The Return of Neriak

[Jysin-DW]

Coming back to the Euro availability discussion...

I just returned from a trip to London and while there I had stopped in a few stores looking for an EoF copy for my girlfriend. I tried "HMV", "Game", and "PC World" and none had it. A couple had the original EQ2 box and one had KoS. I finally found it in a Virgin Megastore but they only had 2 copies left. The pricing (Virgin controlled, I know) made me laugh. They wanted 13 Pounds for original release box and 20 Pounds for EoF which includes original, dof, kos, and eof. Made me feel bad for any poor soul getting ripped off for picking up the original box.

My point is, the major game retailers of London didnt have EoF. It took a couple days of looking and quite a bit of travelling to find it. Considering London has a population of over 7mil people, I think there is definitely a problem with getting KoS in-stores and available to the masses.

[Dendory]

Originally Posted by The Hiram Key

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.

Hasn't EQ been this way too tho? From the very first zones being added, to the last expansion being released a few months ago. I think that's the core difference between Blizzard and SOE. Blizzard won't release a game where a dog runs up a cliff and gets stuck in the middle of it, or a house item can have some graphics glitches when put too near to a wall. But Blizzard will also take over 2 years to release it's first expansion, and not even have housing yet. And that's where the choice is made. SOE provides content, Blizzard doesn't. 3 months after TBC is out people are done with it, and we know the next one wont come out for a year (if lucky) or probably 2, but with SOE we know we'll be thrown tons of content, lore, zones and stuff to do, but the polish isn't there. People have to decide what they prefer, because I seriously don't see it change. Blizzard will not start releasing content that satisfy us, and SOE will not put out stuff that is as polished as WoW at the rate they are putting it out.

[Mkopec1]

Honestly? I would rather have some bugs and content on a regular basis, rather then perfection at the cost of no content for years. Its a trade off and IMO I would rather go the EQ/EQ2 way. I can stand a few bugs and unfinished shit if I have 2-3x more of it rather than running the same polished content over and over ad nauseum.

[Throag]

Originally Posted by Mkopec1

Honestly? I would rather have some bugs and content on a regular basis, rather then perfection at the cost of no content for years. Its a trade off and IMO I would rather go the EQ/EQ2 way. I can stand a few bugs and unfinished shit if I have 2-3x more of it rather than running the same polished content over and over ad nauseum.

I don't really see where people get the idea that Blizzard content is some kind of "perfection", WoW at release was far from perfect, TBC at release was (is) far from perfect.
I'd rather have content every 6 month and a a few bugs than content every 2 years and a few bugs.

[Cuppycake]

I am going to have to agree with others. Although it is pretty frustrating to run into things like THK is talking about -- I'll take it over a complete lack of regular content updates. Sure, in a perfect world we wouldn't have to settle for one or the other, but the fact of the matter is that a team is only so large and time for development on a particular project only lasts so long when your goal is to keep players entertained with things to do.

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

[Jedite]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

I am going to have to agree with others. Although it is pretty frustrating to run into things like THK is talking about -- I'll take it over a complete lack of regular content updates. Sure, in a perfect world we wouldn't have to settle for one or the other, but the fact of the matter is that a team is only so large and time for development on a particular project only lasts so long when your goal is to keep players entertained with things to do.

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

Cuppy are you refering to lag or FPS drops. Im running the good ol 8800GTX with a 6600 Dual Core processor, and I get the occacional FPS bump here and there particularly in neriak, and some parts of Freeport for some odd Reason.

[Itzena]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

Runs fine for me, and my PC spec would optimistically be described as 'adequate'. Any particular area you're lagging out at, and what's your PC spec?

[Azzikai]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

Lots of people are having issues, there are a few threads on the official forums about it.

I was lagging pretty badly in there until I replaced the RAM I had. I still hitch occasionally but I don't have a top of the line rig anyway. There are two things that might help while you are in there, turn specular lighting off and complex shader distance to -1. You can turn them both back on when you get outside but lowering those settings helped me a ton before I got my new RAM on Thursday.

[Miele]

My biggest gripe is with sound: EAX4 activated on a Xi-Fi extreme gamer and when going underwater it's shitty pops everywhere.

Graphics: shadows DO disappear, I don't know why they cannot reproduce it or are just unable to reproduce it on a regular basis, but they DO disappear, I swear and with me a couple friends too.

Few other minor bugs, nothing annoying enough to be mentioned, although I second what THK said, it could use a bit more polish, but new zones are wayyy better than old ones on this regard.

[lumberjack]

the only real problem i have is the laggy framerates when grouped and the random crashes, other than that, its really not so bad, and kind of fun

[The Hiram Key]

Originally Posted by Miele

My biggest gripe is with sound: EAX4 activated on a Xi-Fi extreme gamer and when going underwater it's shitty pops everywhere.

Graphics: shadows DO disappear, I don't know why they cannot reproduce it or are just unable to reproduce it on a regular basis, but they DO disappear, I swear and with me a couple friends too.

Few other minor bugs, nothing annoying enough to be mentioned, although I second what THK said, it could use a bit more polish, but new zones are wayyy better than old ones on this regard.

A lot of times shadows disappear because it is becoming "night time" or "cloudy" so shadows go off. I have also see shadows disappear for no apparent reason, I chalk that up to what I would have to guess is either a lighting error or possibly the game stopping the shadow render somehow.

I have stood with the sun at my back and had no shadows, checked options and shadows are on (including environmental). Turn them off, and then turn them back on again (exact same settings, no changes) and voila~ the shadows appear right where you expect them too.

Obviously shadows, among a very, very long list of "little things that only people who REALLY look" will notice, are not considered priority. No offense to whoever made the decision to go this "b-grade" route; I understand why, and definately NO offense to those who actually perform the work, you do as your told.

As a customer however.... you know my feelings on shit like this. I am playing it, and I am more into it then I was the last time, hell I haven't been this "addicted" to any game since original EQ. Wow never sucked me in like this, and I played that for a long time.

So I guess Mission Accomplished SOE amiritezz ?

[The Hiram Key]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

I am going to have to agree with others. Although it is pretty frustrating to run into things like THK is talking about -- I'll take it over a complete lack of regular content updates. Sure, in a perfect world we wouldn't have to settle for one or the other, but the fact of the matter is that a team is only so large and time for development on a particular project only lasts so long when your goal is to keep players entertained with things to do.

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

Don't you actually have to log in to actually have framerate problems ?

[Cuppycake]

Originally Posted by The Hiram Key

Don't you actually have to log in to actually have framerate problems ?

Just because we're not online at the same times doesn't mean I'm not online...ass =P

[Alarion]

Originally Posted by Arrr

while we're yelling:

MAKE THE RAID UI SUCK LESS, PLEASE

It's goddamn enormous. I run into shit when I raid because I can't see where I'm going. and can we please, please be able to mentor across zone lines? It makes the guild writ raids a huge pain in the ass to not be able to.

Double amen.

Speaking of the raid UI, and this is pure aesthetics. Can you make it look like something that didn't come from a early 90s Apogee game? It's downright hideous to look at. Some customizable "raid bars" would do wonders It's ok to bite off other games if they were good ideas

[Alarion]

Originally Posted by Cuppycake

I am going to have to agree with others. Although it is pretty frustrating to run into things like THK is talking about -- I'll take it over a complete lack of regular content updates. Sure, in a perfect world we wouldn't have to settle for one or the other, but the fact of the matter is that a team is only so large and time for development on a particular project only lasts so long when your goal is to keep players entertained with things to do.

I continue to get performance issues in Neriak, does anyone else have this issue? My lag is just ridiculous in that city compared to anywhere else. Not sure what's up with that, but its pretty frustrating honestly. Bleh.

I get stuttering more in neriak than anywhere else. It reminds me of the horrible horrible stuttering observed on 6800 series cards upon first release. As I run through neriak, my FPS (as measured by FRAPS) stays pegged at 50ish (high quality), but the screen stutters quite badly. Almost like it's pausing 1/4 of a second to fetch some textures from disk.