Change is always great unless you are the one who is
on the losing end of the curve. I know it is easy to
think that 'they don't need to change' and they will
do just fine. Sadly ... that is not how any succeful
compapy grows. Its frustration thinking 'I bought this
game and now I cannot even use it anymore.' I did
upgrade over the required limits ... and I know other
people cannot and Im sorry that happens. Honest ...
BUT .. technology changes and companies have to grow
with it. Last time I looked the 8 track player is no
longer supported nor reel to reel tape. Am radio still
exist but is not a serious market. Beta lost out to
VCR's and DVD not laser disk is the current standard.
Each had a loyal customer base and many resented and
hated the change over. Anyone know of any successful
companies that said .... NO ,, sorry .. we are not
changing nor upgrading to the new standards? I know a
few that got washed out of the market trying to do
that but none that succeded.
So I guess the question is are we debating whats best
for the individual ... non upgradable ... customers or
for the EQ base now and in the near future. I hate the
lose of one player and fellow adventurer because of
changing standards. I would hate MORE for EQ to fall
behind industry standards and ALL of use lose this
game we love so much. Yes you can add more zones and
change things around but if the technology gets too
behind the curve we all lose out. Its one of the
hateful things about computers .. they change and grow
very quickly. Technology seldom lasts 3 years before
being outmoded to almost a non suppost level. It sucks
.. yea ... but it IS THAT WAY. I upgraded my computer
to give the old RAM <256> and VID CARD to my EQ
partner in crime. I am seeing friends and guild
members not getting on cause of the chages .. and some
of the changes I do not like myself. However, I know
that growth is good and not everything will be as a
few people want it. So we grow with it ... or accept
the change and move on to other things. Yes ... I to
would complain if I got left behind. I would hope the
game would go on rather than die out in a backwater
attempt to hold back the changes they can be leading.
Living the dream in Karana ...
--------------------------------------------------
--- "Whitmore, Lance" <
lwhitmore@...> wrote:
> I'm sure they did su.. Can't compare EQ to Sims..
> That's apples to
> oranges.. They are totally different in aspect from
> to design. Your missing
> the point though, the 3D-gaming industry is going
> through many changes atm.
> Not to mention a phase out of an operating system.
> They will all feel the
> crunch from now on. But in the end, that's a good
> thing.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Su [mailto:suceress@...]
> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2001 3:21 PM
> To: EverQuest@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [EverQuest] I hate Shadows of Luclin
> and I don't even own it
> yet...
>
>
> I'm not saying they shouldn't change at all, but I
> think they should try to
> consider their current customer base and what
> systems they have before
> making drastic changes. Look at Sims. They make
> expansion packs but they
> don't require you to change your system everytime a
> new expansion comes out.
> Considering how addictive EQ is, even without the
> new graphics engines
> people would still be playing. They could still add
> to the game by making
> new zones and such without requiring a change in
> directx programs. They
> could find other ways to make the game better
> without changing the system
> requirements so drastically. What if they expanded
> the game one day and
> changed the system requirements to the point that
> you could not afford to
> upgrade? What then? Would you be a happy camper?
> While verant may be getting
> a few more customers who can handle the higher end
> requirements, they are
> alienating older customers with lower end systems.
> In the long run, that
> kind of attitude toward customers is bad for
> business. If Verant doesn't
> give a fuck about their current customers then they
> will start to lose
> business. If I were the VP I would find some way so
> that there would be some
> servers set aside so that the lower end systems
> could still play on them--
> which is what the GMs have been suggesting. And I
> certainly wouldn't release
> a game full of bugs before it had been fully tested.
> I would also have
> research done and surveys to find out just how many
> people would no longer
> be able to play with their current systems and
> factor that into my decision
> on what types of changes could be made without
> alienating a large customer
> base. Change is important in some regard, but so is
> reliability and
> integrity. So far, Verant seems to be lacking the
> latter two. -Su
>
> > As a paying customer, I do not want EQ to just
> survive. I want EQ to
> strive
> > to be the best game available. No one wants to
> play a so-so game. I
> > can guarantee you, EQ would not be afloat if they
> had not made any or
> > even a
> few
> > of the upgrades / expansions they have done. I
> would hate to think of
> > 3 years of EQ with no upgrades or expansions. Do
> you honestly think EQ
> > would still be played to today if it were still
> the original EQ of 3
> > years ago? NOWAY ! EQ would be around right now.
> But since Verant
> > choose to continue
> to
> > grow, they still have a strong player base. Sure,
> some might quit due
> > to
> the
> > new requirements, but it is better than being out
> of business if
> > they'd
> sat
> > on their ass and count the money for the first 1
> year.
> >
> > Thank God Su was not a VP at Verant at the time of
> EverQuest release
> > or
> we'd
> > be lining up to kill Vox and Naggy for the
> 1,000,000th time.
> >
> > I don't really want Verant to waste my $9.95 a
> month trying to figure
> > out
> a
> > way for DirectX8 to work on your 8 MB video card
> or your neighbors
> > WIN95 system. I hope they spend my monthly service
> fee making the game
> > better. I hope they keep upgrading the EQ world.
> You notice, this is
> > the exact opposite things you want. Change is good
> when it comes in
> > the form of an upgrade :-) I think that for every
> person that quits EQ
> > because of the new requirements, they keep 2
> people playing for months
> > longer by making the more enjoyable. People will
> and do quit after
> > doing everything there is to do in EQ.
> >
> > It is crazy for people to think that a company
> should hold back and
> > try
> not
> > to be the best game out on the market. As time
> goes on the bar that
> > games get measured on will continue to grow. As it
> grows, new
> > requirements are
> not
> > an option, but a necessity, a must. Once Verant
> knew the release of
> DirectX
> > 8, they knew that they MUST use DirectX8 if they
> wanted to continue to
> move
> > forward and strive to be the best game out on the
> market. As a paying
> > customer, (some paying more than others) you would
> have to be crazy
> > not to want the same thing. I love the new
> graphics and sure, I had to
> > do some upgrading, but damn, look at the zones
> today compared to 3
> > years ago, what
> a
> > change.
> >
> > I guess you really don't understand Su, these
> changes are really not
> > for
> the
> > fun of it or for show. They are a must. The vast
> majority of Verant's
> > customer base demands that Verant provides the
> best game possible. The
> best
> > graphics, the best detail, the best way to
> interact with the fellow
> players,
> > the best dynamic role playing world and the best
> customer service. Do
> > I think Verant is the best at all these? No, but
> atleast I know they
> > are striving to be the best. Verant knew that
> without DirectX8, they
> > couldn't
> be
> > the best for long. As time goes on, all the best
> games will be running
> > the current DirectX.
> >
> > SoL left 2 out 3 of my household computers
> unplayable. My son, who
> > also plays EQ, doesn't have a playable computer
> now. Even though
> > Verant might have released SoL a little early and
> untested, I am happy
> > they released
> when
> > they did, just before Christmas. Perfect timing
> for the many people
> > that will ask their parents, spouses,
> grandparents, aunts and uncles (
> > Mu,
> Chase
> > needs another stick of RAM for Christmas ) for
> their upgrades.
> > Computers
> get
> > outdated just like games do and if expect to play
> the most popular
> > games, you'll have to keep your machine updated.
> Just be thankful
>
=== message truncated ===
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