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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  The Gaming Graveyard  |  MMOG Discussion  |  Topic: So what's Mass Market Again? Conan hits 1M (shipped). 0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: So what's Mass Market Again? Conan hits 1M (shipped).  (Read 251422 times)
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Hellfire Games


Reply #70 on: June 09, 2008, 08:35:43 AM

So what we have is a thread where F13 takes press releases from Marketing and declares AOC a huge success?

Welcome the fanboi zone.  Be sure to add some links to the Vault Network on the main page.

It's ok to admit you enjoy an MMO. Really!
waylander
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Reply #71 on: June 09, 2008, 09:13:51 AM

I have 150 people on my guild roster for an AOC PVP server. As of last night 79% were level 50+, and hitting massive bottlenecks. The further you get into the game, the worse the bottleneck gets. There is a big lack of content for levels 55-64, and again at level 75-80.

The game shines up to level 40 but beyond that too many classes have high level powers that don't work, loot tables don't make sense, there aren't enough exp camps/quests to level fluidly, and large scale PVP totally doesn't work due to lag. LotD and Sinister fought a 48vs48 in the Keshetta zone most of the weekend, and it was a 1 FPS slideshow complete with the extra crashes.

Travel is insanely slow, mounts cost too much for too little gain, guild cities require a lot of work to build but the benefits aren't tangible, and resource mode farming is boring as hell.

I still like the game, but it was obvious that they didn't have a lot of content ready to go after level 49 so the players are feeling lots of pain due to that.  If they don't fix it by the end of June, they're going to be losing lots of subs.

Lords of the Dead
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Miasma
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Stopgap Measure


Reply #72 on: June 09, 2008, 09:32:27 AM

I hit 60 last night and the change in population levels is stunning.  Field of the Dead is crammed with people spread over many instances but Thunder River only had one and I still didn't bump into too many people.  Those I did find were mostly 57-59 and trying to get some quests.  I'm thinking once it becomes clear that you have to just kill mobs without a quest people are either leaving or rolling alts.  A lot of people playing have probably never been in a game where you have to go in a circle killing everything you see for hours on end and aren't willing to do it.  I tried to replace my armor but there was very little available 60 gear.

I have no idea what the level 80 people are doing right now.  They burned out the content, don't have enough people to raid with, crafting sucks, you can't do endgame PvP until you get a Tier 3 city to build the battle keep...

I'm probably going to stop levelling and just gather resources for our tier 2 city, after I do my destiny quest and get to speak to THE MAN.
fuser
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Reply #73 on: June 09, 2008, 09:44:19 AM

I still like the game, but it was obvious that they didn't have a lot of content ready to go after level 49 so the players are feeling lots of pain due to that.  If they don't fix it by the end of June, they're going to be losing lots of subs.

I really wonder what their retention rate is going to be once people hit this.

The SoE two months free is a masterstroke as I watch the beta launcher download the client.  Oh ho ho ho. Reallllly?
eldaec
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Reply #74 on: June 09, 2008, 10:54:04 AM

Time to fire up the Wayback machine...

Age of Conan

Sairon: 600k
Trouble: 600k
Modern Angel: 500k
Riggswolfe: 400k

Shapechanger: 350k
Soln: 350k
Darniaq: 300k
WindUpAtheist: 300k
Xuri: 300k
HRose: 250k
Evangolis: 240k
Falconeer: 200k
Simond: 200k
HaemishM: 200k

Lantyssa: 175k
Stray: 150k
Damijin: 150k
Unsub: 150k
Strazos: 111k

Arthur Parker: 90k
Datagod: 70k
Eldaec: 40k
Waylander: 40k
Cheddar: 35k

Comstar: -
Angry.bob: -

1 million shipped, I would imagine implies about half of that is expected to be sold inside a month, and about 30% retention beyond month one?

That gives us a likely figure of 150-200k subs at end of month one, but if the game keeps going, we're looking at 400-800k by Christmas?

Still more successful than the consensus opinion above.


But I do wonder if AoC is going to test to destruction the theory that less grind = profit.

"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular ­assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson
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Simond
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Reply #75 on: June 09, 2008, 11:35:03 AM

There is a grind from about halfway in.
Mainly because the actual content at that point is sparse to the point of almost non-existence, but still....

"You're really a good person, aren't you? So, there's no path for you to take here. Go home. This isn't a place for someone like you."
cevik
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Reply #76 on: June 09, 2008, 11:48:43 AM

So what we have is a thread where F13 takes press releases from Marketing and declares AOC a huge success?

Welcome the fanboi zone.  Be sure to add some links to the Vault Network on the main page.

It's ok to admit you enjoy an MMO. Really!

This is the internets, where enjoying this is like totally uncool.

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HaemishM
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Reply #77 on: June 09, 2008, 12:01:00 PM

I'm glad to say my initial predictions about Conan numbers were wrong. I expected the game to be fundamentally broken on release, not broken in well-hidden ways taht don't appear until after the free month for most people.

I still think we should wait and see what the numbers are like in a month before we declare it a universal success. As someone else said, SWG sold a million boxes... eventually. It never got a million concurrent subs.

sam, an eggplant
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Reply #78 on: June 09, 2008, 12:06:54 PM

I was in the beta since late october 2007, so I had some actual gameplay experience, and I thought it would sell through 150k too. The very first quest in the entire game was broken with a conversation loop. Weeks before launch it ran slow as molasses and characters clipped through terrain and fell through bridges. It was a frickin' dog. Then came the magic patch just before launch. That changed everything.

No need to wait; it's a success. Even if most of those first month buyers don't continue playing, the majority won't remember to cancel their subscriptions. It's no DDO. The question is if they can continue to pull in players months after release, and that's contingent on late reviews and word of mouth from content patches.
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Reply #79 on: June 09, 2008, 12:16:19 PM


Its a good start, not sure why all the haters around here consider it failure. Like AoC or hate it, signs point to success.


So because some folks are saying "its too soon to tell" they are haters.  My Fanboi alert just went off.

To be fair, i was the original AoC fanboi around here. True story.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2008, 12:19:37 PM by Slayerik »

"I have more qualifications than Jesus and earn more than this whole board put together.  My ego is huge and my modesty non-existant." -Ironwood
Tale
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Reply #80 on: June 09, 2008, 03:24:07 PM

The mass market doesn't:

* Preorder.
* Buy collectors editions.
* Read forums.
* Have premade guilds.
* Play often.

People hitting the level 50+ content gap are the drinking cape market, not the mass market.

People like us may have 150 people in our guilds wondering what to do next, but we are all mutant freaks.
UnSub
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Reply #81 on: June 09, 2008, 08:08:52 PM

Although it's impossible to say for sure, I think a lot of these players are those branching out from WoW for the first time. They'll be on a "let's see what this is like + BLOOD +BOOBIES!" exploration to see if they have found a MMO to replace WoW.

I do think the interest levels in AoC finally point to WoW growing the MMO audience size, who won't go off and play some half-assed MMO or Korean adapation but will consider another well-marketed, well-presented MMO. It will be interesting to compare WAR's release to AoC's, but I expect it to be very similar if not larger (because people might be looking to leave both WoW and AoC at that point in time... unless WotLK is awesome / has the hype, since I haven't been following its launch date).

Lightstalker
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Reply #82 on: June 09, 2008, 11:26:38 PM

...
Weeks before launch it ran slow as molasses and characters clipped through terrain and fell through bridges. It was a frickin' dog. Then came the magic patch just before launch. That changed everything.
...

Disable Debug Tracing == magic patch  :  A secret formula for making both Devs and Players happy?

Synchronization issues and sluggish response sounds a lot like an instrumentation related performance hit; admittedly I've played neither the beta nor the release and one would wonder why they just didn't say it was their logging enabled client.  Well, the obvious answer to that is that they'd be revealing all their asserts, unfinished stubs, and vulnerabilities.  So Magic Patch and "Old Client" it is then.
schild
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Reply #83 on: June 10, 2008, 12:00:19 AM

It wasn't just that sort of thing, but yea, that was obviously part of it. There was an unbelievable amount of actual fixes as well.
El Gallo
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Reply #84 on: June 10, 2008, 05:14:59 AM

There's also the fact that Funcom was basically the progenitor of the "I swear we have a seekrit patch for release that will make every technical problem go away that we'll push out with the release patch trust us everything works A-OK on our internal test server" last-week-of-beta lie back in AO. They could have given everyone a detailed, technical explanation of the issues and why they have the solution ready and nobody would have believed them.

This post makes me want to squeeze into my badass red jeans.
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Reply #85 on: June 10, 2008, 06:48:41 AM

http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=13423.0

This is why AoC is/will be a success. It really is fun. Even to a buncha jaded old vets like us. Fuckin' schild has admittedly 200 hours played.

Hope WAR comes correct with some fun combat.

"I have more qualifications than Jesus and earn more than this whole board put together.  My ego is huge and my modesty non-existant." -Ironwood
HaemishM
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Reply #86 on: June 10, 2008, 06:53:42 AM

...
Weeks before launch it ran slow as molasses and characters clipped through terrain and fell through bridges. It was a frickin' dog. Then came the magic patch just before launch. That changed everything.
...

Disable Debug Tracing == magic patch  :  A secret formula for making both Devs and Players happy?

Just about every beta I've ever been in that ran like shit, the devs claimed it ran like shit because of "debugging code that would be turned off in release." You know what? Other than AOC, NONE of them made a bit of difference like the change AOC had from one day of open beta to the next. Though I'm not a fan of the game nor am I playing, I have to give Funcom credit for actually being the first dev team whose magic patch/removing debugging actually worked. This time.

Abelian75
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Reply #87 on: June 10, 2008, 08:08:18 AM

I'm pretty sure the biggest improvement had to do with improving loading of textures to be non-blocking.  Nearly up until release your client would hitch and freeze whenever you encountered new textures that had to be loaded.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2008, 08:11:37 AM by Abelian75 »
Falconeer
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Reply #88 on: June 10, 2008, 10:39:38 AM

Long, destructive review.

Here's the final part:

Quote

Verdict: Major Disappointment

[...]

Age of Conan isn't the worst attempt to compete with WoW in the recent years - that honor goes to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - but still it's a failed attempt in many ways. It's not different enough to avoid unflattering direct comparisons, and when you scrape off the pretty visuals and put the actual meat of the gameplay next to Blizzard's juggernaut, Age of Conan falls on its face. In fact, it doesn't compare very favorably even when you size it against the actual gameplay offered by old timers like Dark Age of Camelot or Everquest 2. Shiny visuals and boobies are not enough to cover up the unfinished and poorly designed gameplay. Next contender, please.

I don't know why am I quoting this. I strongly disagree with it and I am scared by people like this Jarno Kokko.

Numtini
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Reply #89 on: June 10, 2008, 11:15:25 AM

I don't agree with it, but I think that's a pretty fair review.

It all depends on how much fun you're having with the combat system. It is nothing more than a bunch of button mashing, not a lot different from other systems. If you can suspend disbelief and go with it, well I'm finding it fun. If that reality sticks in your mind, you're probably not going to.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Engels
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Reply #90 on: June 10, 2008, 11:23:10 AM

Uhm, a bunch of button mashin as opposed to what? I'm all about an MMO that lets me use my guitar hero plastic or the console steering wheel, but we're not there yet :P

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

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Slayerik
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Reply #91 on: June 10, 2008, 11:47:39 AM

It seems so strongly venomous I'm trying to figure out who is sponsering him.

I mean, out of all my RL and internet buddies I have had one that quit after two weeks. Everyone else seems to be enjoying the shit out of it.


"I have more qualifications than Jesus and earn more than this whole board put together.  My ego is huge and my modesty non-existant." -Ironwood
AcidCat
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Reply #92 on: June 10, 2008, 11:52:54 AM

I don't agree with it, but I think that's a pretty fair review.

It all depends on how much fun you're having with the combat system.

Yeah, that elusive fun factor can make you ignore a lot of flaws. When you're having fun, the problems seem minor. If you're not, they just seem magnified. I think many of that reviewer's complaints were completely spot-on. I think as the newness of the game starts to fade in the next month or two a lot of opinions will gradually change.
Tarami
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Reply #93 on: June 10, 2008, 12:22:15 PM

It seems so strongly venomous I'm trying to figure out who is sponsering him.

I mean, out of all my RL and internet buddies I have had one that quit after two weeks. Everyone else seems to be enjoying the shit out of it.
Yet from my circles, I know a single person that has stayed with it.

I actually agree quite a bit with that review, even if it's a bit much vitriol at times. He mentions pretty much every issue that I'm finding that are keeping me from enjoying the game. Plus some elusive ones that I had missed, which aren't exactly flattering either. As it is I'm not really finding one good (much less several) reason to log on to Conan specifically, rather than any other diku. It doesn't seem to offer my preference of fun and it covers very few areas of funness (as everything other than combat is currently broken to some extent).

- I'm giving you this one for free.
- Nothing's free in the waterworld.
schild
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Reply #94 on: June 10, 2008, 01:04:14 PM

I'd gladly read a review people are calling fair. But.

1. 8 pages long.
2. That site is slow and impossible to read.

Can someone C&P the passages and bold the worthwhile parts. He needs a tl;dr version.
Numtini
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Reply #95 on: June 10, 2008, 01:18:55 PM

Quote
Yet from my circles, I know a single person that has stayed with it.

A bunch of us, unfortunately the core raiders in the guild, left EQ2 for AOC and I've only seen a few of them still logging into Conan. Unfortunately, they haven't resurfaced in EQ2 either.

If you can read this, you're on a board populated by misogynist assholes.
Tarami
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Reply #96 on: June 10, 2008, 01:23:57 PM

A bunch of us, unfortunately the core raiders in the guild, left EQ2 for AOC and I've only seen a few of them still logging into Conan. Unfortunately, they haven't resurfaced in EQ2 either.
Many of us left LotRO to play AoC and we're in the exact same situation. The guilds in both games are desolate.

In other news;
Noteworthy are the tags for that review.

"age of conan   funcom   boobies"

Go on. I know you want to click it.

- I'm giving you this one for free.
- Nothing's free in the waterworld.
Tale
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sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ


Reply #97 on: June 10, 2008, 01:32:58 PM

Uhm, a bunch of button mashin as opposed to what? I'm all about an MMO that lets me use my guitar hero plastic or the console steering wheel, but we're not there yet :P

I always wanted to drive around Plane of Fear in an SUV.
Simond
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Reply #98 on: June 10, 2008, 02:00:35 PM

Quote
Yet from my circles, I know a single person that has stayed with it.

A bunch of us, unfortunately the core raiders in the guild, left EQ2 for AOC and I've only seen a few of them still logging into Conan. Unfortunately, they haven't resurfaced in EQ2 either.
Have you tried looking in Azeroth?

"You're really a good person, aren't you? So, there's no path for you to take here. Go home. This isn't a place for someone like you."
Venkman
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Reply #99 on: June 10, 2008, 03:29:17 PM

Are they a site even worth reading? Falc, why does this review in particular bother you? There's been a good amount of scathing indictments of AoC.
lamaros
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Reply #100 on: June 10, 2008, 04:32:26 PM

Maybe because it's reasonably well written and fair (Numtini's view-I'm still reading it)? It's worse to find something admirable in something you disagree with, because they you have to question your own position.
Venkman
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Reply #101 on: June 10, 2008, 04:59:09 PM

I should have been clearer: I was asking why Falc cared about this particular review over the other ones, and in the context I was wondering if the site was otherwise worth reading. I'd never heard of it before.
Count Nerfedalot
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Reply #102 on: June 10, 2008, 05:29:21 PM

As an interested but uninvested bystander (my machine can't possibly handle it, it barely tolerates EQ2) what I see in the review is a list of broken and unfinished things from someone who really wanted to like the game.  Lots and lots of very specific, very broken, very obviously not working as intended things.  Brings to mind SWG at release, to be honest, swapping SWG's server issues for AoCs client issues.  Lots of avant-guard push-the-envelope ideas, some of them even good, but everything unfinished and most things broken in some way or another.

So, yet another game released before it was ready?  And it still sold a million boxes?  Now that's a success by any marketer's (or fanboy's) definition!

Yes, I know I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
Slayerik
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Reply #103 on: June 10, 2008, 08:27:11 PM

Problem to me was the only thing he ever compared it to was WoW.

Maybe the reviewer forgot the endgame and PVP state of Wow when it was released. Anyways, people will either like it or not like it. I seriously had a riot tonight fighting outside a town called Tesso. PVP is the win, fuck the rest.

"I have more qualifications than Jesus and earn more than this whole board put together.  My ego is huge and my modesty non-existant." -Ironwood
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Hellfire Games


Reply #104 on: June 10, 2008, 08:38:53 PM

It seems so strongly venomous I'm trying to figure out who is sponsering him.

No one, he's just strongly opinionated (I remember him from the DAOC beta boards). He posts as Jarnis... thought he had an account here but I'm not finding it.
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