[Lyrus]

We all knew you were planning on screwing us once again and the post just now from padriec proves us correct. Steve Miller band is playing take the money and run. You told us mar 1st, now mar 11th for world bosses only LOL. If you remember you took our money back in Nov 09 Remember that ?? and then total release April 1st what in the world is wrong with you people there?? Do you think this game is that friggin great, well your wrong, it was the community here that made the game great. Not 1 of you had a pair big enough to come forward before now and say hey guys due to certain circumstances we have to go this way with the game, thats a crying shame and everyone in QOL no matter how big or small a role you played in this should go home this evening with your head held low. Whats even worse is padriec they had to have you do their dirty work :(, once again didn't have the pair big enough to do it themselves another Failure
1 question, Why did you have to wait til quitting time in your timezone to post this. I think we all know the answer already.

[jdsmith]

First I would like to start by apologizing for the delays and limited communication lately. With this announcement the communication pipes should, once again, open back up and community interaction should return to normal.

While I cannot go into detail as to why things were so tight lipped up until now I can rejoice that we'll once again be able to maintain an open dialogue!

Now, so as to address your whole post, I'll be splitting it up into sections and replying to each one in turn.

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

We all knew you were planning on screwing us once again and the post just now from padriec proves us correct. Steve Miller band is playing take the money and run. You told us mar 1st, now mar 11th for world bosses only LOL.

Do you really think anyone here is trying to screw anyone? Please realize 'screwing' someone would be completely against our best interests as then we have bad press to deal with, upset customers who spread bad word of mouth, possible legal issues, etc.

What we really have here is a piece of content that relied on other back-end systems which had issues. Correcting issues and getting that content out takes time; when you have x number of people that means you have y time per day. Nothing in the world can make that stretch...

It was announced previously that once the Dawning event was completed we would, within a few weeks, spawn world bosses which must then be defeated in order to unlock the instances. This is still happening although we're a couple weeks behind schedule.

I sincerely apologize for that and, please believe me when I say this, that we all wish we could launch them sooner!! Luckily, however, no one has been charged at all for the month of February which means that this delay has not financially impacted any of you.

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

If you remember you took our money back in Nov 09 Remember that ?? and then total release April 1st what in the world is wrong with you people there?? Do you think this game is that friggin great, well your wrong

We did indeed begin receiving payments several months ago; however please recall that we clearly stated this was a soft-launch of the product and that a full scale launch would be forthcoming in the near future.

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

it was the community here that made the game great.

I can't agree with you more! The community here is definitely one of our best assets. You all are great and, even though lately I've been lurking more than posting, I sincerely enjoy interacting with each of you. Several of you have had personal one-on-one phone calls with me and can surely attest to my genuine wish to help you all out whenever possible. While I'm not a mind reader I feel safe when I say that the rest of our team feels the same way!

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

Not 1 of you had a pair big enough to come forward before now and say hey guys due to certain circumstances we have to go this way with the game

Unfortunately, due to internal restrictions placed upon the QOL staff as a whole, we were unable to mention anything related to the upcoming changes before now. For good or bad, regardless of any other opinions, we had no choice in the matter. Hopefully people can find it in their hearts to be understanding on that matter and reflect upon any similar experiences they have had with companies they might work for.

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

Whats even worse is padriec they had to have you do their dirty work :(, once again didn't have the pair big enough to do it themselves another Failure

I am not sure what you mean by this honestly; Padreic is the head of our community management department. As such, does it not seem like the task of informing everyone about the announcement and following up on any questions should be his responsibility?

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

1 question, Why did you have to wait til quitting time in your timezone to post this. I think we all know the answer already.

The choice was post it now, or post it tomorrow. The final approval on the news article didn't come in until about 2h ago. What choice would you rather we make? ;)

[Xaander]

jdsmith, on 01 March 2010 - 07:27 PM, said:

Unfortunately, due to internal restrictions placed upon the QOL staff as a whole, we were unable to mention anything related to the upcoming changes before now. For good or bad, regardless of any other opinions, we had no choice in the matter. Hopefully people can find it in their hearts to be understanding on that matter and reflect upon any similar experiences they have had with companies they might work for.

This is what has frustrated me about this whole situation. I understand that you guys who're usually good at talking to us have very little control over what related information you can give out. What gets me though is that y'all had those restrictions put on you and that someone who could relay something to the players didn't. Personally, I would've felt more at ease about how things were progressing if someone could've given just a little bit of info about what was happening.

[Voodoo]

The official reply above is a bit much for me to absorb or read at this point. It really does feel like continued blah.

My thinking is this... I've enjoyed the game thus far, and I, fortunately, paid only the $19.95 after which they did not charge my account. I definately got $20 worth of gameplay. (less than a night of bowling, or a meal at a cheap restaurant).

However, I chose Alganon as it was a subscription fee based game. I don't play F2P/item mall type games as they ultimately have the ability to end up costing more than a sub base. I also don't play them as people with money end up with all the good stuff, and regular, hard-working folks are pretty much left out.

A raiding guild might as well be 'if you can afford it, join us' because otherwise you will not be able to afford to maintain your gear (IF I am reading the new tribute system correctly).


Another bad idea imo, is the gear degrading and repair is by purchasing 'tribute' to repair it with real-money.

This just isn't my idea of fun. I will keep Alganon in my list of games, but most likely will not play it. But I will check on it now and then and see.

Right now, I own many subscription based games, that for $xx.xx/month I can reactivate and try new characters as well as new expansion packs that have been released.

This is too long a post. Good luck with your venture, it has a lot of competition.

QoL: Thanks (sincerely) for the fun I have had while playing to 50.

Old Timers Guild: This is one of the best community guilds I have had the honor to be in. You are a great group of people, and I loved playing with you. So much so, that I have applied to join OTG in AoC. You guys are the best! I'm sure we will be seeing each other again.


-Jezebelle, Adrios
-Voodoo, Adrios (husband, already cancelled)

[jdsmith]

Maintenance only applies to SOME items purchased with the TMS. It has no impact on normal everyday game play nor does it even impact everything in the marketplace.

The things you will find in the TMS are spiffy mounts you can't find elsewhere, packs of potions, etc. Sure, there will be the odd actual piece of eqipment, but it won't be the best thing in the game and non-paying customers will still be able to enjoy the game as they do now.

[Dror]

jdsmith, on 01 March 2010 - 05:59 PM, said:

Sure, there will be the odd actual piece of eqipment, but it won't be the best thing in the game and non-paying customers will still be able to enjoy the game as they do now.

Okay, but will people who do not want to use the item shop a great deal be at a disadvantage for not doing so? I don't mind putting in the effort to farm for potions, and farm gold for mounts etc, but I only have so much real money.

[Lyrus]

So in responce to your reply Jd, the week of the 11th you give us a world boss or 2 maybe, we chew thru those. Then maybe another 2 the following week we eat those up too, then we wait 2 weeks more til April you go full release, with new starter zones, dungeons[these will hold our interest awhile if they are great runs]. What about all the level 50s that are in the game already, are we getting new zones, content, tier 6 materials and recipes, new level caps 60 or 70, what is in it for us?? or do you expect us all to sit and wait another 3-4 months for content that has enough volume and difficulty to keep us interested ??

[Padreic]

The new content, specifically the instances, should prove formitable to all level tiers of players. Level 50 players should find themselves with plenty to handle, just with these instances alone.

Considering this is the official launch of the game come April, raising level caps and such is a bit premature. That's more of an expansion treatment, which this is not. We are looking to make new content for all levels of players, and not just "something to fight". This encompasses all aspects of gameplay.

[Lyrus]

Well I had to ask Padriec, as you know the lvl 50s have had nothing to do truely since our dawning collections were done,except wait on study timers, the legions and Victor are still bugged [ but we have all these epics as do others], and most of us have alts that cover all trade and gathering skills maxed at 250. So we have a couple of instances to look forward to and new zones/content for the lvl 50s and their maxed tradeskills ?? to keep us occupied ?? til 1st expansion
When can we expect the 1st expansion too, it will be still be free to players as original stated correct ?

[Padreic]

Lyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:29 PM, said:

Well I had to ask Padriec, as you know the lvl 50s have had nothing to do truely since our dawning collections were done,except wait on study timers, the legions and Victor are still bugged [ but we have all these epics as do others], and most of us have alts that cover all trade and gathering skills maxed at 250. So we have a couple of instances to look forward to and new zones/content for the lvl 50s and their maxed tradeskills ?? to keep us occupied ?? til 1st expansion
When can we expect the 1st expansion too, it will be still be free to players as original stated correct ?

I understand. Answers have been very scarce as of late. :/ To answer your question on the expansion, though, I can't say any more than what we've said previously, mostly because I don't know any more than that. We've got the upcoming content and release to finish and completely kick butt on - after that, we can address things further.

I'm sick of saying "more information coming soon!", so I won't. But we'll definitely chat about it more when it's a more priority issue to talk about.

[Soupdragon]

Padreic, on 02 March 2010 - 03:13 AM, said:

I'm sick of saying "more information coming soon!", so I won't.

We're sick of hearing "more information coming soon!", so don't.

[Soupdragon]

Quote

../../../public/style_images/alganonmaster/snapback.pngLyrus, on 01 March 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

1 question, Why did you have to wait til quitting time in your timezone to post this. I think we all know the answer already.

The choice was post it now, or post it tomorrow. The final approval on the news article didn't come in until about 2h ago. What choice would you rather we make? ;)

So QoL didn't have a statement prepared and authorised days before the due date?

The very same statement that they knew their player base would be eagerly awaiting?

You've know for weeks the date of the announcement but the statement still wasn't approved and ready on that date.......

QoL is beginning to look like a bunch of rank amateurs with no leadership.

[Wraithblade]

jdsmith, on 01 March 2010 - 05:27 PM, said:

First I would like to start by apologizing for the delays and limited communication lately. With this announcement the communication pipes should, once again, open back up and community interaction should return to normal.

While I cannot go into detail as to why things were so tight lipped up until now I can rejoice that we'll once again be able to maintain an open dialogue!

Now, so as to address your whole post, I'll be splitting it up into sections and replying to each one in turn.



Do you really think anyone here is trying to screw anyone? Please realize 'screwing' someone would be completely against our best interests as then we have bad press to deal with, upset customers who spread bad word of mouth, possible legal issues, etc.

What we really have here is a piece of content that relied on other back-end systems which had issues. Correcting issues and getting that content out takes time; when you have x number of people that means you have y time per day. Nothing in the world can make that stretch...

It was announced previously that once the Dawning event was completed we would, within a few weeks, spawn world bosses which must then be defeated in order to unlock the instances. This is still happening although we're a couple weeks behind schedule.

I sincerely apologize for that and, please believe me when I say this, that we all wish we could launch them sooner!! Luckily, however, no one has been charged at all for the month of February which means that this delay has not financially impacted any of you.



We did indeed begin receiving payments several months ago; however please recall that we clearly stated this was a soft-launch of the product and that a full scale launch would be forthcoming in the near future.



I can't agree with you more! The community here is definitely one of our best assets. You all are great and, even though lately I've been lurking more than posting, I sincerely enjoy interacting with each of you. Several of you have had personal one-on-one phone calls with me and can surely attest to my genuine wish to help you all out whenever possible. While I'm not a mind reader I feel safe when I say that the rest of our team feels the same way!



Unfortunately, due to internal restrictions placed upon the QOL staff as a whole, we were unable to mention anything related to the upcoming changes before now. For good or bad, regardless of any other opinions, we had no choice in the matter. Hopefully people can find it in their hearts to be understanding on that matter and reflect upon any similar experiences they have had with companies they might work for.



I am not sure what you mean by this honestly; Padreic is the head of our community management department. As such, does it not seem like the task of informing everyone about the announcement and following up on any questions should be his responsibility?



The choice was post it now, or post it tomorrow. The final approval on the news article didn't come in until about 2h ago. What choice would you rather we make? ;)

I'm quite sorry to hear how things are working out internally. Don't the money people (who must be the ones imposing the restrictions you speak of) realize how VITAL it is to keep the player base informed? Not to mention how wild eyed rumors and speculation will spin out of control if players even *think* they are being given the Mushroom Treatment? Managing player perceptions is vital in these types of situations. If they hope to salvage any of their investment, they must realize that.

Delays in software development are inevitable, in all too many projects. Thats simply the nature of the beast. As you stated, when you have X number of personnel, you can only achieve Y amount of work. Even crunch time will only help so far(before you start burning out your people, and the mistakes start cascading).

That all having been said, you have quite a number of people(players) who invested for the long term, and are now feeling(rightly or wrongly) unhappy with the current situation. Wouldn't it make sense for the Powers That Be to make certain that those people are taken care of first and foremost? Loyal players are a VERY important asset. As always I wish you all the best.

[Mhantra]

Hey Wraith, to me, it seem clear that whoever is making these decisions has decided that true launch is April 1st, and those of us who have been part of this soft launch are either overestimated in their undertsanding and patience, or expendable.

The thought of us being expendable does sort of make sense from a cold, hard business sense. IF things work out with a hard launch, and a large influx of people come into that game, then those numbers will be enough to support the game.

If they don't come, then our puny numbers won't matter anyway. The original supporters could realistically stay or leave, and it won't impact the survival of the game much. Again, what will is how many people come in the hard launch. Combine this with the fact that we, the original population, absolutely exploded (myself inlcluded) upon hearing the squeak of news they gave us, I am not sure I would give us much information either...lol.

Now, this isn't saying that the devs don't care about us original peoples, I actually believe they do. But whoever is running the show now (or was in the past and has changed methodology), may have decided it is time to hold his cards until it is time to play them. And I have a feeling that they went all-in...

[Alysandir]

Mhantra echos what I've been saying for some time. While I do get the impression that the creative talent cares about the playerbase, to the business people, we are simply beans in a jar.

-Alys

[Wraithblade]

Mhantra, on 02 March 2010 - 08:09 AM, said:

Hey Wraith, to me, it seem clear that whoever is making these decisions has decided that true launch is April 1st, and those of us who have been part of this soft launch are either overestimated in their undertsanding and patience, or expendable.

The thought of us being expendable does sort of make sense from a cold, hard business sense. IF things work out with a hard launch, and a large influx of people come into that game, then those numbers will be enough to support the game.

If they don't come, then our puny numbers won't matter anyway. The original supporters could realistically stay or leave, and it won't impact the survival of the game much. Again, what will is how many people come in the hard launch. Combine this with the fact that we, the original population, absolutely exploded (myself inlcluded) upon hearing the squeak of news they gave us, I am not sure I would give us much information either...lol.

Now, this isn't saying that the devs don't care about us original peoples, I actually believe they do. But whoever is running the show now (or was in the past and has changed methodology), may have decided it is time to hold his cards until it is time to play them. And I have a feeling that they went all-in...

Well, the problem with taking that approach(there are more fish in the sea) is that it not only generates ill will in the LAST people(your current supporters)you can afford to lose(since they have already demonstrated a commitment to your game), it also(in this day and age) results in *highly* damaging word of mouth. Anyone with any experience in the MMO industry knows how that can dampen, if not out right kill the success of a game.

In terms of communication it pays to over communicate, rather than under. One needs to have full, clear, precise and *timely* communication to keep negative spin, wild rumors and the inevitable hatred to a minimum. Unfortunately, the first reaction of the inexperienced is to go into siege mode, and say little or nothing. This leaves the playing field entirely to those who wish one ill, who can then spin, distort and mis represent things to their hearts content.

Having seen both sides of this all too many times, I'm painfully familiar with the situation and its consequences. Once again, full, clear, precise and *timely* communication is not only necessary, its VITAL. Someone(who ever is calling the shots these days) over there at QoL needs to realize that their current behavior is endangering their investment. They need to re examine their behavior(and policy) in the light of the all too realistic consequences involved.

[Skakwop]

Not really sure what to say without getting my post deleted like Codex's.

I am not sure if the QoL staff care and check out the other boards to see how the other MMO population is taking this news. But it might be a good idea to have someone on a daily basis check it out and take notes and forward to the "bean counters".

If QoL "bean counters" continue down the path of not caring what the commmunity that have stuck through the thick and thin have to say and feel. Then they will be in for wake up call. Just look at Star Trek Online and Allods.

I have read so many posts from members of this wonderful community that have defended Alganon tooth and nail on other boards, Wraithblade for example. But most people have their breaking point and can not have faith in a project anymore.

Just once question. Did anyone think that before they release the game that maybe they ask the community if they would be willing to pay the $9.95 a month fee to help pay for expenses and keep the game in Beta and make sure that the game truly is ready for release into such a large game field?. I know I would have gladly paided that for the game to succeed and not be where the game is now.

QoL would might have not got hammered by the MMO community if the game was more polished and truly ready for release. But as such a lot of users this day will not pay for a game and montly fees that is not polished. No MMO is truly finished or bug free I know that. Being on EQ test server for 6 years showed me that much.

Anyhow too long of a post already.

I wish QoL all the best and hope it works out for them. And to the amazing community I have to say there is no better people out there then you.

Take care,

Soklin

[Radium]

Skakwop, on 02 March 2010 - 09:01 AM, said:

Just once question. Did anyone think that before they release the game that maybe they ask the community if they would be willing to pay the $9.95 a month fee to help pay for expenses and keep the game in Beta and make sure that the game truly is ready for release into such a large game field?. I know I would have gladly paided that for the game to succeed and not be where the game is now.

QoL would might have not got hammered by the MMO community if the game was more polished and truly ready for release. But as such a lot of users this day will not pay for a game and montly fees that is not polished. No MMO is truly finished or bug free I know that. Being on EQ test server for 6 years showed me that much.

Anyhow too long of a post already.

I wish QoL all the best and hope it works out for them. And to the amazing community I have to say there is no better people out there then you.

Take care,

Soklin

I put this suggestion up some time back and was told I was a troll and hater of QoL for doing it. The fanbase has been part of the problem here honestly. If anyone, even those of us who were supporting the game, came out and said there was a problem we were jumped all over.

Currently they better do some damage control, which I do not believe they are competent enough to do. Having a bean counter say that those paying an annual subscription that was discounted do not deserve something shows how far out of touch of reality someone is. If I was working for QoL I would not walk away, I would run. This situation with the annual subscribers could of been handled by tossing us a few bones. With the bones maybe more of us would have stayed and they could of gotten more $$$ from us. As it now stands there is a LOT of resentment towards QoL. That resentment not only translates into a potential paying customer walking away it also means there will be another voice strongly attacking QoL.

Wisdom says you can never have to many friends, and you cannot afford one true enemy. I believe QoL has created many enemies over the last few months. I know I would be nastier, but the messenger is only a messenger and they are not the decision maker.

[Mhantra]

Wraithblade, on 02 March 2010 - 10:58 AM, said:

Well, the problem with taking that approach(there are more fish in the sea) is that it not only generates ill will in the LAST people(your current supporters)you can afford to lose(since they have already demonstrated a commitment to your game), it also(in this day and age) results in *highly* damaging word of mouth. Anyone with any experience in the MMO industry knows how that can dampen, if not out right kill the success of a game.

Man, I hear you. Scorned gamers can be...no, will be...absolutely brutal. Those still sticking around, in particular, would seem very important to me if I was the one in charge. It means they have massive amounts of patience (give them sainthood, yes?), and probably enough stubbornness to be able to be converted to Alganon for a long time if they were just given something.

Then again, the other side of me sees the fact that if they can't get it done, little resources, low dev count, etc, then I guess they just can't get it done. The 10-day delay from March first, to me, was like almost coming to orgasm and your partner jumps off and says, "you have to wait a week, sorry. I'll call you." and walks out the door.

[Kamaile]

Mhantra, on 02 March 2010 - 11:29 AM, said:

The 10-day delay from March first, to me, was like almost coming to orgasm and your partner jumps off and says, "you have to wait a week, sorry. I'll call you." and walks out the door.

*fakes an orgasm and goes off to find some Rocky Road ice cream*