SOE to Publish Vanguard

[Trippy]

Ok, so then we're talking about the relative strength of operators. To me, as it applies to the West, SOE is pretty unique. That they emulate conventions from the East is important, given the maturity of those markets. For example, it seemed to me that SOE > NC in their infrastructure, though admittedly, NC is mostly West-based games (beyond Lineage 1/2). If you're talking CJ or Shanda or the like, yea, "operator" is the apt term.

SOE has a larger infrastructure in the US but NCsoft in the US has been an operator for longer (first for City of Heroes and then for Auto Assault). I haven't subscribed to an SOE game for awhile now so I don't know what their account management is like anymore but NCsoft was the first that I've used that had "unified" account management (using a single "master" account to manage all your NCsoft game accounts), customer service and support, for all the games they operate.

[Venkman]

SOE launched EQ1 in the 90s. NC Soft's first MMO State-side was Lineage 1, launched shortly after Richard Garriot moved over to NC to help with Lineage 2. Later came Planetside and SWG from SOE and L2 and CoH from NC.

While one could SOE only had one MMO, and therefore didn't need an impressive infrastructure, they also had a few online games as well. I don't believe their current system was anywhere near as complete back then, but I do think their infrastructure more broad and deep because how they work is a bit different from NC.

As far as I understand thinks (so I invite correction :) ), NC has a common back end for community and account management; however, I think all of their games are independently run by the original developers (and NC only self-developed L1/2). SOE is different as their games were either built by them (EQ1/2, SWG, PS) or fully integrated after having been brought in from other places (ToonTown, MxO, VG, Gods & Heroes). Things like being able to host cross-game tells, a common CMS, management, bandwidth management, CSR, I'm pretty sure SOE does all of this is as a singulr division of Sony. NC I believe has a lot of that at the individual developer level. Very different efficiencies.

I could be wrong. As I mentioned , I imagine the Far East operators are as integrated as SOE. At the rate they launch games over there, they probably need to be.

[Trippy]

SOE launched EQ1 in the 90s. NC Soft's first MMO State-side was Lineage 1, launched shortly after Richard Garriot moved over to NC to help with Lineage 2. Later came Planetside and SWG from SOE and L2 and CoH from NC.

SOE was not an operator when EQ was released. They only became one when they started hosting games that weren't developed by SOE which was after CoH was released unless I'm forgetting something.

As far as I understand thinks (so I invite correction :) ), NC has a common back end for community and account management; however, I think all of their games are independently run by the original developers (and NC only self-developed L1/2).

No. NCsoft "operates" the CoH/CoV and AA servers -- i.e. those are NCsoft's servers, not Cryptic's or NetDevil's.

[Venkman]

Ah ok, cool on NC.

And on SOE, I keep forgetting they actually did internally develop Planetside (launched a year before CoH) and EQ Online Adventures for the PS2. So yea, NC an operator before SOE.

[Nija]

Lineage 1 "launched" stateside a long time after it was available, and people were playing, in english. I tried it a few different times, and I remember tying it in some form or another right after I got banned in UO for the first time, which was Dec '97.

[Venkman]

I played the Korean version as well at some point. The official US servers launched sometime late Fall in 2001, but I think people were getting ahold of the Korean client prior. Maybe to stress test it? Faulty memory, long time ago :)

[NiX]

The L1 from that time was for testing.. I remember playing it randomly during one of those times when Great Lakes died a horrible death in the middle of the night.

[Engels]

I just got a preorder now! email from Sigil. They don't even have the decency of putting up a real release date, but ooh, the catassing has an early start! A few of the benefits of being in on the preorder:

• Early access to the game! Log on and get a jump start up to three days prior to the official launch!
• A special account key that will grant you a unique exclusive in-game scroll, allowing your character to sprint for longer periods of time due to an endurance buff (one per account).

[Trippy]

I just got a preorder now! email from Sigil. They don't even have the decency of putting up a real release date, but ooh, the catassing has an early start! A few of the benefits of being in on the preorder:

• Early access to the game! Log on and get a jump start up to three days prior to the official launch!
• A special account key that will grant you a unique exclusive in-game scroll, allowing your character to sprint for longer periods of time due to an endurance buff (one per account).

Early access to the game for pre-order people has been a fairly standard feature with MMORPG releases since at least CoH. Giving out in-game advantages to pre-order people is very annoying, though. At first the pre-order and collector edition gifts were all "cosmetic" like the different sprint effects in CoH but the trend lately has been to give out things that give a gameplay advantage.

[Falconeer]

I know I know, I am the king of catassery, the emperor of stupidity and most of all a sick fuck.
But I'd really want to obtain one of those preorder box.
Too bad, they won't ship it in my old old country.

So I was wondering (I am dead serious), any of you could step in a gamestop or ebgames, grab one for me and ship it to me? No need to say that I'll pay in advance.
As long as you have a Paypal, I can send you the money right now.
Money for the box, money for the shipping, and money for an extra candybar or two.

I know it's all so lame, but I stopped worrying about that in 1985.

[Cheddar]

I know I know, I am the king of catassery, the emperor of stupidity and most of all a sick fuck.
But I'd really want to obtain one of those preorder box.
Too bad, they won't ship it in my old old country.

So I was wondering (I am dead serious), any of you could step in a gamestop or ebgames, grab one for me and ship it to me? No need to say that I'll pay in advance.
As long as you have a Paypal, I can send you the money right now.
Money for the box, money for the shipping, and money for an extra candybar or two.

I know it's all so lame, but I stopped worrying about that in 1985.

Just have someone e-mail you the key. :)  You can always acquire the software elsewhere; unless you are a box whore.

[Falconeer]

Just have someone e-mail you the key. :)  You can always acquire the software elsewhere; unless you are a box whore.

You got me.
I am bleeding..

(You should see some of my vintage boxes)

[Sky]

Wait....box whoring is bad?

[Cheddar]

Wait....box whoring is bad?

Of course not.  Some people just love having the boxes.  I prefer digital downloads, personally.

[Falconeer]

So no help here? Boooahaha *sigh* *sob*

[schild]

If my GS has Them ill get one tonight. T9word typing sucks.

[Signe]

If my GS has Them ill get one tonight. T9word typing sucks.

I don't understand a bit of this.   

[schild]

If my gamestop has them, I'll get one for falconeer.

T9word is typing using a phone pad.

[Signe]

Thanks!  You so hep!

[Falconeer]

Thank you, Schild!

[Simond]

Latest fun rumour of launch date is approx a fortnight after TBC goes live. Admittedly, it's based on a predicted launch date from Amazon or similar, but it does sound like the sort of utterly insane thing Sigil & SOE would do.

As for the game itself - the fourth version of their combat system (and counting) went live recently...apparently changing it from 'Press 1, press 2, press 3' to "Whack-a-mole derivative of press 1, press 2, press 3".

[Falconeer]

apparently changing it from 'Press 1, press 2, press 3' to "Whack-a-mole derivative of press 1, press 2, press 3".

Looks like they borrowed the combat guy from the EQ2 stuff then... *sigh*.

(I am still box-less!!!)

[Venkman]

What's a fortnight? 20 days? 40? I know we're all different cultures here and stuff, but can we keep vernacular to the 20th century?  :-D

[Lantyssa]

What's a fortnight? 20 days? 40? I know we're all different cultures here and stuff, but can we keep vernacular to the 20th century?  :-D

Two weeks.  Fourteen Nights = Fo'rt'night = Fortnight.

[WindupAtheist]

Bally!  Snivelsome oatings, eh pipper?

[Trippy]

Latest fun rumour of launch date is approx a fortnight after TBC goes live. Admittedly, it's based on a predicted launch date from Amazon or similar, but it does sound like the sort of utterly insane thing Sigil & SOE would do.

That's what they did for EQ 2. They massively rushed it to release it two weeks before WoW.

[Chenghiz]

But Vanguard is launching after BC. o.O

[Trippy]

Oops. Well I still wouldn't put it past SOE to release it before BC.

[schild]

I seriously don't think anyone at SOE is deluded enough to think that there's any measurable crossover of fanbase between WoW and Vanguard. How many forum members does Vanguard have? They'll get about half that many subs, unless the fucker turns out to be decent. But ya know...

[Azazel]

What's a fortnight? 20 days? 40? I know we're all different cultures here and stuff, but can we keep vernacular to the 20th century?  :-D

You've never heard the term? Fair enough, but it's hardly an archaic term for, you know, much of the English-speaking world. 

[stray]

If it's not archaic, then it's definitely exclusively Anglican. You'd get everything from a slap to a strange stare if you said it in the US.

[Endie]

If it's not archaic, then it's definitely exclusively Anglican. You'd get everything from a slap to a strange stare if you said it in the US.

Lol.. Anglican.  Used during communion, perhaps?

If you've never come across the word "fortnight" then it doesn't say much for the breadth of reading in the US schools' curriculum. A quick free-text search returns results from (amongst many, many others) Emma, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, David Copperfield, The History of Tom Jones, Romeo and Juliet, the War of the Worlds, Pride and Prejudice, Crime and Punishment, Henry IV Pt1 (& Pt2), Coriolanus, Richard III, Vanity Fair, Anna Karenin, various Agatha Christies, The Merchant of Venice etc, etc.. I'm only on Page 7 of the 15 pages of results searching only fiction at Bartleby, and missing out the obscure stuff.

I have had American friends chuckle at my use of the word in conversation: they knew what it meant, but it was strangely other to them.  It's certainly not noted as an archaism in the American Heritage dictionary, nor Princeton's definition.

[schild]

I hate to say that I've used fortnight in conversation also. That said, I'd wager 95% of America has no clue what it means.

But then, I haven't used the word since my time in the Civil War.

[stray]

If it's not archaic, then it's definitely exclusively Anglican. You'd get everything from a slap to a strange stare if you said it in the US.

Lol.. Anglican.  Used during communion, perhaps?

If you've never come across the word "fortnight" then it doesn't say much for the breadth of reading in the US schools' curriculum. A quick free-text search returns results from (amongst many, many others) Emma, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, David Copperfield, The History of Tom Jones, Romeo and Juliet, the War of the Worlds, Pride and Prejudice, Crime and Punishment, Henry IV Pt1 (& Pt2), Coriolanus, Richard III, Vanity Fair, Anna Karenin, various Agatha Christies, The Merchant of Venice etc, etc.. I'm only on Page 7 of the 15 pages of results searching only fiction at Bartleby, and missing out the obscure stuff.

I have had American friends chuckle at my use of the word in conversation: they knew what it meant, but it was strangely other to them.  It's certainly not noted as an archaism in the American Heritage dictionary, nor Princeton's definition.

Oops, I meant Anglicism. You know, the quirky differences between British and American usage and diction? General vocabulary falls under that scope as well, not just spelling and stylistic construction.

Words like "contumely", for example. Or "lorry". "Carriageway". "Knickers". "Pullover". "Plimsolls".

This may come as a shock to you, but very few in America would use any of those words. Even in educated circles. They're fucking whacky (btw, do you guys use the word "whacky"  ).

Secondly, I didn't say that I've never come across the word "fortnight". I'm just talking about common 20th/21st century usage. I thought that much was obvious. For what it's worth, I'm a former theater student .. Without boring you too much, I'll just say that I've studied voice, speech, and literature well enough to understand that the word fortnight exists.

Thirdly, Anna Karenina was written in Russian.

[stray]

I spelled wacky wrong. My entire argument is destroyed.