All Posts by Alienovrlord

The 13th Warrior would be great.  

The vikings are a bit more advanced than the Age of Conan setting but the Bad Guy Venu/Bear worshippers would fit in perfectly in the Conan setting!

I'm not sure which is more disturbing.

The fact that a company that over-hyped their game and then completely failed to deliver on their promises could think about making a '2.0' version (If this isn't some sick joke) rather than getting booted out of the MMORPG industry. 

Or the fact that there are already people lining up to drink the kool-aid.   Again. 

The MMORPG community really doesn't have any memory at all, does it.    Or maybe it's just that old-school tradition of masochistic gameplay that makes them willing to put up with things that would drive most people away.

The OP asks the million dollar question.  

We'll all know the answer a month after release.

I've been following the game for a while, and I am looking forward to playing WAR based on all that I've heard.  But right now, I don't think even the beta-testers could answer that question.    A beta isn't the final version and a MMORPG launch is no small task.   Mythic has their work cut out for them.

But there I think there is legitimate reason why the entire MMORPG industry has an eye on WAR.   They want to know the answer to the OP's question as much as any of us do :)

Originally posted by abhaigh

The Devs are TR's biggest failures -

and then, to cap it off, Dicky G goes and blames US, the beta testers, for HIS EFFING FAILURE TO LISTEN!!!

Considering the game is called RICHARD GARRIOTT'S Tabula Rasa, you have to wonder why he didn't listen.  Or why he isn't listening now.  Oh wait, maybe he's too busy doing other things:

http://www.richardinspace.com/

As much as I hate giving that self-indulgent site any more hits, TR players should see what the person who was supposed to provide the guiding hand for their game is doing  while his game is struggling.  And something like this doesn't just come up out of nowhere, during the 6 years of TR's developement how much attention was focused on this outer space vacation when it should have been directing the game?

I have nothing against someone spending their millions however they want.   But when you put your name on a product, your reputation goes along with it and you should be exerting effort to insure that product does well.   Otherwise don't expect anyone to take that reputation seriously ever again. 

Originally posted by green13

 Ok, I get that the PR imperative requires that they never draw attention to actual flaws, but he's just annihilated his credibility.

 That happened a long time ago if one paid attention to the interviews.    It happened even before TR was released. 

With all the economic discussions and arguments over Korean Times articles, no one has pointed out the bottom line.   NCSoft can try to spin their economic situation however they want, but there is no avoiding this:

http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/overview.asp?symbol=036570.KS

The daily prices fluctuate from day to day so look at the little graph and see their stock price over the last year.  It's listed in S. Korean Won which is about 0.001005 US dollars.

In other words, last year NCSoft stock was worth $70 and went as high as $90.   Now it is down to $50. 

People can say whatever they want regarding theories about the costs of MMORPGs but in the end, this kind of stock drop is not a good thing for any company.   MMORPGs are products, and products are supposed to make profits. 

Originally posted by Salvatoris

The worst thing this game has going for it is inaccurate negative word of mouth...

Word of mouth regarding TR is completely accurate because it is based on the opinions of those spreading it.  If more people thought this game was so great as you do, then the WORD OF MOUTH would reveal it.  That's what it does and that's what makes it so powerful.   

I tried it, I played it.  And I would rather watch re-runs on TV than spend money on it.   That's only one opinion, it has no influence, it has no wieght.   But add that to all the others that say much the same thing, then that is when it becomes something with credibility.   That's when it becomes word of mouth.   And that doesn't change when a small, vocal minority tries to say otherwise.

There isn't some big, evil, organized conspiracy trying to ruin this game, Garriott and his inept Dev team did that all on their own. 

Originally posted by abhaigh

the devs need to start delivering the vapourware they have been promising since before live,

My major annoyance atm is the Res trauma Kits and how they fail so spectacularily.

You really have got to give it to them - take something that was working properly, and eff it up roayally.  

You must be mistaken,   It's not the DEVS fault for the lack of sales of Tabula Rasa.  It's ALL YOU BETA TESTERS!  At least that's what Richard Garriott claims:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16490

Here are some great quotes from that interview:

We invited too many people into the beta when the game was still too broken

And the people who did participate in the beta, we’ve had to go back to and say ‘look, look, we promise: we know it wasn’t fun two months ago, but we fixed all that. Really, come try it again

 Too many people?  Too bad they didn't LISTEN to all those beta-testers they invited.

And it sounds like there are still issues on fixing things. 

Hearing posts from beta-testers in this thead describing how the TR Devs ignored them and then having Garriott blame their testers is simply appalling.

There may have been various reasons for the trouble TR has suffered but when Devs have clueless, blind attitudes like that, the outcome is unavoidable.

Originally posted by rsreston

Now my question (my puzzlement, should I say) is: How can a company create a MMORPG that reached the  point of going into closed beta, and then simply put it on indefinite hold and shove it in the back of a drawer?

We've seen MMORPGs go through closed beta, open beta and go GOLD when they *should* have been canned, put on indefinite hold and thrown out an airlock into deep space into the fiery heart of a nova. 

This was an instance where a developer realized what was happening (for any of the hundreds of reasons that cause other MMORPGs to fail) and actually called a stop to it.  

I suppose I can understand your puzzlement.    If Gods and Heroes had been a traditional MMORPG fthey would have kept going and put out a buggy piece of trash and let their subscibers pay to beta test it.   It's a different market for MMORPGs now, that kind of tactic won't work anymore. 

It just goes to show the importance of having decent PR and Marketing.

MMORPGs are entertainment and a business afterall.   And they need good marketing like any product or business.   Right now Darkfall has been sorely lacking in that and the reputation of the game and company is now suffering the consequences of it. 

I don't believe the game is a hoax, but it should be very worrying to anyone if the company is not doing all the things that any normal company should do.    If they cannot handle PR and Marketing which are so important before the game is released then what the necessary things after the game is released like Customer Service, Accounting and all the other elements that a MMORPG require that has nothing to with coding the game?  

MMORPGs are more about just making a game.   That may be the most important step, but it's only the FIRST step.   Darkfall needs to prove they can do more than that.

Yes, thanks for the link!  

Catnip for the DoomKitty!

Possibly the weirdest interview I have ever seen.   Funny but disturbing as well.  Not for the faint of heart :)

I would want to see links like these interviews spread over all the fans sites, it's the best way for the information and interviews to get out to the community as a whole.   

Hilarious stuff Wrenn!  

I'm really glad you were able to video that and post it up on your site.  That's the kind of stuff that needs to be shared

Stuff like that has made following WAR such a joy.    I doubt I'll ever be as entertained just following another game. 

Originally posted by amorone

 Very simple reason. It's a "known"....meaning they can play that card whenever they need to for a while. Blizzard making an announcment? Mythic can counter with theirs to "soften" Blizzards. AOC has something big to say...like "game goes gold"? Mythic announces "White Lion is a go!". See. It's fairly typical. I don't see any technical reason for it. I am quite sure it was part of game design a LONG ways back and part of the project plan.

That makes sense, particularly since at this point it's one of the worst kept secrets among dedicated WAR followers :) 

But it would allow Mythic to make an announcement to counter some other press news and it would appear as a surprise to those who aren't following the game.

We've heard we'll see it at the end of the month, I guess the announcement of AoC going gold was the trigger :)

May Tzeentch bless you with many tentacles :)

Thanks for posting the video links!

I want Darkmonic in my group playing a Zealot!   They seem to know what they're doing, keeping distance until back-up shows up and able to stand toe-to-toe with a Swordmaster!  Well done!  And very nice job playing the Chosen too

One thing about Warhammer mobs, they are scary and bad-ass looking!  Even the normal animals like wolves and boars much less the daemosn!

I guess they'd have to evolve like that to survive in that world lol

Originally posted by needalife214

if they dont release it at NY  and if not before they will be releasing it in San diego  (hopefully before)  because that is in the end of July and if they dont release it then..that could lead to bad news

Wonder why they're taking so long announcing the class.   Could the push-backs of the dates push-backed a Marketing schedule for the annoucnement or is it technical reasons?

I agree with others that it is early to be making such statements.  We only played a small fraction of the game.

But I will say that after seeing that small fraction of the game that Age of Conan has managed to make a playable and fun game system.   That is NO small feat and absolutely critical to making a successful game.  

If the game isn't fun in the first 30 minutes then playing it for another 500 hours isn't going to improve it.    AoC has passed the 30 minute test very well IMO

Originally posted by Euthorus

OP - could have saved yourself the trouble of making HUGE GREEN HAPPY FONT and linked to recently pre-acclaimed *best game of the year*  mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/21867

Age of Conan doesn't deserve to be compared to Dark and Light but  the OP deserved that.    It's great to be enthusiastic about a new game but you'd think the community would have learned about making uniformed claims about how great a game is when they've only seen a little bit of it.

Age of Conan doesn't deserve to be compared to Dark and Light but the OP certainly deserves to be compared to all those people who bought into DnL's hype with little evidence to back it up.  Even if AoC becomes a hit in the future,  right now we don't know enough to make an informed judgement. 

Getting the client was like pulling teeth for me and not made any easier by people laughing about what an easy time they had.  Fortunately more helpful people posted alternates and I stopped using Gamespot's official links or their 'recommended' torrent since they were all garbage.

Once I got the game running I will say it was entertaining.   It's hard to tell with such a limited exporuse to the content but Funcom seems to have done a good job.   I'm interested in seeing what the final release will be like.  

I didn't want to start another thread and I approve of Enforcer71's Forum avatar so I'll post  my thoughts here :)

I got into the PvP weekend and I just bought a new system so it ran AoC well.  I was busy this weekend so I could not play that much but I can say I found the game entertaining.   Interesting system of combat that feels like there could be some depth to it.  There are some very nice world and art assets in the game.  And it has a fun character customization.

AoC passed that critical, 'Is is fun the moment you start' test?  Other MMORPGs I have tried failed that and ended up dying (Auto Assault for example)    Even if I played the whole weekend I don't think I'd be able to give any greater review than that.

I will say that the PvP very fun and much more entertaining than the PvE.   That's not say the PvE was not interesting with a decent story and classic slimey REH villains, but it just feels more tedious than the fast-paced PvP that really outshines it.   I have to wonder at what point will players be able to start PvP-ing?   Funcom should make sure to offer this aspect of the game as soon as possible IMO.