Newsflash: Smooth Launches

[JonnyG]

This just in, CoH had a smooth launch yesterday with minimal problems. Is this a sign of things to come? :)

[Mi Tes]

Lets hope so. I got both CoH and Lineage II, haven't had any of the normal MMORPG issues - I am pleasantly surprised!

[Vali]

COH is different. Ill give it that. It is -


A very engaging game that is very well designed and ultimately fun.

Its also very simplistic.


Can the simplicity of a game factor into its launch? Because it isnt trying to be a "jack of all trades" and is much more focused in what it does have any impact on its launch?

Or is it a sign of NCsoft vs. SOE?

-V

[esion]

So far I would say its a sign of NCSoft vs SOE...

I remember when SOE launched SWG and they said "we need to go buy more hardware, we didnt think it would be this busy." Who buys hardware after a release?!?!! You need to be prepared...it seems that NCSoft is, and was...much less technical hiccups and seems the players are happy.

[Vali]

btw.. this is the first smooth launch Ive heard of, much less been a part of. Its nice.

I was playing UO back when it launched its non PVP side. At the time the world was all PVP, it was called- I cant remember. Something that started with an F.

When the mirror (non pvp realm) was launched almost every player sat at their computer waiting to log in. People wanted to place a house. Launch was horrific. Tons of folks logging in, you couldnt move, and only a select few had the stability for the few seconds it required to place a house.

SUXXOR.

And we all remember AO's release.

and planetsides.

and SWG's..



-V

[Midsummer]

DAoC had a relatively smooth launch too, but players ate through the content within a couple of weeks!

I'll be getting my hands on CoH in a few days :)

[Paks]

Originally posted by Vali
COH is different. Ill give it that. It is -


A very engaging game that is very well designed and ultimately fun.

Its also very simplistic.


Can the simplicity of a game factor into its launch? Because it isnt trying to be a "jack of all trades" and is much more focused in what it does have any impact on its launch?

Or is it a sign of NCsoft vs. SOE?

-V


CoH is very simplistic and I think that accounts for a lot. I'm not trying to take anything away from Cryptic, because they did work hard to keep their launch as smooth as possible, but you have to take into account they just don't have the content a game like EQ or AC2 or the other MMOs have.

They also split their launch so to speak by allowing players with pre-orders to start early which I thought was a great idea and is a practice I hope more MMOs subscribe to in the future.

And it definitely looks like NCSoft is challenging Sony for the MMO crown so things could get interesting in the future, and I hope it means good things to come for the MMO community. :)

[BigJonno]

Now I've been playing CoH for a while, I'm starting to question how simplistic it really is. Yes it lacks a lot of features that other MMORPGs have, but it's core gameplay and content is way more advanced than every other MMORPG I've played. The complexity of the environments is unprecedented. The mob AI, while nothing compared to single player games, is refreshingly good. So far I have always had missions available to me, both in common areas and instanced "dungeons" and those missions have had a genuinely interesting storyline running through them. And once you start juggling enhancements you'll realise that CoH does have an item system just as complex as anything else, it's just less overt.

[Mi Tes]

I have had some connection and mapserver errors - but not so many I can't play. In addition, I got tired of not having my computer all weekend because everyone else wanted to play my CoH, so now we have 3 copies (they have the nice feature of buying a cd key online).

CoH is the MMORPG I was least looking forward to when I saw it last E3. However, now I am enjoying it - as well as everyone else in the house. I miss having no load zones - like in AC, but the instancing to lighten the load in areas seems to work well and the options for character creation are amazing- there are so many options, styles, colors and names. It has that "fun" factor for everyone I know who is playing. Not sure how long that will last, but it is good enought for now. Just wish we could have been playing Mythica.