General Discussion

New MMORPG.com writer Mathew Reuther pens this look back at the Age of Conan launch from his own perspective.

Early Bird Gets the Shaft

With the logistical delays a new problem has arisen. There is a substantial group of pre-order customers who have been involved in the Early Access program yet did not receive a retail key in a timely manner. This has culminated in the freezing of an untold number of accounts on the 27th. Despite red flags going up two days prior to the end of the Early Access period (when people knew their copies would not arrive in time) it took until after access was actually denied before a single word was heard from Funcom. By the time European Early Access customers received word that they would be given until the end of May to enter retail keys many had already canceled their orders through their credit card companies (which can have an impact on future dealings with the pre-order retailers in question), some picking up retail games and others simply deciding not to play the game.

Read the second part here.

Both parts of this editorial are well-written, but seem to focus on the negative aspects.  I feel a tenseness about the writers trials and tribulations and that's the only thing I pick up from reading both parts.  While i'm sure there are other people that have had problems, I on the other hand, have not had one single blue screen, crash, freeze or error.  The launch for me was as smooth as butter.  Probably one of the smoothest launches i've bore witness too.  Also, it's noteworthy that this was from a EU perspective and not a US perspective so bear that in mind when reading both articles.

[quote]In closing I'd like to note that many MMO gamers would gladly pay more to get more. If there is simply not enough money to pay sufficient staff the retail or subscription prices of MMOs should be adjusted. If part of what we are paying for is service, then many of us are perfectly happy to choose eating at a restaurant with waiters instead of going through the drive thru. We accept that it costs more, but we like the quality that we get. I'd like to see a company start to hire good staff in sufficient numbers from day one. That's something I'd pay for.[/quote]

I've shut down all my other games to move to this one and have no regrets so far.  There are certain features that I do sort of miss, like independent and guild city personal housing, and other personal structures for trade skill.  If there were certain extras like that made available for additional charges i know i would be willing to pay out higher subscription fees.  They should have a first class account thats gives more in the game at a higher price to help increase money for customer service maybe.

i too ran into the CE delay issue (amazon), fortunately my copy arrived a few days after they extended the cut off date.  I don't blame funcom for amazon's issue however.

gameplay wise i've been having a blast, short of a couple strange quest bugs that seems to always get resoled sooner than later.  i'm 42 on my main (and only) character and still have a ton of quests to go through.  combat is a blast for me.  i prefer this combat system to any other i have ever experienced in past mmos.

stealth patching i have a problem with however, if you've fixed something in a patch, let us know, its not that difficult.

Originally posted by araczynski

i too ran into the CE delay issue (amazon), fortunately my copy arrived a few days after they extended the cut off date.  I don't blame funcom for amazon's issue however.

Even if the blue post says "We are aware of this problem, its is being investigated" its enough to make people think they are not screaming into a vacuum like currently.

I think the tone set by this article is one of desperate hope... exactly right IMO

Ok, just to make it clear: there is no problem with reading both US and EU forums!

Please stop repeating the nonsense that's floating around and actually check it for yourself:

http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/index.php

http://forums.ageofconan.com/index.php

There's a nice big "US FORUMS" button at the top of the EU forum page. The ONLY issue is that you can't read the "Voice of Crom" section on the US forum, as you can't login there.

Originally posted by Asherett

Ok, just to make it clear: there is no problem with reading both US and EU forums!

Please stop repeating the nonsense that's floating around and actually check it for yourself:

 

http://forums-eu.ageofconan.com/index.php

http://forums.ageofconan.com/index.php

 

There's a nice big "US FORUMS" button at the top of the EU forum page. The ONLY issue is that you can't read the "Voice of Crom" section on the US forum, as you can't login there.

I have used my mystical editor powers to delete the offending section.

For me, everything went perfect!

I got my early access, played that, got my pre-order, no problem.
The Game pas level 20 is pathetic.

Demos "were" broken, now fixed, so I am a happy camper!

Funcom!

Seriously, I live in New Zealand...And had 0 problems.
Amazing? Or what...

This is more like it... An article that actually allows to critisise the game.  Many good points made but the solution is not the right one in my opinion.

"Players can and will sit on top of an issue which is of personal import" This is so true.  And thats the reason that any gaming developer should try to minimise the chance of individual problems.  In terms of servers and clients this is done by testing, fixing, testing again and then polish and finally test it once more.  And if game needs more fixing after that then u keep fixing it and testing it.  

In terms of supply, pre-orders and other issues - Thats more down to how compident the ppl in charge of distribution are and management of that factor.  And if there are some new ways of doing things (like EA was) then you need alot of tests before.  This was NOT done.  The game was distributed all over the world.  The reseller and online distribution is used to handle these big realse games.  There is no hiding that almost all problems are coming from EA and Pre-order  - Thats a system that Funcom is fully responsible for.

The OP gives us insight into his individual problems with the game.  Some others have had those problems.  Others have had client problems.  Some have FPS problems and others have lag problems.   And we are not even gonna be talking about the lack of features and content problems that most players will start to find out after first 25 lvls. In total the game has a whole bunch of diffrent individual problems that need special support.  And its for all to see that the customers service and technical support simply can't handle that amount of issues. And we can not see a game launch with 10 K ppl in customer support cause thats unrealistic.  So how to prevent this ?  Easy ... very, very very easy .....  Launch a game that has gone through more testing, more polishing, fewer issues in diffrent departments.  But first and formost - try everything possible to stay away from any unnessisery issues that could arise.  Like the EA turned out to be.  Like client issues that many players are having.  Its all there based on the fact it wasn't tested and wasn't up to the standard acceptable for release. 

Thats the whole problem of this game.  It simply wasn't and isn't ready for launch.  There are so many issues that need not just abit more work - but a huge amount of work to be acceptable to paying customers.   The game is unfinished - and untested.  And thats not acceptable.  Even tho the OP is chearing for the devs....

What can the MMO gamers do to try to raise the standards of new MMO releases ?  Just so that we will have games that are at acceptable state on release ?  Is that done by cheering on a gaming company and hoping for more support and comunications after the game has been out for 3-4 weeks ?  Or is it to demand a game with less issues at launch so you simply will not have all these issues piling up ?  I would say the answer is obvious.

The MMO gamers should not cheer for a gaming developer that is launching an unfinshed game - even tho it still can be enjoyed to some extend.   And they sure should not cheer for gaming companies that dont deliver the featuers and content that was said to be in the game.   And NO gaming site should cheer or "root"  for that kinda behaviour.

Silence is also a way of comunications.   Its often the only way to react when things go out of hand.   And we have to ask ourselfs.  Why has it gone out of hand now ?  Is it because of lack of support - or is it because the game simply was not ready to be sold to 100s of 1000s of customers?  

I can't cheer or root for Funcom at this point.  And noone should.  They launched a game knowing they didnt have it at an acceptable state.  They knew they would not be able to support the game with all those issues.   Thats not just sign of incompitent group of gaming developers.  Its sign of things to come.   Cheering or rooting for such a behavior only calls for more of the same.   And thats what Funcom will be doing.   - Sadly

I agree 100% with the OP about paying for quality.  Im ready to pay more for good and enjoyable game.  But that doesn't mean I or anyone else should accept paying one dime for somethng that is far from the acceptable standard.   So I can't belive that the OP who is working for a gaming site is telling ppl that they should pay for this product.   Thats  simply not acceptable.