All Posts by LondonMagus

Just because people have legitimate grievances with Funcom about aspects of the game, that doesn't mean it is valid to extrapolate them into rampant paranoia.

This isn't a 'Credit Card Scam', it is just good old fashioned incompetence. I agree totally that a card shouldn't be billed a week in advance or that an account shouldn't be charged after it has been cancelled well in advance, but these sorts of errors occur everywhere.

Whenever companies make errors in billing, the natural reaction is to accuse them of doing it on purpose because not everyone bothers to claim the money back, but unless you have definite proof of deliberate fraud rather than just shoddy unprofessional account management, it really is just paranoia.

The safest option is to cancel well in advance & always delete your credit card details.

In my opinion of course.

Maybe instancing on the Euro Servers is less of an issue, because I certainly haven't noticed it that much.

Personally I don't think the game is that bad but it doesn't feel like a real MMO either, more like a higher quality console game with built in chat channels to other players.

I played PvE not PvP mainly because all the talk of gratuitous ganking by high level players put me off, so I don't know if there was more of a 'community feel' on the PvP servers. On PvE though it really feels a lot like playing a souped up sequel to 'Legends of Norrath' or something. It's fun to play, but kind of hollow & with limited durability. I usually create several Alts, but just can't build up enough enthusiasm in AoC.

Due to lack of spare time in RL, I am a casual player myself so I don't generally like solo unfriendly games with too much forced grouping. Other MMOs I have played have had more atmosphere than AoC seems to have at the moment though, so I am still hopeful that new games can be both reasonably solo friendly & not feel like playing in a very large goldfish bowl.

In theory  I can join the WAR Beta next week, so maybe my optimism will be justified, who knows?

Originally posted by Die_Scream

Originally posted by Boreil

Yes i agree with Vesavius  im sick of the solo friendly quest based  mmorpg's of today  where you solo or do  5000 quests till you max level , we need a real  group based sandbox  pvp mmorpg ,  Something like a combo of old school Eq and old school UO.

I hear you, so am I. While I believe WAR is going to be pretty good and I will play, I'd love to see a real sandbox MMO. Sadly, the corporate suits don't believe there is a dumptruck full of money in it for them. So we have games like AoC released and 700K created accounts at least, indicating that people will buy anything they hype enough (with lies, IMO - FC).

People are still supporting FC and paying them to beta AoC though, so even after the wool is pulled from the masses eyes, there are still some who will pay for a bad product as long as it is yet another clone.

Yes, I am going to buy WAR, but I think i'll give it a month or so after release to see what the community in general is saying about it. 

I must be a sucker for punishment as I finally managed to pick up a pre-order box for the UK WAR Collector's edition today & will in theory have access to the Beta from next week.

It's funny how easy it is to be optimistic before a game launches, but I can't be wrong all of the time.

I think Anime will be around for a long time, Hell my son & I seem to spend a small fortune on it.

Anime worlds could make great MMOs & most already have very stylish artwork.

Excluding the obvious ones, 'Full Metal Alchemist', 'Ghost in the Shell' & 'Kurau' could be fun as they don't feature stories where only the central characters have special powers.

One of my favourite Anime's was 'Angelic Layer' which is sort of tournament based already, so that might be good for PvP but is probably more suited to a console game.

'Trinity Blood' might be good for 'Realm vs Realm' since it was SciFi based on 'Augmented Humans' vs 'NanoTech Vampires'. 'Witchhunter Robin' could be good for similar reasons as it is a Sci-Fi Witches vs Inquisition. 

'Gunslinger Girl' Anime might be fun, if a little odd since everyone would be RPing girl assassins.

There are so just so many great titles, I hope a good one gets made into an MMO soon.

Originally posted by V_Repoman_V

Wow, 45% RWT for an advantage?

That makes me not feel like playing anymore.

If i even see "item mall" on the main page, im off to find another game.

Whats the point of playing a game when u dislike the gameplay  so much that u gotta use real cash to outshine others?

Thats like steroids in pro sports. Its just not right, and it ruins the game for honest players.

Agree totally. I was about to try to add my own comments, but yours sum the issues up much better.

Originally posted by dterry

Everytime I see the title of this thread I just want to add to it"

 "Dogs and cats living together!!!!!"   "Mass Hysteria!!!!"

 ...tell him about the twinkie.

Let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. Based on this morning's reading, it would be a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds.

That's a big Twinkie.

Originally posted by bonafidee

I got a curious question. Arent you screwing yourselves playing on NA servers from EU anyway due to latency? Split second decisions mean everything in PvP and that guy with 150 less ping is surely got the advantage.

To be honest I would be happy enough just to get a flavour of what the released game will be like.
 

Originally posted by Lonesamurai1

Originally posted by LondonMagus

Originally posted by BRYANBARTLEY

well i have already paid for the game in full through my local gamestop >.<

im just worried that the d/l servers will be clogged and take hours.

LOL, I just opened the box & all it contained was a piece of paper with codes for 'Open Beta', 'Live Game Head Start' & 'In Game Bonus Items', there was no disc after all.

yeah, thats the Euro CollectorsEdition "Preorder Pack"...   although its NOT a preorder asHMV took no details from me...  nor dothey have it asa preorder on thier system

It's funny, their Customer Services insisted that every purchase of the pre-order pack was associated with an order against a fixed number of packs allocated to HMV & that the only way i wouldn't get my copy would be if Mythic's distrubutors reduced their allocation at the last minute.

I'm not convinced at all & think that I just paid £10 for a piece of paper entitling me to early access & some bonus items, which all things considered probably isn't that bad a deal.

I'll let you know what they say tomorrow when I get my call from the 'King of Games' at my local HMV.

Originally posted by BRYANBARTLEY

well i have already paid for the game in full through my local gamestop >.<

im just worried that the d/l servers will be clogged and take hours.

LOL, I just opened the box & all it contained was a piece of paper with codes for 'Open Beta', 'Live Game Head Start' & 'In Game Bonus Items', there was no disc after all.

Originally posted by BRYANBARTLEY

open beta is available for the people in NA to download on the 15th

so i am not to sure when it starts,

i am just wondering why you get a beta "Disc"

and we have to download xD

probably cause of the higher prices over there

I'm not sure either, but arrangements for the UK are often bizarrely overcomplicated.

Do you have to pay to download the 'Open Beta'? The disc cost £10 but it is effectively just a non-refundable a deposit on the 'Collectors Edition' as it gives you £10 off the cost of the game when it is released. A lot of UK shops seem to do this in order to stop people pre-ordering things they don't want & then cancelling at the last minute.

Originally posted by BRYANBARTLEY

So y'all get a beta "Disc'?

I have the 'Disc' in front of me now & allegedly it guarantees me access to the 'Open Beta', so when does that start as opposed to the current one?

Sorry if that is another silly question, I applied for the 'Beta' online ages ago but lost track when it was obvious that I wasn't going to get selected.

Originally posted by Lonesamurai1

Originally posted by LondonMagus

Originally posted by Lonesamurai1

Originally posted by LondonMagus

I suppose this is a silly question, but does anyone know whether there is anywhere that I could still order a UK Collector's Edition from? I tried the links on the official WAR site but they all seem to be sold out.

My local HMV still has some, try yours...

although if like mine, they won;t understand its a preorder and just sell it toyou for £10... 

Thanks!

I had thought HMV weren't really stocking it as it doesn't show up on their website but after having just had several very strange conversations with various customer support lines, apparently HMV-Online is an entirely different company & whilst they aren't stocking it, selected HMV Branches are.

One of the HMV Shops near me does have copies left but rather quaintly for the 21st century, it is impossible for me to reserve one over the phone so I am about to pop out & buy one in person the old fashioned way.

Let me know if they actually take your personal details for the preorder or not, I'm interested to see if all HMV's are as useless asmylocal one or not... 

Hell, my (I thought quite smart) ex girlfriend served me mine and I even mentioned it again and she double checked it with her manager and they didn't know about any preorders...

Useless

I actually called the store again before I set off just to double check and ended up spending another 20 minutes with various customer services. Including an amusing conversation where this guy started telling me that "A Better Disc is a bit like a Free Sample Really", but I interrupted him before he embarrassed himself too much.

Predictably though, when I got to the HMV Branch, they knew nothing about how it was supposed to work. Even more predictably, the guys that usually manages the games was having a day off. The girl in the shop thought that my purchase of the Beta disc had reserved a copy as it seemed to display something to that effect when she scanned the barcode, but she wasn't sure & the till receipt said nothing apart from "You've spent £9.99, Cheers" , so she manually reserved another copy against my name just to be on the safe side!!! To her credit she was trying her best, but honestly hadn't a clue what she was doing.

Allegedly the 'Head game Guy' will call me tomorrow to confirm if this is all just a gigantic wind-up & presumably remove the extra reserve copy that I don't need. Hopefully if it does turn out to be a gag, the disc will still be useful for something although I could probably get my money back I suppose.

My experience with HMV sounds a lot like yours then, LOL.

Originally posted by Lonesamurai1

Originally posted by LondonMagus

I suppose this is a silly question, but does anyone know whether there is anywhere that I could still order a UK Collector's Edition from? I tried the links on the official WAR site but they all seem to be sold out.

My local HMV still has some, try yours...

although if like mine, they won;t understand its a preorder and just sell it toyou for £10... 

Thanks!

I had thought HMV weren't really stocking it as it doesn't show up on their website but after having just had several very strange conversations with various customer support lines, apparently HMV-Online is an entirely different company & whilst they aren't stocking it, selected HMV Branches are.

One of the HMV Shops near me does have copies left but rather quaintly for the 21st century, it is impossible for me to reserve one over the phone so I am about to pop out & buy one in person the old fashioned way.

I suppose this is a silly question, but does anyone know whether there is anywhere that I could still order a UK Collector's Edition from? I tried the links on the official WAR site but they all seem to be sold out.

Originally posted by Ender4

If you want a console RPG that lets you play with others sometimes then I'd get AOC.  If you want a PvP based MMORPG I'd just wait a month for WAR.

That pretty much sums up my feelings too.

I've only played AoC on PvE servers, so I can't comment on whether being ganked somehow makes it feel less isolated, but currently it feels more like a 'MSORPG - Massively Single-player Online RPG' to me.

Originally posted by The_Hobbit

I canceled 3 weeks in the "free month" and by some strange foresight I allso deleted my Creditcard Info. Luckey me :)

The link shows some other pure guys being mistreated my FunCom, but I thought since the thread were closed at the AoC official forum ill link it here for the public to see.

If I were still a customer at AoC/FunCom and this happend to me, I would take any means at hand and hammer away on this company. Nothing can beat a bunch of angry gamers.

Perhaps its time for gamers to unite and demand a fair and respectfull treatment, all it takes is an organizer - Sadly im no such type of person.

But I feel sorry for those guys that are the victims of this abuse/fraud - And Im pretty sure we only hear about a few incedents, my fear is that many more exists, but the public never hear about it.

Sry. for any misspelling

*EDIT*

Why do you even write "Sry. for bad spelling" when you could have spent the time just rereading and correcting your mistakes.

English is not my nativ language, and I would not recognize an spelling error even if i read it 10 times

I don't think it was really 'strange foresight' on your part to delete your credit card information, just good old fashioned 'Common Sense'.

Lots of companies make these sort of errors & I never allow my credit card details to be stored for future use on any internet database unless I have an active subscription.

I agree that Funcom shouldn't do this & it is grossly unprofessional, but I honestly think it is caused by shoddy management of the billing database rather than cynical attempts at fraud.

LOL, Thanks for posting that really was hilarious.

Originally posted by openedge1

Originally posted by LondonMagus

Originally posted by openedge1

I wanted to stop in real quick and point everyone to this new site

AoCDB.info

The page I have linked specifically shows a "Character" count, i.e: how many characters have logged in. We need to keep in mind as well, people can make up to 8 characters per server (think that was the max)

This site uses a piece of software from AO called a helpbot. It does various tells, accepts help tells, etc. and tries to calculate the data to gather these charts.

If you look at the overall count at this time, there is roughly 144k "characters" on all the servers, with more being added on a regular basis.

But, we need to make sure that we keep an open mind here, and note one player can have up to 7 various alts as well.

Now, lets look at Fury (the "supposedly" full server)

We get a rough calc of almost 12k "characters"

All it tells me is the "Database" is almost full, and they need to purge some old data, and expand that base.

I would wager 1000 to 2000 players just on that one server.

Nothing more.

Enjoy

 

I saw a link to that piece of software about a week or so ago, but I play on EU-Hyrkania & it still hadn't registered my character when I checked a few minutes ago.

Although I can see a couple of people from my guild, if it still hasn't picked up my main character despite playing it most days then exactly how much of a sample is it supposed to be?

I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but the frontpage of Aocb.info doesn't seem to explain where there statistics are coming from. Is it like 'Xfire' where it can only register people who use special software?

Regardless of how open your mind is, without knowing where their data comes from & whether it is representative, how is it possible to interpret anything from it at all?

Search is your friend

Forums

The software is based on a specific piece of code from AO, and does not require a client side tool. It will send tells to recognized players. It polls various locations at various times.

This is the reason the numbers continue to grow.

This is the reason it is also noted as a "sample", just like Xfire, and which is but another piece of the puzzle.

Thank you.

Thanks for the link, although the answers given by 'Doomstone' on their forums about how representative their statistics are seem a bit more 'Zen' then 'Helpful'.

'Romanas' just wanted to know how reliable the statistics and eventually asked :-

"I'm sorry to press the point, but how does a helpbot 'know' a character? For instance it says there is 114 lvl 80s on dagon EU. Which cant be right, theres many more than that."

'Doomstone's reply conforms that it is a sample but give no indication or proportion :-

'There are 114 level 80 characters have been "seen" by the helpbot. it is not a server total'

Assuming that the chances of being seen by their helpbots are totally random (& completely unlike Xfire), that means that whilst it might be a useful indicator of class popularity or average level,  without any sense of proportion surely their statistics would be of little value in estimating true server populations, which seemed to be the point of your original post.

Originally posted by openedge1

I wanted to stop in real quick and point everyone to this new site

AoCDB.info

The page I have linked specifically shows a "Character" count, i.e: how many characters have logged in. We need to keep in mind as well, people can make up to 8 characters per server (think that was the max)

This site uses a piece of software from AO called a helpbot. It does various tells, accepts help tells, etc. and tries to calculate the data to gather these charts.

If you look at the overall count at this time, there is roughly 144k "characters" on all the servers, with more being added on a regular basis.

But, we need to make sure that we keep an open mind here, and note one player can have up to 7 various alts as well.

Now, lets look at Fury (the "supposedly" full server)

We get a rough calc of almost 12k "characters"

All it tells me is the "Database" is almost full, and they need to purge some old data, and expand that base.

I would wager 1000 to 2000 players just on that one server.

Nothing more.

Enjoy

I saw a link to that piece of software about a week or so ago, but I play on EU-Hyrkania & it still hadn't registered my character when I checked a few minutes ago.

Although I can see a couple of people from my guild, if it still hasn't picked up my main character despite playing it most days then exactly how much of a sample is it supposed to be?

I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but the frontpage of Aocb.info doesn't seem to explain where there statistics are coming from. Is it like 'Xfire' where it can only register people who use special software?

Regardless of how open your mind is, without knowing where their data comes from & whether it is representative, how is it possible to interpret anything from it at all?

Originally posted by AmazingAvery

Originally posted by Bazanko

article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.web.zope.database/802

www.tentonhammer.com/node/21061

 

That TTH article is legit, I have no idea about my name being in the other link from over 5 yrs ago - co-incidence.

Hmm, who doesn't love a good mystery?

This one didn't take too long to solve though, your doppelganger seems to be a UK Programmer who has worked on a variety of youth welfare projects since the one he worked for 5 years ago & that I traced using the domain names in email forum signatures.

I even found a link to a page with a picture, look under the Techical Section.

http://www.youthnet.org/whoweare/people

Seems like a decent enough sort of guy, not sure about his choice in hats though.

Yes I probably should get out more, but it was the end of the day & I was bored.