Originally posted by Mahlo

I thought trials were free. Hence the name. Even for proper games.

so did i. but im dealthy curious about the game. this way i can make a assessment based on my experience directly from the game. i personally  feel its silly to charge a dollar but oh well such is the world we live in.

I finally caved in, and figure I'm gonna download it  and give the trial ago. this way i can say for sure if its for me or not. I can base my dislike off tangible facts rather than assumptions. and Im surprised im downloading at 1.2-1.7+mb a sec lol. Ill update shortly.

Originally posted by alazyguy

Bit late, but meh. 

 

Okay, I'll give you the temp charge argument.  I don't know enough about how credit card verifications and such work to argue any more in-depth.

 

Since there's really nothing more to argue on this post, I'll move onto your nickel-and-dime post that I missed!  :P

 

Here's the list of things Aventurines charge for: Account (client), subscription, Account+Character Transfers, and $1 Trial.

Other than the $1 trial part, that's pretty standard, correct?

 

Now, what does Aventurine not charge for that most people charge for?  Additional game content (or expansions)!

 

Now, compare the cost of a $1 trial and the usual cost of an expansion...   and then tell me if Aventurine is really nickel-and-diming.

 

And a whole 'nother point...

Aventurine's customer support staff is probably pretty small.

Throw in a trial, and quality of support is likely to be compromised.

With the $1 charge, the trial-base is smaller, and the $1 can be put towards hiring more support staff.

And wallah, the quality of support (which many players are satisfied with) has a lower chance of being affected.

 

Mmmm...  looks like my points aren't very well stated, but oh well!  You get the idea.  Please don't say that they shouldn't have trials if they can't support them without charging...  :P

k I wont sasy they shouldnt have trials if they cant support them. They can charge if they want is their right as a business. But given the industry standard of trials being free and that is not going to for a good while, they should expect a smaller percentage of people to be willing to "risk" a charge for a trial regardless if its just $1. I dont believe i should spend money trying out a product especially considering how the gaming industry is run, whether its a regular single player demo, or MMO trial its a standard for people to try your game showing them the basic aspect of the game to have them decide if they want to purchase it or not.

but It's safe to say we wont see eye to eye. lets just agree to disagree lol.

frankly quality of the game comes down to the ability of the artist. If there is one rule when it comes to making 3d models, its not necessarily the polygons that make a model look good, its the textures. If a Model polygonal Silouette is done well, it can be lower polygons/tris and still have beautiful textures that make it stand out. Texture artists are the major key to making a model look good. then comes a level designer and their placement of environmental objects kind of a "feng shui" in which the environment has a harmony or "function". But talent can be very hard to come by if you dont have tyhe "funds" to pay their salary.

short term you get what you pay for. but also the game engine is also equally important. if the engine cant handle alot of assets, texture memory load, or advanced shaders you will end up with an ugly game. and another final aspect is stylization stylization can dictate how well a game loooks, realistic, cartoony, psuedo-realism, stylized realism, cell shading, the list goes on.

just my $.02

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma  

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

 

Good saying. And that is why I like this paid trial. I dont have to buy a product that I want, but have heard so diffrent things about. And just becuse you fail to see why AV dosent give a try out for free dosent meen its silly.

 

then enlighten me.

I know that I dont have any arguements that will enlight you. There is so many posts about why AV is using a 1 $/€  try out. And you havent excepted one of them as valid. Not a single one seems to be ok for you and that makes me believe that you are argueing with emotions. And then there is no enlightment. Please correct me if Im wrong :)

I can understand why you dont want to pay (even a small amount money) for a thing that is supposed to be free. But things will never be standing still, and when it comes to business its for certain.  AV is doing what they are doing andy ou have made it clear that you wont support it by not opening your wallet. 

I am not aruging with my emotions. dont try to get all philosophical on me, keep to what you know lol. If you understand why I wont pay then there is no room for argument. You understand, but you disagree, and I am willing to accept that. Given the business ends, I know the business end, and its getting scary, where everything is being nickeled and dimed, SOE started that(though u can directly avoid itas it doesnt effect the game much if any), cryptic studios has joined the band wagon with extra character slots, new additions, and paid content that should otherwise be included in the $14.95 a month sub price. releasing crappy instanced games for mainstream MMORPG sub prices with repetitive simple gameplay. NcSoft with aion cashshop.

Only thing I dont mind is with console games, e.g. paying $5 for DLC such as optional story arcs, new quests. with a Console game it is understood i pay $60 for the game with DLC being added later in which I pay $5 or so for extra added content. But once again it is understood $60 pays only for the game there is no underhanded or auspicous dealings in which the consumer is fooled. If i dont want to spend $5 i dont have to. I got a full game, for the money i spent.

 

here few companies are going out of their way to charge for silly things such as beta access ( which was used as a tool to help test and debug the game) if you were selected to join the beta, you felt honored to at least be part of testing the game, now itsnothing more than a ploy or a chance to make revenue on a game that may or may not have enough funding to go to retail. (Mortal Online is a major example of this in which the game cant even be considered alpha stage let alone late beta)  This seems more to placate the investors who are bitching on when they are going to recieve the returns on their investment.(nothing scarier than a stiff suit who put millions into your company only to crash it down because he/she didnt understand the process of developing a game and is too damn impatient to see it through).

Im not necesarily brushing with a broad stroke, but the changing pattern in how the industry operates is changing fast, and needs to be nipped in the bud. but spend ya buck, encourage them, and youll be getting charged alot more than a buck, and get far less.

Im not trying to be philosophical with you. We are at mmorpg, one of the more inmature corners of the internet. You asked me to enlight you and what Ive seen is that you are picking what to argue about. Valid points, from my view, is not taken notice by you or just ignored. So there is no need for me to bring up any more arguments.

I believe that what AV has done will be something to excpect in the future. I prefer that insteed of wows chopped down trial experince that wont let me interact with other players in a good way (just for example). And I dont see anything wrong with this trial model. Why should a company use resources to a market that clearly wont stay as customers? There is no business logic in that.

And your thoughts about the game industry is spot on, Im on the same track as you.  To bad my english is so poor so I cant express it. 

well free is still better than a dollar, regardless if the game is cut in half or not. but Wow and DF are also two completely different animals. You cant directly compare the 2  where WOW has core PVE with PVP "elements" and DF is out right open FFA PVP with death penality, risk of losing gear and money, you can't say play one and say well the other is the same, because they aren't. Only thing that is the same is the "Time-limitation" meaning after a set number of days, you are canceled out with an option to "upgrade" to a full client with all the trimmings. Yes, DF offers their game unrestricted for 7 days, but its not really any different than WOW's 7 day trial, only thing that is different is the "activities" that  you do as a player one is more likely to be PVE questing the other PVP. but one charges you money to test, the other doesnt.

for poor english you speak better than most americans do lol. so dont worry.

Originally posted by alazyguy

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by jagd1

Originally posted by nakuma

when you start charging money for a product its not no longer a trial but a service. I have a job, but why would I need to pay them $1 for the opportunity to play their game for 7 days. That is not a trial here is what the defiition of trial means.

 

in the gaming industry a trial of a released game

 

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

 

You are giving so much meaning to 1$ 7days trial , a lot of people asked for trial before buying game until now than AV put a 7days  trial for 1$ .Now people on the fence can try themselves .I think some people complaining just for complaining .If you were not thinking playing game until now still there is not any reason try game for you .It is a pvp game- full loot - FFA if these things were not your  cup of tea still will not be  .

Darkfall has love or hate relation with players if you love it is nice if you hate now youll only spend 1$ (vs. 50) , what is wrong with it?

 

whats wrong with it? im being charged. $1 or $50 im still being charged for a untested product. FFA PVP has nothing to do wwith it. Ive played FFA PVP games. the problem is im being charged for a trial of a product that should otherwise be free. to dismiss that as trivial because you dont mind paying a $1 undermines the rest of the  community that feels its unnecessary. i would like to try the game, but Im not going to pay $1 for a 7 day trial. if its not a $1, how about $5, how bout $10 to test for $7 days where does it stop? either its a free trial or its not. there are no inbetweens. If you disagree with me, cool, fine by me, its your money not mine, spend on what you wish. BUt dont undermine the views and beliefs of rest of the community that feels this is silly and unwarranted. WHen they finally release a "free" trial, then maybe i will try it, until then I'll pass and just keep tabs on the progress from articles released.

 

Aventurine already stated that the $1 nominal charge is to protect the current subscribers.

 

Charging ensures that the credit card used is valid (not obtained from a credit card generator).  This makes it so that Aventurine is able to blacklist the credit cards of people who do not follow the ToS (hackers/gold-sellers/etc)

It also decreases the amount of people trying, minimizing the chances of having "queuefall" again.

There's probably more reasons, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

 

The target of the trial are probably people who are "on the fence" or people who want to make sure their computer can run the game before purchasing.

Attracting the people who try every single game that has a trial is probably secondary.

actually that is called a temp charge, but they are actually charging a $1. so thats a half truth there. any company that test to verify a credit card is usually in the form of a temporary charge to validate that the charge went trhough and then is promptly removed. where as AV is outright charging, therefore its not a validation of a person's CC but rather an out right charge if they are in fact keeping the charge. i can understand the dislike in having constant queues in the game when they can barely hold their current subscriber base stable. SO this prevents them from having to purchase extra equipment to offset the sudden rise in trial subscribers.

but your statement on the charge is still has disparity vs any other company that does a validation check on your CC when checking to see if its legit. so to me that agruement is null.

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma  

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

 

Good saying. And that is why I like this paid trial. I dont have to buy a product that I want, but have heard so diffrent things about. And just becuse you fail to see why AV dosent give a try out for free dosent meen its silly.

 

then enlighten me.

I know that I dont have any arguements that will enlight you. There is so many posts about why AV is using a 1 $/€  try out. And you havent excepted one of them as valid. Not a single one seems to be ok for you and that makes me believe that you are argueing with emotions. And then there is no enlightment. Please correct me if Im wrong :)

I can understand why you dont want to pay (even a small amount money) for a thing that is supposed to be free. But things will never be standing still, and when it comes to business its for certain.  AV is doing what they are doing andy ou have made it clear that you wont support it by not opening your wallet. 

I am not aruging with my emotions. dont try to get all philosophical on me, keep to what you know lol. If you understand why I wont pay then there is no room for argument. You understand, but you disagree, and I am willing to accept that. Given the business ends, I know the business end, and its getting scary, where everything is being nickeled and dimed, SOE started that(though u can directly avoid itas it doesnt effect the game much if any), cryptic studios has joined the band wagon with extra character slots, new additions, and paid content that should otherwise be included in the $14.95 a month sub price. releasing crappy instanced games for mainstream MMORPG sub prices with repetitive simple gameplay. NcSoft with aion cashshop.

Only thing I dont mind is with console games, e.g. paying $5 for DLC such as optional story arcs, new quests. with a Console game it is understood i pay $60 for the game with DLC being added later in which I pay $5 or so for extra added content. But once again it is understood $60 pays only for the game there is no underhanded or auspicous dealings in which the consumer is fooled. If i dont want to spend $5 i dont have to. I got a full game, for the money i spent.

here few companies are going out of their way to charge for silly things such as beta access ( which was used as a tool to help test and debug the game) if you were selected to join the beta, you felt honored to at least be part of testing the game, now itsnothing more than a ploy or a chance to make revenue on a game that may or may not have enough funding to go to retail. (Mortal Online is a major example of this in which the game cant even be considered alpha stage let alone late beta)  This seems more to placate the investors who are bitching on when they are going to recieve the returns on their investment.(nothing scarier than a stiff suit who put millions into your company only to crash it down because he/she didnt understand the process of developing a game and is too damn impatient to see it through).

Im not necesarily brushing with a broad stroke, but the changing pattern in how the industry operates is changing fast, and needs to be nipped in the bud. but spend ya buck, encourage them, and youll be getting charged alot more than a buck, and get far less.

Originally posted by jagd1

Originally posted by nakuma

when you start charging money for a product its not no longer a trial but a service. I have a job, but why would I need to pay them $1 for the opportunity to play their game for 7 days. That is not a trial here is what the defiition of trial means.

 

in the gaming industry a trial of a released game

 

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

 

You are giving so much meaning to 1$ 7days trial , a lot of people asked for trial before buying game until now than AV put a 7days  trial for 1$ .Now people on the fence can try themselves .I think some people complaining just for complaining .If you were not thinking playing game until now still there is not any reason try game for you .It is a pvp game- full loot - FFA if these things were not your  cup of tea still will not be  .

Darkfall has love or hate relation with players if you love it is nice if you hate now youll only spend 1$ (vs. 50) , what is wrong with it?

 

whats wrong with it? im being charged. $1 or $50 im still being charged for a untested product. FFA PVP has nothing to do wwith it. Ive played FFA PVP games. the problem is im being charged for a trial of a product that should otherwise be free. to dismiss that as trivial because you dont mind paying a $1 undermines the rest of the  community that feels its unnecessary. i would like to try the game, but Im not going to pay $1 for a 7 day trial. if its not a $1, how about $5, how bout $10 to test for $7 days where does it stop? either its a free trial or its not. there are no inbetweens. If you disagree with me, cool, fine by me, its your money not mine, spend on what you wish. BUt dont undermine the views and beliefs of rest of the community that feels this is silly and unwarranted. WHen they finally release a "free" trial, then maybe i will try it, until then I'll pass and just keep tabs on the progress from articles released.

Originally posted by Nicoo

Oh God, all these retards.

1$ and you guys are whining? Seriously... Thats like what you get from working for about 2 minutes on your job.
And thinking they would scam you? LOL. If you really dont know why they are charging. Well stfu. 
It's becoming so lame, this whole community... Been here for years and years.. Just getting worse and worse..... Sigh...

i dont think they are scamming me. I refuse to pay money for a limited trial. a trial is suposed to a test of their product. Every MMO out there that has a trial is free. yet AV charges a $1? why? whats the point? Make it $0 so I can test it, see if I like it. but Im not grabbing into my wallet and putting in my credit card and spending money on an untested product I know nothing about.  there is no reason I should be charged, thats all I am saying, and I will continue not to test any product that charges me before I actually get to directly use it. just my opinion, just my view doesnt make me a retard. So watch your mouth before you go off the hinge in the internet.

Originally posted by astrob0y

Originally posted by nakuma  

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

 

Good saying. And that is why I like this paid trial. I dont have to buy a product that I want, but have heard so diffrent things about. And just becuse you fail to see why AV dosent give a try out for free dosent meen its silly.

then enlighten me.

when you start charging money for a product its not no longer a trial but a service. I have a job, but why would I need to pay them $1 for the opportunity to play their game for 7 days. That is not a trial here is what the defiition of trial means.

a. The act or process of testing, trying, or putting to the proof

2.made, done, or used for the purpose of trying, testing, etc

in the gaming industry a trial of a released game, implies the potential consumer is to freely test/play the game to see if it meets their interests under provised restrictions, and limitations of scope, time, or features for the possibility of future purchase or procurement. In short terms "hey try our game its free, but to play further you have to buy the actual game".

AV doesnt do this. they instead charge you a small fee for the same risk of not knowing what to expect. You may like the game, you may not, but in the end they are offering a service, small or large, its still charging and therefore it is not a trial. It is a service with limitations.

They are either too lazy, or understaffed to code a trial version of the game that prevents abuse of the game. I cannot think of a game that actually charges for a trial account. this is just another form of nickel and diming to get more revenue by AV. Its both unprofessional, and directly illustrates their inability to compete with mainstream industry. I wouldn't mind giving the game a try, but to be charged to try the game is down right silly. I'll pass.

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

Originally posted by Shelby13

I don't know if its snobbery or more an 'back-lash' effect from the new micro-transaction models being 'added' to formerly 'pure' P2P subscription-based games.

I've yet to play a F2P game, not because I believe I am 'above' anything or even 'against' item-shops.

However, I do see what happens to the games core quality when the 'extra' items are introduces as an 'extra' fee.  The extra's get the big development bucks.. the core game gets the shaft in order to protect the 'value' of the extra's.

SWG Trading Card game.. great example... undermines the crafter (non-combat) system as well as the regular subscriber (grind-to-get) players by adding a 'lottery-based' random item if you buy a 'pack' of cards.  In order to support the value of the 'extra' packs... the quality between extra and grind-based items has become dramatically apparent.

So... perhaps its not just because players are 'against' F2P systems.. it just might be that F2P tend to be based on a system that is frustrating a lof of players in the traditional P2P systems that are getting converted into sub+item shops.

Its frustration by association.

 

i dont think its so much that though I agree with the aspect of your arguement regarding F2p and charges for extra items. But i think personally, my issue is, why am I going to pay more money per month for extra items to help me in a F2p game when i can get the same if not more content and items if i only pay $15 a month. every F2p I ever played ive done the math on, you end up exceeding the amount youd ever pay for a sub based MMO by a long shot to get to the same goal. its a money sink for alot of F2P MMO's and while I am not against them making a profit I am against them nickel and diming players, and that what alot of them do, they nickel and dime you to death. I will continue to play P2P MMO's because the amount of content, items, fun I get out of them far exceed whatever I can get out of a F2P game. You end up spending a small fortune....for what? when i can spend $15 a month and more for my money. Only thing I would agree with is, F2P MMO's have stepped up their game with quality such as graphics, core gameplay, but in the end the Item malls turn it to crap in favor of people who spend their money for that extra boost or edge. your essentially buying your way through the game. I will never advocate that.

given the current quality of MMO's released lately, I am not so much a snob as I am just fed up with the craptastic MMO's being released for a quick money run, or dont really constitute as "Massive online" with all the stupid Instancing BS, or lack of content, or plain bugs, errors,and broken features when released at launch. A SNob is someone despite a product or object being of good value he considers crap. There is no satisfying a Snob, who has standards that cant be easily met. With MMO's of late, the quality has gone down so low, that no one is really a snob, gamers are just fed up with what they are offered.

Its like buying a steak dinner without the steak, ....there is no real substance, or worse yet its like recieving a steak but its maybe undercooked,unseasoned, fatty or grisly and just plain unappetizing..whats the point of bringing this to me if I can't really enjoy it or savor it.

Originally posted by TheHatter

Originally posted by alkarionlog

Originally posted by TheHatter

Originally posted by alkarionlog

Originally posted by sn0wblind00

Originally posted by TheHatter

Originally posted by zymurgeist

Companies will never learn. People who pirate games are not going to buy your game no matter what you do. They are not your customers. Instituting insane schemes that piss off potential customers, the ones who actually would buy your game, to exclude a few miscreants who inevitably find a way around your ineffectual nonsense is incredibly counterproductive. Take reasonable measures and move on. If a few schmucks pirate it that costs you nothing.

 

I've pirated games to use that as a trial. If the game is worthy of my money, I go buy it. If it's not worthy of my money, it usually ends up getting deleted anyway.

Most recently, I did that to Borderlands. Pirated it first, played till about lvl 15 and went and bought it. I've also done that to Fallout 3 and a few others.

Demos are crap, they usually show you a tiny portion of the game that's actually fun and cut you off right before the crap fest starts back up.

 

I'm probably rare though. I've met a few people like me, but most are what you said. I just believe in supporting what I think is good. Just doing my small part to help keep the gaming and software industry on the right track. You give me quality, I will give you my money.

 

I can't imagine how you gamed in the 80's-90's.  Did you only purchase games that were on store display? Gaming is like going to a movie...sometimes you pay for crappy ones, and sometimes you get good ones.  It's amazing how cheap this generation is.

 

back then I would rent the game first of see it on my friends place before I see if I could buy it, or just trade cartridges with my friends(hey let me borrow your super metroid, I borrow my rocking roll racing for it)

 

Exactly.

And technically, I wasn't a gamer till around '99 when I picked up my first MMO. I had better things to do. lol. Honestly, I don't think I really became a "gamer" until about '01 or '02. When I was a teenager, I could find things to do in the real world that were free or cost very little money. Not so much as I grew up. lol

The first 2 PC games I really played were Age of Empires and Heroes of Might and Magic III.

 

well i'm old school XD 26 years on my back and the atari was from my father XD I only get my nintendo on the 88 or 90 i'm not sure 93 was my super nintendo.

but really sometimes I miss the old days(damn i'm getting old :P). for now I just hope they fail and fail hard, but before that I will try and see how it worked XD, what can I say i'm a programmer and like to learn from the other people mistakes

 

Heh, if it makes you feel any better, I turn 26 this year. I got my NES with Super Mario Brothers for Christmas when I was 6 in 1990, and I'm starting to feel old compared to these kids who haven't even played any 2D games besides the flash games they play on Facebook.

i got back further, to Atari 2600 :) My dad got it in 83' when my we were stationed in Germany Frankfurt. I think i was maybe 7 at that time :) they had some really good games, though some were some bad arcade ports and money grabs like today. I loved missile command, demons, defender, freeway, frogger, lock & chase, bomber, choplifter the list goes on. Hell I think my dad still has his 2600 atari, the faux wood grain and black one. good days of gaming :) simplicity at its best.
 

Originally posted by drbaltazar

its probably the big reason f2p market is gaining so much ground ,no drama like many silly drm type stuff

and the argument the industry had before ,oh f2p suck!thats argument isa nill so who will benefit from these new toy in the end the f2p market

f2p market must be laughing a lot these days .top quality title coming out and only one game against them(cataclysm)

wich is still almost half a year away  for mmorpg player!

i agree slowly but surely F2P category of games, are improving quality with every title. Ive even paid a few bucks here and there for them. So Fee based game companies need to definitely step up their game alot!.

Originally posted by Ekibiogami

Originally posted by zymurgeist

Companies will never learn. People who pirate games are not going to buy your game no matter what you do. They are not your customers. Instituting insane schemes that piss off potential customers, the ones who actually would buy your game, to exclude a few miscreants who inevitably find a way around your ineffectual nonsense is incredibly counterproductive. Take reasonable measures and move on. If a few schmucks pirate it that costs you nothing.

 

This.

They are acting like this will be a Lock on a house to keep honest people Honest. How many more Roberys would there be if you could just Log onto Pirate bay and Download a Skeliton key for any door you wanted?

Its been proven time and time again that this stuff wont stop people. They have to mutch fun dooing it.

Mean while Honest Customers like Me have to put up with this crap that ruins game experience. and in some cases (URT2003) I have to Download a Hacked Exe to play my OWN FREAKING GAME.

Its sad that they waste this mutch money on this stuff.

hahah i agree, if anything software pirates thrive on stuff like this. they see it as "OHHHH A CHALLENGE!" they gonna have fun cracking it. as they always have. the companies are so desperate to making a bigger and better profit they end up hurting the people who support them legitimately. Frankly If i had a game that forced me to stay online every single time I had to play it I wouldnt buy it, too much of a hassle involved. I dont mind a online verification check, but to be constantly online? nah not going to happen. All they are doing is angering and inconveniencing legitimate buyers.

Originally posted by Superman0X

Originally posted by championsFan 

Cryptic and Atari want to make a lot of money really fast while delivering as little support as possible.  

 

What you have given here is the basic definition of all Corporations. They employed Corporate Officers, to make as much money, with as little cost as possible, so as to maximize profit. If this is a surprise to you, and somehow unexpected, then you need to re-evaluate your understanding of how things work in the real world.

i think what the OP is trying to say given MMO's past norms, of making content updates, bug fixes, and numerous improvements to the core game, then only charging for " true expansions" e.g. new entire zones, hundreds of new quests, new starting areas, improved gameplay features, pvp or enhanced PVE. the list goes on.But you are still getting content and fixes with the $14.95 a month you pay.

 what Cryptic seems to be doing is nickel and dime people through small content patches that are similar to DLC's that you have seen in console games. Where as MMO's always had content updates added for free since everquest and Ultima Online. what they are managing to do is alienate a huge playerbase who do not wish to pay for little content updates that should be offered through the subscription fee. the logic is, If you pay $14.95 a month you should not only recieve bug fixes, but content updates, new quests, skills, armor etc with that $14.95. or else why we paying for this game?? I have no problem with them wanting to make profit, if the game is good, and is supported well with bug fixes, and content patches, I have no problem supporting them with my money. What Cryptic seems to see is a hussle or a dodge, how much profit can we make without doing shit, or if we do anything, how much money can we make from it and charge the players. hence aka= nickel and dime.

Originally posted by Umbral

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by Umbral

Originally posted by nakuma

Originally posted by thorosuch

I just can't comprehend the mentality of some players...Honestly...

Why do men play female characters in MMO's?

The most common response I get to this question is....

Well, if I have to spend hours playing a game I'd rather watch the butt of a female than a male character...

Huh? I don't go for it. First of all who says you have to play. Second, if your purpose for playing a game is to watch a the one inch butt of a female toon run around a computer screen...I think you have a serious issue.

Another that someone, that plays gender correct, told me that they think men do this in hopes of getting free gear and stuff from other male players. Now that one I can believe. Sorry saps that they may be.

Now a lot of you will probably come up with, "Well what about women that play male characters?"

I think they may do it to avoid being hit on by the probable large percentage of males that do; do that in MMO's.

Anyway here's the thing...is not the character you play supposed to be your alter ego? Haha...guess these men actually desire to be female.

 

why do you care if a guy plays as a female? You have no reason to say whether or not that person is a female in real life or not. does it get you that butthurt that some dude rolls a female toon?? if so, you have serious issues. Or maybe you've hit on female toons thinking they were girls and got disappointed to realize it was some dude and you wasted your time bribing "her" hoping " hey maybe if igive her this gold, or this gear itll increase my chances yeah thatll do it, ill show her how L33t I am, yeahhh". I think anyone who gets this butthurt over someone chosing the opposite sex needs to seek help or get a girl.

 

Nakuma.

1- I hit girls and boys in real life.

2- I am not looking for sex in MMORPGs.

3-I don't care if a player is male of female, but my companions in games are usually females that I know in person.

4-As I said, I have personal friends that enjoy cross-dressing social moments in game because ... hmm, they are cross dresses (in the closet) in real life.

What I said about that not everyone play as the opposite gender just because their like the avatar image is not always truth, especially in a social game.

You should apologize to act the way you did before even understand what I said in my previous posts.

 

no im not apologizing. the fact you are coming on a different account than your original post shows that your a puss and cant fess up to taking the heat on the topic. As I said why are you so butthurt about people's choice in gender for playing. There is no real rhyme or reason you should care.

Unless..... you are trying to get to know girl better in the hopes of getting a date. IF that is the case 1) good majority of girls who play MMO's are potentially fatties! so you are in all event rolling the dice in hopes she is f***able, Secondly, you can cut the middleman out alot faster by going to a club or the bar scene and socializing with a real girl. There is no guessing, what you see is what you get. You know..... maybe buy her a drink, tell her how pretty she is, if she wants to dance,ask her what her name is, whats she likes, if she wants to meet up for lunch or coffee later or give u her number.....wow! was it that easy? amazing.....go forth my child! and be prosperous! i gave you the tools, go and use them! lol

 

In the end if you dont like a dude playing a female avatar......TOO BAD...QQ some more.

I misquoted you.

I was replying to another poster and got your post.

Check my posts here and you will see.

This is why our conversation made no sense

ahhh gotcha.
 

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Originally posted by ForceQuit

Originally posted by taus01

Originally posted by Rdlaban

 Now you know why Ati cards are cheaper...

It aint only in  age of conan. 

The "nvidia" logo on the box should give you a clue. Now get of your high horse and blame everyone else and take a look in the mirrior. Thats the one that failed at research before investing.

 

The NVIDIA logo on game boxes and game intros is payed advertising. It has no bearing as to compatibility or system requirements.

 

Well, that's not really all that true.  When Nvidia and a studio/publisher have a co-branding agreement, the game is usually coded to work best on Nvidia and poorly on ATI.  ATI tends to use de jure standards, Nvidia always tries to use closed standards. Due to their architectural differences, games can be optimized for one over the other.  Nvidia have all sorts of tricks up their sleeve to make games work best on Nvidia and give ATI all sorts of problems.

I'm not an ATI fanboy, and I don't think they are angels or anything,  I try to be objective in this industry.  Some people have problems with ATI, but guess what have you seen the horror stories with Nvidia too?  The chip industry lets face it isn't the most noble.  I understand people have different experiences, well here's mine:  I've yet to experience any major problems with ATI.   As for LOTRO I run DX10 Maxed without any problems on my 4850 which I bought over a year and a half ago for less than $150.   All my other games I can run maxed or nearly maxed without any problems except for an shader model glitch in cryostasis that only affected ATI cards, but  guess what ... the developers first patch fixed that.

Nvidia makes some good cards too sometimes.  But their business ethics are terrible, and their cards are usually overpriced.  I wish Intel hadn't shelved Larrabee, so that we could introduce even more competition into this space.  ATI has plenty of room to improve, especially with their drivers, but its ridiculous to see comments like "now you know why they're cheaper". 

 

I wont take it off track, but I will say I have been in FC offices after Nvidia guys had recently left after working with FC on optimization. They left behind 3 prototype cards which were "supped up" 8800GTX and GTS versions at the time to give away to us. (my name didn't get pulled out the hat )

Funcom's working with Nvidia means that they are using CUDA with AoC.  DX10 being a big proponent, I think it is pretty challenging to try and find ANY game out there with more DX10 sliders. There is a massive difference between LOTRO DX10 and AoC DX10 in terms on implementation.

Overall, SSAO which is what the OP talking about does need to be fixed properly and no it was not something that was promised before launch. It was one of 5/6 DX10 features that were added in as EXTRA's quite a while later on.

 although i dont agree with the dx10 stand point, the major issue i always had was with SSAO specifically, both its implementation and visual anamolies which cause it to look like crap, and run like crap despite going through multiple nvidia drivers and it never being taken care of, i had all the dx 10 sliders enabled, only one i never had was SSAO given its awful implementation. i think its safe to say AOC is a prime example of what not to do when it comes to graphics, both in implementation and playing favorites between video card companies, which I never liked which to me is no different than microsoft causing monopolies to work in favor of their software or hardware. i always thought nvidia was tacky and underhanded in that "how it was meeant to be played" marketing bullshit. when ATI is both a cheaper card and high performance one too. though im by no means stating ati is not at fault, they always had issues with drivers, and catalyst suite control panel was often the culprit at times. but either way i think dx 10 was a dramatic failure for aoc in both practicality and implementation. i felt lied to when it was taken off suddenly at launch along with other nominal features that peaked my interest. has it improved? yeah, but thats like taking a car with a with no tire and putting a spare on. is it an improvement? yeah, is it ideal? not necessarily but it will get you where u got to get to in the short term. despite the improvements i feel aoc is a partial failure while being a partial success by upping the bar with the visuals despite its flaws. i think its safe to say funcom will ever get money from me again.

its sad where this game has gone. truly a shame.