Current recap of Funcom's "launch":

1) Timer breaks down and at 8:28pm (local time @ Funcom) they announce the timer is broken.

2) 1 hour later they announce they are still working on the problem

3) 3 hours after initial post, they announce they are making progress on the problem

4) 4 hours after initial post, they say they need 90 more minutes to fix it.

5) At 3:11 a.m (roughly 7 hours since the timer broke), they say it will be up and running by NOON (another 9 hours, or 16 hours since the original post)

6) At 1:11pm (1:11 after it was supposed to be working), they post that they are gathering information on the current status.

7) At 2:18pm they announce that they expect a delay of several more hours.

Now, if you know much about Funcom, you know the following:

A) They can't seem to launch a game smoothly; and

B) You can't believe what they say or show about a game pre-launch no matter how many times they promote a certain aspect of the game (Direct X 10 in AOC was on the cover of the box of the game and yet wasn't included for crying out loud).

All signs from this disaster beta signup fiasco point that nothing has changed at Funcom.  I wouldn't bother buying this game but perhaps wait a few months to see what really is in the game and if it is worthwile.  

Hahaha, looks like some things never change at Failcom.

Originally posted by HurricanePip

I actually thought this was a unique marketing idea because theoretically it has an end point. I don't know that I'll necessarily play, but kudos to Funcom for trying something different. However, in the end, it all comes down to how good TSW is ... maybe third time's the charm?

 

If Funcom wants to try something different, they should try to get the game ready at launch, unlike thier past games which were incomplete (at best) when the game went live.  It also would be nice if something they promise to be in the game actually makes it into the game this time.

I wouldn't buy this game at launch given Funcom's terrible history of overhyping their games.

If they plan closed beta before year-end, then I anticipate this game releasing May 2012.

The poster child for overpromise and under-deliver in MMO world had to be Age of Conan.  DX 10 (mentioned on the cover of the box in large print and almost every video game preview) wasn't included in the actual game.   Large scale PvP promoted in multiple demos at gaming conventions, was completely broke upon release (you could flood a zone with allies pre-seige and the defenders couldn't get in to defend, haha).  Starting zone was great, but the rest of the game was unfinished.  Their staff acted surprised that players were upset about the lack of PvP in the game, despite showing it off repeatedly in demos, videos, and interviews pre-launch. 

Why anyone (including this website) would bother with previews, interviews or videos of Funcom's Secret World is beyond me, as Funcom will say anything (and even list features on the box that aren't in the game) just to hype. 

Can you gain XP/levels while participating in these structured PvP events?  If so, I may never hit another mob ever again.

4184

If you like to raid, I guess this game will have that, just like lots of other MMOs.  This one does it with a star-wars theme, which is fine.  The big turn-off was that the guys says Operations (er, raiding) is the primary focus of the end-game.  That sucks for me, where I was hoping some PvP would be the primary end-game focus. 

The buying of virtual items for real life cash has been done since UO.  Some hefty percentage of  players are against it, while a silent large percentage of players are for it (which can be confirmed by the # of RMT activities available). 

I personally don't see what the problem is unless you think the MMO game is a zero-sum system, which is to say that someone's benefit (using real life cash) makes your playing less effective.  Usually people say "well, i spent my time in game getting item X, so you should too" just seems dumb because someone did spend the time to get item X (the farmer), but they happened to sell it for real life cash.

I suspect this debate will never end, primarily because most MMO gamers tend to have lower incomes and they dislike having someone with a higher income in real life come in and be able to compete because of it.

Originally posted by rpgalon

The secret world is going to be a sleeper hit, mark my words...

 

You can't believe any game hype coming out of Funcom.  Just look at the hype and what was promissed about AoC and what you ended up getting.  It might turn out okay, but there is really no point in listening to the company's executives or watching game previews, since what actually makes it into the game could be completely different. 

I refuse to play a game that had false advertising at launch.   PvP was broken, graphical abilities said to be included in the game weren't there, etc.  Took my money elsewhere and never looked back.

Wow, lots of comments.  I consider myself a pretty big star wars fan, but I just can't get over the aspect that this isn't just another themepark MMO, but it's a themepark MMO on rails that is forcing a story on you.   I have yet to figure out what the endgame PvP content is going to be.  PvE raiding is not fun (for me), so I'm looking for some kind of sandbox PvP content at the end that will keep me coming back again and again.   I don't think it is this game, which is apparently all about telling a story.   If I want a story, I'll go read a book.  I don't mind themepark MMOs if they have a sandbox PvP aspect to it.   

As such, this game currently doesn't have me that excited.  In fact, I'll probably wait 4-5 months after launch and hear the reviews of the endgame before I sub.  I did that with Rift and seems to be the smart decision not to buy that game.

The first thing that came to my mind when watching that video was the Sylvan race of DAOC, which several other people have posted.   The DAOC sylvan's came from trees, so the Sylvari come from trees.   Been there, done that.  Trying to say it has never been done before is not that smart.  Just about everything has been done before.  

I will say that the graphical look of the Sylvari is of course far better than the graphical look of DAOC Sylvan (which is nearly 10 years old). 

Can these guys hurry up and announce a release date?  I know I know, it's done when its done.   Jeez.

Not sure who throw $50 million down the drain faster:  the US government or SOE.

I've played this MMO a few times over the years, and while I found it enjoyable, it is rather shallow.  Hence, after about 2 months of playing, i'd end my subscription.  Yet, it was so well done that I find myself occasionally thinking about re-subbing and doing it again.  The F2P model will likely serve my needs and many others who would like to go back and play occasionally.  

Mark Jacobs defined success and failure for WAR. He said (paraphrasing) "If we are opening more servers in six months, it's a success.  If we are closing servers within six months, it's not a success."    Well, we all know that withing a few months they were closing servers rapidly. 

The primary problem for WAR was the lack of a third faction IMO.  The 2-faction system almost always resulted in 1 side outzerging the other, resulting in people logging off, and then eventually cancelling accounts.  This of course made the server even more imbalanced, and the cycle continued until there just wasn't enough to sustain that server, it was closed, and the cycle repeated itself on the next merged server. 

Add to this the claim that Mythic had spent much more time on balancing the characters than they did in DAOC, and yet Bright Wizards were stupidly overpowering for the longest time in the game.  Such imbalances just made the server populations fall dramatically.  Add to this a warzone locking mechanism that was initially broken beyond repair, and you have the failure of WAR.

I wouldn't be surprised if 75% of the servers are closed within 2 years.  This story-driven MMO will lack replayability except for hard-core star wars fans.

I'm hyped for GW2.  The 3-way server battles I believe will be a lot of fun.  No healers, which is great.  Everything else for me is interesting but not that great.

When I read that scoundrels are the healers in the game by sending out healing driods to other players in combat, I laughed out loud.  How lame can it get trying to do the Tank/Healer/DPS model?