If news got out about XYZ bugs that would color the perception of the new engine before it is even released. Features which might have to be scrapped later could get out, and then people would be upset that they aren't there. From the perspective of the average customer, it is better for the image of the company and the product that people just not know until it's final.Originally Posted by Humlee
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"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so." - Bertrand Russell
This... or some random profession gets a nerf just before release, which would then cause a brain hemorrhage of sorts for those people who had rolled and geared/leveled up some or all of these professions in anticipation of having a new FoM prof ready for when it went live.... or... or... well, the list could keep on forever.
That sounds like justification for NDA for a game not yet published.
Nothing you said applies for AO, as it's not game mechanics being published, it's new content and gfx update. (granted some minor changes are bound to come to mechanics, however this is in no way the focus of this product enhancement)
I'd actually say quite the contrary to everything you pointed out.
When a company fails to meet any deadline they set for 8 years, I think a change of systems are in dire need. Funcom has to be transparent (Plenty of inspiration from studios across the market)
The average customer isnt playing anymore, but theyre out there and they have knowledge of AO and it's past. Win those back by communicating, showing progress and let other players spread the word.
Instability:
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Could you name companies with less than 1 artist and developer that made something of this scale?
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The fact remains, after 6 years, what we have is a few short youtube vids* and a few pictures. All of which could have been easily been rendered in 3DS or whatever.
6 years is a long time to wait when all you're given is "evidence" that could so easily have been forged.
A few videos could easily dispel ALL of this speculation. So what exactly is keeping FC from posting a few ones here and there?
*The "newest" vid is what, 18 months old now?
ps. To those who are making up excuses as to how a new video could reveal new secret details. Well.. why did they release a vid 2 years ago then? Wouldn't that have been much worse?
Last edited by Armus; Dec 3rd, 2013 at 15:48:59.
Again, FC could very easily prove me and everyone else who aren't sure of the state of this engine project wrong.Maybe that you could still argue those were "forged" as well and now they have even wasted time on "forging" videos.
In fact they've had many years to do so.
Last edited by Armus; Dec 3rd, 2013 at 16:30:59.
I must have missed the memo stating the new engine was coming out in 2005.
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That's not what Humle said though.
It was first mentioned in 2005, not particularly a deadline at that but it shows how long it took. Its long even considering switching engine but i for one am glad they are nearing completion so that the muscle can go back to the game itself
I could agree with you in 1 thing. Companies needed less time to develop a successful game.
The catch here is that most of those games to my knowledge used several already existing engines. Be them free or not.
Don't know what your knowledge is about programming and especially in gfx engines but I study them in college and let me tell you I cannot imagine a harder work than that in the whole computer/software industry.
Now imagine 3-4 people working on this thing. Yes FC has/had many devs over the years. But how many of them are actually developing for AO and how many are being called to develop for AO without having any knowledge of this old toolset?
I couldn't care less about the engine. I grew up with the game as it is and loved it like that. Hell I'm not even sure if I will like it that much after the new engine (I still remember the NGE in SWG and that was the main reason I left the game). You can call me a fanboi or whatever and I don't really care. I am and that's why I still play this game compared to several others (TSW for example). Yes FC has done several mistakes over the years. Let us down several times as well. But still AO is probably the best MMO I ever played.
People keep whining. They always do and that's normal but what is expected as well (with the exclusion of trolls) is to be somewhat objective of what they speak about. You say they did nothing in the last 8-9 years? I have to say about AI/LE/LoX/icons/several instances etc etc. People even had the guts to call Gaute the worst GD in this game. Really? You call useless the exact people that brought you THIS game for you to cry about?
Everyone has to make choices and everyone makes mistakes. FC is not excluded from that. Could they bring the engine earlier? They probably could
Could they have better support? They sure could
Could they have pulled the plug several years ago as most of the other companies do after a couple of successful years? They could and noone would blame them. But they didn't.
Be at least a bit thankful for a company that brings you entertainment. They milk us, true but keep in mind we live in a capitalistic economy and FC is a company. They make choices depending on how to gain more money. That can not change. At least this company at least respects the players a bit more than most of the others.
You keep saying they're milking us and for sure they do. But take a look at the other companies in game industry. Does EA ring a bell? Stripping a game from content so they can sell it as DLC later.
A gaming company should NOT do everything the playerbase asks for. And the ones they do they fail miserably as was perfectly pointed out by someone in the last monthly letter.
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So long that life escapes.
Then I'd shut my eyes.
I'd be the angel of disgrace
I am truly excited about this.
YAY!!!! I feel 12 years younger...
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Yeah, news about bugs reported early in beta testing and not fixed before launch two years later would really tick people off.
Like so many times before...
(And I do know that I'm being very optimistic about the two years.)
Me? Trouble? No trouble..
As Mae West said: "Never resist temptation, you don't know if you'll get another chance."
I pay to play the game, and the promise of continued development. If they decide to stop that development I will be prompt to cancel my accounts.
Then again, maybe it has stopped ? Maybe the janitor is posting "Monthly Dev updates", restarts the server every now and then with some premade scripts, add in a few errors so it looks real, and then emergency downtime to fix after a little while! HOW WILL WE KNOW, There's a NDA on the beta so even that might not be real..
Last edited by Pennypacker; Dec 3rd, 2013 at 19:11:09.
It is better for the image of this particular company and product to have the development and testing of the beta as open as possible as there has been far too long, and anything that's trying to be opressed down by the NDA will only hurt them. AO is hemorrhaging players day by day and it's not looking to end. I doubt the incentive of a engine beta will get more than a dozen paid accounts back.
Can we atleast agree that a gaming company should atleast try to keep some sort of acceptable timeframe regarding the development they've announced they're doing ?
And sure, AO is a good game.. Mostly thanks to the original developers.
Then you are probably not the intended target for new engine. I assume they are developing the engine for a long term perspective and as such are trying to give the ones that actually will be playing when it's released.
Better off not having a NDA and just simply banning the forum accounts of anyone who complains about bugs/unfinished content in the Alpha build.
Problem solved and everyone is happy.
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It's not like the actual live version of the game doesnt have annoying bugs and unfinished content.
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