It’s been a really, really long day at Mythic so I’m not sure I’ll get to the latest blog entry I wanted to do tonight especially with all the comments that have popped here in the last 24 hours. Just as an FYI, because of their sheer number, I won’t be acknowledging them all especially the kudos but I do read them. I do thank you for all the kind words about WAR, Mythic, DAoC, etc.
So, let’s get to my first official ongoing column entitled “Fan mail from some flounder?” FYI, One guy commented that it was hard to separate my replies from the original text so I’m going try bolding out my replies. Let me know if you folks like this idea or not?
Robert says “Speaking of which, I would hope you appear in some more future podcasts besides the crafting one, its one of the best ones.” Thanks but I’m not sure what the gaming community needs is a bunch of podcasts from a 40+, heavyset (I’m being kind), New Yawker talking about the next great game but we’ll see.
Stewie-Y says “I’m sorry, I don’t know exactly who Curt Schilling is” Curt is a rather talented pitcher for the Red Sox who will be remembered with guys like Willis Reed (a New York Knicks legend) for rising to the occasion when his team need him the most.
Matthew says “Oh and about that Idaho Ocenfront… would you rent?” Sorry, I’m saving that property for somebody really special and renting it could lower its value. I’ve had three offers today but the one from a P.Pan is the most intriguing. He’s offering to swap some land he has for mine but he says the neighbors can be noisy and he has a bit of a reptile problem.
Khalid J says “This is Khalid from Kuwait, I’ve just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed the game” Hey thanks! Hopefully we’ll do some business down there in your neck of the woods. Lots of interesting things happening down there. We all need to work things out so that when people are talking about war, it’s the fantasy WAR and not the real thing.
Ullric says “Garthilk was so onto this blog, it’s almost as if MJ said something beforehand….” No, I didn’t tell him, he found this site before I was ready to show anybody. Spooky.
Dragonmonk says “One thing i am concerned about is you said 6 months… is that your ideal target?? personally i look at a game to play as a 1-2 year investment.” I hope your designing War to be a long term investment not just for you but for the MMO community also. Ah, I said six months to be kind and not to set too high of a bar. My ideal target would be to surpass DAoC’s average retention time which was about 18 months I believe. It will be tougher to do today but we’ll see.
Mandrake says “This is the first time in 11 years of mmo history that a MMO has a server on australian Soil. If nothing else you will get 50k+ subcribers just for that 1 fact. at long last a MMO company has put faith in australia and trust you me WE WILL SHOW YOU IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!” I’m not the least bit concerned; I have no doubt that you will. I look forward to visiting at some point, I have a good friend who lives there and would love to stop in and say hi, plus I’m dying to check out Australia and New Zealand.
Rickymm3 says “This seriously sounds like a cry for help” Nah, a cry for help would sound more like “HELP ME SPOCK!” or “HELP ME OBI-WAN KENOBI YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE”
Yil says “I have a question, as I didn’t even think how much international travel you must do, what’s the craziest WAR related thing that’s happened to you overseas?” Being escorted down the aisle for my press conference in Taiwan by guys in armor. Totally cool!
Gonzo says “You should really rethink the “modesty over honesty” about your own game.” Nah, I prefer modesty most of the them so when I think I really have something to really crow about, that they know I’m serious.
Dondums says “Thirdly, can I have a mental high five?” Done. Can I have my horse back with its head still attached to its body?
Holo says “Hi, I was wondering what you think of Mortal Online, the mmo is supposed to be launched next year by Star Vault.” Sorry, I don’t know anything about it other than the name. I’ll check it out though.
Festus says “Did have one question though. How is Jane? Is she still an ignorant slut? I think a few of us were dying because of the hilarity there.” That was my one of my favorite posts of all time. Working that quote into the patch notes was a lot of fun. I was surprised at how few people caught it though. I’ll probably re-post here. If nothing else, I don’t think any other game developer has ever worked that phrase into their patch notes in the history of the game industry. 🙂
Foofmonger says “Mark, do you think the technology will ever get to the point in which “real time combat” (for lack of a better term) will ever be present and done well in an MMO?” Well, depends if you mean real real-time combat or fake real-time combat? If you mean real real-time combat, I doubt it. Even FRTC is a real challenge to do well due to all sorts of technical and design issues.
Butler says “I’d call bullshit on your LOTRO figures – I think it has done a lot better than you’d care to admit.” Do you know those guys? I love Penn & Teller. Man, if you can hook us up that would be great! Seriously though, I would love to be wrong on this but one of the immutable rules for MMORPG developers is that if your game is successful, you tell the ENTIRE WORLD about it again and again and again. If LoTRO had 500K paid monthly subscriptions at the present time (or any time, age or Appendix), why haven’t they announced it? As far as me caring to admit things, I would love to see them have 500K, AoC to have 1M and WoW to have 100M as that would expand the market and give the next game or two I want to do an even wider audience.
Houstoncollector says “Why exactly does WAR not have official forums? Is it the same reason that Tabula Rasa pretty much said, that it’s not worth the expense to host forums and hire people to moderate them compared to relatively high noise to signal ratio?” Well, we didn’t have official forums for DAoC and I’ve seen all the OFs for just about every MMORPG so I prefer to think of it as a sanity preservation tool and a way to actually build a better community. I’ll explain this in another blog post, I’m sure much mocking will ensue.
Irieguin says “Could you comment on the mixed up codes some retailers have stuck us with. Some have wrong codes, some have no codes, etc… It gives us worry.” Worry? Man, it gives me heartburn. We have given all North American retailers not only all the copies that they needed but in some cases, we’ve given them lots of extra copies. As to why the retailers are saying that they are out of codes, it’s for a variety of reasons but none of them are because EA or Mythic didn’t supply them with more than enough for everybody.
And so endeth this wall of text.
Mark
Online Games Are a Niche Market 
Sep 05, 2008 @ 04:28:33
Hey man, thanks for the bonus preview weekend.
If you were to give some advice to someone starting out in the game industry today what would it be? Specifically if they wanted to be in MMO’s.
I work in QA /compatibility.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 04:52:56
I just wanted to say i have been so impressed with how balanced the RvR combat I experienced in CB and PW were. And your blog I’ve already begun to get to the point of breaking my F5 key 😦
Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:23:35
Perhaps try flipping the bold and the regular text?
IE
Asdf writes, What is your favorite colour?
Well, I happen to be fond of blah blah blah?
And for what it’s worth… I agree about LotrO. I and my honey play that… and unfortunately it’s… a bit dead. Unfortunate, but… such is the MMO life.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:23:44
The Bold-ing makes things much easier to read.
On the Official forums question. I think one of the reasons we get the quality communication we do get from Mythic is because they do NOT have forums for the masses. The signal to noise ratio of official forums renders them simply pointless for the most part.
As a customer and a person who often recommends games to others. Official forums are usually the last place I’ll tell someone to go if they are interested in X game. Unless you’re a jaded and cynical MMOer you can’t appreciate the futility of it. 🙂
At least this is my experience with Official forums and my theory as to why Mythic/Mr.Jacobs does such a good job keeping the players in the loop.
Now Mr.Jacobs, about that Blackguard….
Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:29:21
“Official forums are usually the last place I’ll tell someone to go if they are interested in X game.”
That is so sad, and yet so unfortunately true.
To be honest, I think the only time I’ve ever linked someone to an official game’s forums was to convince them NOT to waste their time on it……!
So long as Mythic keeps up their contact with us on non-official forums, I’ll stay satisfied.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 05:34:55
Agreed – the bolding format works well.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:16:47
Stupid question here. I was just logging into the game (in hopes that PW2 was up 🙂 and I decided to read the credits.
Is the Michael Gough credited in voice acting the same Michael Gough that played Alfred in Batman 1989? I know he has done some other video game work so one could conclude he is infact the same man.
Thanks,
Dave
Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:19:56
Also, Rachel Hannah is a beautiful name. I like the baby list, that is very cool of Mythic to incorporate that.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 06:39:34
War Babies!
I thought that was a nice addition too.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:17:51
Somebody please tell me.
What’s that Jane slut thing?
Where is that phrase and why it has been included on patch notes?
I’m kinda intrigued.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:24:23
Oh, and now it’s my turn to post a couple of questions 🙂
Q: What will you do when WAR launches? Holidays? You do deserve em!
Q: Will you also play the game?
Q: If so, what class? And what server?
It would be pretty nice for us player to meet you guys in game 🙂
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:41:20
This may come off as a bit fanboyish, but it’s not intended that way.
The quote from Mandrake that you mention “This is the first time in 11 years of mmo history that a MMO has a server on australian Soil. If nothing else you will get 50k+ subcribers just for that 1 fact. at long last a MMO company has put faith in australia and trust you me WE WILL SHOW YOU IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!” is proof that he doesn’t actually know what he is talking about (and unfortunately, you not correcting it in your reply tends to suggest you don’t know either). Ultima Online (which happens to belong under the Mythic Banner although you wouldn’t know it looking at the Mythic Website) has had a Server (Oceania Shard) located in Sydney for quite a number of years.
Just thought i’d point that out.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:43:09
No official forums…….. again?????
That was an utter disaster for DAoC. Those VN forums were horrid. And the moderators had their own interests, not the interests of paid customers in mind.
Plus, there’s nothing worse than people without a paid subscription still being able to spew piss and vinegar everywhere.
Look how well it worked for Tabua Rasa… Oh wait, it didn’t.
-Cambios
Blogging about Online Gaming and Virtual Worlds:
http://www.muckbeast.com
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:48:19
Great to see you connecting with the community mate. I’d just like to thank you and the entire team for the insight you’ve given us on the development of the game: the production podcasts are always interesting, and it’s been quite an experience watching WAR grow and manifest into what looks like a hugely fun game.
I had three questions: given the goals and objectives you had when you first set out to build WAR, how close do you think you’ve come to fulfilling them all? What are the biggest regrets you have about cuts made to the game, and what element are you proudest of?
I still can’t believe it’s coming out this month!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 07:56:41
I’ve heard some stories about that P.Pan guy. It seems he really likes hanging out with a bunch of little boys dressed up as forest creatures. Sounds a little creepy IMO.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 08:15:08
thanks very much for the comments on Warhammer Alliance about the EU/PW+ etc etc
Definitly plenty of sand used and hopefully it will cut down a lot on the usual nonsense posted daily.
Thanks so much, hope you had a good night’s sleep.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 08:18:49
I am so sad.. I have the open beta codes, but was not part of the 1st PW weekend so I can’t be a part of the second one. (W)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(GH).
ok….better, now…senses returning, only 2 more days..only two. more. days. TWO MORE DAYS !!!ARE YOU HIGH!!!..ok …ok…feeling better, I’ll just jump onto WoW..its ok, its only been 7 months, no prob..SWEET NIGHT ELF OF ELUNE are your kidding me!.cant..take..the…same..repetitive..constant..grind..anymore! ..ok..calm down…breath..its ok, man..we have all been there..its ok,..you have to BREATHE..hes passing out steve…get a paper bag..steve? STEVE?!!..ok.. steve left..No problem..dont panic…get it together man..STEVE Im missing star trek 3!!…its the search for spock, DEAR LORD. will they find him? DAMNIT steve I blame you, this is spock we are talking about!!! DEAR LORD…ok..hes coming back..dude…you took quite a…MY GOD MAN not on the… thats it, im missing star trek 3..its started and I cant just “jump in” you know ..this is serious. Why. ?. Why didnt you just give the man his PW? This is what happends, its all jokes and games until someone gets hurt. Now ill never find Spock.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 09:23:15
Thanks Mark, I was especially interested after you commented on eve, seeing that this is a skill based mmo as well.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 09:42:46
Hey Mark, just a quick shout out to say I’ve enjoyed your blogs (as well as your numerous comments on WAR:A), very insightful and informative, and personally find it very awesome how Mythic as an MMO developer interacts with its player base (a first in my experience), makes me wish I was there for DAoC. Look forward to more posts and thoughts on the MMO industry and the various games about. 8)
Sep 05, 2008 @ 10:11:17
Hi Mark ! Being a former DAoC player (Yeah, ToA made me flee so fast my shoes are still there… -_-) i wish you guys best of luck for WAR and have a message for you and Mythic guys in general :
Please never do a ToA like expansion in WAR ! 🙂
Sep 05, 2008 @ 10:45:28
I just wanna say I ❤ you guys!! Here I was all sad that I had to wait until Sunday for open beta, then I see you’ve invited preview weekenders back for Friday/Saturday.
Seriously, you guys are the best – thanks for making a girl’s weekend!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 11:09:46
Hey Mark 🙂 Just surfed on in, absolutely fascinated and already loving the new blog – thanks for sharing!
Will you be miring yourself further in people’s comments or be keeping this blog more for your personal musings? Cause I loved the post on the success/failure of WAR as it relates to the market and want more, more, more.
Hearing questions is good, and this is as good a forum as any to address them (as soon as people think they’ll have someone critical’s ear, it’ll be trollfest ’08 in here. Fair warned be thee, says I.) but in the end I’m far more interested in you, your thoughts, and the process that got you from the niche market comment to right now.
But that’s just me. Like I said, love what you’ve done here and hope to see more of it, regardless!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 11:30:19
@Kelmain:
Jane is only visible to those who like reading from top to bottom.
http://war-alliance.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12
Sep 05, 2008 @ 11:30:41
Well shit, I just wanted to kiss your ass; but if it is fuckin question time I may as well shoot eh?
I’m not sure if you know (since you’re big into WAR atm) but I figure I’ll ask anyway: When can we expect to see DAoC Origins?
Sep 05, 2008 @ 11:32:25
Kelmain, lol I am interested to hear about that jane thing as well…post the notes!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 11:41:36
Thanks for the post(s) and the blog; helps some of the players associate with the devs. on a more ‘friend’s hat’ basis.
Long time sub of DAoC here (lol.. 18 months… x 4? lol) and I’d be interested in at least hearing what your preferred class is at launch. At least archetype… come on =)
On the subject of DAoC… knowing what you know now, what’s one or two of the big things you would change, decision wise, if you could go back? I’ve been a sub since basically release, so I saw the ups and downs… and I’m interested, from the BMOC’s standpoint, what changes you would make with hindsight being 20/20.
Thanks for all the hardwork!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 12:02:52
Kelmain
Google the phrase, but if you must know its a SNL reference. Chevy Chase and Jane Curtain during the Weekend Updates
Sheesh, I’m showing my age
Sep 05, 2008 @ 12:06:15
thanks for the reply mark makes me feel a lot better that your shooting for 18+ months then 6….
Sep 05, 2008 @ 12:29:21
Just want to comment, Mythic is screwing with my weekend… I am supposed to go out with my wife for a romantic evening (9th anniversary) without the kids and then tomorrow we are supposed to go out in the afternoon for a picnic together… Now you open the servers again and I am thinking all kinds of evil thoughts as to how I can skip out and play WAR. Any Idea’s?
Sep 05, 2008 @ 12:41:06
Good god man do you sleep? Get some rest! We need you healthy !
Seriously I read your response on the GOA issues and PW+ issues and thought it was spot on. I’ve worked on multinational projects and even for IT when the product will only be used internally it’s incredibly difficult to coordinate, and our sibling teams in Europe and Asia were always behind us because change happens fast and doesn’t wait. And due to time zones alone those team members would have to wait.
keep rockin
Sep 05, 2008 @ 13:04:35
Rafar, this is for you:
Do not ever forget about important things in life.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 13:12:02
Hey Mark, great BLOG – thanks for the insight. As a Mythic fan since DAOC beta (even after LA nerf, ToA, NF) I just wanted to thank you for all the hard work and great product. Please forgive me for all the times I’ve taken your name in vain for surely you understand the passion for the game. I didn’t really mean it.
I’m really looking forward to WAR and I see many lessons learned in DAOC incorporated in its design. Keep up the great work!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 13:44:21
Cheers for the extra replies. Its a good read 🙂
In regards to the codes/pre-orders/multiple retail copies etc:
I think its been one of the most frustrating parts of WAR’s pre-launch. I can understand having a CE and a SE but it gets very confusing when you add EU into things, closed beta, open beta, preview weekend, headstart, bonus items, premium partners and various dates everything is kicking off. Its great that theirs lots of things happening but its very cluttered to say the least.
Im hoping the next game you guys put out will be a lot more streamlined. I would like 3 clear codes you get with ALL pre-orders globally (also want mythic/ea to do international account management:
– Open Beta
– 2 day headstart
– Item codes
Instead of the ‘what does what copy get?’ mess that we had this time you would know you what you’re getting. The only difference would be the items you receive. With WARs pre-launch we had all sorts being announced and its safe to say many of my friends who want to play were a bit confused when they were placing their pre-orders. It shouldnt be, it should be the easiest part. I think part of the problem was that announcements did not come all at once and people were wondering what came with what.
I just want have a single page that says:
Pre-order WAR and get 2 day headstart, access to open beta.
Standard Edition gets x Bonus
Collectors Edition gets y Bonus
I know in a way thats what you did but a lot has to be said for the manner in which everything was communicated. I think some kind of official FAQ on exactly how things are going to play out is needed too. I had to go to Warhammer Alliance and scower the forums just to find out that being kicked from the open beta patcher was normal. That shouldnt be a requirement just to see if you’re doing something right.
Anyway, like i said initially, i love the bonuses for pre-order, its the communication that needs some work.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 14:08:05
I think I can understand not having official forums. One of my favorite game companies, Firaxis, once had official forums. They were great. The AI designers and others would post and explain decisions they made, project status, etc. However, they always had jerks who were insulting to everything the designers said. It probably lasted a year or two and then they dumped the forums. Sad.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 14:27:41
Your blogs give a sense of realism to the game development world. I do some development myself and its anything but glorious. Bugs Happen! Its nice that your so honest with your customers and dedicated fans. Makes me wish you had more job openings! There really is no way to convince people of workplace impact from a resume though 🙂
Anyways, I wish you the best of luck and I speak for many gamers when I say I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to help you guys de-bug and stress your servers. I’m already addicted to the game and its not even released yet!
Best of Luck in all of your Career.
PS. Wish I could have helped you build it. 🙂
Sep 05, 2008 @ 14:49:21
I like the bolding. As far as the replies or questions bolded, makes no difference to me.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 15:12:40
Greetings Mark,
I like the decision to exclude official forums. The one common thread I have seen with successful MMOs is that a very passionate and vibrant community grows organically around the web.
Its all these third party endeavors that give people something to do at work, on their mobile or while watching the kids play in the yard. They also greatly enhance the immersive element of the MMO and add a lot of flavour.
Having ‘official boards’ tends to negate that community effect for a few reasons:
1) There is one official place to go to; the third parties don’t get the same street cred. Therefore less exposure
2) And probably most importantly, Official forums act as some sort of twisted Customer support vehicle. Where the masses vent without filter because they feel entitled as they have a subscription. This ends up coloring those that read the posts opinions
3) Having an unofficial 3rd party community, usually means the gamer is just a tad more interested in the community, than to just complain. Which basically means they might moan but they are seeking solutions or answers also.
PS Thanks for the bonus preview weekend, my wife and kids are ecstatic.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 15:15:07
Nice start on a blog Noob. Jk
Sep 05, 2008 @ 16:20:27
Thanks for replying to my question Mark! It’s a little disappointing, but I expected as much.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 17:16:32
Hey Mark, nice blog so far!
If you would ever consider giving us a bit of your time for an Interview over at http://www.waaaghhammer.com let me know! We would love it!
Sep 05, 2008 @ 18:33:34
Great gob on this blog Mark. It’s not blocked by my workplace either which is bonus. But I am here 9 hours 5 days a week and im running out of stuff to read lol.
I have been waiting for this game to come out and following it for almost 2 years no exageration. The first place I looked every newsletter was the closed beta invites section, and I never got in so im going to blame it on dell.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 18:39:44
I’m liking the commenting on comments thing you’re doing. It means a lot to us fans.
But on the subject of WAR and DAoC. It looks like you guys over at Mythic really like to take on the heavy weights of the industry. Or at least prove you guys are still willing to mark your territory on the ol’ MMO fire hydrant.
You guys held your own with DAoC back in the EQ days of MMOs, and now here you go again with WAR in the WoW days of MMOs. Are you guys going through the same hurdles as you did back with DAoC? Or are their new obstacles you’ve had to deal with that this industry has created over the last 7 years?
Also what were the peak sub numbers for DAoC?! Or is EA preventing you from saying that?
Sep 05, 2008 @ 20:38:51
Mark,
I know your comment queue is probably full of me asking the same thing but what major things come to mind when you think about Roper and FFS & HG:L(is still an awesome game) and You and Mythic & WAR which has the EA “expansion pack”?
As an HG:L fan I see plenty of bashing of FSS by the ignorant and uninformed, and really want to know what someone on the inside of the industry and has been in Bill’s shoes says.
And I lied, I really also want to know why you guys decided to go monthly sub instead of free2play+pay2win and what it says about the future of WAR. I also thank God you chose monthly sub 🙂
~Don
Sep 05, 2008 @ 20:39:42
Greetings Mark –
Thanks for the Preview + weekend, that was very awesome.
I was able to log on this morning and play a little before. And I must say, the improvements made over the last two weeks have been phenomenal. I commend you and your team for coming through on the outstanding issues. OB will fly by but I am ready to create my permanent character come the head start.
I am no longer CTD and the game was incredibly stable. I am very pleased. Of course the game needs polishing but you have something great here now. *tip of the hat*
It’s unfortunate what is happening with GOA but I read all the posts in that long thread and you made valid points. Understandably the EU gamers feel bamboozled (had to get that in there) but that’s how the dice have been played.
In all of my years of gaming, I am certain that today marks a huge step forward for WAR.
PW+, OB, Headstart, and Launch all occur within 13 days…I am certain it will feel like a blur once we reflect back in post-launch.
Cheers and congrats.
Sep 05, 2008 @ 21:07:53
I would like to get back on something you posted on this blog:)
Foofmonger says “Mark, do you think the technology will ever get to the point in which “real time combat” (for lack of a better term) will ever be present and done well in an MMO?” Well, depends if you mean real real-time combat or fake real-time combat? If you mean real real-time combat, I doubt it. Even FRTC is a real challenge to do well due to all sorts of technical and design issues.
Well: Look at the Chronicles of Spellborn, http://www.tcos.com Must say that combat system is quite more real time then most mmo’s out there now. But i agree for real real real time you need more:P how about that thing on youre head which you can move things with. Maybe in a near future.
well just wanted to point this out.
Love to read youre stuff, however i won’t after saturday:P hehe i think you know the reason;)
Sep 06, 2008 @ 00:59:09
Hi Mark,
Ultima Online – Does Mythic have any immediate plans beyond what has been announced?
Sep 06, 2008 @ 02:53:45
This is the first I’ve heard of the Jane reference. Thanks for the URL, Snoozle.
P.S. I liked the colors on the black/blue theme better than the current one. Though brighter is sometimes better and this one also has a nice little smiley face on the right side.
Sep 06, 2008 @ 04:27:30
Hi Mark,
I wonder if you know where Mauritius is?
It’s an island in the Indian Ocean and you have at least one WAR player waiting down there for OB and HS…I’ve almost converted 2 others out of 1.3M people ^_^
I wish WAR all the success for you and your team and for us players and I hope we won`t have to wait 3 years for an expansion.
Sep 06, 2008 @ 04:32:29
I just finished my first play session of the preview weekend plus, and I have to say the game made an astonishing jump ahead, quality-wise, from version 3.1. Congratulations!
My real only gripe, is that, even with the customization at it’s max, the draw distance still seems very short, definately shorter of what the engine is capable of (we saw it around last christmas, just after the introduction of the high elves, when draw distance was much higher). Do you plan on allowing further increasing of the draw distance at least for the release? Personally I feel it’s a real important factor to show the real scenic value of WAR’s beautiful zones.
Sep 06, 2008 @ 12:06:01
Mark I know GOA are trying hard. This explains a lot. Just a bit of fun I found
Sep 06, 2008 @ 17:23:46
Having just wasted an hour reading the forums bashing GOA I’m embarrassed and disappointed. Whilst we all want GOA to succeed and I posted on this blog with a plea requesting you to keep an eye on on them. I am shocked and dismayed by alot of the posts. GOA’s positioning and communication has been poor but they haven’t failed yet.
If nothing else it does show how much we all have emotionally tied up in your game. Here’s to a steely nerve, lets not flap yet and a successful launch
Sep 06, 2008 @ 17:57:23
Bolding = Plus, maek TL:DR warning nex tiem plix
Sep 06, 2008 @ 17:57:47
plus as in good ;O
Sep 06, 2008 @ 18:42:27
Hey Mark, its nice to see some developers actually interacting with the community. I had a massive interest in games dev and stuff pretty much for the past 5 years, but as it comes to the path i take in life, i chose something more stable. One of the big put-offs for me was that, no matter how well i do in a games design course, actual companies want different things. I’m just wondering on how you came to this industry ? I mean because you’ve been around it so long, and seen it grow and stuff, it couldn’t have been your original intention as a kid to be a GD. Anyways, if you don’t get a chance to answer this, good luck in the future, and thanks for reading this.
Sep 06, 2008 @ 20:45:09
Hey Mark, always good to see you communicating with us wether its blog or some forums, still i wonder what do you feel right now which things you feel were overcame in beta and what do you see as major good change from your last post on waralliance(about common issues and complaints) and if there is perhaps something you feel is still abit of challenge that is waiting to be fixed?
Sep 06, 2008 @ 20:59:09
Thanks for all the insight, Mark. I hope you don’t blog too aggressively at the starting gate. If you do, people are gonna start expecting it and you’ll be a slave to your blog. 🙂
Sep 07, 2008 @ 04:45:55
All I want to say is thank you for making such an awesome game, it’s phenomenal in beta and I have no doubt it will be even better when it goes live, and I love reading your blog, it’s great that you are always communicating with your fanbase.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 09:37:18
Dear Mr Jacobs.
Let me start by saying that I greatly appreciate what you are doing here; giving the average gamer a view of thing from the vintage point of a developer. I applaud your effort to give the players what they need, listening to them, and act accordingly.
That being said, I have come here to post a formal complaint that has been repeated in this blog, but -in my eyes- has not been responded to with in the proper manner. Meaning that your answers where vague and leaving the individual that answered them wondering what you said.
I live in Greece, and as most European gamers, I have the sten belief that we have been treated from Day1 as second rate customers. Lets just say that I DO NOT in away way blame GOA for that matter. The things that bother me are, in sort, these:
1) The EU site in comparison to the US one is pathetic. Is has less than half the features and there is no Herald. A thing that we have been scratching our collective heads wondering as to why it has not happend.
2) The day that the Open beta lauches (today, 07/09/2008) there is no authentication page, the website is malfuctioning its digital brains out, and the Greek Community -that has been up from 8 in the morning- is doing nothing but just pressing F5 and praying to an assortment of deities for the matter to resolve itself. For the matter, the account page in the US has been up for weeks now.
3) I really like Ian and Magnus for what they are trying to do here but sometimes I get the impression that them and GOA have been “missing out” on current events in Mythic. And atleas I can tell from their answers in the forums, since they are vague at times since they dont know what goes on over the pond.
There are probably other things that my co-EUgamers can thing of but thats about it for me.
Mr Jacobs, I deeply respect you and the company you work for but for the life of me, I cannot comprehend what goes on. And Why.
The player base, in numerals, are less but a respectable number in comparison to the US; Games Workshop is an EU company so Warhammer what firstly spread out in the EU and then the US and players are as eager as over your side to play this game.
Having red the response you made to the previous poster about that issue, please do not tell me the “Multicaltural / MultiLanguage / Time Difference” story. I care not for it. GOA has EA behind it. Which means that it can have the resources and the manpower to handle things so EU and US are one mirror of the other.
Thank you very much for your attention and please forgive any grammatical or spelling errors. Keep in mind that I had and have ANY intention to “flame” you, to look down in the US community as being the “lucky kid” in envy. Even though I was envious at times. 😉
Respectfull Regards,
Konstandinos A.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 11:14:22
Not going to go into detail here but can you have someone check into the TenTonHammer Technical Help forum when you can… Thanks for all the hard work.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 11:59:08
Ignore my last post… premature.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 12:53:34
Hi Mark,
I just wanted to ask you a few questions. This has no bearing on this blog entry. It is about your relationship with EA and – more importantly to me – GOA. It is also about the handling of communication between Mythic and Goa and the community surrounding WAR.
Firstly, why did you decide not to have official forums, run by and modearted by GOA, Mythic and EA staff? People have – since the start of pre-launch – been looking for a central vault of knowledge. We’ve never been able to find one. Really, the most up-to-date central vault is Warhammer Alliance but even then, we consumers have to trowel through multiple unofficial sites to find answers to certain questions. With EA – the second largest third party publisher – backing you, why are they not providing thses things? They can certainly afford it.
Secondly, please explain to us the reason you chose GOA as your EU publisher? I mean, they have hardly proved in the past that they can handle and MMO launch and/or community well. They are now proving beyond doubt that you made the wrong choice. Once again, EA should be handling this as they can certainly afford to. GOA are providing mess up after mess up after mess up that is causing your potential EU playerbase to turn tail or slander you. I mean, for a guy who wants WAR to succeed so that investment stays around for the MMO market, that can’t be a good thing to see 😉 I’m betting the reason you stuck with GOA happens to be contracutal and that, if Mythic could find a way out of it, you would.
Well, here’s a solution – sue them. Sue them for misconduct of something. If you are afraid of court costs, stick a paypal donate button on your website. I’m sure their are a few thousand poeple out there who’d love to get someone competent in charge of your game. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind donating some to get it done. I realise it isn’t this simple. There’s nothing like a good ole class action I guess.
Matt
Sep 07, 2008 @ 16:47:41
Hmm still suffering from the disaster which is the current GOA attempt at a Open Beta start-up. Has been over 9 hours and many if not most still cannot even enter their OB keys.
Please if you have any clout with GOA convince them that they really need to do some of the following :-
a) communicate – not four or five hours after a problem is identiifed but asap let people know whats going on
b) plan ahead – anyone can tell you doing the registration on the day is going to go badly
c) communicate – yes I am mentioning it twice but what impressed me about Mythic was its openness and the feeling they kept the player base in the loop. GOA does not give the same feeling they seem to be focused on the spin and avoiding the issue if the answers to the questions do not place them in good light.
thing is the said they were treating this OB as a showcase of how they had improved from the DAOC trials and from my perspective it seems they failed.
just my 2 cents
Gadareth
Sep 07, 2008 @ 17:44:53
Any comment on GOA’s OB failure?
Sep 07, 2008 @ 20:12:44
Hello Mark,
I’m afraid I’m another EU Open Beta victim who came here to try and get a reaction from Mythic. We desperately need Mythic to look into the way the OB launch has been (mis)handled by GOA. Especially the (very sporadic) communications from GOA throughout this whole debacle have really offended a lot of people. Warhammer Alliance forums nearly keeled over under the load, and 1000+ messages built up on the account management thread. A lot of people are very unhappy customers, and quite a few are cancelling their preorders and looking into getting on the US servers instead.
– Why has it been impossible since this morning to create an account or register Open Beta keys? This afternoon, GOA took the authentication and registration servers down and they have been down since, meaning no one can create or manage their account.
– Why is there a 5000 user server cap in effect? I understand that there are at least 50k open beta keys in existence, and there are currently only 5 English servers, only offering room for 25k users.
– Why did GOA give away thousands of free open beta keys, when people who preordered paid for that privilege? Also, why do people who preordered need to queue up behind people who got free keys? Preorders should get priority since they have actually handed over their money and committed to the product, whereas people who got the freebie might never buy the product.
I am curious to hear how this holds up against the ‘equal or better experience’ promise we were given: EU players would have an equal or better game experience compared to US players. As of this afternoon the US Open Beta is in full swing, people have been able to create accounts and people are playing right now without server caps.
An official reaction from Mythic would be great. GOA at this point in time is just trotting out damage control spin stories, and a lot of customers are very offended by their arrogance and their refusal to apologise or provide an ETA for getting issues fixed.
Thanks in advance,
M.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 20:21:30
I will ask for a cry for help..
Help me Obi Wan Kenobi (Mark Jacobs) you are my (europe) only hope!
We ask for your help and support so that the europeans can see your vision for a great game and all the hard work that the Mythic teams have done.
Unfortunately we cannot experience the greatness that is WAR, we cannot even prepare for it…
We need your help to deliver it to europe, many of us would even be willing to wait as long as we can get better service.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 22:04:19
Last month I gave Funcom my money
I came
I saw
I took my money away from Funcom and went elsewhere……
I can do it again……………….
GOA seem to be working hard to ruin my experience of your game before it is even launched.
Sep 07, 2008 @ 23:05:12
This is great isight into the development of an MMO. It’s refreshing to see someone in the business blogging honestly about their product. I wish you and everyone a Mythic the very best on luck over the next two months
All’s Fair in Blog and WaR-General WaR blogger
[http://afbw.wordpress.com/]
Sep 08, 2008 @ 01:54:20
I am canceling my account. The zerg nature of scenarios is nothing but frustrating.
Thanks for the time spent in beta.
Sep 08, 2008 @ 01:54:46
edit:canceling preorder.
Sep 08, 2008 @ 02:16:00
Mark,
I really appreciate the phone call you had with GOA tonight.
For the first time I’ve seen them apologizing. At last they’ve had some hint of transparency with us, telling where was the problem and what have they done to adress it. They did even promise us for once a date to have things done!
The big mistake they made was to keep us in the dark. With a fluent communication you can understand the problem and people calm down, like you at Mythic know.
Lets hope they thrash that shitty flash website and carbon copy Mythic’s :wish: