How do you all feel?

[Unit99]

Well we used to get patches on the test server. We used to get prelim. notes. We used to get the chance to give feedback on prelim. patch notes (although we were ignored on our input, we were still able to give it based on notes). We used to have official communication from FC (Cz). It seems all of this is happening a LOT less as of late. This constant patching (that don't even fix the bugs the 'after the fact" notes state were fixed, for instance the rubberbanding to black doors bug. So it would appear they are making all these patches and putting them straight to the live servers. We the players are paying 13 bucks a month to beta test. And considering there seems to be a patch every other day we are in a constant state of beta testing them. I have beta tested many many software packages within the last 10 years and can't recall being charged for any. I do remember actually being paid for doing so by obtaining said completed software for free on a couple of occasions though.

Of course all the lil peachy happy people that don't see any of this as negative and will find some not so creative ways to flame me while supporting this new anti communication policy will be blind to the facts I stated above. That's all fine though because I've always enjoyed the right to say "I told you so" in the end.

[Zepher]

That sorta was my gripe on the post I made recently...

I agree on this...

[Nargil]

I will boycott this forum from today to tomorrow except when i have to post a msg... (so about all the time)

Bleh :P

[svendor]

I guess your right. I dont understand why they say something is fixed but it is not. or why they put stuff on the live server that has known problems... I just hope now that they got notum wars out funcom will settle down with putting out new stuff and fix some of the old problems. Unless they want to give the nt's that love patch i here about, but after that just fix the old problems.

[iainmay]

I think that FC should open up a vote to the players on a feature freeze, of <= set duration. This allows them to asses the feeling of all players, we will see if people want more content, or working content. That way the majority will be happy.

[Wizzerrd]

I allways thought that test-server WAS test-server,
and live server WAS live-server. ..Where the finished product is uploaded..

Im tired of paying 13 bucks for a beta-game, that disconnect me
sometimes every 2. minutes.

Man I have played beta release 1's that is lesser buggy than this game..

[Trajal]

Kinda starting to agree. Not being a whiner, I understand that people need to fix stuff, but I tend to only be able to play in the UK daytime. I pay to be able to play in UK daytime, and now, yet again, there's 3 hours downtime for patching, in my prime gaming time!

Consider, that I don't really play weekends or evenings often, so I get an 8 hour window of playtime each day. Patching is -always- within that playtime, so 5 hours of patching effectively reduces me to not being able to play that day. Last week I lost 2 days, this week so far I've lost 1 day.

Probably 'tough cheese' for me, but I think that at least they should change the times of patching so it's not always us same poor saps being hit by this. I've lost at least 30% of my playing time as a result of this stuff! <moan>

Trajal..

[svendor]

Also i think it sucks because many people i enjoy playing this game with wont be here when swg comes out or are at the point where they have had enough of the crap.

[Mechgal]

SWG is out on Feb (middle of the month)... I wonder what that game would be like...

[svendor]

Everything i have read on it says it should be one of the greatest online games ever. But after dealing with funcom and there lack to do anything usefull i think i am just about at the point where i am going to stop playing online games forever.

[Thyrra]

Originally posted by svendor
I just hope now that they got notum wars out funcom will settle down with putting out new stuff and fix some of the old problems. Unless they want to give the nt's that love patch i here about, but after that just fix the old problems.

as much as i would love for them to fix the many many many small and huge bugs AO has, FC will move on to shadowlands now. i have faith that they want to make this game as good as it can be, but also feel that whoever is making the decisions wants money to roll in to keep the company afloat and that means they will do what players will put up with. if a large portion of the population leaves for swg and doesn't come back a month or two later, FC will have a clear decision point as to how to handle the future of AO and those that are left will have a much better idea of what to expect after that.

fix the bugs unless you want to add features for 'my prof' and the bugs that come along with that? you are in effect saying i would like you to fix the bugs but i'll put up with them longer as long as you add something that gratifies me. i'm not flaming you for this, just pointing it out in clearer relief. many people feel that way.

[RoboKa]

I have beta tested many many software packages within the last 10 years and can't recall being charged for any. I do remember actually being paid for doing so by obtaining said completed software for free on a couple of occasions though.

Didn't Sanra Bullock get paid to be a professional tester in that awful movie with Dennis Miller?

And yes, I agree; release notes and "In Progress" information have become con****uously lacking!

Actaully, my company has a operating policy with it's users group that each year, the users vote on the enhancements they most want and we gaurantee to devote a specific predetermined number of development hours to those requests.

jus' sayin'