When the new engine launches.......

[Megasis]

When the new engine launches will there be money put into advertising to draw new players to the game?

My 4 accounts are still active but I don't play and I do not plan on playing until the engine comes out. For many reasons such as; there is are not many people to team with so there is no point waiting hours online for that team.

Once the new engine launches I'm sure you have a marketing plan - It only makes sense.

So I guess what I am asking is, what is the plan to get more people to the game when the engine is done. Internet advertising? Word of mouth? old player base using mass e-mail? TV Comercials?

[Papercut]

same stuff, emailing the former playerbase giving out a month free with subscription bonuses. although this new engine will never be there, the game is lost, GG.

[Ciex]

"If", the word is "if", not "when".

[Xaijen]

Means has already stated at Dragoncon in September earlier this year that they will have an advertising push after the new engine is up and running.

Furthermore, I've already mentioned this and other things that they can do to increase exposure in this post.

[Urbanjohn]

same stuff, emailing the former playerbase giving out a month free with subscription bonuses. although this new engine will never be there, the game is lost, GG.

I know the new engine is way past its due date ( I think 3-4 years of idle promises) and I know its very easy to be annoyed with FC at this stage, because they're working on stuff thats seemingly irrelevant ( Night clubs!) , but lately I have a better feeling from the team.

They're not perfect by any means, and I know they think they're in touch with their player base, but I know they could do a little better. It would be good for these guys to post a weekly 10-20 minute webcast, to keep players feeling in the groove.

Anyways before I ramble on too much, just want to say all is not lost, and AO might be the last game ever to be noob proof. Most new games are nerfed so that gaming noobs can enjoy them, AO is one of the only games that requires you to think a bit (yes talking about the twinking)

Don't forget the SCI-FI MMORPG market is virtually non existent. I read a blog why this is, but to cut a long story short, its because MMORPGs are an extension of board games, and board games an extension of movies, and movies are an extension of books, and books are an extention of story telling - and the majority of this progression is based on FANTASY and not SCI-FI. So the majority of people (not SCI-FI fans) are preconditioned and swayed towards fantasy. This is why FC - who used to specialize in the SCI-FI MMORPG market , decided to release a WoW clone, because they realised this point. But my point is - As AO stands its one of the few remaining SCI-FI MMORPG's that are on the market. Eve Online is another type of game, so they're hardly in competition.

AO has a future but FC need to get jacked up and quick, releasing just some texture upgrades to AO will not give it the life span it needs to survive the next 10 years. If its going to still be around, it will need the full support of the FC company (and not just the AO dev team).

BUT

Just think for 1 minute if FC had invested all that time building AO2 whole new planets etc. Instead of selling us out and building a WoW Clone (AoC)

[rustinel]

I know the new engine is way past its due date ( I think 3-4 years of idle promises) and I know its very easy to be annoyed with FC at this stage, because they're working on stuff thats seemingly irrelevant ( Night clubs!) , but lately I have a better feeling from the team.

They're not perfect by any means, and I know they think they're in touch with their player base, but I know they could do a little better. It would be good for these guys to post a weekly 10-20 minute webcast, to keep players feeling in the groove.

Anyways before I ramble on too much, just want to say all is not lost, and AO might be the last game ever to be noob proof. Most new games are nerfed so that gaming noobs can enjoy them, AO is one of the only games that requires you to think a bit (yes talking about the twinking)

Don't forget the SCI-FI MMORPG market is virtually non existent. I read a blog why this is, but to cut a long story short, its because MMORPGs are an extension of board games, and board games an extension of movies, and movies are an extension of books, and books are an extention of story telling - and the majority of this progression is based on FANTASY and not SCI-FI. So the majority of people (not SCI-FI fans) are preconditioned and swayed towards fantasy. This is why FC - who used to specialize in the SCI-FI MMORPG market , decided to release a WoW clone, because they realised this point. But my point is - As AO stands its one of the few remaining SCI-FI MMORPG's that are on the market. Eve Online is another type of game, so they're hardly in competition.

AO has a future but FC need to get jacked up and quick, releasing just some texture upgrades to AO will not give it the life span it needs to survive the next 10 years. If its going to still be around, it will need the full support of the FC company (and not just the AO dev team).

BUT

Just think for 1 minute if FC had invested all that time building AO2 whole new planets etc. Instead of selling us out and building a WoW Clone (AoC)

Some interesting points.

The new engine is indeed way overdue now. There may be no sci fi competition at the moment but that is about to change, big time.

This game is suffering badly for active players. The new engine may fix that, depends how long away it is and how it gets promoted. I could care less about graphics, I want more players. This is a great game, none of the others I have tried compare. I think Means and his team are working very hard on the game. They are the most open to suggestion team thus far but I think this game might not reach the engine launch if it falls below a 'critical mass' of active players.

The balance thing is a gigantic can of worms. Personally I don't think all profs/breeds should be equal. Also a new player should not be equal to a veteran player, a casual player should not be equal to a twink player.

I think balance is a constantly evolving thing. It will never be perfect(never mind that players are all unequal anyway). The game will always change, folk will adapt, react, it actually adds to the game, certainly adds to the longevity heheh. I think thats why I like bs so much, the unpredictability of it. Anyway, they will change sh!t and we will get on with it. Some will leave and some(hopefully) will join and not know any different.

[Phixalicious]

A new engine won't help if there's noone to enjoy it.

I received yesterday 2 "come upgrade" and 3 "reactivate free" offers from FC in my e-mail boxes. Do you know what I've done with 'em? Nothing.

Come back or upgrade simply for the new mailing system and some "free" paid points?

Oh, yes. The new balancing was used as an incentive also. You know, the one being done piece by piece and sending current players into panic mode, instead of waiting and doing it when it's complete.

Been hearing about the new engine for almost 3 years now. Watched and waited while they said "it's almost ready" and then said "we scrapped it and are starting over, sorry" after two years of development in Ogre.

I can play and enjoy the game just fine as a fr00b. I don't require a "mailbox", and paid points are cheaper than a month's sub and useable as a fr00b, so don't need to upgrade or reactivate for those, either.

And I'm willing to bet there's a large number of old and new players thinking the same thing as they delete those "come back" e-mails.

My message to FC:

1. Fix and COMPLETE the rebalance crap BEFORE putting any of it to the live servers.

2. Finish and implement the new engine ASAP or just stop the "carrot on the stick" method of holding on to your last remaining players and admit it isn't coming.

3. THEN ask people to upgrade or come back AND advertise the crap out of the game everywhere.

Otherwise, just thank us for playing and shut the damn servers down already.

[Xaijen]

I was the guild leader of a pre-release guild in AoC which waited for 6 months for it to be released, and I was in another pre-release AoC guild for 4 months previous to that; I only experienced two release date setbacks in total, but there were heaps previous to those. The players waiting for AoC were starting to get very pissed off at waiting by the time it was released.

A few months after release, and as lots of players were starting to hit 80, you know what they were saying? They wished Funcom had spent more work on the game before releasing it; it was "unfinished"; they wished there was more content at certain level ranges.

What happened? 6 months after the game had been released, the playerbase had shrunk dramatically. Many guilds had quit together, including mine by then.

Of course, many of the issues are 'fixed' now, it seems.

But if there's one thing I learnt from that waiting? Don't rush Funcom. Chill out and enjoy the game like you've been enjoying it for years previous. It won't kill you.

A finished, unrushed engine is better than an unfinished, buggy, incompatible engine which has been rushed through development.

The very same people screaming for the engine to be ready will be the same people crying that it's buggy and slow if it was released sooner rather than later

[Urbanjohn]

A new engine won't help if there's noone to enjoy it.

I received yesterday 2 "come upgrade" and 3 "reactivate free" offers from FC in my e-mail boxes. Do you know what I've done with 'em? Nothing.

Come back or upgrade simply for the new mailing system and some "free" paid points?

Oh, yes. The new balancing was used as an incentive also. You know, the one being done piece by piece and sending current players into panic mode, instead of waiting and doing it when it's complete.

Been hearing about the new engine for almost 3 years now. Watched and waited while they said "it's almost ready" and then said "we scrapped it and are starting over, sorry" after two years of development in Ogre.

I can play and enjoy the game just fine as a fr00b. I don't require a "mailbox", and paid points are cheaper than a month's sub and useable as a fr00b, so don't need to upgrade or reactivate for those, either.

And I'm willing to bet there's a large number of old and new players thinking the same thing as they delete those "come back" e-mails.

My message to FC:

1. Fix and COMPLETE the rebalance crap BEFORE putting any of it to the live servers.

2. Finish and implement the new engine ASAP or just stop the "carrot on the stick" method of holding on to your last remaining players and admit it isn't coming.

3. THEN ask people to upgrade or come back AND advertise the crap out of the game everywhere.

Otherwise, just thank us for playing and shut the damn servers down already.

I think you've stated the problem and solution as accurately as anyone could possible word it - 100% agree and bump everything you've just said!

[Urbanjohn]

I was the guild leader of a pre-release guild in AoC which waited for 6 months for it to be released, and I was in another pre-release AoC guild for 4 months previous to that; I only experienced two release date setbacks in total, but there were heaps previous to those. The players waiting for AoC were starting to get very pissed off at waiting by the time it was released.

A few months after release, and as lots of players were starting to hit 80, you know what they were saying? They wished Funcom had spent more work on the game before releasing it; it was "unfinished"; they wished there was more content at certain level ranges.

What happened? 6 months after the game had been released, the playerbase had shrunk dramatically. Many guilds had quit together, including mine by then.

Of course, many of the issues are 'fixed' now, it seems.

But if there's one thing I learnt from that waiting? Don't rush Funcom. Chill out and enjoy the game like you've been enjoying it for years previous. It won't kill you.

A finished, unrushed engine is better than an unfinished, buggy, incompatible engine which has been rushed through development.

The very same people screaming for the engine to be ready will be the same people crying that it's buggy and slow if it was released sooner rather than later

If they can really get this engine right, and do an outstanding job of it - I will be very happy, because I know the community will grow. I've tried to get my friends into the game, but they think I'm a bit nuts playing such an old game. And worst part is newbie island is perhaps the worst looking part of the whole game. So a lot of ppl don't get get past that.

[Phixalicious]

I was the guild leader of a pre-release guild in AoC which waited for 6 months for it to be released, and I was in another pre-release AoC guild for 4 months previous to that; I only experienced two release date setbacks in total, but there were heaps previous to those. The players waiting for AoC were starting to get very pissed off at waiting by the time it was released.

A few months after release, and as lots of players were starting to hit 80, you know what they were saying? They wished Funcom had spent more work on the game before releasing it; it was "unfinished"; they wished there was more content at certain level ranges.

What happened? 6 months after the game had been released, the playerbase had shrunk dramatically. Many guilds had quit together, including mine by then.

Of course, many of the issues are 'fixed' now, it seems.

But if there's one thing I learnt from that waiting? Don't rush Funcom. Chill out and enjoy the game like you've been enjoying it for years previous. It won't kill you.

A finished, unrushed engine is better than an unfinished, buggy, incompatible engine which has been rushed through development.

The very same people screaming for the engine to be ready will be the same people crying that it's buggy and slow if it was released sooner rather than later

Or here's a better idea.

Funcom can solve one of it's biggest ongoing problems by keeping it's collective corporate mouth shut.

They didn't need to announce a new engine 3 years ago, they did it to dangle a carrot to keep pops from dropping. Unfortunately, the carrot is rotting fast from hanging for so long.

They should not have even hinted at the new engine until they had it COMPLETELY up and running ready for testing. Then when they realized they couldn't make Ogre work and decided the upgraded Dreamworld engine would be used, the only ones inconvenienced would have been themselves, not the customers.

Same with the "balancing". They should have just said "we're looking into it" as they've always done and said nothing more until they had it ALL worked out and ready to start testing it as a WHOLE.

I love this game, and Means is THE BEST Director this game has ever had IMHO. But the crap going on now with the engine and balancing and everything else is due to the same sort of easily avoided silliness Funcom has put forth every year since AO's birth. The same mentality that made them shout hype from the rooftops about things that weren't even known to be accomplishable in AoC just to keep interest in the game up. And they will do the same with TSW, which is why I have absolutely no interest in that game.

I used to blame Gaute for much of the false claims, false hype, and general cluster****s in both AO and AoC, but I'm starting to realize it's a Funcom trait as a whole, not just one really bad Funcom founder/game director.

[Gastroturf]

They can disclose ongoing projects and discuss possibilities and then get nailed for lying to the customers, or they can keep their mouths shut and be accused of being opaque and uncommunicative with the customers. There's really no way for them to win here. Customers get pissed no matter what.

[Phixalicious]

They can disclose ongoing projects and discuss possibilities and then get nailed for lying to the customers, or they can keep their mouths shut and be accused of being opaque and uncommunicative with the customers. There's really no way for them to win here. Customers get pissed no matter what.

There is nothing "opaque and uncommunicative" about not mentioning a new engine until a new engine actually existed. "Opaque and uncommunicative" would be "we're making a new engine" and then never mentioning it again.

Same with the balance issue. They could have merely said "we are working on rebalancing and when we have every profession figured out and balancing mapped across the board, THEN we will release the info". They could still communicate by saying "yes we're still working on it", "yes, we'll take your sugestions under consideration", etc., etc. They do NOT have to release partial info on an incomplete system which would be known to send players into a furor due to it being PARTIAL info, which is what they did. Means even said he didn't want to release "bits and pieces" in the beginning to avoid this issue, but then did it anyway. That is the problem.

You cannot be "opaque and uncommunicative" about something until the players actually know there is something to begin with.

[Xaijen]

They didn't need to announce a new engine 3 years ago, they did it to dangle a carrot to keep pops from dropping. Unfortunately, the carrot is rotting fast from hanging for so long.

They should not have even hinted at the new engine until they had it COMPLETELY up and running ready for testing. Then when they realized they couldn't make Ogre work and decided the upgraded Dreamworld engine would be used, the only ones inconvenienced would have been themselves, not the customers.

Same with the "balancing". They should have just said "we're looking into it" as they've always done and said nothing more until they had it ALL worked out and ready to start testing it as a WHOLE.

Yeah, I love hindsight too.

[Phixalicious]

Yeah, I love hindsight too.

Problem is it should have been foresight after eight years of making the same blasted mistake. At least, you would think so....