Friday with Means - February 19th, 2010 - The trifecta!

[Humchum]

Why is the AO dev team responsible for the website? I would have imagined there to be a single person or small group responsible for all the Funcom web sites (Funcom/AO/AoC/TSW). Security breaches and such should be handled by that team and really not need for the individual game development groups to burn the midnight oil on a Friday night. Someone in Means' position should -not- have to be responsible for coordinating a website patch.

hahaha you actually really beleive that there is more than 5 people working on AO?And they also take care of web stuff ofc.And they do the cleaning in office too, and they also cook.

AO2 "carrot" was a clever move!

[Lazuraz]

should we expect balance test (dubbed RK5) with in the week?

edit: wait... balance test is ready? where is the new balance info then?

No,

RK -1 because test is rk0

[Tazalanche]

hahaha you actually really beleive that there is more than 5 people working on AO?

The last number Means gave us for people on the dev team was 11.

I do not recall an update for that number since it was stated in late 2008/early 2009.

[AGPEcko]

Just re-watching the Q&A with means and company.

"I could put a hundred people on that project for two years before it would be done. I don't want to wait that long, and I don't think you guys want to wait that long." -Means

Too late I think... aren't we way over the 2 year mark?

[Means]

hahaha you actually really beleive that there is more than 5 people working on AO?And they also take care of web stuff ofc.And they do the cleaning in office too, and they also cook.

AO2 "carrot" was a clever move!

There are currently eleven people working exclusively developing AO and of course there is also Customer Support, Administration etc. This is not a secret. We are not "responsible" for the operations side of the website...but as the person who was contacted concerning the vulnerability it was definitely my duty to make sure it was followed through and fixed by contacting and harassing the people required to do the actual "work" on this issue...at the end of the day everything AO related is my responsibilty in terms of "big picture" issues.

We are not currently working on AO2...this was only me expressing my frustration with having to work with some pretty old code issues created well before my (and my coder's) time on this project . This isn't to say there will never be an AO2...but not now at any rate when so much effort and resources are currently being used to "refresh" the current game visually and smooth out gameplay issues. I'd love to work on AO2...but for now AO is keeping us plenty busy

[Wrangeline]

If FC ever starts work on AO2, I think it might be a good idea to not actually name it "Anarchy online 2". AO has earned a lot of credit from its fans over the years but those that aren't fans of AO have probably just read about it online. Every time someone writes something about AO, they mention the rocky birth of the game. I still haven't seen any article where AO has been mentioned, without the rocky start being dragged back into the spotlight. Even now 9 years later they still mention it

If AO2 ever becomes a reality and it's based on the world of the original AO, then naming it AO2 will make a lot of sense. However I still feel it would be best to start that new sleight with a new name as well

I have no doubt though that us old timers of AO1 will refer to the new version as AO2 either way

Having that said, those that haven't played AO for many years now and then comes back to it after the balance patches, graphics update and all the other new things and changes that we've had over the past few years, AO1 will actually feel like AO2 to them. It will be quite different from what they remember, I'm sure.

[Omutb]

We are not currently working on AO2...this was only me expressing my frustration with having to work with some pretty old code issues created well before my (and my coder's) time on this project .

I think most coders feel this at some point.

There is usually one benefit though, you do learn how the code works, which makes it easier to replicate the functionality in new code.

[unback]

This isn't to say there will never be an AO2...but not now at any rate when so much effort and resources are currently being used to "refresh" the current game visually and smooth out gameplay issues. I'd love to work on AO2...but for now AO is keeping us plenty busy

so,.. are you planning next *big* expansion pack after balance/engine is done?
like ... spaceships and other planets? (and maybe 30 new lvls too )

[Dagget]

I'm going to guess that all the recent 'code archeology' brought on by trying to include so many zones in the Daily Missions is going to considerably extend the time needed to bring them to live. On the other hand, assuming all the code fixing isn't being too rushed, the Dev team should come out at the end with much more of that original code better documented than it ever was and well-understood by the current team; all of which should make future enhancements and additions easier to implement.

[Phixalicious]

Just re-watching the Q&A with means and company.

"I could put a hundred people on that project for two years before it would be done. I don't want to wait that long, and I don't think you guys want to wait that long." -Means

Too late I think... aren't we way over the 2 year mark?

Almost three.

They could have been just about finished building an AO2 from scratch in the time it's going to have taken them just to upgrade AOs' stinky engine and graphics. Of course, that would have meant FC actually investing money into putting those 100 devs into it, which would not have happened. They don't even put much more devs than AO on AoC anymore. Which is quite amusing, since AoCs' forums now are starting to look just like AOs' have for the past 6-7 years. Same customer service complaints, same slow development due to minimal dev resources, same scenario of people waking up and realizing it. History doth repeat itself when it comes to Funcom.

Edit: And this is not meant as a slag to Means or the current dev team. It's aimed at FC the corporation. I think Means and crew have done remarkable things with their limited resources. And Sil has done the best he can rebuilding AoC after Gaute just like he did here for AO. But it doesn't change how Funcom itself runs things.

[Mastablasta]

I'm going to guess that all the recent 'code archeology' brought on by trying to include so many zones in the Daily Missions is going to considerably extend the time needed to bring them to live. On the other hand, assuming all the code fixing isn't being too rushed, the Dev team should come out at the end with much more of that original code better documented than it ever was and well-understood by the current team; all of which should make future enhancements and additions easier to implement.

Let's hope that anyway, at least with stuff like the subway apparently being broken completely in the non-exported version and now fixed to actually work, we could be seeing changes in that area made easier, and the same thing with, as you mention, all the other playfields around the game.

[Klanbear]

I hope the changes in the subway also include those shall we say out of date Posters.

How many people actually remember the web site resource that was banned by FC which is very prominent in the main subway lobby - wasn't even a very good spray paint job either

[Mikenche]

This isn't to say there will never be an AO2...but not now at any rate when so much effort and resources are currently being used to "refresh" the current game visually and smooth out gameplay issues. I'd love to work on AO2...but for now AO is keeping us plenty busy

Developing a sequel for an MMO game is always a big risk. If not executed perfectly, the plan way backfire and divide the community between the two games. That being said, I acknowledge that running a nearly decade-old game is not a piece of cake either. People are constantly whining about everything you do.

It might be an interesting concept to have an MMORPG with a chapter-based storyline - every 3-12 months, a new chapter starts, and everyone is reset to some baseline equipment and level. Storyline-related items are retained. During a single chapter items and game mechanics stay relatively constant, with only bugs and major balance problems being fixed, but between chapters there may be drastic changes, such as new attributes and skills being introduced. This way the game would stay fresh and have an actual evolving storyline, while still giving a sense of achievement through the storyline items. Naturally this would require an entire battalion of GMs to design and run things.

[If6was9]

No, they stole it all from World of Warcraft, this is well known fact.

:P

I made two of those suggestions before WoW existed - and the third (nameable bags) goes back to something like 2003. Blizzard owes us all some Night Elf loving.

[majere]

:P

I made two of those suggestions before WoW existed - and the third (nameable bags) goes back to something like 2003. Blizzard owes us all some Night Elf loving.

Agreed! There's nothing innovative about WoW besides being the first MMO to actually give me PTSD... now thats innovation.

[Dagget]

I'm beginning to suspect that the engine will be ready to roll before the Daily Missions/Rebalancing/New Intro (all stated to come before the engine) are on live.

[lostlife]

i want to quit but this rebalance thing keeps pulling me back

[heartless888]

i want to quit but this rebalance thing keeps pulling me back

thats what they want us all to do :P

[zukio123]

WTB Team Alien Subway missions at TL7

[Mostadio]

WTB Team Alien Subway missions at TL7

[Vicinity] Zix: Hey man, got a cigarette for an old war vet?