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Maybe it’s time we lowered our expectations
autumnwitch
Member Posts: 1,141 Arc User
All good things must come to an end and I think we are seeing this unfold before us now in NW.
Everyone knows that online games don’t last forever. They live in cycles and even the very best will wane and are eventually shuttered. This sadly applies to NW as well.
To be clear, I am not blaming anyone for what looks like the inevitable and even if the end is not as close as I fear, we are closer to the end than we are the beginning now. This is something we all need to accept.
Most of us know that NW is running with a much smaller staff and less resources than it has in the past. This is something that happens to all games as they near their end run.
Neverwinter, as much as it is an adventure to us, is a business and a business has to make money and not just some money. It has to be able to support itself with some leftover for the future. It is clear, by the cutbacks and other things we have seen recently, that right now, NW is being held together by duct tape, bandaids and a lot of wishful thinking.
I see so many people complaining, including myself, about the current state of Neverwinter and I know, deep down, that it really doesn’t matter at this point. I think it’s time we all just take a deep breath and play on the best we can.
We can’t change what’s coming. It’s clear that the powers that be have no intention of making NW right again. That being said, we can still enjoy it for what it is now. It may not be what it was, but there is still some fun in it, some room for enjoyment and a few more unknown roads to travel down on our adventure.
Perhaps, if we can stop shouting at what’s wrong and enjoy the time we have left in Neverwinter, we can look back on this as a journey well loved in our memories.
Boudica's Sisters - A Guild For Introverts
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In the end, we might still be around for a while. "Sinking Ship"-comments have been around for as long as I've played the game, and while it feels more real for me now, they are going to ride the NW train as long as it pays, and it might still do so. Who knows. Maybe slowly running out of content, a mod a year or whatever, it might still make enough money. And it was a good cash cow for a while I'm sure, I bet nobody will pull the plug too fast on this game.
The only question everybody got to ask themselves (me too, of course) is, if they can live with NW as it is right now, without the (imaginary) better outlook that things could change a bit, be better or more exciting again.
Like, you let your fantasy run wild.
Sometimes I fantasize about testing making sense, kinks being ironed out...
While I like overall sound of your post I am sorry but I must disagree with a one of your statements. First of all there are games that last in a pretty good shape since their release - WOW is perfect example - just take a look on "classic" release few weeks ago.
Yes I am aware that there is huge difference between Blizzard and Perfect World/Crytpic
BUT Blizzards is where it is mainly becouse of how they menage to run and keep WoW working.
It wasnt like great company decided to create a good game - its opposite - a good game they created make them great company.
There is another example - The Elder Scrolls Online - game release was pretty much a failure, then its initial year or so was - I guess I wont be wrong if I call it a catastrophe. Still they menaged to REWORK entire game, change the approach to customers and they not only save a game, but make it flourish.
Another important point - Neverwinter is based on D&D. That alone gives it a huge advatage. Not only as D&D setup is more then popular but also - they already have tons of background stories, novels etc that can be used as solid base for years of developmnet - they dont have to figure it out - its out there - jaust peek-code-release.
So as above examples show - there was a chance, and there is a way to keep MMO game up and running.
I am aware that now its much harder then lest say 5 years ago- still some companies can do that.
Sadly Cryptic is not such a company.We do not know all behind a scene stuff here, but somehow I bet that this game had a great chance to be great - just remind yourself a gateway and foundry - there was a huge potential, I bet there was a period in witch it bringed a lot of profit - This game was really one step from greatness - and it was wasted.
In one of my posts somewhere else on this forum I even raised a hypothesis that this game from its very begining was meant to work like advertisement platform for D%D latest products. And becouse of this it newer rised to a position of great MMO game - where it should be.
There is simply no other explanation of such a waisted oportunity, but inetntional act.
Claiming that the different name of the game changes the company abilities actually belongs to some extremely high expectations.
¨˜ˆ”°¹~•-.„¸ρℓαуιиg иєνєяωιитєя ѕιи¢є 2015¸„.-•~¹°”ˆ˜¨
I had a bunch of real life stuff get in the way, and passed leadership off temporally to someone else. they in turn had similar/shared issues in real life and didn't have the time either. they then passed the guild on without permission. the person that then got it stripped the guild bank clean, destroyed all structures, and took all the members to their main guild. i came back to the guild destroyed, my friends all having quit, and I needed a break. I came back in mod 16. it was...different. so I looked to the community. I can't say that what I saw was anything but disheartening. the sentiments in this thread leave me no less empty and sad. I see the community is as disenchanted by what the game is as I am.The fact that so many people are still here talking about it is good, but the fact that all I see is disappointment and complaint is VERY bad. they still have a chance to do something, but i don't think they will. all in all, I'm trying to find the spark of fun again, its just that for me, it's very hard to find. I am in a new guild, with people I have (kinda) known since the beginning. and I am trying to re build my guild on the side.
more than anything I'm just not sure if I can find the enjoyment that made the game fun in the current iteration of the game.
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
Sorry for late response.
It is only my own speculation here, but almost all MODs (almost certain since MOD10) was in fact connected with a release or rework of original D&D materials - like MOD 16 is coresponding with new 5th edition.
So they go hand in hand. And since devs some time now keep complaining about lack of resources they have, it become obvious they are barely can fulfill their obligation for Wizards.
There is also a second reason. Just take a look on facts. D&D is a major brand, but on video games market ist almost non existing. Yes I am aware that Bladur's Gate III is at hand, but there was literally no other games since Neverwinter Nights 2? (some mobile games I dont remember).
In that aspect Neverwinter was kinda a pin on games map indicating that D&D is still out there and it is still about RPG.
For a reasons I cant understand Wizards decided to actually abandon video games market, leaving only Neverwinter behind. And if you try to look from that perspective some things are finally finding explenation... not the one we want, more like you said - tragic.....
That having been said, I have not forgotten the atrocious handling/treatment of the playerbase by Cryptic - not just this year, but going back several years. They are liars, and I do not forgive them for how they - through sheer incompetence - ripped me off and destroyed things that didn't need to be. Frankly, I look forward to the day this game shutters. At least then neither Cryptic nor Perfect World will be able to bamboozle and prey upon players (especially newer ones) with this game, though I fully expect them to pull the same offensive stunts in their future games.
1 - Create a group of haves and have nots
2 - Create a sense of competition between the two groups
Everything we have seen (especially in 2019) is to facilitate the above.
Why?
To get the have nots to spend money to be able to compete with the haves. It's no longer about playing the game because it's fun and has a great story and way to make your toons unique and personal.
It's about making throngs of people resentful of what the elite 10% are doing and thus, forcing them to spend Zen (cash) to catch up with them.