I'll probably get lynched for this but...

[Bigcountry23]

I've seen a lot of complaints of "why wasn't this fixed in beta". The simple answer is we had 1% of the population in beta that we have now and many weren't out doing the quests and looking for bugs in every nook and cranny.

So now we have almost a month under our belts and have countless bugs fixed. The server isn't perfect, but we are closer then we were a month ago.

So lets do a wipe. Call this last month Beta +1. Or keep going for another few months, get more bugs worked out, and do it in March. Match up the new day 1 with EQ classic Day 1.

I'm not even half serious about this (maybe like 1/10th serious) but this is something to think about next time you ask "Why wasn't this fixed in beta". If you see something you are interested in and it has an open Beta, get in there and TEST IT! I know that we didn't have 200+ people that just happened to hear about P99 on the day it launched. People were anticipating this server. Waiting with baited breath for it. But weren't willing to spend an hour or two a week to run around and verify that X quest worked as it should, or that y zone wasn't bugged beyond belief and now feel entitled to a bug free experience that they did nothing to contribute to.

The people that did play beta did what they could, but imagine if we had had the player base we have now playing in Beta for even the last month? Think about how far along bug wise we could have been?

Just something to think about the next time you want to ask why something wasn't fixed or why you have to put up with X bug.

To the Devs, thank you for all of the hard work you have put into the server thus far, and what you do on a daily basis.

To everyone else who Beta tested, thank you, and keep reporting what you are finding. That's the only way to get things fixed.

To those who want a perfect game and have done and do nothing to contribute...yeah.


/soapbox off

[Danth]

For my part, I joined this a week before it launched. It took me 4 days just to get things ready to log on. You do the math. I suspect a lot of people *did* only find out about it around launch time due to word-of-mouth and forum posts.

Nobody feels entitled to a wholly bug-free experience. Quite the contrary, every single person I've talked to appreciates that this is an emulated server; as such, it's not going to be 100% spot-on compared to historic EQ. That being said, folks do reasonably expect tweaks for the most serious issues. Nobody can realistically fault the player base for that, either.

Kesmai, the studio which made what was likely the first graphical/realtime MMOG, had an old saying about players: "We could get them all laid and they'd still bitch." There's truth to that. The hard part for the devs is in separating the valid complaints from the 'fluff'.

The beta for this project also highlights the problem with beta tests in general: People want to play the game, not fix things. I say that as a statement of fact, not a statement of accusation; I've been guilty of exactly that in other MMOG beta tests. Some vital mechanics are so blatant in their malfunction that I believe they saw no testing whatsoever. As such it's understandable, if sometimes frustrating, why some of these mechanics remain in need of tweaks.

Danth

[Pyrocat]

We would lose a huge chunk of our population for hardly anything gained. Some people have 9+ real life days invested already, you think they'd be happy to do the same again after a wipe?

[Deathrydar]

If they got rid of experience penalties, I'd be down for a wipe, lol.

But, we know they won't do that, so I don't think this is a good idea.

[Yoite]

it's only 1/10th serious as he says, but by bringing this up, it allows people to put things into prospective.

[Goobles]

I've been treating this as open beta, and have been doing a lot of reports on bugs etc.

You should too :E

[girth]

I just stopped logging in, but thats cause I made a monk, and they are probably the worst class in the game at the moment.

[emubird]

I have a great deal of time invested in this server now, but as I enjoy playing here, I don't mind investing more, and I will certainly continue spending time here, whether we would relaunch or not. I believe I speak for many in saying that if we were to redo things, we will just grab hold and level up all over again, and we will enjoy it all over again, too.

I would be in favor of a relaunch, once many of the remaining game flaws are repaired. For example, have in place an accurate faction/quest system, accurate vendor inventories that don't include unlimited sell items that were not in original EQ, eliminate all non-classic tradeskill items and recipes, implement working boats, implement a complete low-level quest system, etc. Also, repair fun zones like Cazic Thule, there's no reason to have it on the server at all, at this point.

It's pretty much impossible to expect to recreate a 1999 type experience with so many of these things not working that did work in classic EQ, and if this kind of experience is still the devlopers' goal, then a wipe and relaunch should, at some point, be considered. Also, considering how buggy the launch of original EQ has been, I would imagine we can expect more of the same with Kunark and Velious, which probably were not as thoroughly beta-tested as would have been desirable, either.

[Astro]

The people that are requesting a wipe or actually think this is a good idea are retarded, some of us have invested over 10 days of played time, you really think everyone will come back if they wipe?

[Skeletonya]

I think the best thing would be to maintain things and just repair as you go appoach

You might lose people with a reset, and I suspect more people will be joining as this goes along.

Dont kill the momentum while its building. I know ive told people bout it myself who I used to play with. Word of mouth is very effective.