342 replies to this topic

[Mawai]

Tekadept, on 08 December 2013 - 11:50 PM, said:

The forum population is definitely declining, the game population is of course a different meta.

There may be fewer posters ... just due to the perceived futility of the process. We can chat among ourselves about what the game needs, what direction we think it should be taking, its high points and its short comings ... but if no one is listening ... and the general impression is that PGI/IGP does not pay any attention whatsoever to their fan base except when it appears advantageous to them ... then the feeling is that participation here is pointless so why bother .. thus fewer forum posters.

I know I feel that frustration. It is exacerbated ( :-) ) by the revised forum structure that removed any place for general discussion. There is no forum to express concern, dissatisfaction or even approval. There are just forums to comment on specific game aspects.

We have no data on any correlation between folks who leave the forums in frustration and reduced ingame participation. I know I play less simply because the game develops at a glacial pace and the developers appear to pay no attention to suggestions (good and bad) from the players. PGI/IGP make their own decisions also both good and bad ... perhaps those decisions are guided by monetization input from gameanalytics ... if so, it will be an interesting test case to see whether the game ultimately succeeds or fails based on monetization being the driving design criteria.

Long term, I think it may well fail using a monetization based development strategy since ultimately the fans want to play a complete GAME with a more depth than dropping and blowing stuff up with limited game modes and maps. The question is how much time the players will give them before bailing to other games ... which may depend on what other games come along in the same or similar product space. In the short run the strategy is probably making more money since design and development time has been put into producing stuff for sale .. but retention will take a nose dive when it becomes clear that the game that was promised will be months or years before delivery due to short sighted monetization based development decisions early in the development process.

Time will tell ...

Edited by Mawai, 09 December 2013 - 08:13 AM.

[Sable]

Man this thread has been entertaining to read. I especially liked the logical fallacy is anecdotal link. I've also noticed there's a lot of people in here claiming to have left or lost interest in MWO, Which for some reason more than half of them have phoenix package logo's or founders tags. If you guys really left why are you cruising the forums? I play MWO every day, never do 12 mans though. I always drop with 3-4 friends though and i never have trouble finding matches. Maybe instead of drawing a false conclusion that the population is low because you can't find other 12 man groups over thanksgiving when people are spending their time with family. Try doing 4 mans or even *gasp* dropping solo.

Edited by Sable, 09 December 2013 - 08:37 AM.

[Sandpit]

Maybe less people are just playing 12 mans?

[Joseph Mallan]

I know I don't see more than 1-3 repeat names per match.

[WarHippy]

RichAC, on 08 December 2013 - 01:05 PM, said:

Consoles were always bigger, nintendo and sega? or how bout before them atari and intellivision. now its xbox and playstation. when the 8080's came out with cga monitors pc games started getting more popular. In the 90s they were AS popular, because the graphics on pcs and game play potentials, blew the consoles out of the water completely. Not even true anymore. None of my family and friends game on pcs anymore even though they all used to.

None of my friends or family have a console they all play games on the PC. I am the only one that has consoles and I rarely play them because the people I game with don't have them. Anecdotes are anecdotes and they generally mean very little.

RichAC, on 08 December 2013 - 01:05 PM, said:

but w/e. The PC industry itself is going downhill. Just look at the stocks, amd, dell, ibm, pick anytying.. I don't consider android apps pc programs...sorry lol. You can't even do anything practical on a phone. Its not a pc replacement. People use them because their laptop is too frustrating to use....period. And i'm not an arrogant *** enough to blame users for getting virused, when NBC.com was giving people viruses not too long ago. Its happening to everyone if you actually do anything on your pc. I don't care how savy you think you are.

The PC industry is in a slump, but with most industries they have their ups and downs as they adjust to new trends. As for viruses I can tell you as someone who works as a network systems administrator and someone who has been working in the computer industry for fifteen years the majority of the viruses people get are due to them doing things they should not be doing. Yes, some are unavoidable, but that is not the norm like you are trying to indicate.

RichAC, on 08 December 2013 - 01:05 PM, said:

I will agree though, computers are still the platform for innovation. Thats why innovation is taking a back seat!!! League of legends is definitely not pushing innovation, imo, it also doesn't mean pc's are popular like they were a decade ago. Are people really buying 500 dollar graphics cards to play LoL? What games are even really worth the hardware? Even mwo isn't really using any of the new gpu tech or multicore cpus.... EA Dice is the last of the mohicans, and i'm not sure they will stick around on pc after BF4.

Are people buying $500 video cards to play LoL? No, but they are buying them to play all sorts of other games that can and do make use of those cards. Your obsession with EA franchises is somewhat telling in how out of touch you are with the PC gaming market. If you really think people are not willing to drop lots of money on PC games just look at Star Citizen where they have already brought in $34 million from player donations for a game that is not even at what I would call alpha stage. The fact you have not heard of the game only indicates you have been living under a rock when it comes to the PC games industry.

RichAC, on 08 December 2013 - 01:05 PM, said:

As far as steam goes, I predicted that would stop single player pirating. It didn't at all...I was totally wrong.

Of course you were wrong. Steam was never going to do that, but it has been very successful at selling games.

RichAC, on 08 December 2013 - 01:05 PM, said:

Its nice to think happy and positive thoughts, but EA sports is only one example of many. When most pc companies are going out of business or losing stock, to believe otherwise only makes you more crazy then me and actually delusional.

EA Sports was a better fit on consoles, and frankly it isn't missed on the PC platform. Game companies for all platforms go out of business, or are taken over by other companies all the time this isn't new. Point being I have heard that PCs and PC gaming were headed for the grave since the late 90s and it hasn't happened nor is it going to anytime soon.

[Thorqemada]

I disconnected yesterday bcs i could not stomach more and today i log in and the first match Alpha Lance decides to fight itself instead of the enemy - by god you "PvPers", there is no hell that offers what you deserve!

[Timuroslav]

I like how people always Necro these ideas:
-Computer Games are dying
-Mechwarrior is losing popularity.

people people, *Shakes head*
If you look at the Steam player population you will note it is always a Yearly low RIght before the holidays. During Mid and After holiday Season it Spikes like a Rocket.

By the way, You actually, don't want computer games to go out of business, because if they did there will be no improvement in console game quality.
ERGO: You Use Computers, To Make Console Games

Also, computer games fill the nitch Console games can not
you can't play free flash games on a console even if you can get to the website.
Computer Games have a powerful weapon. It's Called: Variety.
You can't create new Mechwarrior Mods on a Playstation, even if you did it would be a logistical nightmare.

Edited by Timuroslav, 09 December 2013 - 10:41 AM.

[Thorn Hallis]

My totally anecdotal bli-bla-blub experience is that I rarely see the same people in matches (and no, I'm not suffering from amnesia, thanks for askin').

Thing is, as long as we don't see any numbers regarding active players, revenue, costs, etc. all we can do is to speculate (and waste some bandwith in the process that could be better used elsewhere).

[Sandpit]

Thorqemada, on 09 December 2013 - 10:19 AM, said:

I disconnected yesterday bcs i could not stomach more and today i log in and the first match Alpha Lance decides to fight itself instead of the enemy - by god you "PvPers", there is no hell that offers what you deserve!

report them
support@mwomercs.com

[Sug]

Sable, on 09 December 2013 - 08:18 AM, said:

I've also noticed there's a lot of people in here claiming to have left or lost interest in MWO, Which for some reason more than half of them have phoenix package logo's or founders tags. If you guys really left why are you cruising the forums?

Force of habit? I log into the forums several times a day on the hope that someday I'll find some solid information or announcement on the development of this game. Besides a "Here's what we're thinking of working on maybe" post. Sometimes there's an interesting thread but it's mostly the same ideas/arguments/discussions from 2 years ago.

We have tags because:

1) We were excited about the game 2 years ago and bought a Founder's Package.
2) After the UI2.0/CW phase dates (May) went by with no information we got excited about the Phoenix Package because we thought hey maybe they really ARE working on the game.

I'd love to supports this game with my money but I don't intend to buy Saber. I haven't spend any money on MWO since I bought Phoenix and I won't until there is some solid proof of progress in development. I still play a couple matches maybe every other day but again it's out of habit and not because I really enjoy the game anymore. It's more frustrating than fun.

Edited by Sug, 09 December 2013 - 11:18 AM.

[RichAC]

WarHippy, on 09 December 2013 - 09:07 AM, said:

None of my friends or family have a console they all play games on the PC. I am the only one that has consoles and I rarely play them because the people I game with don't have them. Anecdotes are anecdotes and they generally mean very little.

I guess stock prices don't mean anything to you either. Neither does this thread apparently. I'm glad your family is still into computers. I use to have cousins, uncles, friends, even my father playing pc games all day. Noone will even look at a pc now. I don't blame phones, I blame Cheaters and viruses, ruthless corporations, and the fact companies stopped making games, which ruined it all.

Angry birds and LoL is so popular though maybe all is not lost haha. lets all go buy 500 dollar video cards and expensive multi core cpus that nobody programs for.....

Quote

The PC industry is in a slump, but with most industries they have their ups and downs as they adjust to new trends. As for viruses I can tell you as someone who works as a network systems administrator and someone who has been working in the computer industry for fifteen years the majority of the viruses people get are due to them doing things they should not be doing. Yes, some are unavoidable, but that is not the norm like you are trying to indicate.
Are people buying $500 video cards to play LoL? No, but they are buying them to play all sorts of other games that can and do make use of those cards. Your obsession with EA franchises is somewhat telling in how out of touch you are with the PC gaming market. If you really think people are not willing to drop lots of money on PC games just look at Star Citizen where they have already brought in $34 million from player donations for a game that is not even at what I would call alpha stage. The fact you have not heard of the game only indicates you have been living under a rock when it comes to the PC games industry.

Ya, its been in a slump for a decade and still spiraling down....You sound like someone who doesn't believe in global warming either lol. Hopefully it comes out of this slump in our lifetime.

Name some games dude that don't even support dx9 and look good. I can only think of BF3. Its been a few years now is there any others? How bout games that fully utilize at least 4 cpu cores?

Someone else bought up star citizen. First of all I never heard of it, and instead of counting the money why not count the people? Even MWO only needs a couple rich people to support the whole game and keep it alive. Talk about it when it comes out, lets hope it even runs well on most peoples machines, even thought he graphics in STO look much better...

Quote

Of course you were wrong. Steam was never going to do that, but it has been very successful at selling games.

Yep I sure was. Which also means i was wrong for thinking pirated games shouldn't be a problem for these companies, they just can't stop it. Theres no money in pc gaming for them when compared to consoles.

Quote

EA Sports was a better fit on consoles, and frankly it isn't missed on the PC platform. Game companies for all platforms go out of business, or are taken over by other companies all the time this isn't new. Point being I have heard that PCs and PC gaming were headed for the grave since the late 90s and it hasn't happened nor is it going to anytime soon.

Golf is what started gaming on the pc and blew away the graphics on atari in 1986, and is the perfect game to follow the pc's evolution. That all ended in 2008 because of cheaters and piraters. They don't even make a golf game built for new pc hardware anymore dude. That might not matter to you, but its striking and telling and heartbreaking to me. Call me emo or call me crazy, I'll just call you delusional.

Unfortunately, the only people left on computers nowadays are nerds who don't watch sports or played in local parks. Therefore most of them are unsportlike with poor sportsmanship etc... The type of people who most likely resent society and undermine it hoping it crumbles because they've always felt left out. Hacking the **** out of you is their revenge. Housewives, foreigners, people in the computer industry, and criminal hackers is all thats left.
MWO being an exception and I think here to stay tks to its cult following of dedicated fans with lots of money.

But IMO, pc gaming is already in the grave bud and has been for some time.

Edited by RichAC, 09 December 2013 - 11:43 AM.

[Sandpit]

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Unfortunately, the only people left on computers nowadays are nerds who don't watch sports. Therefore most of them are unsportlike with poor sportsmanship etc...

But IMO, pc gaming is already in the grave bud and has been for some time.

I guess Bryan and I tweeting back and forth about Seahawks (Told ya we'd kick their butts at the stick Bryan btw lol) don't count? Nor do my other gaming buddies that I play NCAA and Madden with?

[RichAC]

Sandpit, on 09 December 2013 - 11:39 AM, said:

I guess Bryan and I tweeting back and forth about Seahawks (Told ya we'd kick their butts at the stick Bryan btw lol) don't count? Nor do my other gaming buddies that I play NCAA and Madden with?

I said MWO was an exception, which you guys are probably playing cause you've been a fan of the genre for years. But Too bad they dont' make madden for the pc anymore since 2008.

Edited by RichAC, 09 December 2013 - 11:47 AM.

[poohead]

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Unfortunately, the only people left on computers nowadays are nerds who don't watch sports or played in local parks. Therefore most of them are unsportlike with poor sportsmanship etc... The type of people who most likely resent society and undermine it hoping it crumbles because they've always felt left out. Hacking the **** out of you is their revenge. Housewives, foreigners, people in the computer industry, and criminal hackers is all thats left.

So unless you play sports, you most likely can't behave in a sportsmanlike manner? What an incredibly ignorant and blinkered view.

And housewives, foreigners, people that resent and undermine society...? These people make the gaming community worse? Wow. Just..... Wow.

You need to stop playing sports and exercise your brain.

On topic: I seem to be waiting longer for games, but I rarely see the same people. One thing to think about though is that this could be due to matchmaker tweaks. They don't have to patch to adjust that, so they're probably constantly playing with it. I seem to be having less roflstomps though.

[WarHippy]

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

I guess stock prices don't mean anything to you either. Neither does this thread apparently. I'm glad your family is still into computers. I use to have cousins, uncles, friends, even my father playing pc games all day. Noone will even look at a pc now. Cheaters and viruses, and the fact companies stopped making games, ruined it all.

The stock market is not a great way to judge things in particular after it has been rather chaotic the last six years. As for you cousins, uncles, and friends that is more of that anecdotal information that is no more valid than what I said as the exact opposite of your personal experiences.
Companies stopped making games for the PC? Are you blind, or just deliberately ignorant?

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Angry birds and LoL is so popular though maybe all is not lost haha. lets all go buy 500 dollar video cards and expensive multi core cpus that nobody programs for.....

Just because you are unaware of all the games out there does not mean LoL and Angry Birds are the only ones, nor are the people that buy high end video cards playing just those games.

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Ya, its been in a slump for a decade and still spiraling down....You sound like someone who doesn't believe in global warming either lol. Hopefully it comes out of this slump in our lifetime.

Keep telling yourself that PCs are going away people have only been saying the same nonsense for 15+ years and it hasn't happened.

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Name some games dude that don't even support dx9 and look good. I can only think of BF3. Its been a few years now is there any others? How bout games that fully utilize at least 4 cpu cores?

There are plenty of games that support multiple versions of DX, and plenty that look good just go look for yourself since you clearly have not been keeping up with PC gaming.

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Someone else bought up star citizen. First of all I never heard of it, and instead of counting the money why not count the people? Even MWO only needs a couple rich people to support the whole game and keep it alive. Talk about it when it comes out, lets hope it even runs well on most peoples machines.

You have not heard of it because you have been living under a rock. Looking at your post history on these forums you bring up the dead PC industry all the time, and yet here we are having this idiotic discussion on one of many PC exclusive game forums. According to you nobody makes games for the PC anymore so how could this conversation be happening?

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Yep I sure was. Which also means i was wrong for thinking pirated games shouldn't be a problem for these companies, they just can't stop it. Theres no money in pc gaming for them when compared to consoles.

Piracy is a problem, but there is enough money in PC gaming that people are still making games, and developing new hardware.

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Golf is what started gaming on the pc and blew away the atari in 1986, and is the perfect game to follow the pc's evolution. That all ended in 2008 because of cheaters and piraters. They don't even make a golf game built for new pc hardware anymore dude. That might not matter to you, but its striking and telling and heartbreaking to me. Call me emo or call me crazy, I'll just call you delusional.

Golf started gaming on the PC? Not muds or even later games like Doom and Wolfenstein, but rather golf is what started it? I don't think I have ever seen a best of list, or a list of games that started it all mention golf even once. Sport games have found a good home with consoles if that is your thing I recommend you go get yourself a console, or at the very least go play this. https://www.wgt.com/...=Golf-Search-US

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

Unfortunately, the only people left on computers nowadays are nerds who don't watch sports or played in local parks. Therefore most of them are unsportlike with poor sportsmanship etc... The type of people who most likely resent society and undermine it hoping it crumbles because they've always felt left out. Hacking the **** out of you is their revenge. Housewives, foreigners, people in the computer industry, and criminal hackers is all thats left.
MWO being an exception and I think here to stay tks to its cult following of dedicated fans with lots of money.

So this is kind of like your ignorant thread about how black people don't play PC games, or is it just your way of trying to insult people into submission when you have no argument?

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:30 AM, said:

But IMO, pc gaming is already in the grave bud and has been for some time.

Yet, here we are.

Edited by WarHippy, 09 December 2013 - 12:16 PM.

[Mechteric]

RichAC, on 09 December 2013 - 11:46 AM, said:

I said MWO was an exception, which you guys are probably playing cause you've been a fan of the genre for years. But Too bad they dont' make madden for the pc anymore since 2008.

You're right, they stopped making terrible commodity sports games for the PC. In the meantime we get the best shooters, strategy games, and MMOs.

http://www.game-deba...current%20Users



But this is a terrible argument to be having anyway, too many stupid stories about how the "console is dead" this or "pc is a goner" that. It really doesn't matter.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 09 December 2013 - 12:28 PM.

[RichAC]

WarHippy, on 09 December 2013 - 12:11 PM, said:

The stock market is not a great way to judge things in particular after it has been rather chaotic the last six years. As for you cousins, uncles, and friends that is more of that anecdotal information that is no more valid than what I said as the exact opposite of your personal experiences.
Companies stopped making games for the PC? Are you blind, or just deliberately ignorant?

lol, I think your delusional if you don't think the PC industry as a whole is dying....and has been for some time. The only difference with me is I don't blame phones and ipads for its decline. I BLAME HACKERS AND VIRUSES AND NERDS WHO RESENT AND UNDERMINE SOCIETY.... But its a fact regardless dude.... Ignorance is bliss in your case. http://www.forbes.co...-will-be-worse/

Quote

Just because you are unaware of all the games out there does not mean LoL and Angry Birds are the only ones, nor are the people that buy high end video cards playing just those games.

I've just described two games they stopped making since 2008. Golf games made for new hardware....and football... That means by any company, not just ea sports... They still make soccer, cause I've said only foreigners are left haha. Americans are the biggest targets for hackers and viruses, and cheaters. lol i laugh but its the truth. Americans were the first to use the internet and the first to know when to bail! We know better

Quote

Keep telling yourself that PCs are going away people have only been saying the same nonsense for 15+ years and it hasn't happened.

I've ben saying it for 10+ years lol.

Quote

There are plenty of games that support multiple versions of DX, and plenty that look good just go look for yourself since you clearly have not been keeping up with PC gaming.

I said games that ONLY support dx11 and DO NOT support DX9.... or fully utilize more then 2 cpu cores. I can only name one that I know of BF3, there might be a couple others....but it can't be more then a handful. You again failed to name a single one.

Quote

You have not heard of it because you have been living under a rock. Looking at your post history on these forums you bring up the dead PC industry all the time, and yet here we are having this idiotic discussion on one of many PC exclusive game forums. According to you nobody makes games for the PC anymore so how could this conversation be happening?

lol are you an industry dude? We are in a thread of people asking why noone plays this game. The sad truth is, for pc communities, this one is large haha. I'm explaining why and will be, out of nostalgia, until consoles offer mouse and keyboard, which is all that keeps me pc gaming.

Quote

Piracy is a problem, but there is enough money in PC gaming that people are still making games, and developing new hardware.

When every game is a free to play model or ends up being one, that is telling, If you are under some belief that model means more money for these companies, other then the fact they only need a few people with money to use microstransactions to fund these companies with up to any amount they want, or begging imploding advertisers, your again are the one in a bubble, not me.

Quote

Golf started gaming on the PC? Not muds or even later games like Doom and Wolfenstein, but rather golf is what started it? I don't think I have ever seen a best of list, or a list of games that started it all mention golf even once. Sport games have found a good home with consoles if that is your thing I recommend you go get yourself a console, or at the very least go play this. https://www.wgt.com/...=Golf-Search-US
So this is kind of like your ignorant thread about how black people don't play PC games, or is it just your way of trying to insult people into submission when you have no argument?
Yet, here we are.

Now your trying to put words in my mouth. You must definitely be an industry dude? I said a golf game, World Tour Golf, one of the first EA sports games, is what made pc gaming popular. It was a GOLF game that started gaming on the pc and showed its graphical potentials were far better then the consoles like atari and intellivision. And continued that tradition for over 20 years. Until it ended in 2008. It even had a map editor.

1986 was way before id software my friend....commander keen was a fun game, but they are known for starting first person shooters.

and ya PC gaming is still predominantly white. Sorry this fact also bothers you....nice baiting.

Edited by RichAC, 09 December 2013 - 12:54 PM.

[Kain]

Wow, this thread is entertaining...

Let's speculate about the speculation of decline of server population...

The answer is : we don't know...

Maybe there are a lot of newbies battling in the lower ELO levels, or are the same players during a timeframe pooled together and are more likely to be matched together, or are a lot of other players online, but we don't see them..

Nevertheless there is of course some sort of dropout of players who simply don't play the game as much as they used to anymore,
And of course 12v12 is more difficult to fill up those queues,
But with more gamemodes in the future, the players will be split a lot more, and as long as we can still find matches, the server population looks healthy

Edited by Kain, 09 December 2013 - 12:43 PM.

[RichAC]

Kain, on 09 December 2013 - 12:40 PM, said:

Wow, this thread is entertaining...

Let's speculate about the speculation of decline of server population...

The answer is : we don't know...

Maybe there are a lot of newbies battling in the lower ELO levels, or are the same players during a timeframe pooled together and are more likely to be matched together, or are a lot of other players online, but we don't see them..

Nevertheless there is of course some sort of dropout of players who simply don't play the game as much as they used to anymore,
And of course 12v12 is more difficult to fill up those queues,
But with more gamemodes in the future, the players will be split a lot more, and as long as we can still find matches, the server population looks healthy

ya its the holidays, as another poster pointed out the new consoles just came out, people got bored and are still waiting for community warfare etc... I don't think the hardcore cult following is going anywhere though with this game and the microtransactions are goin to at least keep it online forever. I have no problem finding matches.
I

Edited by RichAC, 09 December 2013 - 12:52 PM.

[BlackBeltJones]

But do you have trouble finding matches in an MMO PC Golf game? There's a new rumor that PC Golf game popularity is the new barometer for PC industry health.