FG merging with AB

Heh.

DB kicks FG players in the fruits again.


https://massivelyop.com/2019/04/16/...sion-server-to-its-live-antonia-bayle-server/

 

I have a toon or more on FG... but it can rot... like the rest of EQ2... as far as im concerned. I feel sorry for those still playing on FG though.

 

The writing was on the wall when Kaladim was announced...

 

NOW the Bubble Gnomes(tm) can accuse me of schadenfreude because I distinctly remember a certain group of Role Players from AB that smugly crowed about moving to the Fallen Gate server to get away from 'toxic trolls' and all the other usual buzzwords (guess who proved to be actually toxic?).

I won't lie and say this announcement doesn't give me a shred of vindicated satisfaction.

For the rest of the FG folks, it really sucks. Though if any went into it with the idea that - in EQ2 at least - the TLE servers are anything but temp throwaways, it's a case of caveat emptor.

 

neener neener?

 

The smug is strong in this one.

Not George Clooney acceptance speech strong smug.

More like....Butters strong.

 

Give Daybreak credit here for how they are handling Fallen Gate.

I have a max level toon on there (or should I say had). And since Kaladin launch and the DoV issues, during primetime ET a "who all 90" would come back with less than 10. The server was kaput really.

So give DBG credit - they didn't let it languish for months and months on end with no announced plan or any communication about it. They gave players a way out if they wanted. It might be snarky, but at least they put FG out of its misery quickly and humanely.

 

I don't object to the merger (and option to transfer to any other server free prior). The part that feels objectionable is that they intended to write Fallen Gate off as soon as they conceived Kaladim.

 

All of the TLE servers have been like that, though, to my recollection. The servers are, by design, limited in scope and duration. As soon as the 'next' one is announced, the current one is forgotten about. At least FG isn't being left to languish like Stormhold was.

 

The problem is that DBG never actually says that. They have always promoted them with the suggestion (and with the exact words in the case of the orginals) is that they'd continue until they caught up with live and then be just like a live server.

I'm not surprised how it went down. I'm not personally upset about it either, but it is... at best a poor way to treat your paying customers.. since everybody on TLE is subbed...

 

I absolutely agree with you. The point I wanted to get across is more that folks should pay attention to what DBG has done over what they've said - and not just with the TLE servers.

 

Should we give people credit for eventually responding better to a problem they've caused then they have in the past? Should we not also hold them accountable for causing the problem to begin with? Do those two things cancel each other out?

I'm long since done giving DBG a pass for not sucking as bad as they could have.

 

But worse was the neglect that FG had gotten, instead of the work needed to make the server great. The gear that the next expansion gear you bought with mission reward currency was not as good as the dropped gear from the last expansion... and many other problems. Let alone how SH server was handled.

 

Yes, I believe yes, we absolutely should. Be it individual person or an organization the ability to learn from past mistakes and correct them going forward is something we all need to do. Those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them - - and that in my opinion is the greatest mistake.

Fallen Gate in its DoV-era expansion and the post-Kaladim launch time was a dead server. The population was at such a low level it was effectively a single player MMO experience. The ability of players to accomplish anything beyond solo play was nil. One of this server's selling points was the inheritable HQ rewards and doing any of these beyond completed grayed out ones would have been impossible.

Listen, I'm certainly not here to praise or absolve Daybreak of ALL its transgressions concerning the Fallen Gate TLE. There are plenty other mistakes that were made and worse, some repeated.

Whether they unplugged Fallen Gate because it was altruistically motivated to avoid giving paying customers a poor EQ2 play experience or financially motivated to save on TCO costs of running another server-world, to me it doesn't matter. The end result is still the same.

What I do believe is that they do deserve credit for not letting Fallen Gate languish along. dragging it out like Stormhold and other low populated servers have in the past with no communication beyond "we're discussing it" and they quickly Old-Yeller'ed it.

 

But they didn't correct their actual mistakes. All they did was respond a bit faster with the damage control. They still knew they had a flawed product. They still took advantage of a hungry and beleaguered customer base to push that product upon. They still knew the product had a finite timeline, made shorter by their incompetence or lack of effort to address the many problems that they knew they had with it. They still knew from previous efforts that when this product eventually ran its course that they would need to take steps to address customer dissatisfaction. That they did a minimal effort attempt at the last bit faster this time than previously does nothing to excuse that they made the entire largely avoidable mess to begin with. A mess they had to have known by now that they were making.

Saying they deserve credit for doing damage control, to me, is exactly the mentality of the more gullible customers that allows the company to keep taking advantage of them. Sometimes the cloud requires more attention than hunting for the silver lining.

 

It's likely that Kaladim was born of Longdale's "reacquisition strategy".

The email I received pushed Kaladim and Nagafen (not current content). They were clearly targeting people who liked the old game.

In any case, it's reasonable to presume that rather than fix all the broken crap from DoV onward, they just said "screw it, let's push them all over to Kaladim."

I don't assign the notion that the closure of FG was damage control much credibility.

I believe it was more about the Law of Least Effort, and FG was a casualty.

 

Why spend time/effort on fixing a bunch of broken ****.

Far easier to just relaunch the same broken ****, with a totally brand new sweep of itemisation so combat is either a bunch easier/harder than previously, and add a new gimmick into the game.

Relaunch it, watch all the 'veterans' flood back, play for 4 months then **** off again till next TLE.

In between TLE, create a shitty live expac, launch it with a $150 premium pack. Add in as many P2Win mechanics as you can during that time.

When run out of all of the above tasks to do, spend your time editing wikipedia articles to hide your companies shady business.

 

Highlighted the point I'm addressing.

I agree that as individuals and a society, we should offer a 'path to redemption' as it were, for folks that make mistakes and learn from them.

The problem with DBG as a company - and some of the individuals - is that they ARE. NOT. LEARNING. from mistakes, they're not even trying to learn - or else those in charge refuse to listen to those that have learned, to the same end.

Putting a PR spin on it faster IS. NOT. learning from your past mistakes.

How many TLE servers have they released now? Each one was fundamentally flawed on release, with promises of fixes 'in the works' - a can that is continually kicked down the road. Kaladim and Nagafen are no exception. The discovery xp 'exploit' that some folks got in on early ensured they were trashed on DAY ONE. And it's a problem that would have been discovered if The Team had any quality control testing at all.

And lets not forget about, 'We're not going to let you claim the xp potions you've earned, but you can buy some in the cash shop for the low low price of...'

So yes, at least FG isn't going to languish for months like Stormhold did, but lets not pretend The Team deserve a pat on the back for it.