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A short history lesson
Blackjoke
Member Posts: 34
Greetings everyone, 
From the moment MMORPG's where invented the community has been plagued with companies that released unfinished products on the hapless and undeserving public.
The all time worst offender is Cornered Rat (poetic) who gave us WW II online. You couldnt even log into the game, they where completely unprepared for release. It was months before the game reached acceptable parameters.
The second all- time worst was FUN.COM who gave us Anarchy online. Crashes, rubberbanding, insane memory leaks, it was all there and then some, i see no reason to dwell on it.... Except that they are releasing this game as well.
Buyer Beware 
Edit: Just for info, the smoothest release was by Mythic - Dark Age of Camelot, was stable and playable. Mythic has taken over the Warhammer license recently, a future replacement for the now aged DAOC.
Comments
Hopefully Funcom will have the client become as stable as soon as possible
learning their mistakes from AO as so as from what ive heard.
They have shown in AO to deliver frequent patches for players
so hopefully it will be the same for AoC.
AO did have a horrible launch but I will say that after that it became THE most stable MMORPG I ever played in. Dont know about anyone else but I can expect problems around launch day, its the games that continue to have problems 1 year later with there servers *cough* WOW/COH/AC2 that I have problems with. Its also the Only MMORPG I have ever played were petitions where handled by ingame people that would appear to you to help you solve your problem. Great CS great Stabilty of servers all in all Funcom did a pretty damn good job in the long run.
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You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
I have joined alot of games on launch and I have to say I have never joined a good one. COH had problems I couldnt even start the game because they decided not to support my hardware for the first 3 - 4 days, WoW was not ready for the amount of people they got, UO had some really crap ups, I could go on but I think the reason this will be better is because of the first 20 lvls. It should if done right require very little of their servers and then people will slowly leak onto the online portion of the game. Which if done right will provide a very smooth launch.
Im not in anyway saying this will have the smoothest launch im just saying if done right it can. I expect it will have the same problems as any other mmo game I have played
That might be true, but this also means that they got the biggest chance of wanting to proove themself. Not only that, they got experience from another MMORPG now, so I REALLY doubt it will happen twice in a row.
Hello.
I was there for the AO launch, and yeah it wasn't pretty, in fact I quit and played DAoC. But from everything I've read FunCom recovered and turned AO into a respectable title.
I agree that this experience will allow them to make a much stronger game this time around.
After reading some of these responses it is evident i didnt get through. Im not trying to start an arguement or mock and ridicule anyone who has responded but i want to make this clear.
There was no mistake for them to learn from. Games dont get released by accident. There was no OOPS! we accidently released a game that crashed every 5 min and was unfit for even beta testing! Someones going to get fired over this!
The assumption that they might have "learned" something is based on the view that they believe they made a mistake, and somehow paid a price.
The reality is that many game companies do exactly this because the cost of development is high, but its alot cheaper if we can find some fools to pay to test it for us! They do it on purpose. Its not an accident, its POLICY!
My point once again is BUYER BEWARE, Funcom has one of the worst reputations for releasing unfinished products out there. My recomendation is that you wait a few days after its released and check the reviews on it. If people are screaming ITS A PILE OF SHIT THAT CRASHES EVERY 5 MINUTES! then save yourself 50 bucks.
The purpose of this blog site and others like it is to provide the community a place where we can communicate with each other, so that together we can avoid being screwed. I didnt post this to dash your hopes and dreams but rather to provide you with fair warning.
enough said.
Let me just first say... WTF. Black Joke my friend you need to calm down. You stated your opinion, and people calmly responded with theirs, I don't know what the hell you mean by saying your idea "Didn't get through." Your theory makes little sense.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
First let me say your average game developer does not want their game to be released half-assed. They spend years on these games, they will not release the game when it's not ready if they can avoid it (unless their a crappy team just cashing in on a franchise.) The main reason, although there are others, why a game gets thrown into the market unfinished is because the $$$ has run out, and they can not afford to stay in development.
This is wear your theory takes a dive, it's an mmorpg, they do not intend to make their money off of initial sales, they intend to make it off of the long run. By releasing a crappy game they endanger the money they will make in the long run. If an mmorpg comes out perfect people will stay subscribed... lotsa $$$! If it comes out horribly bugged you lose a lot of people that would have stayed otherwise. Hell I applaud Funcom for sticking with their product and taking a bugged out product into a very fun mmorpg.
Look at WoW, D&D online, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, City of heroes and Villians. All of them had open betas, because releasing a playable game is POLICY. If Funcom is smart they will learn from their mistakes, and now they have the most valuable thing in any company, experience.
Your not starting an argument or mocking anyone, your forcing your idea while being unaccepting of others. Your cocky attitude offends me as a game developer. Sure I am looking forward to age of conan, but Im not an idiot, it could suck, but have no right to claim it will with any certainty. Funcom has proven they care about the fans, and you have no right to judge and condemn their game before it is even possible to do so.
Don't worry you got "THROUGH" on your 2nd post. Cough*ass*Cough.
P.S. Enough Said
Generally i dont respond to flamers, im not 16. This one is a bit rich however. First you deny my point then turn around and substatiate it -
[(unless their a crappy team just cashing in on a franchise.) The main reason, although there are others, why a game gets thrown into the market unfinished is because the $$$ has run out, and they can not afford to stay in development.]
Its nice to see you know at least a little in upholding my "theory" with this tiny admission. It is worse then this however, some companies view any PC game as a product they can fix later with a patch.
This statement is just plain naive-
[By releasing a crappy game they endanger the money they will make in the long run. If an mmorpg comes out perfect people will stay subscribed]
I wish this was true but there are plenty of fools who when confronted with a game that crashes every 5 min say: We must continue to support this game or it will collapse! Developers know that in the long run they will work out the bugs and pick up more subscribers. Both Anarchy online and WW II online are the best examples, they had the worst releases, WW II online players couldnt even log in. Both are successfull NOW after their respective communities countinued to support them.
So what lesson did they learn? If we release a piece of crap because we dont have the money people will support us anyway? Yep, thats about right. Must be because we see it all the time.
Ill skip to the end, you said basically that i was unkind and being to judgemental.
All i suggested was that players wait till others purchase it then read the reviews....... I never said they shouldnt buy it. I never said it was certain to be a piece of shit. Just that, given the history of Funcom it could possibly be a piece of crap and i recommended caution. And i strongly disagree with your statement Funcom cares about its customers, i was there at the release of Anarchy and along with everyone else experienced their "concern" firsthand.
If pointing out the truth and being concerned for others makes me an ass,im proud to be one
Well first off let me say I was a bit harsh to say the least. I am sorry, somehow I missed the last part of your statment that said to wait for reviews, and thus took your message the wrong way. I still have to disagree with your idea. Anarchy Online took a BIG dive when it first came out, not many subscriber's at all. Reviews all spoke of horrible bugs and the fact the game had promise but was almost unplayible. The fact it had bugs hurt sales, and I'm sure a considerble amount dropped the game once it became unplayible. Funcom stuck it through and tried their damndest to fix the game. Bugs in no way help the game and can be DETERMENTAL to an mmorpg, because who wants to pay for a borken game??? There are not as many fools out there as you think, perhaps.
You claim that there is a good chance that Age of Conan will be the same, based off of Anarchy Online, I say no way! The team is experianced now, they made a mmorpg, and a pretty succesfulll one. Sure it could come out buggy, sure it could suck, but chances are agienst that. The bottom line is if a team wants to have a long running and profitible MMORPG, they will have a much more difficult time if their game does not come out polished and along side good reviews. Now that Funcom knows what their doing their work will reflect it.
Captbigbeard, The game crashed ever 5 min ! It was so bad Funcom suspended the monthly fee the first month when people threatened lawsuits.
The reviews did indeed suck... And yet the game survived, someone paid to play it regardless and you say my view is to critical and unrealistic?
I never said bugs and crashes help a games popularity, i said they arent as detrimental to their survival as you think. Both of the worst releases EVER continue to survive and attract customers. Is this not physical proof that a pathetic unprepared and bug ridden release does not necessarily spell doom for a MMORPG, as you imagine?
Why yes it does, release it now and patch it later.
Ultimatly we the customers are responsible for how we spend our money, the old motto is BUYER BEWARE. Check reviews, ask around, dont assume they wont do it again, its all too common.
I may be cynical as you say, but not without justification.
Bugs cannot be avoided, and do not doom an mmorpg, I never said they did, they just make it THAT much harder. In a the now popular a more clustered mmorpg communtiy, anything that makes it harder is a real threat, now more then ever. You said the "policy" is to release games early and have fools playtest it for them. This is not true. This is why every big mmorpg now has open betas. The fact D&D online, Wow, Auto Assualt, and many more now offer a week were EVERYone can play their game for free shows that your idea of their policy is incorrect, and it shows that they have the desire to work out the kinks.
Forget using Anarchy Online as an example
A. It was out before MMORPG's were a big thing, funcom developers didn't have as much to go by. It's not like they were making a first person shooter and could draw ideas from other highly succesfull games. NOW it's diffrent, people and developers know whats important for a mmorpg.
B. Funcom is NOW experianced, I don't know how many times I need to say this and HOW important this fact is!
C. Funcom is trying something new with their game! Any developer that tries something new, deserves respect and shows that they actually care.
D. Conan is not really a franchise to be cashed in on. His popularity has shrivled greatly and nowadays most people think of the arnold movie more then anything else. No their not making this game to cash in on a franchise, their making it to jumpstart a dieing franchise, so making this game good in EVERY aspect is very very important.
So yes, I always suggest to wait for reviews before commiting to a mmorpg, but in this case I would say their isn't to much to worry about, this game may not be the BEST mmorpg when it comes out, but chances are agienst it sucking or being bug ridden.
Also keep in mind this is HALF a single player game! People can play single player all they want and never have to pay a monthly fee.
Your jurisdiction is based on a game that was realesed a long time ago (In gameing history a few years is a LOT!) When AO was realesed it was unique and diffrent, hence maybe one of the reasons people stuck by it, nowadays who knows, maybe they wouldn't have.
Wow, you have alot of faith !
Unfortuneatly i dont share it, im a realist.
Is Sony experienced? And at launch EQ2 was unstable, servers where down for days.... Yea, nobody wants to release a game that crashes every 5 min, its not policy, its just an accident. They didnt mean to. Someone was smoking crack and accidently sent it off to the shipping department. Surely someone was fired over it.
Surely Funcom will be different from all the others, they will "learn from there success" errr... mistake... Surely.
Bah, Humbug.
If i had to place my faith in a company it would be Mythic, when they released DAOC it didnt crash even once on my comp. Funcom proved themselves to be one of the worst.
/end
Sheez..!?
Here it goes again:
The first 20 lvls er OFFline(only the characters are on the server).
Becuase of that players will take their time and go in slowly at the server, some super fast, some medium and some super slow, therefor making it a pretty steady flow of traffic, and this helps them to have the servers up before there are players on them, and when someone do get on the server and somthing happen, many will be happily on the singleplayer part and the can fix the problem fast, and not crash the game again becuase everyone are trying to get back on...
Cheers! I'm out
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uummm, what?
This thread isnt about player congestion. If player congestion was a problem i would recomend funcom products, they have always offered innovative ways of dealing with it. In Anarchy they instanced all the newbie areas so there was never more then 6-12 people in any area.
This thread is about Memory leaks, rubberbanding, Unstable architecture, and games called Anarchy online from Funcom that crash every 5 min EVEN IF YOUR THE ONLY PERSON PLAYING because the devs intentionally unleashed a piece of crap on the unwitting public.
This thead is about the company wich has the dubious distintion of having the second worse release of any MMORPG in the history of MMO's (the worst being Cornered Rats WW II online wich players couldnt even log into)
This thread is about people who are far to trusting of certain companies and those people, having been burned in the past who want to save them from an equally miserable experience by warning them DONT BELEIVE THE HYPE, WAIT FOR RELEASE AND READ THE REVIEWS.
Unless of course you're rich and dont care about your money - If this is the case please purchase it right away and post a review for the rest of us. Is it a stable, playable game or is it Anarchy online - a piece of crap that crashes every 5 min and stays that way for how many months? 6, 8?
pun intended.
If anyone insists on blindly trusting a company why not one that has a decent track record? Funcom doesnt even make that list, they are near the bottom.
I don't think you know what goes into making a game. It sure sounds like you don't. Everquest 2 was not THAT bad when it was realeased. It was not down for days, it had a bumpy start, but as far as other mmorpg's it's not that bad. it's flaw laid in the lack of open beta, a rare thing in mmorpg's these days, but not in the past as in AO's case.
An MMORPG is tricky because it involves hundreds upon hundreds of players playing at once and it involves hundreds upon hundreds of items, places, things, ect. It's much bigger then your average game and thus tends to be more buggy. When AO was made it was one of the first BIG mmorpg's. The creators didn't have much to go on. Hence their game was realeased with major bugs, while I wouldn't forgive them for doing the same thing today, or anyone doing that today (mmorpg's have come far over the past years), I forgive them for the past. It is stupid to relate AO to age of conan. Funcom proved their faithfull to fans and THATS what you should be baseing your opinion on.
MMORPG's are very tricky and VERY expensive. Who knows what happened that made AO be so buggy. An unexperianced team, lack of money to continue, no other mmorpg's to really draw upon who knows, but niether of us should pretend we do.
Your not being a realist, your being a pessimist. A realist would also include the following factors along with yours, Funcom worked hard on their game over the passed years a fixed all the bugs. Funcom realeased many succesfull expansions, with few bugs. Funcom has exeperiance, and will use it on their next game. MOST important, good games sell better then bad ones!
you know you could have just saved your energy and typed
"I HATE FUNCOM!! I DON'T THINK ANYONE SHOULD PLAY THIS GAME EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS OKAY... BECAUSE I HATE THEM!! AT ONE TIME THEY RELEASED A GAME AND IT DIDN'T WORK RIGHT AWAY ON LAUNCH DAY! AND THAT MADE ME CRY! EVEN THOUGH THEY FIXED IT REALITIVLEY QUICKER THAN MOST LARGER GAME DEVELOPERS WOULD HAVE.... I STILL HATE THEM! AND YOU SHOULD TOO!!!"
in your origonal post so people wouldnt have gotten confused that you were posting something worth reading.
news flash numbnuts.. everybody and their molester uncle knows about AO's horrible launch. no one needs reminded of it. it was pretty rememberable. but really.. how many years ago was this? and how long has AO been running stable now? what possible reason do you have other than the bad launch day to think that they still don't have a clue about what they are doing? for instance.. EVE online had a horrendous launch. one for the record books. but they fixed it, and it turned out to be a really great game. but because that EVE had such a bad launch.. does that mean in your mind that anything else put out by CCP will automatically suck on the same scale as eve did on launch day?
it would be different if you were warning people not to buy the game because the gameplay and content in AO sucked. but the launch day? get a fucking clue man, or hand in your "gamer" id card now.
Maybe there is some sinister plot to make people pay to test the game, but it hardly seems like it would be profitable.
The official release time is a very, if not the most, imporant period for attracting subscribers, so having a stable product is essential. Resleasing a buggy game and playing catch-up hardly seems like a logical way to market a game. The hard core fans may keep a game alive until its playable, but having everyone on board from the very beginning is more profitable.
If the developer needs to release early due to financial issues, that is their loss. The advice to wait on reviews is very useful.
In the opinion of Funcom they lost a lot of subscribers from AO by "fumbling the ball" at the release. Subscribers who never returned.
I think the are very aware not to repeat any mistakes this time. Personally I'm going to buy this game at the first option and take the risk of a suboptimal release experience.
I will never buy MMORPG in first few weeks after release. After hype is settled you really are starting to see what kind game is. Worst days to play MMORPGs are patch and launch day.
Funcom's AO release was awful and they rightfully earned their status as bad release company then. However they seem to have learnt their lesson after launch and some patches (there was also notorious Friday patch). I would give them second chance, but I wouldn't buy their new game instantly either.
"I know I said this was my last post, but you my friend are a idiotic moron." -Shadow4482
Funny how innovative Funcom's product was at the time (i.e. instancing).....but we forget that.
The OP motives are clear and readily ignored by any objective person. AO had severe problems at launch granted....we get it...we know this. But they took great pains to fix the problem quickly and now have one of the most stable MMO's in the industry (and great customer service). Can WoW say this? No...over a year and they are still unstable (and horrible customer service).
I think the OP is being unnecessarily harsh against Funcom. I really have a sense that this is a product the developers have a real creative passion for. It's worth giving them a chance.
(A sign that they want to get it right....game release has been pushed back from Q2 2006 to Q4 2006. They have budgeted for this and want to make sure all systems are in place. With today's competative market and onslaught of products...they have too.)
Don't buy it ....fine...but why troll on this forum? Seriously.