All Posts by KlausW
All Posts by KlausW - 165 found
|
5/28/08 11:43 AM
|
|
Viewed 1130, Replies 8
|
|
|
A true 'undeveloped' server would not be possible given the way Istaria's development system works. Changes made to the development server, Genesis, are replicated to all the live servers. In order to have a server with a different version of the world running, there would have to be a seperate and dedicated development server and all content would have to be entered twice and debugged twice at the very least. So, any new server would be identical to Chaos & Order as they currently are. Given that fact, it's very unlikely that any new servers will be started any time soon. Beefing up Chaos & Order would be a much better use of the hardware required to run a new server. |
|
|
5/15/08 11:12 AM
|
|
Viewed 5923, Replies 185
|
|
|
One more cancelled preorder here. For me, the deciding factor was Funcom's attitude that it was Amazon's fault I didn't get into early access, even though an Amazon CSR told me that their direction from Funcom was not to send out the codes until the 17th. The publisher has control over the release date of their product, not the retailer. This may not surpass the NGE as "Dumbest Move in MMO History", but I bet it comes close. |
|
|
|
4/25/08 12:45 PM
|
|
Viewed 1562, Replies 11
|
|
|
Sure, some of the material rolled out had been started under Tulga. It was finished under Virtrium. There wasn't really all that much finished and unreleased Tulga material. The items Tulga had ready to go would have been pushed out as part of deltas 119, 120, and 121. The most recent delta to go to live was 138. For details of the contents of each delta, please see the patch notes. :-) |
|
|
|
4/09/08 11:18 AM
|
|
Viewed 4781, Replies 42
|
|
|
Well, green13, I think this sounds like a good time for us to agree to disagree. As I said, I think you were right to confront this person, but (again, just my personal opinion) I do think you're over-reacting a bit. Not a big deal, though. Reasonable people may reasonably differ and all that. Good luck in your new game, whatever that turns out to be. :-) |
|
|
|
4/07/08 10:54 AM
|
|
Viewed 4781, Replies 42
|
|
As I said earlier, some people are very good at going right to the edge of what's acceptable without actually crossing over it. I can understand why you might feel that reporting this kind of behavior won't do any good; however, the simple truth is that nothing can be done unless it IS reported. The basis for all action is documentation and reporting. Even though the incident you reported was determined not to be a violation, that report is still noted on the player's account. If other players report other offensive behavior by the same person, those notes will build up. If the person you reported was one of the ones attacking other players in MP chat, well, now you're setting up to show a pattern of disruptive and abusive behavior. No company is going to retain a problem player who drives off customers. That simply makes no sense. The issue is getting enough proof together to support taking action against that player's account. Even the most offensive problem player deserves fair due process. |
|
|
|
4/04/08 4:20 PM
|
|
Viewed 4781, Replies 42
|
|
Green13, the statement that you are citing may be upsetting, but it doesn't qualify as a breach of the TOS. It is not a racial or religious slur. I would say it's close to the line, yes, but it doesn't cross it. The issue is not that Virtrium refused to do anything; it's that what you reported was determined not to be a violation. I can tell that decision bothered you, and I understand your anger over it, but saying something ignorant isn't against the rules. Personally, I find the statement ugly, offensive, and it says a lot about the person who made it. I think you did the right thing in confronting this person. Sadly, people like this are often very skilled at skating the very edge of acceptability, but never actually passing over it. You are also going to find them anywhere you go, and in any game you play, doing the same things you saw them do in Horizons. You can't stop them, any more than any game company you care to name is able to. What you can do is stand up to them, report them when you can, and work to make the game community as a whole a better place. Best of luck, where ever your journeys take you, and good gaming! |
|
|
|
4/01/08 10:13 AM
|
|
Viewed 4781, Replies 42
|
|
|
I wouldn't say anyone turns a blind eye to the occasional outburst of vitriol; it's more that such outbursts generally don't violate any of the TOS limitations. People are going to gripe and complain and be rude, but those aren't against the rules. However, if someone's behavior DOES violate the TOS due to things like racist comments, sexual harassment, or other prohibited conduct, that's different. That sort of conduct should be documented and reported because it is not acceptable. Fortunatly, such conduct is exceedingly rare; anyone who makes a habit of acting like that can pretty much be considered to be a self-correcting error. |
|
|
|
3/17/08 12:25 PM
|
|
Viewed 602, Replies 4
|
|
|
Quite a few folks from around the EU play, as a matter of fact. The best place to ask specific questions is the community website, http://community.istaria.com/ From there you can get information on the 14-day free trial, subscription options, and options for downloading the installer. I expect that you'll find the answers to most of your questions in the community forums; just remember that 'Search' is your friend. :-) Feel free to join the community forum and introduce yourself; it's a great way to meet the people you'll be playing with and to learn your way around. Have fun, and I hope we'll see you around! |
|
|
|
2/27/08 3:32 PM
|
|
Viewed 1353, Replies 10
|
|
|
The best thing to do as a new player is to click on the "Browse Player Channels" button on your main chat window and join "New Player Assistance". The vets who hang out in there are happy to answer questions and help new folks get started. If you are playing a dragon, you can also get help and meet people through "Dragon" chat. You can start crafting at once; in fact, the basics of crafting are part of the tutorial. Some crafting schools require you to hit level 20 in a base class, so you might not be able to see one of those schools during a trial period. That, however, is up to you. ;-) The most advanced crafting involves construction, either of biped structures or dragon lairs. Building a house or a lair requires a lot of time and resources; however, doing paid construction work is a great way to make money in-game. There are a good number of low-level quests, but more are needed for the middle & high-level players. The development team is well aware of this need and adding quest content is an ongoing project. The best way to get an idea of what has been going on with the game is to look at the patch notes at http://community.istaria.com/ Have fun during the trial, and don't hesitate to ask questions - we were all newbs once. :-) |
|
|
|
2/05/08 10:35 AM
|
|
Viewed 7624, Replies 50
|
|
That's a good question, but you should ask it of Ed Andercheck himself. As Orlena notes, you have not provided any proof that Ed actually made those claims. The claims themselves have been shown to be false, regardless of who originated them, and that's all that matters as far as Horizons is concerned. |
|
|
|
1/17/08 4:01 PM
|
|
Viewed 1108, Replies 7
|
|
|
DonnieBrasco: It's hard to say if the things you refer to have been improved. 'Loading lag', for example, could mean a lot of things. Do you mean time for the world to load when you port? If you're porting to someplace you've never been, yes, it still takes several extra seconds to load the world cache. That, however, is normally a one-time thing. After that, usually loading times for me are only a few seconds. As far as a 'GFX update' goes, the art team is constantly working to improve the models the game uses. The programming team is constantly working on improving client performance in various ways. These are both regular, ongoing efforts. Now, if you're talking about a huge, all-encompassing revamp of the art assets, the client, and the rendering system, then no, that doesn't appear to be in the works. Just constant, ongoing efforts at improvement. |
|
|
|
12/14/07 1:14 PM
|
|
Viewed 6380, Replies 161
|
|
|
Least Fun: Vanguard Most Desolate: Worst Use of Popular IP or License: Lamest Launch: Most Likely to be Cancelled in 2008: Biggest Stinker: |
|
|
|
6/15/07 11:32 AM
|
|
Viewed 1672, Replies 34
|
|
|
It's also worth noting that some types of changes cannot be tested properly in the development/testing environment, simply because the possible combinations of gear, skills, combat modifiers, etc. is nearly infinite. Changes to mob AI or aggro systems, for example, can't be fully evaluated internally because of the sheer number of possible combinations of gear, skills, modifiers, and playstyles. Even when the dev team makes a point of telling the player base that the effects of a change will be monitored and adjustments will be made if needed, the playerbase screams in outrage about lack of QA testing - nevermind the fact that they are taking part in the QA testing! Of course, it's easier to write a three-page rant about dev stupidity than it is to turn in a two-paragraph problem report detailing the effect, when it occurs, and what actions, if any, trigger it... |
|
|
|
11/28/06 7:31 PM
|
|
Viewed 1339, Replies 12
|
|
|
If it means new investment and development for Horizons, well and good. However, the Pixel Magic web page doesn't talk about MMO development, it talks about building online communities (read: forums and community web sites) for MMOs. Considering how badly EI has treated the Horizons community, the ongoing deletions of threads started by people improperly billed by EI, the state of the Savage Eden forums, the abandonment of the Horizons shard heralds (all of whom had their herald accounts on the community forum deleted), and the vigorous suppression of any criticism of EI itself, the idea that these people are promoting themselves as experts in building online communities is nothing short of laughable. |
|
|
|
11/14/06 3:48 PM
|
|
Viewed 4963, Replies 101
|
|
|
I hope the author didn't decide to put part 2 on hold in order to get EI's side of the story; their response time seems to be slightly longer then the half-life of enriched uranium... |
|
|
|
11/08/06 1:38 PM
|
|
Viewed 4963, Replies 101
|
|
|
There's no doubt that David did know that Baker was looking to sell, but as of E3 (when the expansion and DWO were announced), no potential buyer had expressed interest yet. Tulga continued to work on Horizons because, until a sale is finalized, there's no way to know if it will go through or fall apart. EI claims that the expansion never existed. I think they said that because, being totally clueless about how to develop an MMO, they had no idea what a design document is. A lot of the stuff in the expansion either existed already but wasn't usable (furniture & pets) or was going to be built on systems that already existed (racial housing). The process of approving the design document had to be completed before coding & asset creation, etc. could start, which is why EI said that 'no work had been done on it' and dismissed the design document ( which was still being written) as 'just a bunch of ideas'. Some Tulga employees had been pulled off of Horizons to work on DWO. The reason for this is simple: Horizons needs a new client very, very badly. However, it would have been a disaster to try to develop & test it on a live game. DWO, had it gone forward, would have been the environment for testing the new client. Once it was stable & ready to go, then we would have seen it in Horizons. So, yes, there were Tulga employees who were not working on Horizons directly, but the work they were doing would have benefitted Horizons in the long run. Yes, DWO was an attempt to acquire additional investor support. Of course it was. Additional investment money would mean additional headcount and greater stability for Tulga, which in turn would be good for Horizons. I do believe that David was hoping to attract a buyer who would be willing to invest in the future of Tulga and Horizons. Baker was not in for the long haul, and had no interest in Horizons as a game or as a community. If Horizons had been bought by someone who was committed to developing the game, the player base wouldn't be fleeing like rats from a burning ship. |
|
|
|
11/06/06 1:08 PM
|
|
Viewed 4963, Replies 101
|
|
Right up until the point where the sale of Horizons to EI was finalized, DWO was activly being worked on. David didn't go back on any promises; the owner of the company fired everyone and shut the company down. That's not something David had any choice in. |
|
|
|
11/03/06 12:32 PM
|
|
Viewed 4963, Replies 101
|
|
|
Mustasio, DWO is pretty much DOA. Chris Baker fired the entire Tulga team when he sold Horizons to EI. David and a few other folks were kept on to train EI personnel in operating Horizons, but once the transition contract expired, they were fired as well. For all intents and purposes, Tulga Games does not exist anymore. As far as the David Allen story goes, the article that 'exposes' the takeover has been floating around for a few years now. It's totally one-sided (as in, the only person who's side is presented is David Allen's) but a lot of people take it as gospel truth. The thing with the takeover is this: David Allen had spent a lot of his investors' money and there was nothing to show for it but a lot of neat ideas. The investors wanted to see a product ship, and they voted David Allen out. David Bowman had been hired because of his experience at Bungie and Turbine. He had gotten products out the door, and that's why the board of directors put him in charge. David Bowman did not backstab David Allen; David Allen screwed up and his investors fired him for it. David Allen had some terriffic ideas, but if you look up the interviews and articles he did, anytime someone asked if the game would have a given feature, his answer was always "Yes!" While that may sound great, making a promise without checking to see if the programming team and the game engine can deliver is a really bad idea. If he'd set realistic goals and focused on achieving them, he probably wouldn't have gotten fired from his own project. |
|
|
|
11/01/06 5:13 PM
|
|
Viewed 2545, Replies 43
|
|
Sort of. That was a case of a player with a ton of money being given WM powers and allowed to play developer, though. It wasn't a hack, just one of the worst decisions in the history of the game. The items recently discovered on Order were (as far as has been divulged by Amadan) created by someone who was given WM abilities but who was not a Tulga employee. This person abused the trust that was placed in them, and has been dealt with. In both cases, the persons involved had been set up with a WM account by AE/Tulga. No hacks were involved. |
|
|
|
11/01/06 1:17 PM
|
|
Viewed 2545, Replies 43
|
|
|
"We reported this hole in beta and got banned to shut us up..." Yeah, riiiight.... Without analyzing previous versions of the launcher code, nobody can say for sure how long this specific weakness has existed. The web launcher was tweaked & updated several times after launch; the beta version didn't even use .NET, for example. If this specific hole DID exist in beta, anyone who knew about it should have reported it. "This software has a bunch of security holes and everyone knows it!" isn't a valid bug report. A valid bug report is specific, detailed, and has all the information available to the submitter so that the programming team can reproduce the issue. I don't believe anyone who says they reported this and were banned or ignored, because other serious security issues were reported and were addressed. It's in the best interests of the company and the game to address issues like this as soon as possible, so punishing people for reporting them makes no sense whatsoever. The vulnerability in question doesn't endanger players unless their password has been comprimised. Even then, most of the things this vulnerability allows someone to do are related to playing for free - which anyone can do now anyway, thanks to EI's billing system issues. The threat is to EI, but only from someone who has the server password. It's still a critical issue, but it's not a situation where the player base as a whole is threatened. Without knowing when the vulnerability was introduced, without actual proof that a legitimate bug report about this specific issue was submitted prior to the report in question, the only facts available right now are that EI was advised of the issue in August and that the issue was still not addressed 60 days later. Tulga couldn't do anything about it; everyone who could have fixed it had already been fired by Chris Baker and all the game assets had been turned over to EI at that point. EI did not fix the issue and there is no evidence that they would have ever done so on their own. That failure is totally on EI. Good luck getting it fixed; I doubt anyone who knows the code will be willing to take a contract with a company that has already bounced paychecks for two other contractors. |
|
