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Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures: The Road to Most Improved - Background
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com Age of Conan Reporter John Humphrey writes this multi-part article detailing Age of Conan's 2009 progress toward being named MMORPG.com's Most Improved MMO. In today's opening, Humphrey provides the background for the changes to come in the year.
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Fighting demons is not an uncommon experience in Hyboria from the Barrachan Isles to shadow-haunted Stygia, and soon to the far-eastern realms of Khitai. The remains of Acheron are rising across the continent. The skeleton of ancient Atlantis is clawing forth from its tombs to aid the players against their corrupt foes.
Players are not, by far, the only ones that have to fight their demons. Funcom has been plagued with the demons of an early release, incomplete content, uncooperative technology, and the angry backlash of players who don't look past the affront of undelivered promises and a perceived lack of communication. The managers and developers of Age of Conan recognize this. The guard was quickly changed in 2008, and the focus was shifted to delivering what the players wanted if at all possible. Some items have been clearly stated as to not being deliverable despite the good intentions of developers. Though, the XBOX 360 version still has a small dedicated team, and it is still being developed though likely for a NextGen system; we learned this year that Age of Conan is, simply put, a beast that will not fit on an Xbox360 platform. The graphics demands are much too high to run on existing console systems. Despite successes over the last year in eliminating memory leak issues in the game client, eliminating graphical slowdowns, resolving difficulty getting endgame Battle Keep Sieges not to crash, and honing the engine to run on somewhat less technologically enhanced PC Platforms, it still requires quite a deal of meat in the hardware category to pull off a smooth experience.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
I remember when I first read about the game getting the award and looked into and thought "WoW they have made some improvements, and good ones at that." Seeing as I was getting bored with the games im currently playing I thought about taking up a months subscription to see the changes for myself firsthand and to give the game a fresh shot.
Then I got an e-mail telling me if I don't reactivate my account all my characters under level 20 will be deleted, which in my case is all of them seeing as I didn't bother with the game after the first month of release. I really would have liked to have given it another try when current subscriptions run out, but since my characters will be deleted at that point, I guess ill not bother.
I personally thought most games were past the stage of purging characters and sending emails about it in the hopes people will panic and renew to keep their name etc. I guess funcom need to have some kind of spanner in the works to feel uncomfortable, or maybe this will just turn out to be some idle threat.
www.noobwarfare.com - Marching to war against the morons of the world.
AoC as the most improved of 2009 most be the biggest myth in the industry. But its not surpring considering that marketing is what Funcom does best. This article reinforces this as most of it describes what happened 2008 since so little have been added last year.
Compare to the changes, improvements and the new content of WoW, LotrO and DDO during the year to how little Funcom have done with AoC and it becomes laughable.
I guess WoW and LotrO were already great games and they didnt want DDO to win 2 awards here so they gave it to Funcom and their great marketing campain...
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
Darkfall has added more content in like what - half the time, if that?
In fact any game I can think of besides WAR seems to have added more content.
I have a lvl 80 AoC Ranger, and a 65 Conq - came back 2 seperate times this year to find absolutly no content, why the game won this award baffles me.
I play all ghame
This will no doubt be the case for many players.
In fact I have 3 lvl 10-20's that I enjoy playing more then my 80 ... sad really
I play all ghame
I think it just comes down to a bad company. Funcom took a well respected IP and tried to bring it to life. They failed plain and simple. The best graphics in the world cant help for the fact that they missed the mark with AoC. They had shady billing practices when the game released. Some mechanics they tried to implement just didnt work out. Features that were on the game box itself werent even in the game on release.
AoC is what people refer to when they talk about "releasing before it was ready".
Pile on top of that the fact that they make poor decisions patch wise you have a bad game.
They cant all be good. Thats all there is to it.
So in order to justify your pick you need to write an article to defend it. That is just sad. I am really starting to loose faith in the staff at MMORPG.com. I thought there were people here that know games. AoC is not the most improved game of 2009. Not in my eyes or a lot of others. Some of us consider that a money grab decision. I still stand by my choice of World of Warcraft being the most improved game of 2009 considering all the wonderful new content and additions and tweaks that have been made to the game. AoC's improvements as you call them are not even in the same league as Blizzards were to WoW. At least Blizzards worked as intended. Funcom still hasn't fixed sieges in AoC. ::sigh::
So, did you not actually read the part where we said this one was background for a longer series of articles detailing 2009?
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Hmm, well, the guy writing the articles, didn't actually make the decision, or have any influence over the decision. Out AoC reporter was asked to write about Age of Conan in 2009 before the award decisions were made, but after reading his full series, it does a nice job of detailing the changes that came in over the last year and helps to underline our decision. How is that a bad thing?
It's fine for you to disagree with our award choice. That's completely your business and your right. I think though that accusing us of making a "money grab decision" is foolish and uninformed, given that the folks who actually make the money from the advertising also had nothing to do with our editorial decision.
Just because you don't agree with a decision, doesn't mean there was a sinister reason behind it. It just means you don't agree. Come on Teala, you're not usually one for the tin foil hat stuff. Why bring it out here?
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
The Swartzennegger films ruined Conan for a generation with their non-R.E.Howard nonsense.At the time there was a film called Beastmaster that had a much better 'Conan' in it. For the R.E.Howard centennial a few years back Funcom brought back an accurate version of Conan and his times and it's good to hear that the film people realize this.I have to play AoC with all the graphics set to their lowest levels but I still have alot more fun in there than in many games that have come out since. I think the recent descisions will get rid of alot of dead wheat and chaff and thats a great thing.it really is an almost totally new game since launch.
So, did you not actually read the part where we said this one was background for a longer series of articles detailing 2009?
No I missed that part, doesnt change much though. But I am amazed how someone can write multiple articles about so little.
I know what changes and content AoC got 2009 and it aint much compared to alot of other MMOs.
AoC have one of the smallest worlds but how many big new zones did it get in 2009 again?
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
Lets beat this dead horse some more shall we?
You have to keep mention the game and i get that but at least come up with something less annoying or better titles so people actually do end up reading it.
I can grantee you; that people will read the title and think to them selves, Oh god another BS article to advertise a bad game. That is not what you want really; when you are trying to get some publicity. Not to mention not many people will get past the title and wont read the article at all.
Really?
Personally I don't see it as a way to make people panic, considering level 1-20 content is actually free now and it really REALLY doesn't take long to get past this initial starting zone... Is your level 1x character that important?
It's a fair move on their part, there are probably thousands of low level toons made and left un-tended for... forever, and it is a logical step to clear up their data space for a smoother server merge, but it shouldn't be done without a warning to players as well.
Perhaps I'm being too nice, perhaps it is a marketing scheme of 'failcom' in order to garner more subscribers... but honestly I don't see how it could have been.
Hmm, well, the guy writing the articles, didn't actually make the decision, or have any influence over the decision. Out AoC reporter was asked to write about Age of Conan in 2009 before the award decisions were made, but after reading his full series, it does a nice job of detailing the changes that came in over the last year and helps to underline our decision. How is that a bad thing?
It's fine for you to disagree with our award choice. That's completely your business and your right. I think though that accusing us of making a "money grab decision" is foolish and uninformed, given that the folks who actually make the money from the advertising also had nothing to do with our editorial decision.
Just because you don't agree with a decision, doesn't mean there was a sinister reason behind it. It just means you don't agree. Come on Teala, you're not usually one for the tin foil hat stuff. Why bring it out here?
I guess because lately it seems that you guys are loosing touch with the very people that play these games. I understand bills need paid, but when that ad for Dragon Age was plastered all over an MMORPG website it makes me wonder if you guys are not selling out. Look I know it cost to run this website and I am so grateful that you guys are here. You have one of the best known and widely read MMORPG websites on the Internet and people come to you looking for truthful and honest opinions about the games we enjoy to play. Lately though it seems that this is not the case and some of your choices and articles makes me think that the website is geared to favor the game producers/publishers and not the fans and that is why we see some weird choices for awards and articles flowered with praise over games that do not deserve it.
When you do this you hurt the very people that you are trying to cater to - us the readers. If a game has faults or is failing to meet players expectations then say so...if it is the truth and honest then you have nothing to worry about. Let the publishers deal with the negative backlash it might generate - maybe then they'll fix what is broken. Like Blizzards failure to fix a key quest "Test As Sea" that has been broken for almost 3 months. That quest is key to opening a chain of quest in Northrend. Have they fixed it? No. If I were to write an article about WoW and discussing the faults of the game I would make it very clear that Blizzard is seriously dropping the ball and needs to fix their game. I wouldn't polish over it and excuse it or coddle them.
That is what I see happening when you choose Funcom's AoC as the most improved game of 2009. It makes no sense. A lot of the stuff they added was broke or failed to work as intended and has since been reworked or is in the process of being reworked. Then there are things in game that have been broken since day one - sieges. They still do not work as intended. The very small amount of content, additions, changes and tweaks Funcom added to AoC compared to what was added to WoW, LoTR and DDO is not even in the same boat. So again I have to ask...how did AoC get chosen as the most improved MMORPG of 2009?
::sigh::
I actually play WoW and would disagree with you on its "improvements". The Dungeon finder debate rages all over the place (see community loss, OCC, OK, HoS, HoR, nerf threads). The ICC raid seems to feature either joke bosses or OMFG keyboard breakers. That is why choices are opinions.
I would disagree with you as well on AoC's improvements. AoC added multiple areas of content, new instances, and a complete restating of gear without an expansion. While the changes make not make the game for you, there are alot of folks who definitely enjoy AoC alot more than when the game began.
I actually play WoW and would disagree with you on its "improvements". The Dungeon finder debate rages all over the place (see community loss, OCC, OK, HoS, HoR, nerf threads). The ICC raid seems to feature either joke bosses or OMFG keyboard breakers. That is why choices are opinions.
I would disagree with you as well on AoC's improvements. AoC added multiple areas of content, new instances, and a complete restating of gear without an expansion. While the changes make not make the game for you, there are alot of folks who definitely enjoy AoC alot more than when the game began.
So they have 800k people playing? Also, the dungeon finder? Are you referring to the Raid finder? LOL! I have ran across maybe 2 people that dislike it. The rest love it. Also, when I compare all the additions WoW got compared to AoC and I can list them here if you like, there is no contest...none. Plus 95% of the new additons, tweaks and whatnot worked when launched with WoW...tht is not the case with AoC. I will stand by what I say with the known reality of what I can tangibly see and play. AoC is not deserving of the title most improved game of 2009. Not when other games are better qualitfied and deserving.
I actually play WoW and would disagree with you on its "improvements". The Dungeon finder debate rages all over the place (see community loss, OCC, OK, HoS, HoR, nerf threads). The ICC raid seems to feature either joke bosses or OMFG keyboard breakers. That is why choices are opinions.
I would disagree with you as well on AoC's improvements. AoC added multiple areas of content, new instances, and a complete restating of gear without an expansion. While the changes make not make the game for you, there are alot of folks who definitely enjoy AoC alot more than when the game began.
So they have 800k people playing? Also, the dungeon finder? Are you referring to the Raid finder? LOL! I have ran across maybe 2 people that dislike it. The rest love it. Also, when I compare all the additions WoW got compared to AoC and I can list them here if you like, there is no contest...none. Plus 95% of the new additons, tweaks and whatnot worked when launched with WoW...tht is not the case with AoC. I will stand by what I say with the known reality of what I can tangibly see and play. AoC is not deserving of the title most improved game of 2009. Not when other games are better qualitfied and deserving.
The dungeon helps those who had trouble getting runs before. Now, everyone jumps in to a dungeon to grab their two frost badges with a bunch of no names that they hope are competent. Not to mention, you have to do the same for any alts you have. Most of the time communication is limited to like two sentences.
I have been through the majority of Wrath's content (except no kill on Putricide yet). Most of the raids in Wrath feel second rate. There have been some great fights (Yogg-0 for example) but those were the odd ones. ToC was so simple a nine year old could lead it.
In general, this has felt like the welfare expansion. For example OCC is too hard for you in epics (never mind alot of us ran OCC in blues) so nerf Occulus and through in a mount to boot. Free epic gear for everybody. No skill required. The dumbing down of WoW is a big loss.
We could debate back and forth for a long time to no result. We simply have different opinions that are not likely to change. Just as your opinion is different from mine and the editors on what makes a game improved. I would place both AoC and DDO in front of WoW for improvement, your opinion would be different I know.
So essentially people are mad because the game THEY like wasnt chosen as most improved, am I getting this right because thats about what Im seeing....
How about those that stayed on with AoC BECAUSE of the improvements they have made? I hung on to a game I was pretty much sure was out the window at one point, in a guild of about 6 active people at primetime to a guild that now has over 40 on at primetime.
As for new zones, try researching before you say no new zones were added. They added in all of Ymirs pass, which is a huge zone and includes some of the memorable places from the movies (wheel of pain) as well as one of the best instances in the game.
AoC has its faults, Im not about to sit here and say its the best MMO out to right now or the least buggy, but it is an enjoyable game that has been at least attempting to bring itself back from the brink. When you count games like Tabula Rasa, MXO and several others that couldnt make it and then combine that with the choices Warhammer is making to try to save itself, you will notice that AoC isnt doing half bad.
My Guild Wars 2 Vids
Here and there, AoC has problems. What game does not have problems? Each time WoW does an update, there is a laundry list of fixes.
I too played AoC at launch and I too left the game a few months later. I returned in early 2009 and in my opinion Age of Conan has improved greatly. I do not know if it deserved the award it was given by the staff here at MMORPG, but I do know that I enjoy the game and I anticipate the expansion pack.
I usually throw down another $15 every other month to check out other games. This is not because I am looking for a replacement to AoC, it is because I love MMOs and I am curious how other games are doing. This past year I played LoTRo, WoW, CoH, SWG, Warhammer Online, and Vanguard. That is not including the 14 day free trials or open betas such as Champions Online or Everquest II. After playing each of these games I have come to the same conclusion. None of them give me the same satisfaction as Age of Conan.
The game is not going to die and I dare say that within another year or so, it will be one of the most played games.
Here at MMORPG, Age of Conan is one of the top ten most popular games. Don't believe me? On the front page, scroll down to Top Voted Games and then click on Most Popular Games. Click on 1 week, 1 month, 6 month, and 1 year.
"I don't give a sh*t what other people say. I play what I like and I'll pay to do it too!" - SerialMMOist
Really?
Personally I don't see it as a way to make people panic, considering level 1-20 content is actually free now and it really REALLY doesn't take long to get past this initial starting zone... Is your level 1x character that important?
It's a fair move on their part, there are probably thousands of low level toons made and left un-tended for... forever, and it is a logical step to clear up their data space for a smoother server merge, but it shouldn't be done without a warning to players as well.
Perhaps I'm being too nice, perhaps it is a marketing scheme of 'failcom' in order to garner more subscribers... but honestly I don't see how it could have been.
You may be right and I may be reading a bit much into it, sure I've been given fair warning, and I know its free 1-20 now, but back when I played that was not the case. Now for me personally its not a huge issue, the names I use in games tend to always be there as they are obscure and personal to myself. Others however may compete with people for names etc and may not be willing to risk losing their characters etc.
I guess a better question/comment to sum up my veiw would be, if I DID decide to resubscribe for whatever reason, and didn't find the game acceptable at this time, how long would it before I am told my characters are at risk of being wiped again?
Also, to stop complete deviation from the initial post I would like to state that, although I am complaining about this issue, I do agree that the game itself, from the information I have read does appear to deserve its most improved game award as the game itself does seem to be a hell of a lot better than it was when I first played. Ill take the opportunity to try 1-20 for free and see for myself now I know that option is there.
As long as the award itself is personal to the game, I see no issue, funcom as a company however don't seem to be making the same steps themsevles, which is a shame, because we all know on here how the company can make or break a game. Maybe next year the staff should give an award for the companies behind games, and if it say goes to SoE somehow, ill give out free tinfoil hats myself.
www.noobwarfare.com - Marching to war against the morons of the world.
Hmm, well, the guy writing the articles, didn't actually make the decision, or have any influence over the decision. Out AoC reporter was asked to write about Age of Conan in 2009 before the award decisions were made, but after reading his full series, it does a nice job of detailing the changes that came in over the last year and helps to underline our decision. How is that a bad thing?
It's fine for you to disagree with our award choice. That's completely your business and your right. I think though that accusing us of making a "money grab decision" is foolish and uninformed, given that the folks who actually make the money from the advertising also had nothing to do with our editorial decision.
Just because you don't agree with a decision, doesn't mean there was a sinister reason behind it. It just means you don't agree. Come on Teala, you're not usually one for the tin foil hat stuff. Why bring it out here?
I guess because lately it seems that you guys are loosing touch with the very people that play these games. I understand bills need paid, but when that ad for Dragon Age was plastered all over an MMORPG website it makes me wonder if you guys are not selling out. Look I know it cost to run this website and I am so grateful that you guys are here. You have one of the best known and widely read MMORPG websites on the Internet and people come to you looking for truthful and honest opinions about the games we enjoy to play. Lately though it seems that this is not the case and some of your choices and articles makes me think that the website is geared to favor the game producers/publishers and not the fans and that is why we see some weird choices for awards and articles flowered with praise over games that do not deserve it.
When you do this you hurt the very people that you are trying to cater to - us the readers. If a game has faults or is failing to meet players expectations then say so...if it is the truth and honest then you have nothing to worry about. Let the publishers deal with the negative backlash it might generate - maybe then they'll fix what is broken. Like Blizzards failure to fix a key quest "Test As Sea" that has been broken for almost 3 months. That quest is key to opening a chain of quest in Northrend. Have they fixed it? No. If I were to write an article about WoW and discussing the faults of the game I would make it very clear that Blizzard is seriously dropping the ball and needs to fix their game. I wouldn't polish over it and excuse it or coddle them.
That is what I see happening when you choose Funcom's AoC as the most improved game of 2009. It makes no sense. A lot of the stuff they added was broke or failed to work as intended and has since been reworked or is in the process of being reworked. Then there are things in game that have been broken since day one - sieges. They still do not work as intended. The very small amount of content, additions, changes and tweaks Funcom added to AoC compared to what was added to WoW, LoTR and DDO is not even in the same boat. So again I have to ask...how did AoC get chosen as the most improved MMORPG of 2009?
::sigh::
amen, I stand by that response.
I play all ghame
umm sorry to break it to you, but that list changes all the time because the games were added at different times. Also many people look at AoC stuff for one reason...boobs
dont believe me? look at 100% of any AoC promo stuff....T&A boy
I play all ghame
I think this award was made up to give aoc something. What other game got a follow-up article series? lmao
www.excisiongaming.com
Casual PvP & gaming fun for mature gamers
Ymirs pass was released in 2008 so it has nothing to do with most improved of 2009... And that is what we are discussing here. Its a very strange choice since very little happened to AoC last year compared to some other MMOs and it would be interesting to hear what MMORPG.com is basing the award on.
Its easy to go and read patch notes and what new content each MMO got during the year.
But I think 2010 looks pretty bright for AoC with 1.06 coming and later Rise of the godslayer, but 2009 was anything but impressive with only 2 big updates that didnt bring alot of content.
If WoW = The Beatles
and WAR = Led Zeppelin
Then LotrO = Pink Floyd
I 100% agree with Teala and I am glad the editor responded to the post. Teala has written a very mature and engaging response that is hard to disagree with. I am not a WoW fan I play Darkfall. Ofcourse in my opinion Darkfall has had the most improvements with 2 massive content expansions and bug patches.
I played AoC and check it frequently but nothing big really happened this year. I look at patch notes that date months back. Is it me or does this article seem like it is praising the game for not dieing yet?
Seems like an article Tabula Rasa would have gotten if it lived for a few more months.
Tealas second response I believe needs a editor response to as well. How are we to trust this site anymore when it was branded with Dragon age on every single landing page? Dragon age is not an MMO like at all.
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Hmm, well, the guy writing the articles, didn't actually make the decision, or have any influence over the decision. Out AoC reporter was asked to write about Age of Conan in 2009 before the award decisions were made, but after reading his full series, it does a nice job of detailing the changes that came in over the last year and helps to underline our decision. How is that a bad thing?
It's fine for you to disagree with our award choice. That's completely your business and your right. I think though that accusing us of making a "money grab decision" is foolish and uninformed, given that the folks who actually make the money from the advertising also had nothing to do with our editorial decision.
Just because you don't agree with a decision, doesn't mean there was a sinister reason behind it. It just means you don't agree. Come on Teala, you're not usually one for the tin foil hat stuff. Why bring it out here?
I guess because lately it seems that you guys are loosing touch with the very people that play these games. I understand bills need paid, but when that ad for Dragon Age was plastered all over an MMORPG website it makes me wonder if you guys are not selling out. Look I know it cost to run this website and I am so grateful that you guys are here. You have one of the best known and widely read MMORPG websites on the Internet and people come to you looking for truthful and honest opinions about the games we enjoy to play. Lately though it seems that this is not the case and some of your choices and articles makes me think that the website is geared to favor the game producers/publishers and not the fans and that is why we see some weird choices for awards and articles flowered with praise over games that do not deserve it.
When you do this you hurt the very people that you are trying to cater to - us the readers. If a game has faults or is failing to meet players expectations then say so...if it is the truth and honest then you have nothing to worry about. Let the publishers deal with the negative backlash it might generate - maybe then they'll fix what is broken. Like Blizzards failure to fix a key quest "Test As Sea" that has been broken for almost 3 months. That quest is key to opening a chain of quest in Northrend. Have they fixed it? No. If I were to write an article about WoW and discussing the faults of the game I would make it very clear that Blizzard is seriously dropping the ball and needs to fix their game. I wouldn't polish over it and excuse it or coddle them.
That is what I see happening when you choose Funcom's AoC as the most improved game of 2009. It makes no sense. A lot of the stuff they added was broke or failed to work as intended and has since been reworked or is in the process of being reworked. Then there are things in game that have been broken since day one - sieges. They still do not work as intended. The very small amount of content, additions, changes and tweaks Funcom added to AoC compared to what was added to WoW, LoTR and DDO is not even in the same boat. So again I have to ask...how did AoC get chosen as the most improved MMORPG of 2009?
::sigh::
I am a sports fan, basketball particularly, and within that I am a huge Boston Celtics fan. From what I am hearing for those complaining about this award, it seems to me that this is coming from people who devoutly hate AoC, and thats fine, no one is forcing you back into the game. However, when the hate as permeated into the heart as your hating is, then you truly fail to grasp any type of improvement due to the fact that you have an innate and powerful hate for the game itself. It wouldnt matter if they game was #1 on the market, and got best MMO of the year, your strong hate for AoC would bring you here to question that and give a couple cents of your hate on MMORPG.com as a venting tool.
Unfortunately I know how hate can blind... I hate the Los Angeles Laker franchise, and there is nothing that could ever be done for me to give the Lakers (or their fans for that matter) a positive note... I always hope the Lakers lose, and when they do, its almost as if my heart feels good for hating it and getting some satisfaction from watching them folley. Anyways this is what I see with you people...
I quit AoC back in early june, 2 - 3 weeks after launch as I believe that the game was a joke.. so I left. It wasnt until last month that a friend of mine said that we should try AoC (we were MMO searching) and the first instinct was to be repulsed by the idea of coming back.. after a couple days went by (and my friend was nagging me to play) I decided to give it another trial.... within the last 3 weeks I have got to 64 and have done all the quests, read most of them and followed the storyline, even switching to a different racial homeland to further my advancement.... and needless to say, I am having an absolutely blast on the RP-PVP server ....
To say that this game doesnt deserve the award is simply false... even if it is your own opinion. Out of all the choices (WoW, DDO, etc), AoC has made the most improvement as far as game and for me to enjoy an MMO these days and actually care to level a toon, says volumes about its content. PvP is PvP still, and AoC is a lawless enviornment, so you must defend yourself .... PvE is magnificent and boasts more entertaining dungeons/instances than both WoW and DDO, and the expansion that is to come out will be releasing an absolute ton of new content...
Nay, this world will continue to expand, and alot of us that quit the game at launch will come back. With that said, please do not accuse a reputable site as MMORPG.com for rigging the vote, as it shows your immaturity and your lack of understanding that just because you think something about a game, doesnt mean everyone else thinks the same... Shame on you.