a US RP-PvE server should have been created with the caveat that it would be merged with a standard PvE server (or two) if the population were ever to be too low.  This is in spite of the fact that I too believe Conan wants RPers to crush their enemies.

@AOCtester - Had my article been titled "The Norwegiant Snowjob: How Funcom Fooled Gamers Everywhere" you might have a leg to stand on calling it tripe if it did not blow the lid off the conspiracy you percieve to exist.  However my piece is about the launch itself and the issues experienced by myself and others.  The fact that AoC does not have many planned features is of course a disappointment to many, myself included.  But any serious MMO gamer knows that unless you see a feature in a released game, it simply doesn't exist.  The industry is filled with games that promised functionality upon release or before the first expansion only to never incorporate the features in any way.  Your anger at Funcom is better directed at them.

I was honest about the launch issues.  If you wanted me to comment on Spellweaving being a bit off for certain classes or DX10 being withheld until later this year I am sorry.  I was having a hard time reading your mind.  Can you take off the tinfoil hat please? :D

@lupisenparis - I played EQI upon release and can remember being given free game time due to the massive server issues which plagued it.  The difference between EQI and AO (which I assume you meant because I never said AoC was even close to the worst launch in MMO history), was that it was possible to actually play EQI, while AO was literally impossible.  As for the quality of EQI expansion launches I can only assume you did not agree with the direction the developers took the game.  I agree with that assessment personally, and as a result I only sporadically played after the second expansion.

@BlueCadwal - I presented a factual account of the launch.  If you believe it was designed to take down AoC I am sorry, but I can't change what actually happened.  Nor have I even once suggested that AoC was alone in having launch issues.  Do I lose credibility because I did not cover the Lord of the Rings launch with a similar article?  Should I have made sure to include my analysis of Vanguard?  Of course not.  This addresses one series of events and does not make any comparisons except to Funcom's own prior launch of AO.  I think it is pretty clear AoC's launch is the superior of those two events.

@seryth - I think it is pretty evident that I am not being paid by anyone to produce a PR-spin on AoC.  If that were the case it would have been a better idea to fictionalize or go for more emphasis on feel than fact and actual experience.  Sadly though nobody has thousands of € to throw at me to write glowing things about their product. ;)

@checkthis500 - I do agree that despite claiming to be very open that Funcom failed to be in this case.  I am not willing to assign that to a nefarious wish to hoodwink gamers, but I will say that it was not at all the way in which I would have handled the situation.   Being transparent is a  very dangerous thing, which is why MMO companies aren't as transparent as we'd like.  The dangers involved make investors wet their beds, so I think we're going to have to deal with a lack of openness for now and always.  What I do believe needs to begin to happen is that MMO companies need to be held accountable for being honest about  the state of the product, and the features they are launching with.

@Erolis - I think that the motives of companies are in many cases a lot purer than you attribute to them.  In point of fact the AoC performance issues have in a great many cases been resolved.  That said, we have ourselves to thank for accepting substandard products.  The problem is we're so hungry for new adventures that we are often willing to accept the problems just for that little rush of adrenaline as we defeat the next villain or rescue the fair maiden.

@Elikal - And without criticism there is no impetus to improve.  Which is the very reason all MMO companies should read articles like this, as well as many of the good solid critical posts in blogs and on forums which highlight issues with all different MMOs.  That is how the industry will continue to evolve and improve.

@HumbleHobo - My attitude towards MMOs may be a bit cavalier, which is why I see no reason not to grab AoC immediately and see how it strikes you.  For some people it'll be love, some hate, and others will simply have some reservations.  Waiting has virtues of course, but I've never been a very patient guy. ;)

@MightyJudge - It is not unusual for buddy keys to be turned of for a brief period after game launch. Granted, not every MMO has that policy, but not all of them even give you a buddy key!  If the keys are still not active soon I do believe there is a serious issue, but I think a month of leeway is pretty reasonable.  Of course I too know all about the major issues affecting people playing (or trying to play) the game.  It is far outside the scope of this article to touch on all of them, but it is worth remembering: AoC is still very young, and you may have serious issues.  If history holds true many of these issues will be resolved in the near future.  Here's to keeping those fingers crossed!

@junglebeast - It's not an AoC issue as much as it is an MMO issue.  In general most games release too early.  As a result the first players often feel as if they are in a Beta test.

@Durthu - The game is not going to be sold.  To be fair AoC is vastly superior to Vanguard at launch.  I really do mean vastly.  That said, it is wise to adopt an attitude of wait-and-see if you feel that in the past yo have been too badly burned.  If a pattern emerges that shows MMO developers that it is wise to hold off those last critical months because your retention and first impression scores will be that much higher we may start to see better products.

@Rhianne - I'm not even going to begin to pretend to be able to judge the best MMO launch ever.  There have been so many done in so many different ways that I believe it is impossible to judge.  My point is not even simply to "nail" Funcom for making mistakes with the AoC launch.  It is to highlight the problems and examine them, and that is something which can help all future game launches.

@graill - My gender does give e the advantage in tat department. ;)  I am glad you saw this as an attempt to "tell it like it is" because that is exactly what it was intended to be.  Hope you have a great game to come play after you've sat out a couple of months.

@scottec1425 - The article was written while the forums were locked down.  You have to realize that time to press is an issue on a site like MMORPG.com (otherwise you might have 6 articles one day and none for two after that) and as a result what you read may not always be true anymore.  It was very much accurate when I typed the words originally, as well as after my last rewrite of the piece.  I am very happy for you that you were one of the people who was able to get in and enjoy the game without any hitches.  There were plenty of folks who had nothing but good experiences.  Unfortunately a lot of folks had some pretty abysmal ones as well.  In being objective about the launch I of course have to point out the things that went wrong.

@Reanim - Game developers pay MMORPG.com to host advertising, much like your local newspaper carries ads for grocery stores, lawyers, and car lots.  That does not mean that MMORPG.com is inherently corrupt. If that were true my article would have never been posted on this site, because I wrote it before consulting anyone on the site, and only rewrote parts of it that I personally believed needed more work.  My initial content and message remain intact.  I still have my journalistic integrity.

@tormunda - I'd be happy to engage in a dscussion should you reply with more than a one-line post which doesn't tell anyone why the article is so poor.  (After all, maybe you were upset that the section formatting was off . . .)  Discourse is healthy and enhances the intellect.

@Jupp - I appreciate the compliments and am glad you enjoyed reading the article.  I'm working on something quite a bit different for my next piece.  Not sure when it comes out, but I hope you'll give it a read when it does.

@Wellkie - I never once mentioned another MMO.  This is not about comparing apples to oranges or WoW to AoC.  This is about outlining issues that AoC has had during the launch phase, and at no time have I condemned the job that Funcom has done, nor stated that "suchandusch" game was far superior.  I am sorry you are operating under this misconception.  I am glad you've been having fun in AoC  So have I.

@Reverb22 - Hope to see your predicitions about the future of AoC come true.  Sure would be nice if it could be a success for Funcom.

@ajax7 - I think you might be slightly off with your assertion that 95% of the people have no problems.  Just judging from my guild roster it's a bit closer to being the exact opposite.  While the majority of us have had problems which were resolved relatively quickly, there have ben a few (more than 5%) with lasting issues that remain unresolved.  I'm happy you've enjoyed the launch of the game and I hope you continue to do so.  I also suspect people who buy the game will as a general rule have a good time, which would be why I suggest doing so in part 2.

@Smilex0311 - Crafting does have some major issues including crash bugs and incomplete components.  The other major issue is of course the number of journal spaces the resource and crafting quests take up.  At level 50 I had more than 4 quests in my book, however the fact is that the higher up you get the more grinding is required.  Since I'm an old MMO gamer it isn't too much of an issue for me, but I do hope they continue to follow up on the announced plans to flesh out high level content.

@Ozmodan - While AoC has some issues at this time I don't think it is appropriate to say the situation is hopeless.  The launch was tough in some respects and a resounding success in others.  WHat remains to be seen is where the game goes from here.   I have no comment on LotR as it is outside the scope of this article.  Thanks for taking the time to reply.

***

A long read, for sure, but hopefully I've managed to address your comments adequately.  I'll move on to the comments in Part 2 tomorrow.  I'm a bit wiped out from a mini-break in Dublin this week so I'm of to bed.  Thanks once again for your comments!

Nice to see you took time to talk to everyone, whether they agreed with you or not. Funcom could take a leaf out of your book. Thanks

Impressive to see you reply to everyone ....you must be after a staff job :)

As a hardcore 24/7/365 mmog'er since Meridian59, my rule was always:

Don't start playing until 2 weeks after launch. 

By that time login queues, patching, credit card autho problems, BSODs,  and other fatal bugs were resolved or diminished to the point where you could (*gasp!*) actually LogIn And Play. 

Now with the latest crop of games I'm considering extending my 2 week rule to 1 month.  Yes LotRO went smooth enough but i wonder how well WAR will really go. 

Even though Mythic / Dark Age of Camelot was a nearly glass-smooth flawless launch, WAR is So much more complex, so HUGELY popular, and with the stink of EA Corporate attached to it, I fully expect a clusterhump at launch.

Originally posted by Flummoxed

As a hardcore 24/7/365 mmog'er since Meridian59, my rule was always:

Don't start playing until 2 weeks after launch. 

By that time login queues, patching, credit card autho problems, BSODs,  and other fatal bugs were resolved or diminished to the point where you could (*gasp!*) actually LogIn And Play. 

Now with the latest crop of games I'm considering extending my 2 week rule to 1 month.  Yes LotRO went smooth enough but i wonder how well WAR will really go. 

Even though Mythic / Dark Age of Camelot was a nearly glass-smooth flawless launch, WAR is So much more complex, so HUGELY popular, and with the stink of EA Corporate attached to it, I fully expect a clusterhump at launch.

I didn't play DAoC at launch, but I started playing the following summer after the launch. So I cannot comment on how their launch was. However, I heard that the key features that was the selling point of the game were in there at launch. Since Mythic is creating WAR and is funded by EA, I feel that WAR will be released with all the features they are claiming to have. As far as the stability of the game at launch and bugs, I feel it will have the same problems maybe WoW had at launch. WAR is hugely popular right now, and I bet WAR will get over a million people during launch time trying to play. I don't think WAR will prepare for that many people, so they might have stability problems because of it. I do think Mythic will properly test WAR before releasing it, but that doesn't mean there won't be bugs. 

What I am saying is that WAR will be a typical quality release I would think. Quality by MMORPG standards of course. I think AoC was below quality, because they didn't include all the key features that were hyped during their time in development. Problems with hardware on a graphic intensive game, C2D, and memory leaks are things I consider average for a release. So I don't fault AoC for that. It is the combined weight of the problems AoC has that makes me believe AoC had a poor launch. 

A good article and one that will be worth looking back on as other MMOs launch.