Letter from the Game Director – June 2008

[Wakizaka]

Steam is a steaming pile of c**p

[kordesh]

6 seconds to load, including logging into the server. Have you actually USED Steam at all since its initial launch with HL2 or are you just still bitter about the problems it had back then?

[Xinc]

6 seconds to load, including logging into the server. Have you actually USED Steam at all since its initial launch with HL2 or are you just still bitter about the problems it had back then?

Yeah mines something like that too, just click it and its up pretty much within a few seconds.

[Dagget]

Buddy keys are for new accounts, not for existing ones. Tested on froob orgmates.

Buddy Keys work fine on existing Fr00b accounts, tested. They get 37 days free play for $0 (the $7 'up front' wide promo gets set to $0 when you use a buddy key). OFC, after 37 days they start paying full subscription.

[Dagget]

As for the engine - I have to believe some future content they are working on and which is either already finished or nearly-finished was designed with the engine in mind and the Dev's capacity to put out new content is going to be severely crimped if the new engine isn't ready pretty soon. I would have hoped that the upcoming Booster pack would have been designed to show off the new engine.

The promotional value of saying "Look! here's a shiny new graphics engine for AO and, oh, we are selling a new booster pack now that showcases what the new engine can do!" is obvious. If it isn't, and they are not yet deep into development on new content designed around that engine then someone in Oslo should to be shot.

[trousers]

As for the engine - I have to believe some future content they are working on and which is either already finished or nearly-finished was designed with the engine in mind and the Dev's capacity to put out new content is going to be severely crimped if the new engine isn't ready pretty soon. I would have hoped that the upcoming Booster pack would have been designed to show off the new engine.

The promotional value of saying "Look! here's a shiny new graphics engine for AO and, oh, we are selling a new booster pack now that showcases what the new engine can do!" is obvious. If it isn't, and they are not yet deep into development on new content designed around that engine then someone in Oslo should to be shot.

I think you're putting too much faith in inter-departmental communication and strategic planning.

[-Ruken-]

...inter-departmental communication and strategic planning.

I don't even think they know what those words mean. Maybe each word seperately, but when you put em all together fancy-like like that, thems get confused!