Monthly Development Update – 31st July, 2013

[Traderjill]

Unfortunately, I live in the real world. Forums for stating complaints with regards to cost like you are saying, do not exist, for any other product.

Interesting statement and on some levels you are correct. The difference, however, between AO and the other MMO I play, my cable company, ISP, cell phone provider, insurance company, etc etc is that if I call them with a concern they actually work to make me happy. If i threaten to cancel over product issues, especially cost vs satisfaction, they have customer retention departments that work to try to keep me. This really prevents me (and I guess most customers) from seeking out the company's facebook page or whatever social media with complaints because they're normally resolved quickly and to my satisfaction with a phone call.

AO/Funcom, not so much. They really couldn't care less if you threaten to cancel your account or even if you cancel it at all. So on the point of posting on the forums as a means of a solution, I agree that forum posts here are mainly a method of blowing off steam moreso than anything else.

It is really tough/unrealistic to compare AO with almost any other company most of us give money to. If most of us held Funcom to the same standards we hold our ISP or our cell phone provider then I doubt you'd have many long term players at all. We don't even hold them to the same standards as other MMO's that charge the same price, tbh.

[Armus]

Man, you're dense. The price difference has been brought up multiple times over the past several years. Nothing has changed. You have 2 options now: Keep paying and quit your whining, or show FC that you're serious and cancel your account.

Already done, but for a different reason.

As for your straw-man argument, I have canceled when I was no longer happy, then I came back when I wanted to play again. I sure didn't expect any actual changes from posting here. You've had 12 years to realize FC doesn't care about AO or it's players unless you talk with your wallet. It's time to nut up or shut up.

Naw it's as good a time to voice ones opinion as any. And you don't have to comment when ppl do, you know.

[Wyoming]

The issue doesn't lie with the Eurozone, as what Esssch said (Although he put it abysmally) - there is a lack of a choice and it sets to European automatically even if you paid for it for less originally.
I originally paid $90 or so - about £60. Fair enough, it's a good game.
It then automatically upped to £90 for no reason - I'd understand if the UK was -in the Eurozone- but it isn't. If I don't use a given currency, why should I have the worst option by default?

[byteflush]

I'm not in the Eurozone as well, but I still have to pay €95. As I said before, if players from the US pay $95, Eurozone €95, UK £95, then why can't I simply pay 95 RSD? Funcom is very inconsistent with this...

[Wyoming]

eurozone €109, US $95 or so. UK has to pay the €109 or not pay at all, apparently. Cause that's the way it seems - Pay the worst option or don't get anything at all.
Nothing more than a massive little cashgrab on Funcom's part - charge more for those who live in Europe.

[Leetlover]

A funny thing was that the 'new player experience' was brought to FC's attention after they did lots of new instances like DB and Albtraum. We felt that making new instances wouldn't help the game much...now they make a new start-instance

Don't get me wrong, the newbie-island should go (and bring back the morning-star!) cause it sucks, but I think 'the first playthrough' of the game is what needs to be adressed by the devs.

The game has gotten so bad that pvm is kite/ost/solo-dailies/inferno under the wings of a 220, and then kill a ton of hacker uri's/farm credz alone and buy lootrights from crat/sol/doc. For pvp, it still takes a lifetime for people to get a setup that it is fun 2 play wit.

I totally agree the game should have replay-value, but currently it fails.

After a ton of expansions it is nobody 2 play old content with, so new players miss out on stuff/repetoir.

[Mastura]

Interesting statement and on some levels you are correct. The difference, however, between AO and the other MMO I play, my cable company, ISP, cell phone provider, insurance company, etc etc is that if I call them with a concern they actually work to make me happy. If i threaten to cancel over product issues, especially cost vs satisfaction, they have customer retention departments that work to try to keep me. This really prevents me (and I guess most customers) from seeking out the company's facebook page or whatever social media with complaints because they're normally resolved quickly and to my satisfaction with a phone call.

AO/Funcom, not so much. They really couldn't care less if you threaten to cancel your account or even if you cancel it at all. So on the point of posting on the forums as a means of a solution, I agree that forum posts here are mainly a method of blowing off steam moreso than anything else.

It is really tough/unrealistic to compare AO with almost any other company most of us give money to. If most of us held Funcom to the same standards we hold our ISP or our cell phone provider then I doubt you'd have many long term players at all. We don't even hold them to the same standards as other MMO's that charge the same price, tbh.

Heya TJ

Yea totally agree. I did some investigation a while ago, and found that there is one company that dub themselves 'internet lawyers' they are in the USA and its rather gimmicky from what I remember.

When I looked into it a bit further, you cannot even hold the MMO gaming company accountable/liable even from (their) national telecommunications laws or Ombudsman, as you are a foreign customer, in most cases. The correct procedure it seems would be to raise the dispute with your embassy in that country, and go from there. They would not take you seriously, unless its a cybercrime threat but there are pretty much no facilities for poor commercia/business trading practices. It really is an untapped market but it would require some pretty radical global info/sec treaties for it to come into effect. I think it will happen in the future but its at least 10 or 20 years away, and hopefully, will never happen because it will bring with it a whole lotta more ridiculous SOPA-ish and censorware faeces with it. Free the Interwebs!

BUT yea, for now most internet-based companies can do as they please, and most brick-and-mortar companies don't have forum threads for users to discuss pricing changes

[Kakes]

I may have missed it, but what's up with the "Your Voice" posts? I was under the impression that was going to be monthly. D'oh, I know, FC - there is never a definite timeline and is always subject to delay.

[Lazy]

I may have missed it, but what's up with the "Your Voice" posts? I was under the impression that was going to be monthly. D'oh, I know, FC - there is never a definite timeline and is always subject to delay.

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...d.php?t=606480

{Edited by Valter: Inappropriate comment removed}

[Kakes]

http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...d.php?t=606480

{Edited by Valter: Inappropriate comment removed}

Thanks! When I see an employee post the goodbye, I generally just skim. So many ships passing in the night these days. Not sure if the ships in the night or the loose lips are bigger ship sinkers. Not any worse off than we were before the Your Voice posts I guess. Status quo.

Nothing to see here. Moving along.

[Krause]

I miss Means and his weekly updates. I don't know why anyone thought we would rather have a super formal monthly report instead of a much less formal weekly update that talked to us like part of a community instead of shareholders. No one cared that there wasn't always new stuff to update with every week.

[Autohead]

No one cared that there wasn't always new stuff to update with every week.

LOL you're so funny!

[Brampfine]

facts r they have to lower monthly AO subscribe to 10€
and the game flowers up back again in population but they r obstinate, stingy or blind,
whatever but it is the wrong way.

[Wyoming]

Stick it on Steam - Lower subscription cost - ??? - Profit.

Job done?

[Brampfine]

basics ?

Advertisement and Merchandise in Clips at Billboards
TSW AoC propaganda and Collection of Gamestuff
Ur created and dressed action toon "3D Prited"
Mousepads from each game and side´s
keychains, Pens.......stuff who brings $

[Louderer789]

Where's the new update I'm dying to find out how imminent the engine is this month

[Brampfine]

@Louderer789 read first post at end^^

end of month next update.

[Poko]

So, we have to wait til the end of sept to get an update? pssh fc loses another customer, oh wait. why does anyone care ;D

[Brampfine]

Funcom Q2 2013 Presentation, 30 August 2013

Work on the new engine and further updates to Anarchy Online continues

Page 15:
http://cdn.funcom.com/investor/2013/...esentation.pdf

[Gunfytr]

Work on the new engine and further updates to Anarchy Online continues

Where did u see that? AO wasnt even mentioned in the report.