Weskat

Forgot about Guild Wars, going to have to check it out again.

Haliken

"If I read the Press Release correctly the new Graphics Engine is for OoW, no mention of it covering previous expansions, no mention of it correcting the problems we ALL have had with the current DX and graphics changes."
You didn't read it correctly; the new engine isn't just for people who get OoW, OoW will just make most use of the new engine's new features. The engine is going live either just before OoW launches, or the day OoW launches.

No expansion has ever required that you have a previous expansion, this one is no exception (except that if Epic 2.0s require you have your first epic, then technically you'll need kunark).

If you don't think this much effort is worth $30, you're nuts. Even a handful of zones and new enemy models should be worthly of a little cash compensation. Our monthly fee pays for bandwidth, running the servers, data storage and staffing. Here we're looking at a whole 'nother set of zones, a nice big fat involved quest per class and new spells (and new balancing) for the new levels, and a heap of new models (which even if you don't get OoW, you'll still be getting, because they're giving us all new models because of the new engine).

Personally, I like GoD. I'm not even close to elemental, in a tier 1 (if that) RP guild, and have been doing the sewers. I have my GoD nuke so far, hoping to get my hands on the pet. Have spent 40-some-odd amount of AA into GoD AAs which have all been worth it (run speed 5, pet affinity, elemental durability 3). If you don't like GoD you're either not 65, or you're not even trying. Heck, I have some friends in the 50s making use of Natimbi, and every tradeskiller I know loves abysmal sea.

Enok

Edit: just found a post by an EQ spokesperson saying Epic 2.0 will NOT require you have your original epic (lame in my opinion).

Cutanea

A lot of things you all post about fixing things before making a new expansion have been brought up on the eq board..And one Dev did actually say that the same people who "fix" the problems are NOT the same who make the new expansions. That is why they keep coming out with new ones before old problems get fixed. If I was a dev working on the problems, I would say "Hey, no more! Let us fix things first"...but thats just me

Cutanea

Bikther

The problem with getting bugs fixed is that lack of revenue from it..

Expansion = $30 per account

Bug Fix = Happy players, but no $$

And Sony is like all developers, the bottom line...if it won't make money it is not a viable option. That is not a flame against Sony just a simple fact.

__________________
So retired it hurts...
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My Other Addiction

Edyukated

crap no delete, oh well heres my post

Son-of-a-Gun

Facts are Sony doesn't give a rat's ass about its community. Some people might care but as the song goes "Its all about the money..."

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Believe.

Inokis

For the Everquest Enthusiast, i can see this expansion being worth it. I doubt i will ever see 65 on any of my toons before I quit playing altogether. With my departure so imminent, i can't justify getting any further expansions.

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Tellgar

Sadly, I won't be seeing the OoW expansion. Sony Online Entertainment has lost any respect they had for their EQ customers.

When I (along with many others) were forced to test/develop a new graphics engine that made the game unplayable for nearly two months (on a more than capable system mind you)... then announce they are going to charge me 29.99 for the result of that 'priviledge' on top of my wasted monthly fees -- Add to that buying a previous expansion that was so screwed up the encounters were buggy beyond all belief, SOE can take their new expansion and <self censored due to massive profanity>.

I've been a long time fan and community supporter for five years, but enough is enough. I was the last man standing in a circle of thirty-two friends that played EQ together - the other thirty one of them ran out of patience quite some time ago.

Not sure what I'll move on too... World of Warcraft looks promising, and so does VG. I don't really want to touch another SoE product - so EQ2 is out of the running. I'll definitely be snapping up Guild Wars (the E3 demo was a killer good time) - as it's great for a low maintainence 'hop on and have a good time' MMO.


~Tellgar

nilepez

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Haliken

If you don't think this much effort is worth $30, you're nuts. Even a handful of zones and new enemy models should be worthly of a little cash compensation. Our monthly fee pays for bandwidth, running the servers, data storage and staffing. Here we're looking


Given that a year or 2 back the estimated profit from players was roughly 50% of the fee (I believe it was 1-2million /month net), they could afford to fix bugs and add content.

And not a flame, but if people are actually paying retail for EQ expansions, they're nuts. Circuit City and Best Buy almost always have them on sale when they come out. BB is normally the day it comes out and not a great deal (25 bucks) and CC is normally 18-20 the following weekend.

I can justify 20 bucks, but not 30.

I may get it for the level cap increase, but I'm not sure how interesting it is otherwise.

Anevania

Because the Administrator is too kind to let you all in on a little secret..

For those of you complaining about OOW let me enlighten/flame you for your lack of RL/Real life Concepts...

I. Everquest/SoE is a major Corporation...
A. Major Corporation wants to make money in any way, form,
shape, or fasion (if we pay for it they will build it).
B. We the consumer's buy/rent what we want when we want
it. (also known as Supply and Demand) [ LvL 65 chars.
have no more playing grounds other than GoD].
C. 5% of what the consumer wants is what they get equaling
100%+ in profit for the corporation and 5-100% satisfaction
with product/products (or my nice way of saying EQ/SoE will
give a little if you pay a little)[$13 a month for SoE isn't
enough money for them to offer you toll-free customer
support and fix all the bugs, patches, continue game
development, or wait on you hand and foot]
II. Those of you complaining.
A. your either children with no understanding of real life
concepts, money, supply & demand, and/or profit margins.
B. your not lvl 65 in game yet and complaining because the
one world where you might achieve greatness keeps
looking down on you and your goals keep seeming
unattainable.
III. My conclusion.
A. For those of you that are narrow minded/just so dense
that you didn't understand what points I am trying to get
across to you [ don't knock something you don't/can't try
because your lack of experiences/experience points in this
case]
B. To the lovely teenagers that know everything please dont
post nonsense if you dont even pay for your own acct.
C. OOW if carried out right can add a new level of playing to
the Everquest community and I hope to see you all
exploring OOW with me as we further our experiences by
mastering one of the best RPG/MMORPG's ever released.
D. We pay to play.

danny91643

D. We pay to play. [/B][/QUOTE]

One answer two words "Guild Wars"

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Gandanor

For all your "real world" talk I question your actual credentials. I'll put mine on the line right up front. I've developed software for over 20 years of my life including such major projects as monitoring software for multi-Billion dollar dams and modern fighter aircraft.

The problem with your attitude is that it's a massive oversimplification of a complex problem. When you deliver a product with a certain set of specifications how much of it do you have to deliver on in order for it to be an accurate representation of what the customer paid for. I can't promised to create you one thing for an agreed upon price and deliver a product that just plain doesn't work and expect to keep your money. Well at least in any business other than PERHAPS the software business after the success of the Microsoft business model.

Sony is testing the limits of what percentage of what they promise they actually have to deliver before the cost benefit will swing against them. You can always maximize short-term profit but delivering a substandard product ONCE. The more often you try to repeat it the more likely you will drive away some customers. Generally there's a direct relationship between the number of undelivered on action items and the number and the amount of dissastisfaction. Your message implies that no one has any right to expect that what's promised on the box and claimed will run on the required system has to be actually delivered on in order for the business transaction to be valid.

For all your real world talk try doing this in any other business. Try selling someone a dozen eggs and have them open the container to find 11 eggs 99 out of 100 times and you're probably not going to have a problem. Try delivering 4 eggs 9 out of 10 times and you likely won't be in the egg selling business for long.

The other "real world" message you forget is that it's a marketing FACT documented for over 20 years that for every customer that complains you have on average 10 customers who just walked away without bothering to complain but will never do business with your company again. Add to that the happy customers are much LESS likely to give you positive word of mouth than an unhappy customer is to give you negative word of mouth and it's not unreasonable to assign a risk factor to reported unhappy customers of 100 or more actual unhappy customers.

A professional when confronted with hostile customers can choose to get defensive about it "we're no worse than anybody else" or they can take a proactive attitude and decide to employ a bit better quality control methods. You can min-max your short term profits by underdelivering but you don't ALSO get to complain when your customers vote with their feet and take their dollars to a competitor who's still young and hungry and willing to sweat out the details.

SOE is the giant in the MMORPG market. They are suffering from the same intertia that's come on to hurt other giants in the past. IBM thought they'd always be the giant that drove the computing industry, they were wrong. They are still a very profitable company but they know have to follow the market trends set by someone else and have had to get "hungry" again in order to reachieve the market domance they once held. Hopefully SOE's professionals have a better attitude than yours ( I think they probably do) and will recognize the groundswell for what it is. Time to slow down the production schedule a bit and deliver more of your action items the first time, you've reached the tipping point and if you don't turn around your QA/QC issues then your customers will vote with their feet. And not just the one's that you ASSUME are unsophisticated and lacking in "real world" knowledge as you see it in your limited experience.

forgehammer

Gandanor is corect.

If u want to keep makeing money, you have to keep your costumer base happy.. unhappy costumers, means no money.


Necromancer
The Eboneprince




I don't want to hurt you, torture you yes.
Hurt you no.

Partakleas

"While this new engine is already available to current EverQuest players, Omens of War will be the first expansion to take advantage of the new features,"

Lets break this down;
We already have the New Engine. Omens of War will be the first expansion that they try to make a few bucks on it. I think that sums it up very well...

Ok, my conscience won't let me just drop it. I think the Perpetual Night time sky is annoying, the rain is cool; little puddles as it drops. But that constant darkness and fog is annoying as hell, and they want to sell that? If they cannot discern daylight hours, why would i be stupid enough to buy in to that?