AoC vs WAR vs ? - Biggest Launch Disappointment 2008

[Draegan]

AOC will be broken within a week.

WAR will suck.

I vote for both failing.

[Ingmar]

*Server park for launch scaled for handling 500.000-600.000 active subscribers (can be scaled higher in a few weeks)

I actuallly want AoC to do well, it seems fun, but you've got to love this little gem.  Freudian slip?

No. Europeans use . instead of , for writing big numbers.

[Sjofn]

AoC will suck out loud. WAR will delay until 2009, and then possibly still suck.

WotLK will probably have the highest amount of unwarranted squealing about how it sucks. I'm thinking of the wailing about gear resets and omg u ruined teh raid game and such from TBC, only it will probably have some "someone died in the PvP zone" complaining too.

[Venkman]

WoW is just a grind machine. I'm glad people like it, but each time I return it's for fewer hours. The game has not evolved in any way I find fun at all. But what really disappointed me is the one Hero class. I don't get that at all, particularly the choice.

Back to AoC: I do love how flat this reads:

*Gamespot PvP weekend is deemed to have been conducted successfully

We launched a test successfully. Woohoo! Wouldn't you think they'd rather have some statement about how well the test went?

500k-600k subscribers in the first few weeks is plausible. What other big MMO is coming out anytime soon or have recently launched? We're in the post-AO phase of EQ1 where anything that launches polished, playable and of any easily digestible fantasy theme is going to get scooped up. And considering the many multiples of people playing MMOs these days in both the US and EU, I think half a mil is plausible.

Of course, half of those will melt their same dinky crap PCs that run WoW fine 

And Nebu, not a cut, but I think you'd be surprised how many entertainment companies are looking to Europe first before the US, and how many US companies are realizing a bigger piece of their pie is coming from over there.

[Falwell]

AoC off to the presses..

http://community.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&&func_id=2405&table=CONTENT

[Morfiend]

I found an awesome bug, seems when they did the PVP weekend, they increased the size of the women's breasts for a few of the models. And since for the US version of the game the models with breasts have to have them covered, it really was just the breasts they enlarged. Seems some one forgot to enlarge the shirt models to go with it.

I saw a bunch of women running around with their nipples, and quite often a good portion of their whole breast clipping through their shirts. It was quite disconcerting.

[Signe]

What  nipples?!?

[Trippy]

500k-600k subscribers in the first few weeks is plausible. What other big MMO is coming out anytime soon or have recently launched? We're in the post-AO phase of EQ1 where anything that launches polished, playable and of any easily digestible fantasy theme is going to get scooped up. And considering the many multiples of people playing MMOs these days in both the US and EU, I think half a mil is plausible.

That didn't happen with LotRO which arguably has a much wider appeal than AoC.

[FatuousTwat]

Sure, it might have 600k subs the first month, but it will be around 400k the next.

[Venkman]

Yea, no idea if they'll retain any of that. This could be a CoX slide.

500k-600k subscribers in the first few weeks is plausible. What other big MMO is coming out anytime soon or have recently launched? We're in the post-AO phase of EQ1 where anything that launches polished, playable and of any easily digestible fantasy theme is going to get scooped up. And considering the many multiples of people playing MMOs these days in both the US and EU, I think half a mil is plausible.

That didn't happen with LotRO which arguably has a much wider appeal than AoC.

Which is true. However, LoTRO was also widely understood to be little more than a WoW clone with LoTR wrapping by the time preorders went out. It also had nothing to do with the movies which is what made LoTR itself have the much wider appeal the books alone ever could have gotten. And it came only a few months after DDO and WoW:BC launched, the latter of which was providing a much better WoW experience than LoTRO could have. That they got so many lifetime signups at all, in my opinion, a testament to their success at reaching people who probably hadn't played an MMO yet.

Meanwhile, AoC is up against less competition for time and mindshare atm and is at least attempting to offer something actually unique, as opposed to musical instruments and playable chickens.

But that's academic if they can't keep a good chunk of those folks.

[Jashan]

or will it be WAR, with a pedigree that includes DAoC, but also graphics and gameplay that seem lifted out of DAoC too? Or is there some other contender launching in 2008 that will set forums ablaze with nerd rage at it's incompleteness and ineptitude?

I have to note that you drop the DAoC pedigree as a positive. As someone who left after the great LA nerf and ToA, I have to wonder if you ever even played that game.

Fuck Mythic. I aint goin near it. WoW is stale and the PvE melee game of AoC has me hooked. AoC it is for me.

[Fordel]

I think WAR will disappoint me the most, but AoC will fail far more spectacularly.


WAR will be, unexciting. It won't be terrible, but it wont be spectacular. I'm guessing it will get a player base similar to LoTRO does, smallish but dedicated.


I fully expect AoC to be a cluster fuck of epic proportions. Possibly literally.

[UnSub]

or will it be WAR, with a pedigree that includes DAoC, but also graphics and gameplay that seem lifted out of DAoC too? Or is there some other contender launching in 2008 that will set forums ablaze with nerd rage at it's incompleteness and ineptitude?

I have to note that you drop the DAoC pedigree as a positive. As someone who left after the great LA nerf and ToA, I have to wonder if you ever even played that game.

Fuck Mythic. I aint goin near it. WoW is stale and the PvE melee game of AoC has me hooked. AoC it is for me.

Nope, never played it. However, F13 voted it the second best MMO that we've collectively played and its PvP has a great reputation. ToA is well recognised as a huge mistake, but DAoC did very well for a while there.

[UnSub]

AoC off to the presses..

http://community.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&&func_id=2405&table=CONTENT

Please help me - I'm choking on the .

[Nevermore]

500k-600k subscribers in the first few weeks is plausible. What other big MMO is coming out anytime soon or have recently launched? We're in the post-AO phase of EQ1 where anything that launches polished, playable and of any easily digestible fantasy theme is going to get scooped up. And considering the many multiples of people playing MMOs these days in both the US and EU, I think half a mil is plausible.

Unless Funcom somehow hacked into WoW and inserted naked Night Elves with "Play Age of Conan" scrawled across their heaving bosoms then no, I don't think they'll get close to those numbers.  And by setting the bar that high, they have oh so much farther to fall.

[Miasma]

I think a problem that is going to face any fantasy MMO with serious PvP like AoC and War will be that even if a small percentage of the WoW user base gives their game a try it could put a lot of stress on their launch forcing them to either do queues or open new servers, then the vast majority of the WoW ex-pats will leave after the first month.  So either they have queues which will upset everyone and cause people to leave or they open up too many servers (driving up their costs) which they will then have to merge several months later.  If they get five to ten percent of WoW people to try their game (which I think is optimistic) that will probably represent fifty percent of their launch day population base.  That fifty percent won't stick around very long because despite all the "waiting on warhammer" groaning most WoW players have never played another MMO and are going to be very disappointed when they do.

[Triforcer]

AoC off to the presses..

http://community.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&&func_id=2405&table=CONTENT

Please help me - I'm choking on the .

The NDA is up even AFTER it goes gold?  DANGER WILL ROBINSON

[Kirth]

WAR will have a great launch, AoC will have a moderate population base but will decline and stead off in the 100k-250k sub range in 6 months or so. I have doubts about Wrath of the Lich King launching this year, and yes I agree that when it does it will be TBC in the arctic, with new dances and hairstyles.

[Venkman]

The NDA is up even AFTER it goes gold?  DANGER WILL ROBINSON

Wuh? Link please?

I do think it unfortunate that the build played during PvP weekend is the most recent impression a lot of people have of the state of AoC. Apparently I can't go into details due to the above But I will say that claims of it being an earlier build are not unbelievable.

[Triforcer]

Read Falwell's link.  The game is in CD form now.

Interesting from the link:

475,000 unique visits to AoC website

Large retailers say "as much interest as any MMO ever".

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this sells a million boxes the first year, although it'll settle into LOTRO-like numbers. 

[Venkman]

Ya, did that, but didn't see anything about the NDA still being in effect. The thing I did see was the "tens of thousands" of testers bit. Outside of the PvP weekend, I wonder how many people have actually been in beta?

[tmp]

Wuh? Link please?

It's part of the NDA itself iirc, can't find a link where it's quoted but it's to the effect that "even after NDA is lifted you're still not allowed to talk about the period while it was in effect", similar to how it's done for the PvP weekend for that matter.

edit: oh wait, i misread the question. nvm then, guess it's presumed NDA is still in effect because well, there's no announcement to the contrary nor people spilling beans which they'd be free to, were it indeed lifted..?

[grunk]

not sure i understand the hate on AoC?

Game appears to be really good and the fact that i see people on here shouting about how they are sick of cookie cutter games, i dont get it.

Game has a ton of depth, nice graphics, fun combat... good pve. All the bitching about balance, thats n00b talk people. i cant wait for AoC.

The game imo, is well made. its not like this WoW sht, where my character does the same lame anamations... a lvl 10 demo/necro spells look 10X better then a lvl70 mage lol.

face it, the people who are bitchin, are poor fuktards who cant build a pc, maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers..

*edit*

I dunno about war. AOC looks better then war on fucken lowest settings, nuff said, so go sell a kidney and stfu n00bs.

[sam, an eggplant]

The NDA is up even AFTER it goes gold?  DANGER WILL ROBINSON

What, are you like new? This is not unusual, every NDA has that clause. That doesn't mean that they won't say "post whatever you want" when it enters open beta in a week. Expecting them to relax NDA before it enters open beta is even more silly.

I expect great things from grunk in the future.

[Lakov_Sanite]

not sure i understand the hate on AoC?

Game appears to be really good and the fact that i see people on here shouting about how they are sick of cookie cutter games, i dont get it.

Game has a ton of depth, nice graphics, fun combat... good pve. All the bitching about balance, thats n00b talk people. i cant wait for AoC.

The game imo, is well made. its not like this WoW sht, where my character does the same lame anamations... a lvl 10 demo/necro spells look 10X better then a lvl70 mage lol.

face it, the people who are bitchin, are poor fuktards who cant build a pc, maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers..

*edit*

I dunno about war. AOC looks better then war on fucken lowest settings, nuff said, so go sell a kidney and stfu n00bs.

I'm happier now more than ever that I won't be playing aoc.

[IainC]

The NDA is up even AFTER it goes gold?  DANGER WILL ROBINSON

What, are you like new? This is not unusual, every NDA has that clause. That doesn't mean that they won't say "post whatever you want" when it enters open beta in a week. Expecting them to relax NDA before it enters open beta is even more silly.

I expect great things from grunk in the future.

Grunk has few posts but he makes up for the low post count by making every post a golden example of its kind.

[grunk]

not sure i understand the hate on AoC?

Game appears to be really good and the fact that i see people on here shouting about how they are sick of cookie cutter games, i dont get it.

Game has a ton of depth, nice graphics, fun combat... good pve. All the bitching about balance, thats n00b talk people. i cant wait for AoC.

The game imo, is well made. its not like this WoW sht, where my character does the same lame anamations... a lvl 10 demo/necro spells look 10X better then a lvl70 mage lol.

face it, the people who are bitchin, are poor fuktards who cant build a pc, maybe if you cleaned the piss out of the sunny d bottles under your desks and returned em, you could upgrade you vid cards, fucken lusers..

*edit*

I dunno about war. AOC looks better then war on fucken lowest settings, nuff said, so go sell a kidney and stfu n00bs.

I'm happier now more than ever that I won't be playing aoc.

Good. Stay in your DIKU clone piece of shit. I am so sick of people bitchin about system specs. I swear, you people are so cheap, you probably use the paint chips off the wall to wipe your ass

"Omg, ive been using the same toilet paper for 5 years, why do i gota buy a new roll!"

WoW, WAR ... dont give a shit. I dont give a mystic shit, how many rolls you put on the rung.

I T' S  S T I L L  S H I T

[Merusk]

Perhaps if you'd take some of that funding you're putting towards that killer rig and bought your perscription again your metaphores would make some kind of sense.  Failing that they at least wouldn't flip flop from one topic to another mid-metaphore.

[grunk]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

[sam, an eggplant]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

Awesome.

[Morfiend]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

I get the distinct feeling that arguing with you using facts and examples would go no where. But at least we got someone in here to go all fanboy so we can make fun of them after release.

[Mrbloodworth]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

 But at least we got someone in here to go all fanboy so we can make fun of them after release.

[grunk]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

I get the distinct feeling that arguing with you using facts and examples would go no where. But at least we got someone in here to go all fanboy so we can make fun of them after release.

Hey turd burgler, i'm not an aoc fanboi. in fact i am late to the party. Go fucken do a search before you open your fucken pie hole, that way next time you wont get raped with a fist and dental floss bitch.

[Mrbloodworth]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

I get the distinct feeling that arguing with you using facts and examples would go no where. But at least we got someone in here to go all fanboy so we can make fun of them after release.

Hey turd burgler, i'm not an aoc fanboi. in fact i am late to the party. Go fucken do a search before you open your fucken pie hole, that way next time you wont get raped with a fist and dental floss bitch.

[grunk]

w/e

The Grunkster is here to restore balance to the force. After all the shit that has come out, finally a good game and these bitches ... well they bitch.

Fucken clown shoes. these same fags are probably playing EvE online, or that lolWOW shit, i dont care. AoC looks uber, so go QQ it up bitches!

 But at least we got someone in here to go all fanboy so we can make fun of them after release.

MAN YOUR DAD IS COOL!