Re: Free Realms: One Step Closer
Kwee -- 2009-02-28 00:41:29
This is a good commentary and I found myself wanting to comment on kids, beta, and the obvious superiority of rats in any social setting.
SOE, meanwhile, is really changing its image from, "that $%&# company that screwed it all up," to "that big company trying to do things right." Brasse, you are part of that change. You've been a fair observer of what is going on both in the games and in the development and $ community. At least, it seems to me you're fair, but what do I know? I really did like that widow rat in early EQ2, and who knows what kids would think of that?
Meanwhile, I'd Digg you everyday if I could. I think you're funny, caring, fair and relevant. And the quality of the art in your comics is unsurpassed.
SOE, meanwhile, is really changing its image from, "that $%&# company that screwed it all up," to "that big company trying to do things right." Brasse, you are part of that change. You've been a fair observer of what is going on both in the games and in the development and $ community. At least, it seems to me you're fair, but what do I know? I really did like that widow rat in early EQ2, and who knows what kids would think of that?
Meanwhile, I'd Digg you everyday if I could. I think you're funny, caring, fair and relevant. And the quality of the art in your comics is unsurpassed.
SOE
Brakk -- 2009-02-28 07:37:32
People are SOOO mean. SOE only really made a few major screwups, most of them were in SWG. Any bad blood about some of the EQ1 bullheadedness is really a holdover from Verant (having to stare at the spellbook for years).
SOE has done a LOT of good for the market, they have saved a LOT of games. They are still keeping MATRIX ONLINE kicking, Vanguard would be dead without them, and possibly Pirates of the Burning Sea... Heck, Flying Labs themselves may not even still be around without them, but that is conjecture since I don't know what their plan B or plan C was.
Look at some of the other companies out there. Blizzard has the most profitable game ever made, and they are putting VERY little of that money BACK into the game. They have a TINY live team that is very slow to fix bugs or release content. Instead the players are buying the higher ups cars and investing in diablo4 and starcraft2.
Then you have EA (tied to Mythic) that closes the doors on anything that does not make ENOUGH profit. Earth and Beyond, Motor City Online, two versions of Ultima Online 2, and Battletech are just a few of the MMO titles they have buried due to the precious bottom line. I understand companies are all out to make money, but where SOE will keep anything going that nets any kind of profit, EA will ditch it if it falls behind the corporate requirements for profit MARGIN.
SOE has been a great company for a long time, they unfortunately made some really big SWG mistakes that they will probably never be forgiven for. It's too bad really, they have several games out that are as good or better IMO than WarCraft, and competition is good for the market.
SOE has done a LOT of good for the market, they have saved a LOT of games. They are still keeping MATRIX ONLINE kicking, Vanguard would be dead without them, and possibly Pirates of the Burning Sea... Heck, Flying Labs themselves may not even still be around without them, but that is conjecture since I don't know what their plan B or plan C was.
Look at some of the other companies out there. Blizzard has the most profitable game ever made, and they are putting VERY little of that money BACK into the game. They have a TINY live team that is very slow to fix bugs or release content. Instead the players are buying the higher ups cars and investing in diablo4 and starcraft2.
Then you have EA (tied to Mythic) that closes the doors on anything that does not make ENOUGH profit. Earth and Beyond, Motor City Online, two versions of Ultima Online 2, and Battletech are just a few of the MMO titles they have buried due to the precious bottom line. I understand companies are all out to make money, but where SOE will keep anything going that nets any kind of profit, EA will ditch it if it falls behind the corporate requirements for profit MARGIN.
SOE has been a great company for a long time, they unfortunately made some really big SWG mistakes that they will probably never be forgiven for. It's too bad really, they have several games out that are as good or better IMO than WarCraft, and competition is good for the market.
Re: SOE
Cykophrog -- 2009-02-28 09:49:06
I think another thing SOE should do is to make it clear to dev's to NEVER reveal what kind of class/race/etc.. they play. I read the forums quite a bit and it makes my eyes bleed every time they say Dev X makes sure that class/race/etc.. Y gets all the perks, is over powered, and so forth because that dev plays that class/race/etc.
Of course, then you have the conspiracy minded people that will say this is blatant censorship.. so I guess you never can please anyone lol
Of course, then you have the conspiracy minded people that will say this is blatant censorship.. so I guess you never can please anyone lol
Re: SOE
Rijacki -- 2009-03-02 14:10:08
"SOE has been a great company for a long time, they unfortunately made some really big SWG mistakes that they will probably never be forgiven for."
The worst of it is that SOE is blamed for things which weren't them or weren't entirely them.
They were blamed for Vanguard going nearly kablewie before they took it under wing and made its launch even possible.
They were blamed when Matrix wasn't the best thing since sliced cheese (and they didn't even get connected to it until near its launch).
They've been blamed for SWG with nearly all of the blamers totally and completely ignoring that Lucas Arts has the final say on everything Star Wars (and it has been documented in various places that the NGE change, along with its timing, was dictated by LA).
SOE has taken it on the nose when conspiracy theorists have thrown up rumors and allegations that had absolutely no proof other than the origin of the rumor or allegation.
And so on.
They're simply the company those gamers want to hate. It started even when EQ1 was still labeled as Verant (a subsidy of Sony from its inception until Sony created the SOE moniker). Nothing will break that 'reputation' because nothing really was done to earn it.
As for Free Realms. I think the idea is really great and I hope it does well.
The worst of it is that SOE is blamed for things which weren't them or weren't entirely them.
They were blamed for Vanguard going nearly kablewie before they took it under wing and made its launch even possible.
They were blamed when Matrix wasn't the best thing since sliced cheese (and they didn't even get connected to it until near its launch).
They've been blamed for SWG with nearly all of the blamers totally and completely ignoring that Lucas Arts has the final say on everything Star Wars (and it has been documented in various places that the NGE change, along with its timing, was dictated by LA).
SOE has taken it on the nose when conspiracy theorists have thrown up rumors and allegations that had absolutely no proof other than the origin of the rumor or allegation.
And so on.
They're simply the company those gamers want to hate. It started even when EQ1 was still labeled as Verant (a subsidy of Sony from its inception until Sony created the SOE moniker). Nothing will break that 'reputation' because nothing really was done to earn it.
As for Free Realms. I think the idea is really great and I hope it does well.
Re: SOE
Surgen -- 2009-03-03 04:02:18
Well I have an 8 year old girl who is looking forward to playing FR and she has her own account for this. I'm sure it'll be the best things she likes about EQ2 without the concepts and things she finds difficult. Also it means I can play EQ2 while she plays FR!
As for the discussions re: SOE, I absolutely hate what they have done to EQ1, going back as far as Dragons of Norrath and, really, the game was ruined for me. I know some of it was undoing things that were "wrong" but I still harbour (yes, that u should be there) bad feeling about it.
However, my experiences with EQ2 have been totally the opposite. I have loved everything SOE have done to the game and I really feel that the players' concerns, wants, likes and dislikes are listened to and acted upon to improve the game. With the minor gripe of not being able to *sit* on the chairs we make or *lie* on the beds we craft (unless you can feign, obviously) I give my thanks and admiration for the EQ2 devs. I hope I'll be able to say the same about FR shortly.
As for the discussions re: SOE, I absolutely hate what they have done to EQ1, going back as far as Dragons of Norrath and, really, the game was ruined for me. I know some of it was undoing things that were "wrong" but I still harbour (yes, that u should be there) bad feeling about it.
However, my experiences with EQ2 have been totally the opposite. I have loved everything SOE have done to the game and I really feel that the players' concerns, wants, likes and dislikes are listened to and acted upon to improve the game. With the minor gripe of not being able to *sit* on the chairs we make or *lie* on the beds we craft (unless you can feign, obviously) I give my thanks and admiration for the EQ2 devs. I hope I'll be able to say the same about FR shortly.
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Free Realms: One Step Closer
Brasse -- 2009-02-27 18:04:18
I am sure the Devs are counting the time in MINUTES, and matching that against the enormous lists still hanging on their walls…
Meanwhile, we are close enough to launch for me to whine about things that NO ONE within SOE cares one whit about, as they run around chasing numbers with sticks. I’ll share it all with you instead. Poor bastards.
Free Realms has just gone into internal closed Beta, which is a huge step, but with only a month left, it is looking at a very tight timeline for an MMOG, and one wonders if all the bugs will be caught, swept up, tested, fixed and retested in time. Past experience has shown that Beta is vital to digging up and forcing the appearance of bugs in games.
The game has got to ship clean. Kids will not play through something that is buggy, unlike their insane parents (like all those who put up with a full month of early AOC, yeesh).
Kids aren’t stupid. They’ll just go back to their Legos and Yu-Gi-Oh cards if a computer game is bug-ridden, and ya know... they get over their disappointments quick, because they heal fast. I know adults who are still scarred by their AOC experiences.
Kids are also MEAN. They do not give second chances. Free Realms has got to be spot on at launch.
So. A month. In our little world, that is some thirty days, give or take.
In “Dev Time,” one month is bent and twisted into something more like twelve hours. Clocks cease functioning according to the normal laws of physics during crunch time, and hours mean nothing in the alternate universe that has now settled onto Building #2 at SOE San Diego.
The images Salvador Dali did of melted watches was directly inspired by his visions of a Dev team closing in on launch. I am sure he did not really know how to fully present the horror of the process that he saw revealed before him, but he got close.
I wish the Free Realms team a lot of luck in this game, for which I have an admitted and longstanding soft spot. I want it to succeed, because the premise and scope of the game are tremendous.
Two races have been announced for the game, Pixies and Humans, but still... I WANNA PLAY A ROBGOBLIN! They are so cute and fun and silly. At this time, the only games in which I can play a goblin of any sort are Warhammer Online (which I love) and Vanguard (which I haven’t had time to go back to). This, even though goblins are clearly the coolest race in WoW and right up there with Ratongas in EQII. But noooooo, they keep adding boring races in their expansions. Bah!
I’ll just keep begging for playable Robgoblins in FR until they ban me.
And now… when is OPEN BETA? There are about a hundred kids I know personally who can hardly wait to get in. Some of them are even under fourteen.
;-)#
Brasse
(who is also resigned to playing a Pixie, until Robgoblins or Dwarves are put in!)