Predict the outcome competition!!

[The Real Redi]

i mailed Mythic with this today:

Name: Redi McAnorlan (50th Mercenary)
Server: Prydwen/Albion

erro Mythic,

Seeing as asking GoA anything is like asking a particularly thick log the meaning of life, i thought i would turn my query to you guys, in the hope of a sensible, intelligent answer.

Months ago it was mentioned that an expansion for the RvR, or End Game as some people refer to it, was in the pipes, then it was overshadowed by SI's release. For some time now, the entire European DAoC community has been asking for more information on this, as many are starting to find the "l33t" ganking squads which dominate the frontiers a bit dull, and many are leaving the game in favor of a fresher challenge.

We all hoped and prayed that we would see some form of information regarding this after SI went live, but nothing came. Then we hear that Foundations and ToA are both now priority. With Foundations now out in the US and ToA only days away (yes, we know we'll have to wait months for that embarresment called GoA to get their thumbs from their arses and sort the european release out, but hey, we're used to it now) is there ANY news on this RvR expansion, or are you to continue releasing these new add-ons to tempt new blood, at the sacrifice of the dedicated few still here after 2 years of playing?

I don't know how the feelings run on the US side, as IGN's forums have become more of a whine-fest than Barrysworld now, and are barely worth reading, but even just a reassurance that this much begged for bolt-on is still in development would be nice.

Sadly, GoA are a thorough and total embaresment to both this license and to Mythic Entertainment - Rightnow is a shambles, with the only quick replies coming from the lamest questions, and more often than not are in pigeon english and don't actually answer the question.

I fear that with GoA you have a company far more interested in it's own personal gain and profit, rather than the interests of either it's customers, or you, the owners of this game. To add to that, and i would imagine this is more percieved than actual, there is a strong feeling of bias towards the German and French development of the game - Germans having 5 servers, French having 4 and us English speaking folk are left with 2 - this gives us no opportunity of having access to all three realms, unless we participate on the PvP server, which is dying on its feet attracting less than 500 people most of the time.

Please don't just send me a standard reply, telling me to direct my queries to Rightnow, as common sense should tell you how i feel about the service offered by "Shitenow" (as it has become affectionately termed in my house) - i just want a sensible, informative reply, and for someone to perhaps understand that the European community is far from happy with the service we are offered. I love the game, i love the community, i love the interface, but it's all spoilt by the ineptness of GoA

Yours

AC

So, a hug from me to the person who gets the closest to the reply, if i ever recieve one

 

[old.Tohtori]

Two weeks.

No reply.

Bummed Redi.

End.

 

[The Real Redi]

Originally posted by old.Tohtori
Two weeks.

No reply.

Bummed Redi.

End.

hoped this wouldn't be the case, but i get the feeling i best warm up that hug, Dr Seel...

 

[Nightchill]

Jeezuz, why don't you just leave and go to the US servers if you dislike GOA so much?

I don't think GOA do a particularly bad job and I know that (as French people go) they work damned hard.

 

[mincepie]

'Your account has been automatically renewed'

 

[Addlcove]

Originally posted by mincepie
'Your account has been automatically renewed'

nuff said!

 

[tripitaka]

I go with teh seel on this one - i'd be surprised if u saw a reply to that.

Either that or after 3 weeks you'll get the standard -

'Thank you for your E-mail. We have read and are taking into account the items you have brought up.

Best wishes & Happy Gaming,

Bob@Mythic.'

Which would be their way of saying - 'Nope, we're not gonna do owt with this email - file it under T for Trash.'

 

[Lam]

Well, I'm not even going to try to make a prediction on when you're getting an answer.

What I can do is tell you that the RvR expansion will be called Frontiers and that Mythic will be working on it after TOA is released.

As published by Mythic:

First, the development team has laid out a patch schedule for the next four months:

- August. A standard bug fix version that will add one new big feature into the game: the Player Merchant search interface. This will give players an interface with which to search through all available consignment merchants in a housing zone to find the objects they are looking for. Other items include a long list of bug fixes, and possibly class balancing and other tweaks.

- September. A patch focusing on RvR world enhancements, RvR bug fixes and balance tweaks (although it may have other fixes in it as well). This patch is NOT the RvR expansion (more on that below) - instead it is a patch that will address class balance, bugs, keep and frontier zone enhancements, and anything else that is RvR related.

- October. Trials of Atlantis will launch, and the patches for this time period will almost certainly focus on the new content and abilities that will be introduced with Camelot's second retail expansion.


The RvR Expansion

We hear the clamoring from the community for more information about the RvR expansion (working name is Dark Age of Camelot: Frontiers). However, we don't want to release any information about the expansion until we decide exactly what we are going to do. The scope of Frontiers is currently much larger than it was when we first announced it, and we need to be careful not to promise anything until the details are hammered out.

We have in fact started working on Frontiers, and the first round of RvR-specific updates in the September patch are a result of that focus. However, we want to do a lot more than just fix bugs and address balance issues in Frontiers - we want to learn from the almost two-years of RvR that players have enjoyed in Camelot and come up with many new features and twists to keep veteran RvR players interested. You can expect to see many changes to the RvR system as you know it, but not so many that it becomes unfamiliar to you.

Frontiers will have to be extensively beta tested, and we will release many details of the new system during the Beta process, which will start after the launch of Trials of Atlantis. Frontiers is going to have a long development and testing process, so our current schedule calls for it launching live in early 2004. I know this is going to feel like forever, but we don't want to rush this out the door.

 

[-Nxs-]

I wouldnt get your hopes up - frontier expansion will prolly allow for infinite range on a mins/skald/bard speed so you can all have speed buffs. A timed auto heal on damage with infinite range for healing..... just anything where they can get more monry and screw up the game even more..

Bitter... me.... nahh

 

[Whoodoo_RD]

a) Read VN boards - developers forums
b) Read Camelot Herald
c) Encorage ppl not to go to emain

Mythic will probably tell you one of the above if you do get a reply. Their other reply to most ppl from this side of the pond is "Refer to GOA".

 

[Vell]

Not only was your email rude, is is also very inaccurate. Before you send an email on behalf on the 'entire European DAOC Community' I suggest you actually ask the entire Europe DOAC community what they think.

I would be surprised if you got more than a 2 sentrence reply.

 

[Cap'n Sissyfoo]

I think that Sanya and her cronies would probably trash it. When writing to her it is always best to suck up and refrain from insulting either mythic or any mythic related products, which probably includes GOA.

Nice try though.

 

[tiareth]

a) They almost never reply to european customers.

b) They will hardly bother to reply to rude and opinionated european customers.

If you even get a typical auto-response you should be enthusiastic about it.

 

[Roo Stercogburn]

Any contact which has cursing or direct abuse in it gets ignored.

I understand the sentiment but generally I find that the Peter Cushing approach generally gets a better response. Any accusations must also be backed up with some kind of evidence rather than making general references.

I was getting hassle from HP recently over a server that was DOA and they wouldn't get an engineer out to us or acknowledge it was DOA - they kept asking for diagnostic logs and tests but the beast was freezing up on start before you could do anything. After a few weeks of dickering around they eventually got an email from me which ended with "The server is deceased. If it was a parrot you would be telling me it is pining for the fjords.". We had an engineer with a replacement system board onsite the next day.

You can be a smart arse in customer/service-provider relationships, but you've got to be very careful - at the end of the day letting rip might feel good but its self-defeating after that 60 seconds of satisfaction and the aim is to get what you are after. I ended my email with a bite to HP, but in the preamble was all the evidence pointing to why the server was dead. If you are going to make accusations about GOA you have to list the incidents with any material you can find to back it up. Otherwise it will just be taken as a rant.

This probably isn't what you want to hear but hey, no harm in hassling Mythic to raise the profile of any issues