Monthly Development Update -- February 26th 2013

[Variable]

Interesting times ahead.

Although I do think playing the game yourself without prior experience will give you more insight on what needs changnig at lower levels so I hope you go far with that, and just out of curiosity, which profession did you choose?

Server merge about to go ahead, look forward to seeing you all on the other side!

Var

[ThatsNotMyName]

Am I on the first page?

[Misat0]

Thank you and farewell Dave, hope to see you working on other game projects anywhere soon!?

Originally Posted by Ilaliya *snip* And just a reminder, because it's in 18.7 that it's technically impossible for us to let you guys play it until 18.7 hits testlive, or you manage to get inside the Montreal internal network *snip*

Did you just challenge one of the most resourceful communities in MMO space?

--

And welcome (again) Joel! This indeed is not TSW but at least I like what you did there.

Originally Posted by Nusquam *snip* I'll start playing through the game and trying to experience as much as possible ... *snip*

That is a very great idea to do, as this might be the second most important thing to do after knowing the tools. In the end AO and it's community are a bit special, but you'll figure what that really means Soon™ enough.

[Lazy]

Originally Posted by Ilaliya whenever I read message boards and see the word "confirmed" it will bring a smile to my face.

confirmed!

[Ahndracorvid]

Thanks for the update.

Originally Posted by Ilaliya However, also due to the restructuring process sometime in the near future I will no longer be working for Funcom.

Aww. Well, so long and thanks for all the fish anyways. And best of luck for future endeavors, wherever life takes you.

Originally Posted by Nusquam It's a pretty big honor to be able to be work on three of the most innovative MMORPGs that exist but there is one pretty big catch - Anarchy Online scares the crap out of me.

Hello Joel. Yeah AO can seem rather overwhelming. That's both a good and a bad thing in many ways.

Originally Posted by Nusquam Despite my lack of hands-on experience with Anarchy Online, I do believe I will be able to bring something new to the game. Having worked extensively on both Age of Conan and The Secret World, I like to think I have a firm understanding of what does and doesn’t work, and for a game that’s been around for over ten years, I think having someone come in with fresh ideas and a new perspective can do the game good in the long run.

I agree that fresh ideas are good, but also remember that these forums and this community have already offered up many good ideas on how to help the game realize its full potential. This place is probably as overwhelming as the game itself from where you might be standing right now, but if you filter through all the flame wars and troll posts there are some genuinely very good ideas here that we'd love you to see. A good place to start would be here: http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...d.php?t=602189

The other thing is that you're right, AO isn't AoC or TSW. All 3 of FC's live titles are distinctive, and that's a good thing. I'm sure anyone who plays AO, AoC, TSW, or some combination of the three will agree that keeping that distinctiveness going forward is extremely important. You've already mentioned playing through AO to get some hands-on experience, and that along with the rest of the AO team will obviously help you get an idea of what it is that makes AO not only distinctive from its sister titles but also pretty unique in the MMO market as a whole. But don't be afraid to ask your players either.

Yes I know what forums can be like, I frequent far too many of them for it to be good for my blood pressure. But beneath the nerd rage and bitter arguments there's a bunch of people who care passionately about - and have an intimate understanding of - a game that they call home. Don't worry, we don't bite too much one you get to know us. And hey, personally? I enjoy what you've done with TSW. So I trust your judgement.

Originally Posted by Nusquam I'll start playing through the game and trying to experience as much as possible while providing commentary on the design side of Anarchy. Expect to see my weird blog entries showing up on the Anarchy community site soon!

I look forward to those blog entries.

[jarnoxe]

AO is a great game, that has been worked on by some great people. It certainly has the potential to attract and keep a new generation of players. But it will require the combination of new engine (the grass looked awesome), new starting player experience (with hopefully intros to workable implants, or maybe a set that levels like some of the armors since IMHO implant acquisition is among the biggest transitional issues) and decent marketing (including re-working the official website, as was mentioned above it really needs it), pretty much in that order. And a few ingame billboard ads for Clicksaver or Mishbuddy and Item Assistant might be a good idea, they make the game far more playable. I haven't been thrilled with all the proposed changes - I will really miss seeing player cities dotting the landscape, I think they make a great contrast - but overall congratulations to all the people who have worked so hard on making a fantastic game even better. It's certainly been worth my time and subscription fee so far.

Great to hear the server merge is actually happening. For our new Director, yeah, start playing now, if you can. A baseline to measure progress and put in context some of the comments you are seeing (not to mention maybe have some fun, after all it is a great game) wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Lazy]

i can't help but get the feeling we're getting jerked off again with promises of changes that won't come and that this is just another ploy to milk more euros from the last of the jaded vets that still cling to an irrational hope that things will get better.

[Pomidor]

Triple A rating means, that AO is not going to vanish, be cause its stable and profitable
Seeing engine at current state (grass looks great - but Tir... its just awesome with that SL!) hints it will be rather sooner then later. Just cant wait for all those new stuff!

[Tlatoani]

Let's remember that this game's next plans are actually about first fixing the past before venturing into the future.

The project of the balance of professions has priority for the players of today and before. Do you think this will ever go higher in priority from than what you're planning right now?

P.S.You might have to take another look at "I know more because I worked on TSW and AoC, so now it will be good". We have WAY more history and have been more experimented on than any of those 2 games - or most- . Your posture really should be that you will really "know how MMORPGs work" when you learn why this game STILL lives despite what we have been through.

[Cassiopeya]

thx for the update

[Wyldebeast]

Originally Posted by Ilaliya Hey guys, However, also due to the restructuring process sometime in the near future I will no longer be working for Funcom. As such this will be my last Monthly Development Update, but I will continue to work behind-the-scenes for a little while helping the transition over to Joel. He will be taking over the updates starting next month as part of that transition. Farewell, Ilaliya

Hey, I liked you. Don't leave us!

[Warhead]

Originally Posted by Ilaliya However, also due to the restructuring process sometime in the near future I will no longer be working for Funcom.

I'm really sorry to hear this! I think you've done a great job as a producer for AO and I always felt sorry that you didnt join the team many years ago - it would have benefited the game immensely.

Good luck with whatever you do next!

[Canibaal]

How many character slots will be open on merge?

[Mastablasta]

Good luck in the future Ilaliya! If you're ever in Denmark, give a call ^^

Welcome to Nusquam. Remember to make use of us Professionals. We're here for a reason

[Alphamon]

Originally Posted by Canibaal How many character slots will be open on merge?

No one knows, once the servers come up there will be a random value pulled from the radiation in the server room.

[Nuhmudiira]

Yay! Can't wait!

[Wakizaka]

Originally Posted by Alphamon No one knows, once the servers come up there will be a random value pulled from the radiation in the server room.

The number of free slots is determined by the number of hamsters that live through the migration process.

[Otansaanpas]

nice in-developement video, now go and add other missing features

[Valerija666]

Nice me and my 8 year old son is happy

And Welcome to AO Nusquam

[Misat0]

Originally Posted by Wakizaka The number of free slots is determined by the number of hamsters that live through the migration process.

Which heavily depends on how they are "migrated"?