Source

I think the year is off to a good start in game. Progress could be a bit faster in materializing from the test server and it looks like the PR/marketing has a different approach for the better :)

Double post ftl, my apologies.

PS: Oh wow, reverse double post no less, I must be in rare form.

Thanks for posting this AA, was a darn good read.
 

I'm glad they're working hard on AOC, it's a great game, lots of violence, amazing graphics, and many other stuffed I liked....but like many others, the game died long ago for us.

A little too late for most, I know for a fact I won't be returning back to the game but I do hope AOC will survive and improve, if they ever remove the zonings in the game I might return.

I really don't think he is helping. Maybe he should go back into hiding.

I always find it amazing that he starts out with this

"The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success"

We suckered a lot of people into buying the box, and our billing system worked flawlessly.

Really, at some point he is going to realize that people don't like being reminded that they were scammed.

Originally posted by Alandora

I always find it amazing that he starts out with this

"The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success"

We suckered a lot of people into buying the box, and our billing system worked flawlessly.

Really, at some point he is going to realize that people don't like being reminded that they were scammed.

I don't know if that is a wrong thing to say.

I had no issues with billing.

No issues with installation

No issues with server crashes or downtime outside of scheduled updates.

I did have a few issues with falling through the floor (subsequently fixed for me 1 month after)

I didn't have issues with lagg

I played with more than 100+ people in a zone since launch etc etc

But did you read on?

"Some features were not properly implemented and there were parts of the game where the content was too slim. We needed to do some more work on it. We completely realize that there were a lot of difficulties and challenges that arose in the months after launch. I think that we have faced those challenges in a very, very good way. The game has evolved dramatically since it launched. We have introduced numerous updates that have changed the game in radical ways."

That is addmittance to some issues, such as content, realization there were other issues and difficulties.

You should address the people who can't let it go, like a few that post here still (which is all they can say) then you wouldn't have to be reminded, is it not good though in reflection in what was said?

I didn't have issues with gameplay.

I didn't have technical issues... save for a few crashes. 

Billing is a POS.  I did have some issues there. 

I was really interested in this article but after reading the first line "

Erling Ellingsen: The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success."

I couldnt stop laughing...seriously that made my day haha no mister absolutely no major techincl difficulties, wink wink. You know what, i think its great if developers can make a fantasy but to live in one is something else!

Really good read Avery, thanks. I'll definately be returning when this "come back and play" campaign is eventually put into action.. was contemplating re-subbing and giving it a whirl, but after reading this i'll wait :).

The game IS heading in the right direction, just not at the speed that people would like.

I believe that patch 5 will change a lot of peoples opinions of the itemisation and therefore progression in AOC.  Re-itemisation, gem changes, changes to gem cutting should all help to re-vitalise the economy.

Originally posted by BlackWatch

I didn't have issues with gameplay.

I didn't have technical issues... save for a few crashes. 

Billing is a POS.  I did have some issues there. 

 

There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.

I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Originally posted by BlackWatch

I didn't have issues with gameplay.

I didn't have technical issues... save for a few crashes. 

Billing is a POS.  I did have some issues there. 

 

 

There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.

I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.

Yeah totally! I believe it was also referring to other technical aspects of the game too. Don't forget, it's almost common to have issues with the server hardware on launch too. I have lots of experience with this when dealing with AO and some of their issues with server hardware when lots of people are jammed into one space. Age of Conan had lots and lots of people on launch and the hardware had little to no issues supporting those people per server. Even more so with the database structure and the support for streaming live updates.

We did however have lots of technical issues client side. Even one really annoying one that maxed out the latency bar. Those type of issues were to be expected because of the risks with developing on PC (everyone uses different PC's). Those issues were very hard to overcome in a quickly manner but we worked through them. I think today we have a lot crushed and still some more to work on. Judging on feedback, I have to say the technical issues have reduced greatly since launch; which was a very good thing to me.

Originally posted by vala2008

I was really interested in this article but after reading the first line "

Erling Ellingsen: The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success."

I couldnt stop laughing...seriously that made my day haha no mister absolutely no major techincl difficulties, wink wink. You know what, i think its great if developers can make a fantasy but to live in one is something else!

I think the points EE concedes to are in line with the industry standard for admittance to various problems. He has at multiple occations admitted that the game itself had thin content on higher levels and other issues like memory leaks at launch. What I think he is trying to get across, is that the launch of the game itself went smooth as in there were few complaints first month, servers were running very well and sales numbers were insane. That is true. Take a look at Play.com's reviews and comments from people. It was all 5 stars comments from everybody up to like middle of June, 1 month after launch. It is easy to forget how things really went long time back, but if you just go back you will realize that the launch itself went quite well in fact, it was the memoryleaks patched in with new patches, the gems and the thin content on upper levels that actually got to them. Looking to the other MMO launches we had in 2008, WAR, they also had lots of issues. I remember when I started and people were calling WAR for "WARhammer Offline". It was always weird stuff going on with their servers, downtime often 4 out of 5 weekdays. Sales were not as good, MJ sold in fact just half of all the boxes he got made and finally noone could really play RvR without disasterous lag. Servers had to be merged just a couple of months after launch... and so on. What kind of confessions do we see from MJ? NONE. What kind of Confessions do we ask from him? NONE. So before we flame the amount of criticism EE concedes with or not, have a look on the indusry standard. I think in fact EE and FC are doing more than well in terms of reading feedback and implementing fixes for whatever the criticism might be.

If you want to kick of a discussion about the industry standard in terms of how much the game developers admit to or not, then you should start a new thread. I'll be happy to join in.

Originally posted by FC-Famine

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Originally posted by BlackWatch

I didn't have issues with gameplay.

I didn't have technical issues... save for a few crashes. 

Billing is a POS.  I did have some issues there. 

 

 

There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.

I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.

 

Yeah totally! I believe it was also referring to other technical aspects of the game too. Don't forget, it's almost common to have issues with the server hardware on launch too. I have lots of experience with this when dealing with AO and some of their issues with server hardware when lots of people are jammed into one space. Age of Conan had lots and lots of people on launch and the hardware had little to no issues supporting those people per server. Even more so with the database structure and the support for streaming live updates.

We did however have lots of technical issues client side. Even one really annoying one that maxed out the latency bar. Those type of issues were to be expected because of the risks with developing on PC (everyone uses different PC's). Those issues were very hard to overcome in a quickly manner but we worked through them. I think today we have a lot crushed and still some more to work on. Judging on feedback, I have to say the technical issues have reduced greatly since launch; which was a very good thing to me.

Also known as LAUNCHING PREMATURELY.

FC knew the game wasn't ready to go live, the beta testers knew the game wasn't ready to go live.

FunCom swore up and down they wouldn't  launch unfinished and broken like they did with Anarchy Online and stil .....

No MMO gamer expects perfection on day one, but FC can't seem to keep from pulling the trigger too early. 8 months since release and it's is only now starting to get near where it should have been. 

         Res Ipsa Loquitor

Originally posted by Tarka

The game IS heading in the right direction, just not at the speed that people would like.

I believe that patch 5 will change a lot of peoples opinions of the itemisation and therefore progression in AOC.  Re-itemisation, gem changes, changes to gem cutting should all help to re-vitalise the economy.

Yep. Thats pretty much the main reason I refuse to return to AoC. Its going in the right direction. I would look forward to resubbing for that House of Crom update, but alas its too far away.

By April I'll probably move to Aion. I'm pretty sure that will be very successful in the West. So unless Aion totally flops here (which it won't) don't think I'll be going back to AoC.

Originally posted by Razephon

Originally posted by Tarka

The game IS heading in the right direction, just not at the speed that people would like.

I believe that patch 5 will change a lot of peoples opinions of the itemisation and therefore progression in AOC.  Re-itemisation, gem changes, changes to gem cutting should all help to re-vitalise the economy.

 

Yep. Thats pretty much the main reason I refuse to return to AoC. Its going in the right direction. I would look forward to resubbing for that House of Crom update, but alas its too far away.

By April I'll probably move to Aion. I'm pretty sure that will be very successful in the West. So unless Aion totally flops here (which it won't) don't think I'll be going back to AoC.

Why house of Crom thats just another dungeon? Xibaluku and the other dungons launched with patch 4 is HUGE in comparison. ??

Hmm Erling is back? Let's see...

EE: We will definitely be doing a "Come back and play" campaign when we feel that the time is ready for it. We're really biding our time right now, though, and we want to wait until the time is right before putting it out.

and 2 minutes later...

EE: For the people who have played it and cancelled, I urge you to come back and try the game now, most importantly because of the radical improvements that have been made to the game since launch.

Yeah I guess EE is back: Inconsistent hot air as usual, nothing new here. Oh and remember: No major features were missing at launch

(And I really don't care about sad "just doing his job" excuses - He hurt the company as much as Gaute.)

People get it so wrong...i wasnt the technical issues at release that was the problem, we all expected that, its the lies, false promises and totaly delussion of the company. I mean come on....4 months and still DX10 not implimented...and they are making changes to the gem system.,....again, how many times are they going to overhaul the entire system?

It sounds to me like this EE guy is full of shit.

Originally posted by vala2008

People get it so wrong...i wasnt the technical issues at release that was the problem, we all expected that, its the lies, false promises and totaly delussion of the company. I mean come on....4 months and still DX10 not implimented...and they are making changes to the gem system.,....again, how many times are they going to overhaul the entire system?

Not everyone left AOC just after launch for the issues that YOU left AOC for.  Where they wrong to leave for reasons that differed to yours?  No.  Yours is not the ONLY opinion or reason to matter.  I'm not going to get into the whole argument and discussion as to whether or not AOC lied, because quite frankly there are higher priority aspects to be dealt with than Dx10.  Regardless of how someone interprets what was written on the box. 

Suffice it to say, that some people have gotten over the issues concerning the AOC launch.  I can personally vouch that people ARE returning to the game and are surprised by what's changed for the better.  You can believe me or not, it doesn't matter.  I'm not trying to sell the game.  I'm giving facts.

As for the gem changes?  They were nerfed for a legitimate reason, the reasons why they haven't implemented ways to make gems more meaningful has been already explained on the forums and the reasoning is understandable.  The gems can only be made more meaningful once reitemisation in patch 5 goes live.  And that IS happening after the next patch.

My suggestion is that rather than looking to the past, try looking to the present and the future.  Sure it still needs work, no one is denying that.  But after reading the dev posts, you get the feeling that they DO have a fully understandable and logical plan for the development of the game.

Originally posted by Tarka

My suggestion is that rather than looking to the past, try looking to the present and the future.  Sure it still needs work, no one is denying that.  But after reading the dev posts, you get the feeling that they DO have a fully understandable and logical plan for the development of the game.

I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.

IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!

Originally posted by Halandir

Originally posted by Tarka

My suggestion is that rather than looking to the past, try looking to the present and the future.  Sure it still needs work, no one is denying that.  But after reading the dev posts, you get the feeling that they DO have a fully understandable and logical plan for the development of the game.

 

I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.

IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!

 

He aint the only one that was interviewed today, Craig "Silirrion" Morrison (Game Director) was also being interviewed over on Eurogamer iirc.

Originally posted by Hamrtime2

It sounds to me like this EE guy is full of shit.

Like everybody else that play AoC because they like it

Originally posted by Halandir

Originally posted by Tarka

My suggestion is that rather than looking to the past, try looking to the present and the future.  Sure it still needs work, no one is denying that.  But after reading the dev posts, you get the feeling that they DO have a fully understandable and logical plan for the development of the game.

 

I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.

IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!

 

Fck stockholders, EE and what not. For christ sake you do absolutely not need them. For you annoyance with EE though, I fully understand you. I don't have a compatability issue with him. Well, sure enough he always get into this overenthusiastic role where everything is fantastic, But then again I have never seen him act differently. Meaning it's most likely his personality. He might even be like that even when taking a shit. I know of fare more annoying personality traits than that. Let it slide.

Same thing for me, I can't fcking take that fat CEO for WAR. Constantly blabbing about how much of an success this or that WAR was, while the actual truth was, every evening the whole server would sit chatting about how pathetic the no RvR condition and all the disasterous lag in RvR were. There was no doubt about that the whole lag problematics were a huge Hoax from Mythic and MJs side. There is no way in hell they could not be aware of this before they launched. Still MJ would fire off his usual "Most smooth MMO launch ever and so on...". It's called BS from gaming companies. Now in the end, I have put an ignore on MJs comments and just let it slide.

Focus on the game, and yes, even though I joined late and everything was more or less ok when I started, the game have just kept getting better and better and better over the last 3 months. I am actually willing to give it grades in the 8 to 10 now (looking on all categories in MMORPG).