First off, the way you are conducting yourself as a business owner trying to sell people on a product is appalling. I run a small business that on occasion gets a few bad Google and Yelp reviews, we never ever attack people that leave criticism. We either ignore them if they are just trolls, or we try to respond in a diplomatic and positive way that tries to turn a negative situation into a positive one.
Remember, there a lot of lurkers here viewing your responses and the way you handle criticism here will most likely be reflected in your companies culture, being this is your project. People talk mate and a few people can do a lot of damage to your brand. This is especially important to you, because your game is going to have a very niche and small community.
My main beef with you wasn't your game per say too, its your snarky and over confident attitude. I've followed your comments here and on Massively for years and your responses to critics and trolls makes we worried about your temperament.
You guys need to hire a real community manager that has experience in marketing and actually handling game communities. They should be the face of your company!
Honestly, if you want people to take an interest in your company and game, just stop posting here or weigh your words more carefully.
We already have an amazing community manager, ElloaWendy. But you'll never see me hiding behind her skirts while out here dealing with the trolls of the internet.
Best part about your so-called advice? I've lost count of how many folks have specifically bought our game *because* of the way I deal with trolls.
Critics are not the same as trolls. Considering none of the so-called critics are actual paying customers, their critiques are invalid.
You can't leave a review on a hamburger until you've actually sat down and eaten at the restaurant. You don't get to look in the window and claim you know what the burger tastes like when you haven't even eaten there yet.
I'll continue to deal with trolls the same way I've been dealing with them for six years.
Successfully. Ya'll push so much traffic our way by continually needing to be "right" about our game, and I keep replying because ya'll drive sales our way. I've always said the moment that stops being true, I won't bother replying because I certainly wouldn't do it for free
Critics have yet to actually critique anything, as we don't have a live product to review yet
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Really looking forward to this one!!! NO PVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great work devs!!!
To hell with PvP
When you sit down to play D&D with your friends, it's not about pwning your friends. It's about sitting around for a few hours and sharing the adventuring, having fun together.
Will you be moving off of Wednesday evening only (what timezone?) tests at some point?
How many hours do the tests normally run?
Eventually. And we still do weekend builds for major releases (such as this upcoming April with four weekend sessions across the month).
We leave the servers up for 3-4 hours usually for the Wednesday night sessions. The focus tests are usually 1hr - 1.5 hours when we're in there with our testers asking them to kick very specific buckets so we can test things, then we let them do whatever they want for a few more hours before we bring the servers back down until the following week.
We'll likely be sticking with the Wednesday-only sessions until the end of summer (have been on that schedule since last April). 8 p.m. central onwards, every week.
We likely won't transition to always-on servers until next summer for beta, but even beta is going to be via pre-order only (or via invite codes from existing testers).
At some point later this summer, or early fall, we'll possibly ramp up to every-single-weekend, but it just depends on our needs from testers.
Really looking forward to this one!!! NO PVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great work devs!!!
To hell with PvP
When you sit down to play D&D with your friends, it's not about pwning your friends. It's about sitting around for a few hours and sharing the adventuring, having fun together.
That's why we went PVE
Too bad no other indie Dev is making a PVP centric MMO.....
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
We already have an amazing community manager, ElloaWendy. But you'll never see me hiding behind her skirts while out here dealing with the trolls of the internet.
Best part about your so-called advice? I've lost count of how many folks have specifically bought our game *because* of the way I deal with trolls.
Critics are not the same as trolls. Considering none of the so-called critics are actual paying customers, their critiques are invalid.
You can't leave a review on a hamburger until you've actually sat down and eaten at the restaurant. You don't get to look in the window and claim you know what the burger tastes like when you haven't even eaten there yet.
I'll continue to deal with trolls the same way I've been dealing with them for six years.
Successfully. Ya'll push so much traffic our way by continually needing to be "right" about our game, and I keep replying because ya'll drive sales our way. I've always said the moment that stops being true, I won't bother replying because I certainly wouldn't do it for free
Critics have yet to actually critique anything, as we don't have a live product to review yet
Some advice here from some very extensive experience:
1. You have a Community Manager. Let her do her job. That is not "hiding behind her skirts".
2. Wading in to fight a holy war against "trolls" is a losing proposition. You are punching down. I have freely offered this advice to other developers but they continue to jump right into the slop. By responding you extend the fight and thus elevate their criticism. Sure you get the odd person who sees you fight and goes to your website and joins but I'd wager that there are 10 potential customers who see the arguing and just turn away. See meme about "winning internet argument".
3. That doesn't mean you have to ignore all criticism but respond in a way that shows you have the high ground. Every time you jump into the mud you just give the "trolls" a victory.
4. Because none of the critics are actually paying customers (though I do not know how you can say that with certainty) does not immediately invalidate criticism. As an example, when we see that people are literally looking up solutions to networking issues on the internet or in books it raises caution flags about experience levels to even the casual observer. This does not mean the ultimate solution will fail, or even be deficient compared to other games, but it's certainly a valid discussion topic.
5. Be very cautious at this stage. As you mention, they have limited ability to critique your arguments right now because your game hasn't launched or come out of NDA. That will change someday and every single earlier statement you made will be copied and pasted.
Really looking forward to this one!!! NO PVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great work devs!!!
To hell with PvP
When you sit down to play D&D with your friends, it's not about pwning your friends. It's about sitting around for a few hours and sharing the adventuring, having fun together.
That's why we went PVE
Too bad no other indie Dev is making a PVP centric MMO.....
Oh wait, there are several, nevermind.
Soooo many PvP games.
Not our cup of tea, so that was an easy way to stand out from the get-go.
What is this heresy? You're showing alpha game play instead of "mood piece" art (with or without watermarks)?
Like DMKano above I do not ever pay for games in development. I wait until release or just very shortly before to decide. But you have my interest and I'll keep following your development from the sidelines.
Keep on trucking.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Really looking forward to this one!!! NO PVP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great work devs!!!
To hell with PvP
When you sit down to play D&D with your friends, it's not about pwning your friends. It's about sitting around for a few hours and sharing the adventuring, having fun together.
That's why we went PVE
Too bad no other indie Dev is making a PVP centric MMO.....
Oh wait, there are several, nevermind.
Soooo many PvP games.
Not our cup of tea, so that was an easy way to stand out from the get-go.
Many games fail due to trying to be all things to all people. Focus on what you are good at.
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
What is this heresy? You're showing alpha game play instead of "mood piece" art (with or without watermarks)?
Like DMKano above I do not ever pay for games in development. I wait until release or just very shortly before to decide. But you have my interest and I'll keep following your development from the sidelines.
Keep on trucking.
I know, right!?!?!
That's a healthy way to go about things.
Pre-orders are there for those who want to support and test buggy, unoptimized content.
What is this heresy? You're showing alpha game play instead of "mood piece" art (with or without watermarks)?
Like DMKano above I do not ever pay for games in development. I wait until release or just very shortly before to decide. But you have my interest and I'll keep following your development from the sidelines.
Keep on trucking.
I know, right!?!?!
That's a healthy way to go about things.
Pre-orders are there for those who want to support and test buggy, unoptimized content.
Not everyone wants to. That's what launch is for
I play FO76, so I'm well used to dealing with buggy, unoptimised content, and that's post launch even.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I play FO76, so I'm well used to dealing with buggy, unoptimised content, and that's post launch even.
My brother and I played through Anthem's launch, and loved every minute of it despite the bugs (and bluescreen crashes on my PS4 and random disconnects and and and).
We already have an amazing community manager, ElloaWendy. But you'll never see me hiding behind her skirts while out here dealing with the trolls of the internet.
Best part about your so-called advice? I've lost count of how many folks have specifically bought our game *because* of the way I deal with trolls.
Critics are not the same as trolls. Considering none of the so-called critics are actual paying customers, their critiques are invalid.
You can't leave a review on a hamburger until you've actually sat down and eaten at the restaurant. You don't get to look in the window and claim you know what the burger tastes like when you haven't even eaten there yet.
I'll continue to deal with trolls the same way I've been dealing with them for six years.
Successfully. Ya'll push so much traffic our way by continually needing to be "right" about our game, and I keep replying because ya'll drive sales our way. I've always said the moment that stops being true, I won't bother replying because I certainly wouldn't do it for free
Critics have yet to actually critique anything, as we don't have a live product to review yet
Some advice here from some very extensive experience:
1. You have a Community Manager. Let her do her job. That is not "hiding behind her skirts".
2. Wading in to fight a holy war against "trolls" is a losing proposition. You are punching down. I have freely offered this advice to other developers but they continue to jump right into the slop. By responding you extend the fight and thus elevate their criticism. Sure you get the odd person who sees you fight and goes to your website and joins but I'd wager that there are 10 potential customers who see the arguing and just turn away. See meme about "winning internet argument".
3. That doesn't mean you have to ignore all criticism but respond in a way that shows you have the high ground. Every time you jump into the mud you just give the "trolls" a victory.
4. Because none of the critics are actually paying customers (though I do not know how you can say that with certainty) does not immediately invalidate criticism. As an example, when we see that people are literally looking up solutions to networking issues on the internet or in books it raises caution flags about experience levels to even the casual observer. This does not mean the ultimate solution will fail, or even be deficient compared to other games, but it's certainly a valid discussion topic.
5. Be very cautious at this stage. As you mention, they have limited ability to critique your arguments right now because your game hasn't launched or come out of NDA. That will change someday and every single earlier statement you made will be copied and pasted.
You know Slap, you are a bit too thin skinned sometimes to be a proper harbinger.
While Tim should be cautious and not turn into the next incarnation of Derek Smart I see nothing wrong with pushing back some on posters clearly spoiling for a fight.
I mean look at how many stupid things Blizzard Execs say or do, doesn't seem to impact gamers behaviors all that much.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
You know Slap, you are a bit too thin skinned sometimes to be a proper harbinger.
While Tim should be cautious and not turn into the next incarnation of Derek Smart I see nothing wrong with pushing back some on posters clearly spoiling for a fight.
I mean look at how many stupid things Blizzard Execs say or do, doesn't seem to impact gamers behaviors all that much.
After all these years, it's the #1 source of traffic for our site, and the #1 page from which pre-orders filter from.
Not the main landing page. Not the FAQ page. But that one post from 2015 specifically targeting trolls.
It's why I'll continue to dive down into the muck until such time as it's no longer worth it, financially.
Most folks are tired of trolls. Especially the type of trolls who expect developers to just roll over and "take it" because they "deserve it" because Developers A, B, or C were greedy, took too long to develop, didn't patch something a troll didn't like, "ruined" their favorite game, or whatever other slight they want to invent.
I have zero problems going toe-to-toe with such antics. Doubly so when it the ecomomics work out so well because the people who are tired of trolls read my commentary and head over to our site to become community members and testers.
I should do a post some day showing how many referrals have come from mmorpg.com in particular, specifically because of the way I reply to said trolls.
I owe it all to them (the trolls). If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be half as active here as I would be otherwise. Because lord knows the VAST majority of comments on posts here on this site aren't "you go, team!", but "even though your game is in alpha and hasn't seen any polish we'll still go ahead leave some trolly comment on how it looks" or "every other indie project is a sack of shit, so your game must be a sack of shit too", or, "all games that charge money and aren't Free To Play are rip offs and thieves".
On a side note, I have way more time than Elloa, whose primary job is community management within our community. She's still part-time, and has obligations streaming. When she goes full-time on our project, you'll see her around places like here more frequently.
But even then I am, love me or hate me, the primary face of the company in all regards. I'm the creator of the IP, the creative director of the IP, the CEO of the company, director of marketing, lead writer, and a whole slew of other titles (most of which mean absolutely nothing other than I'm overworked and underpaid at six years in without a paycheck). And as an independent company, it will likely remain that way until I'm either too old, too sick, or too busy rolling in pre-order stacks of cash to continue to do so.
Also, anyone who has ever sat down in an interview with me, listened to a podcast or vodcast, or been to one of my presentations, knows that most of what I say is absolutely tongue-in-cheek, even the anti-troll statement, it's just that there is zero context in written word.
So all hail the trolls, who have probably contributed to at least 25% of our financial growth in the past five years.
We already have an amazing community manager, ElloaWendy. But you'll never see me hiding behind her skirts while out here dealing with the trolls of the internet.
Best part about your so-called advice? I've lost count of how many folks have specifically bought our game *because* of the way I deal with trolls.
Critics are not the same as trolls. Considering none of the so-called critics are actual paying customers, their critiques are invalid.
You can't leave a review on a hamburger until you've actually sat down and eaten at the restaurant. You don't get to look in the window and claim you know what the burger tastes like when you haven't even eaten there yet.
I'll continue to deal with trolls the same way I've been dealing with them for six years.
Successfully. Ya'll push so much traffic our way by continually needing to be "right" about our game, and I keep replying because ya'll drive sales our way. I've always said the moment that stops being true, I won't bother replying because I certainly wouldn't do it for free
Critics have yet to actually critique anything, as we don't have a live product to review yet
Some advice here from some very extensive experience:
1. You have a Community Manager. Let her do her job. That is not "hiding behind her skirts".
2. Wading in to fight a holy war against "trolls" is a losing proposition. You are punching down. I have freely offered this advice to other developers but they continue to jump right into the slop. By responding you extend the fight and thus elevate their criticism. Sure you get the odd person who sees you fight and goes to your website and joins but I'd wager that there are 10 potential customers who see the arguing and just turn away. See meme about "winning internet argument".
3. That doesn't mean you have to ignore all criticism but respond in a way that shows you have the high ground. Every time you jump into the mud you just give the "trolls" a victory.
4. Because none of the critics are actually paying customers (though I do not know how you can say that with certainty) does not immediately invalidate criticism. As an example, when we see that people are literally looking up solutions to networking issues on the internet or in books it raises caution flags about experience levels to even the casual observer. This does not mean the ultimate solution will fail, or even be deficient compared to other games, but it's certainly a valid discussion topic.
5. Be very cautious at this stage. As you mention, they have limited ability to critique your arguments right now because your game hasn't launched or come out of NDA. That will change someday and every single earlier statement you made will be copied and pasted.
You know Slap, you are a bit too thin skinned sometimes to be a proper harbinger.
While Tim should be cautious and not turn into the next incarnation of Derek Smart I see nothing wrong with pushing back some on posters clearly spoiling for a fight.
I mean look at how many stupid things Blizzard Execs say or do, doesn't seem to impact gamers behaviors all that much.
It's not about me at all... I just know more than most that when a Dev dives into the mud their statements will eventually come back to bit them. As I said, why punch down?
I deal with shit like that all the time at work when I'm running projects. Some people say stupid shit. I nod in their direction and then move on. I'm going to do what I want anyhow so why get into it with some dude who thinks he knows more but is powerless to affect my plan unless I allow him. Arguing to "win the point" is not always the best practice.
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
It's not about me at all... I just know more than most that when a Dev dives into the mud their statements will eventually come back to bit them. As I said, why punch down?
I deal with shit like that all the time at work when I'm running projects. Some people say stupid shit. I nod in their direction and then move on. I'm going to do what I want anyhow so why get into it with some dude who thinks he knows more but is powerless to affect my plan unless I allow him. Arguing to "win the point" is not always the best practice.
Ahhhh but it's not arguing to win a point. It's leveraging their attempts to troll by converting said attempts into ongoing traffic, which converts to sales, which makes it financially worthwhile for me to continue the banter, even if it is technically punching down. It doesn't affect our plans whatsoever, only adds to our sales, so there's literally no downside
It's not about me at all... I just know more than most that when a Dev dives into the mud their statements will eventually come back to bit them. As I said, why punch down?
I deal with shit like that all the time at work when I'm running projects. Some people say stupid shit. I nod in their direction and then move on. I'm going to do what I want anyhow so why get into it with some dude who thinks he knows more but is powerless to affect my plan unless I allow him. Arguing to "win the point" is not always the best practice.
Ahhhh but it's not arguing to win a point. It's leveraging their attempts to troll by converting said attempts into ongoing traffic, which converts to sales, which makes it financially worthwhile for me to continue the banter, even if it is technically punching down. It doesn't affect our plans whatsoever, only adds to our sales, so there's literally no downside
I dunno man.. I mean Slapshot just told you to flat out to ignore him, which, IMHO, sound like some pretty solid advice.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
It's not about me at all... I just know more than most that when a Dev dives into the mud their statements will eventually come back to bit them. As I said, why punch down?
I deal with shit like that all the time at work when I'm running projects. Some people say stupid shit. I nod in their direction and then move on. I'm going to do what I want anyhow so why get into it with some dude who thinks he knows more but is powerless to affect my plan unless I allow him. Arguing to "win the point" is not always the best practice.
Ahhhh but it's not arguing to win a point. It's leveraging their attempts to troll by converting said attempts into ongoing traffic, which converts to sales, which makes it financially worthwhile for me to continue the banter, even if it is technically punching down. It doesn't affect our plans whatsoever, only adds to our sales, so there's literally no downside
Tim... let's be honest... the sales so far are peanuts. Don't worry too much about picking up a penny today. Worry about getting the dollars tomorrow when the game is ready for prime-time.
Undersell, Undersell, Undersell... then deliver what you promise and watch the dollars come in.
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
a real question though: If there aren't enough people in game in the area you are at, will you still be able to play?
I specifically talk about this in the intro to the video (don't have the timestamp but it's somewhere in the first few minutes).
Just like EverQuest 1, you can absolutely solo your way to the cap. Or duo, or trio.
However, dungeons and raids require groups. So sure, you can still play (just like you can/could in EQ), but you won't be able to do dungeons/raids without other folks.
Which is fine for some people. There were plenty of players in EverQuest who didn't give a shit about dungeons or raids and just wanted to hang out and be a part of the world, craft a bit, duo with their wife/hubby/bestf friend, explore.
That first bandit camp in the video that we come across, by the campfire; I was solo pulling that on one of my characters a few days back. I may have mentioned this in the video, but don't recall.
Granted, I was a very specific build. Think how the necro or druid or wizard could do things on their own that others might not be able to do in EverQuest. I was on a Water / Duelist combo, so with some careful pulling and some nicely placed DoTs, I was able to hold that camp on my own.
My tank? Not so much. But that's OK. The tank's place to shine is in a group setting, keeping the mobs focused on him and absorbing all the hitpoints.
Specific builds played by talented players will be able to do things solo/duo that others may not be able to. And that's fine. It should absolutely be the case. But dungeons and raids are the limit when it comes to what you can do on your own.
Comments
How many hours do the tests normally run?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
When you sit down to play D&D with your friends, it's not about pwning your friends. It's about sitting around for a few hours and sharing the adventuring, having fun together.
That's why we went PVE
Eventually. And we still do weekend builds for major releases (such as this upcoming April with four weekend sessions across the month).
We leave the servers up for 3-4 hours usually for the Wednesday night sessions. The focus tests are usually 1hr - 1.5 hours when we're in there with our testers asking them to kick very specific buckets so we can test things, then we let them do whatever they want for a few more hours before we bring the servers back down until the following week.
We'll likely be sticking with the Wednesday-only sessions until the end of summer (have been on that schedule since last April). 8 p.m. central onwards, every week.
We likely won't transition to always-on servers until next summer for beta, but even beta is going to be via pre-order only (or via invite codes from existing testers).
At some point later this summer, or early fall, we'll possibly ramp up to every-single-weekend, but it just depends on our needs from testers.
Oh wait, there are several, nevermind.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
1. You have a Community Manager. Let her do her job. That is not "hiding behind her skirts".
2. Wading in to fight a holy war against "trolls" is a losing proposition. You are punching down. I have freely offered this advice to other developers but they continue to jump right into the slop. By responding you extend the fight and thus elevate their criticism. Sure you get the odd person who sees you fight and goes to your website and joins but I'd wager that there are 10 potential customers who see the arguing and just turn away. See meme about "winning internet argument".
3. That doesn't mean you have to ignore all criticism but respond in a way that shows you have the high ground. Every time you jump into the mud you just give the "trolls" a victory.
4. Because none of the critics are actually paying customers (though I do not know how you can say that with certainty) does not immediately invalidate criticism. As an example, when we see that people are literally looking up solutions to networking issues on the internet or in books it raises caution flags about experience levels to even the casual observer. This does not mean the ultimate solution will fail, or even be deficient compared to other games, but it's certainly a valid discussion topic.
5. Be very cautious at this stage. As you mention, they have limited ability to critique your arguments right now because your game hasn't launched or come out of NDA. That will change someday and every single earlier statement you made will be copied and pasted.
6. See #1
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
Not our cup of tea, so that was an easy way to stand out from the get-go.
Like DMKano above I do not ever pay for games in development. I wait until release or just very shortly before to decide. But you have my interest and I'll keep following your development from the sidelines.
Keep on trucking.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
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
We keep showing up, day after day, and so far we haven't had any issues.
But we're also very careful about feature creep and just focused on building the foundation layers that can be added to over time.
That's the daily agenda.
That's a healthy way to go about things.
Pre-orders are there for those who want to support and test buggy, unoptimized content.
Not everyone wants to. That's what launch is for
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
While Tim should be cautious and not turn into the next incarnation of Derek Smart I see nothing wrong with pushing back some on posters clearly spoiling for a fight.
I mean look at how many stupid things Blizzard Execs say or do, doesn't seem to impact gamers behaviors all that much.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Did you know our #1 post of all-time for traffic on the site is actually the https://sagaoflucimia.com/five-reasons-not-to-pre-order-the-saga-of-lucimia post?
After all these years, it's the #1 source of traffic for our site, and the #1 page from which pre-orders filter from.
Not the main landing page. Not the FAQ page. But that one post from 2015 specifically targeting trolls.
It's why I'll continue to dive down into the muck until such time as it's no longer worth it, financially.
Most folks are tired of trolls. Especially the type of trolls who expect developers to just roll over and "take it" because they "deserve it" because Developers A, B, or C were greedy, took too long to develop, didn't patch something a troll didn't like, "ruined" their favorite game, or whatever other slight they want to invent.
I have zero problems going toe-to-toe with such antics. Doubly so when it the ecomomics work out so well because the people who are tired of trolls read my commentary and head over to our site to become community members and testers.
I should do a post some day showing how many referrals have come from mmorpg.com in particular, specifically because of the way I reply to said trolls.
I owe it all to them (the trolls). If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be half as active here as I would be otherwise. Because lord knows the VAST majority of comments on posts here on this site aren't "you go, team!", but "even though your game is in alpha and hasn't seen any polish we'll still go ahead leave some trolly comment on how it looks" or "every other indie project is a sack of shit, so your game must be a sack of shit too", or, "all games that charge money and aren't Free To Play are rip offs and thieves".
On a side note, I have way more time than Elloa, whose primary job is community management within our community. She's still part-time, and has obligations streaming. When she goes full-time on our project, you'll see her around places like here more frequently.
But even then I am, love me or hate me, the primary face of the company in all regards. I'm the creator of the IP, the creative director of the IP, the CEO of the company, director of marketing, lead writer, and a whole slew of other titles (most of which mean absolutely nothing other than I'm overworked and underpaid at six years in without a paycheck). And as an independent company, it will likely remain that way until I'm either too old, too sick, or too busy rolling in pre-order stacks of cash to continue to do so.
Also, anyone who has ever sat down in an interview with me, listened to a podcast or vodcast, or been to one of my presentations, knows that most of what I say is absolutely tongue-in-cheek, even the anti-troll statement, it's just that there is zero context in written word.
So all hail the trolls, who have probably contributed to at least 25% of our financial growth in the past five years.
I deal with shit like that all the time at work when I'm running projects. Some people say stupid shit. I nod in their direction and then move on. I'm going to do what I want anyhow so why get into it with some dude who thinks he knows more but is powerless to affect my plan unless I allow him. Arguing to "win the point" is not always the best practice.
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
Cant understand why I feel like puking looking at these comments tho...
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Undersell, Undersell, Undersell... then deliver what you promise and watch the dollars come in.
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
I like reading renfails posts. Ftw!
a real question though: If there aren't enough people in game in the area you are at, will you still be able to play?
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Just like EverQuest 1, you can absolutely solo your way to the cap. Or duo, or trio.
However, dungeons and raids require groups. So sure, you can still play (just like you can/could in EQ), but you won't be able to do dungeons/raids without other folks.
Which is fine for some people. There were plenty of players in EverQuest who didn't give a shit about dungeons or raids and just wanted to hang out and be a part of the world, craft a bit, duo with their wife/hubby/bestf friend, explore.
That first bandit camp in the video that we come across, by the campfire; I was solo pulling that on one of my characters a few days back. I may have mentioned this in the video, but don't recall.
Granted, I was a very specific build. Think how the necro or druid or wizard could do things on their own that others might not be able to do in EverQuest. I was on a Water / Duelist combo, so with some careful pulling and some nicely placed DoTs, I was able to hold that camp on my own.
My tank? Not so much. But that's OK. The tank's place to shine is in a group setting, keeping the mobs focused on him and absorbing all the hitpoints.
Specific builds played by talented players will be able to do things solo/duo that others may not be able to. And that's fine. It should absolutely be the case. But dungeons and raids are the limit when it comes to what you can do on your own.