Third Server Please Mythic/Wanadoo/Goa

[old.Wicoa]

Thanks for the patch that came down so fast and I look forward to the next one that you have scheduled for next month.

And I almost love this game <strokes his DAOC Game Case>

However, I feel a little disgruntled that we do not have a third server yet. I do not feel that I have either (a) Gotten my full monies worth unless I am able to play the complete set of realms (In English) (b) Getting the experience I should be getting.

Our European counterparts all seem to have a third server yet we all pay the same money everymonth for only two servers <wonders where they stash the cash>. I understand we may not be as populated as we might have been (looks at lack of promotion by all parties e.g retailers, distributors and developers) but still there is no excuse for not providing us with a full range of experience of which to choose from. If you only want to provide us with two servers thats fine but perhaps lowering the monthly charge to make it fair would be an option.

To me its like buying EQ getting home and finding that because we are English we can only play 2/3's of the Entire land. Does this mount to discrimination, European courts of justice here we come <joke>.

I may be wrong, if someone can tell me we are infact going to have the option of a third server to play the different realm we all yearn for then I will jump for JOY and be content.

And please don't give me all that about how we don't have enought time to play three realms. The option should be there so when I get in from work I can say ok where will I play today .

Take Care

Wic

 

[Brannor McThife]

<gets out pre-printed note>

"No third server till sufficient numbers."

And sadly, that's just it. Hence why I have become an outcast in Midgard on Prydwen, because I have two accounts so that I could play all three realms.

Without the numbers, which some say are decreasing, there will never be a third server. It's got nothing to do with being fair or whatever, just that.

-G

 

[old.Hendrick]

No Wic, they will not put up a third server so you can play every albion class available

 

[old.Bometal]

We can try to ask our german and french brothers for help

We ask if they want on a certain date and time to all join our servers so we have a peek and we will get our 3rd server...

They may even make a RP-server of it, i don't care (would be a nice bonus even )

Or is this juist a wild dream

 

[old.Wicoa]

If I spoke close to fleunt French or German I would be happy but I may as well dust off my old french books and get remembering cause its the only way it seems Im gonna get to play more than two server's. Even then its gonna be totally insane and drive me totally up the wall. I wish I could afford to pay for a second a/c just to get my third server.

Can we have confirmation whether our population is going up or down. Or can someone tell me where I can go find out. And they should put a number on it not just a "till sufficient numbers are playing", I hate vague answers and quotes. Especially when its my money every month that leaves my wallet.

I think too many are leaving for the states version. I may have to do the same in a month or two's time or whenever SWG comes out and Im left wandering about Prydwen Albion alone, probably bumping into Hendrick and Myste every now and then.

And I would like a third realm then a pvp, damn it I want my Skald. And start advertising cause when SWG comes out even without the reviews we are gonna loose at least half our population anyhow.

Cheers
Wic

<Is Disgruntled, needs cheering up>

 

[Addlcove]

I shall hope that <Order Of The Knights Templar> and other RP guilds shall be offered to be moved to any RP server we may get..

but then again I am a guy with an iq of 122 (find the thread yourself) so I do no have much to gain in life

 

[old.Toirdhealbhach]

Can't see any reasons for spreading the userbase even thinner, as it is Pryd / Exc only have about half their capacity in use at peak hours.

 

[Alrindel]

The third english server will probably be the PvP server. October...

 

[kr0n]

Id rather see them transferring Prydwen to Exca than giving us 3rd server when we cant even fill 2. On peaktimes Exca and Pryd have about 3k players total. And when Avalon has 3500 :/

 

[0ld.mili]

Originally posted by old.Wicoa
If you only want to provide us with two servers thats fine but perhaps lowering the monthly charge to make it fair would be an option.

You dont think £6 a month is cheap? if it was any lower id say GOA didnt know the first thing about making money.

 

[old.Biohazard]

Would you like to play on a server just because you can see another realm, but in the end only be on it with 300 people at one time? I wouldn't

 

[Addlcove]

maybe if we got kemor and Zargar to go to the PR department and kick their arses so some advertisment outside france/germany would happen, server population might rise

 

[Flimgoblin]

Originally posted by old.Wicoa
If I spoke close to fleunt French or German I would be happy but I may as well dust off my old french books and get remembering cause its the only way it seems Im gonna get to play more than two server's. Even then its gonna be totally insane and drive me totally up the wall. I wish I could afford to pay for a second a/c just to get my third server.

If you wanna play midgard, try going to Logres, and if you can get some guildies together all go.

If you can find some german speakers to go with you or a friendly local guild (the BIG berlin internet gamers guild said they were amenable to english-speakers and would be glad to have them in the guild) then it might not be too bad..

Same applies to going to a french server.

I've started a hunter there but don't play him often enough to be able to offer you any reliable level of help (and my german sucks )

but the people there are friendly and a few of them can probably speak fluent english (even if they choose not to most of the time)

no idea about any other servers... but that applies to Logres at any rate

Heck, if the Orden Hispanica can do it on Excalibur you can do it on Logres (just try and avoid bringing any 13 year old griefers/leechers with you like those that plagued OH back in the days)

 

[Keri]

Has anyone checked the population on Orcanie lately? It's practically deserted. When Excal and Pryd have 1,500 and 1,100, Orcanie has 3-400.

 

[old.Wicoa]

I'm not afraid of the people I think that would be fun, but the quests and different little niggly things you have to deal with which are important scare me.

 

[Blood]

Originally posted by Octanion
maybe if we got kemor and Zargar to go to the PR department and kick their arses so some advertisment outside france/germany would happen, server population might rise

yep, this game is quickly going the same way as Tribes 2, got great publicity when it came out, had some bugs, picked up a nice player base, but 0 PR afterwards, meant that when 10 players quit, they didnt even gain 1 new player.. same goes for Team Fortress Classic, and its going to be true for European English DAoC too, if we dont get some more players soon.

But i guess GOA knows this better than any of us... im guessing they are not selling a hell of alot new copies of the game...

looking for reasons? alot of public blaming GOA for being unable to deal with basic problems (which they have gotten substantial better at).. delay in patches.. massive connection problems.. all in all makes people recommend their friends to play on US servers.. and makes new players reading about GOA to choose another game.. also there are lots of new exicting games out there that gets free publicity because they are new... if GOA doesnt atleast try and compete with that, we are not ever going to have a increasing playerbase

*inserts 2 cents

 

[thefatfriar]

Weeeeelllllllll

Truth be told £6 a month is sod all I'd happily pay 10 or 15 or even more - espicially when u consider a night on the beer is the best part of fifty quid - the money spent for the amount of entertainment i derive from the game makes this an unbeatable hobby pricewise.

Soooooooo herein lies the dichotomy:

Either we pay more money for our service so that the makers can hire more translators, buy more bandwidth and have a reasonable advertising strategy etc.

Or we get bloody good value for six quid a month and if the patches etc take time and player levels shrink we shrug our shoulders and smile as we are getting a bargain!

I think maybe a quick whip round is in order lol

Seriously though, I'd be happy to pay more than I do if I thought the money was going in the right direction

 

[Flimgoblin]

Originally posted by old.Blood|Prydwen


yep, this game is quickly going the same way as Tribes 2, got great publicity when it came out, had some bugs, picked up a nice player base, but 0 PR afterwards, meant that when 10 players quit, they didnt even gain 1 new player.. same goes for Team Fortress Classic, and its going to be true for European English DAoC too, if we dont get some more players soon.

You been to the tribes 2 public servers recently?

Tribes 2 hit budget, is selling in supermarkets for 7 quid...

it's utterly utterly mobbed with newbies

 

[old.Revz]

Blood was right with this bit :

...makes people recommend their friends to play on US servers (sic)

Unless the package from GOA improves enough for us to be able to honestly recommend it as being better than the US version then most of us will feel we are "stuck" playing here rather than doing so by choice. Every person that leaves is one that isn't replaced and at some critical server population level it will become an avalanche of goodbyes as everyone escapes what they perceive to be a "dying" server.

As Layl has said, they could combine Prydwen and Excalibur and still only just fill the server.

 

[old.Wicoa]

This is all a great shame, I used to flame goa and co quite readily but I have grown to like this game alot. I like playing on English Servers in Europe but if we are not getting new player numbers then to at least replenish those that are leaving then we are inevitably doomed. Especially when SWG comes out even the high pop german servers will see a sharp decrease in numbers. Personally I am waiting for a dragon something or another next year and then will see the reviews before I make a purchase.

Already at low levels in this game there are not many people, even then you hear "Hi mate your so and so's alt how's it going". This game should be briming with new players all wanting to go gang up on mobs that you did as a youngster but no. It is barren you may see the faint hope of a group somewhere but you realise its a humanoid group of monsters. If I didn't have a nice guild and a few good friends I would have left the game last month. Somehow I tell myself don't worry things will get better but the reality is SWG is gonna wipe the population servers on most games, especially those that have not advertised their game efficiently. How many times have I heard "Hi mate, yeah just playing this to waste some time before SWG hits the shelves" I can honestly say about 1 in 3 players I bump into and thats those who state it not those who are also thinking it.

Cheers
Wic

 

[Vell]

Hmmm, Wicoa, I believe we've already had this discussion

Nevertheless, I do, in some way, agree with you. It is sad that the populations are falling, and will certainly fall further once SWG comes out. However, unlike many, I do not blame this on GOA. The reason we are getting so few new players is that people constantly flame GOA for things that quite often are out of their control, or make minor problems into huge dramatic events. (Take, for example, our friends at PC Gamer or whatever mag it was, who published a rather condemning article, most of which was inaccurate, false and outdated)

Oh, and I think the game you're waiting for is Dragon Wars? The beta signup is active now, if you want to go and have a look. Can't remember the website address tho, but I'm sure you can find it somewhere.

 

[old.smurflord]

The main problem as far as I see is that GOA (or Wanadoo) have made almost no efforts to push this game in the UK. So far I have only see DAoC on sale in one shop (one copy hidden away in HMV, Reading). Apart from the on-line stores, no-one else seems to stock it.
Most of my friends (who are also avid game players) have never even heard of it and if it wasn't for a chance encounter with a friend who had the US version, I would have never found out about it.
You cannot expect to get a large number of players unless you tell people the game is there and then get shops to actually stock it. It seems that all their marketing muscle has been focused on europe and the UK totally ignored. Hell, most of the people on Prydwen / Excalibur are scandinavian.

 

[Flimgoblin]

Was there much hubub in the games press when it was released in the US?

I imagine there was probably a lot more than when the english version finally was released...

(maybe they didnt take enough magazine managers to lunch and talk about the wonderful plans they have for the EU version)

Maybe when the expansion goes live the spin from that will make more people buy the EU version (even if the expansion won't be around immediately)

 

[Vell]

Smurflord, you have proven my point exactly.

Distribution, including advertising, is Wanadoo's field. GOA has nothing to do with it.

Yes, it does need sorting, but people need to shout at Wanadoo to get it done. Blaming GOA will acheive nothing.

 

[Alrindel]

A must-read article for anyone interested in questions like this is here: http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20020213/firor_pfv.htm - Matt Firor (DAoC's producer) writes a post-mortem about the development process of the game from conception to release.

To note: Mythic had a tiny budget and exactly enough money for 18 months of development with nothing left over. They had no marketing plan and no real advertising budget, their success was due to good relations with the internet rpg gaming community, a stable (ie. not-bug-riddled) product that gave them great word of mouth in that community, and serendipidous timing (other RPGs that should have come out at the same time or just before were delayed or cancelled). That's half good work on their part, and half being in the right place at the right time with the right game.

I have no idea what GOA's advertising budget and marketing plan are or were, all I can do is speculate based on what I saw. I heard of the game when i saw a press release on wanadoo's corporate site announcing that the game had just opened, and on a whim I decided to have a go. I never saw any mention of it in any of the french gaming press... but I don't read them so I wouldn't know. I never saw any mainstream advertising and I assume there was little or none.

There were no distribution problems in France: every game store around had it on their shelves. I decided to buy it, I went to the little computer game shop in the mall closest to my office, and I bought it that day. I gather in the UK they signed some sort of exclusive distribution deal that made the game hard to find for many people.

The question, I suppose, is this. Would a lot of expensive advertising have significantly increased the number of players (particularly in the UK market which is what we are discussing here). My opinion is that it would not have changed anything and would have been a big waste of money. I believe that the target audience for the game - computer gamers who play online a lot - already knew about the game from web sites, word of mouth, or were already playing the US version (or participating in the beta). Even if there were thousands of potential players out there who might quite like to have a go, if they don't already have a powerful PC and an internet connection, the price of entry to be able to play the game is STEEP.

So I assume GOA's plan was to try to replicate Mythic's success - create a strong euro community to get good word-of-mouth out and reach the target audience: gamers who are already geared up and playing. And we all saw what happened on the official forums: they quickly became so virulent and aggressive against GOA that anyone posting "I like this game" was drowned out by 10 replies that the US version was a thousand times better and f*** the french anyways. So much for word of mouth.

Anyways, I don't have any deep thoughts as to where it's all going. I do know that there are new players coming into the game, but we have no numbers so it's impossible to say whether the population is stable, growing or declining. Will DAoC still be around in Europe in a year? Who knows? Do we all want to be playing the same game 12 months from now? Probably not. Can DAoC survive the launch of SWG? I'm sure it can.

The only thing I am sure of is that in the here and now, if we want to get people to come and play with us, the answer is to tell your friends that you are having fun. Here, on this forum, and on others. Post screenshots of the cool stuff you found in the game and the epic battles you enjoyed over the weekend. I think that anyone who wants to play a fantasy MMORPG will have a great time in DAoC and I'll tell that to anyone who asks.

 

[Vell]

Well said.

That post contained everything I wanted to say, I just wasn't sure how to say it. In short, if DAoC Europe collapses, I believe we only have ourselves, the european player base, to blame.

 

[Alrindel]

I wouldn't go quite that far, although I don't think we've helped ourselves. But of course eventually DAoC Europe WILL wind down, that's the nature of the beast. New games, new things to do. I used to love Quake 2 CTF deeply madly truly - it was the game that showed me how much fun Internet multiplayer games could be, and I played mostly on Barrysworld as a matter of fact - but I haven't been out there much lately.

 

[old.Wicoa]

I love this game to bits, I really do, Dragon Empires is the only other one I am keeping a half eye on, and thats only if this game goes horribly wrong. I'm not gonna even move to SWG, I may give it a go to see what its like but my heart lies with DAOC.

My problem with the advertising is more to do with the exclusive deal signed between wanadoo and the retailer Electronics Boutique. They did nothing with the game, no posters no you can only buy this here, just shoved on a shelf and not many staff members knowing about it. I have worked in the industry and if you sign an exclusive deal you blow a bloody trumpet and at least have a launch night or have posters up about the place.

This would have changed our numbers for the better, only those who were really looking for it could buy it, it wasn't even displayed as an option for the mass computer gaming public.

Anyway were all here and now, lets make the best of what we have and we can build on it.

 

[Alrindel]

That's a real shame. In France the game had general distribution. When I was in the fnac on the Champs-Elysees on Friday to buy Neverwinter Nights there were still lots of nice shiny copies of DAoC prominently displayed on the shelves in the RPG section.

 

[old.smurflord]

I think without a more aggressive marketing campaign, the Shrouded Isles expansion will be little more than a damp squib on the slow decline of this game. I for one lament the diminishing numbers. I picked up NWN and WC3 and still prefer DAoC.