Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Massively pokes fun at paying $1000 to "interview" the SV dev who then dodges the questions

13»

Comments

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 16,947
    Originally posted by osmunda
    If you think the Massively article was "an excuse to start a discussion" does that mean you disagree with the sentiment that  "the mainstream gaming press is finally calling SV out on some of their questionable tactics. "

     That would be DIRECTLY related to the "The interview is fraught with a few other issues, such as the fact that Nystrom dodges some of the player's questions and smooths over others".

    And (that top quote by you) was typed by ME and is MY opinion and has zero to do with the claim of a supposed conspiracy from the Massively author because she used to play Mortal Online and has a grudge.  That entire line of thinking is laughable.

     

    Those interviews are themselves the questionable tactics because they either contain non-answers or sky high promises that are rarely (if ever) fulfuilled.   Just look at the last interview (which I believe also cost $1000).  The guy asked what Henrik thought was the favorite play style of Mortal Online and the response (which made up nearly 50% of the interview if I recall) talked about how great a game Ultima Online was.  See below:

    What is your favorite play style in Mortal Online? Do you personally play? Are you a great warrior, a cunning mage, or a dastardly sexy thief?

    I use to play both a murderer and a neutral in the old days of UO. But over the years I find it more and more sad for the victims I jump. Strange that is, something I used to enjoy being a thief in UO.
    First I stole from them, could be a mages black pearls or something like that, I was one of the few skilled thieves to know how to get under stacks of bags and clothes in UO. So when they stood still laughing at me for being safe with stacks on their precious pearls I just needed 5 seconds close to them and then bam I got their pearls and ran away from the mob.

    When they were separated and the mage was still on me, he couldn’t cast some important spells due to the lack of the pearls which forced him to cast some crappy spells on me. He thought I would be a weak thief with only pure thievery skills and nothing else. It usually ended up that I’ve killed him in self-defense and got all his stuff. Then I went to the bank and used a disguise kit to change my name and appearance, went back to the grave yard and found a new victim

    This time a warrior with an axe in his hand. Perfect for me, and even more rare for players to see that it would be my best target. So I first disarmed him from his axe, since I moved around him alot in a direction where he can’t see what he is holding he didn’t even notice his axe was disarmed into his inventory instead of his hands. I quickly then stole his axe. He started to hit at me with his bare hands since he now was lacking the axe. It usually took some seconds before they noticing that and then they'd panic. I was a lumber thief, which meant I was very deadly with axes. I put HIS axe in my hands and then I killed him in 2 quick strikes and again got all his loot.

    Now this sounds terrible, and I always felt a bit sad for them afterwards, but hey they could afford it. They were not new players and it sure gave us all some nice action. I always enjoyed fighting with my tank mage as well; pure pvp duel training events, and of course chaos/order and faction wars. Of course before that, I explored pretty much everything in this great game, and learned most profession to craft things. I built my keep and crafted us some nice furniture. I also had a dragon tamer which could be fun to pvp with, but used him mostly to pve for gold.

    The interesting thing in game like UO and MO is that you never know who you run into. I remember I was running a Swedish guild in UO back in the days when the game was still pretty new. I recruited a Swedish guy that had a very bad computer and internet connection compared to the rest of us. We all went to the skeleton mage rooms in, hmm... darn I'm starting to forget the names of the dungeons in UO.

    Well, the lich lord dungeon room, one level above had skeleton warriors and a room with skeletal mages. It was easy to kill them with a silver sword and you got nice cash in there.
    I felt poor for this new guy because whenever he managed to open the loot bag from the mobs it was always looted by someone else so he never got anything. When my inventory was filled since I was a pro looter, I gave the rest to this guy till he was overloaded as well. Then we headed home to fill the bank with gold, and so we continued for many days when we all needed gold.

    A year after this guy got a new computer and internet connection and started to pvp a lot. The time passed and we all got split up from the old team we once used to be and another year went by. One day in the grave yard I saw a familiar face; it was the Swedish guy with that poor connection, but today he was one of the best pvpers of all time in UO.

    He said he wanted to give me something back as a thank for the old runs we had, and he gave me a large brick house which was awesome at that time. We started to PvP a lot again and I wouldn't stand a chance against this guy. Even if we were 2 against him he still beat us. Magic duels in that time was something epic. It was so filled with player skills and when you thought you had a pro they just laughed with 10hp left with full control that it was all that was needed to interrupt my death spell which I thought, and then to turn it around to kill me.

    We wanted to recreate this system in MO, but some things made it pretty hard. Now first, we also lacked the skills in that area when we developed magic, and the technology and first person setting made things very different. However, Sebastian managed to recreate an exact copy of the old UO magic system locally which was just awesome. We could PvP just like in the old days of UO.
    We didn’t spend the time to try to put it into MO on the server side since other things were requiring the attention. Now, I bet UO vets would just love to be able to pvp the exact same way they could in UO because it was filled with player skill and reaction. The question is, does that still work in todays MMO and will the majority enjoy it? We did want to try one school dedicated for this play style, and the rest will go their own routes.

    Umm... that's great.  I liked UO as well... so I take it that he doesn't play Mortal Online?  Cause, that was kind of the question!

     

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • BiskopBiskop Member UncommonPosts: 709

    MO fans have always been a rabid bunch. Their response to any critical coverage is always the same: a conspiracy of hateful WoW players who troll on indie sandbox games, butthurt ex MO players who couldn't handle its awesome hardcoresness, and some paid employees of Aventurine who don't want competitors - all working together 24/7 to bring down this heroic attempt at making The Ultimate Sandbox Game Evah Made.

    I mean, the bad press and "hate" could certainly not have anything to do with SV being a clown company and MO a bad joke of a game, right?

    The Massively article sure comes off as an opinion piece, but so does all game journalism. It does not spread any lies and it doesn't bash MO as a game. It just describes the fact that one guy paid 1000 dollars and received an interview with Henrik, who then dodged some questions.

    Anyone who have followed MO knows that Henrik is a master at not answering straight-up questions in a meaningful way, but I guess that doesn't matter to the zealots. He's their Dear Leader and anyone implying that his Words are not Teh Law must be an ignorant b*tch who needs to be punished.

  • deathshrouddeathshroud Member Posts: 1,366
    Originally posted by Biskop

    MO fans have always been a rabid bunch. Their response to any critical coverage is always the same: a conspiracy of hateful WoW players who troll on indie sandbox games, butthurt ex MO players who couldn't handle its awesome hardcoresness, and some paid employees of Aventurine who don't want competitors - all working together 24/7 to bring down this heroic attempt at making The Ultimate Sandbox Game Evah Made.

    I mean, the bad press and "hate" could certainly not have anything to do with SV being a clown company and MO a bad joke of a game, right?

    The Massively article sure comes off as an opinion piece, but so does all game journalism. It does not spread any lies and it doesn't bash MO as a game. It just describes the fact that one guy paid 1000 dollars and received an interview with Henrik, who then dodged some questions.

    Anyone who have followed MO knows that Henrik is a master at not answering straight-up questions in a meaningful way, but I guess that doesn't matter to the zealots. He's their Dear Leader and anyone implying that his Words are not Teh Law must be an ignorant b*tch who needs to be punished.

    i think its just common sense to assume a CEO of an mmorpg who has had a bad reputation with not delivering on promises, isnt going to give anything away he isnt sure on. Honestly it was kind of out of character imo. Usually he just goes straight in making spectacular claims that are borderline fabrications/dreams. Least he kept his composure and only answered what he knew for sure which in the end makes it all go in circles and dodge questions/ misunderstand them.

    there are 2 types of mmo, imitators and innovaters.

  • Darth_OsorDarth_Osor Member Posts: 1,089

    Read the official MO forums responding to that article expecting many lulz.  Left satisfied. 

     

    I <3 internet lawyers and rage threads.

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 16,947

    The author has responded to the "rabid fanboys" (her words, not mine):

     

    breetoplay

     

    breetoplay moderator5pts

    @Avaera Yeah, this happens every once in a while -- rabid fanboys parachute in to start harassing us for negative coverage. It's happened several times from Mortal Online's playerbase. Usually it's EVE's, though. I've just read the thread you're talking about (honestly, the death threat thing looked like a joke to me, but some of the other comments were crass or just brainless), but it seems as though people just aren't reading the post. It doesn't say he paid outright for an interview. It says he got the interview only because he was the top donator, and he was the top donator by paying $1000, which is utterly true. He effectively paid money for perks including an interview. That's the novel part, and that's what inspired the question that made up our Daily Grind on Friday. The reference article had already discussed the full extent of the "donation gifts."

     

    breetoplay moderator5pts

     

    @Lahuzer The fact that some of the readers misunderstood is not proof of insinuation of anything. It's just proof that some of the readers misunderstood. Some of them also thought I'm a guy because they didn't bother to read.

     

    Other amusing responses follow.   Makes for fun reading.

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

  • picommanderpicommander Member UncommonPosts: 256
    One of the best jokes is the new "improved" server thread (up, down, up, down, you get the picture). Watching this game and its community from afar developes more and more into something like a permanent accident: I feel strangly fascinated and repelled at the same time. Just can't stop watching this infinite horror show. image
  • aRtFuLThinGaRtFuLThinG Member UncommonPosts: 1,387
    Originally posted by Biskop

    MO fans have always been a rabid bunch.

    I guess they just wanted to hold on to the fact that they don't want to admit they made the wrong decision and wasted several years of their life, lol :P

    That's why both the fanbois and the haters are rabid when it comes to MO :P

     

    Also, love the entertainment value of the thread, and I wanted to say one thing:

    Oprah doesn't pay for interviews... lol :P

  • deathshrouddeathshroud Member Posts: 1,366
    Originally posted by Slapshot1188

    The author has responded to the "rabid fanboys" (her words, not mine):

     

    breetoplay

     

    breetoplay moderator5pts

    @Avaera Yeah, this happens every once in a while -- rabid fanboys parachute in to start harassing us for negative coverage. It's happened several times from Mortal Online's playerbase. Usually it's EVE's, though. I've just read the thread you're talking about (honestly, the death threat thing looked like a joke to me, but some of the other comments were crass or just brainless), but it seems as though people just aren't reading the post. It doesn't say he paid outright for an interview. It says he got the interview only because he was the top donator, and he was the top donator by paying $1000, which is utterly true. He effectively paid money for perks including an interview. That's the novel part, and that's what inspired the question that made up our Daily Grind on Friday. The reference article had already discussed the full extent of the "donation gifts."

     

    breetoplay moderator5pts

     

    @Lahuzer The fact that some of the readers misunderstood is not proof of insinuation of anything. It's just proof that some of the readers misunderstood. Some of them also thought I'm a guy because they didn't bother to read.

     

    Other amusing responses follow.   Makes for fun reading.

    he got the interview because he was the top donator and not because he paid 1000, if he had been the top donator with 5.00 he still would have gotten it. He gets another interview for the 1000 at a later date.

    So her whole article wasnt exactly accurate. Its obvious this was a dig at MO, had she covered the whole truth as opposed to a partial one then their wouldnt have been a problem. Its obvious she dislikes the game and is biased in her opinions.

     

    i stopped playing mo, but in no way do i feel i wasted my life. infact some of MOs memories are the best i have had in an mmorpg and i have played quite a few.

    there are 2 types of mmo, imitators and innovaters.

  • ToferioToferio Member UncommonPosts: 1,411
    Originally posted by deathshroud
     

    he got the interview because he was the top donator and not because he paid 1000, if he had been the top donator with 5.00 he still would have gotten it. He gets another interview for the 1000 at a later date.

    While there are some good arguments against the article, like the fact that she didn't mention other perks, this is the worst one, imo. She mentions he got the interview because he was top donator, meaning anyone who is top donator, for any sum would get it.  And well, currently he DID get the interview because he donated 1000$, so you are arguing semantics. It was not the point of the article to advertise MOs donation system and go indepth on it.

  • deathshrouddeathshroud Member Posts: 1,366
    basically it didnt even deserve to be news, But she took it added her own spin to put mo in a bad light for something that isnt even news worthy.

    there are 2 types of mmo, imitators and innovaters.

  • ToferioToferio Member UncommonPosts: 1,411
    Originally posted by deathshroud
    basically it didnt even deserve to be news, But she took it added her own spin to put mo in a bad light for something that isnt even news worthy.

    But it isn't news. It isn't about MO. The Daily Grind collumn is about discussing various opinions/posing questions to the community. Maybe this whole shitstorm is because of people expecting a full blown article, while in fact this column exists for discussion only, not for journalism. MO was only a spark for the discussion topic, not the highlight of the article.

  • argiropargirop Member UncommonPosts: 300
    Originally posted by deathshroud

    he got the interview because he was the top donator and not because he paid 1000, if he had been the top donator with 5.00 he still would have gotten it. He gets another interview for the 1000 at a later date.

    So her whole article wasnt exactly accurate. Its obvious this was a dig at MO, had she covered the whole truth as opposed to a partial one then their wouldnt have been a problem. Its obvious she dislikes the game and is biased in her opinions.

     

    i stopped playing mo, but in no way do i feel i wasted my life. infact some of MOs memories are the best i have had in an mmorpg and i have played quite a few.

    Seriously deathshroud that was the crapiest fail pun i have ever heard. Actually he got the interview because he was the top donator AND because he paid 1000 euros. If you started arguing again just in the name of argunent pls stop it, its not even fun anymore.

    I ve read the article and also the sad, rude, insulting and childish thread in official MO forums. Regarding to the article its absolutely legitimate. It could have being a little bit more detailed but still i dont think that the author wanted to go deep in MO's donation system rather than point out that SV is hungry for money. Now regarding to the thread on the official MO forums, am i the only one  who finds it disturbing that a rude troll made it his own crusade to crucify the author of the article, cause she/he didnt wrote it aiming at advertising SV? Gaved me a good laugh to see the usual 10-12 (most of them are SV's GM's and councilors) people hasting to jump in and start cursing, saying their usual crap and making themselfs look rediculous for one more time. Far more civilized posts and even threads have been completely removed from MO forums because they were not leading towards SV's best interrest and still this garbage remains untouched even though its insulting, paranoid and most of all pointless and unprovoked.

  • JacxolopeJacxolope Member UncommonPosts: 1,140
    Originally posted by argirop
    Originally posted by deathshroud

    he got the interview because he was the top donator and not because he paid 1000, if he had been the top donator with 5.00 he still would have gotten it. He gets another interview for the 1000 at a later date.

    So her whole article wasnt exactly accurate. Its obvious this was a dig at MO, had she covered the whole truth as opposed to a partial one then their wouldnt have been a problem. Its obvious she dislikes the game and is biased in her opinions.

     

    i stopped playing mo, but in no way do i feel i wasted my life. infact some of MOs memories are the best i have had in an mmorpg and i have played quite a few.

    Seriously deathshroud that was the crapiest fail pun i have ever heard. Actually he got the interview because he was the top donator AND because he paid 1000 euros. If you started arguing again just in the name of argunent pls stop it, its not even fun anymore.

    I ve read the article and also the sad, rude, insulting and childish thread in official MO forums. Regarding to the article its absolutely legitimate. It could have being a little bit more detailed but still i dont think that the author wanted to go deep in MO's donation system rather than point out that SV is hungry for money. Now regarding to the thread on the official MO forums, am i the only one  who finds it disturbing that a rude troll made it his own crusade to crucify the author of the article, cause she/he didnt wrote it aiming at advertising SV? Gaved me a good laugh to see the usual 10-12 (most of them are SV's GM's and councilors) people hasting to jump in and start cursing, saying their usual crap and making themselfs look rediculous for one more time. Far more civilized posts and even threads have been completely removed from MO forums because they were not leading towards SV's best interrest and still this garbage remains untouched even though its insulting, paranoid and most of all pointless and unprovoked.

    Pretty much a goot summary of my feelings as well.

     

  • HancakesHancakes Member Posts: 1,045
    Originally posted by Slapshot1188

    Here is a snippet followed by the link to the full article:

    There was just oooooone little itty-bitty catch: Aralis landed the interview only because he'd been the top donator to the game in January. In fact, he'd ponied up $1000.

    The interview is fraught with a few other issues, such as the fact that Nystrom dodges some of the player's questions and smooths over others, which'd probably annoy me if I had just effectively spent $1000 for the privilege of emailing a few questions off to a dev I admired

     

    http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/02/08/the-daily-grind-would-you-pay-to-interview-a-developer/#comments

     

    Looks like some of the mainstream gaming press is finally calling SV out on some of their questionable tactics. 

     

     

     

    Good stuff! The replies are a laugh riot, thanks for sharing. 

  • HancakesHancakes Member Posts: 1,045
    Originally posted by Toferio
    Shrug, her job was to pose a question to the community, not to pitch MOs' donation system. She mentioned what is relevant (i.e. Aralis getting the interview for being top donator). Plain and simple. 

    I can't see why the fans got so upset , it's not like the article wasn't factual.  

  • Slapshot1188Slapshot1188 Member LegendaryPosts: 16,947

    Just for further clarity... for those saying "Well it doesn't HAVE to be $1000 for an interview.. it could be $5":

     

    There have been 2 interviews conducted so far.   Both have cost $1000 for the privilege.

    The price has actually gone  up  for the next one as someone has now donated $2500.

     

    Let's hope henrik is a little more forthcoming in his next interview.. I mean this guy personally paid the equivalent of over 150 subs.

    All time classic  MY NEW FAVORITE POST!  (Keep laying those bricks)

    "I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator

    Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017. 

    Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018

    "Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018

Sign In or Register to comment.