All Posts by dalevi1

So, this was a non-guide guide?

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Burntvet

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Burntvet

And now that you mention it, I would like to see one of the MMORPG.com editors answer this simple question: Is SOE a paid advertiser on this site?

I am not wearing a tin-foil hat, but in the interestes of full disclosure, it is a fair question.

 

They have been. I don't think they are right now, but they have bought ad space from us in the past, just like pretty much every other MMO company out there. Our content office and our business office are not only separate in terms of one not informing the other of its business, but we are also separated by a continent. Content = Nova Scotia Canada, Business = Hawaii.

So, since you can clearly see the ads on the site, if you're asking me if they are a secret advertiser, the answer is no. If SOE is paying us for AD SPACE, you'll know because you'll see an AD.

When a company purchases ad space from us, that's exactly what they get. They get a certain amount of space on the site to advertise their product, they don't get any input at all into content or editorial workings of the site.

I explained, quite rationally, the reason for the change in the words. I know there are a lot of people out there who would love for this to be some giant conspiracy, but it's not. Go back and look through older reviews and see what a 6.5 is worth. That's probably a more worthwile approach than insulting me and everyone else who works for MMORPG.com with these accusations.

Also, while we're at it... In what world is a 6.5 a score worth buying? I mean seriously. 6.5 is NOT A GOOD SCORE, nor is "Acceptable" a good descriptor. I suspect you won't see "Acceptable" - MMORPG.com on any boxes.

If I seem upset about this, it's because I am. Every time something like this comes up, it bothers me just a little bit more. I don't know why people feel like it's ok to insult someone else's integrity without a)any kind of evidence or b) knowing them at all.

Hope that clears things up for you.

 

Don't know if you were responding specifically to me, but I might have missed the part where I insulted you.

It was as a simple question, the answer to which reviewers in other media outlets routinely disclose. Especially, where a commerical relationship exists separate from products/services being analyzed or reviewed.

Consumer Reports (tm) has a very high degree of credibility, for example, because they take NO money, advertising or otherwise, from the companies whose products they review. It completely removes any perception of bias. You answered truthfully that SOE has been a paid advertiser in the past and may be in the future. That's fine, no one is saying different.

I can accept that reviews and advertising departments may be separate, and that one may not influence the other here, but the same can not be said for other sites (we remember that Gamespot deal, and others).

So, I think a bit of skepticism is both warranted and useful when such information is not disclaimed.

Yeah, I now regret quoting your post, as I could totally see what you were saying.

I think my frustrated response is to the people who automatically jump to those conclusions and feel perfectly free to make accusations (see some fo the earlier posts in this thread).

We make no bones about the fact that MMO companies advertise with us. The bottom line is that they are the companies that get the most out of advertising here (no one comes to MMORPG.com if they aren't at least interested in playing MMOs). As a result, we can change more for ad space from them than we could from say, Ford (remember, I'm guessing here. I have nothing to dow ith the business end of this site, thank God or we'd all be in trouble. Business man I am not.)

I'll tell you what: You'll know the first time that anything inappropriate happens. I've always said that I would leave this site if we were EVER to make ANY concessions in terms of reviews and the like for an advertiser. Both morally and in terms of my career, I couldn't afford to stay at a company that engaged in those kinds of activities. fortunately, in the 3+ years I';ve been here, there has never, ever been even a whisper of funny business.

 

 

Wood, why should you ever regret replying to a post that questions your ethics while touting the need for a tin-foil hat? I would fare to say most of us accepted the "page 5" explanation. As a complete SWG refugee, I have to say this site has never once banned me, or warned me for balsting SOE.

Let him wear his tin-foil hat.

By the way, MMORPG.COM is owned by Halibuton, and they are receiving 1/2 of the 700B bailout.

Originally posted by Clattuc

Originally posted by Ozmodan

What don't you get,  SWG is no longer a sandbox, it has classes, no item decay means a dead economy, the crafters nightmare.  SWG is just not a sandbox in any sense of the word.

It is still MORE of a sandbox than most MMO's.  The "classes" (a/k/a iconic professions) are just some fencing erected to keep you from mixing professions like the old days.  You can respec any time you want, and you keep your category XP (combat, trade, ent) when you do respec, which means if you switch back later you don't lose anything.  Beast mastery is an option for everyone, and Pilot and Politician are still independent trees.  That's still pretty sandbox-y.

I hear you about stuff like item decay, but that's hardly a sandbox issue, and it's purely policy also: if they wanted to turn it back on tomorrow, they could.  The reason they don't want to is that they're worried that people on the various ghost servers will have no way to replace decayed stuff.  There are lot of "permanent emergency" policies like that - take self destruct in JTL for example.

Part of the problem with all this is that  while Vogel wanted a million casual Star Wars fan gamers, Koster built something elegant and complicated and unusual -- that appealed to a market 1/6th that size.  Then they left.  Brass at SOE/LEC never really "got" their own game, and the new developers found that if you messed with the gears too much, the pretty machine broke spectacularly.  So most of the guts are still in there.  They put a dunce cap and a strait jacket on it with the NGE, but the strait jacket is wearing thin and the gears are glinting through.

Wow. Strangely. That almost sums it up.

Originally posted by Burntvet

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by Burntvet

And now that you mention it, I would like to see one of the MMORPG.com editors answer this simple question: Is SOE a paid advertiser on this site?

I am not wearing a tin-foil hat, but in the interestes of full disclosure, it is a fair question.

 

They have been. I don't think they are right now, but they have bought ad space from us in the past, just like pretty much every other MMO company out there. Our content office and our business office are not only separate in terms of one not informing the other of its business, but we are also separated by a continent. Content = Nova Scotia Canada, Business = Hawaii.

So, since you can clearly see the ads on the site, if you're asking me if they are a secret advertiser, the answer is no. If SOE is paying us for AD SPACE, you'll know because you'll see an AD.

When a company purchases ad space from us, that's exactly what they get. They get a certain amount of space on the site to advertise their product, they don't get any input at all into content or editorial workings of the site.

I explained, quite rationally, the reason for the change in the words. I know there are a lot of people out there who would love for this to be some giant conspiracy, but it's not. Go back and look through older reviews and see what a 6.5 is worth. That's probably a more worthwile approach than insulting me and everyone else who works for MMORPG.com with these accusations.

Also, while we're at it... In what world is a 6.5 a score worth buying? I mean seriously. 6.5 is NOT A GOOD SCORE, nor is "Acceptable" a good descriptor. I suspect you won't see "Acceptable" - MMORPG.com on any boxes.

If I seem upset about this, it's because I am. Every time something like this comes up, it bothers me just a little bit more. I don't know why people feel like it's ok to insult someone else's integrity without a)any kind of evidence or b) knowing them at all.

Hope that clears things up for you.

 

Don't know if you were responding specifically to me, but I might have missed the part where I insulted you.

It was as a simple question, the answer to which reviewers in other media outlets routinely disclose. Especially, where a commerical relationship exists separate from products/services being analyzed or reviewed.

Consumer Reports (tm) has a very high degree of credibility, for example, because they take NO money, advertising or otherwise, from the companies whose products they review. It completely removes any perception of bias. You answered truthfully that SOE has been a paid advertiser in the past and may be in the future. That's fine, no one is saying different.

I can accept that reviews and advertising departments may be separate, and that one may not influence the other here, but the same can not be said for other sites (we remember that Gamespot deal, and others).

So, I think a bit of skepticism is both warranted and useful when such information is not disclaimed.

 

My god, you are comparing consumer reports to mmorpg.com? You expect mmorpg.com to exist outside the realm of online advertising space?  Do you even like this site? I personally love this site. I think it to be one of the three sites on the web you can bet I will click on at least once per day.

So, unlike Consumer Reports, MMORPG.COM does not have decades of repuatation, and thousands of paid suscriptions to bloster itself. MMORPG.COM has advertisements to pay the bills. It also has a very good reputation in the gaming community. Sure, the SWG vets have congregated here, and yes, we feel welcome here, but MMO has not for one second either 1) allowed us to break their site rules or 2) kicked us out for having an opinion. MMORPG has been more than welcoming to ANTI-SOE viewpoints. SO MUCH SO THAT PLAYERS ON SWG'S FORUMS TARGET MMORPG FOR BEING ANTI-SOE!!!

Skepticism. Please. They changed a single word. ONE DAMNED WORD. And you are all over them like white on rice. Grow up, or go away, preferably both. They even bothered to explain it.

Originally posted by JestorRodo

What the hell? Yesterday the one word comment to its 6.5 rating  was mediocre . Which I can agree but now it is this -

Final Score
6.5
Acceptable

The NGE is far cry from Acceptable, at least in the eyes of the over 200,000 fromer SOE customers who quickly made it part of their MMO gaming history.

Did SOE squeeze hard after reading the word mediocre because this game is truly mediocre and that is being nice.

 

Very lame of whoever  changed it and proves that SOE's reach to the forum is true.

This was explained earlier in the thread.

Originally posted by Burntvet

Originally posted by JestorRodo

What the hell? Yesterday the one word comment to its 6.5 rating  was mediocre . Which I can agree but now it is this -

Final Score
6.5
Acceptable

The NGE is far cry from Acceptable, at least in the eyes of the over 200,000 fromer SOE customers who quickly made it part of their MMO gaming history.

Did SOE squeeze hard after reading the word mediocre because this game is truly mediocre and that is being nice.

 

Very lame of whoever  changed it and proves that SOE's reach to the forum is true.

 

The other half of the equation, and, the part that should be considered when saying good/bad/mediocre about SWG is value (for the money). Is SWG good, for the sub fee of $15? Most would say no (and have said no, by canceling). If for some reason, a person played 3 or more other SOE titles, would it be worth 1/4 the price of station pass? For me, no, for others, maybe, but still probably not.

$15/mo is currently the high price (in the US at least, sorry VAT tax folks) for an MMO sub. The premium price, as it were, for a very much non-premium game.

When you go to Mcdonalds for a burger, you know damn well you are not going to get an excellent burger, you are going to get a average/mediocre/acceptable burger. But, you are getting that mediocre burger for a non-premium/average/mediocre price. For a excellent burger, you go to a pub/tavern/steakhouse and pay a higher price, but get the much better product you were expecting.

SWG, which is a not very good/average/mediocre (or worse) game, should not be played, simply because it not worth it for the charged price, anymore. Would you pay $9 for that Big Mac? Most people wouldn't, all other factors aside.

Where was that in the review?

You free to play(ers) never quit do you?

Very fair review. The game will never regain the delicate balance it had between systems that was thrown out with the bath water a couple of years ago. The one thing that remains true, is there are *still* some very unique things about SWG. The sad thing is, they are of no use to the whole anymore.

Jef, I take off my hate...I mean, hat. This is a great article, perhaps the best I have read concerning SWG in ages. I would play along with the roleplayers when I happed to cross their city on Tatooine (the one with the really nice cantina, what was it's name, you also did the krayt skull quest nearby). They scared the hell out of me the first time I came upon them (4 months after launch). I eventually played along only to find my toon in jail for the evening. In GC, everyone was laughing their asses off at my misfortune, we had a policy not to insult RP, and to play along when it came about.

I think that city was the first place I visit every time I go back to see what the game is like. My core guildies are strangely still there (we were a space faring guild). The RP is nowhere to be found...

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Ok thanks for the advice, let me know when they offer a fresh server start and I'll be back.

Well they haven't started a new server, so I guess you can go back the NGE and WoW for the time being. That way, 1) WoW can always give you a new server, and 2) SWG can give you a new game with every update.

Bye now...

Originally posted by RedwoodSap

Until they offer a fresh server start, nothing else matters. Keep me posted.

There are plenty of other games out there, so have fun playing them. Is there *anything* on this site people don't complain about?