Lt. Commander
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 120 really about.

IMO of course!

Having played a bunch of MMO's, and having been at quite a few launches, I, as well as anyone else with an exposure to this biz, knows that these games do not function on the same lines as titles that are designed to be played offline.

Those games....the games most of us have grown up on...for the most part are polished on launch. How many of us remember the days when you could NOT patch a game....when it came on a cartridge, or there was no internet....they only had ONE CHANCE to get it right back then. That holds true for a lot of console games as well. So, as players of video games we have all come to expect a polished model, and when it is not delivered when these MMOs launch, we get VERY MAD.

Now, if you think I am apologizing for the massive fail that most MMOs have displayed on launch and even hehe several years later where patching is concerned(looking at you WoW), I'm not. I'm just trying to remind myself along with a lot of other peeps, that designing a game where you get to control the design flow from top to bottom and have no chance to undo your errors is a VERY different story from the design model of today's MMOs.

That aside, it also seems apparent that the software companies that make MMOs are playing more fast and loose with the design criteria than has been the case previously. Earlier on, they used to follow the model they had experience with...make a great game, you build a loyal fanbase...the rest takes off from there.

Now, it's more like "find a brand with a huge following, market the hell out of it, and rush it out the door as fast as possible, building as many subscriptions as you can in any WAY you can" the goal being, rake in the profit, THEN spend what the powers that be grant you to continue development.

IMO any failure in this progression has nothing to do with the developers, programmers, artists, etc etc etc. These peeps are always interested in doing the best they can...they live for it. Unfortunately, they are pressured by those with ahem different priorities to produce something rather different than what they'd like...

The worst part is, these peeps also are the ones who face the WRATH OF KHAN whenever something goes wrong with the game. I am probably MORE guilty than the next person of making massive flame posts...I've done it in multiple games over the years. I've begun to realize, though, that the people we WISH we were getting the attention of(or simply giving the aggravation we feel back to tbh) aren't really the ones responsible for it.

Truth is, the people who moderate the forums and design the games in all aspects, are not restrained by any laziness or lack of determination THEY have, but simply by the fact that they are under the auspices of some other people who have different priorities....

I honestly can't stand the fact that there are people out there who think it's ok to screw over other people for a mad profit when you could make a nice living and give people an awesome gaming experience, but I'm afraid this is part and parcel in our system. If we want to change our games, we need to be more aware and responsible overall.

But ugh, not trying to get political here, just want to say we need as a community to give these guys a break and let them work on the game, I know with 100% certainty that if it were solely up to them, this game(and most others) would be a near perfect launch.

So I think if we are really mad we should email the Board of Directors at Atari instead of flaming THESE boards, though it does kinda get the community together in a way I guess...

Nm I fail at humorz just wanted to try and say something positive based on my own experience.
Lt. Commander
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 120
# 2
01-31-2010, 01:45 AM
TL;DR and stuff.
Lt. Commander
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 120
# 3
01-31-2010, 01:52 AM
Wall of Text Crits for 9000+

----- summary -----

old games: Finished at release, no patching available..
new games: every system has internet, so can patch the game screwups after you bought it.
mmos: always broken at launch

we should be bashing the people above the STO Development teams.. not the dev's or community manager type people

----- end summary -----

which is true.

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