Where's the State of the Game Announcement???

[Mbj]

Folks,

Actually, I thought about it and it made more sense to do it after 1.2 and not before. If I put it up before 1.2, I'm sure some of the responses would have been "Yeah, yeah, now let's just guess how much MJB says in it will actually happen in 1.2!!!" or "Typical PR by Mark, means nothing." This way I can now both talk about 1.2 and 1.3.

But feel free to insert your own spin on what I say, I know some of you will do that anyway.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Phelong1

"Now I know a bunch of fanboys will post how great the game is, but you tell me then, why over 90% of all posts, on all boards, are complaints, horrible bugs, or just plain broken (and very important) mechanics."

Why post if everything is great? This is a board to complain on, not congratulate or thank mythic. Thats why 90% or more are complaints.


Is there an estimated time frame for the SotG announcement? Maybe in the next week or two?

I want to wait till next week to see how things go with 1.2. I really wanted to avoid the situation where I post something about the current SotG until things have really shaken out over the coming week. Nobody's perfect and I do try to learn from my *own* mistakes so until I see how things go with ZD and other key aspects of 1.2, I'm going to keep quiet.

The focus of the SotG is still 1.3. I may even talk a bit about what I say today with my first walkthrough of of the Tomb Kings dungeon.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by denmok

if i made a game that lost 800k subscribers in a few short months id hope id learn the meaning of the word humility

Me too, good thing neither I nor Mythic did that then eh?

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Northern_Light

Is it just me, or is MJ making less and less of an effort to hide his hatred/disdain for his paying customers with every post on here? It's like he can't post without a snide remark anymore.

It's you.

Truly, if I had a disdain for our paying customers why would I start OFs to concentrate them in a single area and then actually talk to them. I don't even have a disdain for some of the people who grief/troll here or on our forums, especially if they have a good sense of humor. Also, why would I continue to post here as well?

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Cydoc

Sorry. If you say you will deliver something and you don't be prepared for the backlash. Do some people take things too far, or gripe about things because they are no longer OP...well of course. The game won't ever be perfect and it won't make everyone happy. That is obvious. When 90% of posts are complaints about things that have been known since BETA...sorry....suck it up and deal with the backlash.

I'm a huge fan of Mythic and I do value every post MBJ and Mythic employees post because when is the last time you saw McDonald's come out and truly address an issue they have. They don't. None the less, don't do things and not expect possible backlash (more than the expected "QQ you nerfed my OP class"). This was the reason the Bush administration failed so hard. They never admitted their faults. They didn't address the issues that caused the problems as to show they would not come out and be "apologetic" or admit they were wrong, hell...if Bush said "We thought this was the right thing to do at the time. In hindsight, it was a mistake. We didn't anticpate certain things and we made a mistake. We must now work together to solve these issues. I'm sorry, although remember I am a human and I will make mistakes" I guarentee you most people would have had WAY more respect for him. Mythic needs to learn from his failings because their pandering is essentially the same. I am still waiting for my "healer on steriods" AM (broken abilities that make AMs uber are not want I want!!!), still waiting for my RvR in this game, still waiting for cast lag to be fixed, still waiting for MANY issues addressed in early closed-beta to be addressed that haven't.

I agree with you 100%. Over the years at Mythic, I've had a number of "Mea Culpa" type of posts where I've apologized for my own mistakes and/or Mythic's mistakes. I know that WAR is not the perfect game as no game ever is. Anytime we have to change something that was put into the game (either my idea or any member of the team), I'm not happy about it one bit. I'm especially POed when I thought something was working/fixed and it turns out it really wasn't. In terms of the things you've mentioned, let me tell you that the problem with casting lag is driving me nuts as well as the team and I've already said that I'm sorry that it isn't where it should be but it isn't because of lack of effort by anybody on our team. It has been a focus of mine with the team for quite a while and nobody is more frustrated than they are right now with the issue. Of course we've made mistakes, every developer does but we probably have the best team leadership we've ever had on the game right now as we've made a lot of changes over the past six months and the fruits of some of those changes are already being seen. Most of them will be seen over the next 3/4 months culminating with the Tomb Kings while 1.2 already shows just how much effort the team put into fixing bugs.

I've said this before and I'm happy to say this again, we're human, we make mistakes but we try to correct them and move forward from there. I love our game, our players, our studio and yes, I even like some of the people who make fun of me/WAR/Mythic/etc. We are always trying to improve WAR and will continue to do so until it no longer makes sense to do so because of financial issues. We will never be perfect but this team has worked and continues to work it's butt off with this game. It's 9PM here and I'm not the only one in the office right now so are many members of the team. I'm proud of them, of WAR and of where I think the game is going.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Sanserif

I enjoy the game as well. I am even happy to see someone in charge of the game openly communicate with people in a hostile environment.

Thanks. However, compared to about 30 days post launch for DAoC and then ToA, this isn't hostile, that was hostile.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by s1fr

Mark -
is that statement referring to the (still!) broken contribution system? If so, when can we expect it to be working? If not, can we get a statement about it?

Seriously. I've left city sieges in frustration after an hour or two because the same people are constantly winning gold bags. These people already have all their invader gear, or better. I've yet to win a gold bag in T4, and never finished my set pieces from T3 ORvR, because the contribution system is utterly broken. The few pieces I did win in T3 were because I showed up at the last minute, did nothing, and got first.


I know you've got a lot on your plate, but the contribution system is a pervasive part of end-game, and one of, if not THE, most frustrating.



If you can't fix it, please just admit it and move to a system that's completely random. It'd be better than what we've currently got.

Actually, I was referring to the casting lag issue which I really, really wish was fixed. I've spent quite a bit of time talking with Rob and Colin about this one issue both from a technical and player perspective. What POed me is when everyone said it was fixed, I then posted that it was fixed and unfortunately, it wasn't fixed. I don't enjoy looking stupid (other than on Halloween) and I did look stupid then.

In terms of contribution, I've talked to Jeff a few times about this and I'll talk with him again tomorrow about this. I do agree with you, if we can't get it to work the way we need it to work, we'd be better off with a random or other system.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Cydoc

^^^^^^ thats my new sig. hahahahaha


(cough) mark look at my reply to your reply to my original post....uhhh..(cough cough)

LMAO. Well done.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Emotethrower

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No offense I hope, but you really shouldn't worry about what the people MIGHT say if you do what you promised to do. They are going to say something either way.


You should always operate on the principal of "I am going to do X, because I SAID I was and I believe it's the right thing to do." Not "Well, if we do this, people might have cried." I mean, this isn't a popularity contest, is it?


Probably would have been more prudent to let the folks know before hand that you changed your mind and was doing it after 1.2 because of logical issues, and then give the reason why according to your product. Not according to which way the wind is or might be blowing after, what what forums readers might conversate about.

You're probably right but I do worry about what people say especially if it is used as a basis for bashing. I don't ever want to be put in the position of lying to player either accidentally (Me: Woot it is fixed. Players: Happy, happy, joy, joy! Players (after playing new version): No it's not, burn him alive!!!). But you are right about posting about the delay, like I said, that would have been more prudent.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Cydoc

I agree with you 100%. Over the years at Mythic, I've had a number of "Mea Culpa" type of posts where I've apologized for my own mistakes and/or Mythic's mistakes. I know that WAR is not the perfect game as no game ever is. Anytime we have to change something that was put into the game (either my idea or any member of the team), I'm not happy about it one bit. I'm especially POed when I thought something was working/fixed and it turns out it really wasn't. In terms of the things you've mentioned, let me tell you that the problem with casting lag is driving me nuts as well as the team and I've already said that I'm sorry that it isn't where it should be but it isn't because of lack of effort by anybody on our team. It has been a focus of mine with the team for quite a while and nobody is more frustrated than they are right now with the issue. Of course we've made mistakes, every developer does but we probably have the best team leadership we've ever had on the game right now as we've made a lot of changes over the past six months and the fruits of some of those changes are already being seen. Most of them will be seen over the next 3/4 months culminating with the Tomb Kings while 1.2 already shows just how much effort the team put into fixing bugs.

I've said this before and I'm happy to say this again, we're human, we make mistakes but we try to correct them and move forward from there. I love our game, our players, our studio and yes, I even like some of the people who make fun of me/WAR/Mythic/etc. We are always trying to improve WAR and will continue to do so until it no longer makes sense to do so because of financial issues. We will never be perfect but this team has worked and continues to work it's butt off with this game. It's 9PM here and I'm not the only one in the office right now so are many members of the team. I'm proud of them, of WAR and of where I think the game is going.

Mark

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Damn you Mark, you are too hard to hate. Call me stupid or something :P

I appreciate the direct reply and again as I said above, I do appreciate you and all mythic employees posting. It is unrealistic to assume that 1 patch will fix all bugs. Most of us are aware of this, and realistically 1.2 was an incredible patch. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty freakin epic I will admit. Obviously with cast lag we do not have the code in front of us nor do we know the issues that come along with it (if we fix it the way that seems the most likely to work we would have to redo all of the casting system for example) and if anything it is obviously on the table as it effects many classes universally. Typically this issues are always addressed first...or have a priority.

All I really care about Mark, past all the emotions and sarcastic comments, is this. With the Server Merger to Magnus and the free 1-time character transfer are there safe guards for servers like Volkmar and Iron Rock? Also will this feature be allowed across the board for all servers. I think it was a brilliant move. I hope there are safe guards put in place. Currently, speaking solely for myself, Iron Rock is the reason I canceled my sub. I am not talking specfically even about numbers or how destro or dominating the server with little ease (although these are issues to a degree). My main reason for leaving is simply performance, and performance only.

I understand mythic has and continues to improve lag and performance/stability issues for all computers and those specifically running low-end/med-range computers. I don't think I've seen a patch (anything other than a hot fix) without something addressing this since day 1, and thats awesome. None the less...no matter how much you improve it, on a high population server like Volkmar, Iron Rock, Dark Crag, ect...you can only do so much. This is why MANY people from drakwald (the ones I've talked to as we had a very tight knit community of order players on that server) moved to iron rock do to it being a med-pop server. As it is right now I can not oRvR and even scenarios are lagging. I am interested (and begging my heart out) in what mythic is brainstorming about on this issue. I prefer med pop servers for playability and I am not a fan of HUGE zergs unless its something like forts or city sieges. Is there anything you can relay on this subject. I will send you a red velvet cake, i swear to god I will if you can give us some information on this (hopefully a med pop only server).

Thank you, and I hope you have a terrific night!

Before answering, I prefer chocolate cake over red velvet (now you can hate me!) but I'm on a diet so I can't eat either. And before answering part II, is the question "Will we have safeguards so that too many people don't go to those servers or that too many leave?" I just want to be sure before responding.

In terms of the transfer/merger/free move being brilliant, thanks. I hoped people would like the option.

And in terms of hating me (apart from the whole red velvet cake thing), I know that no matter what I do some people will blame me or Paul or Jeff for every problem in the game. And as the guy who is both GM and who interacts here, I know I'll get more than my fair share. Unfortunately it goes with the territory but as I've said before, I'd rather be the guy who's taking the heat than my Community Managers or other Mythic people. This has always been the way I do things and I do think it is the best way for Mythic and I to operate.

Thanks for the interest, time and offer of red velvet cake.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by dorkassassin

i am glad you got free trials up now.... this game is starting to get better.

i don't agree with some changes but, you seem to still be pushing the game in the right direction with each patch.

Thanks. No MMO will ever get all the players to agree with any change we make to the game. As long as we make a lot more people happy pandas than we make sad pandas, we're on the right track. In terms of the direction, I hope the SotG as well as some other things I will talk about over the next few weeks will give the players more insight into the direction we're taking. Some of what I'll be saying I've already said (confirming that we are still doing the things I said we planned on doing) but I think we have a few good surprises in there as well. Today I spent about 1 1/2 hours with the RvR team and I think that things that we are working on/planning on will be well-received by the community. Combine that with yesterday's meeting on the Tomb Kings and I have no doubt that we will be able to deliver a lot of interesting and fun things to the community over the course of this 1.2/1.3 patch cycle.

As to the free trials, thanks, they are going great so far. Thanks to the RaF and the trials in addition to our box sales, we're bringing in a whole lot of new players and that's great for everybody of course.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Qirxue

Aha!

Mythic's broken feedback system strikes again.

LOL, no. We did get feedback but it wasn't overwhelming either in sheer numbers or for the concept of Origins. I'm not saying nobody wanted it (many people did) but there was also a lot of feedback saying "Don't give us Origins, give us XXXX instead."

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Qirxue

Fair enough,

If you could pm me a list of these peoples names/addresses I will take care of this speedbump on the path to the glory days of Daoc. Just give me fair warning on the release as I'll need to abandon my wife/son, quit my job, move back in with my folks, and re-enroll in college so I'll have ample playtime again.

LOL. I miss having ample playing time (and college at times) too. After transferring to Syracuse U., I had an incredible 3 years there. I really need to go back and visit there sometime but I want to do it when there's no snow on the ground and unfortunately, I've been busy every year for those 2 weeks in July. Okay, bad Upstate NY joke.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by Baldas

Out of pure curiosity (no trolling involved), why do you start every statement with "Folks"? I think all of us are between 15-30? Not sure if I've ever used that word in a conversation, ever.

LOL, it's been so long that I don't remember when I first started using it. It just seemed like a nice way to address the community whether it was in forum posting, SotGs, etc.

Mark

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[Mbj]

Originally Posted by greyssyn

I started to say I figured it was based on where you were from but, you being a "yankee" and all, that doesn't fit. http://media.ign.com/boardfaces/33.gif

You're right though Mark. It is a nice way of greeting people. Around these parts, y'all and folks are used on a daily basis and I like the fact that you start all your posts with it.

Git 'er done!

LOL, thanks.

FYI, I've just sent the first draft out for comments from the team so I hope that the SotG will be posted by Weds/Thursday.

Mark

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