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September 26, 2009, 06:06 PM
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#1 (permalink) |
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Aion support
First off, to all those who don't agree with this new MMO, I'm not quitting wow, nor am i refraining from playing aion because it's not wow. I Enjoy multiple games, and multiple characters, and aion has it's advantages as well. The main thing i'd like to point out is that i was highly impressed with something the aion devs did over WoW. They have private stores in the game, basically it's like your own little stall where you place in items and others can buy from you. For the first few days of release, There were queues, Which is to be expected, But instead of a few hundred people queue, it was a few thousand. Reason being is that if you set up a store, you could'nt go AFK. People exploited this to the point that before bed, or during school, people would set up a shop with a vendor trash item priced at 999,999,999 So obviously nobody was going to buy it. and for sometimes up to days, people would sit in these shops, and take up server space. Now, I'm used to wow, where when you find a bug, or an exploit, majority of the time you get one of two things happening. First: You have to wait until the next content patch for anything to get fixed. Second: "It's working as intended" Until it get's patched under the radar. Aion surprised me, They used an option i very rarely see WoW use. Within 3 days of release, they patched their game with a tiny patch, that added in a 30 minute AFK times to shops, bringing the queues from upwards of 3000 people, to nothing more then 500 at peak times. i was actually amazed at how quickly they worked on this problem, and the fact that the solution they had did not just completely remove shops, but just made it more viable to use them. I Guess my main question and point to this thread is what caused the difference in the way things work here? Is it because Aion is a much smaller game, that the devs have time to look at problems like this and fix them in good time, or is it just that they have different ways of fixing things? I'm used to WoW taking quite some time to actually fix a problem, and sometime by either making it easier to handle, or just removing it from the game, where as Aion took almost no time for a sensible fix. Is it that the WoW devs are just too busy to handle these problems in this way, or is it that they just don't care as much since they know that no matter what attacks them, WoW will never die. And, as i stated above, This thread is not meant to be against WoW, For Aion, or anything of that sense. it's simply meant to spark a discussion as to WHY blizzard works the way they do, and why NCsoft does it the way they have. |
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September 26, 2009, 07:05 PM
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#2 (permalink) |
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Re: Aion support
well i think it is because blizzard is working on like 3 games at once, starcraft 2, diablo 2, and maybe cataclysm. so blizzard has alot to do. Ncsoft , i think, doesnt have games underdevelopment. |
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September 26, 2009, 07:53 PM
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#3 (permalink) |
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Character Info
Bigwand 80 Gnome Warlock Aggramar US PvE Guild: Iron Cross Knights Profile: WoW Rankings Talent Spec: 0/13/58 |
Re: Aion support
Any new MMORPG has an uphill battle trying to take market share from Blizz, so they have to be extremely responsive to customers. Look at the Age of Connan launch, I've seen advertorials in PC and gaming publications since, trying to over come the poor support at kick off. Imagine how it well NCSoft would do if it gets around that it's a fun game if you could ever get in to play. Think of how aggravated WoW players get everytime new content is released and we have to wait through 500+ queues...and we're invested with time and money. I played Guild Wars and was very impressed with NCSoft's constant effort to improve the UI and world experience; especially on a game that didn't have a monthly fee. I've not played any other NCSoft games, but if Aion is like GW in terms of constant development and improvement, those who are playing it should be quite happy. |
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September 26, 2009, 08:43 PM
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#4 (permalink) | |
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Re: Aion support
Indeed, I Can understand that, but why is it blizzard is'nt as responsive at this point? i know they have a strong base and there are very few people who will not leave no matter what happens, but does that give blizzard the right to be as unresponsive as they have been? Are we getting the full customer support we should be with the money we pay them? $15 a month for "It's working as intended" does'nt seem to good to me. I'm not trying to go against WoW, i love the game and am a strong supporter, but seeing a problem fixed so effectively and so quickly just made me ask the question of are we getting what we deserve as the gamer base? Quote:
Just a quick edit, but i'd like to say i really appreciate the den forums people, it's the only place where i can post a question like this and get a true discussion, not just flamed for playing a different game |
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September 26, 2009, 09:44 PM
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#5 (permalink) |
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Character Info
Meankeb 80 Human Warlock Khaz Modan US PvE Guild: Virtue Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 0/13/58 |
Re: Aion support
Having played through 1000 que servers just to log onto WoW, found myself chasing Hunter Bots around trying get one out of ten mobs for dang quest items and general havoc associated with server maintenance, I think that Blizzard's main focus is on keeping 10 million accounts working right. I'm paying $15 a month, but that probably doesn't cover the man-hours it takes just to research and recover my account when it get's compromised (which has happened twice in three years). Being the biggest game in the MMORPG world has drawn the exploiters like flies, and unfortunately, I think a bigger portion of Blizz workforce is dedicated to this than bug fixes. I think that's what all other MMORPG's probably don't think about at launch; if we take marketshare from WoW, someone is going to come a ruin our customer's day...and it might not be as easy as a Hotfix. I'm not defending Blizz's service (or any other game), but compared to my cable or phone company, I contact them four to five times as much, and I'd consider the game experience of $15 a month a small pitance to the $40 a month for my ISP. |
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September 26, 2009, 09:45 PM
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#6 (permalink) |
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Character Info
lilsteele 80 Human Warlock Terenas Euro PvE |
Re: Aion support
Well... I think it's also related to the fact that the bug would prevent a lot of people to play, increase server lag, etc. etc.... and yeah, it's easier to make quick fixes on smaller systems. PS: I played lineage2 for a while, a game that has a similar shop system. I find the WOW auctionhouse so much superior... assume instead of having it you would have to click through 100 private shops to check if anyone sells the item you are looking for... |
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September 26, 2009, 10:48 PM
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#7 (permalink) |
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Character Info
Trigge 71 Gnome Warlock Emerald Dream US PvP Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 60/2/0 |
Re: Aion support
To be honest, Blizzard does this, ALL THE TIME, as does any corporation who produces software that they need to maintain, especially at release. It's called a hotfix, regardless of what you google, there is no time constraint on what can be considered a hotfix. Aion's company obviously didn't want any problems (complaints, canceled accounts or even non-created accounts) due to this dilemma. This was a global problem in the world of Aion. I'm certain they received so many complaints, that this was just something they absolutely didn't want to lose money because of. Edit: Please check out Blizzard is tracking 180,000 bugs in WoWit shows that WoW is tracking close to 200k bugs, but only employs 2500 worldwide in customer service. No where near enough to keep up with the demand. And you already know the reason for this.....$$$ Last edited by illicitdos; September 26, 2009 at 10:51 PM.. |
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September 27, 2009, 12:34 AM
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#8 (permalink) |
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Character Info
Azraeleth 80 Undead Warlock Ravenholdt Euro RP PvP Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 0/20/51 |
Re: Aion support
Having an extensive IT background myself I can say with 100% accuracy that the size of the customer base has very little to do with the time needed to hotfix a server or many severs, especially with the weekly downtime already scheduled. Blizzard had 11.5 million monthly subscribers at the last count (dec 08 I believe), which should more than enable them to employ the staff needed to support the game and purchase hardware upgrades as required. However IMO WoW's increased success has seen the focus shift from game experience to a purely financial model and subsequently and indeed inevitably, whenever you get money men in charge the service and product goes to poop. I havent played Aion nor do I intend to, I havent renewed my wow sub from its expiry 3 weeks ago (played constantly from vanilla) and I dont intend to renew anytime soon. |
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September 27, 2009, 01:22 AM
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#9 (permalink) |
Status: Dot, 'Lock and Drop it!
Character Info
Cormanthor 80 Human Warlock Gnomeregan US PvE Guild: Knights who say Ni Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: Various |
Re: Aion support
It also has to do with the nature of the problem and complexity of the solution. 3000 people queues on every server in WoW would result in a similar hotfix. If there were queues that large on 'X' number of servers, they open more servers and offer free character transfers. Bravo to the Aion devs for stepping up and hotfixing an exploit.
__________________
Some days it just not worth chewing through the restraints |
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September 27, 2009, 07:19 AM
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#10 (permalink) |
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Character Info
Liche 80 Undead Warlock Sporeggar Euro RP PvP Guild: Blackout Profile: Blizzard Armory Talent Spec: 0/13/58 |
Re: Aion support
I was going to post the same thing Illic did, 180,000 bugs is an insane number. Also, you have to realise, Aion has just released, it just makes sense to provide high service in the first few weeks while people waiting on the fence read reviews. Blizz's customer service is second to none, and while it is a major financial model the success of which has never been seen in gaming, it will continue to run for the next 4 yrs+ because of that model. |
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