This is ridiculous

I'm playing Age of Empire online right now. Got the bundle for 16 bucks but the game is f2p as well.

Go and try that game for now until the donation is up for PoE and waste our life killing mobs xD

"

PolDetson wrote:

"Right, but concerning yourself with how GGG decides to conduct their business isn't really your business."

Perfectly wrong. If this was software that didn't require that GGG remain viable for as long as I want to play it, that statement would be correct. But this isn't Diablo II, where I can play it (solo at least) whenever I want with or without GGG's servers.

But the moment that GGG has to close up shop, the tens/hundreds/thousands of hours that I've invested in my characters and their carefully crafted gear... poof.

There are things that are more valuable than cash. Time is one. You can get your cash back, you can't get your time back.

By playing a game that requires an investment in my time, my investment is intimately tied to the viability of the service provider. If they look like they're wonky, I'm inclined to invest my time where I can be confident it won't end before I want it to.

Right but no matter what you think, it's almost impossible to make a call like that given the very little "information" that GGG's actions following the stress test, might give you.

The reality is, almost everything you've invested time in ended at some point or another. This game is no different. And still you have no idea what GGG will do if they have to close up shop. I mean I doubt it's that hard to close the servers, and allow you to play single player since the client is on your box anyway.

It's not even worth worrying about.

I completely understand where you are coming from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxWV3w5hjU8

Watch this video. Now put yourselves in their shoes. You left the corporate grind to start your DREAM. And that dream happened to start with you and one other friend in your garage. Now you have grown to 12 people and everything is falling into place. I say lets stop worrying about what will be or how it could be. But simply enjoy the fact that something very special (For some) Is finally being produced.
They have come this far in 2 years. Let us relish in their victory and support them knowing that we too one day can enjoy this game at any time we choose.

Impatience is abundant in OP. How about chill out and wait for your turn for a key? or pony up the money and buy your way in a couple of days from now. What everyone else here said is true; You have no business telling them how to run their company. Their experience in game design and business surely has more weight then your opinion.

Also, you have no idea how many people "left" PoE because of the stress test; so why even bother talking about it?

I think they must give keys to people that really wants it. Every day randomly beta key goes to 288 people, most of them is not active over year or something... I think it not to many people that really need the key, and they asking for it. I think its not more 288 people who gets a key everyday.

I'm glad some one brought up Blizzard and D3 because lets face it you don't get big as blizzard has when you make a crappy game. They make good Games. I'm not saying perfect but you have to make a pretty good game to make people want to pay you to play it every month. When D3 comes out it is going to be no different. The fact of the matter is blizzard does not make bad games. You can argue all you want about it but look at how popular the game is. personally I feel that GGG should speed up the process of letting people into the closed beta. I have seen sites offering beta keys for this game 50, 500, 1000 keys. the stress test weekend saw a cap of just under 7400 players
and by the last day there where just under 4000 on. What are these numbers compared to 10-12 million? Speed is a factor here. D3 is a problem everyone can keep pretending that its not but it is.

"

P4N1K wrote:

Impatience is abundant in OP. How about chill out and wait for your turn for a key? or pony up the money and buy your way in a couple of days from now. What everyone else here said is true; You have no business telling them how to run their company. Their experience in game design and business surely has more weight then your opinion.

Also, you have no idea how many people "left" PoE because of the stress test; so why even bother talking about it?

You never discussed anything that you weren't already certain about? Never wondered anything beyond exactly what you already know? How boring.

"

JohnnyShotMe wrote:

"

P4N1K wrote:

Impatience is abundant in OP. How about chill out and wait for your turn for a key? or pony up the money and buy your way in a couple of days from now. What everyone else here said is true; You have no business telling them how to run their company. Their experience in game design and business surely has more weight then your opinion.

Also, you have no idea how many people "left" PoE because of the stress test; so why even bother talking about it?

You never discussed anything that you weren't already certain about? Never wondered anything beyond exactly what you already know? How boring.

Quote the paragraphs where i said that. Or are you just trying to put words in my mouth to try and defend your already thinly spread argument?

"

Firevsaqua wrote:

I'm glad some one brought up Blizzard and D3 because lets face it you don't get big as blizzard has when you make a crappy game. They make good Games. I'm not saying perfect but you have to make a pretty good game to make people want to pay you to play it every month. When D3 comes out it is going to be no different. The fact of the matter is blizzard does not make bad games. You can argue all you want about it but look at how popular the game is. personally I feel that GGG should speed up the process of letting people into the closed beta. I have seen sites offering beta keys for this game 50, 500, 1000 keys. the stress test weekend saw a cap of just under 7400 players
and by the last day there where just under 4000 on. What are these numbers compared to 10-12 million? Speed is a factor here. D3 is a problem everyone can keep pretending that its not but it is.

True, speed is a factor. I personally think the D3 release is bad news for POE. I don't *want* it to be, but let's face it...as someone already brought up, you only have a certain amount of time available. And even in beta tests, people tend to value their progression. So you will have this game in beta and D3 released and available. Some will play both but some will also choose between them. And for some people, probably your run of the mill general public, D3 is a predictable title that can be relied on. This new POE thing...some might try it but there will be literally hundreds of thousands of people who decide what game to play while standing in their local Best Buy and looking at the shiny box art. Those masses will choose the bigger title simply because it's bigger.

I think POE has an awesome concept and gameplay, but I want it to have enough of a population to be viable long term. To do that, IMO it would be helpful to hook a robust community into the actual game while you can.

"

"Right but no matter what you think, it's almost impossible to make a call like that given the very little "information" that GGG's actions following the stress test, might give you."

On this, we agree completely. The only thing it demonstrates is the prima facie case that after conducting a masterful PR event for a game less buggy in Beta than most games are in release, they are unable and/or unwilling to accept money from people willing to pay it to test their service. The distinction between "don't have to pay to access it" and "can't access it even if you pay" This is never a good business plan. We all believe that this state of affairs will change soon. I hope it does.

"

"The reality is, almost everything you've invested time in ended at some point or another. This game is no different."

Just so. Valar Morguhlis. All avatars must die. The question becomes "On whose terms?"

"

And still you have no idea what GGG will do if they have to close up shop. I mean I doubt it's that hard to close the servers, and allow you to play single player since the client is on your box anyway."

Client-server (or any n-tier architecture) is just that. Two (or more) pieces of software running simultaneously, exchanging messages. Having one of them is necessary but not sufficient. We can hope they would release the server code so we could run it on our own machines. That would be decent, but not inevitable. Yhe server code might have to be sold to pay for the debts which drove them out of business.

"

It's not even worth worrying about.

It depends on who you ask, how much free time they have, and how precious it is to them. But you're probably right.