MMO's come and go so fast these days that if the developer screws up their first impression they can never recover.  In my opinion Cryptic has shot themselves in the foot and this game will end up like Vanguard, AoC, Warhammer, DDO and every other MMO since WoW. 
 

Too bad for Cryptic that the MMO consumer doesn't put up with shit from developers anymore.  If the game is a failure at the start people will never give it a second chance.  CO will end up a niche game with a small playerbase and Cryptic will probably never release the game on consoles.
 

Imagine after years of hard work and millions of dollars spent developing this game a patcher is going to be the cause of it's downfall??????

If this was release, I'd agree with you, but it isn't.

Recover from what?

its not even been a day yet since the servers went online for the Open Beta, and theyve fixed the issues already... so wat are you sayin? goto fileplanet and DL the full version > install > STFU and play :D ... cuz thats wat im doin!

Just so you know them games you just mentioned are actully improving and vanguard and ddo are doing really well now.

When people state that a MMO had a terrible launch, patching problems are the least of the worries.

Some games have had server instability, leading to crashes, character data being corrupted/lost, or even the dreaded 'queue' system.

Others have been so riddled with bugs and/or broken content that they felt like alpha testing even into release.

A tough night of patching will be remembered by those involved, but it will not exclusively make or break CO.

You've got to add that this isn't even launch.

lol at this fail thread

Originally posted by Dreizack
......

Imagine after years of hard work and millions of dollars spent developing this game a patcher is going to be the cause of it's downfall??????

A patcher failure during Open Beta, that appears to have been resolved (or worked around atleast) in one day by most reports, its not going to break CO.

In two weeks time, and the end of the OB, then we should have better idea on what to expect of CO's future.

Its like taking a Car for a test-drive, only to find that they forgot to put on the wheels. You know its gonna get fixed but still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

if this was launch i would agree.. but its a beta and everything you do is getting wiped sooo... download the fileplanet "fix" (lol) and play till those headstart days THEN stat complaining..

Yeah... while it might not mean the end of CO it really could hurt the game. I know it's only beta but the fact is, this information is getting spread around the web and really turning people off from giving it a chance. I'm still struggling to get it to work (downloading the new fileplanet client) and I'll still give it a chance.. but it does leave a looming shadow.

Hopefully when i start playing I will be pleasantly surprised. As long as the game makes up for this bad start then all will be well ^^;

Tho the install and patcher problems was very annoying for me, as I haven't got to play yet, I think It's better for them to have these problems now, then launch.

They should have had a full client download, up a few hours after they knew about it, while they were trying to fix the problem, imo.
I know they do now, but they waited abit too to do it.

I don't think hurt Champions too much in the long run, growing pains of a new mmo.

Originally posted by Dreizack

MMO's come and go so fast these days that if the developer screws up their first impression they can never recover.  In my opinion Cryptic has shot themselves in the foot and this game will end up like Vanguard, AoC, Warhammer, DDO and every other MMO since WoW. 
 

Too bad for Cryptic that the MMO consumer doesn't put up with shit from developers anymore.  If the game is a failure at the start people will never give it a second chance.  CO will end up a niche game with a small playerbase and Cryptic will probably never release the game on consoles.
 

Imagine after years of hard work and millions of dollars spent developing this game a patcher is going to be the cause of it's downfall??????

What? Do you even follow mmos? You are in lala land. I have not been posting as much as usual lately because the threads are full of garbage. However, this I had to respond to. First, recover from what? The game is not launched yet. All the games you mention as failures are all doing ok, some better then others. DDO is strong and has been around for a couple years and is now going to a F2P structure. Vanguard is still alive and holding it's own. Both WAR and AoC are doing better, with AoC getting players back. Everyone has a right to post anything they want in a public forum even if it is crap.

Originally posted by Beachcomber

Its like taking a Car for a test-drive, only to find that they forgot to put on the wheels. You know its gonna get fixed but still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

 

 

You would have to add you're driving a prototype for this analogy to work with Champions online atm (since it is in beta)

One area I wish that more MMO companies would do is to have a proclaimed "stress test" weekend event.

Force people to download the client and then stress test the patcher followed by the game server. Calling this a stress test implies there is a chance the infrastructure isn't ready for release, and sets the PROPER expectations in the mind of those involved.

Unfortunately, people look at Open Beta as a finished pre-release version of the game with full coding, content, and infrastructure completely in place. That is rarely the case, and I hate to see negativity towards a game for mis-managed conceptions and expectations.

Still patching, and looking forward to trying the game!

Sorry? It won't recover from a problem during beta testing? What do you think beta tests are actually for?

At least wait till release before starting this sort of nonsensical ranting.

They've uploaded the newest client to Fileplanet. Download that and you do not need to patch at all. Yes, you will have to wait in line if not a member, but you can be playing in a few hours rather than deal with that silly patcher.

Originally posted by sanders01

Originally posted by Beachcomber

Its like taking a Car for a test-drive, only to find that they forgot to put on the wheels. You know its gonna get fixed but still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

 

 

You would have to add you're driving a prototype for this analogy to work with Champions online atm (since it is in beta)

Its gone gold, its in production as we speak.

Originally posted by Beachcomber

Originally posted by sanders01

Originally posted by Beachcomber

Its like taking a Car for a test-drive, only to find that they forgot to put on the wheels. You know its gonna get fixed but still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

 

 

You would have to add you're driving a prototype for this analogy to work with Champions online atm (since it is in beta)

 

Its gone gold, its in production as we speak.

Yet MMOs have something that Cars dont. Its called "patches".

Anyway, I havent played this game but its in Beta. Products in Beta are flawed and your job as a tester is to find bugs / problems, report them to the devs so they can fix / improve stuff.

I dont blame you alone though. I blame the devs too that in many cases are promoting / using betas as 'preview the game' events.

It has nothing to do with the existence of patches.

In todays world open beta is a marketing tool to hook as many people as possible into the game. If open beta does not go well, the marketing campaign will crash and take the game with it.

People have already been burned by to many other incomplete MMO's launching. If people do not have fun for the next two weeks they simply will not purchase the game and no amount of future patches will bring them back.

Originally posted by Talin

When people state that a MMO had a terrible launch, patching problems are the least of the worries.

Some games have had server instability, leading to crashes, character data being corrupted/lost, or even the dreaded 'queue' system.

Others have been so riddled with bugs and/or broken content that they felt like alpha testing even into release.

A tough night of patching will be remembered by those involved, but it will not exclusively make or break CO.

Uhhh your sentiment would hold true if this was LAUNCH this is BETA  ... B E T A .... the first day is always a zerg crush.  Their patching system sucks sure but OMG guess wha ta full don't need a patch client is now on fileplanet for those that don't want go through with the zerg patch crush.

ITS NOT launch people geezus stop using that word.

Originally posted by banthis

Originally posted by Talin

When people state that a MMO had a terrible launch, patching problems are the least of the worries.

Some games have had server instability, leading to crashes, character data being corrupted/lost, or even the dreaded 'queue' system.

Others have been so riddled with bugs and/or broken content that they felt like alpha testing even into release.

A tough night of patching will be remembered by those involved, but it will not exclusively make or break CO.

 

Uhhh your sentiment would hold true if this was LAUNCH this is BETA  ... B E T A .... the first day is always a zerg crush.  Their patching system sucks sure but OMG guess wha ta full don't need a patch client is now on fileplanet for those that don't want go through with the zerg patch crush.

 

ITS NOT launch people geezus stop using that word.

You are right, it is not launch.

It is the marketing campaign designed to hook people so they will purchase the game once it launches.

Originally posted by Nightbringe1

Originally posted by banthis

Originally posted by Talin

When people state that a MMO had a terrible launch, patching problems are the least of the worries.

Some games have had server instability, leading to crashes, character data being corrupted/lost, or even the dreaded 'queue' system.

Others have been so riddled with bugs and/or broken content that they felt like alpha testing even into release.

A tough night of patching will be remembered by those involved, but it will not exclusively make or break CO.

 

Uhhh your sentiment would hold true if this was LAUNCH this is BETA  ... B E T A .... the first day is always a zerg crush.  Their patching system sucks sure but OMG guess wha ta full don't need a patch client is now on fileplanet for those that don't want go through with the zerg patch crush.

 

ITS NOT launch people geezus stop using that word.

You are right, it is not launch.

It is the marketing campaign designed to hook people so they will purchase the game once it launches.

Still it is classified as Beta and no mater what they are using it for or what you believe they are doing all the 'rules' that apply to every Beta test applies here too.

Originally posted by Elesthor

Originally posted by Nightbringe1

Originally posted by banthis

Originally posted by Talin

When people state that a MMO had a terrible launch, patching problems are the least of the worries.

Some games have had server instability, leading to crashes, character data being corrupted/lost, or even the dreaded 'queue' system.

Others have been so riddled with bugs and/or broken content that they felt like alpha testing even into release.

A tough night of patching will be remembered by those involved, but it will not exclusively make or break CO.

 

Uhhh your sentiment would hold true if this was LAUNCH this is BETA  ... B E T A .... the first day is always a zerg crush.  Their patching system sucks sure but OMG guess wha ta full don't need a patch client is now on fileplanet for those that don't want go through with the zerg patch crush.

 

ITS NOT launch people geezus stop using that word.

You are right, it is not launch.

It is the marketing campaign designed to hook people so they will purchase the game once it launches.

Still it is classified as Beta and no mater what they are using it for or what you believe they are doing all the 'rules' that apply to every Beta test applies here too.

Which in no way alters the fact that this is the first impression that people will have of the game or that it will greatly influence their decision to purchase. They can classify it however they want. If people do not have a good experience they will not buy it.