Funcom which person plans your updates and priorities??

[Okkie]

Seriously, you have a massive game with enough PVE contents for new comers to enjoy for years. You also have T4 instances for vets to continue playing.

Why continue focusing on PVE contents?

Who the heck makes the plan for your dev team?

Focus on something that can bring more players and $$$ for you guys.


Example

Unchained Mini should be your top priority along with server merge.

Listen to player suggestion on the unchained mini system.

Allow pug unchained to be free to play, for premade unchained with token drop charge premium. Boom you'd get a ton of old vets and new player to come and play...

DO YOU NOT WANT MONEY??? I don't understand you guys...


Its like a person trying to survive in the wilderness, he/she made plenty of food to eat for weeks and months. Instead of finding water he/she continues to make more food... When people tell him/her what they should do they shun them away and ban them...

[SelfRez]

What is sad that ONE minigame map and unchainced version will not be no where near to make PVP interesting. It will be great for few weeks but wont provide extra meaning to PVP.

[Kurt2013]

Maybe they are simply not believing that you can earn money doing things different?
That's a common attitude not only with game industry and very sticky, even if proven wrong.

In stressful situation people tend to need to sort and focus (which helps a lot, depending on individuals), but otherwise there is no reason to neglect small not hurting updates (or improvements). If the time to focus takes too long or there is no small step improvement, something might be wrong in the system (perception, constant stress, ivory tower syndrome, communication etc.) ... so no way to blame individuals.

From my experience it always helped to at least spent time to ask a few questions for each suggested change:
- can it be done?
- how fast can it be done?
- who will have to do it?
- how much does it cost?
- who will profit?
- who will be hurt?
- how does it earn money?

Now we take one deathmatch mini game for example:

Can be done for sure.
Can be done with using existing maps, placing 2-4 spawnpoints for the teams. It will need some new coding and testing for implementin it in the GUI and writing the "win/loss/stats" clauses/windows. For 2 teams this is quite easy, since most can be copy/pasted from Totem torrent. So one coder will be enough to do it.
Depending on their "tools" one person should be able to do it in onework day and maybe a few more days to show it and test it and a few more to communicate and document it. So calculateable cost. It then can be implemented with the next patch without messing up any other code (there will be only changes in existing code at the mini signup, but that's why we calculated a few days of testing/fixing). This might bring a bit of delay since it might be connected to other changes and patch dates.
Since it will be sandbox pvp content available for all servers, there is the possibility to adress every player interested in pvp. Risk is that it will turnout in a farmfest, but that is the same for other minimaps too. Depending on how they do the unchained games, it should be possible to convert every existing map into that version, so in any case, it will be an addon (which can easily removed or updated, should it not prove worthy on LIVE). Also the maps could rotate.
No one will be hurt actually, though there is a risk, if you make too many at once, the population available for mini games will not be enough to even spread the word and if it is too popular, the other mini queues will be hurt (solveable by cooldowns).
The money part is a bit harder, since now the pvp does not make for easy calculateable income (you can do it as f2p without ever spending any cent to funcom). A direct way would be to add minigame gates to the shop allowing for a temporary or permanent access. Not sure, if that will be successfull though, but could be done, if it included free test periods. THe other income is passive and comes from simply more players and incentive to buy pvp shop gear or get premium while levelling for the AAs or in case of 80s minis to get the "gear". Also you could offer different "loot" depending on f2p or premium and add a multiplicator factor to the rewards, like the op suggested, which would be an incentive to sub, if the pvp was fun.

Sorry for the wall of text, but i hope it illustrated the point. The last part might explain also why f2p revenue and pvp is so blatantly neglected in AoC, because it is not as easy calculateable as just adding up the income from active subs.

Also i agree with SelfRez. Minigames are just a small part of pvp and vary greatly (just compare the existing maps and look which classes are favored there). What is missing is the flexibility taking respect to other players (e.g. now it is "assumed", if you roll on a pvp server, you want to pvp everytime and at best everywhere, which is simply NOT true) and a system for open world pvp (not only a criminal system...some consequence system, reflecting the actions and opening up more options and penalties the further you "progress" on certain roads). Also what has been missing till day 1 was some kind of tournament or arena with player defined rules. All this points would enrich the replay value and fun factor in pvp (for both winning and loosing if done right, not only for the winner as now) a lot.

Sadly the best pvp system can not help, if there is an artificial debuff and inbalance through added latency. So maybe they just think "there is nothing we can do about that anymore, so why bother"...unless there are plans to expand again, when AoC makes more money.

[sgtMassDozer]

The AA's are what is screwing up the pvp in minigames along with the gear curve favoring T4 and pvp teir 2/3 But even then there is no real incentive to play cuz minigames simply aren't that fun unless you know what your doing. in reality Each badge you earn can be turned in for AA points at the PVP barracks. In my opinion remove the cooldown on minigame quest so we can farm them reasonably quick. There is no way in hell TSW is making more money than AoC. They are taking the revenue from age of conan and taking that and putting it to use developing TSW.

Bring back the wandering epic mobs in Khemi like the kraken and put on a 15min timer so we are able to farm and get players teir2 weapons and armor so at least they'll stand a chance in minigames. Increase the rate of AA gain and create ways to obtain armor weapons close but not better then T4. Dont invent ways for everyone to be balanced. focus on playability. Now Director at FC is talking about making MORE AA's and rediculous eye appealing maps and dungeons

The high protection/damage armor is what it takes to be good in PVP so MAYBE just maybe give all new 80 the first teir set of pvp armor, It won't help with having no AA's but it's a start and if they increase the AA gain rate of increase badge drop rate. instead of adding content that dumbs everyone down to the same balance

IDK
It seems to me everything is fine the way it is just
Create quest/items/situations that allow players to gear up faster and AA up faster

On top of that there is really no incentive for players to play minigames currently, you may say for armor but PVE armor will out gun pvp armor anyday and the badge drop rate is not enough to make it worth while i mean it takes like 50 badges for like 3 expertise points or something

a few other things problems minor quirks and things in game that are just absurd. So many over priced venders in AoC just nickle and diming you for what? nothing that's what. 15 silver a piece for hairstyle/dye/tatts are you kidding me? 5 silver a piece for wagoneer routemaps?!? 15 silver for a wagon trip? get real funcom just make these things free

Point is The last real only good update they had was HoC - dragonspine was a bust or at least false hope to me until they release some more content for it

But in all reality the new crafting system to provide a soft cushion against the harsh realities of OP minigame combat. Should create items fairly easily that are at the same level as khitai purple armor of better - but that still leaves the massive AA gap between players and for that i say increase the way to buy AA pots and drop rates ETC.

[Religolibri]

15 silver a piece for hairstyle/dye/tatts are you kidding me? 5 silver a piece for wagoneer routemaps?!? 15 silver for a wagon trip? get real funcom just make these things free

Not on pvp server, the price is what makes people travel around maps, and that mean opportunity to fight. And it adds life to the map too.

[KullOfValusia]

Give it until the next GD letter. Some very big changes should occur by then.

[SelfRez]

Give it until the next GD letter. Some very big changes should occur by then.

We have given it for about dozen GD letters ... Very big nothings coming up

[Naerri]

Point is The last real only good update they had was HoC - dragonspine was a bust or at least false hope to me until they release some more content for it

True, for me personally the time around the HoC update was full of hope that Conan has some future left. It was really cool instance and I was proud to be an AoC player. Dragonspine just lacks this "magic" for me, dunno why, maybe its the setting or whatever. I just dont feel it when I am there

[K4nnyc]

Give it until the next GD letter. Some very big changes should occur by then.

4 years of game directors blagging us with those letters.

They are guilty until they produce some god damn content.

[Nusquam]

Seriously, you have a massive game with enough PVE contents for new comers to enjoy for years. You also have T4 instances for vets to continue playing.

Why continue focusing on PVE contents?

Who the heck makes the plan for your dev team?

Focus on something that can bring more players and $$$ for you guys.


Example

Unchained Mini should be your top priority along with server merge.

Listen to player suggestion on the unchained mini system.

Allow pug unchained to be free to play, for premade unchained with token drop charge premium. Boom you'd get a ton of old vets and new player to come and play...

DO YOU NOT WANT MONEY??? I don't understand you guys...


Its like a person trying to survive in the wilderness, he/she made plenty of food to eat for weeks and months. Instead of finding water he/she continues to make more food... When people tell him/her what they should do they shun them away and ban them...

I've explained the same thing on the TSW forums in the past, but this is the same deal.

We have tools for creating PvE content. Ai scripting, dialogue tools, quest editor, monster brain tool e.t.c

PvP (and insert any other large feature here) requires a significant amount more time and investment. We manually have to code most of the building blocks (the exception being minigames - but you all know the situation with having too many minigames anyway).

PvP features require UI, Code, Scripting, Queuing systems e.t.c as well as all the normal stuff like art and audio.

Dungeons require a boss brain (scripted) and art. Sometimes we make new models.

In terms of general resources within the company from most available to least available it goes something like:
Gameplay/Scripting, Art, Systems, Code.

And I remember when we made something quickly and with very little code work - it was called Shrines of Bori. Apparently the players loved it.

I understand that people are impatient - but I can't magically make resources appear out of thin air.
The team was reduced at the start of the year, we've been working to get stuff done ever since.