Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

BioWare panel ludicrously touts ancient RPG mechanics -Destructoid

If these are the points Bioware is "listening" to fans about, I'm personally shocked they had to be told these kinds of things. Naturally, Bioware's white knights came out to defend the obvious improvements that needed to be made rather than mock Bioware like a sensible RPG gamer would.

Also, it was cute that they more or less showed some photoshopped sections of Skyrim as a "hint" of the direction they want to go in in the future. Yeah, good luck with that while you're working for EA, folks. They want the next DA game out this time next year or summber, so there's no way in hell that's gonna happen.

Also, the having the community director cosplay - no matter how cute she is or how nice the costume may be - is kinda a band wearing their own t-shirts during a set. Its tacky.

[Taskmage]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Y U MAD THO? I mean yeah, pretty weak panel indeed, but so? The only real piece of information was only in subtext that DA3 is probably going to take place in Orlais. It's obvious they felt obligated to make a PR appearance after the ME3 thing to say they're taking their fans seriously, but didn't really have anything to hold up and show. I would've thought the sensible journalistic treatment would be "this is a lame story not worthy of reporting" but I guess the Fox News angle of "let's spin this up with piss and bile to drive traffic" has its economic merits.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

cliff notes version for those of us who can't watch it at work?

[Taskmage]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

• They're going to stop recycling areas and go for more open space.
• They considering for a setting somewhere more "French."
• They're going to make your decisions really matter (Wasn't that the point from the start?) and give the player a better feeling of agency.
• Companion characters won't be stuck in the same clothes all game. Armor pieces will morph to a character's distinct look Diablo-style instead.
• Everybody look at the cosplay.

That was seriously everything.

---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 AM ----------

Oh, also they might let you customize the color and material of your armor. No promises.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

That seems pretty underwhelming.

[Cheezeman3000]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Guild Wars has given you the ability to dye your armor since it came out in 2005. Wow Bioware...

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Y U MAD THO? I mean yeah, pretty weak panel indeed, but so? The only real piece of information was only in subtext that DA3 is probably going to take place in Orlais. It's obvious they felt obligated to make a PR appearance after the ME3 thing to say they're taking their fans seriously, but didn't really have anything to hold up and show. I would've thought the sensible journalistic treatment would be "this is a lame story not worthy of reporting" but I guess the Fox News angle of "let's spin this up with piss and bile to drive traffic" has its economic merits.

I'm not mad. Its just disappointing to see Bioware pander to its white knights and say "we're listening" rather than have the stones to just tell EA "Look, we want to grab a bit of glory back for ourselves here, how about you give use three or four years to make a a better game rather than sixteen months to shit out a substandard experience?"

It worked wonders for Todd Howard when Zenimax was insisting a new Elder Scrolls come out every two years. He stood up to it explained to them what he needed. He had the balls to go in there and convince them himself and look how well that turned out for everyone in the long run. They didn't have to give up anything to make and realize their game and its gone on to sell more than twice what Bioware's efforts have just about each time with Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim.

And Square Enix just gives Eidos the time it needs to make their games now. The results are amazing. I suddenly have cared more about Tomb Raider and Hit man than I ever did last generation. They're moving in new directions, more diverse gameplay and better ideas. With a Bioware game you're left wondering what's going to be streamlined out next.

EA's just milking Bioware for all their worth. At the rate things are going they'll be a joke to even their most staunch defenders in two more years. Its just those people have convinced themselves Bizarre is the shining light. Anyone with a bit of sense sees Bioware as a shell of its former self right now.

[Raydeus]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

So, 1000g say Dragon Age 2013 will add slightly better players and a few more teams. Then DA 2014 will add expansive 8-bit maps that auto travel themselves and trick shots.

[Taskmage]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Are you just being silly or are you making a reference to something? If the latter, I'm not getting it.

[Raydeus]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

That's because you didn't play Dragon Age 2012 Tasky.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Won't make a new topic, but here's some more dense spindoctoring from Bioware:

BioWare: SWTOR subscriber numbers have remained steady | Joystiq

Short of it is some analysts said subscriptions were already declining and would slip to 1.25 million subscribers this time next year if the game stays in the state its in. What I'm hearing personally is that many players at intermediate and high levels are having a hard time finding other people to group up with or PVP against.

But really, why would you make a statement to the press that your subscriptions are steady? If you have to say that, they probably are slipping. Its like Sony when they announce how many copies of a game shipped rather than how many sold. Subscriptions being "steady" is nothing to be going to the press with any more than if they were dropping like a rock. "Steady is not a good place to be four months out. You want "growing."

I think a great deal of this has to do with the focus on story content and coming out as a subscription game in a time everything's going F2P. Sony's seen big gains on DCUO and Everquest for shifting to F2P. I don't even thing FFXIV is going to turn around the way SE wants it two without switching to a similar model and from the recent deals they're making for players I don't think they're considering F2P.

And if Guild Wars 2 is as good as its looking to be, both MMOs could be in serious trouble.

[Taskmage]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Mm. They could be holding steady and still be resulting in the situation you're hearing. It may be that they're attracting new subscribers at the same rate they're losing them, which would lead the high levels sticking around to have a small pool of fellows. Or it might be that people that are tired of the grouping situation at end game are leveling alts to experience more of that story content. Not that it would take away from the other things you said if the article was completely true.

[Raydeus]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

I agree with BBQ, that's just a glaring indication of blood in the water.

If they felt the need to say this it had to be because either online player numbers are dropping considerably (forums would be a good indicator of it) or that rumors have gotten strong enough there was a real need to "reassure" people about the game's health.

Either way, and like usual, EAware's measures have the opposite from the desired effect.



And although with over 1.5 million subs it's still kinda early to consider F2P things can go south pretty fast for expensive behemoths like this. Specially with EAware's chronic self destructing tendencies.

[Taskmage]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Something else to consider: To celebrate the legacy system finally going live, BioWare gave all active subscribers with a legacy level of 6+ or a level 50 character one month free. So it may be that the infusion of playtime kept active the accounts of people who otherwise would have quit and are no longer playing, which would explain the number of concurrent users dropping while the subscription count technically remained steady. In fact, I'm just cynical enough to believe the promotion was coordinated specifically for that effect.

[Raydeus]

Re: Bioware's Pax East Panel show's they really don't get it.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit. And playing with the numbers like that would be a symptom of an even worse situation than expected.




EVE Online uses a different version of this. They tout 300000+ subs (and growing) while online players have actually dropped since the debacle. But in EVE that's because virtually every player has at the very least 2 accounts to dual box things. Some have more than 6 accounts, others even more, and most of them are paid via PLEX (legalized RMT), which means that while EVE has more than 300000 active accounts the number of actual players is probably 1/3 of that or less, with sub increases coming from players getting more accounts to multi-box or do stuff in other regions with, rather than actual new players going into the game.