Either Put up or Shut up

XElite wrote:

MatrixRefugee wrote

Personally... I think MxO has gone from being an MMORPG where we were spoon-fed the storyline, to something like a tabletop RPG with a 3D chat room. We have a set of rules about this universe, we have NPCs we can write stories involving. We have different character templates and organizations to work from. We just need to put our geek thinking-caps on and make a little more effort to create the story.

What this woman said.

More sense has never been spoken on these forums.

:: Blushes red as her Demon Army Coat::

XElite... you are much too kind...

MetaLogic wrote:

Hmm true, but I think Walrus said that wasn't going to happen, it would open up a Pandora's Box.

Well I hope that isn't the case.  Here's a copy of a PM I sent to Rarebit before he left and his response.  It gives me some hope....

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Rare. I'm sure you've received innumerable PM's in the last few days, so I'm REALLY hoping you respond to this one.  My question for you is do you think it would be possible to get unlimited access to the Halloween masks? Since creating a story is now up to the players, unfettered use of these masks is almost essential.  Please consider this request and get back to me if u are able.  Once again thankyou for your considerable contribution to the game I love.  CODEMAN.

Response: Well, it's possible that the team could decide to do something like that in the future, but it wasn't something I felt I could do yet for this last update of mine (I was considering it, as it happens), because they could very well still want to have a good old MXO Halloween event this year, and the masks are part of what makes that special.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So maybe we'll get those tools afterall.  Something to hope for rather than just complaining anyway.

Villemar_MxO wrote:

Lol you're the one who broke a perfectly good 18-month old thread.  Nice Freudian projection there too.

Keep lashing out at those who expect a baseline service for a monthly fee, soon enough you'll have a nice empty husk of a game all to yourself.  And don't give me that EULA garbage, I'm sure you'd be the first one pitching a fit if all of your inventory and all of your emails were accidently deleted.  

Funny coming from one who threw an emotional tantrum as a response to my own thread, then implied I was part of a racist organization. Your double talk won't work with me pal.  Those are the REAL reasons those threads were locked.  Secondly, listening to you and countless others, this game is already an empty husk. But I'll never have it to myself.  Afterall, there are some folks here who understand that we are being provided a service for a small subscription fee.  Obviously if someone becomes dissatisfied they have the option of cancelling their subscription.

NeoVII wrote:

GypsyJuggler wrote:

Ebola wrote:

Vindicator's and Femme Fatale's can still post if they are not subscribed... or so the rumor goes.

I had thought this was the case but my unsubscribed Femme Fatale account begs to differ. 

Special ranks do sometimes slip past other conditions preventing regular accounts from posting however.

OooOooo...then I possibly unretract, my previously retracted statement...maybe...    /shrug

I left, came back for the pvp thingy thinking that Rarebit might have some dignity. Was gravely mistaken, quickly canceled.

Just gonna fill you all in on Economics.

Yes MxO may be analyzed as "Vendor A" which is offering an inferior product, and yes you are questioning why it is offering an inferior topic. If the vendor fails to answer it will go out of business, because people will stop purchasing it's product and move onto the other vendors. But apparently you are all trapped at step 2 and continue questioning the vendor rather than moving onto a superior product.

We pay SOE for a service, that service is an account which you may log onto to use the servers and tools available in the Matrix Online for recreational and enjoyment purposes. If the service no longer entertains you or changes it's service so that you do not enjoy it, then you stop paying for the service and spend your money on something that will. To continue to pay for a service that you do not like, then complain about it is downright absurd. The service SOE is providing is not faulty or different to what they are offering, we have all been made well aware of the termination of all production and storyline content, we have been given the choice to continue paying for this game under this new condition.

You may have a case if you just paid for a year long subscription and are no longer pleased with the game as it is and would like a refund due to this sudden and recent change. If that is the case please take it up with SOE's payroll office.

You cannot claim "Invested time and money" as justification for SOE to lift their game. You paid to play the game, you play the game to enjoy yourself. You do not "Invest your time and money" for some sort of "Reward" that you are still holding out on. Do not view this as an investment, view it as a relaxation/recreational activity that SOE provides for a nominal fee. If this service no longer pleases you, you stop paying for it. That's Common Sense 101.

As for the "Nazi" analogy, SOE is not forcing you to pay for it's "faulty" product, you have the choice to terminate your payments at any time. Nazi's were imposing themselves on others, no one had a choice as to whether or not they wanted to go to a concentration camp and die. Here you have a clear and simple choice, pay for the game and enjoy it, or terminate your account and spend your money on other recreational activities.

Pylat wrote:

Just gonna fill you all in on Economics.

Yes MxO may be analyzed as "Vendor A" which is offering an inferior product, and yes you are questioning why it is offering an inferior topic. If the vendor fails to answer it will go out of business, because people will stop purchasing it's product and move onto the other vendors. But apparently you are all trapped at step 2 and continue questioning the vendor rather than moving onto a superior product.

We pay SOE for a service, that service is an account which you may log onto to use the servers and tools available in the Matrix Online for recreational and enjoyment purposes. If the service no longer entertains you or changes it's service so that you do not enjoy it, then you stop paying for the service and spend your money on something that will. To continue to pay for a service that you do not like, then complain about it is downright absurd. The service SOE is providing is not faulty or different to what they are offering, we have all been made well aware of the termination of all production and storyline content, we have been given the choice to continue paying for this game under this new condition.

You may have a case if you just paid for a year long subscription and are no longer pleased with the game as it is and would like a refund due to this sudden and recent change. If that is the case please take it up with SOE's payroll office.

You cannot claim "Invested time and money" as justification for SOE to lift their game. You paid to play the game, you play the game to enjoy yourself. You do not "Invest your time and money" for some sort of "Reward" that you are still holding out on. Do not view this as an investment, view it as a relaxation/recreational activity that SOE provides for a nominal fee. If this service no longer pleases you, you stop paying for it. That's Common Sense 101.

As for the "Nazi" analogy, SOE is not forcing you to pay for it's "faulty" product, you have the choice to terminate your payments at any time. Nazi's were imposing themselves on others, no one had a choice as to whether or not they wanted to go to a concentration camp and die. Here you have a clear and simple choice, pay for the game and enjoy it, or terminate your account and spend your money on other recreational activities.

QTF

CODEMAN wrote:

It's not a stretch to make them client options and you wouldn't need a dedicated Dev to do it.

Yes it is, and yes you would. It's not as simple as flicking a switch; there are innumerable security concerns to consider, the Dev tools won't be user-friendly in the least, nor will they have been foolproofed. They'd probably have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

CODEMAN wrote:

Villemar_MxO wrote:

Lol you're the one who broke a perfectly good 18-month old thread.  Nice Freudian projection there too.

Keep lashing out at those who expect a baseline service for a monthly fee, soon enough you'll have a nice empty husk of a game all to yourself.  And don't give me that EULA garbage, I'm sure you'd be the first one pitching a fit if all of your inventory and all of your emails were accidently deleted.  

Funny coming from one who threw an emotional tantrum as a response to my own thread, then implied I was part of a racist organization. Your double talk won't work with me pal.  Those are the REAL reasons those threads were locked.  Secondly, listening to you and countless others, this game is already an empty husk. But I'll never have it to myself.  Afterall, there are some folks here who understand that we are being provided a service for a small subscription fee.  Obviously if someone becomes dissatisfied they have the option of cancelling their subscription.

Look, This Is Not Going To End Well, so I apologize for the snide remarks upthread, and on behalf of the OP I'll leave this thread before it gets locked.  I did like your post about the Halloween Masks though...I was hoping for the exact same when Rare left and its good to see his thoughts on the matter. 

I agree, I also do hope that SOE does something about the game but all the QQing on the boards doesnt help at all, it only makes things worse, especially for new players to the game...what are they gonna think?  Create your own events, log on to pvp and help the new players so they stick around and enjoy the game for what it is, not for what it could be.

Pylat wrote:

Just gonna fill you all in on Economics.

Yes MxO may be analyzed as "Vendor A" which is offering an inferior product, and yes you are questioning why it is offering an inferior topic. If the vendor fails to answer it will go out of business, because people will stop purchasing it's product and move onto the other vendors. But apparently you are all trapped at step 2 and continue questioning the vendor rather than moving onto a superior product.

We pay SOE for a service, that service is an account which you may log onto to use the servers and tools available in the Matrix Online for recreational and enjoyment purposes. If the service no longer entertains you or changes it's service so that you do not enjoy it, then you stop paying for the service and spend your money on something that will. To continue to pay for a service that you do not like, then complain about it is downright absurd. The service SOE is providing is not faulty or different to what they are offering, we have all been made well aware of the termination of all production and storyline content, we have been given the choice to continue paying for this game under this new condition.

You may have a case if you just paid for a year long subscription and are no longer pleased with the game as it is and would like a refund due to this sudden and recent change. If that is the case please take it up with SOE's payroll office.

You cannot claim "Invested time and money" as justification for SOE to lift their game. You paid to play the game, you play the game to enjoy yourself. You do not "Invest your time and money" for some sort of "Reward" that you are still holding out on. Do not view this as an investment, view it as a relaxation/recreational activity that SOE provides for a nominal fee. If this service no longer pleases you, you stop paying for it. That's Common Sense 101.

As for the "Nazi" analogy, SOE is not forcing you to pay for it's "faulty" product, you have the choice to terminate your payments at any time. Nazi's were imposing themselves on others, no one had a choice as to whether or not they wanted to go to a concentration camp and die. Here you have a clear and simple choice, pay for the game and enjoy it, or terminate your account and spend your money on other recreational activities.

QTF

Yasamuu wrote:

Phrack wrote:

Longer than that, Yasa.  

I'd be suprised if there was enough subscribers left at that pont. >_>

I'd be surprised if there's still subscribers left at that pont too. Nice fail <3

Double post fail.

Brommerz77 wrote:

Yasamuu wrote:

Phrack wrote:

Longer than that, Yasa.  

I'd be suprised if there was enough subscribers left at that pont. >_>

I'd be surprised if there's still subscribers left at that pont too. Nice fail <3

I'd be surprised, if you are surprised, that Yas is surprised that there's still subscribers left at the pont that there Phrack is referring to.

On the Main Character RSI topic mentioned earlier on:

It may just be me, but if it comes down to choosing between having Main Character RSI masks available all year round or just having them available at Halloween then I would choose all year round. For me the novelty of Halloween wears thin a day or two after it gets implemented. Plus Halloween = Zombies.

Even though I don't like the idea of participating in RP where you go to see 'The Merovingian' which happens to be someone you know wearing a Merv mask and typing their best French, or a level 2-3 randomly named person doing the same thing somewhere in Richland because unless they got the access code, doing it in Club Hel means having an Agent spawn on them every now and again..

(Side Note, Perhaps someone who really wants to enable RP could make a new account, make new characters, equip them with masks and get them access to certain appropriate locations (Hel for Merv, Government Building for Gray and some abandoned building for Niobe etc.. for example) and could offer their services to any RP story going using prewritten scripts or with guidance from the writer)

..I would think it would be better for player created stories to have them available. Ideally (imo) for player made cut scenes or images for posting on the boards. This means that we'd need a Niobe/Ghost/Gray/Pace/Scarred Kid?/Flood etc.. RSI capture too.

Also there's the issue of getting them, I don't think they'd be available from a Vendor for a few hundred $i but I also don't think we'll be getting many quests anytime soon either, especially one with 'Kill the Merovingian' as their main goal.

Of course when Rare said the story is now truely in our hands he could have meant that instead of relying on main characters as the Org icon to tell people what to do, we make our own characters up to do the same thing. I know this has been done with very limited success before, but perhaps with the current situation people might make more of a go at it.

We should all figure out a new game to play and during our last days we all hang out in Uriah handing out the bluepills to new subscribers lol!

One-time use masks, issued by Virrago, must be in conjunction with a planned RP event ('planned', meaning written down in an email/pm on intended use).

This might also work with luggable prop items. 9mmfu could set a briefcase or a disk as a luggable for a planned RP event.

What? It's not like he's going to be working on anything else, since there will be no updates anymore. 

Ebola wrote:

NeoVII wrote:

Vindicator's and Femme Fatale's can still post if they are not subscribed... or so the rumor goes.

I fixed that a long time ago.

Virrago wrote:

Ebola wrote:

NeoVII wrote:

Vindicator's and Femme Fatale's can still post if they are not subscribed... or so the rumor goes.

I fixed that a long time ago.

Oh I didnt know if that was fixed or not, I just thought thats what Odj was hinting at :p

Procurator wrote:

CODEMAN wrote:

It's not a stretch to make them client options and you wouldn't need a dedicated Dev to do it.

Yes it is, and yes you would. It's not as simple as flicking a switch; there are innumerable security concerns to consider, the Dev tools won't be user-friendly in the least, nor will they have been foolproofed. They'd probably have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Well since you seem to know more about implementing this than I do,  maybe you could give some real examples instead of conjecture? All I know is it's been done on SWG.  Of course that doesn't mean it will be done here, but SWG is much larger and more complicated than MxO, and there doesn't seem to be security concerns over it.  Judging by what I've read, the tools are quite user friendly.  Actually the only thing it offers that MxO doesn't currently offer is setting up an actual mission.  Before, only Devs could do such things in that game.  Not that it matters, but I have a friend in the industry who now works for Blizzard. He helped develop PotBS.  He's told me the same thing.  It's not a stretch.  Really depends on whether the MxO team/SOE feels it's justifiable.  I suppose they could even test it on Recursion since so many are claiming how useless that server is.

CODEMAN wrote:

I have a friend in the industry who now works for Blizzard. He helped develop PotBS.  He's told me the same thing.  It's not a stretch.

Has your friend ever worked on MxO? Has he got a decent knowledge of the Lithtech: Discovery game engine? It's fine if a Dev team has in depth knowledge of their game like the SWG Devs, which was developed by SOE by the way, but considering that MxO was not developed by SOE and we only have one, perhaps two Dev's left, I'd say that it's a lot harder than he gives credit. Probably not impossible, but certainly not a walk in the park either. I mean, it's the MxO database for pete's sake..

I'd like to see where it said the current dev tools were user friendly, if your talking about what the Dev's gave LESIG to spawn NPC's, that probably just the tip of the iceberg. But what would I know, I don't have a friend in the industry.

Croesis wrote:

CODEMAN wrote:

I have a friend in the industry who now works for Blizzard. He helped develop PotBS.  He's told me the same thing.  It's not a stretch.

Has your friend ever worked on MxO? Has he got a decent knowledge of the Lithtech: Discovery game engine? It's fine if a Dev team has in depth knowledge of their game like the SWG Devs, which was developed by SOE by the way, but considering that MxO was not developed by SOE and we only have one, perhaps two Dev's left, I'd say that it's a lot harder than he gives credit.

I'd like to see where it said the dev tools were user friendly, if your talking about what the Dev's gave LESIG to spawn NPC's, that probably just the tip of the iceberg. But what would I know, I don't have a friend in the industry.

Well putting your sarcasm aside, no he didn't work on MxO. If he had, I would've mentioned it.  I was referring to the storyteller tools implemented in SWG as being user friendly. Walrus was around during the Monolith days of development. I imagine he knows more about the game engine than we think.  Personally I don't hold out high hopes for tools being handed to players on this game.  Essentially they already have with the exception of creating actual missions or NPC spawns.

"If they're justifiable" is the right term. They won't happen for the same reason new patches won't happen. We're no longer worth the investment, but boy, it's great getting our money regardless.

Consider the fact that it takes about a minute to make an item... add name and description pointers in the string tables to a field in zmisc.pkb, point it to a mga or composite mgas, base txa, optional alpha/bump/specular txa, optionally point to a FX in rezmap, optionally add to the Cookbook of craftable items, give it a GoID, else add to collector, vendor tables, or loot table(s), add to gameobjects packmap with buffs and such. Restart the server, which loads the new GameObjects. Pretty much good to go. If you have a model and texture already made, like I dunno, the several hundred unreleased clothing items that work for all body types (we see some of them on NPC models, the most glaring example would be several dozen colors of Hosh Riding Pants and dozens of unreleased shoes) then it would take next to NO time to make these.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to what they want to make. Why did Rarebit take his time to make a new texture for the Valshymar, when we already had a white suit texture from the White Agents from PB4? Personal fulfillment, I suspect, or a relatively challenge free todo-list. It would have taken very little time to put out all the unreleased stuff, but he never did... either to save it for a possible new replacement so it could be postured as the product of hard work modeling/texturing.

Funny how "the database" always gets brough into this, when for many cases it's not even applicable. For something not to be possible is one thing. But for something to be possible and just telling us that it's not because most people will believe it... that's something else. /shrug $0.02

CODEMAN wrote:

Well since you seem to know more about implementing this than I do,  maybe you could give some real examples instead of conjecture?

Conjecture it may be, but conjecture grounded in experience and everything the Devs have said until now. It doesn't matter what SWG or other MMOs have, MxO doesn't have equivalent tools or the people to make them.

S-p-a-w-n-p-i-l-l-s a-l-l  f-i-v-e  o-r-g-s... s-i-n-g-l-e-t-o-n. = Event tool = Events.

Bayamos wrote:

Funny how "the database" always gets brough into this, when for many cases it's not even applicable. For something not to be possible is one thing. But for something to be possible and just telling us that it's not because most people will believe it... that's something else. /shrug $0.02

Heh, it may not always be the database that makes something impossible (or at least daunting), but the same concept applies: it's an apparently rickety system that no one really wants to risk breaking by trying something too complex.

Procurator wrote:

Bayamos wrote:

Funny how "the database" always gets brough into this, when for many cases it's not even applicable. For something not to be possible is one thing. But for something to be possible and just telling us that it's not because most people will believe it... that's something else. /shrug $0.02

Heh, it may not always be the database that makes something impossible (or at least daunting), but the same concept applies: it's an apparently rickety system that no one really wants to risk breaking by trying something too complex.

And let's not even get into the issue of the mainframe goblins...

Fen wrote:

Procurator wrote:

Heh, it may not always be the database that makes something impossible (or at least daunting), but the same concept applies: it's an apparently rickety system that no one really wants to risk breaking by trying something too complex.

And let's not even get into the issue of the mainframe goblins...

No, please god no..

Procurator wrote:

MxO doesn't have the people to make them.

Fixed.

Enjoy paying to make your own content...

I've discovered that the vast, nigh-boundless, emptiness of eve-space is not only less depressing but more populated.

I feel like I just ran into an old friend that I hadn't seen since childhood, back when they showwed all the promise of becoming a great scientist, musician, sportsperson, etc. and discovering they are now a wasted shell of a human addicted to heroin and living in filth.

as for RP... I don't have to pay to do that.

Sometimes you just have to abandon a friend to save yourself to avoid being draged down into the depths.
The question is, where do you draw the line?

Bayamos wrote:

"If they're justifiable" is the right term. They won't happen for the same reason new patches won't happen. We're no longer worth the investment, but boy, it's great getting our money regardless.

Consider the fact that it takes about a minute to make an item... add name and description pointers in the string tables to a field in zmisc.pkb, point it to a mga or composite mgas, base txa, optional alpha/bump/specular txa, optionally point to a FX in rezmap, optionally add to the Cookbook of craftable items, give it a GoID, else add to collector, vendor tables, or loot table(s), add to gameobjects packmap with buffs and such. Restart the server, which loads the new GameObjects. Pretty much good to go. If you have a model and texture already made, like I dunno, the several hundred unreleased clothing items that work for all body types (we see some of them on NPC models, the most glaring example would be several dozen colors of Hosh Riding Pants and dozens of unreleased shoes) then it would take next to NO time to make these.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to what they want to make. Why did Rarebit take his time to make a new texture for the Valshymar, when we already had a white suit texture from the White Agents from PB4? Personal fulfillment, I suspect, or a relatively challenge free todo-list. It would have taken very little time to put out all the unreleased stuff, but he never did... either to save it for a possible new replacement so it could be postured as the product of hard work modeling/texturing.

Funny how "the database" always gets brough into this, when for many cases it's not even applicable. For something not to be possible is one thing. But for something to be possible and just telling us that it's not because most people will believe it... that's something else. /shrug $0.02

Not to discredit you are say that any of this isn't true, but how could you know all that?

monkeymanx8 wrote:

Bayamos wrote:

"If they're justifiable" is the right term. They won't happen for the same reason new patches won't happen. We're no longer worth the investment, but boy, it's great getting our money regardless.

Consider the fact that it takes about a minute to make an item... add name and description pointers in the string tables to a field in zmisc.pkb, point it to a mga or composite mgas, base txa, optional alpha/bump/specular txa, optionally point to a FX in rezmap, optionally add to the Cookbook of craftable items, give it a GoID, else add to collector, vendor tables, or loot table(s), add to gameobjects packmap with buffs and such. Restart the server, which loads the new GameObjects. Pretty much good to go. If you have a model and texture already made, like I dunno, the several hundred unreleased clothing items that work for all body types (we see some of them on NPC models, the most glaring example would be several dozen colors of Hosh Riding Pants and dozens of unreleased shoes) then it would take next to NO time to make these.

But at the end of the day, it comes down to what they want to make. Why did Rarebit take his time to make a new texture for the Valshymar, when we already had a white suit texture from the White Agents from PB4? Personal fulfillment, I suspect, or a relatively challenge free todo-list. It would have taken very little time to put out all the unreleased stuff, but he never did... either to save it for a possible new replacement so it could be postured as the product of hard work modeling/texturing.

Funny how "the database" always gets brough into this, when for many cases it's not even applicable. For something not to be possible is one thing. But for something to be possible and just telling us that it's not because most people will believe it... that's something else. /shrug $0.02

Not to discredit you are say that any of this isn't true, but how could you know all that?

Coz' he's studying Game design programming plus why ya think where he'd get ways around with them useropts?

Bay for Dev!

CODEMAN wrote:

Croesis wrote:

CODEMAN wrote:

I have a friend in the industry who now works for Blizzard. He helped develop PotBS.  He's told me the same thing.  It's not a stretch.

Has your friend ever worked on MxO? Has he got a decent knowledge of the Lithtech: Discovery game engine? It's fine if a Dev team has in depth knowledge of their game like the SWG Devs, which was developed by SOE by the way, but considering that MxO was not developed by SOE and we only have one, perhaps two Dev's left, I'd say that it's a lot harder than he gives credit.

I'd like to see where it said the dev tools were user friendly, if your talking about what the Dev's gave LESIG to spawn NPC's, that probably just the tip of the iceberg. But what would I know, I don't have a friend in the industry.

Well putting your sarcasm aside, no he didn't work on MxO. If he had, I would've mentioned it.  I was referring to the storyteller tools implemented in SWG as being user friendly. Walrus was around during the Monolith days of development. I'd imagine he knows more about the game engine than we think.  Personally I don't hold out high hopes for tools being handed to players on this game.  Essentially they already have with the exception of creating actual missions or NPC spawns.

Storyteller tools are worthless like i said in the other thread there were quite a few exploits found with them weeks/months after release, ontop of that on SWG they are used in player made cities and random spots on large planets, so where do you plan to use them if you were to even get them at all?

Whats to stop me and other PvP'ers griefing you guys with terminator/runtime bits,Force flagging people, and dropping tokens myself to ruin your so called "Content", apart from the force flagging which could be considered harrasment im well within my right to do the others.

A thread that originally tells people to stop complaining and lighten up ultimately turns into a thread for people to complain in.

Hmm.. yup, that's a Fail Thread, alright.

Let's keep the flames down, folks. And, please, pick thread titles that are a little less inflammatory on first read.

There are some serious assumptions about the knowledge of members of the live team. Creating items with new models and textures isn't that difficult for a game artist--which was never Rarebit's expertise: He's a game designer. That is why he repurposed so much in the game to generate "new" content. Anything he did beyond that was because he wanted to do everything he could for the game.

And me? Know the Lithtech engine? Over the years I've certainly learned a bit about what it's capabilities are, but I'm not a game programmer. I went from managing community relations to managing the team--my skills are in dealing with people and listening to their opinions.

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve the game with what resources we have. With the upcoming anniversary, I owe Virrago an article, so you'll be hearing more from me soon.

Walrus wrote:

Let's keep the flames down, folks. And, please, pick thread titles that are a little less inflammatory on first read.

There are some serious assumptions about the knowledge of members of the live team. Creating items with new models and textures isn't that difficult for a game artist--which was never Rarebit's expertise: He's a game designer. That is why he repurposed so much in the game to generate "new" content. Anything he did beyond that was because he wanted to do everything he could for the game.

And me? Know the Lithtech engine? Over the years I've certainly learned a bit about what it's capabilities are, but I'm not a game programmer. I went from managing community relations to managing the team--my skills are in dealing with people and listening to their opinions.

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve the game with what resources we have. With the upcoming anniversary, I owe Virrago an article, so you'll be hearing more from me soon.

Check your e-mail.  

EDIT:  And thank you for a little much-needed clarification.  A little bit goes a long way, you know.

Thanks for the words, Walrus. I cross my fingers at the hope that you'll be keeping us posted daily on developments???? /hopesprays

Walrus wrote:

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve the game with what resources we have. With the upcoming anniversary, I owe Virrago an article, so you'll be hearing more from me soon.

Thanks for wading back into the waters with this one Walrus.  I'm looking forward to hearing what you and Virrago have to say about not only the Anniversary but also future changes.

C'mon Dan! What do you expect?

Can't you guys see that SOE's wall of silence has been tearing what's left of this community apart? You guys should have been working on a full statement of disclosure for us from the day you learned about Rarebit's departure. Instead, you've left us twisting in the wind for weeks now with a half-assed mumble of "we'll see what we can do". 'Seeing what can can be done' just ain't going to cut it. You're the only link we have to the decision-makers! Please, get us some answers.

And don't give us anymore of that "red tape" crap. Pick up a phone and tell the right person that the attrition rate for this product is going through the roof. And if they don't care, then tell us that! Don't let us continue to waste money on a product that is just weeks or months away from being shut down. ANd if you can't do that, then put it in a coded message in the Sentinel.

Jesus! I want to believe that deep down, everyone wants to do the right thing. But this disaster is really testing that belief to the fullest. This is not a flame. This is a cry for help.

Regarding the SWG-NGE fiasco, this quote:

We've learned a thing or two with our experiences with the NGE and don't plan on repeating mistakes from the past and not listening to the players.
—John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment

Apparently, they still haven't learned. They can add MXO on to their list of community relations disasters.

ShiXinFeng wrote:

C'mon Dan! What do you expect?

Can't you guys see that SOE's wall of silence has been tearing what's left of this community apart? You guys should have been working on a full statement of disclosure for us from the day you learned about Rarebit's departure. Instead, you've left us twisting in the wind for weeks now with a half-assed mumble of "we'll see what we can do". 'Seeing what can can be done' just ain't going to cut it. You're the only link we have to the decision-makers! Please, get us some answers.

And don't give us anymore of that "red tape" crap. Pick up a phone and tell the right person that the attrition rate for this product is going through the roof. And if they don't care, then tell us that! Don't let us continue to waste money on a product that is just weeks or months away from being shut down. ANd if you can't do that, then put it in a coded message in the Sentinel.

Jesus! I want to believe that deep down, everyone wants to do the right thing. But this disaster is really testing that belief to the fullest. This is not a flame. This is a cry for help.

I couldn't agree more.

This community is at an all-time low right now.  We are literally tearing ourselves apart.

Fen wrote:

ShiXinFeng wrote:

C'mon Dan! What do you expect?

Can't you guys see that SOE's wall of silence has been tearing what's left of this community apart? You guys should have been working on a full statement of disclosure for us from the day you learned about Rarebit's departure. Instead, you've left us twisting in the wind for weeks now with a half-assed mumble of "we'll see what we can do". 'Seeing what can can be done' just ain't going to cut it. You're the only link we have to the decision-makers! Please, get us some answers.

And don't give us anymore of that "red tape" crap. Pick up a phone and tell the right person that the attrition rate for this product is going through the roof. And if they don't care, then tell us that! Don't let us continue to waste money on a product that is just weeks or months away from being shut down. ANd if you can't do that, then put it in a coded message in the Sentinel.

Jesus! I want to believe that deep down, everyone wants to do the right thing. But this disaster is really testing that belief to the fullest. This is not a flame. This is a cry for help.

I couldn't agree more.

This community is at an all-time low right now.  We are literally tearing ourselves apart.

Exactly...and for what? RP? Pfftt...seriously...

Walrus wrote:

Let's keep the flames down, folks. And, please, pick thread titles that are a little less inflammatory on first read.

There are some serious assumptions about the knowledge of members of the live team. Creating items with new models and textures isn't that difficult for a game artist--which was never Rarebit's expertise: He's a game designer. That is why he repurposed so much in the game to generate "new" content. Anything he did beyond that was because he wanted to do everything he could for the game.

And me? Know the Lithtech engine? Over the years I've certainly learned a bit about what it's capabilities are, but I'm not a game programmer. I went from managing community relations to managing the team--my skills are in dealing with people and listening to their opinions.

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve the game with what resources we have. With the upcoming anniversary, I owe Virrago an article, so you'll be hearing more from me soon.

Thanks for touching base with us...in your line of work you know how important it is to just simply do what you've done, that is keep in touch with so we don't feel like we've been completely and utterly abandoned.  Hearing from you periodically...though a simple act...goes a long way in our demoralized state!

Walrus wrote:

Let's keep the flames down, folks. And, please, pick thread titles that are a little less inflammatory on first read.

There are some serious assumptions about the knowledge of members of the live team. Creating items with new models and textures isn't that difficult for a game artist--which was never Rarebit's expertise: He's a game designer. That is why he repurposed so much in the game to generate "new" content. Anything he did beyond that was because he wanted to do everything he could for the game.

And me? Know the Lithtech engine? Over the years I've certainly learned a bit about what it's capabilities are, but I'm not a game programmer. I went from managing community relations to managing the team--my skills are in dealing with people and listening to their opinions.

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them. In the meantime, we are looking at ways to improve the game with what resources we have. With the upcoming anniversary, I owe Virrago an article, so you'll be hearing more from me soon.

This is who's reply I was waiting for the most in this thread!  Thank you for your response, and I look forward to your article very soon.

I wish I had Walrus's magic ability to completly turn around negative feelings and attitudes with just one post.

Walrus wrote:

I understand the concerns you all have and am doing what I can to see that we address them.

Thanks for a little spark of hope at least.

ZippyTheSquirrel wrote:

I wish I had Walrus's magic ability to completly turn around negative feelings and attitudes with just one post.

True dat, you don't turn them around. You make us lol.

Fen wrote:

ShiXinFeng wrote:

C'mon Dan! What do you expect?

Can't you guys see that SOE's wall of silence has been tearing what's left of this community apart? You guys should have been working on a full statement of disclosure for us from the day you learned about Rarebit's departure. Instead, you've left us twisting in the wind for weeks now with a half-assed mumble of "we'll see what we can do". 'Seeing what can can be done' just ain't going to cut it. You're the only link we have to the decision-makers! Please, get us some answers.

And don't give us anymore of that "red tape" crap. Pick up a phone and tell the right person that the attrition rate for this product is going through the roof. And if they don't care, then tell us that! Don't let us continue to waste money on a product that is just weeks or months away from being shut down. ANd if you can't do that, then put it in a coded message in the Sentinel.

Jesus! I want to believe that deep down, everyone wants to do the right thing. But this disaster is really testing that belief to the fullest. This is not a flame. This is a cry for help.

I couldn't agree more.  This community is at an all-time low right now.  We are literally tearing ourselves apart.