Originally posted by lordoffiling

Originally posted by MikeB

 

I wanted to make it known that I understood Cryptic Studios' motives with the patch, but found the fact they didn't allow their testers to put the changes through the paces during beta a boneheaded move. Make more sense?

 

There's that word again. "Boneheaded." Implies a lack of intelligence or unwillingness to learn.

You really think they didn't realize this thing was going to upset some players? I'm relatively certain that the people who made the game are experienced professionals, intelligent people with degrees and everything.

Yes, they knew it would upset the players.  They simply don't care.  Get used to it, it's par for the course for this crew.

You're a writer for this website so I can only assume you know how this works: Patches take time to develop. They take time to test. They take time to get feedback on, and they take time to alter based on that feedback. Roll all that up into a sum and you get X, X being the amount of time it takes to properly create and implement a patch.

You strike me as a relatively inexperienced MMORPG player if the concept of a "test server" to allow your subscribers to test patch content BEFORE it goes live eludes you. You don't just dump it on the players, specifically at launch. Of course, this crew is well-known for exactly this type of idiocy.

Since this isn't a live product, we must also factor for Y, Y being the launch date. Y is a fixed number, one mutually agreed on by Cryptic and Atari. Or maybe not, maybe Atari issued an ultimatum saying they had to launch on Y, regardless of the state of the product. It has happened before. In either case, Y is a date that, by the time it was realized the critical patch had to happen, couldn't be moved.

Wrong.  You release AS IS, continue to develop the changes you feel are necessary and test them on the test server, and then release a thoroughly tested update while also keeping your subscribers informed.

Again, something that hasn't been a strong suit for this crew in the past.

X was too big to fit into Y. They had to trim the process down. Since there was no time to even do so much as get patch notes up for it before it went live, I'm guessing they managed to get the thing into a workable state just under the wire by pulling triple shifts. They squeezed it onboard just in time, and the player feedback portion of the process became an unfortunate casualty. All done to make the patch content go live *before* the primary customer base could get their hands on the game and have the rug yanked out from under them days later.

The player feedback portion became an unfortunate casualty? Hmmm. So I guess they won't have any heartburn if the subscriber portion of the game becomes a casualty?

The point is; there was no need to pull the rug out from under anyone. They should have tested it thoroughly, got player feedback, explained the necessity, and balanced the patch out before releasing. With thorough testing and balancing, the patch probably wouldn't have been released for at least a month, giving the subscribers the opportunity to test it and provide input.

The point I'm making is this: Hasty, it was. Boneheaded, it was not. There can be no "boneheaded" decision when your back is to the wall, the gun is to your head, and the man is in the process of squeezing the trigger, because the only truly stupid thing you can do in that situation is nothing.

Boneheaded it was. Releasing may have been a foregone conclusion; injecting an untested and unexpected patch that changed game mechanics entirely was NOT. They had an extensive beta and multiple open-beta weekends wherein their potential market played the game and either liked the mechanics or did not.

Those that liked the game enough to purchase it as it was could not have been pleased by the changes, and in fact, it seems as though many were not.

So yes, that is what I would call boneheaded.

And, before you ask, why am I making such a big deal out of this? Because this statement goes on to set the tone of the rest of your review. By writing in this fashion you make yourself more than you are, writing as though you know more than the devs. You come off sounding like--forgive me, fellow posters--an angry nerd on a video game forum, one of the ones who believes in his bones that he knows more about making and running an MMO than the people actually doing it for a living. The ones who arrogantly spout their ideas and scream things like, "They never listen to me!" when their pet cause goes ignored.

Couldn't agree less. The reviewer was fair and even-handed in the review and simply stated the facts as s/he knew them and their opinion.

The only thing I would disagree with in the review is the "First Impressions" moniker. It should have been titled "Release Impressions". A true first impressions review would not have introduced any information from the state of the game at beta.

By writing in this fashion you make yourself more than you are, writing as though you know more than the devs. You come off sounding like--forgive me, fellow posters--an angry nerd on a video game forum, one of the ones who believes in his bones that he knows more about making and running an MMO than the people actually doing it for a living.

To be fair, Roper is mostly destroying games for a living now.

The author brought up some points that I agree with.

I think the tone though, as others have mentioned, is off for a first impression type piece. Or maybe even any kind of game review/article piece not that I haven’t read others like it though before. It just sounded more like a rant/whine/complain article more than something professional. To me it sounded like a post you would read on a forum rather than something submitted to a game news site. I know people will disagree and such and of course that’s fine too. I’m not saying I didn’t agree with some of things that were talked about or that I hated it or anything, I’m just talking about the tone in general isn’t what I expected after reading a lot of articles on this site. Just my take.

Anyway, my view on where I agree or don’t agree with the article:

I agree that the lack of documentation or some kind of smooth introduction is criminal. You just stumble around the character progression and development system and don’t realize that the process, for most, is somewhat of a crap shoot. It sells itself as a “classless” system, which I think it is, but what it doesn’t explain is that you can’t just pick the powers that make up your build because you think they sound cool. Some people say this means that it doesn’t let you build a “theme” character. I don’t believe that. What I am saying is until you begin to grasp that there are other perhaps non-theme considerations your character (any type of character) will have to take into account there is a higher chance that you will find yourself frustrated when playing the game and you won’t know why. And I’m not talking about blocking or something like that. I’m talking about things like selecting (or even knowing about) a passive defensive power, understanding super stats and basic stats, how you decide which ones you should focus on for the type of character you want to be, which ones rise when you level, why it helps to pick a third and fourth stat as more minor considerations that will help your character grow and survive and what powers build on these stats and why. The stats the game tells you to focus on when creating your character are not always the ones to focus on to become the character you think you will be. None of this is made any easier by the fact that some of the tool tips are pretty cryptic, heh.

I don’t know about how the game was vs. how it is now as I didn’t play beta or in the head start so the game just is for me. I do understand people’s frustration however the more I have read about the changes. I can see why people would think/feel that the game they were playing isn’t the game they are playing now. True most all MMOs (if not all) have day one patch changes but this seemed pretty extreme. I can understand the reasons for the changes (they make sense to me) but it does seem like the way they introduced them was the wrong way to go about it. They had to know the game needed toughening up a good deal before the game was launched so you would think they would have made the changes in beta first so people would know what was coming and defiantly should have introduced them before the head start.

I disagree about the not feeling super thing. I feel just as super hero-like as I did in CoX. More so actually in this game because the combat is faster, the effects seem more exaggerated, and watching the bad guy’s attacks, moves and such is pretty much required so it’s just not the static kinda thing you find in lot of MMOs. Just feels a bit more like a super hero over the top type thing.

This wasn’t specifically addressed in the article but it is something I always think and post about when I comment on this game and that is grouping. I think this game has some of the worst grouping mechanics of the MMOs I have played. For one you usually don’t need one. Second you can’t share all the missions, third grouping and side kick experience is off and fourth as the system is “classless” no one really brings something unique or specifically helpful to a group experience. I know the last point is the trade off in a straight up class vs. classless system but maybe that means this aspect of the game should have been a bit more of a restrictive system (just a small amount) so that grouping players isn’t all about increasing offensive output. There is just no need to group as most of the content doesn’t require one. You can solo almost anything. It helps to team for real hard villains and such but for all the times I have done that I have gotten an invite from a player already fighting such a villain and losing. After the villain is dead most say thanks and take off. Yes, soloing is nice too and I like that as well but throw some teaming in there too. This is so weird to me as this is the same company that made CoX, a game I had a blast grouping in. I have read some posts that state that as you get into your late 20s, early 30s there are more group oriented things to do, but dang that is half way or more to the end of the journey. I have read more posts talking about soling to 40 though and just grouping for the “major” instanced content which doesn’t sound like a lot. Just seems to off to me especially, like I said, it is the group that made CoX. While I am having a lot of fun this does make me think the game won’t be a long term MMO for me. If this doesn’t change I don’t really see the point. Yeah CoX’s instanced missions got repetitive as hell but fighting with others in that game was lots of fun regardless. To me at least.

Longer than I planned this to be. Sorry.

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

Originally posted by MikeB

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

 

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

Or did the gloom and doom change it? Because I remember several interviews where it was more than just pets. Be dismissive if you wish, the backlash changed the outcome I believe.

Originally posted by MikeB

Since this is continuing to pop up, I'd like to address the people who are confused about the no feedback vs. response to player feedback part of my article: you're not reading in context here.

In the first instance, I am saying that the changes were dumped on players without taking into account player feedback on the specific changes implemented to rectify the situation that the game was too easy. Just making things harder isn't the answer, how you go about it, and to what extent is important and for that player feedback was necessary. Generally, when an MMO developer wants to make changes of such breadth and scope they will get player feedback on the specific changes before they release them to the general populace.

Players needed to see these changes during the beta test or on the Public Test Server which was implemented after launch so that they could evaluate them and give feedback to the developers on the changes themselves. Instead, they were dumped all of a sudden on the live population without any warning, and not even on day one of early start, so there were players playing the live game that were treated to an entirely experience than the game they woke up to only a few days later. That was the "boneheaded" move, and I certainly don't regret that assessment!

**Snipped some pieces for length**

I see, so your issue was that they didn't get feedback on the patch before they put it into the game, despite the fact that people had given feedback that the patch was needed in beta. Sorry but it's been my experience that rarely happens. Most games don't have a test server on launch day, some not even at all. You even acknowledge that there was no test server at launch. Should they have just held back on the adjustment that they knew was needed? They knew it had to be changed, so they took a strong step down that road. Whether or not we thought it was too strong is subjective, but you have to know that they would continue to adjust afterward based on the reaction it did get. Sometimes the developers will put out a patch that people won't all like (sometimes just the vocal minority), but it still goes out anyways. That's life in MMOs. 

Another fact your article seems to miss is that the game is adjusted in line with what the developer's vision for the game is. Not your vision. Haircut analogies don't work because of this. I feel that comparing this game to Batman is silly because that's an entirely different game and gameplay style, aside from both having "superhero" flavouring. It's nice that you liked Batman, I hear it was a great game (didn't have a chance to play it myself), but if you wish CO was more like Batman, maybe you should have just stuck to Batman? I mean you actually say in the article that in other MMOs, this adjustment would have been fine. You dismiss that by saying this is a superhero game which makes it totally different. I'd have to disagree with that as well. I would argue that this game would have more in common with CoH (of course) or even WoW than it would with Batman.

I know you say you don't regret calling them bonehaded, but honestly I can't take you seriously as a professional writer after you throw around an insult like that. Despite the other errors and inconsistancies in the article, it's just not what I would expect from a serious journalist. I would be surprised to find out that an editor actually approved this article as-is. What's worse is that, from what I understand of the intro to this article, is that you'll be writing the review of the game too.

How can we expect a fair, balanced, impartial review of the game when you've already come out with what some see as a "forum-style complaint" in this article? Can we really get a proper review from someone griping about first day changes?

Originally posted by nate1980

What you don't understand is that a First Impression piece should reflect what the average buyer would know upon picking up the game. The average buyer isn't a beta tester, nor do they follow forums that deeply. So the point remains, that you gave first impressions that were heavily influenced by your knowledge of a game while it was in Beta. Things in Beta are subject to change; we all know this going into beta, and we know they can change at any time up until launch.

Judging from the reaction, I am sure Cryptic has learned an important lesson, which is to keep the community informed, even if changes should have been expected since the game was still in beta.

Well, you're welcome to your opinion. The fact of the matter is that many people who follow this game, even passively, will have heard "the state of the game in beta." It's quite valuable tot hem to hear what has changed between the launch product and the final product.

Here's the thing. In an ideal world, I agree with you. What a game is during testing phases should, by definition, be diffferent from the final launch product. But, and this is a huge but, that just isn't how the world works in games now. Companies (and I use the term broadly and generally) are more and more making use of beta not as a testing phase, but as a preview phase. Cryptic is no exception. The first set of patch notes that matter aren't the patch notes that come after launch, they're the patch notes that bridge the gap between beta / preview and launch title.

I wish this wasn't how things worked. I've written a number of articles on the matter and honestly feel as though if you're going to call it a testing phase, it should be used for testing and not marketing. Unfortunately, so long as the true nature of the phase is ambiguous both to companies and to the consumer, reports like this one are not only valuable, but necessary.

Now, with all of that said, I also want to point out that the author chose to focus on the beta to launch transition for his first impressions piece so that his review, which is due soon, can focus solely on the launch product. This way, the whole story, beta (preview), to transition (first impressions), to launch title (review) can be told in a logical order.

So, no. I'm not really so confused as to what a first impressions article should or shouldn't be. in fact, I've given it a great deal of thought. You don't have to agree with me, but please don't make assumptions about what I do or do not understand.

Thanks

To be fair though, those are some pretty big changes to throw out, pissing off your player base shouldn't be your major goal. Ask the SWG folks about that one. It's a bit switch and bait, and open BETAs are pretty much trials now days.

 I don't understand. How can someone choose the 'wrong' powers? It's supposed to be your character, your hero. This game prides itself on character customization, so, why should I need to respec my hero in order to progress through the game? Shouldn't the hero I choose to play as feel like the hero I want to play?

Originally posted by Somnulus

Originally posted by lordoffiling

Originally posted by MikeB

 

I wanted to make it known that I understood Cryptic Studios' motives with the patch, but found the fact they didn't allow their testers to put the changes through the paces during beta a boneheaded move. Make more sense?

 

There's that word again. "Boneheaded." Implies a lack of intelligence or unwillingness to learn.

You really think they didn't realize this thing was going to upset some players? I'm relatively certain that the people who made the game are experienced professionals, intelligent people with degrees and everything.

Yes, they knew it would upset the players.  They simply don't care.  Get used to it, it's par for the course for this crew.

Yes, because I'm sure "this crew" hates money and everything to do with it. They *want* to go broke. /eyeroll If you don't like them and the way they handle things that's fine, but let's not assume they're out to ruin everything.

You're a writer for this website so I can only assume you know how this works: Patches take time to develop. They take time to test. They take time to get feedback on, and they take time to alter based on that feedback. Roll all that up into a sum and you get X, X being the amount of time it takes to properly create and implement a patch.

You strike me as a relatively inexperienced MMORPG player if the concept of a "test server" to allow your subscribers to test patch content BEFORE it goes live eludes you. You don't just dump it on the players, specifically at launch. Of course, this crew is well-known for exactly this type of idiocy.

27 MMOs and counting. I'm completely familiar with the concept of a test server. I'm all for the idea of a test server, they're fantastic tools. However, for reasons I will detail below, I do not believe the use of one would have helped in this case.

Since this isn't a live product, we must also factor for Y, Y being the launch date. Y is a fixed number, one mutually agreed on by Cryptic and Atari. Or maybe not, maybe Atari issued an ultimatum saying they had to launch on Y, regardless of the state of the product. It has happened before. In either case, Y is a date that, by the time it was realized the critical patch had to happen, couldn't be moved.

Wrong.  You release AS IS, continue to develop the changes you feel are necessary and test them on the test server, and then release a thoroughly tested update while also keeping your subscribers informed.

Again, something that hasn't been a strong suit for this crew in the past.

Almost every beta tester agreed the game was broken in that it was too easy, lots of powers were over/under powered, and certain combinations put you into god mode. A large balance patch was not only necessary, it was being called for. To do it your way might have taken weeks. Weeks, in an MMO were wailing on up to max level in a day or two is not only possible but likely. We may have to agree to disagree on this one, but in my mind the fallout from a major rebalance patch several weeks *after* everyone got used to being in god-mode would have been a lot worse.

X was too big to fit into Y. They had to trim the process down. Since there was no time to even do so much as get patch notes up for it before it went live, I'm guessing they managed to get the thing into a workable state just under the wire by pulling triple shifts. They squeezed it onboard just in time, and the player feedback portion of the process became an unfortunate casualty. All done to make the patch content go live *before* the primary customer base could get their hands on the game and have the rug yanked out from under them days later.

The player feedback portion became an unfortunate casualty? Hmmm. So I guess they won't have any heartburn if the subscriber portion of the game becomes a casualty?

The point is; there was no need to pull the rug out from under anyone. They should have tested it thoroughly, got player feedback, explained the necessity, and balanced the patch out before releasing. With thorough testing and balancing, the patch probably wouldn't have been released for at least a month, giving the subscribers the opportunity to test it and provide input.

Again, this approach would give everyone the opportunity to get really used to and comfortable with the idea of being in god-mode all the time, when the devs knew that was not the way the game was going to have to run in the end. Also, I've never once seen "explaining the necessity" work the miracle you're thinking of, because a whole lot of MMO players seem to think they know better. They believe their fifteen bucks a month means they're entitled to special treatment and that the devs have to listen to anything and everything they say. I've never once seen a player thank a dev for a nerf that affected them, no matter how well reasoned the dev post explaining the necessity was. They always react with rage and frequently with a cancellation. 

It comes down to naming your poison. Sudden changes on the preorder people vs. announced changes on the subscribers. My thinking, the fallout would have been a lot worse inflicting upon the subscribers.

The point I'm making is this: Hasty, it was. Boneheaded, it was not. There can be no "boneheaded" decision when your back is to the wall, the gun is to your head, and the man is in the process of squeezing the trigger, because the only truly stupid thing you can do in that situation is nothing.

Boneheaded it was. Releasing may have been a foregone conclusion; injecting an untested and unexpected patch that changed game mechanics entirely was NOT. They had an extensive beta and multiple open-beta weekends wherein their potential market played the game and either liked the mechanics or did not.

Those that liked the game enough to purchase it as it was could not have been pleased by the changes, and in fact, it seems as though many were not.

So yes, that is what I would call boneheaded.

Everyone knew the changes were coming. No one could have possibly expected, for instance, Invulnurability to remain at granting 80% protection from everything. Most of the testers I talked to about it knew changes had to eventually happen. Many wanted them to. As for whether they had to or not, my thinking is that they did, for reasons already explained. No matter what you do, nerfs are never popular. The lesser of two evils in this case was subjecting the ex-beta testers (now the preorder people) to a nerf, since they were used to the change process and at least somewhat prepared for the changes they knew had to eventually come, rather than the non-testers who would be paying customers for likely a month or more when the bomb fell.

And, before you ask, why am I making such a big deal out of this? Because this statement goes on to set the tone of the rest of your review. By writing in this fashion you make yourself more than you are, writing as though you know more than the devs. You come off sounding like--forgive me, fellow posters--an angry nerd on a video game forum, one of the ones who believes in his bones that he knows more about making and running an MMO than the people actually doing it for a living. The ones who arrogantly spout their ideas and scream things like, "They never listen to me!" when their pet cause goes ignored.

Couldn't agree less. The reviewer was fair and even-handed in the review and simply stated the facts as s/he knew them and their opinion.

It's a he. Again, you're entitled to your opinion. Personally I believe the reviewer was being intentionally incindiary, either because he believes taking a swing at the new kid in town will make him more popular, or else because he just has an axe to grind.

The only thing I would disagree with in the review is the "First Impressions" moniker. It should have been titled "Release Impressions". A true first impressions review would not have introduced any information from the state of the game at beta.

 

Originally posted by Irishoak

Originally posted by MikeB

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

 

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

 

Or did the gloom and doom change it? Because I remember several interviews where it was more than just pets. Be dismissive if you wish, the backlash changed the outcome I believe.

Or, perhaps you're both mistaken and the actual content going into the store simply isn't in there yet. My money's on the backlash changing nothing.

Originally posted by lordoffiling

Originally posted by Irishoak

Originally posted by MikeB

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

 

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

 

Or did the gloom and doom change it? Because I remember several interviews where it was more than just pets. Be dismissive if you wish, the backlash changed the outcome I believe.

 

Or, perhaps you're both mistaken and the actual content going into the store simply isn't in there yet. My money's on the backlash changing nothing.

Why do you continue on into hypocrisy? The more you say unto the OP, the more you seem the bias one.

Given, at FIRST IMPRESSION, his (Mike B.'s) post seems as though he's about to flame CO to dust, but his assessment is justified time and time again. It's as if they made the same mistake twice. Again, I say that it isn't their first time. This sounds worse than SWG's release issues, so he made a valid point in that they SHOULD have said something to the testers prior to launch.

I'm going to close with this: there wasn't any backlash. Only a NECESSARY statement (as I'm not going to go out and waste my money on this game. Cryptic will have to fix what SHOULD have been fixed during the middle of beta) was made that it went from to ok to WHOA in a day's time.

I'm honestly glad I neglected to test this game. It looks as though my thoughts would have gone unscene by the dev team (also something that's not good for the longevity of an MMO).

Again, guy, I love you and babies and stuff. Peace in the middle east aaaaaaaaand, get off your high horse. Mike B. was right to say what he posted.

Mike, thank you for the informative first look, and PLEASE keep us up-to-date on when the game will be good.

WOW....who does the OP work for???

I would like to request that you take this "Impression" down off your site.  It's pretty much telling players that the devs are idiots and the game sucks.

Also, I saw that the OP later said that the game was way too easy prior to launch and that it's way too hard after launch.  You're half right.   The game is perfectly fine now but was too easy prior to launch.   What's this junk about feeling "super"....want to feel "super" go play Dora the Explorer....anyone with an I.Q. over 50 will pwn that game.  This is an MMORPG and with that comes challenge...WOW is failing hardcore because it's too easy....I should know...I recently left WOW because of that.

Just because a bunch of angry "easy button brigade" gamers don't want to use their brains doesnt mean a game is bad.  The game is excellent...the combat is excellent.

Yes, there is a minor lack of content, but nothing half as bad as when WOW launched...I remember having to grind every 10 levels and then having to grind half of 50-60...Silithus didnt even have any content at all....just an empty desert.  So many other games also lacked content....CO lacks content for what?  2-3 levels in total? 

Im really sick and tired of people bitching about CO...if ya dont like it, go play Linearage 3 or E-Z-craft...All this negative press will only make those that might have liked it, never even try it. 

So, I sincerely ask you, again, take the "impression" off the site....it's nothing more than an immature rant, rather than an objective view.  I knew that media in politics were terrible biased (yeah Im talkin bout you MSNBC)...never thought it would infect the gaming community.

Originally posted by chaod1984

WOW....who does the OP work for???

I would like to request that you take this "Impression" down off your site.  It's pretty much telling players that the devs are idiots and the game sucks.

Also, I saw that the OP later said that the game was way too easy prior to launch and that it's way too hard after launch.  You're half right.   The game is perfectly fine now but was too easy prior to launch.   What's this junk about feeling "super"....want to feel "super" go play Dora the Explorer....anyone with an I.Q. over 50 will pwn that game.  This is an MMORPG and with that comes challenge...WOW is failing hardcore because it's too easy....I should know...I recently left WOW because of that.

Just because a bunch of angry "easy button brigade" gamers don't want to use their brains doesnt mean a game is bad.  The game is excellent...the combat is excellent.

Yes, there is a minor lack of content, but nothing half as bad as when WOW launched...I remember having to grind every 10 levels and then having to grind half of 50-60...Silithus didnt even have any content at all....just an empty desert.  So many other games also lacked content....CO lacks content for what?  2-3 levels in total? 

Im really sick and tired of people bitching about CO...if ya dont like it, go play Linearage 3 or E-Z-craft...All this negative press will only make those that might have liked it, never even try it. 

So, I sincerely ask you, again, take the "impression" off the site....it's nothing more than an immature rant, rather than an objective view.  I knew that media in politics were terrible biased (yeah Im talkin bout you MSNBC)...never thought it would infect the gaming community.

Finally, I have found one person who is looking at the bright side of this game. Yes, it is still fun, combat is exciting, and character creation is beyond any other MMO out right now. Yet people take one little patch that makes them normal (In MMO balance) and they freak out. The game is not easy nor is it hard. As of now, it is enjoyable and should be respected.
 

All of this non-sense will fade away in time and the devoted players can play without argument and controversy. 'Till then, everyone stop hating this game and move on.

Originally posted by lordoffiling

Originally posted by Irishoak

Originally posted by MikeB

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

 

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

 

Or did the gloom and doom change it? Because I remember several interviews where it was more than just pets. Be dismissive if you wish, the backlash changed the outcome I believe.

 

Or, perhaps you're both mistaken and the actual content going into the store simply isn't in there yet. My money's on the backlash changing nothing.

I'm trying to be positive here! But yeah, I suspect the same. There was a pretty large backlash against it though, one could hope even a corporation could learn. Either way, if they do add it, I hope they are punished in the pocketbook. I'm sick of people speaking as if they're just being inventive and cutting edge by combing ALL payment methods into one. Sure, if they combined them into options, like D&D did, I'd have no qualms, giving people a choice for one or the other is completely different.

Originally posted by gorillaz951

Finally, I have found one person who is looking at the bright side of this game. Yes, it is still fun, combat is exciting, and character creation is beyond any other MMO out right now. Yet people take one little patch that makes them normal (In MMO balance) and they freak out. The game is not easy nor is it hard. As of now, it is enjoyable and should be respected.

 

All of this non-sense will fade away in time and the devoted players can play without argument and controversy. 'Till then, everyone stop hating this game and move on.

Umm, if it fades away and leaves so few devoted players it's not worth it...what then?

The aloof marginalization aside, I think his point was you felt like MORE of a hero prior to the nerf, which umm, is the point of a hero game? Bringing it more into line with standard MMOs makes you an  ork with laser eyes is all. Different measures could have been taken to increase the difficulty without resorting to the "standardization" of the game would be the point of contention. Now the only difference between this and other MMOs is you can play it with a console controller and you can make your cyber dolly look really cool.

Originally posted by chaod1984

WOW....who does the OP work for???

I would like to request that you take this "Impression" down off your site.  It's pretty much telling players that the devs are idiots and the game sucks.

Also, I saw that the OP later said that the game was way too easy prior to launch and that it's way too hard after launch.  You're half right.   The game is perfectly fine now but was too easy prior to launch.   What's this junk about feeling "super"....want to feel "super" go play Dora the Explorer....anyone with an I.Q. over 50 will pwn that game.  This is an MMORPG and with that comes challenge...WOW is failing hardcore because it's too easy....I should know...I recently left WOW because of that.

Just because a bunch of angry "easy button brigade" gamers don't want to use their brains doesnt mean a game is bad.  The game is excellent...the combat is excellent.

Yes, there is a minor lack of content, but nothing half as bad as when WOW launched...I remember having to grind every 10 levels and then having to grind half of 50-60...Silithus didnt even have any content at all....just an empty desert.  So many other games also lacked content....CO lacks content for what?  2-3 levels in total? 

Im really sick and tired of people bitching about CO...if ya dont like it, go play Linearage 3 or E-Z-craft...All this negative press will only make those that might have liked it, never even try it. 

So, I sincerely ask you, again, take the "impression" off the site....it's nothing more than an immature rant, rather than an objective view.  I knew that media in politics were terrible biased (yeah Im talkin bout you MSNBC)...never thought it would infect the gaming community.

Your argument would carry a lot more weight if you didn't come off attacking everyone like an angry teen. I want to paint you with sparkles and make a vampire movie. ANGST.

Originally posted by RoosterNash

Originally posted by lordoffiling

Originally posted by Irishoak

Originally posted by MikeB

Originally posted by Irishoak

How is the MT store? I always figured they made resources scarce to fuel that thing. Have they scaled it back? I was always worried it would effect game play on a base level. Because like it or not, hell you don't even have to believe it, but game design is effected by adding a dedicated store. Greedy sods.

 

The store inventory currently consists only of vanity pets called Action Figures. All the doom and gloom was for naught.

 

Or did the gloom and doom change it? Because I remember several interviews where it was more than just pets. Be dismissive if you wish, the backlash changed the outcome I believe.

 

Or, perhaps you're both mistaken and the actual content going into the store simply isn't in there yet. My money's on the backlash changing nothing.

 

Why do you continue on into hypocrisy? The more you say unto the OP, the more you seem the bias one.

Given, at FIRST IMPRESSION, his (Mike B.'s) post seems as though he's about to flame CO to dust, but his assessment is justified time and time again. It's as if they made the same mistake twice. Again, I say that it isn't their first time. This sounds worse than SWG's release issues, so he made a valid point in that they SHOULD have said something to the testers prior to launch.

I'm going to close with this: there wasn't any backlash. Only a NECESSARY statement (as I'm not going to go out and waste my money on this game. Cryptic will have to fix what SHOULD have been fixed during the middle of beta) was made that it went from to ok to WHOA in a day's time.

I'm honestly glad I neglected to test this game. It looks as though my thoughts would have gone unscene by the dev team (also something that's not good for the longevity of an MMO).

Again, guy, I love you and babies and stuff. Peace in the middle east aaaaaaaaand, get off your high horse. Mike B. was right to say what he posted.

Mike, thank you for the informative first look, and PLEASE keep us up-to-date on when the game will be good.

 

No offense, but I think we're talking about something you're not. I mean, it's great you're spirited about the debate, but we're talking about the MT store...umm, we're not talking about the patch, per se.

Originally posted by Irishoak

Umm, if it fades away and leaves so few devoted players it's not worth it...what then?

The aloof marginalization aside, I think his point was you felt like MORE of a hero prior to the nerf, which umm, is the point of a hero game? Bringing it more into line with standard MMOs makes you an  ork with laser eyes is all. Different measures could have been taken to increase the difficulty without resorting to the "standardization" of the game would be the point of contention. Now the only difference between this and other MMOs is you can play it with a console controller and you can make your cyber dolly look really cool.

So few....huh?  My guild had to start a Secondary guild cuz we filled the max allowed players...don't think that's the case buddy.

Again, a video game will always need to be challenging to sell...

Im curious to know what your solution to the difficulty issue would have been?  Im not sure how you can change things up without either: Reducing strength of powers, Increasing mob HP and dmg done.

It cracks me up that a tweak to balance a game now makes the game like every other of it's genre.  NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT THE GAME WORLD, IT'S CONTENTS, CHARACTER CREATION, QUEST LINES, LAIRS or TYPES OF POWERS....so how does difficulty instantly make this a new game?  How does it make it identical to other games?

I still feel "super" playing my toon...I can fly, I do moves that I'll never see in another MMO and I can pick up things and throw them at enemies...Again, if you want easy, go play some pre-school learning game...ez as pie.

Originally posted by Irishoak

Your argument would carry a lot more weight if you didn't come off attacking everyone like an angry teen. I want to paint you with sparkles and make a vampire movie. ANGST.

Ahh....I see Irishoak is the almighty...thanks for taking you time to come to the forums and talk down to everyone...you can go sit back on your throne again.

Originally posted by chaod1984

Originally posted by Irishoak

Umm, if it fades away and leaves so few devoted players it's not worth it...what then?

The aloof marginalization aside, I think his point was you felt like MORE of a hero prior to the nerf, which umm, is the point of a hero game? Bringing it more into line with standard MMOs makes you an  ork with laser eyes is all. Different measures could have been taken to increase the difficulty without resorting to the "standardization" of the game would be the point of contention. Now the only difference between this and other MMOs is you can play it with a console controller and you can make your cyber dolly look really cool.

 

So few....huh?  My guild had to start a Secondary guild cuz we filled the max allowed players...don't think that's the case buddy.

Again, a video game will always need to be challenging to sell...

Im curious to know what your solution to the difficulty issue would have been?  Im not sure how you can change things up without either: Reducing strength of powers, Increasing mob HP and dmg done.

It cracks me up that a tweak to balance a game now makes the game like every other of it's genre.  NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT THE GAME WORLD, IT'S CONTENTS, CHARACTER CREATION, QUEST LINES, LAIRS or TYPES OF POWERS....so how does difficulty instantly make this a new game?  How does it make it identical to other games?

I still feel "super" playing my toon...I can fly, I do moves that I'll never see in another MMO and I can pick up things and throw them at enemies...Again, if you want easy, go play some pre-school learning game...ez as pie.

Wow, the point just ran around you and hid in the bushes.

Originally posted by chaod1984

Originally posted by Irishoak

Your argument would carry a lot more weight if you didn't come off attacking everyone like an angry teen. I want to paint you with sparkles and make a vampire movie. ANGST.

 

Ahh....I see Irishoak is the almighty...thanks for taking you time to come to the forums and talk down to everyone...you can go sit back on your throne again.

Umm, actually it's just you. I like it when feral children shake their fist at the sky and proclaim. I get a chuckle every time, seriously. *chuckle* See!

Originally posted by Irishoak

Wow, the point just ran around you and hid in the bushes.

No, I think you just ran for the bushes...thanks for not having an answer to a different way in which difficulty could have been adjusted to the game....

Originally posted by chaod1984

Originally posted by Irishoak

Wow, the point just ran around you and hid in the bushes.

 

No, I think you just ran for the bushes...thanks for not having an answer to a different way in which difficulty could have been adjusted to the game....

Sorry. You're not here for discourse, even I can see that. Would be a bit silly to engage you seriously on any level. I can already see the outcome of that. You should be thankful I saved us both some time. I can shred these old bills and you can log onto Halo and scream at people. Look how productive we are!

Dropping a quick reminder here to state that your posts stay on topic.  Not following the ROC will be met with swift action by the staff.

(Cut out the personal attacks or dialogue towards one another)

~AZ