Discussion: Issue 19 Launch Update


Airhammer

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reiska View Post
What, the NGE?



PvP is something which was, at its height, utilized by 15% of the playerbase; it never achieved better penetration because, frankly, it was (and still is) terrible, just like PvP in any game that isn't expressly designed for it from the outset - if PvP isn't considered in the core class design from the outset of development, you're never going to balance it.

While I sympathize that perhaps the devs should have more receptive of feedback regarding PvP, and I cannot claim to be an expert in the nuances of PvP bugs as I hate PvP in any game and avoid it like the plague (no offense to those who do enjoy it intended), I find it extremely dubious to argue that 3 out of 14 archetypes not functioning properly to the point where serious and possibly permanent character data corruption could occur (in the case of the Kheldian respec bug) and where those three archetypes' core features (Kheldian forms, Domination) do not function properly for a significant subset of people playing them (like, say, all Praetorian dominators, all dominators of any sort under level 20, and all dominators who haven't done 10 villain tip missions and a villain morality mission) is anything BUT showstopping.

(Frankly, I suspect it's the Kheldian bug that's holding it up - I think the devs would push with broken Domination simply because it doesn't bear the possibility of actually damaging character data possibly beyond repair)
Perhaps a new PVP server geared for PVP only with all new PVP rules and stats and then two weeks of free transfers for those that want to migrate PVP toons to it?

I doubt they have the numbers to support such a thing but it might work.


 

Posted

I think the general thought here from every one is thank you for keeping us up to date. Even if it isn't keeping us exactly what is wrong it's nice to get some news on what's happening. Understandable that there are some things that just can't be said or talked about but just giving us a tid bit of information to keep our whistles wet is great. I would gladly wait for a polished version of something in a couple of weeks then a broken version now. You guys are doing a great job, keep it up.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bloodspeaker View Post
I would, if there were any accompanying data that specifically stated that were the reason. There isn't.
So is it your assertion that that CoX sales figure in the quarterly report only reflects subscription revenue and not sales of expansions and other things?


 

Posted

I18 just came out like yesterday, relax. As long as I19 comes out during the calendar year 2010, they are on schedule as far as I'm concerned. That would be three issues this year. One less than the promised 4 updates or quarterly updates originally promised, but considering there were some years we only got two updates, it's all good.

Just get it right instead of giving it to us right now...


Who do I have to *&^% around here to get more Targeted AoE recipes added?

Arc Name: Tsoo In Love
Arc ID: 413575

 

Posted

Too bad they didn't hold up Issue 17 when they broke the mastermind pet ai.


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Down the Rabbit Hole- arc id: 193055

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by EnigmaBlack View Post
I18 just came out like yesterday, relax. As long as I19 comes out during the calendar year 2010, they are on schedule as far as I'm concerned. That would be three issues this year. One less than the promised 4 updates or quarterly updates originally promised, but considering there were some years we only got two updates, it's all good.

Just get it right instead of giving it to us right now...
Indeed. Any bug that cripples or destroys an AT needs to be fixed before launch. I can wait and others can too.

Besides its more time to plan out the builds that many will respec into.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark_Respite View Post
That'd be spiffy... wish there was a way we could reprogram the Arena for PvP Football for a Thanksgiving day game...

Tankers/Brutes/Lobster form khelds = pass blocking
Scrappers/SoAs = receivers
Widows/Stalkers = blitzers
Dominators/Defenders = defense
Controllers = coaches
Blasters/Corruptors = QB/kickers/punters
Masterminds = special teams

And catgurls as cheerleaders.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

WANT

Unfortunately, without some sort of passable ball mechanic, that won't work. So someone needs to figure out a team game that WOULD work in the current Arena that isn't a variant on "beat the other team in the face until they die". Well, no more than you get in normal football/rugby/Calvinball...


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pebblebrook View Post
So is it your assertion that that CoX sales figure in the quarterly report only reflects subscription revenue and not sales of expansions and other things?
Your act would be more persuasive and less obvious if you ever posted on a topic other than the terrible, dire financial state of CoH and NCSoft.


The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.

My City Was Gone

 

Posted

You have my thanks for having the wisdom to delay the release of I19. We'd all much rather you spend the time and energy to get it right rather than release a product that will only frustrate us to no end.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pebblebrook View Post
So is it your assertion that that CoX sales figure in the quarterly report only reflects subscription revenue and not sales of expansions and other things?
That was not my assertion. Try reading what I typed again. Preferably the entire post, rather than just part of it.


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STO - Holodeck - @Captain_Thiraas

Obviously, I don't care about NCSoft's forum rules, now.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Championess View Post
I'd even go as far to say that they could have released the issue as is just so long as tanks, broots, scrappers and fire/kins weren't affected by any bugs. Most people would have found a way to play it and the delay to playing their main would have been just as long anyways for when the fix came as it would be by postponing the whole thing.
I would just like to point out this...

Quote:
Originally Posted by theOcho View Post
The next update to Issue 19 Beta will change the way Inherent Fitness is applied to your character. This transition may cause some problems to characters who have already received the previous version of Inherent Fitness.

The Beta server will be taken down at 4 PM Central, 2 PM Pacific. After this change is published, you will need to submit a new character copy for any character that you wish to use on Beta.

Thanks for your patience,
And, as the only thing currently preventing I19 is apparently both the Kheldian and Dom bugs...that means that the only way to fix the problem with them if I19 was launched as-is would be to roll back the entire Live Server by several days.

I don't know about you, but while myself and others might be a little disappointed (but understanding) that I19 didn't launch on the 16th; the entire player base would be screaming bloody murder if we were forced to loose several days worth of game play

I applaud the Dev's decision to wait until everything is fixed and their dedication to making sure that we have the best uninterrupted playtime possible.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bloodspeaker View Post
That was not my assertion. Try reading what I typed again. Preferably the entire post, rather than just part of it.
Sorry if i missed something, but trying to understand this branch of the discussion is a bit tricky.

The original poster you replied to was saying there are less people "playing" now than a year ago but using sales figures as reference.

(Maybe Championess meant less people subscribed?)

Then you were pointing out that sales from the latest quarter is about the same as the same time last year.

(Maybe implying that 3Q10 has about the same subscribers as 3Q09? If not, please clarify)

And that led to my response you quoted from me.

Now if you were focusing more on the other part of Championess post that was trying for a direct cause/effect relationship with server load, that's a different matter i didn't go into because it needs other information that was not referenced.

/edit: Oh, you were wondering what the y-axis represents in FatherXmas' graph was....that looks like south korean won (millions).


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pebblebrook View Post
/edit: Oh, you were wondering what the y-axis represents in FatherXmas' graph was....that looks like south korean won (millions).
Which, again, people need to keep in mind, as the US dollar--the currency by which the vast majority of CoH players use to pay for their accounts--has become severely devalued in the last few years.

If, in 2006, there were about 100K active subscribers in the US, much of that same base could still be playing today and paying the exact same amount in US dollars, but would be contributing much less to NCSoft's Korean profit listing.


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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethergoat View Post
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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad Gulzow-Man View Post
Which, again, people need to keep in mind, as the US dollar--the currency by which the vast majority of CoH players use to pay for their accounts--has become severely devalued in the last few years.

Ofcourse. You get a relatively similar graph if you convert to USD.


Code:
Yearly Sales
KRW       USD                Year
31,475    27,607,023      2004 *Not full year (3 quarters)
34,265    33,199,783      2005    
25,016    25,770,998      2006    
23,446    25,059,657      2007    
24,217    22,335,820      2008    
22,909    17,760,819      2009    
12,548    10,711,107      2010 *Not full year (3 quarters)




Quarter        Sales (mn KRW)    Exchange Rate        Sales (USD)
                                          KRW (Avg Ask price)
Jun-2004        11,135         1166.46923          9,545,901 
Sep-2004         9,403           1155.43587           8,138,054 
Dec-2004        10,937           1102.17935           9,923,067 
Mar-2005         6,341           1027.27389           6,172,648 
Jun-2005         5,806           1009.23659           5,752,863 
Sep-2005         6,412           1030.00163           6,225,233 
Dec-2005        15,706           1043.65467          15,049,039
Mar-2006         6,523            992.63858           6,571,375 
Jun-2006         5,532            964.91358           5,733,156 
Sep-2006         7,429            970.11465           7,657,858 
Dec-2006         5,532            952.37930           5,808,610 
Mar-2007         5,954            953.81251           6,242,317 
Jun-2007         6,370            935.85595           6,806,603 
Sep-2007         5,721            929.76053           6,153,197 
Dec-2007         5,401            922.05946           5,857,540 
Mar-2008         5,416            957.24200           5,657,921 
Jun-2008         5,743           1020.13255           5,629,661 
Sep-2008         6,193           1066.12848           5,808,868 
Dec-2008         6,865           1365.35609           5,027,992 
Mar-2009         6,837           1415.61656           4,829,698 
Jun-2009         6,673           1288.31418           5,179,637 
Sep-2009         5,471           1243.32370           4,400,302 
Dec-2009         3,928           1172.12370           3,351,182 
Mar-2010         3,348           1149.27733           2,913,135 
Jun-2010         3,491           1167.69275           2,989,656 
Sep-2010         5,709           1187.31793           4,808,316


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by EnigmaBlack View Post
I18 just came out like yesterday, relax. As long as I19 comes out during the calendar year 2010, they are on schedule as far as I'm concerned. That would be three issues this year. One less than the promised 4 updates or quarterly updates originally promised, but considering there were some years we only got two updates, it's all good.

Just get it right instead of giving it to us right now...

If you're fine with missed release dates or waiting longer for i19, thats fine, but c'mon, lol.

I18 was released 3 months ago, not 'like yesterday'.

The main point of issue 18/GR, the alpha slot, was supposed to be in going rogue to begin with, and even when it releases, we won't be getting the full alpha slot, so claiming they are 'on schedule' is ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, the second half of going rogue (and the better half imo), is LONG overdue.

And finally, 3 updates (2 of which were supposed to be in one update, and we're assuming i19 will be launched before 2011...) out of a, as you yourself stated, 'promised' 4, is not 'all good', it's another failure to deliver what they 'promised' us. Outside of the ridiculously devoted, that results in disappointed customers and loss of business, which hurts the devs, the game and everyone still playing it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the 'little guys' working on the game (the work they do overall is outstanding, which is why I love this game), this is most likey the fault of those at the top, looking to maximize profits using methods that actually will end up killing them, like swapping out experienced workers for newbs and/or cutting employees all together, while pushing unrealistic work goals, and more damaging, making promises they continually miss on, which is only going to result in more and more disappointed customers.

Having said that, you absolutey cannot release an update if it cripples an entire AT. However that doesn't change the fact that a company needs to deliver on its promises and/or stated goals consistently to continue to be successful.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyber_naut View Post
If you're fine with missed release dates or waiting longer for i19, thats fine, but c'mon, lol.

I19 was released 3 months ago, not 'like yesterday'.

The main point of issue 19, the alpha slot, was supposed to be in going rogue to begin with, and even when it releases, we won't be getting the full alpha slot, so claiming they are 'on schedule' is ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, the second half of going rogue (and the better half imo), is LONG overdue.

And finally, 3 updates (2 of which were supposed to be in one update, and we're assuming i19 will be launched before 2011...) out of a, as you yourself stated, 'promised' 4, is not 'all good', it's another failure to deliver what they 'promised' us. Outside of the ridiculously devoted, that results in disappointed customers and loss of business, which hurts the devs, the game and everyone still playing it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the 'little guys' working on the game (the work they do overall is outstanding, which is why I love this game), this is most likey the fault of those at the top, looking to maximize profits using methods that actually will end up killing them, like swapping out experienced workers for newbs and/or cutting employees all together, while pushing unrealistic work goals, and more damaging, making promises they continually miss on, which is only going to result in more and more disappointed customers.

Having said that, you absolutey cannot release an update if it cripples an entire AT. However that doesn't change the fact that a company needs to deliver on its promises and/or stated goals consistently to continue to be successful.
I guess that's the reason I said "as far as I'm concerned". Everyone has their own expectations. 3 months seems like "yesterday" to me, why? Baseball playoffs, Football season, new seasons of First 48, Survivor, Dexter, East Bound and Down, and not to mention checking out Spartacus Blood and Sand. I guess what I'm getting at is I'm not sweating a couple of weeks delay if it means getting it right, especially knowing some project development models explicitly forbid working OT (and they may not have the money to pay for it anyway).

If players are upset about the delay, that's their prerogative; they have every right, but I have to wonder if it were to be released buggy would they complain about that?


Who do I have to *&^% around here to get more Targeted AoE recipes added?

Arc Name: Tsoo In Love
Arc ID: 413575

 

Posted

Thank you CoX team for taking the time to address the show stopper bugs which would make many Dominators, and Kheldians player that have them as their mains distraught if they hit the live serves this week.

When an issue is released, sure you have a series of alts, but you usually gravitate to a few that you have a soft spot for. Imagine not being able to enjoy the issue like everyone else?

I like to be considerate of others, and I want them to enjoy the game as much like I do.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Disappearing Girl View Post
Why resub just for Alpha strike when you havent even been told that it would be ready? Can't blame NCsoft for what they havent said....
You're right they haven't said much of anything lately. The last M&G they were all about promoting the game and that they were shooting for the 16th and if not it would be the week after thanksgiving. Made sense to me, get the game out there for everyone to play during their extra time off from work, but I guess that almost makes toooo much sense.

I guess it was my fault for thinking that they would actually "try" to keep their paying customers happy and not continue the trend of stringing them along with less and less. So when I saw i19 enter into open beta testing last week I had a false sense of "hey they might actually get it out there" so I resubbed to see a glimpse of the incarnate stuff on beta before it hit live. Since they are so good at announcing things in advance the fact that we finally get some kind of word on the 17th about them not releasing on the 16th or during the next two weeks is kind of.....irksome?

My request is just as legitimate as their excuse, sure go ahead and postpone the release, postpone my resub bill by 14 days while they are at it.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Championess View Post
You're right they haven't said much of anything lately. The last M&G they were all about promoting the game and that they were shooting for the 16th and if not it would be the week after thanksgiving. Made sense to me, get the game out there for everyone to play during their extra time off from work, but I guess that almost makes toooo much sense.

I guess it was my fault for thinking that they would actually "try" to keep their paying customers happy and not continue the trend of stringing them along with less and less. So when I saw i19 enter into open beta testing last week I had a false sense of "hey they might actually get it out there" so I resubbed to see a glimpse of the incarnate stuff on beta before it hit live. Since they are so good at announcing things in advance the fact that we finally get some kind of word on the 17th about them not releasing on the 16th or during the next two weeks is kind of.....irksome?

My request is just as legitimate as their excuse, sure go ahead and postpone the release, postpone my resub bill by 14 days while they are at it.
Based on the time period that you re-subbed, you will be able to play I19 before it is up again. No reason to be distraught unless they hold off release till December with that Cataclysmic catastrophe. :P


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bloodspeaker View Post
Numbers may not lie, but they can obviously be misinterpreted. I look at the graph you tout as evidence, specifically at Q309 (3rd quarter of 2009) and Q310 (3rd quarter 2010), and see virtually identical numbers, with Q310 being slightly HIGHER.

Now granted, without something to say specifically what the y-axis of the graph means, the entire graph is meaningless. Number of paying subscriptions? Then you're wrong. Number of active players? Means nothing in a financial context. Number of new subscriptions? Means nothing without attendant data regarding retention.
The little bars are representations of sales figures. It calculates ANYTHING this game sells as well as subscriptions into the equation. SO. The sales of Going Rogue + Party Pack + all the other boosters + subscription numbers = less than the years previous same equation minus the "expansion" and party pack.

Point of reference, the sales figure for that large mountain in 2Q2005 is JUST subscription numbers + expansion, boosters were not yet in use here.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aura_Familia View Post
I think the person in question is on a stronger drug than alcohol if they thought the pvp audience in this game was EVER 40%.

Talk about ridiculous ideas.
If you can't comprehend something don't try to act like you know what you are talking about.

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil with a large eraser. In fact you may just want to tell your computer to make sense of it for you.

At it's height of popularity when this game had a thriving population the active population that PvP'd somehow, i.e. ladder leagues, base raids or zone play, was never higher than 15%. BUT at that time 15% meant near 20-24k players to which that would NOW be 40% of the player base.

Yes I never said PvP was as high as 40%, but that the long lost PvP population they alienated would now be around or equal to 40% of the currently active population.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Championess View Post
Yes I never said PvP was as high as 40%, but that the long lost PvP population they alienated would now be around or equal to 40% of the currently active population.
You're awesome at making up numbers, I think you have a future on Wall Street.


The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.

My City Was Gone

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyber_naut View Post
If you're fine with missed release dates or waiting longer for i19, thats fine, but c'mon, lol.

I19 was released 3 months ago, not 'like yesterday'.

The main point of issue 19, the alpha slot, was supposed to be in going rogue to begin with, and even when it releases, we won't be getting the full alpha slot, so claiming they are 'on schedule' is ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, the second half of going rogue (and the better half imo), is LONG overdue.

And finally, 3 updates (2 of which were supposed to be in one update, and we're assuming i19 will be launched before 2011...) out of a, as you yourself stated, 'promised' 4, is not 'all good', it's another failure to deliver what they 'promised' us. Outside of the ridiculously devoted, that results in disappointed customers and loss of business, which hurts the devs, the game and everyone still playing it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame the 'little guys' working on the game (the work they do overall is outstanding, which is why I love this game), this is most likey the fault of those at the top, looking to maximize profits using methods that actually will end up killing them, like swapping out experienced workers for newbs and/or cutting employees all together, while pushing unrealistic work goals, and more damaging, making promises they continually miss on, which is only going to result in more and more disappointed customers.

Having said that, you absolutey cannot release an update if it cripples an entire AT. However that doesn't change the fact that a company needs to deliver on its promises and/or stated goals consistently to continue to be successful.
I agree with all of this statement and the bolded part conveys my feelings completely.

I have seen them push bugs through with no fix in sight. If the bug going live would in essence delete a toon and the later fix could not happen to restore it then yes the delay is warranted, but there is no way of knowing since they don't say. The dom bug can be worked around.

That being said, these kinds of things should have been worked out by now. Constant delays, pushing back of main features and wholely reducing what most would infer to be included (half alpha slot in "alpha strike") is bad business, they can only look at themselves for such low sales figures compared to the previous "expansion" that came with far more new stuff.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyyan View Post
A new Issue launch delayed because of bugs?... are we being punked?, where's the cameras?...
Shhh!


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