Sums up AoC

[Raven]

Anyway, perfect time for me. The bigger and better than the Xbox version of mass effect is out tomorrow I then lose my internet through moving so can't really play for a few weeks. If its still shit when I come back I will simpley uninstall it and wait for WAR.

 

[Zedenz]

The more I read these and other forums, the more I am thinking this is turning out to be Horizons Mk II.

Huge selling point "playable dragons that actually grow and fly!"....not fixed and implemented till a year later.

Ah well, still low level myself, will fool around with it a bit and see what happens.

 

[Manisch Depressiv]

Here is my constructive feedback:

If you're not convinced that AoC will succeed further, stop playing it now.

 

[Raven]

Don't get me wrong, trundling about killing mobs and doing quests is decent enough but its not exactly going to keep anyone hooked for hours on end is it? I like my distractions while levelling, go do some crafting, gather some materials, explore a zone etc. Usually after I ding I think what a long way it is until the next level and go do something else for an hour or so. In AoC's case that something else is log off and watch TV

 

[Downanael]

I hope you mean skills, not feats because I can't possibly believe this.

If you think Fire Lance is irrelevant you need your head checked

Bump! I still want Aada to answer this

 

[Ctuchik]

True but at least most have the basics in and working like crafting for example.

AOC to be blunt has a so so combat system that gets old quick and amazing graphics and the usual kill this go fetch my bone quests.

Sorry but i see dark times ahead for Funcom when WAR/Wrath of Litch king is released.

Nobody can deny the sheer amount of players that will flood back into WoW when that next expansion releases.

aye, i for one wont stay once WOtLK or Warhammer releases.

 

[Aada]

Bump! I still want Aada to answer this

What i meant was the passive feats which make up a lot of the feats in the HOX line ;/

Atm i find it fun to log in and make peoples life hell by killing them that's about it really.

The /tells make it funny.

 

[PewPewAS50.50]

And the diffirence with say, DAoC at launch and AoC at launch is?

Crafting sucked bigtime in daoc first few months. Quests was bugged until SI came. Skills was so bugged, anyone rembember unbreakable mezz?. Stealthers not beeing destealthed when oneshotting players wich they did nonestop due to oped damage scaling, and people in rogs/no stats armor. Stats beeing wrong on so many items up until SI, cloth armor with 34% abs bugs.

Seriously the list is so huge it is no point to go on, the point is made. If you do not like AoC don't play it. Wait for WARhammer then if you think that game will deliver ( ha haha ).

When your at it, you might wanna name one single game that has been finished at launch, perfectly balanced and bugfree.

- Obviously the devs should aim for a complete game at release but if it doesn't quite meet those goals it is not the be all end all.

And as a sider, anyone who goes around bitching about not beeing able to quest at 65-80 just needs the head examed. I havn't spent one single level so far not beeing able to cover atleast 50% of an EXP bar. And the rest you just get by making a grind group with AoE dmg and you will get 200k exp / hour.

Maybe this game is just too hard for you guys who feel it is so broken and impossible to level up on. :wub:

At 65-70 you can grind up @ Atzel near the Gong of d00m, it is way bugged and instant pops 15-20 mobs wich you can do with 3 poms, 1 conq, 1 tos and a guardian in less then 10 seconds/round. Amazing how hard it is for some people rly.

 

[partyanimal]

unlike you sneakers, some ppl pay for mmorpg to have fun, not to show they can achieve in something .

funcom aren't supposed to be some noobs who can't deliver a ready game after running anarchy and developing the game for 5 years.

i would respect their work if they had stability and delay problem since they couldn't test that before the servers were flooded by millions or players.

everyone can understand that doing kill tasks can make loads of xp much faster.
yesterday in a grp of 5 ,mostly tanks, started doing sentries quest and got 100k every 10-15 mins.
@67-68 lvl bar needs 1m xp...
i have done lots of task dungeons in daoc, and i was expecting something more fun and stimulating from aoc

lastly, amazing how easy can you narrow the game to fit your standards rly

i expect you will satisfied, when you pay for full, but you get a half full dish of food, a shirt that has some holes every here and there or a pair of shoes without soles

i really think funcom should charge by the % of the contain

 

[Downanael]

Crafting sucked bigtime in daoc first few months. .

Still does

 

[Aoami]

I pay for a service and Funcom arn't delivering so far, any other sector they'd be being fined.

 

[Deacan]

Gah by the time I can play Age of Conan, everyone will have buggered off!

 

[Aada]

Gah by the time I can play Age of Conan, everyone will have buggered off!

Nah might resemble what they advertised

 

[Ctuchik]

And the diffirence with say, DAoC at launch and AoC at launch is?

how about 7 or 8+ years of improvement in just about everything? could even be longer as i dont know when Mythic started developing DAoC.

when DAoC launced there were what, 2 or 3 other MMORPG's available?

they didnt really have much of any experience with these sort of games. and neither did the playerbase, the scene is a tad different now. and STILL we accept fucking alpha releses as "ready for launch".

i mean, if this would have been how Vista worked out Microsoft would have been so deep down in law suits they would go bankrupt. or any other high demand software.

AoC as it is now is NOT working, even if u can run around and kill shit there isnt THAT much more to do. sieges isnt working, the BG's isnt working (you get pitted as a lvl 20 something against high lvl 30's and vice verca, feats isnt working or just work as a placeholder, quests not available for LONG level ranges, entire zones underdeveloped because ONE got to much attention.

FunCom even stated on the beta boards that levels 21 to 79 were NOT balanced or even half done and were not their top prioritys to get sorted just a few days before release. and their statement 2 days ago to add mid 30's and mid 50's content and zones pretty much confirms it.

 

[partyanimal]

check this
http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Hrothmund/062008/1816_AoC-is-out-and-a-disappointment-KilJaeden-is-down-Does-this-mean-success-for-WAR

 

[Manisch Depressiv]

I checked it, he is full of shit .

People will always blame the game instead of just playing what they like and not whining about how it failed their expectations and how they have a right after 5 years of development for fulfilment.

Most of the whiners haven't coded a single line of code in their lives, nor 3D modelled something and have little idea of how it is to develop an application that might get used by several 100k customers from day 1. Games passed movies in earnings, but when I go to a cinema or play a game I am trying to get the best experience the movie/game can deliver instead of moaning what it didn't deliver. I am aware of the weaknesses but I am not a spoiled brat demanding perfection. For that there are additional movies/games. I rather like to whine about the players, e.g. punks starting CoD4 matches 8 vs 4 .

People seem to look for THE MMOG, demanding of the game to keep them happy day in, day out, I suggest to get some life instead. The causals the idiot is talking about in his blog will surely not whine about the lack of end game content or class unbalance as they have zero insight in such things.

If you think that you are entitled to demand perfection only because you're paying a monthly fee, then you need your head checked; today the gaming market doesn't resolve around you, but around a mainstream taste, AoC decided to go for a niche of mature players though, they couldn't care less about WoW or Warhammer, sure, they are games too and represent the MMOG genre, but it in different segment. If you want something special and unique go and play a game from an indie developer.

I could name you 10 show stoppers for every major MMOG out there and you would ALL agree with me, the games are sill good though, still deserve to be out there and to be played.

If you don't like it, don't play it; sure voice why, I don't have anything against it, freedom of speech and so on but please stop predicting the future and making a fool out of you by typing incoherent bullshit.

EA (Mythic) and Vivendi (Blizzard) are quite big US American companies, I find it refreshing that a company from Norwegia made a successful MMOG lauch with over 700k copies sold at release, it's good for the competition.

I couldn't give a flying fuck about all the players who tried to get their next fix, rushed through all the content, got burned and are moaning now.

By the time the majority has one level 80 char each I will see how PvP is and decide then if I want to stay with AoC or not.

 

[Manisch Depressiv]

FunCom even stated on the beta boards that levels 21 to 79 were NOT balanced or even half done and were not their top prioritys to get sorted just a few days before release. and their statement 2 days ago to add mid 30's and mid 50's content and zones pretty much confirms it.

Blah blah, seriously, that's a lot of bullshit. My char is level 42 now, I haven't done one of the level 20-38 areas, so there can't be a problem with mid 30'ies quests.

Even if there would be a problem, you could always join a group of higher level players and get apprentice mode in, gives good exp to run in a dungeon and nice drops.

Before I flame you for the other crap, define balance please and while you're at it name a MMOG that is balanced at all character progression steps please.

 

[pez]

I'm just pissed that crafting and pvp are not working in any meaningful form. The game mechanics and world itself I enjoy but the lack of the above two things means I am going to take a break until they are in and enjoy the game all the more for it.

 

[ECA]

Tbh, I cancelled my pre-order a week or so before release, as I became convinced there was no magic patch to fix the state of the beta.

It seems like they spent the time between beta>launch fixing the technical problems, and ignored the content problems.

That said, I'm sure these will be fixed in 6 months time and then its just the rest of the game.

That said - most MMOs in the past have been crap at launch, I really cant think of any that dont fit this.

WOW at launch vs WOW now are basically two different games that look the same.

I think the most polished launch MMO I ever played was FFXI, but it had been out for a while in japan before it was released in the US and even longer before it hit europe.

The problem is that MMOs are a much bigger market these days and not the niche where it was expected that the game was a work in progress, the masses will not convert to an unfinished games and thus new MMOs post-wow need to be much more polished upon release even if content isnt quite there yet for endgame.

 

[taB]

Approve much of what Manisch has just written but coherance won't be around till tomorrow.

 

[Raven]

Tbh, I cancelled my pre-order a week or so before release, as I became convinced there was no magic patch to fix the state of the beta.

It seems like they spent the time between beta>launch fixing the technical problems, and ignored the content problems.

That said, I'm sure these will be fixed in 6 months time and then its just the rest of the game.

That said - most MMOs in the past have been crap at launch, I really cant think of any that dont fit this.

WOW at launch vs WOW now are basically two different games that look the same.

I think the most polished launch MMO I ever played was FFXI, but it had been out for a while in japan before it was released in the US and even longer before it hit europe.

The problem is that MMOs are a much bigger market these days and not the niche where it was expected that the game was a work in progress, the masses will not convert to an unfinished games and thus new MMOs post-wow need to be much more polished upon release even if content isnt quite there yet for endgame.

What he said, you don't go up against WoW, which for all its faults is a damn polished game with a half finished game. MMOs are no longer games that people play with the curtains closed they are expected to have the same quality control as any other media. You wouldn't release a movie with half the scenes missing but promise to release them later do you? Or release and a broken FPS and expect it to do well?

They should have increased the beta size both in time and membership and got the crafting, the pvp, the player cities working from day one or if they weren't working remove them completely until they are. Sure it looks nice but when there is very little to do you will get people leaving in their droves which is the worst start possible for an MMO. Though people who say there aren't enough quests aren't looking hard enough, at least the exping side of things works properly (Aside from the several broken quests)

I think I will probably leave my subs running and dip in now and again, if it does deliver on what it promises then i will play more often.

The devs do seem to be taking things on board though and i think given a little time will get things right, I just don't know if its to late, first impressions last.

 

[partyanimal]

i really can't describe it better that raven did

but regarding manisch,

If you don't like it, don't play it; sure voice why, I don't have anything against it, freedom of speech and so on but please stop predicting the future and making a fool out of you by typing incoherent bullshit.

EA (Mythic) and Vivendi (Blizzard) are quite big US American companies, I find it refreshing that a company from Norwegia made a successful MMOG lauch with over 700k copies sold at release, it's good for the competition.

I couldn't give a flying fuck about all the players who tried to get their next fix, rushed through all the content, got burned and are moaning now.

ah, sorry manisch, me and a few hundred thousand others didn't notice that lvl speed sign...

or do you imply , i grinded to much and avoided doing quests and following the plot?

cause i did 99% of all doable quests and unlike pre 40lvl when my quest list was always full, i am forced to grind in empty camps

unfortunately, funcom didn't lock max lvl at 50 till they added some content and fixed things that you take for granted in a mmorpg in 2008

my char is just lvl68 atm, over 15-20m xp far from lvl80 and having a template ( if there is such thing)

and by successful launch, indeed funcom did a fine job.
but they can't fool ppl everyday

btw where do i predict the future?
i simply state the really most ppl witness, but you talk of future patches

can you point out the incoherent bullshit?
you look like a fool when you run out of excuses and resort to insults

ps. there are like 1000s of movies every year.
you watch one of them alone or with friends for 90-240 mins.
you have an opinion if it was good, a waste of time or you didn't payed any attention at all or you fall asleep.
when you play a mmorpg is totally different i think

 

[dee777]

they didnt really have much of any experience with these sort of games. and neither did the playerbase, the scene is a tad different now. and STILL we accept fucking alpha releses as "ready for launch".

It really upsets me when people are talking about alpha and beta stages, that clearly havent got the slightest clue about software development. If you ever encounter an alpha version of whatever software there is, you ll be very ashamed that you publicly labeled the AoC package as the same quality. Or at least you should be...

Back on the matter, to me it looks like the critics of the game would not accept anything but a near perfect release. WoW is the standard you get weighted against it seems.

If that assumption is correct, than there will never be another MMORPG not rated a "fail". WoW was very good at european release already as they had a couple of months time to work with the american version. Now it is like 4 (?) years later and the company that has high QA standards anyway, kept perfecting the game and kept adding content all the time.

How on earth do you think any game will be able to live up to that? Much more so at release? Who would be willing to invest in an high-human-ressource requiring 8+ year time-to-market product? Just wont happen.

AoC is much better than pretty much all the MMORPGs I played at release and I am a release junky. I consider it fun growing togehter with the game and being part of it when it "ripes". My experience might be skewed, since I dont rush to endgame. That is nothing that appeals to me. I take my time and explore the world. I dont play 8 hours a day too. Maybe thats why the game is so brillant to me and so shitty to some others, I dont know and to be frank, I dont give a rats ass.

To answer the question that is very likely coming up now, my main character is 36 by now. I play a couple of alts up to twenty on different serves. I played thru the aquilonian and the cimmerian starterzones that both arent finished and havent started the stygian one at all. So I am pretty sure those zones will carry me well into my 40ies. Also I very much love the sanctum instance and have run thru it 12 times by now. Its just that much fun and the collectors addiction started to kick in. There are two medium armor sets that I d like to complete just for the sake of it and the last boss is supposed to drop a 2h blunt that I would like to get my paws onto too. So maybe I will be in my mid 40ies before I leave the starter zones behind me, who knows...

If you dont like the game, speak with your wallet and just quit. There is absolutely no reason (apart from bad karma) to try and spoil the game for other people by bashing on public forums. I understand that you sometimes have to vent away your anger, but that reason is good for one or maybe two flame/whine/whatever threads. Why do you guys insist on puking more? I dont get it...

Sorry for the long post, I got a tad carried away...

 

[old.Tohtori]

I've also noticed a correlation between people who:

- Rush things and play everything in one week. 8 characters at 80 almsot a norm.
- Whine about lack of content.
- Whine about "mechanics".
- Don't care about the story/atmosphere.

Same people, i'm betting, were the kids who ate a cake in a nanosecond at b-days and then stared at other kids eating and whine about "i want cake too!!"

 

[Case]

I played my main to 47 and an alt to 34 and have thoroughly enjoyed both, have dabbled in a little crafting and ganked a couple of people in the border areas and I'm really enjoying it.

The game is far from broken, yes it needs balance and more content and is a little light on options to level after 40 but it`s really not that bad at all. People reading this thread who haven't played the game will be getting the impression everyone is leaving and it's unplayable which is total rubbish. 1 Member from our guild has decided it`s not for him and quit, thats 1 out of 50 people not exactly droves.

Yes there`s a few bugs and some are quiet significant, but Funcom are fixing them bit by bit aswell as communicating to the playerbase which is a hell of a lot more than any other mmo company has ever done. They respond within a few days to stuff that Blizzard and Mythic ignored for years.

Bottom line the game is fun and there`s plenty to do, the classes are very different and also good fun to play, the combat system is much better than any mmo i ever played. If you want a game thats fun to play where you can group with mates exploring new content and thats not too hard on casual players then for me this is it.

 

[Manisch Depressiv]

can you point out the incoherent bullshit?
you look like a fool when you run out of excuses and resort to insults

The incoherent bullshit comes from people who say that each new game should live up to WoW which opened the mass market for causal gaming and who complain in the same text about lack of end game content and class balance where NO causal gamer will suffer from it 2 weeks after release.

I am not insulting people, I can just spot idiots on the internet miles away, but then again it's easy, they're all wearing big signs on their foreheads.

 

[Zedenz]

Well the mud slinging is coming from both sides, as evidenced by those last 2 posts in this thread.

WoW, is a vyer unique game frm an MMO perspective. It was in development and HELL of a lot longer than the average. I remember waiting for WoW before DAoC was even released.

So although the comparisons are inevitable they are always going to appear subpar. However just speaking personally, although I loved/love WoW, I considered DAoC the superior game, because it tailors more to my preferred gameplay. Primarily somewhat meaningful PvP (as opposed to FPS style rounds), and an interesting but not overily heavy PvE experience, I am after all one of the very few who really enjoyed TOA, or seem to be.

The fact is that MMO’s in this day and age need to tailor to a vast variety of players, something WoW does expertly. The casual players with families and 2.4 kids, can put in a few hours a week and still achieve considerable results, but it also has goals for the truly hardcore gamers. Having played AoC for a week or so now, I can see it possibly has potential but it doesn’t appear to be for me, but I do realise that I come from an extensive MMO background having started with MUDs and UO for years, so therefore I am full aware that I may simply just be jaded with the standard fantasy fare.

So whilst the flamers of the flamers do have a point, that some people expect too much too soon, you also have to appreciate that if you’re an MMO developer you can’t be ignorant of the fact that these sorts of power gamers exist, and in vast numbers, so you have to accomodate them as well.

Zed.

 

[old.Tohtori]

these sorts of power gamers exist, and in vast numbers, so you have to accomodate them as well.

Zed.

*puts on developer hat*

Had to, for this answer: No, you don't.

If you want every penny out of the game, THEN you have to accomodate everyone. EVE is a nice example, 30.000 players online at peek(i believe) and it's going on strong. Though they too buckle under the whineload.


I wish upon wish that one day some developer will say "Oi! Shut up and sit down! It's our game, our way, if you don't like it, f*ck off!".

 

[Zedenz]

*puts on developer hat*

Had to, for this answer: No, you don't.

If you want every penny out of the game, THEN you have to accomodate everyone. EVE is a nice example, 30.000 players online at peek(i believe) and it's going on strong. Though they too buckle under the whineload.


I wish upon wish that one day some developer will say "Oi! Shut up and sit down! It's our game, our way, if you don't like it, f*ck off!".

Yes but unfortunatelty that is commercial suicide mate. You have to remember that this is a business at the end of the day.

EVE has way more than 30k, and it is a very different onion. The nature of the game itself attracts a very different sort of player, it's a much much slower pace and requires the user to be much more involved. A such the average age of the EVE player is considerably higher than that of say WoW.

So they naturally repel alot of the trouble makers.

Zed.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yes but unfortunatelty that is commercial suicide mate. You have to remember that this is a business at the end of the day.

EVE has way more than 30k, and it is a very different onion. The nature of the game itself attracts a very different sort of player, it's a much much slower pace and requires the user to be much more involved. A such the average age of the EVE player is considerably higher than that of say WoW.

So they naturally repel alot of the trouble makers.

Zed.

Exactly my point, that you don't HAVE to cater to the needs. As EVE proves, there's still enough players out there who are willing to play something "completely different".

But, if you want the cash, you need to cater, that's basically where it boils to.