[The Hiram Key]

Yes the guild on AB is still growing strong, well over 200 unique accounts and no matter what time I am online, there are anywhere from 10-60 people online, doing quests, instances, tradeskilling and what not. The guild is level 25 and moving up, which is excellent.

An interesting observation I have made over the last couple of weeks, is just how many people randomly will say "this is the best MMO out there, hands down". And I am not talking one person per day, I am talking about 6-10 or more people a day, in and out of guild, in chat channels in group everywhere. The buzz is out there, Wow seems to have missed the mark with the expansion and people are tired, Vanguard is a sad pathetic joke, and what else is there right now ? That "I want EQ againz" crowd has been scouped up nicely with the launch of Neriak and announcement of ROK,

But heres the rub, and this is what pisses me off to no end. We listen to Hartsman (and I like the guy, and I love EQ2 so save it fags) talk about polish, about how he would rather release one polished zone then 3 half done less polished zones, and yet in game, all you see are corners being cut. I could go on, and in depth over WHERE I see the corners being cut, but I think I have covered them enough so people are aware.

It's annoying, UI bugs, bag bugs, housing issues, furniture issues, animation issues (mobs), armor textures being reused ad nauseum, on and on and on. Yeah, the game is amazing now, 100X better then at launch, a fun, immersive, rich and rewarding gameplay experience. This is the game that EQ2 should have been at launch, and people are finally catching up on the tech curve so the game is definately more accessible.

Still, I see the corners being cut. I see where "this" is being sacrificed so "that" comes out better. It's a business decision, and I respect that, but I have to tell you as a consumer, as I fight with your godamn UI bugs and chat bugs that I bug reported THREE FUCKING YEARS AGO ASSHOLES (and NO, that is not directed to any particular individual, so don't get your panties in a bunch), it gets to me.

But boy, Neriak sure does look awesome, and the concept art for Sarnaks is cool. I suppose shooting for a B or B- and pleasing the biggest portion of your playerbase is the name of the game. Too bad really, when A+ is so well within reach.

Would it kill you to open source and get some player help on things like furniture design and texture, housing layout and texture, armor design and texture ? Make a fucking tool, let players tinker with shit and let them submit them to you. Have them sign away their rights to whatever they make. You might even find some gems in there, or even some new people you might end up wanting to hire (not talking about me, I like my job just fine, no more cubicles, EVER).

It's the best game out there right now, and it's damn good. If you aren't playing it, you are truly missing out. Just don't look TOO closely.