Ragnar Tørnquist has published the August State of the Game letter for The Secret World. In it, he frankly addresses the recent Funcom lay offs as well as prognosticates about the future of TSW. Among other things, he tells fans that the team is not going to play it safe and is dedicated to keeping The Secret World today's most unique MMO.

So what's ahead in upcoming issues? There's a ten-person raid in New York scheduled for October, and it's not like any raid you've ever played before. We have a bunch of auxiliary weapons on the way, and more character customisation improvements. We have a huge and exciting new feature pencilled in for Christmas, which ties into the achievement system and gives a lot more meaning to the usual 'Kill 1,000 Vampires' goals. (After all, who hasn't wondered what it would be like to have some vampiric abilities to play around with?) We're creating intermediary decks with brand new clothing rewards; we have a ton of new missions and storylines in development; and we have a huge new adventure zone scheduled for next spring, bringing players back to Tokyo's Ground Zero, to face brand new threats, meet new characters, play new missions and explore an intriguing urban environment unlike anything you've ever seen in an MMO.

Read the full letter on The Secret World's site.

Certainly a man with passion.

Originally posted by Xstatic912
Its so sad these guys are under a company that's on wall street..

The parent company had too high expectations (big sub numbers) for a game that was obvious was going to appeal a small part of the mmo market.

as such the parent company will want this game to go f2p to bring in more short term cash and there is nothing these guys can do to stop it, no matter how much content is delivered..

well i have no objection with it goin f2p like most games these days..has long has they dont thin out the missions..i,e i want them to keep to the same format..if it helps i,m all for it.

From a PR point of view... a terrible letter. It only speaks to its fans and is borderline condescending to everyone else.

Won't comment on the content as I'm really not interested... unless they bring in centaurs of course. /sarcasm

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/10/view/forums/thread/308418/News-on-the-engine-upgrade.html

And you guys believe this company?

lol.

Originally posted by Xstatic912
Its so sad these guys are under a company that's on wall street..

The parent company had too high expectations (big sub numbers) for a game that was obvious was going to appeal a small part of the mmo market.

as such the parent company will want this game to go f2p to bring in more short term cash and there is nothing these guys can do to stop it, no matter how much content is delivered..

What are you talking about? Funcom is listed on Oslo børs.

Im a shareholder in Funcom. And there is no parent company.

Originally posted by tryklon
Did not read anything about improving horrible animations... is he improving horrible animations soon?

No, FunCom has no plans to implement a patch based solely on the personal opinions of a vocal minority.

The animations are fine.

I don't usually root for games. I figure if a game fails, the developer did something wrong and it the game should fail. Survival of the fittest and all that. With TSW though, I find myself wanting the game to recover. I don't even play the game. I have no interest in paying a sub and I have no interest in going from quest hub to quest hub and ending up in a repetitiveendgameraidgeargrind either, but I still would like this game to do better.

Originally posted by kevjards

Originally posted by Xstatic912
Its so sad these guys are under a company that's on wall street..

The parent company had too high expectations (big sub numbers) for a game that was obvious was going to appeal a small part of the mmo market.

as such the parent company will want this game to go f2p to bring in more short term cash and there is nothing these guys can do to stop it, no matter how much content is delivered..

well i have no objection with it goin f2p like most games these days..has long has they dont thin out the missions..i,e i want them to keep to the same format..if it helps i,m all for it.

 'Course, it could go the way of CoX, and get shut down.

Originally posted by lizardbones

I don't usually root for games. I figure if a game fails, the developer did something wrong and it the game should fail. Survival of the fittest and all that. With TSW though, I find myself wanting the game to recover. I don't even play the game. I have no interest in paying a sub and I have no interest in going from quest hub to quest hub and ending up in a repetitiveendgameraidgeargrind either, but I still would like this game to do better.

This is the Irony of the situation.  This is why TSW is in the shape it's in. It's getting by but it's not storming the industry. Because it's a decent niche game. But nothing spectacular...Unless it's niche appeals to you. But unfortunately, that's not most. Sure there are plenty of people who want options in the market. Adn TSW offers one. It's always good for players to have the game of choice. 

But rooting from the sidelines watching on without participating isn't going to help the game. Not even remotely suggesting you should unless it's a game that appeals to you..just stating a fact) But TSW just lacks mass appeal.

But in the end.....I think TSW's biggest problem can be prefaced with "For the money.............."  Meaning, the game just doesn't deserve it's revenue model.

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Originally posted by ShakyMo
What quest hubs. Theres like one hub in the entire game, in the newbie zone.

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Originally posted by ShakyMo
What quest hubs. Theres like one hub in the entire game, in the newbie zone.

Here's Another one of Funcom's issues. This is the same problem in all thir games. Why they make all their starter zone experiences different than the rest of their game on all their games is beyond me. I didn't play AoC (I've ony heard), but in AO, the Noob Island does not prepare you for what's ahead. It's totally different