Alex Weekes, the Community Manager of Auran's Fury answers questions from Managing Editor Jon Wood about the recently announced Age of the Chosen update to the PvP-centric MMO. Among other things, Age of the Chosen will be adding a new game type, called Carnage, to the game.

MMORPG.com:	It’s been a while since we’ve spoken. How do you feel things have gone since launch? Are you happy with the way that Fury is progressing?
Alex Weekes:	The launch was pretty smooth from a technical standpoint. We had some early database lag issues which were quickly addressed, and we've made a number of improvements to client performance in the last few patches. In terms of numbers, however, it's fair to say that they've been rather underwhelming. Reviews have, frankly, sucked. There is no doubt that the learning curve and lower than expected populations meant new players would be thrust into battle against veterans and get “pwned”. That’s no fun for anyone. With Age of the Chosen, our first free content update due to release on 14th December, we expect to see many previous players return and some new players join the fun. Age of the Chosen will address many of the big concerns noted in reviews and community feedback, so it will definitely be a big step forward.

Read the whole interview here.

Alex Weeks:

"In terms of numbers, however, it's fair to say that they've been rather underwhelming. Reviews have, frankly, sucked."

That made the article worth reading.

Guess Dan Gray can stop coming over to tell everyone how successful Fury is.

Crow: it's what's for dinner.

Originally posted by Stradden

Alex Weeks,

Points at forum account name...

Originally posted by Zorvan

Guess Dan Gray can stop coming over to tell everyone how successful Fury is.

Interesting you interpret his posts that way. No Auran staff have ever tried to claim Fury has been successful in terms of retail sales. We don't stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend things are going great when it's obvious we have a lot of work to do.

Very obvious.

 Fury is a great concept , with some TLC . it has the potential to evolve into a desirable gaming experience for those of us who enjoy pitting our reflexes against other human minds rather than scripted mobs.

All I can say is , more power to the devs on this one for having the balls to attempt to move forward with a fresh concept knowing that  the typical neysayers that cling to the dinosaur mmorpg`s and the played out concepts of pve and questing will never give this idea a chance.

It`s not easy putting work into a project like this that does not adhere to what most people believe a mmorpg should be , IMHO it`s a step in the right direction even if it`s a tough one.

People that have played games for any length of time are bored with alot of whats out there and more and more of them are turning to pvp oriented games that offer a bit of challenge rather than the rinse and repeat leveling up process that exists in most games on the market.

What this company has shown me is that their quite attentive to the input from players and despite the abuse they seem to be taking regarding the game , they are still making a strong effort to improve things in general.  As long as this type of relationship between the players and devs exists , there will be the chance to make the game what people want it to be.

Fury is on the right track

While I don't play Fury (I try to follow all the games here) it may be something that I try one day.

I think the quote about the reviews sucking was sorta funny, but I give them credit... they actually read the reviews and they are making changes. Hopefully other developers will start doing the same. There's an awful lot of "its our way or no way" in the industry today; ignoring your fanbase or reviewers is just not cool.

No Auran staff have ever tried to claim Fury has been successful in terms of retail sales. We don't stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend things are going great when it's obvious we have a lot of work to do.

That's admirable. Kudos to Alex and the Fury team for addressing the issues. Good luck guys!

Points awarded for an honest interview I would say.

Originally posted by AlexWeekes

Originally posted by Stradden

Alex Weeks,

Points at forum account name...

Originally posted by Zorvan

Guess Dan Gray can stop coming over to tell everyone how successful Fury is.

 

Interesting you interpret his posts that way. No Auran staff have ever tried to claim Fury has been successful in terms of retail sales. We don't stick our heads in the sand and try to pretend things are going great when it's obvious we have a lot of work to do.

Glad your here. Explain this:

www.angry-gamer.net/ag/index.php

"Australian PC game developer Auran is facing financial difficulties and shedding many of its employees this Friday, Angry Gamer has learned.

The long-running independent development compan, who has had past success with Dark Reign and (er) My Virtual Home, has told its staff to look for other jobs and that they cannot guarantee employment past this week.

This news comes only a few weeks after the release of their PC "PVP MMO", Fury, and Battlestar Galactica on Xbox LIVE Arcade. "Fury was a financial disaster, it lost Auran a lot of money", one anonymous source told Angry Gamer.

The Fury project may continue in China, Auran staff were told yesterday.

Auran's Quality Assurance department will be the hardest hit by the layoffs, while the marketing department and key management staff will stay on for the foreseeable future. 

Melbourne-base developer Tantalus will take up to 20 staff from Auran and interviews will commence next week. 

Angry Gamer will follow the story as it develops"

wow, i liked this game a lot.. just as it was even in beta testing. and some people that tested with me liked it.

i want to still get it when i can upgrade my comp a little and can run it on high for all settings.

i kind of feel bad for the fury staff, i know you guys probably put a lot of time into this game, and yet. most people are putting you down, one for example gamespot.

i guess making a pvp only game is a lot harder then it looks i guess, since it has not been done for just having an mmo ,pvp only.

well i the fury staff has a sucessful increase on sails with expansion, and can attract good reviews.

Bah, poopy. Zorvan stole me thunder.

Originally posted by Zorvan

Glad your here. Explain this:

www.angry-gamer.net/ag/index.php

forums.auran.com/fury/forum/showthread.php

Originally posted by Coldmeat

Bah, poopy. Zorvan stole me thunder.

Don't worry. I got it from your thread. Credits all yours.

 This should clear up some of the misconceptions being perpetuated by a few.

http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=626