Seems the discussion about my posting on Rift and why I am let down by the MMO community is making the rounds. My favorite remark in one post has been used several times, and I think we need some rebuttal here...
Rift: No, it’s not the “Jesus” game
If I may...myself, I have never noted Rift as the "Jesus" game. First, the remark makes no sense.
Jesus died....MMO's have not died (at least not yet)...Jesus was resurrected...uh, doesn't something have to die to be resurrected. Jesus is our savior (according to the Christians!)...
So, is it the savior part? Is Rift here to SAVE us?
It could be. But, only for those who are willing to help this market grow.
But, I digress on this point...maybe on another post? Lets get to the nitty gritty of this debate though.
Some of the commentary on this particular posting has a few concerns that I think we should look into. (Check out this link to Massively Multiverse for more on this story).
"Apparently, if I have loved WoW at any point in WoW’s history but haven’t fallen head-over-heels in love with Rift in the same fashion, then I should leave the MMO genre entirely because I am nothing more than a burnt out, jaded gamer who has simply played far too many MMOs in his day. Come to think of it, I am a burnt out and jaded gamer during these, my MMO twilight years….*snickers*…but that’s beside the point!"
Not entirely true. But, to instead look upon Rift as just "copying" WoW is where the main issue lies. If you cannot look at Rift with an open mind and either like it or leave it alone, is where it causes concern.
Again, I must refer to the infamous Metacritic rating by a standard user who felt the need to give Rift a ZERO ...and why?
"There is really nothing NEW here that hasn't been done before."
Fair enough. I have no issue with this. People will find a lot to not like in other MMO's. I can clearly point out EVERY issue with Lord of the Rings Online and why I feel this is an inadequately made game. But, I would never give it a ZERO, because it still has some things going for it, like a company who cares, a community who rocks. This would be a FAIR rating.
A lot of what I read about Rift is NOT fair. Again at Multiverse...
"There are only two things in Rift that are somewhat unique. The Invasions and the Soul system are the two features that should be touted by Rift fans everywhere."
So, the AOE looting, map transparencies, instant change loadouts for class skills between specs, hover over healing,...all the background workings that advance the way we play don't count because you can't see them?
This I think is the main issue in that Rift has advanced a lot of game mechanics that we normally do not think about (like the invasion mechanic...though not entirely new, used a different way here makes even quest hubs a danger zone... or how about the quick change soul specs, though mainly seen in Guild Wars, has the added option of being able to use it ANYWHERE).
Lets talk about the off-healing mechanic. What game has a smart heal system that looks at all players in a group and decides who needs the most healing when group heals take effect?
No, these are not innovative, because they are not TANGIBLE to the player. These are not NEW.
Multiverse goes on to say...
"As for the Soul System, it was probably the key ingredient that I enjoyed the most while playing Rift. It is a step in the right direction for MMOs, and I am more than happy to applaud Trion for its creation. But at the end of the day, it has two things working against it. First of all, that many souls will prove to be horribly difficult to balance over time, especially for PvP. I’m not sure if Trion will ever be able to get the balance right. Secondly, just like the talent system in WoW or EQ 2, certain flavor of the month builds will emerge and dominate as they always do, proving once and for all that we don’t really need a better class based system."
Good point. Yet, no one has done it yet. What MMO is 100% balanced and ready to play? What MMO does not get some type of balance change on a regular basis?
WoW is still not balanced to this day. Why should this be a strike? Instead it should be noted as ongoing development...because isn't that really what MMO's are about? A never-ending cycle of patching and balancing, content addition, etc.
What about a "better class based system"? As I discussed in my *Futura* post yesterday, only one of many MMO's releasing will have it. How will it work? And will the current MMO player of course find a way to ruin it?
Moving on...
"The bar has been raised and developers need to adjust their ambitions accordingly."
This one says it all. Who raised that bar? Who said that the genre MUST be 100% different to be a GOOD game? This is where the "jaded" gamer comes in.
My constant example is the "Halo/CoD" argument. Even though in different settings, they are basically the same play style, same gameplay...gun, run, don't get killed or be killed. THAT's IT. These games continue to thrive...yet, the MMO genre must make a whole new change.
Better yet, lets use our current market. LOTRO, EQ2, WAR, AoC (lets even go ahead and leave WoW out of this). What unique features does each of these games offer that the other does not? Out of all these, WAR is the most different of the lot. Tiered gameplay, Realm vs Realm....actual crafting that requires the player to really be involved...
Yet, it is one of the lowest populated games on that list. Can we blame the bugs? Maybe. But, DEDICATED players will look beyond this and wait for development to take place. Instead everyone gave up as the game was not READY yet.
Rift is ready though. Trion is committed to listening to their customer base. Talk about your concerns with the devs and support a growing game. But the outright slamming it for trying to appease a large audience who wants similarities to begin with (heck, look at all the posts on the forums for those who WANT the LFD tool...you know, what another game has), seems out of hand.
That has been my main issue all along. The growing need of a "jaded" MMO community who want things to be different from WoW, but cannot see it if it hit them in the face leads to bickering about a game that should be able to let itself grow.
Finally...and in line with what has been said...
"Rift offers little in the way of true advancement. And just because it does its job well, does not mean we should all conform to hailing it as the greatest MMO on the planet."
Again, as I have said before. The background technology, the emergent gameplay (even though it is something YOU do not like, does not mean it is not an advancement), the willingness to ask the player what they want and ADD it (that alone is the single most advanced feature, thanks to so many devs of other MMO's ignoring their playerbase), already is a step up.
Rift is NOT the greatest MMO. But, it is what other MMO developers and games should aspire to be. Great at launch, fully fleshed out and ready to play.
The bar has been raised...by Trion actually. It is not JUST about the gameplay and features, but about the company. If we as a playerbase decide that because the game has similarities to another game, it should not be supported, then maybe we need to accept that all future games will be like WAR and AoC.
As well, until proven to me otherwise, I do not believe players want a NEW experience anyways. Otherwise they would support titles who are trying to make changes to the genre (Age of Conan was a perfect example of a game that had skill be the single most important requirement...yet players cried until it was revamped 6 months later to be a standard MMO).
So, is this market the way it is because of WoW? Sure is. Is the playerbase largely responsible? Yes...
But, is Rift "Jesus"? No. But, it sure is a damn fine game, well made..and if you can just let go of your preconceived notions of WoW and the "been there, done that", you could enjoy it more.
Psalm 69!
Showing posts with label Age of Conan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Age of Conan. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Rift: This is where the MMO community let me down...
As I log in to my server now, though still quite busy, I can feel it.
It is somewhat emptier than it usually is.
The city still bustles with people during prime time hours. The guild fills up a bit late Saturday and mostly Sunday. But, the feeling that the game is emptier than it has been, is palpable.
I started to really think about this after reading the article...5 Reasons Rift is the New WoW.
His points are precise and spot on. Rift, though familiar, is as well, a very good game. Why it now is emptying out is beyond me...besides the fact that probably most who are leaving are MMO burn outs.
Lets look at each point and see why I think the MMO community is starting to disappoint me and why there are those who just need to stop playing MMO's altogether.
1. Rift is a finished product.
"Unlike just about every MMO released in the last five years, Rift isn't half-assed or half-finished. The game has PvP, PvE, and a large diverse world for questing."
Which is true. Just most people wish to see it as EXACTLY like WoW. And to a degree it is. YET, there is so much that could make the game different if a player put in the effort. This I think is the main reason people leave.
WoW did not launch to such a glorious lead off. It took time to get there. The patience of todays player is ludicrous though. If it was a year into Rift's game and they had hit a roadblock of no new content, no fixes, no balancing...then I could see the players point. But, it's not...it is barely two months in.
Effort, people...effort.
I will talk about this more later...
2. There's an endgame.
"Taking a page from WoW, there's a lot of loot to work for in Rift."
Loot. We love it, but then we sneer at it, thanks to so many factors.
Grind...Gear Scores...repeated dailies...just a few of the reasons people look at this factor as a letdown in most MMO's.
But, I try to figure out this elusive "endgame" nirvana that most MMO's supposedly do not offer that some players continue to ask for...and wonder "WTF do you want then?". I see the term "meaningful" endgame mentioned, but never explained. Do YOU want to tell me what you expect? What does that mean? Yet, I never see anyone flesh this out. Some throw out expectations of huge sieges and what not...but, really, expectations are set too high for what our current technology can do. It has been proven time and again.
This is why I think what players REALLY want....they can't have for another 10 or 15 years. So, for my own benefit, just quit playing MMO's for that amount of time and leave the forum punditry to those who still enjoy this genre.
Oh, and that effort thing I mentioned? Applies here as well....more soon.
3. The game isn't buggy.
"Bugs have killed off more than a few MMOs. Age of Conan and Warhammer were both decent MMOs and both of them were so fraught with bugs they brought about their own too early demise."
This is the one that kills me. Every time I see another "I'm right forumite" spout off verbal diarrhea stating "Rift will be just like WAR, and fail over" "I expect Rift to fall to as many subs as Age of Conan", I want to slap someone (and my Wife is STILL pissed about that to this day...sorry Hon, did it sting a little?).
"Rift has something for everyone."
This one is important...and true. So much exists in Rift to keep you occupied. The problem is ...a lot of it existed in other games, thus this makes Rift an instant bore for those who have played MMO's to death.
This is why I think a lot of MMO players need to just leave this genre behind and go do something else for a while. Anyone crying they have nothing to do in Rift is either not looking, has no friends, or is done with MMO's in general.
Every time I log in, I instantly have plans, or at least can look at my roster of alts and decide...today is a good day for..."____" (you fill in the blank, as I already decided...and I can't make that decision for you.)
Now, if you will excuse me...I need to go take a break as I already thought of something else I want to do in Rift.
/AFK
Rift doesn't suck. Rift rocks. It's addictive and fun. It's what an MMO should be. There's nothing fancy about, but what it does it does well. Rift is the excuse players have been waiting for, the excuse they needed to leave the comfort of WoW for something new."
Yes it does rock. But, the issue continues to be WoW. It is like saying Crack can be replaced with crocheting.
Whats funny is, that is what WoW is. Just like Crack. The problem is most MMO players have been "users" for so long, they cannot understand what it would mean to leave that behind. This is where that EFFORT really pays off. Put an effort into not thinking about WoW. Put an effort into not playing Rift like WoW. Make a concerted effort to try and work through the soul system, find what you have not found, play the game like you have not played before.
Laziness is my only assumption here.
EFFORT is what Trion put into Rift. Why not do the same?
The one way it shows the most effort is the lore.
For the first time in quite a while, we have a unique IP. A new story, a new world ...something that is NOT WoW's warcraftian world. Something not based on a released novel, movie, comic book, etc.
Yet, no one puts in the effort to look upon this aspect...and instead are banking all their chips on... you guessed it... another non-original IP (Star Wars: ToR will be our Saviour...blah, blah).
This is why movies like "Scream 4" (though still not "too bad", is still regurgitated material) are made, and sell quite well...while critical and well written movies like "Source Code" fall over.
The McDonald's consumptive world ruins our MMO's.
And for the first time, I want to just hang up my hat for my fellow players. I want to leave them behind because they let me down. They want pre-existing IP crapola on a stick, and want it to be unique and interesting.
It won't be though.
I guarantee we will be in the same boat come launch of SW:ToR. Players will complain about features that Star Wars has that are unique. Yet, the base will be full of players who will pry open the gem that is SW:ToR and note how "It is just like WoW".
And it will be.
No matter how good the story, no matter what unique aspects they add to the game...there will be that contingent that state.."It's like WoW".
Well, I will continue to log into another brilliant game, that will most likely be watered down in the hopes the masses will return. It has happened to so many good games who had great ideas, but due to the buggy nature of their release and the need to balance based on desk jockey programmers who want THEIR class and playstyle to be "meaningful", plummeted in subs and could never get back up.
Rift is a damn fine game...just no one will know it because WoW has already ruined their perception of what a good game is.
I feel let down by my fellow gamers.
It is somewhat emptier than it usually is.
The city still bustles with people during prime time hours. The guild fills up a bit late Saturday and mostly Sunday. But, the feeling that the game is emptier than it has been, is palpable.
I started to really think about this after reading the article...5 Reasons Rift is the New WoW.
His points are precise and spot on. Rift, though familiar, is as well, a very good game. Why it now is emptying out is beyond me...besides the fact that probably most who are leaving are MMO burn outs.
Lets look at each point and see why I think the MMO community is starting to disappoint me and why there are those who just need to stop playing MMO's altogether.
1. Rift is a finished product.
"Unlike just about every MMO released in the last five years, Rift isn't half-assed or half-finished. The game has PvP, PvE, and a large diverse world for questing."
Which is true. Just most people wish to see it as EXACTLY like WoW. And to a degree it is. YET, there is so much that could make the game different if a player put in the effort. This I think is the main reason people leave.
WoW did not launch to such a glorious lead off. It took time to get there. The patience of todays player is ludicrous though. If it was a year into Rift's game and they had hit a roadblock of no new content, no fixes, no balancing...then I could see the players point. But, it's not...it is barely two months in.
Effort, people...effort.
I will talk about this more later...
2. There's an endgame.
"Taking a page from WoW, there's a lot of loot to work for in Rift."
Loot. We love it, but then we sneer at it, thanks to so many factors.
Grind...Gear Scores...repeated dailies...just a few of the reasons people look at this factor as a letdown in most MMO's.
But, I try to figure out this elusive "endgame" nirvana that most MMO's supposedly do not offer that some players continue to ask for...and wonder "WTF do you want then?". I see the term "meaningful" endgame mentioned, but never explained. Do YOU want to tell me what you expect? What does that mean? Yet, I never see anyone flesh this out. Some throw out expectations of huge sieges and what not...but, really, expectations are set too high for what our current technology can do. It has been proven time and again.
This is why I think what players REALLY want....they can't have for another 10 or 15 years. So, for my own benefit, just quit playing MMO's for that amount of time and leave the forum punditry to those who still enjoy this genre.
Oh, and that effort thing I mentioned? Applies here as well....more soon.
3. The game isn't buggy.
"Bugs have killed off more than a few MMOs. Age of Conan and Warhammer were both decent MMOs and both of them were so fraught with bugs they brought about their own too early demise."
This is the one that kills me. Every time I see another "I'm right forumite" spout off verbal diarrhea stating "Rift will be just like WAR, and fail over" "I expect Rift to fall to as many subs as Age of Conan", I want to slap someone (and my Wife is STILL pissed about that to this day...sorry Hon, did it sting a little?).
I have yet to have ANYTHING in this game stop me from completing a quest or asking a GM for help. I expect they may be there...but, the consensus has been through my guild and a lot of people writing about Rift, that we have been playing a well made game. PERIOD.
This is huge. To this day, Age of Conan, Warhammer, heck...even EQ2, all have existing issues that I am FORCED to communicate with their tech support to help me out of a jam. This is ridiculous.
Rift is just a well made game, that will progress...if people would just shut up and play.
4. There's a lot to do."Rift has something for everyone."
This one is important...and true. So much exists in Rift to keep you occupied. The problem is ...a lot of it existed in other games, thus this makes Rift an instant bore for those who have played MMO's to death.
This is why I think a lot of MMO players need to just leave this genre behind and go do something else for a while. Anyone crying they have nothing to do in Rift is either not looking, has no friends, or is done with MMO's in general.
Every time I log in, I instantly have plans, or at least can look at my roster of alts and decide...today is a good day for..."____" (you fill in the blank, as I already decided...and I can't make that decision for you.)
Now, if you will excuse me...I need to go take a break as I already thought of something else I want to do in Rift.
/AFK
5. Rift is the cure for your WoW ennui
Rift doesn't suck. Rift rocks. It's addictive and fun. It's what an MMO should be. There's nothing fancy about, but what it does it does well. Rift is the excuse players have been waiting for, the excuse they needed to leave the comfort of WoW for something new."
Yes it does rock. But, the issue continues to be WoW. It is like saying Crack can be replaced with crocheting.
Whats funny is, that is what WoW is. Just like Crack. The problem is most MMO players have been "users" for so long, they cannot understand what it would mean to leave that behind. This is where that EFFORT really pays off. Put an effort into not thinking about WoW. Put an effort into not playing Rift like WoW. Make a concerted effort to try and work through the soul system, find what you have not found, play the game like you have not played before.
Laziness is my only assumption here.
EFFORT is what Trion put into Rift. Why not do the same?
The one way it shows the most effort is the lore.
For the first time in quite a while, we have a unique IP. A new story, a new world ...something that is NOT WoW's warcraftian world. Something not based on a released novel, movie, comic book, etc.
Yet, no one puts in the effort to look upon this aspect...and instead are banking all their chips on... you guessed it... another non-original IP (Star Wars: ToR will be our Saviour...blah, blah).
This is why movies like "Scream 4" (though still not "too bad", is still regurgitated material) are made, and sell quite well...while critical and well written movies like "Source Code" fall over.
The McDonald's consumptive world ruins our MMO's.
And for the first time, I want to just hang up my hat for my fellow players. I want to leave them behind because they let me down. They want pre-existing IP crapola on a stick, and want it to be unique and interesting.
It won't be though.
I guarantee we will be in the same boat come launch of SW:ToR. Players will complain about features that Star Wars has that are unique. Yet, the base will be full of players who will pry open the gem that is SW:ToR and note how "It is just like WoW".
And it will be.
No matter how good the story, no matter what unique aspects they add to the game...there will be that contingent that state.."It's like WoW".
Well, I will continue to log into another brilliant game, that will most likely be watered down in the hopes the masses will return. It has happened to so many good games who had great ideas, but due to the buggy nature of their release and the need to balance based on desk jockey programmers who want THEIR class and playstyle to be "meaningful", plummeted in subs and could never get back up.
Rift is a damn fine game...just no one will know it because WoW has already ruined their perception of what a good game is.
I feel let down by my fellow gamers.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The rise and fall of western MMO civilization as we know It...
In a previous post, I had taken note of how the market for the MMO has changed. We cannot look back at how MMO launches use to be, and compare the genre today to that happier, simpler time.
Luckily, a comment from that post goes so far as to prove my point even further. (Props to Carson 63000 of Eldergoth, who had this to say...)
"Successful monthly sub games, like EverQuest, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve and WoW, do not steadily increase over the first month and then drop off as a proportion of players decide not to pay more to continue.
Successful monthly sub games have more new players coming in than they have players deciding not to continue. Successful monthly sub games have more players after a year than they did after a month.
I agree that Rift seems to be following the predictable curve set by virtually every MMO in the last five years. But this really isn't the only direction a game can go, and it's not one to aspire to, even if a bunch of box sales and a one month "churn and burn" is enough to pay for your development"
I think we can look upon his comment and really note the issue with this comment...
Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve Online and WoW
1997, 1999, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004
What do we see here? Mainly, these are the launch dates for each of these games. Each MMO listed is 7 years of age or older. Why use games that were in a market dominated by RTS's, Diablo style RPG's or turn based roleplay (Final Fantasy) as a comparison of todays MMO market? If we look at these titles, each was a unique in the field; heck, console games were not even the norm at that time. If an MMO launched, it was something of interest.
Now, we have a world dominated by million sellers being straight console, FPS styled shooters and World of Warcraft or the "churn and burn" MMO, as he calls them.
All MMO's since WoW have not garnered any success beyond several hundred thousand subs, with EvE being the last on that list (besides WoW) to hold on and bring in more subs since launch (that we have any real data for).
No matter the situation, this genre is toasted thanks to WoW. Every MMO from this point on will be compared to WoW. Every game (MMO, I should say) that launches without as much product content as WoW has will be criticized and ostracized for not having WoW's gameplay...period.
Comparing this market now to the market of 7 years ago does not help any argument that "This MMO is fail" due to retention not being WoW sized. Name one MMO since WoW that has continued to grow and is bigger now, than it was at launch (without going free to play...*cough* LOTRO who did NOT expand further until they changed *cough*) and THEN we can talk.
Please note, we never touch on discussions of Asian grinders or Free to Plays, as we cannot get a real data read out of how many are true revenue generators, etc. We are strictly talking the western market and the syndrome of the launch of a AAA title.
For now, just like the console FPS shooters, the PC is flooded with so many MMO's still running or in development...I mean, head to MMORPG.com and just look at their game list. So many to choose from AND many more to come.
Personally, I think any developer that launches an MMO now has several objectives.
First, lets sell the box. We make back our development costs and can continue to develop. Next, retain a good number of subs (as keeps being proven to us by low end games like Age of Conan, Warhammer Online or any other title in the last 5 years). 100k sounds good, but if you have more, why ....thats just peachy keen. Now, work your sales mojo, offer free trials, return trials, develop, fix, stabilize, add content....and hope that as players leave, others come in to replace the slack. If you get lucky, you could get out an expansion and then start the whole cycle again.
Now, as the player, you can, as I keep seeing on every blog, twitter or forum post...try to enjoy the market and games as they are and pray to whatever God, Gods or Spirit you follow that Star Wars: The Old Republic is that savior you hope it is.
Well, why shouldn't it be...so many other IP based MMO's have been major successes in the last 5 years (/snark).
Truly, we need to understand that the words "WoW Killer" is just not a reality, and until something unique and awe inspiring happens in this genre, shaking the very foundation the MMO stands on, we need to look at each MMO release critically without the added..."Is it like WoW?".
If Halo, Gears of War, Crysis, Call of Duty...and...(damn, don't have enough fingers or toes to count the FPS's available) can all co-exist, why can't the MMO market live the same way.
Luckily, a comment from that post goes so far as to prove my point even further. (Props to Carson 63000 of Eldergoth, who had this to say...)
"Successful monthly sub games, like EverQuest, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve and WoW, do not steadily increase over the first month and then drop off as a proportion of players decide not to pay more to continue.
Successful monthly sub games have more new players coming in than they have players deciding not to continue. Successful monthly sub games have more players after a year than they did after a month.
I agree that Rift seems to be following the predictable curve set by virtually every MMO in the last five years. But this really isn't the only direction a game can go, and it's not one to aspire to, even if a bunch of box sales and a one month "churn and burn" is enough to pay for your development"
I think we can look upon his comment and really note the issue with this comment...
Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve Online and WoW
1997, 1999, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004
What do we see here? Mainly, these are the launch dates for each of these games. Each MMO listed is 7 years of age or older. Why use games that were in a market dominated by RTS's, Diablo style RPG's or turn based roleplay (Final Fantasy) as a comparison of todays MMO market? If we look at these titles, each was a unique in the field; heck, console games were not even the norm at that time. If an MMO launched, it was something of interest.
Now, we have a world dominated by million sellers being straight console, FPS styled shooters and World of Warcraft or the "churn and burn" MMO, as he calls them.
All MMO's since WoW have not garnered any success beyond several hundred thousand subs, with EvE being the last on that list (besides WoW) to hold on and bring in more subs since launch (that we have any real data for).
No matter the situation, this genre is toasted thanks to WoW. Every MMO from this point on will be compared to WoW. Every game (MMO, I should say) that launches without as much product content as WoW has will be criticized and ostracized for not having WoW's gameplay...period.
Comparing this market now to the market of 7 years ago does not help any argument that "This MMO is fail" due to retention not being WoW sized. Name one MMO since WoW that has continued to grow and is bigger now, than it was at launch (without going free to play...*cough* LOTRO who did NOT expand further until they changed *cough*) and THEN we can talk.
Please note, we never touch on discussions of Asian grinders or Free to Plays, as we cannot get a real data read out of how many are true revenue generators, etc. We are strictly talking the western market and the syndrome of the launch of a AAA title.
For now, just like the console FPS shooters, the PC is flooded with so many MMO's still running or in development...I mean, head to MMORPG.com and just look at their game list. So many to choose from AND many more to come.
Personally, I think any developer that launches an MMO now has several objectives.
First, lets sell the box. We make back our development costs and can continue to develop. Next, retain a good number of subs (as keeps being proven to us by low end games like Age of Conan, Warhammer Online or any other title in the last 5 years). 100k sounds good, but if you have more, why ....thats just peachy keen. Now, work your sales mojo, offer free trials, return trials, develop, fix, stabilize, add content....and hope that as players leave, others come in to replace the slack. If you get lucky, you could get out an expansion and then start the whole cycle again.
Now, as the player, you can, as I keep seeing on every blog, twitter or forum post...try to enjoy the market and games as they are and pray to whatever God, Gods or Spirit you follow that Star Wars: The Old Republic is that savior you hope it is.
Well, why shouldn't it be...so many other IP based MMO's have been major successes in the last 5 years (/snark).
Truly, we need to understand that the words "WoW Killer" is just not a reality, and until something unique and awe inspiring happens in this genre, shaking the very foundation the MMO stands on, we need to look at each MMO release critically without the added..."Is it like WoW?".
If Halo, Gears of War, Crysis, Call of Duty...and...(damn, don't have enough fingers or toes to count the FPS's available) can all co-exist, why can't the MMO market live the same way.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Spectating Rift:Is that a decline in your pocket or...
So, reading a post on the MMORPG forum turned up this little ditty...
"XFire shows a 20% drop of played hours [on Rift] compared to the peak one month ago. So as predicted this latest "great" game is starting to lose ground.
How much you wanna bet that by next month it will be at 50% of peak?"
Why would you believe that? Unless you want it to be so.
It is almost like the players are ready to pounce at ANY bad news and turn it into the ultimate doom. Using any tool at their disposal, they can predict the closure of Rift within a years time. Sales? You bet (look at VGChartz...OH NOES, Rift only has sold less than 200k copies), X-Fire? Shard lists? You name it.
I would prefer to look at it differently.
Right now, the MMO market is flooded with good titles (and yes, some pretty bad ones), but the fact remains; you want to play an MMO, you have some choice now. Throw that stick, don't poke your eye out, and there...hit another MMO.
Of course, the overall "sales" or "success" situation is not helped by the elephant in the room (World of Warcraft) that has this horrible addiction issue for most players. When I hear that a person cannot leave WoW due to how much money and time they have invested into it, then yes...it will be hard to get this type of player to move on to a new title.
Why is it that a game is not allowed time to prosper and grow, and must be a huge success out of the gate. The market was never this way to begin with. Again, back to VGChartz and their WoW numbers. Note the steady decline of sales. Yet, it WAS persistent sales, but fell by volume week after week for it's 10 week first run.
But, then it happened. Word of mouth took the game to the next level. People wondered what the hubbub was about. What was this whole MMO "thang". The growth of WoW could be noted as the growth of the genre and not so much this one game.
Right now, Rift or ANY launch MMO will immediately be given to the WoW bear to eat, and players expect as much content, stability and playability as a six year old game. And we cannot change that mentality.
Really, is a 20% decline from a single gaming service like X-Fire indicative of the overall market share? The fact it is just one piece of the pie tells me no. Look at the Raptr numbers, which show a less than 10% loss. Look at the shard listings and see how a majority of servers are still at high...and even some queues.
Decline will really not be noted until we see merges or closure of servers.
But, can even servers being shut down announce the end of Rift? All we need to do is look at the anecdotal evidence to the contrary to see that Rift can stick around and have great success...if they just persist.
Lord of the Rings Online is our perfect example of a major success story. Indie style developer, went big time with LOTRO. But, if we would note LOTRO success, it was not hopping to begin with. When it launched in 2007, it did not get further than #24 on the X-Fire charts. By near the end of 2008 it was laying off staff and free to play was but a whispered secret that no one wanted their game to be. On launch, LOTRO only sold 172,000 copies in it's first quarter...THATS IT.
Yet, 4 years later, Turbine is lauded as a major progenitor of the Free to Play for Triple AAA products.
Now, if Rift was a major "wreck" of a game, then yes, I could clearly see them falling and tumbling. For that example, look to Age of Conan. This was the game everyone required to fail. Predictions were pasted all over the blogs, various websites, forums...aw, heck, Kotaku actually SHUT THEM DOWN due to posting a fluff piece by a hater.
"Suckered in by the newbie zone, 700,000 souls subscribed. Faced with the rest of the game after level 20, they unsubscribed. It all lasted a bit over two months."
Using this criteria, AoC should have been long gone in Year One. Three years later, and still moving along with another MMO in development.
Aion is another "hated" MMO. Many a player wrote the game off as the biggest failure of it's year. YET, the game still pops into our top 5 of listed MMO's, and even has times where it spikes higher on X-Fire and Raptr, due to returning players. NCSoft financials list the game as stable...and if anything, was the game that gave them help in moving Guild Wars 2 forward and money for NCSofts next development title, Blade and Soul.
The MMO market, if anything, has become like the music market. More artists, more songs, equal more players vying for the kids dollars. Why can't all MMO's co-exist?
Play the game you like, but if anything, if you feel Rift is on the downward spiral, maybe it is you the player that is actually done with the genre?
Let me tell you about Dragon Age and Consoles...
"XFire shows a 20% drop of played hours [on Rift] compared to the peak one month ago. So as predicted this latest "great" game is starting to lose ground.
How much you wanna bet that by next month it will be at 50% of peak?"
Why would you believe that? Unless you want it to be so.
It is almost like the players are ready to pounce at ANY bad news and turn it into the ultimate doom. Using any tool at their disposal, they can predict the closure of Rift within a years time. Sales? You bet (look at VGChartz...OH NOES, Rift only has sold less than 200k copies), X-Fire? Shard lists? You name it.
I would prefer to look at it differently.
Right now, the MMO market is flooded with good titles (and yes, some pretty bad ones), but the fact remains; you want to play an MMO, you have some choice now. Throw that stick, don't poke your eye out, and there...hit another MMO.
Of course, the overall "sales" or "success" situation is not helped by the elephant in the room (World of Warcraft) that has this horrible addiction issue for most players. When I hear that a person cannot leave WoW due to how much money and time they have invested into it, then yes...it will be hard to get this type of player to move on to a new title.
Why is it that a game is not allowed time to prosper and grow, and must be a huge success out of the gate. The market was never this way to begin with. Again, back to VGChartz and their WoW numbers. Note the steady decline of sales. Yet, it WAS persistent sales, but fell by volume week after week for it's 10 week first run.
But, then it happened. Word of mouth took the game to the next level. People wondered what the hubbub was about. What was this whole MMO "thang". The growth of WoW could be noted as the growth of the genre and not so much this one game.
Right now, Rift or ANY launch MMO will immediately be given to the WoW bear to eat, and players expect as much content, stability and playability as a six year old game. And we cannot change that mentality.
Really, is a 20% decline from a single gaming service like X-Fire indicative of the overall market share? The fact it is just one piece of the pie tells me no. Look at the Raptr numbers, which show a less than 10% loss. Look at the shard listings and see how a majority of servers are still at high...and even some queues.
Decline will really not be noted until we see merges or closure of servers.
But, can even servers being shut down announce the end of Rift? All we need to do is look at the anecdotal evidence to the contrary to see that Rift can stick around and have great success...if they just persist.
Lord of the Rings Online is our perfect example of a major success story. Indie style developer, went big time with LOTRO. But, if we would note LOTRO success, it was not hopping to begin with. When it launched in 2007, it did not get further than #24 on the X-Fire charts. By near the end of 2008 it was laying off staff and free to play was but a whispered secret that no one wanted their game to be. On launch, LOTRO only sold 172,000 copies in it's first quarter...THATS IT.
Yet, 4 years later, Turbine is lauded as a major progenitor of the Free to Play for Triple AAA products.
Now, if Rift was a major "wreck" of a game, then yes, I could clearly see them falling and tumbling. For that example, look to Age of Conan. This was the game everyone required to fail. Predictions were pasted all over the blogs, various websites, forums...aw, heck, Kotaku actually SHUT THEM DOWN due to posting a fluff piece by a hater.
"Suckered in by the newbie zone, 700,000 souls subscribed. Faced with the rest of the game after level 20, they unsubscribed. It all lasted a bit over two months."
Using this criteria, AoC should have been long gone in Year One. Three years later, and still moving along with another MMO in development.
Aion is another "hated" MMO. Many a player wrote the game off as the biggest failure of it's year. YET, the game still pops into our top 5 of listed MMO's, and even has times where it spikes higher on X-Fire and Raptr, due to returning players. NCSoft financials list the game as stable...and if anything, was the game that gave them help in moving Guild Wars 2 forward and money for NCSofts next development title, Blade and Soul.
The MMO market, if anything, has become like the music market. More artists, more songs, equal more players vying for the kids dollars. Why can't all MMO's co-exist?
Play the game you like, but if anything, if you feel Rift is on the downward spiral, maybe it is you the player that is actually done with the genre?
Let me tell you about Dragon Age and Consoles...
Monday, May 10, 2010
Gaming the Xfire - Latest Update
Wow. What a weekend. Major disturbances in the force of the charts really made me feel that we needed a post to discuss the latest movers and shakers on the Xfire charts.
I will be referencing an article I did at the end of March, thanks to a press release from Cryptic and their newest MMO, Star Trek Online - STO (SOURCE). The data was sound, and we had something to base some numbers off of. The Xfire charts hit a home run, and calculated almost precisely the number of subs STO had, compared to the statement by Cryptic.
As I make notes and do the calcs, just refer to the previous article if you have any questions in how it relates.
The reason I wanted to do the new numbers is that starting this week is, of course, the Age of Conan expansion launch; Rise of the Godslayer. I think this will have a major impact on a lot of MMO's. And as you will see, it really made some adjustments. This will also allow us to see how people are feeling about the new expansion, and how subs "could" be affected.
As well, several other news tidbits made some changes to sub counts. For example, STO had a free return for old subs and introduced a new free trial.
Warhammer Online had another blow struck against it as well, thanks to a set of court papers being filed by Games Workshop against the fan site Warhammer Alliance.GW really has nothing to do with Mythic and WAR, but it is the same IP. The issue is that so many think it DOES relate to WAR and EA/Mythic...and thus, we see what the outcome is of this latest wound. Watch them bleed...
Lets start with some OTHER surprises first.
I will be referencing an article I did at the end of March, thanks to a press release from Cryptic and their newest MMO, Star Trek Online - STO (SOURCE). The data was sound, and we had something to base some numbers off of. The Xfire charts hit a home run, and calculated almost precisely the number of subs STO had, compared to the statement by Cryptic.
As I make notes and do the calcs, just refer to the previous article if you have any questions in how it relates.
The reason I wanted to do the new numbers is that starting this week is, of course, the Age of Conan expansion launch; Rise of the Godslayer. I think this will have a major impact on a lot of MMO's. And as you will see, it really made some adjustments. This will also allow us to see how people are feeling about the new expansion, and how subs "could" be affected.
As well, several other news tidbits made some changes to sub counts. For example, STO had a free return for old subs and introduced a new free trial.
Warhammer Online had another blow struck against it as well, thanks to a set of court papers being filed by Games Workshop against the fan site Warhammer Alliance.GW really has nothing to do with Mythic and WAR, but it is the same IP. The issue is that so many think it DOES relate to WAR and EA/Mythic...and thus, we see what the outcome is of this latest wound. Watch them bleed...
Lets start with some OTHER surprises first.
Lord of the Rings Online
This was really interesting. Especially seeing that Codemasters was offering a "Free Return Weekend". But, it looks like other games are in the spotlight and took the stage away from this critical darling and fan favorite.
Calcs show that subs dropped a bit. 1518 x 120.05 = 182,235 subs. Previously LOTRO had 213,689. This is a considerable drop. I will keep track of this, and see if it is ongoing or just a fluke. For now, looks like age is catching up to LOTRO.
Aion
Another interesting change here. Now, mind you, Aion is STILL a top 10 game, so it does not affect it too much. But, it is also a bit of a drop.
If we do the Calcs, we get - 3662 x 120.05 = 439,623 subs. Last check we had 463,873.
Again, a sizable change. But, I also know that some numbers will be down. Why? HELLO, summer on the way, warm weather. We are bound to see these types of lower numbers. But, it is still interesting.Age of Conan
Not so surprising. But, I am assured that Funcom has to be one happy camper right now. The numbers continue to rise. Lets take a look.
Very nice. 994 x120.05 = 119, 329 subs. This not only is above the previous articles numbers (81,274), but as well, I did a post discussing the rise May 3rd, and they had roughly 110k players (War of the Failures).
If Funcom can launch Rise of the Godslayer tomorrow, and not have any MAJOR concerns, they could be the comeback kid of 2010.
Warhammer Online
While Funcom may be the "Comeback Kid", WAR and Mythic are the kid being bullied on every corner. Talk about several weeks of pain for these guys. And this past week culminating in another hit with the Games Workshop court order against WHA (Warhammer Alliance), it looks like things are growing worse. Talk about being put on "life support".
These are actually some of the worse numbers for WAR since I started watching Xfire several years ago with Age of Conan's launch. 535 x 120.05 = 64,226. That is a drop from the previous article (74,551) and as well from last weeks post (War of the Failures, calc'd at 70k).
All I can say is if the new patch does not hit by at least next week, servers will be critically empty. Since I am still playing, I saw a weekend of a low number of scenario's being done and as well, we started some alts in the Elf region, and was able to flip the whole zone in Tier 1 to Order with just the 3 of us. Yes, 3 people took a whole zone....
Here is a prayer for ya WAR...I hardly knew ye'
Dungeons & Dragons Online
Well, this could only last so long. We see a minor drop in numbers here.
The calcs say 766 x 120.05 = 91,958. Not too bad. But, last post had DDO at 111,647. So it looks like interest is waning a bit. But, there is no doubt that Turbine still has to be enjoying some great cash flow off this title. Those kinda stats are not anything to laugh about. And having two games doing decent numbers probably doesn't hurt either.
Star Trek Online
Give something away and they will come. Free time for old subs, new free trial...all adding up to a small rise in numbers.
Mind you, this is NOT a rise from my last post, but a rise from what happened after the first 30 days. STO had fallen to close to 200 to 300 players and was in the low #100's and had even fallen at one point into the low #200's on the charts.
Todays calcs put them at 527 x 120.05 = 63,266. And as we can even see on the charting, it was at #92 previously, but shot up to #88. I expect this to rise a little bit more. But, overall, STO did not do well, and that is too bad. It looks gorgeous thanks to screenshots from @Longasc (on Twitter), but must be missing some appeal to a majority of MMO players.
Like I said, this was quite a bit of a change for a lot of titles. Not sure what is up yet, and as the summer progresses, I expect more drops. But, some titles I think are hurting (WAR, STO), but we may see a return on Age of Conan. I wish them luck tomorrow.
Ok, thats it for this week. Watch my Twitter account if you want more info.
Cheers
Monday, May 3, 2010
War of the Failures
Lately I have come to the realization that two of the biggest failures of 2008 are now two of my all time favorite games.
Age of Conan and Warhammer Online.
But, a battle royale is coming next week between these two newer generation MMO's. Age of Conan will be releasing their new expansion, Rise of the Godslayer. May 11th to be precise. Why does this create a field of war, when these two games are not so much like each other?
Originally both games were heavily PvP oriented. But, Warhammer took a different approach by making it all about the large open Realm vs Realm combat. Age of Conan went for a guild based "siege" mechanic (I do not want to argue semantics here either. We all know WAR has sieging, but AoC definitely does not have factional PvP...yet.) and one on one dueling. WAR had scenarios and AoC had CTF style arena based 6vs6 style combat.
Age of Conan took a different direction eventually in late 2009, focusing more on a gear grind based PvE system, but still having PvP. Just, it seems to me that PvP really has no "purpose" when you kill for the sake of killing. WAR though has always focused on a "sides" based system. When a particular "faction" has won the day, rewards for all in that "faction" or realm was included. Age of Conan is the every man for himself or his guild fight. WAR is for Order or Destruction being in control.
Differences abound, but the similarities of these two games could not be more adequate.
These games were truly failures of their time.
Both games were hyped beyond compare from their respective game directors, and were not quite up to what was stated about them. Both games opened to acclaim by many and sold as man copies as to try and compete with that powerhouse known as WoW. Both though slowly degraded and were denigrated for many broken systems they had in place.
Eventually the mighty two toppled to where today they each struggle to keep themselves alive.
But, a sea change is on the horizon for one game. Age of Conan has started to gain a larger following. Reviewers of games and many a blog have touted the games turn around. Sales of the expansion have been brisk. And as noted on Xfire, growth is hitting the game before the expansion launch.
Recent numbers show Age of Conan at roughly about 908 players on Xfire. In a previous post from last month, ( The Xfire Game ), AoC was at 677 players. This is important, as using the calc system I discuss in that post, Age of Conan is hitting around 110k players / subs per month. (As I must always note, these estimates are part of a game, using the Xfire tracking system, and are not 100% accurate, but do give a good glimpse of popularity).
WAR had made progress as well with the game, but continues to live with setbacks. Servers were closed overseas. A Large billing fiasco made Mythic the brunt of bad news. And finally a most recent newsletter makes mention of a mechanic that has not existed in the game since launch, having Order and Destruction characters on the same server...which has led to speculation of more server merges.
Using the same Xfire gaming system for sub counts, we also see what effect this news is having on Warhammer Online. The previous count (from March 29th) had WAR at roughly 621 players. This converts to about 75k subs. The game is now hitting 590 Xfire players, or around 70k subs. (Note, this number is interesting, as many a quote has suggested that roughly this many were affected by the billing fiasco...but, that is speculation. I may discuss that more on Twitter later).
Seeing I am playing WAR, I can also feel the difference from when I launched to now. Less Scenarios opening up, less full ORvR groups...basically a feeling of more emptiness.
My thoughts are that when Rise of the Godlsayer launches, that even though WAR and AoC have been neck and neck on Xfire...it will start a larger tumble for WAR. The number of players will fall, and unless something drastic happens soon, WAR could see an end to it's glorious rebound.
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment. I will be opening wide the comment floodgates today as well, so feel free to "express yourself".
Age of Conan and Warhammer Online.
But, a battle royale is coming next week between these two newer generation MMO's. Age of Conan will be releasing their new expansion, Rise of the Godslayer. May 11th to be precise. Why does this create a field of war, when these two games are not so much like each other?
Originally both games were heavily PvP oriented. But, Warhammer took a different approach by making it all about the large open Realm vs Realm combat. Age of Conan went for a guild based "siege" mechanic (I do not want to argue semantics here either. We all know WAR has sieging, but AoC definitely does not have factional PvP...yet.) and one on one dueling. WAR had scenarios and AoC had CTF style arena based 6vs6 style combat.
Age of Conan took a different direction eventually in late 2009, focusing more on a gear grind based PvE system, but still having PvP. Just, it seems to me that PvP really has no "purpose" when you kill for the sake of killing. WAR though has always focused on a "sides" based system. When a particular "faction" has won the day, rewards for all in that "faction" or realm was included. Age of Conan is the every man for himself or his guild fight. WAR is for Order or Destruction being in control.
Differences abound, but the similarities of these two games could not be more adequate.
These games were truly failures of their time.
Both games were hyped beyond compare from their respective game directors, and were not quite up to what was stated about them. Both games opened to acclaim by many and sold as man copies as to try and compete with that powerhouse known as WoW. Both though slowly degraded and were denigrated for many broken systems they had in place.
Eventually the mighty two toppled to where today they each struggle to keep themselves alive.
But, a sea change is on the horizon for one game. Age of Conan has started to gain a larger following. Reviewers of games and many a blog have touted the games turn around. Sales of the expansion have been brisk. And as noted on Xfire, growth is hitting the game before the expansion launch.
Recent numbers show Age of Conan at roughly about 908 players on Xfire. In a previous post from last month, ( The Xfire Game ), AoC was at 677 players. This is important, as using the calc system I discuss in that post, Age of Conan is hitting around 110k players / subs per month. (As I must always note, these estimates are part of a game, using the Xfire tracking system, and are not 100% accurate, but do give a good glimpse of popularity).
WAR had made progress as well with the game, but continues to live with setbacks. Servers were closed overseas. A Large billing fiasco made Mythic the brunt of bad news. And finally a most recent newsletter makes mention of a mechanic that has not existed in the game since launch, having Order and Destruction characters on the same server...which has led to speculation of more server merges.
Using the same Xfire gaming system for sub counts, we also see what effect this news is having on Warhammer Online. The previous count (from March 29th) had WAR at roughly 621 players. This converts to about 75k subs. The game is now hitting 590 Xfire players, or around 70k subs. (Note, this number is interesting, as many a quote has suggested that roughly this many were affected by the billing fiasco...but, that is speculation. I may discuss that more on Twitter later).
Seeing I am playing WAR, I can also feel the difference from when I launched to now. Less Scenarios opening up, less full ORvR groups...basically a feeling of more emptiness.
My thoughts are that when Rise of the Godlsayer launches, that even though WAR and AoC have been neck and neck on Xfire...it will start a larger tumble for WAR. The number of players will fall, and unless something drastic happens soon, WAR could see an end to it's glorious rebound.
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment. I will be opening wide the comment floodgates today as well, so feel free to "express yourself".
Monday, April 26, 2010
I just gotta tell ya...
When the urge to write comes upon me, I just have to get it out...get it out of my head and onto the web.
As I am doing a writing project for work, I feel the need to intersperse those moments of thought with what has been happening in the household for the "Family who MMO's" (I think that is a permanent tagline now, and I had better trademark it!).
As well, it will give me a chance to talk about my two favorite MMO's and the latest news for them.
First up is Age of Conan.
We still have it on our schedule, so that when the expansion hits, we would get back into the game. News just arrived that it is finally on its way. Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer will launch on May 11th.
A great way to celebrate their anniversary as well for AoC, as it launched in May two years ago.
We plan to play it smart though. There will be no reason to jump right in, as we all know how Funcom is when it comes to launches. They have proven that they really cannot get anything off the ground without some major hiccups. I would prefer not to be a 30 day hater like I was two years ago. So, we will wait and see how this rolls. The bonus is thanks to the "endless trial" we can at least see how the game is performing and what discussions are taking place in Global about how others feel before buying.
Based on my Xfire watching though, I can see a bit of excitement for Age of Conan and the expansion as people are logging in more. This past Sundays performance shows an increase in players in the game using my calc systems. Close to 90k players actually.
Quite good for AoC.
There are quite a few deals, including a pre-order directly through Funcom and your account if active. You get a discount (the package is touted as $29.99, but 5 bucks off if purchased now). You also get a special pet and some other goodies. They also have various other packs including mounts, points to use in the game (token system) and more. Log in HERE to see information on these specials.
Next up; Warhammer Online.
I need to say this. I LOVE this game, and I am having a blast.
I was actually gone for several days and we missed some game time last week. As well, I missed the news that Mythic did a formal apology for the screw ups on billing.
For those who did not hear (all two of ya), Mythic had several problems where people were billed multiple times (some up to 20 times) for their sub.
Anyways, I will not go into the details, so here is the letter of apology. This basically explains what they will do for those affected by this error. The rewards are really incredible. And not just that, but for all players, they have a huge jump in XP for PvE and RvR renown. This really has helped, as we logged in this weekend and gained 3 LEVELS. We reached level 20 and bought our horses. Excellent.
Now, all news was not good. Warhammer servers are being shut down in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other locations in Asian countries. What does this mean? Hard to say. I have the theory still that a rough population of 65-75k players can keep a game running (look at EQ2 or Star Wars for examples of games still running with low pops). Will this affect WAR? Hard to say right now. Progress is being made on the next update which will enhance RvR, and will have quite a few changes which is almost a mini-expansion.
I will hold my thoughts on this for now. From the looks of it, the billing fiasco did not hurt WAR on Xfire (the calcs have put the game back where it was before the fiasco).
Now...playing WAR and why it works for the "Family who MMO's"?
We are just not an end game kind of group. We like the journey, pure and simple. Many complaints have been lodged at WAR on the end game becoming a huge grind for no particular reason. I.E: Like ALL MMO's.
For the Family, we just enjoy the variety of things we can do. We will cue up for Scenarios, go questing and doing the Public Quests for the rewards. It all adds up to doing something all the time. So far, we LOVE to login and play, and that is the key.
One of the nice things about WAR compared to most MMO's...less wildlife and more humanoid based mobs. I really felt this while playing this morning. As I moved from one zone to the next, I was always fighting something human like. As I am Order, it would be Chaos, Orcs, or even demons like the Blue Horrors, etc. If i had to kill boars ad nauseum (looks at LOTRO and sneers), I would kill myself.
Spawn rates is another nice feature...especially in some of the Public Quests. You have barely enough time to recoup, and the next spawn is in. Keeps you moving. And speaking of the recoup...management of health and action points works quite well. Combat is faster than say WoW or LOTRO or especially EQ2 (the last time the family went into EQ2, the slow combat REALLY ruined the game for us).
Will this fun continue? I think it will, as we all have a feeling that getting to 40 will be a goal. We want to do it, and it helps us feel like we have accomplished something. If I could count how many games disappoint before we finish or get to max, it makes me happy to then realize games like WAR or AoC exists.
We purchased another 60 days (time cards), and will see how we feel when that time is up. For now, the time in game has went over a 160 hours, and we keep racking it up.
There. Have I told ya enough now? Ok...better get back to work now. Cheers to ya and Game on!
As I am doing a writing project for work, I feel the need to intersperse those moments of thought with what has been happening in the household for the "Family who MMO's" (I think that is a permanent tagline now, and I had better trademark it!).
As well, it will give me a chance to talk about my two favorite MMO's and the latest news for them.
First up is Age of Conan.
We still have it on our schedule, so that when the expansion hits, we would get back into the game. News just arrived that it is finally on its way. Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer will launch on May 11th.
A great way to celebrate their anniversary as well for AoC, as it launched in May two years ago.
We plan to play it smart though. There will be no reason to jump right in, as we all know how Funcom is when it comes to launches. They have proven that they really cannot get anything off the ground without some major hiccups. I would prefer not to be a 30 day hater like I was two years ago. So, we will wait and see how this rolls. The bonus is thanks to the "endless trial" we can at least see how the game is performing and what discussions are taking place in Global about how others feel before buying.
Based on my Xfire watching though, I can see a bit of excitement for Age of Conan and the expansion as people are logging in more. This past Sundays performance shows an increase in players in the game using my calc systems. Close to 90k players actually.
Quite good for AoC.
There are quite a few deals, including a pre-order directly through Funcom and your account if active. You get a discount (the package is touted as $29.99, but 5 bucks off if purchased now). You also get a special pet and some other goodies. They also have various other packs including mounts, points to use in the game (token system) and more. Log in HERE to see information on these specials.
Next up; Warhammer Online.
I need to say this. I LOVE this game, and I am having a blast.
I was actually gone for several days and we missed some game time last week. As well, I missed the news that Mythic did a formal apology for the screw ups on billing.
For those who did not hear (all two of ya), Mythic had several problems where people were billed multiple times (some up to 20 times) for their sub.
Anyways, I will not go into the details, so here is the letter of apology. This basically explains what they will do for those affected by this error. The rewards are really incredible. And not just that, but for all players, they have a huge jump in XP for PvE and RvR renown. This really has helped, as we logged in this weekend and gained 3 LEVELS. We reached level 20 and bought our horses. Excellent.
Now, all news was not good. Warhammer servers are being shut down in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other locations in Asian countries. What does this mean? Hard to say. I have the theory still that a rough population of 65-75k players can keep a game running (look at EQ2 or Star Wars for examples of games still running with low pops). Will this affect WAR? Hard to say right now. Progress is being made on the next update which will enhance RvR, and will have quite a few changes which is almost a mini-expansion.
I will hold my thoughts on this for now. From the looks of it, the billing fiasco did not hurt WAR on Xfire (the calcs have put the game back where it was before the fiasco).
Now...playing WAR and why it works for the "Family who MMO's"?
We are just not an end game kind of group. We like the journey, pure and simple. Many complaints have been lodged at WAR on the end game becoming a huge grind for no particular reason. I.E: Like ALL MMO's.
For the Family, we just enjoy the variety of things we can do. We will cue up for Scenarios, go questing and doing the Public Quests for the rewards. It all adds up to doing something all the time. So far, we LOVE to login and play, and that is the key.
One of the nice things about WAR compared to most MMO's...less wildlife and more humanoid based mobs. I really felt this while playing this morning. As I moved from one zone to the next, I was always fighting something human like. As I am Order, it would be Chaos, Orcs, or even demons like the Blue Horrors, etc. If i had to kill boars ad nauseum (looks at LOTRO and sneers), I would kill myself.
Spawn rates is another nice feature...especially in some of the Public Quests. You have barely enough time to recoup, and the next spawn is in. Keeps you moving. And speaking of the recoup...management of health and action points works quite well. Combat is faster than say WoW or LOTRO or especially EQ2 (the last time the family went into EQ2, the slow combat REALLY ruined the game for us).
Will this fun continue? I think it will, as we all have a feeling that getting to 40 will be a goal. We want to do it, and it helps us feel like we have accomplished something. If I could count how many games disappoint before we finish or get to max, it makes me happy to then realize games like WAR or AoC exists.
We purchased another 60 days (time cards), and will see how we feel when that time is up. For now, the time in game has went over a 160 hours, and we keep racking it up.
There. Have I told ya enough now? Ok...better get back to work now. Cheers to ya and Game on!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Age of Conan - Second Chances
Some games just deserve to get a second chance. Companies at first make a mistake, then try to rectify it.
Some have great results (I am quite content with Warhammer Online now).
But, some people are just too bull headed to know when to at least stop bickering and get to gaming.
So, we need your help. Age of Conan has made leaps and bounds in gameplay since it's initial launch, but there are those who let the launch continue to keep them away.
I went back after launch, and was quite happy. It is a good game now.
Well, those of you who also have went back, need to go tell Pitrelli at KillThatCheerleader. He has a poll up, and is looking to find out which game he should go back to try. Age of Conan is there and ready for your click.
Head there now, and let him know, it is ok to go back, as sometimes, yes, that girlfriend may have cheated on you before, but learned her lesson, and will cook for you EVERY DAY (while rubbing your feet, clipping your toenails and bringing you the beers).
Cheers
Some have great results (I am quite content with Warhammer Online now).
But, some people are just too bull headed to know when to at least stop bickering and get to gaming.
So, we need your help. Age of Conan has made leaps and bounds in gameplay since it's initial launch, but there are those who let the launch continue to keep them away.
I went back after launch, and was quite happy. It is a good game now.
Well, those of you who also have went back, need to go tell Pitrelli at KillThatCheerleader. He has a poll up, and is looking to find out which game he should go back to try. Age of Conan is there and ready for your click.
Head there now, and let him know, it is ok to go back, as sometimes, yes, that girlfriend may have cheated on you before, but learned her lesson, and will cook for you EVERY DAY (while rubbing your feet, clipping your toenails and bringing you the beers).
Cheers
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Xfire Game
Last week, a small group of us had a Twitter-scussion over the validity of Xfire as a tool beyond the mere use as a glorified chat program.
Xfire has the capability to track players time in games of their choice. Though not perfect, it does give a glimpse of these players (people who load Xfire) favorite games.
As far as MMO's are concerned, I feel it can be used to do more in respect to players and times.We can also track sub numbers for MMO's in a general capacity. This would be more in line of "paying" commercial based games, by either a large distributor or game developer.
So, a while back, I posted an article (2008) which took a noted news story about the current World of Warcraft population in the US and created a formula to help see how many players can be calculated in all other MMO's based on that formula. What happened is a pretty close and accurate picture of players in various MMO's, and since that time I still have been able to use that formula to this day. Check out the article to see a more in depth discussion of that calculation.
This really took flight when last week Cryptic noted just how many people were playing Star Trek Online. When I saw this, I thought it was time again to try the formula. What happened was a pretty scary comparison that was almost completely accurate to their posted numbers. Cryptic noted a 100k player base. I did my formula and got 96k almost 97k. This of course was based on a Wednesday reading. Sunday numbers are usually more accurate as this IS the busiest day for all MMO's. So, I thought, maybe we need to really do an in depth analysis using Sunday numbers.
Now, I never claimed that the numbers are 100%, accurate, They are a pretty close representation though of what has either been discussed by news pundits or forum goers for total subs of some MMO's. And if a company ever announces their numbers, as seen by the Cryptic count for STO, it can garner a pretty darn accurate calculation.
Since a lot of companies do not release this data, the "Xfire Game" has really become a good way to see just how well this works.
Today, I will do a run of the Sunday count for Xfire for several games being discussed lately. I pick these for the very reason we need a tool like Xfire and my calc. These companies have not, or do not release their numbers. If they do, it is rare.
As well, I will add Aion, as eventually we WILL get numbers (NCSoft does their numbers about once or twice a year), and of course STO, since we did get a report recently.
Lets see how they fare.
The calc rate is multiple the number of Xfire users x 120.05. Using the calc system we see - 980 x 120.05 = 117,649 subs. Over 100k. Interesting.
Our calc system states...3864 x 120.05 = 463,873 subs. Basically almost as much as Lineage 2 had been stated to have at one point and time (over 600k in 2007). And as always since it's launch, in the top 10 on Xfire. Now, I am sorry, but this does NOT take into account how many of those subs are gold sellers...
Calc says? 1780 x 120.05 = 213,689 subs. Still a good sub rate and steady. Wish Turbine would just come out and tell us. For me, I think a company should be proud of that many players in todays MMO market. Since I have been doing these calcs, LOTRO has consistently done this number of players...except when they release an expansion, then there is a jump.
677 x 120.05 = 81,274 subs.
If we read the report for Funcom in their financials, they state "stabilization". This Xfire data corroborates that. They continue to hold this area in the Xfire ratings AND have stabilized in subs if Xfire is to be trusted.
621 x 120.05 = 74,551 subs. Could it be possible that with 4 servers and 50k plus players, any MMO could be profitable? Seeing Age of Conan has held to this area and is still afloat, I may not doubt it now. Especially if we watch Age of Conan with the expansion and new financials report. How will these numbers increase? I will watch these two games closely. They are thought to be case studies of failures for their time. Yet, I also feel they are also the most improved games over time, unlike some others on this list.
If we read further into the press release this came from, we also see these words..."paid subscriber base has more than doubled"....AHA. DDO at one point...before the "Free to Play" model, was noted as either having 25k or 50k players subbing. What does Xfire say they have now?
930 x 120.05 = 111,647 subs. So, 1 million players, yes, but I still say 100k plus subscribers paying a monthly fee. Now, this also does not take into account how many people pay for extras (and are not subbed). I still will say it. This hybrid model that DDO has is truly the way other games with low subs should go. We are guaranteed that Turbine is turning some very nice profits right now.
293 x 120.05 = 35,175 subs. Now, is this really profitable? Has the game been out long enough to make back it's money? I guess it does help that they force players to repurchase EVERY expansion every time they launch a new one (almost 40 bucks a box every 6-8 months). Maybe all along EQ2 has made it's money off of the two-boxers and those who purchase new expansions at launch. For now, low player rates, but dedicated players keep EQ2 afloat.
The argument I keep hearing is Xfire cannot be used as a valid tool for these numbers. I will continue to disagree, as these numbers clearly show a lot of matching data with what we know about these games. We can never be 100% sure, but if I need to know how well a game is doing, I can look at Xfire and get a rough guesstimate.
The Calc I have continues to show some interesting data to this day, and as long as we have this tool, I will continue to try and use it to help me see how well these games are doing.
If you are ever worried about if you should play a game depending on if there are enough players to group with, etc, then try Xfire and see if it is doing well there.
Cheers
Xfire has the capability to track players time in games of their choice. Though not perfect, it does give a glimpse of these players (people who load Xfire) favorite games.
As far as MMO's are concerned, I feel it can be used to do more in respect to players and times.We can also track sub numbers for MMO's in a general capacity. This would be more in line of "paying" commercial based games, by either a large distributor or game developer.
So, a while back, I posted an article (2008) which took a noted news story about the current World of Warcraft population in the US and created a formula to help see how many players can be calculated in all other MMO's based on that formula. What happened is a pretty close and accurate picture of players in various MMO's, and since that time I still have been able to use that formula to this day. Check out the article to see a more in depth discussion of that calculation.
This really took flight when last week Cryptic noted just how many people were playing Star Trek Online. When I saw this, I thought it was time again to try the formula. What happened was a pretty scary comparison that was almost completely accurate to their posted numbers. Cryptic noted a 100k player base. I did my formula and got 96k almost 97k. This of course was based on a Wednesday reading. Sunday numbers are usually more accurate as this IS the busiest day for all MMO's. So, I thought, maybe we need to really do an in depth analysis using Sunday numbers.
Now, I never claimed that the numbers are 100%, accurate, They are a pretty close representation though of what has either been discussed by news pundits or forum goers for total subs of some MMO's. And if a company ever announces their numbers, as seen by the Cryptic count for STO, it can garner a pretty darn accurate calculation.
Since a lot of companies do not release this data, the "Xfire Game" has really become a good way to see just how well this works.
Today, I will do a run of the Sunday count for Xfire for several games being discussed lately. I pick these for the very reason we need a tool like Xfire and my calc. These companies have not, or do not release their numbers. If they do, it is rare.
As well, I will add Aion, as eventually we WILL get numbers (NCSoft does their numbers about once or twice a year), and of course STO, since we did get a report recently.
Lets see how they fare.
Star Trek Online
We will start here. As we KNOW how many are playing thanks to Cryptic's recent announcement of over 100k players, it will be a good jumping off point to see how our calc is working.The calc rate is multiple the number of Xfire users x 120.05. Using the calc system we see - 980 x 120.05 = 117,649 subs. Over 100k. Interesting.
Aion
Next, I want to show a game that we know has a large population based on reports from NCSoft. Now, of course, most forum goers or blog gurus call this game a failure. I would beg to differ, and I believe Xfires data shows this.Our calc system states...3864 x 120.05 = 463,873 subs. Basically almost as much as Lineage 2 had been stated to have at one point and time (over 600k in 2007). And as always since it's launch, in the top 10 on Xfire. Now, I am sorry, but this does NOT take into account how many of those subs are gold sellers...
Lord of the Rings Online
Over and over it has been stated that LOTRO is a good "200k" sub game. I for one believe it, and Xfire really corroborates this.Calc says? 1780 x 120.05 = 213,689 subs. Still a good sub rate and steady. Wish Turbine would just come out and tell us. For me, I think a company should be proud of that many players in todays MMO market. Since I have been doing these calcs, LOTRO has consistently done this number of players...except when they release an expansion, then there is a jump.
Age of Conan
A lot of discussion has been traveling the blogosphere as well as the forums that AoC has progressed beyond the old days, and is a more stable game. Some servers look busy according to the forumites, and Funcom has been able to keep it afloat (though financials have said otherwise). How do the Xfire stats look?677 x 120.05 = 81,274 subs.
If we read the report for Funcom in their financials, they state "stabilization". This Xfire data corroborates that. They continue to hold this area in the Xfire ratings AND have stabilized in subs if Xfire is to be trusted.
Warhammer Online
My new favorite. Recently Bioware has made comments about the Mythic division and how WAR is actually "profitable". How many subs does a profitable game need? What does Xfire say...621 x 120.05 = 74,551 subs. Could it be possible that with 4 servers and 50k plus players, any MMO could be profitable? Seeing Age of Conan has held to this area and is still afloat, I may not doubt it now. Especially if we watch Age of Conan with the expansion and new financials report. How will these numbers increase? I will watch these two games closely. They are thought to be case studies of failures for their time. Yet, I also feel they are also the most improved games over time, unlike some others on this list.
Dungeons & Dragons Online
This is a unique case, and I want it here to show how Xfire can still help us figure out what is considered a paying customer, compared to a freebie player. Recently Turbine has stated that they have "1 Meeelllion players" (note the pinky held next to my cheek as I say this..). In so many words; Turbine. The leader of misleading statements.If we read further into the press release this came from, we also see these words..."paid subscriber base has more than doubled"....AHA. DDO at one point...before the "Free to Play" model, was noted as either having 25k or 50k players subbing. What does Xfire say they have now?
930 x 120.05 = 111,647 subs. So, 1 million players, yes, but I still say 100k plus subscribers paying a monthly fee. Now, this also does not take into account how many people pay for extras (and are not subbed). I still will say it. This hybrid model that DDO has is truly the way other games with low subs should go. We are guaranteed that Turbine is turning some very nice profits right now.
Everquest 2
I always wish to throw this one in there. This game is hard to pigeon hole, because we hardly see or hear about this game, and I always wonder what SOE needs to keep a game afloat. I always want to include Vanguard also (to show what a real failure looks like)...but, for now, EQ2 is good, as we know they have a dedicated playerbase, but not a huge sub lot (at least based on what we know and see).293 x 120.05 = 35,175 subs. Now, is this really profitable? Has the game been out long enough to make back it's money? I guess it does help that they force players to repurchase EVERY expansion every time they launch a new one (almost 40 bucks a box every 6-8 months). Maybe all along EQ2 has made it's money off of the two-boxers and those who purchase new expansions at launch. For now, low player rates, but dedicated players keep EQ2 afloat.
The argument I keep hearing is Xfire cannot be used as a valid tool for these numbers. I will continue to disagree, as these numbers clearly show a lot of matching data with what we know about these games. We can never be 100% sure, but if I need to know how well a game is doing, I can look at Xfire and get a rough guesstimate.
The Calc I have continues to show some interesting data to this day, and as long as we have this tool, I will continue to try and use it to help me see how well these games are doing.
If you are ever worried about if you should play a game depending on if there are enough players to group with, etc, then try Xfire and see if it is doing well there.
Cheers
Friday, March 12, 2010
Give "MMO's" a chance
Wow, is that a really bad way to segue into John Lennon's masterpiece...or what?
Well, as you can see, I have been the "strong" silent type for the last week as I have taken time to get to grips with several MMO's that had been on a back burner for me. How did this play time come about? As always, it boils down to my son's interests and helping him bloom in his fascination with MMO's.
About a little over a week ago he asked if I would buy Aion for him. Now, I try my best to help my son make good decisions about purchasing (my wife? not so much...as I look upon her Jimmy Choo's she just HAD to have, yet sit gathering dust).
I first remind him of a little fiasco a while back when Fallout 3 first came out. He played the game after buying it new (60 buckos) and about a couple of weeks after the learning curve, he started to die...a lot.
He wanted to sell it back to Gamestop. Hey, no issue. Find a better game buddy!
Several months passed. His friends kept talking about the game on Xbox live, and were still playing it themselves. He kept getting excited about it, and asked if he could buy it...
I did a double take.
I told him about what happened. He believed he had become a better gamer, and could do it.
He understood my thoughts, so, blew another 60 bucks again on Fallout. (Please note, all games my son buys, he has earned...through trash pickup, cleaning his room, good grades and Grandma's).
It was returned just less than a week after.
Same thing for Aion. While playing beta, he started to hit that "grind" wall after a while. He decided he did not want the game after all when it launched. Yet, here he is...asking to buy it now.
I guess I could rack it up to A.D.D? "Well, you will need to pay for it son." And he did. I also agreed on one condition. I would play as well. The final piece? The wife would also need to play it and see how she felt about the game. She would need to play for 5 levels, or SHE would pay for it.
(Please note: We are a VERY democratic household on all things gaming, food, TV...you name it. We also follow the "try it or pay out" rule...You must try all foods once, all games and all TV shows as well).
Here is something else to think about. Since we are a gamer family, if one gamer strays, it makes it difficult for the other two to play. So, we make these arrangements over the games to allow everyone something to do while the other plays another title.
The wife and I knew we would get less Guild Wars time while he played Aion, so we each took off to play other things while he played Aion.
So, my schedule has been mixed between - Guild Wars, Age of Conan (free trial), Warhammer Online and Aion.
So, how has this been going? Quite well actually. It gives me a chance to also blog a bit about these games. So, stay tuned, as several posts are being lined up to discuss my trials and tribulations of the supposed "Games losing subs" group.
Cheers
Well, as you can see, I have been the "strong" silent type for the last week as I have taken time to get to grips with several MMO's that had been on a back burner for me. How did this play time come about? As always, it boils down to my son's interests and helping him bloom in his fascination with MMO's.
About a little over a week ago he asked if I would buy Aion for him. Now, I try my best to help my son make good decisions about purchasing (my wife? not so much...as I look upon her Jimmy Choo's she just HAD to have, yet sit gathering dust).
I first remind him of a little fiasco a while back when Fallout 3 first came out. He played the game after buying it new (60 buckos) and about a couple of weeks after the learning curve, he started to die...a lot.
He wanted to sell it back to Gamestop. Hey, no issue. Find a better game buddy!
Several months passed. His friends kept talking about the game on Xbox live, and were still playing it themselves. He kept getting excited about it, and asked if he could buy it...
I did a double take.
I told him about what happened. He believed he had become a better gamer, and could do it.
He understood my thoughts, so, blew another 60 bucks again on Fallout. (Please note, all games my son buys, he has earned...through trash pickup, cleaning his room, good grades and Grandma's).
It was returned just less than a week after.
Same thing for Aion. While playing beta, he started to hit that "grind" wall after a while. He decided he did not want the game after all when it launched. Yet, here he is...asking to buy it now.
I guess I could rack it up to A.D.D? "Well, you will need to pay for it son." And he did. I also agreed on one condition. I would play as well. The final piece? The wife would also need to play it and see how she felt about the game. She would need to play for 5 levels, or SHE would pay for it.
(Please note: We are a VERY democratic household on all things gaming, food, TV...you name it. We also follow the "try it or pay out" rule...You must try all foods once, all games and all TV shows as well).
Here is something else to think about. Since we are a gamer family, if one gamer strays, it makes it difficult for the other two to play. So, we make these arrangements over the games to allow everyone something to do while the other plays another title.
The wife and I knew we would get less Guild Wars time while he played Aion, so we each took off to play other things while he played Aion.
So, my schedule has been mixed between - Guild Wars, Age of Conan (free trial), Warhammer Online and Aion.
So, how has this been going? Quite well actually. It gives me a chance to also blog a bit about these games. So, stay tuned, as several posts are being lined up to discuss my trials and tribulations of the supposed "Games losing subs" group.
Cheers
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Conundrum of Free To Play
An announcement today made me think on the subject of Free To Play.
"Dungeons & Dragons Online Reaches One Million Players"
(EDIT: Seems the correct wording should be "NEW" players...surpassing 1 million actually. Check the press release here...SOURCE)
Since switching to the Free play model, DDO has had a major increase in the number of players who log in, and are playing. But, how many actually shell out cash for either a sub or the various pay items? According to this news...the money sounds good.
"Dungeons & Dragons Online Revenues Up 500 Percent"
Most of all though; does it matter?
Think on this. Each person logged in is a potential customer; is that not true? When advertisers choose to show a promo for a product on certain TV shows, are they not just basing their theory on getting the most eyes to see the product in the hopes to sell more?
Same here for DDO. More eyes in the game equals more potential customers.
Now, lets look at some of the failing games (or games with smaller sub rates than I assume the company would like to see...) and how would they look with this model?
How about Warhammer Online, Age of Conan.. Would they have more subs or at least players with a potential to sell more? What about Hellgate: London or Tabula Rasa. Would they have survived under this setup.
Overall, could certain games benefit from this model?
Funcom is no newb to this type of setup for an MMO with Anarchy Online being a free to play...but with adverts (a little more bizarre, but still in that realm). Look how long they have been running now? Age of Conan is draining the revenues and finances of Funcom like a sieve. So, maybe for Funcom to succeed they may have to walk that fine line again and figure out a new way to make cash.
A lot of Free to play's are not looked upon very well. Games like Runes of Magic or Perfect World, etc, all have quality issues. The games are not as well made as the financial powerhouses like AoC or WAR. Thus, could these commercial flops pull away from those lower quality games by going free? Maybe even pull players from those games. Last I heard, a million people have logged in to Perfect World at some point.
Could you imagine one million eyes in Warhammer...and how that could change the overall structure of that game?
I think we need to see how other "commercial" style MMO's that are not doing well in the sub arena would fare under a Cash Shop model...no matter how much people hate it. I personally feel that if a game starts to flounder, then it is time to see how you can change your model to the free to play scheme, and see if you succeed.
Guild Wars 2 is set to be a buy once, free for life with special "purchases" later deal to pad costs. Even Star Wars The Old Republic has mentioned this method (though the audience is pushing for the monthly deal, which I still think is a detriment. SWToR poll on payment).
This much I can say. DDO has proven it can work, and quite well.
"Dungeons & Dragons Online Reaches One Million Players"
(EDIT: Seems the correct wording should be "NEW" players...surpassing 1 million actually. Check the press release here...SOURCE)
Since switching to the Free play model, DDO has had a major increase in the number of players who log in, and are playing. But, how many actually shell out cash for either a sub or the various pay items? According to this news...the money sounds good.
"Dungeons & Dragons Online Revenues Up 500 Percent"
Most of all though; does it matter?
Think on this. Each person logged in is a potential customer; is that not true? When advertisers choose to show a promo for a product on certain TV shows, are they not just basing their theory on getting the most eyes to see the product in the hopes to sell more?
Same here for DDO. More eyes in the game equals more potential customers.
Now, lets look at some of the failing games (or games with smaller sub rates than I assume the company would like to see...) and how would they look with this model?
How about Warhammer Online, Age of Conan.. Would they have more subs or at least players with a potential to sell more? What about Hellgate: London or Tabula Rasa. Would they have survived under this setup.
Overall, could certain games benefit from this model?
Funcom is no newb to this type of setup for an MMO with Anarchy Online being a free to play...but with adverts (a little more bizarre, but still in that realm). Look how long they have been running now? Age of Conan is draining the revenues and finances of Funcom like a sieve. So, maybe for Funcom to succeed they may have to walk that fine line again and figure out a new way to make cash.
A lot of Free to play's are not looked upon very well. Games like Runes of Magic or Perfect World, etc, all have quality issues. The games are not as well made as the financial powerhouses like AoC or WAR. Thus, could these commercial flops pull away from those lower quality games by going free? Maybe even pull players from those games. Last I heard, a million people have logged in to Perfect World at some point.
Could you imagine one million eyes in Warhammer...and how that could change the overall structure of that game?
I think we need to see how other "commercial" style MMO's that are not doing well in the sub arena would fare under a Cash Shop model...no matter how much people hate it. I personally feel that if a game starts to flounder, then it is time to see how you can change your model to the free to play scheme, and see if you succeed.
Guild Wars 2 is set to be a buy once, free for life with special "purchases" later deal to pad costs. Even Star Wars The Old Republic has mentioned this method (though the audience is pushing for the monthly deal, which I still think is a detriment. SWToR poll on payment).
This much I can say. DDO has proven it can work, and quite well.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Age of Conan - Why no PvP love?
Over the last year or more Age of Conan has been taking strides to fix the overall structure of it's game-play to accommodate new players. In all actuality it has been a move to "fix" the original launch issues and at least make the game playable.
Balance, content, new additions of armor, crafting recipes and more have been put into the game.
What does that all sound like though? PVE.
Simply put, the direction of the game has changed since launch. It is now more of a casual friendly MMO RPG for PVE players than the original intent; "A Savage, brutal world...".
As of late, a sea change has occurred though in respects to how players are feeling about these changes. There is no doubt that the discussion of the changes have shown to be effective. So much so, that the game is receiving "Most improved" awards through some news outlets, population is holding steady and even rising on Xfire; players have been discussing their return to the game on the forums.
But, there is no doubt that the changes have not been enough for those players who respected Funcom enough to stick it out through their endeavors. Dissent and discourse has been the result of ignoring a half of the population (according to Craig Morrison, there is a 50/50 split of PVE-PVP players).
PVP players have started quite a few threads on the forums discussing that in reality, two years of Age of Conan has not brought any NEW challenge for PVP players, except the murder system. But, this system has proven to be broken and causes more heartache than adventure. The Siege mechanics, which was another form of high end group PVP is still in dire need of fixes due to lag and unplayability. The list goes on.
This thread describes it best..."It is quite obvious that the whole PVP department of Age of Conan is put on the back burner and is always the "last thing to work on".
Some of the concerns are:
Balance, content, new additions of armor, crafting recipes and more have been put into the game.
What does that all sound like though? PVE.
Simply put, the direction of the game has changed since launch. It is now more of a casual friendly MMO RPG for PVE players than the original intent; "A Savage, brutal world...".
As of late, a sea change has occurred though in respects to how players are feeling about these changes. There is no doubt that the discussion of the changes have shown to be effective. So much so, that the game is receiving "Most improved" awards through some news outlets, population is holding steady and even rising on Xfire; players have been discussing their return to the game on the forums.
But, there is no doubt that the changes have not been enough for those players who respected Funcom enough to stick it out through their endeavors. Dissent and discourse has been the result of ignoring a half of the population (according to Craig Morrison, there is a 50/50 split of PVE-PVP players).
PVP players have started quite a few threads on the forums discussing that in reality, two years of Age of Conan has not brought any NEW challenge for PVP players, except the murder system. But, this system has proven to be broken and causes more heartache than adventure. The Siege mechanics, which was another form of high end group PVP is still in dire need of fixes due to lag and unplayability. The list goes on.
This thread describes it best..."It is quite obvious that the whole PVP department of Age of Conan is put on the back burner and is always the "last thing to work on".
Some of the concerns are:
- Mini-game maps - 2 years and the same 4 maps still exist since launch
- Battlekeeps - No change for 2 years running. New content was teased on testlive, then taken away and noted probably not until after expansion (6-8 months?)
- Sieges - hardware changes to help with DC's, but no fix for lags or certain criteria still causing poor performance.
- World PVP - Seems to take place mostly in one location, as most players are afraid of irritating guards which gives murder status...even if you were the one murdered.
- Glory - Part of the new renown system. Yet, takes twice as long to level as just sitting around and crafting.
- Arena's - Awesome idea. But, why would a PVP player do them when they equal ZERO PVP points?
It is quite obvious that after the change of Game Director, we can see that the focus of the game changed immensely. But, you may ask; does it matter?
We have the financials which show revenue for the game is still not quite there yet. But, since the new renown system has been added as of last patch (1.06), Xfire shows a major increase in activity bumping it into the high 40's (#48 today for example, which it has not seen since the 1.05 patch over 8 months ago). Discussion of the new expansion has people ready to return once that launches.
Could it be that forgetting a part of your player population and going for that PVE slant is more in line toward profit? Is PvP even needed? With the new expansion (estimates place it launching anywhere between April to June), and the core of that new game having over 85 to 90% PVE, maybe the expansion will give us the final answer.
We kinda miss ya PVP, but PVE seems to love us more.
Should Funcom be ignoring this population so long? Should more effort be put into PVP now? Or is PVE where it's at for Age of Conan? Voice your opinions.
Cheers
Should Funcom be ignoring this population so long? Should more effort be put into PVP now? Or is PVE where it's at for Age of Conan? Voice your opinions.
Cheers
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The best new MMO may never launch
Reading news this morning, an alert came through about the latest information for Funcom. It seems they now are at a threshold in regards to the launch of their new MMO, The Secret World.
A link to Trading News has some dire reporting in regards to an MMO so fresh and new, yet full of a troubled companies woes. The report is called..."DnB Nor analyst says Funcom may need more funds before Secret World launch"
Several notes are included in the report which tells us where Funcom is in regards to their funds, thanks to this months financial report.
"Funcom's revenue has been constantly decreasing since the launch of its massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Age of Conan (in May 2009) and the company said it expects a further fall in revenue in the first quarter of 2010, without specifying an interval."
Thanks to a shoddy launch and then a takeover by another Game Director who changed the direction of Age of Conan, these all seem to be in line to make AoC a revenue killer.
The funds have slowly been whittled away, and monetary funds both on hand and intake all continue to fall.
As part of this, this next paragraph says a lot.
"No date for the launch of The Secret World has been set. The title is still under development. In his analysis, Thoresen has taken into consideration a launch in the fourth quarter of 2011."
That is a LONG way off for what could be one of the most exciting changes to MMO's since WoW launched it's casual friendly behemoth some 6 years ago.
The Secret World will incorporate Age of Conan's more action oriented combat, with no standard class system, no forced skills system, and a modern world setting with a horror flair. Thanks to the bad news, this just makes the game more of a hype and less of a want at this point. Especially with Guild Wars 2 and SWToR launching that year, it even makes The Secret World a game that could just be a flash in the pan by the time of release.
I had really high hopes for this game, and who knows...maybe the launch of the Age of Conan expansion could be the influx of cash Funcom needs. But, seeing the company continues to ignore it's player base and the population continues to stagnate, it may be a bumpy 2010.
A link to Trading News has some dire reporting in regards to an MMO so fresh and new, yet full of a troubled companies woes. The report is called..."DnB Nor analyst says Funcom may need more funds before Secret World launch"
Several notes are included in the report which tells us where Funcom is in regards to their funds, thanks to this months financial report.
"Funcom's revenue has been constantly decreasing since the launch of its massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Age of Conan (in May 2009) and the company said it expects a further fall in revenue in the first quarter of 2010, without specifying an interval."
Thanks to a shoddy launch and then a takeover by another Game Director who changed the direction of Age of Conan, these all seem to be in line to make AoC a revenue killer.
The funds have slowly been whittled away, and monetary funds both on hand and intake all continue to fall.
As part of this, this next paragraph says a lot.
"No date for the launch of The Secret World has been set. The title is still under development. In his analysis, Thoresen has taken into consideration a launch in the fourth quarter of 2011."
That is a LONG way off for what could be one of the most exciting changes to MMO's since WoW launched it's casual friendly behemoth some 6 years ago.
The Secret World will incorporate Age of Conan's more action oriented combat, with no standard class system, no forced skills system, and a modern world setting with a horror flair. Thanks to the bad news, this just makes the game more of a hype and less of a want at this point. Especially with Guild Wars 2 and SWToR launching that year, it even makes The Secret World a game that could just be a flash in the pan by the time of release.
I had really high hopes for this game, and who knows...maybe the launch of the Age of Conan expansion could be the influx of cash Funcom needs. But, seeing the company continues to ignore it's player base and the population continues to stagnate, it may be a bumpy 2010.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Header changes - Of the moment...
Bear with me as I play around a bit with my header images. If it is too large, let me know...k?
I like the idea of having my header image reflect my current games of choice.
For example the current one (which I will leave up for a week). I saw this image yesterday while browsing my gaming images folder. It was from Eye of the North for Guild Wars. I just saw header image potential there. EoTN, as well, really shows what we can look forward to in Guild Wars 2, with it's large open vistas and landscapes, and this image is just one piece that looks awesome. I have quite a few more coming.
I loved the previous image I had in the header which was from Rise of the Godslayer for Age of Conan. It was a render piece for a new zone. Looked incredible. But, AoC is not on my list yet, and will not be until the expansion. Let me tell you why.
The family made this choice for one major reason. We wish to start over. But, as a family, we have played through the intro several times, and are quite familiar with the Tortage experience. We figure if we wish to do it again, we want a new place to go to when we are done. Khitai, part of the new expansion, will fit the bill perfectly. As well, the intro zone will be new and fresh after a long hiatus, so we should have quite a bit of fun.
For now, we are learning and discovering Factions for Guild Wars. Our classes are still slightly weak in my experience, but learning to use what we have is a study in patience. I am already on my 4th do-over for skill layouts.
As for the others, my wife just loves her Mesmer. I am interested in how she is playing it, and will get to see that more as I move my Ritualist into a "healer" type role. I will be babysitting the players and will get to see what skills are being used more.
As for my son, he finally found the major issue with the Assassin. This class is powerful, but also quite weak in aspects of armor. Seeing the class is always in the front line, he also met his fate a multitude of times. We do not have a main tank class, so yes, he is getting ripped apart and dying....a lot. He was almost ready to throw in the towel (again).
But, it will take time for all of us to learn the aspects of these different classes and learn how to best mesh them together. I do not want to get to max level and then be done again, as I just do not feel like starting over again. I hope we find the right place to be.
So, it looks like the basis of todays post is starting again. As I have started blogging again, I also have redone the header, for a fresh start. Hmm. Is Spring around the corner?
Cheers
I like the idea of having my header image reflect my current games of choice.
For example the current one (which I will leave up for a week). I saw this image yesterday while browsing my gaming images folder. It was from Eye of the North for Guild Wars. I just saw header image potential there. EoTN, as well, really shows what we can look forward to in Guild Wars 2, with it's large open vistas and landscapes, and this image is just one piece that looks awesome. I have quite a few more coming.
I loved the previous image I had in the header which was from Rise of the Godslayer for Age of Conan. It was a render piece for a new zone. Looked incredible. But, AoC is not on my list yet, and will not be until the expansion. Let me tell you why.
The family made this choice for one major reason. We wish to start over. But, as a family, we have played through the intro several times, and are quite familiar with the Tortage experience. We figure if we wish to do it again, we want a new place to go to when we are done. Khitai, part of the new expansion, will fit the bill perfectly. As well, the intro zone will be new and fresh after a long hiatus, so we should have quite a bit of fun.
For now, we are learning and discovering Factions for Guild Wars. Our classes are still slightly weak in my experience, but learning to use what we have is a study in patience. I am already on my 4th do-over for skill layouts.
As for the others, my wife just loves her Mesmer. I am interested in how she is playing it, and will get to see that more as I move my Ritualist into a "healer" type role. I will be babysitting the players and will get to see what skills are being used more.
As for my son, he finally found the major issue with the Assassin. This class is powerful, but also quite weak in aspects of armor. Seeing the class is always in the front line, he also met his fate a multitude of times. We do not have a main tank class, so yes, he is getting ripped apart and dying....a lot. He was almost ready to throw in the towel (again).
But, it will take time for all of us to learn the aspects of these different classes and learn how to best mesh them together. I do not want to get to max level and then be done again, as I just do not feel like starting over again. I hope we find the right place to be.
So, it looks like the basis of todays post is starting again. As I have started blogging again, I also have redone the header, for a fresh start. Hmm. Is Spring around the corner?
Cheers
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Gear Grind
About two weeks ago Age of Conan introduced a new "token" system for high level gear. Similar in feature to the token systems of most MMO's, Funcom basically took the easy way out. By doing this they also introduced a newer gear grind mechanic that most people are having issues with.
The problem lies in the fact that for a level 80 to matter in PvP or PvE, they must grind raids to get the tokens needed to gear up (or hope they finally get a rare drop). In so many words, if you do not raid, the game ends as there really is not much else to play for. You cannot earn gear in any other manner (supposedly some 6 man dungeons have a rare drop for these "tokens" as well...but imagine a 3-5% drop rate chance per group and for one player to gain the token...after running a near impossible dungeon in elite mode...and you get the idea.)
High level crafting offers no gear that is as satisfying as the raid gear, and thus a part of the game is locked off for those who would like alternate ways to "gear up".
Don't raid? Start anew or quit.
This got me thinking about gear in other styles of game.
Say the single player odysseys. You are guaranteed to find the pieces you need.
Titan Quest, Diablo 2, Sacred, etc...all have that action RPG gear drop random system. Talk about fun trying to find what you need. You are also getting so much of it, that you DO have a choice in what to wear or use.
Dragon Age also had an excellent drop rate on items. But, you could also "purchase" awesome items if you wished...just gather some cash.
Then look at Guild Wars. Thanks to the system being a skill based game, all gear hits a point where it is THE max (attributes have limits on the items and armor), and you only grind for "looks" and not the "stats". Their random system on drops is quite nice also.
Basically, just get out there, play, and you would eventually find some cool piece or weapon. And for armor, you needed to just make it to the next zone. Save up your cash, continue breaking down items for the rare resources, and make the armor you wanted when you finally got to the more difficult areas.
Nice.
Why can't MMO's go to a random drop system? I have never quite understood this. I know some exist, but not like in single player games...or GW. I sure would love the capability to just craft the piece I wanted and not have to depend on a rare occurrence to happen.
This is why I miss the old system Age of Conan had in place. Why could they not just upgrade the visuals and have kept the "skill" based armor and weapon system? And as for their crafting...why can't they make the items worthwhile?
What is your preference? Do you like the fact you must raid daily or weekly to get the specific piece you want? Or would you rather have a randomizer in there with set attributes for the gear or have the ability to craft what you want?
Cheers.
The problem lies in the fact that for a level 80 to matter in PvP or PvE, they must grind raids to get the tokens needed to gear up (or hope they finally get a rare drop). In so many words, if you do not raid, the game ends as there really is not much else to play for. You cannot earn gear in any other manner (supposedly some 6 man dungeons have a rare drop for these "tokens" as well...but imagine a 3-5% drop rate chance per group and for one player to gain the token...after running a near impossible dungeon in elite mode...and you get the idea.)
High level crafting offers no gear that is as satisfying as the raid gear, and thus a part of the game is locked off for those who would like alternate ways to "gear up".
Don't raid? Start anew or quit.
This got me thinking about gear in other styles of game.
Say the single player odysseys. You are guaranteed to find the pieces you need.
Titan Quest, Diablo 2, Sacred, etc...all have that action RPG gear drop random system. Talk about fun trying to find what you need. You are also getting so much of it, that you DO have a choice in what to wear or use.
Dragon Age also had an excellent drop rate on items. But, you could also "purchase" awesome items if you wished...just gather some cash.
Then look at Guild Wars. Thanks to the system being a skill based game, all gear hits a point where it is THE max (attributes have limits on the items and armor), and you only grind for "looks" and not the "stats". Their random system on drops is quite nice also.
Basically, just get out there, play, and you would eventually find some cool piece or weapon. And for armor, you needed to just make it to the next zone. Save up your cash, continue breaking down items for the rare resources, and make the armor you wanted when you finally got to the more difficult areas.
Nice.
Why can't MMO's go to a random drop system? I have never quite understood this. I know some exist, but not like in single player games...or GW. I sure would love the capability to just craft the piece I wanted and not have to depend on a rare occurrence to happen.
This is why I miss the old system Age of Conan had in place. Why could they not just upgrade the visuals and have kept the "skill" based armor and weapon system? And as for their crafting...why can't they make the items worthwhile?
What is your preference? Do you like the fact you must raid daily or weekly to get the specific piece you want? Or would you rather have a randomizer in there with set attributes for the gear or have the ability to craft what you want?
Cheers.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Less Twitter, More Bloggie
So...yesterday, I had a run in on Twitter with someone I do respect. My issue is when they get all up in arms because someone asks a simple question. I feel remorse for this player of MMO's and wonder why they become so sensitive to simple probing of their likes, dislikes, etc.
As MMO bloggers, it seems like this genre has a way to make people feel more emotional about their games, their play habits, and the way they approach the genre.
This is not the first time this has happened. All in all I think it has to do with the limited space for Twitter that causes more argumentative discussions than comparison talks about how we may feel about our gaming as a whole.
Thus, to alleviate this combative nature of Twitter, and it's short bursts of text being misconstrued...I will instead get back to my first love.
Blogging.
I have been pretty busy as of late, as my gaming has become pretty frantic with Guild Wars (with the family) and Titan Quest (solo).
I am actually shocked I am enjoying Titan Quest so much. As my wife calls it.."It is old school". But, thanks to the way the game plays, it has become a bit of a delight. Since I am enjoying it so much, I am going back to other games in that genre (isometric action RPG) like Legend:The Hand of God and Sacred 2 that have been sitting around not doing much of anything. I may actually enjoy myself again in those titles, as at the time I got them, I just did not seem to like that visual look or feel.
Guild Wars on the MMO front is proving to be another family favorite. I am unsure of what it is about GW or Age of Conan that we like so much. Maybe the more action oriented style? My wife started RPG's with Diablo 2 and Baldurs Gate (for the PS2; the action versions.)...so, I think she requires a faster pace than the standard slow mo of WoW, EQ2 or LOTRO. My son is originally an FPS player (Halo, Call of Duty, etc.), so I think it also seems more in line for him if the game is fast paced. Also, since my son is more oriented on the combat side of things, other areas of MMO's like crafting and housing are not that big of a deal. He did enjoy EQ2's housing though...so hard to say if he could enjoy it elsewhere. But, he never asks for those features in any new game we play.
But, like the person I noted at the beginning of my post who feels touchy about their games, we are just as emotional about our MMO's, and why we enjoy these particular titles. Luckily, there are enough of these MMO's to go around for all of us...fast action or slow paced.
Anyways, I think I have said enough for now. I think I need to get back to discussing games a bit more...in a context where I can explain myself a bit more.
Thanks for stopping by!
As MMO bloggers, it seems like this genre has a way to make people feel more emotional about their games, their play habits, and the way they approach the genre.
This is not the first time this has happened. All in all I think it has to do with the limited space for Twitter that causes more argumentative discussions than comparison talks about how we may feel about our gaming as a whole.
Thus, to alleviate this combative nature of Twitter, and it's short bursts of text being misconstrued...I will instead get back to my first love.
Blogging.
I have been pretty busy as of late, as my gaming has become pretty frantic with Guild Wars (with the family) and Titan Quest (solo).
I am actually shocked I am enjoying Titan Quest so much. As my wife calls it.."It is old school". But, thanks to the way the game plays, it has become a bit of a delight. Since I am enjoying it so much, I am going back to other games in that genre (isometric action RPG) like Legend:The Hand of God and Sacred 2 that have been sitting around not doing much of anything. I may actually enjoy myself again in those titles, as at the time I got them, I just did not seem to like that visual look or feel.
Guild Wars on the MMO front is proving to be another family favorite. I am unsure of what it is about GW or Age of Conan that we like so much. Maybe the more action oriented style? My wife started RPG's with Diablo 2 and Baldurs Gate (for the PS2; the action versions.)...so, I think she requires a faster pace than the standard slow mo of WoW, EQ2 or LOTRO. My son is originally an FPS player (Halo, Call of Duty, etc.), so I think it also seems more in line for him if the game is fast paced. Also, since my son is more oriented on the combat side of things, other areas of MMO's like crafting and housing are not that big of a deal. He did enjoy EQ2's housing though...so hard to say if he could enjoy it elsewhere. But, he never asks for those features in any new game we play.
But, like the person I noted at the beginning of my post who feels touchy about their games, we are just as emotional about our MMO's, and why we enjoy these particular titles. Luckily, there are enough of these MMO's to go around for all of us...fast action or slow paced.
Anyways, I think I have said enough for now. I think I need to get back to discussing games a bit more...in a context where I can explain myself a bit more.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
If I was playing an MMO...
...I would have more to write about.
And this is true. It seems that whenever I start to play a single player game (RPG, Action, etc..) my posting habits seem to diminish.
Why is that?
My guess leads to the "problems" of these games...laying blame on issues or concerns... whether it is gameplay, developers, bugs...you name it, MMO's have them in spades. Yet, while playing Single Player games, I just do not feel the need to discuss it.
During my Age of Conan stint, I had discussions of changes, developer screw ups and what not. When I was playing EQ2, I could discuss the world, etc.. which as I can see discussion has to do with community, the worlds we play in when in an MMO and the overall social aspects.
Currently my game time is filled with Dragon Age, Divinity 2, and even played The Witcher (but, I did load up Guild Wars...one never knows how that will go...son has shown an interest)...but, overall, MMO land has really been a downer. So, I have no need to discuss guilds, the world, or anything that most people could just read in a review anyways.
Take today for example.
I decided to go check how good Age of Conan has been doing on Xfire, and saw it had dropped to #83. Truly the lowest spot it has been yet AND 30 spots down from last week.
Guess people are tired of waiting for updates....and I can see why. It has been months since the last update, and there is really not much new to do. But, the family is holding on to time cards for when new patches hit...so they better get on that road quick. The game is failing dismally.
I have not closed up shop yet in the blogging world, but no MMO means nothing to rant or rave about. Guess I better hope something happens very soon.
Cheers
And this is true. It seems that whenever I start to play a single player game (RPG, Action, etc..) my posting habits seem to diminish.
Why is that?
My guess leads to the "problems" of these games...laying blame on issues or concerns... whether it is gameplay, developers, bugs...you name it, MMO's have them in spades. Yet, while playing Single Player games, I just do not feel the need to discuss it.
During my Age of Conan stint, I had discussions of changes, developer screw ups and what not. When I was playing EQ2, I could discuss the world, etc.. which as I can see discussion has to do with community, the worlds we play in when in an MMO and the overall social aspects.
Currently my game time is filled with Dragon Age, Divinity 2, and even played The Witcher (but, I did load up Guild Wars...one never knows how that will go...son has shown an interest)...but, overall, MMO land has really been a downer. So, I have no need to discuss guilds, the world, or anything that most people could just read in a review anyways.
Take today for example.
I decided to go check how good Age of Conan has been doing on Xfire, and saw it had dropped to #83. Truly the lowest spot it has been yet AND 30 spots down from last week.
Guess people are tired of waiting for updates....and I can see why. It has been months since the last update, and there is really not much new to do. But, the family is holding on to time cards for when new patches hit...so they better get on that road quick. The game is failing dismally.
I have not closed up shop yet in the blogging world, but no MMO means nothing to rant or rave about. Guess I better hope something happens very soon.
Cheers
Monday, January 11, 2010
Divinity 2 - Fini`
And so it comes to an end. 40+ hours of gameplay, and I have come to the conclusion of Divinity 2.
Was it worth it? Yes. Even with the horrid ending that if you watch Japanese movies or Anime and know how they end, then welcome to the end of Div 2.
I do not wish to give away anymore at this point. But, I do want to talk for a moment on Div 2 and a few other news tidbits.
First off, what compelled me most about Divinity 2? The variety of things I needed to do was one factor. The non-hand holding and difficulty also helped.
I really enjoy games that make me feel like it is life or death, but I have a way to survive if I keep on my toes. For example, the ending fight in Div 2 was truly outrageous, but was survivable if you learned some tricks to stay alive. That is key to an action game for me.
The non-hand holding is a far cry from most of our MMO's (except LOTRO, where the obtuse questing just becomes frustrating). But, I think MMO's need to have that feature due to the size and scope of those games. Divinity 2 with the open world to explore mechanic, where the world is finite?...that helps give me a sense of adventure (adventurer?) yet completion as well.
The variety of things to do really got crazy. The enchanting of armor, charms you could apply, crafting of potions, and even controlling your own pet that you built (a necromantic skill) really just made it crazy deciding how to build, rebuild, shape and setup my character.
Variety was also key to your own classing. YOU controlled what you wished to do ...from heals, to tanking, DPS and defense, summoning, ranger attributes...and more.
The game was not easy, and I finally had reached a point in one puzzle that I needed to look it up...and THAT was it. All the other puzzles had enough of a learn curve to make it hard to do, but possible. That difficulty factor if you will is what was key to my fun. Same for fights, with tricky ways to complete some of these (boss fights mainly), but not impossible.
I like that.
There is no doubt there were gaping holes in plot, bugs to deal with, as seems to be par for course now for all software titles. But, they were not enough to make me stop.
That is the sign of fun to me.
And patches are still being developed, that it could warrant a second play through to find some things I missed along the way (I had to leave one zone with 3 locked chests I could never open...wonder how to get into those?).
It was an awesome time, and I felt that nostalgia I felt from The Witcher, Fable 2, etc.
It was just plain gaming fun.
Now, before I leave, just some news of note.
First off, the "Family who MMO's together" has been on hiatus. Thanks to several issues with EQ2 that caused us to lose interest, we just never logged back in. This to me felt like a bad sign.
We never stopped playing Age of Conan with the concerns there. Why? Because we at least could continue to play and have fun.
When EQ2 had multiple days of "unannounced" downtimes during the holiday period (where we really like to play a lot), this caused quite a stir.
We lost our son to the Xbox, and I started playing single player games. My wife lost interest due to the multiple issues she had (loss of claimable items, no rewards for a special quest and of course the outage that blocked her one time, after my son and myself got in...), and as she stated, the game "disappointed" her. She just was not happy about logging in again.
I feel that way when people or things let me down as well.
So, we wait. For what, we are not sure.
Age of Conan is of course our game of choice. But, Funcom is TRULY quite slow when it comes to development, and STILL no patch, no fixes...nothing for several months. This just keeps the game on our "wish it was better list".
We have time cards ready to go, and will most likely start again after patch 1.06. But, when that will hit, we do not know.
The news today though is the first step for "merges" are taking place. This also comes with a doozy of a side note: Anyone who has not played for the last 7 months and has a character level 21 or under...will be due for deletion.
This also makes me wonder just how bad things will be after merge? Loss of items, characters...CITIES?
A nailbiter there.
Well, that is enough rambling for now. As a final little goodbye, I wish to let everyone know I went back to Dragon Age and I am giving it another shot. The chattiness was getting to me, and I started to lose interest. But, now with Divinity 2 done, and no other MMO ready to go, lets see how it feels now.
I played about two hours this morning and had fun...so that is a start eh?
Later folks.
Was it worth it? Yes. Even with the horrid ending that if you watch Japanese movies or Anime and know how they end, then welcome to the end of Div 2.
I do not wish to give away anymore at this point. But, I do want to talk for a moment on Div 2 and a few other news tidbits.
First off, what compelled me most about Divinity 2? The variety of things I needed to do was one factor. The non-hand holding and difficulty also helped.
I really enjoy games that make me feel like it is life or death, but I have a way to survive if I keep on my toes. For example, the ending fight in Div 2 was truly outrageous, but was survivable if you learned some tricks to stay alive. That is key to an action game for me.
The non-hand holding is a far cry from most of our MMO's (except LOTRO, where the obtuse questing just becomes frustrating). But, I think MMO's need to have that feature due to the size and scope of those games. Divinity 2 with the open world to explore mechanic, where the world is finite?...that helps give me a sense of adventure (adventurer?) yet completion as well.
The variety of things to do really got crazy. The enchanting of armor, charms you could apply, crafting of potions, and even controlling your own pet that you built (a necromantic skill) really just made it crazy deciding how to build, rebuild, shape and setup my character.
Variety was also key to your own classing. YOU controlled what you wished to do ...from heals, to tanking, DPS and defense, summoning, ranger attributes...and more.
The game was not easy, and I finally had reached a point in one puzzle that I needed to look it up...and THAT was it. All the other puzzles had enough of a learn curve to make it hard to do, but possible. That difficulty factor if you will is what was key to my fun. Same for fights, with tricky ways to complete some of these (boss fights mainly), but not impossible.
I like that.
There is no doubt there were gaping holes in plot, bugs to deal with, as seems to be par for course now for all software titles. But, they were not enough to make me stop.
That is the sign of fun to me.
And patches are still being developed, that it could warrant a second play through to find some things I missed along the way (I had to leave one zone with 3 locked chests I could never open...wonder how to get into those?).
It was an awesome time, and I felt that nostalgia I felt from The Witcher, Fable 2, etc.
It was just plain gaming fun.
Now, before I leave, just some news of note.
First off, the "Family who MMO's together" has been on hiatus. Thanks to several issues with EQ2 that caused us to lose interest, we just never logged back in. This to me felt like a bad sign.
We never stopped playing Age of Conan with the concerns there. Why? Because we at least could continue to play and have fun.
When EQ2 had multiple days of "unannounced" downtimes during the holiday period (where we really like to play a lot), this caused quite a stir.
We lost our son to the Xbox, and I started playing single player games. My wife lost interest due to the multiple issues she had (loss of claimable items, no rewards for a special quest and of course the outage that blocked her one time, after my son and myself got in...), and as she stated, the game "disappointed" her. She just was not happy about logging in again.
I feel that way when people or things let me down as well.
So, we wait. For what, we are not sure.
Age of Conan is of course our game of choice. But, Funcom is TRULY quite slow when it comes to development, and STILL no patch, no fixes...nothing for several months. This just keeps the game on our "wish it was better list".
We have time cards ready to go, and will most likely start again after patch 1.06. But, when that will hit, we do not know.
The news today though is the first step for "merges" are taking place. This also comes with a doozy of a side note: Anyone who has not played for the last 7 months and has a character level 21 or under...will be due for deletion.
This also makes me wonder just how bad things will be after merge? Loss of items, characters...CITIES?
A nailbiter there.
Well, that is enough rambling for now. As a final little goodbye, I wish to let everyone know I went back to Dragon Age and I am giving it another shot. The chattiness was getting to me, and I started to lose interest. But, now with Divinity 2 done, and no other MMO ready to go, lets see how it feels now.
I played about two hours this morning and had fun...so that is a start eh?
Later folks.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Funcom - Silence is golden *Redux*
Oh my. Not two months ago I had a post about how discussion of Age of Conan by Devs and Game Director, Craig Morrison, has been slim to none.
Also, the fact no new information on the next patch has been presented, and when it would arrive on Testlive had really broken my resolve. I ended up leaving the game (even though it has been an all time favorite for me).
Luckily, that has changed, as the new patch is in the first iteration on TL (patch 1.06 which includes a guild renown system, new T3 content and more)
Of course this has been on the servers for several weeks now, as it is another of the "Funcom Super Patches", where they try to bring the kitchen sink in with their updates. Too many changes equals months of nothing new going into the game (as an example, for Christmas? ...totally ignored in Age of Conan...when they at least had a small event last year and even one for Halloween this year).
Anyways, all we know is this "super" patch then leads to an elongated period without any new patching or content.
Craig in an infinite wisdom of some sort, decided to update everyone on how things are progressing. This is all well and good. But, along with this, he drops some bad news in with the notice about the chance of PVP Towers being dropped due to time issues. As well, the timeline for the new update is...when it is done. No news is good news? NOT!
Basically the letter is a loss, as nothing shared equals anything of quality.
Now, this of course starts a storm on the forum and we know how this sits with current players.
The fun really begins when Craig decides that he just does not understand why people are so overzealous in their attitude about the letter, and blogs about it. Of course, the damage has already been done, and I think based on this blog post, Craig knows that something is not right.
I explain in the comments on his blog that it is really simple.
We as players do not need you to "sell" us the idea of a great patch, as we are already customers, and all the "political" speech does not help us understand why there has been no content updates or fixes to the game for months now.
We would actually just prefer info on when the patch is hitting TL, if a new iteration of the patch is ready and when it will go to TL, and then finally, tell us WHEN it will go live. If you do not know when it will go live, then just keep us in the dark or discuss something else.
The letter still feels like a "sales" job, and with Craig doing so many interviews and having to be a salesman, I mean, he must think the player will fall for the same thing.
But, I think we know that longevity is not a strong point for Age of Conan now, so they must keep a steady stream of new players rolling in to have any chance of succeeding. Then when they finally get around to patching, they need to hope players who left (ME!) will come back and see if the game is what we thought it was going to be.
But, stop selling the game, and the patch. Quit making Super patches, and send out smaller fixes...oh, and stop dropping promised features and slowing down the game...
Then maybe you wouldn't have to blog again about how people react to stupid news.
Also, the fact no new information on the next patch has been presented, and when it would arrive on Testlive had really broken my resolve. I ended up leaving the game (even though it has been an all time favorite for me).
Luckily, that has changed, as the new patch is in the first iteration on TL (patch 1.06 which includes a guild renown system, new T3 content and more)
Of course this has been on the servers for several weeks now, as it is another of the "Funcom Super Patches", where they try to bring the kitchen sink in with their updates. Too many changes equals months of nothing new going into the game (as an example, for Christmas? ...totally ignored in Age of Conan...when they at least had a small event last year and even one for Halloween this year).
Anyways, all we know is this "super" patch then leads to an elongated period without any new patching or content.
Craig in an infinite wisdom of some sort, decided to update everyone on how things are progressing. This is all well and good. But, along with this, he drops some bad news in with the notice about the chance of PVP Towers being dropped due to time issues. As well, the timeline for the new update is...when it is done. No news is good news? NOT!
Basically the letter is a loss, as nothing shared equals anything of quality.
Now, this of course starts a storm on the forum and we know how this sits with current players.
The fun really begins when Craig decides that he just does not understand why people are so overzealous in their attitude about the letter, and blogs about it. Of course, the damage has already been done, and I think based on this blog post, Craig knows that something is not right.
I explain in the comments on his blog that it is really simple.
We as players do not need you to "sell" us the idea of a great patch, as we are already customers, and all the "political" speech does not help us understand why there has been no content updates or fixes to the game for months now.
We would actually just prefer info on when the patch is hitting TL, if a new iteration of the patch is ready and when it will go to TL, and then finally, tell us WHEN it will go live. If you do not know when it will go live, then just keep us in the dark or discuss something else.
The letter still feels like a "sales" job, and with Craig doing so many interviews and having to be a salesman, I mean, he must think the player will fall for the same thing.
But, I think we know that longevity is not a strong point for Age of Conan now, so they must keep a steady stream of new players rolling in to have any chance of succeeding. Then when they finally get around to patching, they need to hope players who left (ME!) will come back and see if the game is what we thought it was going to be.
But, stop selling the game, and the patch. Quit making Super patches, and send out smaller fixes...oh, and stop dropping promised features and slowing down the game...
Then maybe you wouldn't have to blog again about how people react to stupid news.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tis the season...
That I hope everyone is having a holly, jolly.
Recuperating from a great Christmas with family. Catching up on movies (how far behind am I? I watched Wolverine...yea, not much of a movie watcher. Tonight is the latest Harry Potter...lol). Also, had my own Christmas miracle and found out my Mom has been released from the hospital and is on her way back home to Michigan (as she was stranded in Rhode Island with her issue). Now, just praying for a safe flight, seeing as Al Qaeda tried to down a flight to Michigan...ARGH.
Played my butt off in Divinity 2, which I SO, SO cannot wait for. This is truly the type of action RPG I have been wanting. Witcher, Oblivion, Diablo and Guild Wars all rolled into a Fable 2 like package. LOVE it.
And have yet to log back into EQ2.
Yea, EQ2 has officially kinda disappointed us. Downtimes, issues with claim items, learning curves, gathering all have added up to a game we want to like, but will probably let expire after our 60 days are up.
Age of Conan is actually already calling us back. We sure do hope they get patch 1.06 in before the end of January.
Otherwise, time to sit back and have a relaxing weekend, with some shopping, some dining and family time...as that is what it is all about.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
Recuperating from a great Christmas with family. Catching up on movies (how far behind am I? I watched Wolverine...yea, not much of a movie watcher. Tonight is the latest Harry Potter...lol). Also, had my own Christmas miracle and found out my Mom has been released from the hospital and is on her way back home to Michigan (as she was stranded in Rhode Island with her issue). Now, just praying for a safe flight, seeing as Al Qaeda tried to down a flight to Michigan...ARGH.
Played my butt off in Divinity 2, which I SO, SO cannot wait for. This is truly the type of action RPG I have been wanting. Witcher, Oblivion, Diablo and Guild Wars all rolled into a Fable 2 like package. LOVE it.
And have yet to log back into EQ2.
Yea, EQ2 has officially kinda disappointed us. Downtimes, issues with claim items, learning curves, gathering all have added up to a game we want to like, but will probably let expire after our 60 days are up.
Age of Conan is actually already calling us back. We sure do hope they get patch 1.06 in before the end of January.
Otherwise, time to sit back and have a relaxing weekend, with some shopping, some dining and family time...as that is what it is all about.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
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