Dark Days Are Coming - New Funcom Project

[Aez]

Maple would imply they're Canadian.

Fuck you, my family was producing maple products before Canada even existed.  

What's up with the retarded hate anyway?

[NiX]

Fuck you, my family was producing maple products before Canada even existed.  

What's up with the retarded hate anyway?

This game isn't for you. Your power of perception is lacking.

[palmer_eldritch]

Funcom sent out e-mails a couple of days ago inviting people take a test on their website and "win beta access" on their website. Not sure what that really means, but the test is a fun little bit of marketing which tells you which in-game faction you are most suited to.

I am a Dragon, apparently. It's on the www.darkdaysarecoming.com website.

[schild]

More like a few weeks ago.

[Pendan]

More like a few weeks ago.

My email arrived only a few days ago too. Must be staggered.

[UnSub]

Actually, I think someone at Funcom worked out they should be sending emails to their database about how they will have a new game available (eventually).

Pity, because the forums are already a complete waste of space. It's full of useless suggestions, breathless following of Ragnar on Twitter and forum RP, all in the same sub-forums.

[Kageru]

I agree. Checked out the forums and their doesn't really seem to be any reason for them to exist. There's so little known about the game that productive discussion is unlikely. Instead it's all angling for beta or establishing a "forum presence", which is probably also tied to the first.

It's an interesting comparison with Blizzard who keep information about their next MMO completely locked down.

[Kageh]

This was funny, I received the "contest" e-mail on one of the mail adresses I registered with my old AO account and thought, 'why not'? Filled out the questionnaire, registered, thought I might do the contest a couple times, just in case I care about the beta.

Now I keep getting the "fill out the Secret World questionnaire" invitation on the mailboxes that I already registered while submitting the quiz, because apparently I expressed "Interest in Funcom products". I'm going to dub this "Recursive Campaign Mangement". I wonder, if I keep replying and using the same adresses, will the internet implode? Or Funcom? 

[gryeyes]

People are running on the fumes from the ARG with a nice dash of crazy.

[Jamiko]

Looks like they are using TSW beta keys as a lure to bring people back to Age of Conan.

Funcom has told Eurogamer that a new Age of Conan re-evaluation period gets underway today.

To lure you back, the developer is offering two weeks of free play to returning players and two weeks of double experience for everyone. And those who choose to subscribe will be showered with even more gifts.

Sign for three months earn a guaranteed place in The Secret World beta; sign for six months to claim a beta spot plus in-game AOC helmet that boosts experience earned by 10 per cent; and sign for 12 months to earn all that as well as a free copy of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer when it's released. These rewards are not retroactive; subscribers from October onwards are eligible.

[Evildrider]

So basically its pay 45 bucks to get into a beta.  Then pay 50-60 more when the game goes live for the real game!

[gryeyes]

Desperation, 45$ for a guaranteed spot in a beta that could begin in years? Twelve months and get the expansion for free?!

[Hoax]

Really does reek of desperation in the worst way.  Both the beta stuff and the xp boosts.

[palmer_eldritch]

I dunno, if I was thinking of resubbing I can imagine that might tip the balance. I can't work out if it means existing subscribers who simply continue paying their subs are eligible or not.

[Soln]

while I am very interested in this game I have a problem paying money to test anything.  Ya I get a sub to an other game, but you get my point.

[Evildrider]

Well this was in part of my "OMG COME BACK TO CONAN" email about the sub prices.

In addition we have also increased the discounts on the longer subscription cycles: 3 months gives a 20% discount, 6 months gives a 30% discount, and 12 months gives a 45% discount.
Each bonus item can only be received once per account.

[Signe]

They're trying to steal money from eBay!

[sam, an eggplant]

It's not really desperation so much as trying for a mini relaunch of the game. With the itemization revamp and added content, AoC is a much better game today than it was at launch. Of course you can't get a real relaunch; the best you can do is launch a major expansion and hope the media and players take another look. Which, to their credit, Funcom is doing as well. They haven't abandoned AoC.

If it were me, I would offer friends and family bundles too. Something like blizzard's refer a friend program with vastly decreased initial investments just to get people playing.

[Shatter]

If it were me, I would offer friends and family bundles too. Something like blizzard's refer a friend program with vastly decreased initial investments just to get people playing.

Or BJ's

[Nebu]

It's not really desperation so much as trying for a mini relaunch of the game. With the itemization revamp and added content, AoC is a much better game today than it was at launch. Of course you can't get a real relaunch; the best you can do is launch a major expansion and hope the media and players take another look. Which, to their credit, Funcom is doing as well. They haven't abandoned AoC.

If it were me, I would offer friends and family bundles too. Something like blizzard's refer a friend program with vastly decreased initial investments just to get people playing.

This would be aided by the launching of a new server or two.  Achievers love a new server.

[gryeyes]

It's not really desperation so much as trying for a mini relaunch of the game. With the itemization revamp and added content, AoC is a much better game today than it was at launch. Of course you can't get a real relaunch; the best you can do is launch a major expansion and hope the media and players take another look. Which, to their credit, Funcom is doing as well. They haven't abandoned AoC.

You could perhaps offer to activate nascent accounts for a free week or two and open a few fresh servers. Otherwise it looks like you are trying to suck a few drops of juice from a corpse.

[sam, an eggplant]

Yes, and opening up a couple totally empty servers makes a lot of sense. Wait, not so much.

[gryeyes]

Naw your right offering a huge discount to a game you have already quit and whose future is extremely dire will be far more effective. If the game is radically improved then you would probably want people to see it? If you haven't tried it you probably would like a fresh server to do so. Either way if you don't have the people to populate a few fresh servers you are fucked anyway.

Who the fuck wants to invest in a3- 6-12 month subscription when by all appearances the game isn't going to be around that long, at least as something other than a wasteland. A game by and large you have already quit months ago. As opposed to who will try the game for a week or two and see the improvements and stick around? If you really believe that your game has improved enough to retain some of the lost subscriptions the free couple of weeks seems a better game plan. The other path has the appearance of bilking the rubes while you can.

[sam, an eggplant]

You need to work on your reading comprehension, son.

This entire thing was triggered by an email offering former subscribers 14 days free play with double experience. If you then go on to subscribe for various lengths of time you get various incentives, with the 3 month incentive being guaranteed beta access to the secret world. Jamiko posted an except from that email in this thread, on this very same page, yesterday. Scroll up a page to find it.

[gryeyes]

I apologize, I thought it was offering a discount for multiple months combined with free beta and expansion.

[ghost]

Yeh, I got the email about this.  I can "level up twice as fast" in AOC with my new helmet that gives me a 10% increase in experience......

Now I'm not real good in math, but this just doesn't quite add up.   Also, not counting on the Dark Days thing making it to completion, so I'm not going to plunk down more money for that.

[UnSub]

What is the AOC expansion likely to retail at? That's the only offer that even vague tempts me.

[HaemishM]

Who truly believes that Funcom will be able to properly track and implement the beta keys from this promotion when the time comes?

[NiX]

I'll say they'll track them, even if they go to the wrong person.

[ghost]

Who truly believes that Funcom will be able to properly track and implement the beta keys from this promotion when the time comes?

I bet Funcom doesn't even know they are planning a beta.

[Severian]

Who truly believes that Funcom will be able to properly track and implement the beta keys from this promotion when the time comes?

Actually, their account management stuff seems quite robust for things like this. I was surprised to find all my old AO info preserved when I set up for AoC, and my AoC account still shows as discrete items (with little pictures even) my headstart and post-release perks.

[Famine]

Who truly believes that Funcom will be able to properly track and implement the beta keys from this promotion when the time comes?

Actually, their account management stuff seems quite robust for things like this. I was surprised to find all my old AO info preserved when I set up for AoC, and my AoC account still shows as discrete items (with little pictures even) my headstart and post-release perks.

We track everything pretty well. 

[SnakeCharmer]

Gamespot has new video and interviews up regarding teh 3 secret societies.

Dragon is here, Illuminati is here.  Templar will be tomorrow.

[Kageru]

Looks good to me. Three factions is probably a good number and they're all morally ambiguous. An illuminati might well do good because that's a path to the power they crave, A dragon might do evil because that will be more important in the long term.

... Of course, it's all meaningless if the game is half-baked.

[Ragnoros]

... Of course, it's all meaningless if the game is half-baked.

it's all meaningless if the game is half-baked.

if the game is half-baked.

the game is half-baked.

Forgive me. This is what we do now, yes?