Other Games....

May AoC Dev Stream:

• 100 vs 100 seige fight - Game appeared to run really smoothly. Looks good.
• Ice Dragon raid mob - Again, looks good.

Skip to 31:00 or so for gameplay footage.

 

You mean it wasn't a scam?

 

Nope! Funny though, despite the fact that I've been posting the monthly dev streams, and despite the fact that those updates usually contain pretty transparent communication from devs about issues being worked through, and, despite the fact that there is often a clip (with player-testers) that shows real and substantial progress each time, AND, despite the fact that the game is obviously coming together in a reasonable amount of time.......some folks still insist on labeling AoC as vaporware.

Who knows what the EQ2 franchise could have accomplished had they not promoted Georgeson, but instead hired a competent producer who could help all this talent (now working for Intrepid) flourish.

In any case, the game is now moving into its alpha one testing phase free of NDA constraints.

Of course, I'll keep posting streams so some of y'all can keep complaing about its PvP aspects

 

Nah.

Banning UI mods and API feeds is smartly consistent with a healthy PvP game.

Also, one need look no further than the gazillion profitable BR and team style pvp games to know that the PvP market is actually a thing.

And lastly, AoC is seeking to take both PvP and pve designs to new levels. The game has innovated into new frontiers of systems, game concepts, and engineering.

It will do just fine.

 

I really should learn to type /sarcasm when I write something like that.

 

Nah, I knew you were playin' . I see the scam/vaporware shots at AoC all the time - and almost always, the posters turn out to be the "It's doomed because It's PvP" crowd.

The game will not be for everyone (though I still believe those who don't typically like PvP will be surprised), but it doesn't have to be for everyone.

The nice thing about privately held companies is they're not beholden to an army of institutional shareholders and bloated, bonus-seeking management teams.

The game doesn't need WoW's numbers to be a success. It only needs to accomplish what ever Steven Sharif wants it to accomplish.

I happen to believe it will be successful. Fact is, this game has so much interest and support that it's already making money.

Is there a profitable market niche for a well done PvP mmo? Absolutely.

 

I wish more games would decide what they want to be when they grow up and stop aiming for mediocrity by failing to please as many people as possible.

 

Exactly.

I'm optimistic that the evolving ability for studios to purchase or lease components of the development process (servers, game engines, artwork, specialized programming, etc) can allow smaller, independent studios to thrive; providing these studios are willing to take smart risks, innovate beyond "Mmo Game X version 1.125", and most importantly build the game the studio owners want to play themselves.

Imo, a really big part of why AoC has so much support, and why the game will be successful, is because they're constantly asking for customer feedback. Sure, they're not going to budge on the over-all concept and the systems that make it go, but transparent development and listening and responding to customers is a fundamental component of the Intrepid's development ecosystem. Sometimes, that's a "No, we're not doing that...", but that's still an open stance with a response.

These big, giant corporate studios are imo largely responsible for the incredible dearth of new and interesting gaming products. Too much bureaucracy, too much playing it safe, too much focus on trying to please a huge crowd, to many people to pay-off.

Does this mean that every indy product will be a winner? Course not, but I love the idea of these folks developing and pushing the limits a profitable nich, even if It's a small one.

 

I am thinking of trying Amazon's New World. I am sure I will be disappointed lol .

 

Asmongold level 3, 40 player raid on a public dungeon raid dragon.

First, you'll notice that absolutely no one is listening to his direction. This ALWAYS the case with Asmongold, which is why his streams are so entertaining.

Secondly, despite the size of this raid, and despite the chaos of everyone pulling everything, you'll notice what's completely missing.......LAG.

P.S. For his introdctory stream on the alpha, he had 217k views...yesterday. Don't tell me PvP environment mmo's are not a thing

 

Okay, so it seems Amazon has really ticked some folks off, because there have been leaks coming out from under the NDA that New World is now building out and testing Its SHOP, which >may< (aka: will) include qol items and boosts for CRAFTERS.

Yep, p2w in the crafting game. The video linked below does a pretty good job of mapping out just how this bullshit is taking over the industry, and if you pay attention, you'll note that what happened eq2 fits this general pattern to a tee, including how its customers continue to enable it.

 

I notice that he has been casting around for something to replace WoW. Had a stream on Final Fantasy 14 as well.

 

Speaking of.... FF14 had to briefly pause digital sales, because it's just too dang popular: Final Fantasy 14 Is So Popular That Square Enix... Stopped Selling It - IGN

But of course, that's just pure conjecture and hyperbole, according to many of the EQ2 cultists....

 

I saw the same article and fell over backwards, just amazing. I am not sure how they will go with acquiring new server hardware for their data center as when I worked in the industry it was all made to order. Lead times were 3 months minimum and that was during normal times.

I play on Tonberry which is in the Japanese server cluster/data center. Tonberry is the unofficial Aussie FF14 server. It has always been notoriously hard to create a new character on it. I see that FF14 is promising local servers in Australia next year and I expect that to grow the player base here.

 

Wow, that's cool - if they do that, I'll likely reactivate my subscription! Be good to play with others who speak the same language and use the same alphabet/character set (no offense to the Asian contingent at all - I just don't speak/read any language other than English, so have no idea what is expected of me in groups etc).

 

Hasn't there been a bit of a mass exodus from WoW with a lot of people choosing to move to FFXIV? If so, seems like a good move to me. It also looks like Blizzard has been casually shooting itself in the feet for a while now and blaming everyone but themselves.

 

I'm curious. Do we know if this started before or after Holly?