Dark & Light launched... anyone playing?

[Signe]

Evidently, they released a very buggy patch.  Surprise!  They allowed a VERY obvious exploit to continue for several days.  Everyone was aware of it.  Subscribers thought they would finally upload a fix for the exploit and that they would suffer some sort of rollback.  The dev team said, "no no no, no rollback!".  Well... they've just had a four day rollback.  That's a lot!  Unfortunately, the devs at DnL continue to announce the biggest news on an IRC channel so most people remain confused about what's happening.  Arguments crop up.  Flaming ensues.  Soon, we have ANARCHY!  Anyway, Go here if you want to troll:

irc.ircube.org #darkandlight

I don't do that anymore.  Not since Horizons.  I'm afraid of IRC.

Edit:  The exploit isn't fixed.  Oh dear.

[HaemishM]

A four day rollback? So in actual, time in-game numbers that's about 20 minutes of actual time? Seeing as how many people can't stay logged into the game or keep it from crashing for more than 5 minutes?

[voblat]

Ive been sort of watching the forums off and on, out of some morbid curiosity I think.

The fanbase has started to consume itself from within over the last few days, there was a clear divide a week ago, the fanboys who thought the devs were gods, and 'the potential' was simply unsurpassed, and they were all paying to be a part of history.

Then there were the sane ones, who complained, vociferously , about the bugs and general unplayable state of the game.
Most of the latter are now banned.

Now we are a situation where even the fanboys are complaining, blaming each other for exploiting and causing a rollback, and of course the biggest issue is the exploit is still there after the rollback.
So now the discussion appears to be centered on , do I risk playing, or will they rollback again once they work out how to fix things.

Not good.

On the plus side, as a reward for putting up with it all, players received an ingredient bag with extra capacity after the rollback.

it was bugged and wouldn't accept ingredients.

[WayAbvPar]

[Glazius]

Ive been sort of watching the forums off and on, out of some morbid curiosity I think.

Ditto.

The fanbase has started to consume itself from within over the last few days, there was a clear divide a week ago, the fanboys who thought the devs were gods, and 'the potential' was simply unsurpassed, and they were all paying to be a part of history.

Then there were the sane ones, who complained, vociferously , about the bugs and general unplayable state of the game.
Most of the latter are now banned.

Now we are a situation where even the fanboys are complaining, blaming each other for exploiting and causing a rollback, and of course the biggest issue is the exploit is still there after the rollback.
So now the discussion appears to be centered on , do I risk playing,

I think the real issue is that right now the game is in such terrible shape that nobody knows whether any given aspect of the game is bugged, broken, exploitable, or working as intended.

EDITED TO ADD: Seriously, there's a guy who is posting a detailed log of everything he's doing, in the hopes that other people can tell him whether he's exploiting bugs or not.

--GF

[caladein]

EDITED TO ADD: Seriously, there's a guy who is posting a detailed log of everything he's doing, in the hopes that other people can tell him whether he's exploiting bugs or not.

--GF

At that point, one must assume Dev communication is being written in cuneiform and being translated into English by a chicken. And not those fancy SOE Patch Notes chickens, no, good ole' Foster Farms for D&L.

Although to cut them some slack, I've had similar moments of doubt in less... "disastrously broken" MMOs, but still... wow .

[Broughden]

Ive been sort of watching the forums off and on, out of some morbid curiosity I think.

The fanbase has started to consume itself from within over the last few days, there was a clear divide a week ago, the fanboys who thought the devs were gods, and 'the potential' was simply unsurpassed, and they were all paying to be a part of history.

Then there were the sane ones, who complained, vociferously , about the bugs and general unplayable state of the game.
Most of the latter are now banned.

Now we are a situation where even the fanboys are complaining, blaming each other for exploiting and causing a rollback, and of course the biggest issue is the exploit is still there after the rollback.
So now the discussion appears to be centered on , do I risk playing, or will they rollback again once they work out how to fix things.

Not good.

On the plus side, as a reward for putting up with it all, players received an ingredient bag with extra capacity after the rollback.

it was bugged and wouldn't accept ingredients.

I love this thread.


PS- Is that true about the bag?


Edit- I had trouble spelling "bag".

[Hoax]

If things continue to be this slow on the non-sucky games & news fronts I suggest f13 write a FAQ for how not to fuck up a MMO.  Because shit like RyL, Mourning and this bullshit not to mention supposedly A-budget titles like AA and DDO need to just stop.  I know making games is very difficult, but come the fuck on.  Making sure that you've at least made a game that, you know, sort of works?  NOT THAT FUCKING HARD.  If it is, GET A NEW JOB.

<insert string of derrogotory terms here>

Plus I've always wanted to contribute to making a FAQ, it might be fun?

[Signe]

If things continue to be this slow on the non-sucky games & news fronts I suggest f13 write a FAQ for how not to fuck up a MMO.  Because shit like RyL, Mourning and this bullshit not to mention supposedly A-budget titles like AA and DDO need to just stop.  I know making games is very difficult, but come the fuck on.  Making sure that you've at least made a game that, you know, sort of works?  NOT THAT FUCKING HARD.  If it is, GET A NEW JOB.

<insert string of derrogotory terms here>

Plus I've always wanted to contribute to making a FAQ, it might be fun?

You used to be such a sweet boy.  Now you're so angry.  What happened?

[Xilren's Twin]

<insert string of derrogotory terms here>

Plus I've always wanted to contribute to making a FAQ, it might be fun?

You used to be such a sweet boy.  Now you're so angry.  What happened?

I suspect he was trampled by naked feet once too often....

[Morat20]

You used to be such a sweet boy.  Now you're so angry.  What happened?

I suspect he was trampled by naked feet once too often....

I hear you have to shell out good money to get that.

[Akkori]

Breaking News via email:

Dear Dark and Light player,

After having assessed the first months of play in the Dark and Light
game, we
agree that the main features of Dark and Light have been implemented at
the
release but the game still needs to be refined.

We are reacting quickly and have already agreed with our partner
Snailgame to
enlarge the production capacity by employing up to 40 people based in
Shanghai.
Some major patches have already been integrated and other patches will
be
applied regularly during the next three months.

To thank you for your confidence in the project, we have decided to
offer you
the next three months of subscription* at no cost enabling you to
experience
the regular Dark and Light updates.                   

Please note that paying subscriptions will restart on November 2006.

In other words, all Dark and Light activation key owners can now play
Dark and
Light for free through October 2006.

Once again, we thank you for your fidelity.  Please remain assured that
we are
gathering all the means to answer your demands.

Best regards,

Farlan Entertainment

* Players whose August subscription has already been paid will be
refunded in
the coming weeks

[Venkman]

So it's reverted back to a beta it seems, considering they're way-upping their resources (which means revenue needs) while removing their single source of income. Is this in preparation for launch in a different market?

[Margalis]

Major announcements over IRC...oh dear. These guys win the special prize.

[geldonyetich]

The game was born of a poor premise:

Bigger Bigger Bigger = Best Game Ev4r!

No amount of outsourced Shanghai labor will fix that any game bored of such shallow aspirations may be wide as an ocean but no deeper than a puddle.

[Telemediocrity]

Assuming it actually worked, I'd probably play this game.  Full-world PvP?  With flying dragons?  Good enough for me.  PvP worlds aren't shallow because the players make their own content.

[SpaceDrake]

Did I read that right? Are they really outsourcing the game labor to China?

I don't think I actually have a word that can describe that properly.

[Trippy]

Did I read that right? Are they really outsourcing the game labor to China?

I don't think I actually have a word that can describe that properly.

What's the problem with doing game development in China? Did you know that Ubisoft has 500 people doing end-to-end game development in Shanghai (their second largest studio only behind Montreal) including doing all the development on games like GRAW?

[Jayce]

What's the problem with doing game development in China?

In my understanding, to make outsourcing work right, you really have to have a good plan, stay on top of things, and generally be really smart about it.  These guys have demonstrated none of the above, from what I can tell from this thread....

Also, it's not exactly something you want to shout from the rooftops, is it?

[Trippy]

What's the problem with doing game development in China?

In my understanding, to make outsourcing work right, you really have to have a good plan, stay on top of things, and generally be really smart about it.  These guys have demonstrated none of the above, from what I can tell from this thread....

Also, it's not exactly something you want to shout from the rooftops, is it?

And the NP Cube guys are doing a better job of it? Might as well let somebody else take a crack at it.

Edit: fixed grammar