All Posts by forthelulz

www.mmogamer.com/03/24/2008/interview-fallen-earth-lead-designer-lee-hammock-part-one

my favorite part:

The MMO Gamer: Fantasy MMOs, at last count, make up around 90 to 95% of the market share. What made you wake up one morning and say to yourself, “You know, I’m going to try and increase that 5%”?

Lee Hammock: Because almost everyone else is increasing the 95%. Most of the games coming out are fantasy of some genre, and most people seem to be sick of elves and dwarves.

If you look at the games recently to come out that are, for lack of a better term, WoW or EverQuest clones, designed along that paradigm, they’re not doing that well.

well said lee!

when they removed ranger. those sons of motherless goats!

Andrew Zaffron, legal counsel for Sony Online Entertainment, released a letter that claimed Mystere's fan fiction had violated intellectual property rights. In part, the letter said, "If this story were about Luke Skywalker or Mickey Mouse, you'd certainly expect Lucas or Disney (respectively) to resort to their legal rights to protect their valuable property and good name; this is nothing different."

i'm sorry i must be seeing things. there is no star wars fan fiction then? you know...that movie where at first luke has the hots for his sister?

Originally posted by DuraheLL

 

Originally posted by forthelulz

(3) I dunno, are you gonna link me an example by any chance? Cus I could link you millions of OFFICIAL thread posts which does the same

go for it.

Oh my... for real? I really hope somebody here is reading all of this, and having great fun while doing it :)

 

I really don't feel I should need to do this, because it's so obviously ... obvious, but if you insist? Really? I will update this post with some findings. Unless somebody comes to my rescue so I won't have to >_<

Ok... here's some random findings... :

WoW forums:

link...

link...

link...

link...

EQ2 forums:

link...

Ok enough in goin back to watching TV :)

 

 

  OMG of course you can find links to games run by companies that allow discussion on their dime. can't do the same for doac though can you? that was the whole point.

Originally posted by DuraheLL

 

 

Originally posted by forthelulz

(1)  so if the game runs for a few years its a good excuse to ignore the people who write your checks?

(2) a game with a much smaller playerbase than this one will.

(3) he came here instead of where? a fansite that would say "cry more noob!"?

 

(1) But I didn't say IGNORE did I? I said just as good. And especially now with a new game of theirs coming up. And I did see happy people even in the thread you linked.

(2) However that will be an issue time will tell. But maby it won't even get that much of a bigger audience?

(3) I dunno, are you gonna link me an example by any chance? Cus I could link you millions of OFFICIAL thread posts which does the same

go for it.

Originally posted by DuraheLL

 

Originally posted by forthelulz

 

ummm...so the thread is from last year? so? oh, and notice he had to come here and complain...because...there...are...no...official...forums...also notice many others agreeing with him...on a forum

where the company cannot see it...

I had a couple of reasons stating that date.

 

1) Can you honestly expect the player support to be on-top even after about 7 years after release?

so if the game runs for a few years its a good excuse to ignore the people who write your checks?

2) Many years of age on a game without an official forum... hmmm! How could they have done it? :O

a game with a much smaller playerbase than this one will.

While your previous comment made me chuckle, this one made me laugh. You try to push it even further :) Stating a very bland sentence like the one I colored green.

And he didn't HAVE to come here and complain ROFL. His intention behind the entire post was to vent his dissapointment with the makers. Why would he vent to them even further on that matter after already obviously having enough with them? Couldn't that be a reason why he came here instead?

he came here instead of where? a fansite that would say "cry more noob!"?

Originally posted by threetwosix

 

Originally posted by forthelulz

 

Originally posted by threetwosix

 

Originally posted by Lidane

 

Originally posted by Shifty360 

 Officials forums are the drive through window of MMOs.

 Very, very few people want to go fishing through a bunch of different, often contradictory, always political fansites in order to get an answer for a technical problem, or some other issue they see as gamebreaking. They want to contact the developers directly, at their site, and on their dime. And they want at least the illusion that the dev team gives a damn about their concerns via an actual exchange on that official site.

It's the new customers that Mythic need to think of, and that includes giving them a place on the official site for them to speak to the devs directly. E-mail isn't good enough. Having to navigate fanboy politics and fansites in order to get info, or,  more ridiculously, being told that they should rely on Google isn't acceptable either. Having to fish through a bunch of fansites instead of getting a direct answer will turn a lot of people off. It has the potential to do serious damage.

Sure, it seems like a minor issue, but customer service is often the most make or break factor in whether or not people stay with a game. Even if they like the game, if the CS is seen as aloof or abysmal, people will vote with their wallets and leave.

Mythic, unlike nearly every other MMO alive, has a very good in game CSR system.  They respond PROMPTLY to "gamebreaking" problems.  And they do it IN-GAME.  You don't have to log out (or minimize), go to the forum, post your message and then wait for a response.  It's taken care of right then and there.  It seems to me that you have been tainted by an $OE experience. 

 

IMO, the only thing that will be missing by not having an offical forum is people crying about getting owned and belittling people.

three2six

of course.

 

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/113277

 

soooo, you are linking a thread with a discussion among 6 people as an excuse to debate my post?  And not even all 6 have a problem with the customer support.  C'mon, I know you can give me something better than that.  Of the possibly hundreds of thousands of people that have played/tried DAoC, you throw down a 6 man discussion.  I'm insulted...

three2six

gee, it sure is hard to find a negative thought on that game...guess mythic does know what they are doing..

Originally posted by DuraheLL

Originally posted by forthelulz

 

of course.

 

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/113277

 

Was that a serious attempt? Very weak, you link one thread about some unhappy customers and you expect us to react WHAT way? Btw, the thread is also from 2007!!

where the company cannot see it...

Originally posted by threetwosix

 

Originally posted by Lidane

 

Originally posted by Shifty360 

 Officials forums are the drive through window of MMOs.

 Very, very few people want to go fishing through a bunch of different, often contradictory, always political fansites in order to get an answer for a technical problem, or some other issue they see as gamebreaking. They want to contact the developers directly, at their site, and on their dime. And they want at least the illusion that the dev team gives a damn about their concerns via an actual exchange on that official site.

It's the new customers that Mythic need to think of, and that includes giving them a place on the official site for them to speak to the devs directly. E-mail isn't good enough. Having to navigate fanboy politics and fansites in order to get info, or,  more ridiculously, being told that they should rely on Google isn't acceptable either. Having to fish through a bunch of fansites instead of getting a direct answer will turn a lot of people off. It has the potential to do serious damage.

Sure, it seems like a minor issue, but customer service is often the most make or break factor in whether or not people stay with a game. Even if they like the game, if the CS is seen as aloof or abysmal, people will vote with their wallets and leave.

Mythic, unlike nearly every other MMO alive, has a very good in game CSR system.  They respond PROMPTLY to "gamebreaking" problems.  And they do it IN-GAME.  You don't have to log out (or minimize), go to the forum, post your message and then wait for a response.  It's taken care of right then and there.  It seems to me that you have been tainted by an $OE experience. 

 

IMO, the only thing that will be missing by not having an offical forum is people crying about getting owned and belittling people.

three2six

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/113277

Originally posted by markoraos

The thread that wouldn't die...

Incredible.

IT'S OVER 9000!!!

Originally posted by eric1000

 

Originally posted by Lidane

 

Originally posted by Shifty360 

 Officials forums are the drive through window of MMOs.

 

Exactly. Which is precisely why they're a good idea.

Why do people like drive-through windows? Because they're quick, convenient, and they don't have to stop what they're otherwise doing (i.e., going to work, going home, etc.) in order to get something they need. They can get in, get out, and get on with their lives while still meeting some specific want or need.

Contrary to popular belief, this is a good thing. It's efficient. It doesn't slow people down, and lets them get back to their own time faster-- time that they can otherwise spend playing the game.

Very, very few people want to go fishing through a bunch of different, often contradictory, always political fansites in order to get an answer for a technical problem, or some other issue they see as gamebreaking. They want to contact the developers directly, at their site, and on their dime. And they want at least the illusion that the dev team gives a damn about their concerns via an actual exchange on that official site.

Apparently, no one here looked at the Vanguard forums when that game first went live. At first, the only forums were tech forums hosted by SOE, because Sigil, like Mythic, were convinced that a lack of official forums would be a good idea. So the devs went on their merry little way posting on fansites as they always had, leaving the tech forums to a bunch of TSR and CSR reps for SOE. People waited for days for some sort of official interaction from the devs, then became livid when they'd find out that instead of posting on the official site, the Vanguard devs were off at a fansite somewhere. It killed their already shaky reputation, and gave the impression that Sigil didn't care about their customers, and that they only cared about the fanboys that had kissed up to them in order to get attention for their fansite so the devs would post there.

If you think that something similar won't happen to Mythic by not having official forums, you're playing with fire. WAR has the very real potential to bring in a lot of new players to the MMO genre. Players who haven't been following the game for years on end, and who aren't already familiar with Mythic and how they work. Those are the people that need to be catered to, no the fanboys that have been around for years. They're already converts to the game, and they'll stick around because they're already invested in WAR.

It's the new customers that Mythic need to think of, and that includes giving them a place on the official site for them to speak to the devs directly. E-mail isn't good enough. Having to navigate fanboy politics and fansites in order to get info, or,  more ridiculously, being told that they should rely on Google isn't acceptable either. Having to fish through a bunch of fansites instead of getting a direct answer will turn a lot of people off. It has the potential to do serious damage.

Sure, it seems like a minor issue, but customer service is often the most make or break factor in whether or not people stay with a game. Even if they like the game, if the CS is seen as aloof or abysmal, people will vote with their wallets and leave.

 

And this is different to trawling through thousands of forum posts on an official site to find what you want how exactly?

go to any official site and search the term "faq" or "guide"

 

If you have a problem that only the devs can help with then use the feedback form on the herald and you will be guaranteed a faster and more efficient response than posting on a forum.  If on the other hand it's a problem that the players can help with then post on a major fansite like warhammer alliance and you will get the answer just as quickly as you would on an official site.

 expecting casual gamers to email the devs? and expecting the busy devs to stop and deal with it

is better/easier than a simple forum?

Get it through your heads ok, Mythic do not do official forums, they never have and I doubt they ever will.  Wether EA will have one remains to be seen but Mythic will not., end of story so live with it instead of whining about it.

i guess we will have to see what the backlash will be for launch bugs and disconnection problems

that happen with every mmo. and how ea/mythic handle potentially a million emails.

oh and get it through your head...not all of us want to help bump your fansite up the list just because we have a question/problem...

Originally posted by DuraheLL

With all due respect folks, the answer "google the answers" even made ME laugh out loud

yeah seriously. "visit our fansite and deal with us or use google". not exactly a good defense.

Originally posted by markoraos

I can list a few valid arguments FOR official forums, such as:

1) the customers know that there is a forum that the devs are obliged to pay attention to

2) it's more casual for casuals (sic) to have one main forum they can casually turn to

3) it does give somewhat more "seriousness" to the whole thing

4) it's an industry standard

etc...

All that being said I still believe that MBJ's stand is a correct one and that his arguments are pretty much valid.

However, your main argument that "They won't have official forums because they know their game is going to bomb so they want to hush it up." is just plain silly. Please do try to come up with a better one. If you're having any difficulties please feel free to pick one from the four I listed above.

i hope the game does well...there ill say it again. my point was and still is:

           if some people want official forums....and why shouldn't they.....every other game does....why not?

if you find them full of crackpot whiners then don't go there. case closed.

<modedit>

unless complete and total control of a star wars game is given to raph koster...count me out. sandbox or nothing.

Originally posted by Arkane_A

Originally posted by forthelulz

Originally posted by darkboaz

  Well with out an offical site you do not have to deal with moderating it or runing it.  It is varry cost effective  some one will do it for you. You also show your players they you expect them to hunt down answers and leave them with a hope and a prayer to get offical answers.

not to mention if the developers know at launch there are going to be some very unhappy customers....

They announced this two years ago that they wouldn't have WAR official forums because they didn't have them for DAoC 7 years ago! It wasn't like four days ago they said "oh man people aren't going to be happy, let us scratch the official forum idea!", this was decided LONG ago.

<modedit>

so why does it matter when they decided? 2 years ago the only people following the game closely were

hardcore fans...

Originally posted by darkboaz

  Well with out an offical site you do not have to deal with moderating it or runing it.  It is varry cost effective  some one will do it for you. You also show your players they you expect them to hunt down answers and leave them with a hope and a prayer to get offical answers.

not to mention if the developers know at launch there are going to be some very unhappy customers....

Originally posted by WHCWrenn

/yawn

Old topic . . with a long-ass post. But I read it, so I could present a condensed version for everyone to read:

Condensed version of OP's post:  I am a troll. I play Hello Kitty Island Adventure! Have a great weekend!

Originally posted by Ollie77

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUzZvXRrGa0

www.youtube.com/watch

honestly don't see this working.