Where is the Developement team?

aandrethegiant · July 2012

Perhaps someone at PW/Cryptic can throw us a bit more than a hint...

where this game REALLY IS in the development cycle.

Thank ya.

vangald · July 2012

In my head I am imagining one of them logging on the forum getting ready to say something. Then they read this thread and say "No. Not today." then proceed to logout. And then I laugh.

I think at this point it has become a watched pot never boils situation.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

vangald wrote: »

In my head I am imagining one of them logging on the forum getting ready to say something. Then they read this thread and say "No. Not today." then proceed to logout. And then I laugh.

I think at this point it has become a watched pot never boils situation.

Definitely feel the same way myself most days, but they did produce another video at least.

Naturally, we have no idea the remaining schedule looks like, or even the next step.

Here's the link:

http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?p=135001

and video:

http://youtu.be/m7tN_yS4GKY

shonsu5320 · July 2012

They said that the version at E3 was pre-Alpha so perhaps they are in Alpha now (which is now really Beta).

macabrivs · July 2012

And they took a month to build that video ?? coz E3 ended 1 month ago.....

Marketing is not cryptic and PW thing.... just saying

gillrmn · July 2012

The dev team has prepared zero calorie diet on information for us. Hope they keep enough calories in information so that we don't die and become a skeleton, but I am not sure if dev in charge is a necromancer or not.

gillrmn · July 2012

shonsu5320 wrote: »

They said that the version at E3 was pre-Alpha so perhaps they are in Alpha now (which is now really Beta).

It can be pre-beta after an alpha. Or they can name it SB just like CB(closed beta) and OB(open beta) - SB:Soon beta.

stormdrag0n · July 2012

At this point I believe that they are working their asses off to meet a deadline. From what I have heard both PWE and WotC have high expectations for this title.

stormdrag0n · July 2012

macabrivs wrote: »

And they took a month to build that video ?? coz E3 ended 1 month ago.....

Marketing is not cryptic and PW thing.... just saying

Honestly I'm glad that marketing and hype isn't their thing I have had enough of that from the last three MMO's I played to last me a lifetime.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

Any momentum that E3 has granted PW/Cryptic/this community (personally I think E3 was less effective than PAXEast for this game, as the energy died almost before it began), is now DEAD.

The little awards dont mean anything in the big picture, as its the awards after the game is COMPLETE that do.

But now is not the time for Cryptic to be mum. Not only is the majority of the current Neverwinter forum community disenfranchised, but the majority of guild leaders I've spoken to in DDO are very down on the aspects of expanding their guilds mainly because of Cryptic's subpar past of listening to their gaming communities wishes/desires/ideas and the current mum state of Neverwinter.

I have mobilized our guild, and are currently getting a vibe on who wants to try Neverwinter out. Its been very positive, with over 90% stating they might or will give Neverwinter a chance.

Do you see the disconnect? It takes COMMUNICATION to build interest. Not trade show awards from internet websites just trying to build their OWN prestige. It takes "grass roots" old school communication. No place better than the Neverwinter website. The lack of it speaks volumes.

NO ONE is going to remember ANY gamer site interview done years down the road. Cryptic PR will be judged by Neverwinter gamers on how well it communicates RIGHT HERE, on the Neverwinter forums.

stormdrag0n · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Any momentum that E3 has granted PW/Cryptic/this community (personally I think E3 was less effective than PAXEast for this game, as the energy died almost before it began), is now DEAD.

The little awards dont mean anything in the big picture, as its the awards after the game is COMPLETE that do.

But now is not the time for Cryptic to be mum. Not only is the majority of the current Neverwinter forum community disenfranchised, but the majority of guild leaders I've spoken to in DDO are very down on the aspects of expanding their guilds mainly because of Cryptic's subpar past of listening to their gaming communities wishes/desires/ideas and the current mum state of Neverwinter.

I have mobilized our guild, and are currently getting a vibe on who wants to try Neverwinter out. Its been very positive, with over 90% stating they might or will give Neverwinter a chance.

Do you see the disconnect? It takes COMMUNICATION to build interest. Not trade show awards from internet websites just trying to build their OWN prestige. It takes "grass roots" old school communication. No place better than the Neverwinter website. The lack of it speaks volumes.

NO ONE is going to remember ANY gamer site interview done years down the road. Cryptic PR will be judged by Neverwinter gamers on how well it communicates RIGHT HERE, on the Neverwinter forums.

Once again you are placing way too much importance on guilds. The bottom line is if Neverwinter is fun to play no one will care how much Cryptic did or didn't communicate with guilds or this forum community.

They don't have to buy a box or pay a sub all they have to do is download and try it which most people who is interested will do regardless. Sub based games have to try and kiss HAMSTER before hand because they want those box sales.

Cryptic doesn't have that worry, every person I have talked to that has had hands on time with Neverwinter says it's an addictive fun MMO, if people like it which it looks like they will the cash shop will do extremely well and the game will be a hit.

I think that's what's pissing off a lot of these guilds....they aren't being wooed Cryptic is instead just working on polishing their game.

This all might blow up in their faces...but I don't think so and honestly it's nice to see a MMo that doesn't have it's core little clique of favorites eight months before the game is even launched.

kyllroy2 · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Any momentum that E3 has granted PW/Cryptic/this community (personally I think E3 was less effective than PAXEast for this game, as the energy died almost before it began), is now DEAD.

The little awards dont mean anything in the big picture, as its the awards after the game is COMPLETE that do.

But now is not the time for Cryptic to be mum. Not only is the majority of the current Neverwinter forum community disenfranchised, but the majority of guild leaders I've spoken to in DDO are very down on the aspects of expanding their guilds mainly because of Cryptic's subpar past of listening to their gaming communities wishes/desires/ideas and the current mum state of Neverwinter.

I have mobilized our guild, and are currently getting a vibe on who wants to try Neverwinter out. Its been very positive, with over 90% stating they might or will give Neverwinter a chance.

Do you see the disconnect? It takes COMMUNICATION to build interest. Not trade show awards from internet websites just trying to build their OWN prestige. It takes "grass roots" old school communication. No place better than the Neverwinter website. The lack of it speaks volumes.

NO ONE is going to remember ANY gamer site interview done years down the road. Cryptic PR will be judged by Neverwinter gamers on how well it communicates RIGHT HERE, on the Neverwinter forums.

I have been going to game conventions for 30+ years and IMO it takes both the industry icons and the development team to launch a big presentation.
Problem here is that most of that momentum was lost in extending the finish date by 1 1/2 years. They are playing catch up with the player base and not making sweet loving romance.

I.E. We still feel jilted from the engagement. Neglect is making us pine for the fijords.

devoteoftempus · July 2012

Game is not dead by any means they've showed some eye candy stuff that's it, we're likely just spoiled between SWTOR, GW2, TSW massive hype building. Hell even DDO's xpac was pretty much off the radar the entire time. DDO and NWN community will be minimal to the population contribution of Neverwinter. There is lack of interest as there is very little for people to get interested with the lack of details of the game. And right now it's prolly best to lay low, summer is here and many are doing summer thing along with TSW just got released and GW2 is soon to be released. During the fall I expect some serious hyping but prolly not much before then.

Sure it's aggravating having zero info being given out but this is the case for any game in development by their followers. TSW I really cared a rats HAMSTER about but if I followed it then I'd prolly had the same sentiments that I have here for Neverwinter. Fans are never happy.

And really any awards mean absolute HAMSTER, prime example SWTOR. Piece of HAMSTER game even though it has numerous awards before and after launch.

It is precisely these trade show awards, interviews at these major gamer sites, podcasts that they will outreach people. People here are a sure thing already. What they really need though is some dev articles/journals but again there is not much info to go off which can be summed up in a good couple of sentences.

As long as they get their HAMSTER together and present their information effectively then people will come in droves no matter how much they might talk on the forums here. Here is not a marketing spot but out there at other sites where people go "Made by Cryptic? Pffft ain't gonna waste my time."

People need to quite getting their panties in a bundle, sure it's aggravating em not being forthcoming but they have a major presentation in Aug when the unveiling of the Foundry, much will hinge on that I reckon. Not to mention there are many things that need to be tweaked out like healing mechanics. All we have atm is just some teaser stuff and that is normal for any game. Release date isn't even announced yet and the projected window is still a long ways away.

stormshade · July 2012

More information is coming guys. Just hang in there!

We've got screenshots, dev blogs, State of the Game reports, and tons of other great stuff planned to start appearing very soon.

Plus, it's convention season, which means LOTS of previews.

Cheers,

Stormshade

aandrethegiant · July 2012

stormdrag0n wrote: »

Once again you are placing way too much importance on guilds.

Strong guilds WILL = a strong game in this case, you will see (but probably wont get it). D&D is a team sport. In DDO, with approximately 80,000 guilds, or groups of players spanning the 5 current servers, to call that large a demographic somehow unimportant is delusional. I disagree entirely with what you have said here.

I have spoken to many pugs (you'll understand that term soon too, if you dont already) and their lack of enthusiasm for Neverwinter, because of Cryptic's past and present behavior relating to player base communication, is basically the same.

The time for communicating with the community here is PAST DUE. It is not too early, with game release promised each and every time by end of Q4 2012.

The few people who accept Cryptic's behavior, and then minimize the importance of this forum's existence is a shame, because its the exact same attitude taken by Cryptic's own "mod team."

To ignore the DDO community, with many 10's of thousands of potential clients waiting for ANYTHING D&D related thats not Turbine, and the entire Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 communities would be suicide in my eyes. And that's exactly who they are affecting by their silence, and misleading commentary when they do speak.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

stormshade wrote: »

More information is coming guys. Just hang in there!

We've got screenshots, dev blogs, State of the Game reports, and tons of other great stuff planned to start appearing very soon.

Plus, it's convention season, which means LOTS of previews.

Cheers,

Stormshade

That's good to hear Stormshade, but soon (r) doesnt sell shares.

I certainly do appreciate the heads up, and look forward to the dev blogs and state of the game reports.

In fact, I hope you make Neverwinter your new "Standard" for playerbase communication and game development excellence, that all future projects will be required to emulate.

Proof is in the prima facie.

vindevereauxx · July 2012

stormdrag0n wrote: »

Once again you are placing way too much importance on guilds. The bottom line is if Neverwinter is fun to play no one will care how much Cryptic did or didn't communicate with guilds or this forum community.

They don't have to buy a box or pay a sub all they have to do is download and try it which most people who is interested will do regardless. Sub based games have to try and kiss HAMSTER before hand because they want those box sales.

Cryptic doesn't have that worry, every person I have talked to that has had hands on time with Neverwinter says it's an addictive fun MMO, if people like it which it looks like they will the cash shop will do extremely well and the game will be a hit.

I think that's what's pissing off a lot of these guilds....they aren't being wooed Cryptic is instead just working on polishing their game.

This all might blow up in their faces...but I don't think so and honestly it's nice to see a MMo that doesn't have it's core little clique of favorites eight months before the game is even launched.

QFT

There is way more to this player base than what will be poached from DDO. if the only players Neverwinter gets are ex-DDO players, the game will be so tiny that it will surely fail. They need to work on getting more info out to more prospective players- it would be nice if we had more info, but if they're spending more time trying to build their community (which requires getting new people, not just currying favor with existing people) I'm fine with that. I'd rather have a game with a lot of new people than a game with just a few guilds. That would be boring as.

I'm excited about this game, and nothing's going to change that- if they keep mum for months, I'm still gonna be like hell yeah NEVERWINTER! I understand that not everyone has that kind of patience or enthusiasm, but I doubt that people will ditch the game entirely because they're not being 100% focused on. And if they do, consider it a successful pruning.

stormdrag0n · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Strong guilds WILL = a strong game in this case, you will see (but probably wont get it). D&D is a team sport. In DDO, with approximately 80,000 guilds, or groups of players spanning the 5 current servers, to call that large a demographic somehow unimportant is delusional. I disagree entirely with what you have said here.

I have spoken to many pugs (you'll understand that term soon too, if you dont already) and their lack of enthusiasm for Neverwinter, because of Cryptic's past and present behavior relating to player base communication, is basically the same.

The time for communicating with the community here is PAST DUE. It is not too early, with game release promised each and every time by end of Q4 2012.

The few people who accept Cryptic's behavior, and then minimize the importance of this forum's existence is a shame, because its the exact same attitude taken by Cryptic's own "mod team."

To ignore the DDO community, with many 10's of thousands of potential clients waiting for ANYTHING D&D related thats not Turbine, and the entire Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 communities would be suicide in my eyes. And that's exactly who they are affecting by their silence, and misleading commentary when they do speak.

Couple points

I have been playing MMO's since the UO beta....I have been leading raids since EQ, so I'm quite familiar with the terminology.

D&D isn't a sport, if you think it is then I don't think that there is much help for you, also group dynamics is a very tiny part of the MMO culture these days.

You have this frame of mind that the DDO community is going to be this games bread and butter....and I'm afraid you are mistaken, there will be a very diverse audience, Neverwinter nights fans Baldurs gate fans...D&D fans in general...there isn't going to be a chosen demographic, just a collection of players that likes the game or not.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

stormdrag0n wrote: »

D&D isn't a sport.

You left out the word team. The rest of your argument is reading compensation fail.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

vindevereauxx wrote: »

if the only players Neverwinter gets are ex-DDO players, the game will be so tiny that it will surely fail.

Again, reading comprehension fail.

I say they should absolutely be trying to lure DDO and Neverwinter Nights players. To not do so would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot.

What would be the point of not trying to attract business from their closest D&D MMO competitor (DDO) and from former Neverwinter Nights 1&2 communities (after all this game did take the Neverwinter namesake).

This game WILL have many former DDO and Neverwinter Nights players seeking their visions of the perfect D&D online experience. Combined with old Pen and paper players as well as the younger MMO crowd looking to D&D for the first time... there's much marketing to be done, which I just don't see happening.

I believe they have missed big marketing opportunities, up until now. Now this can all change for the better if Stormshade is given the green light to release some real news, like he has said in this thread, and many many times before.

enderlin50 · July 2012

Class / Race list would be awesome

devoteoftempus · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Strong guilds WILL = a strong game in this case, you will see (but probably wont get it). D&D is a team sport. In DDO, with approximately 80,000 guilds, or groups of players spanning the 5 current servers, to call that large a demographic somehow unimportant is delusional. I disagree entirely with what you have said here.

I have spoken to many pugs (you'll understand that term soon too, if you dont already) and their lack of enthusiasm for Neverwinter, because of Cryptic's past and present behavior relating to player base communication, is basically the same.

The time for communicating with the community here is PAST DUE. It is not too early, with game release promised each and every time by end of Q4 2012.

The few people who accept Cryptic's behavior, and then minimize the importance of this forum's existence is a shame, because its the exact same attitude taken by Cryptic's own "mod team."

To ignore the DDO community, with many 10's of thousands of potential clients waiting for ANYTHING D&D related thats not Turbine, and the entire Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 communities would be suicide in my eyes. And that's exactly who they are affecting by their silence, and misleading commentary when they do speak.

No game has ever been ran by guilds. DDO is an easily puggable MMO as the difficulty isn't all that great to stick to an effective guild. EVE is a game ran by guilds or in their terms corperations. Team sport? Laughable, all it takes is exploits or the right tactic. I've seen tremendous more team work in WoW and people call that simplistic. And DDO isn't very large pop... at all.

Actually most people who have played Cryptic games think the support is good, what bite Cryptic in the HAMSTER is how there MMOs were "meh" and the MMO assembly line stigmata was formed. Fast production, bland results. THAT is what they are trying to overcome.

Did it ever occur to you that they are not targeting solely D&D fans? With the format of the game there will be too much differentation that fans of the franchise will be up in arms. Not to mention 4e is a HIGHLY unpopular edition and that WotC is already working on 5e. They are targeting a wide audiance, as much as they can. They are targeting anyone who enjoys a fantasy MMO and enjoys lore and creating things, be it Rift, WoW, ***, DDO, or what have you. And personally if they ignore the DDO crowd the better then. So stop preaching that Neverwinter's success hinges on that community cause it won't.

You can scream all you want till your face turns blue and guess what? Your still not gonna get the reaction from Cryptic that you want. They will release info and do their talks when they're damn well ready to and no one here is going to change that.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

devoteoftempus wrote: »

No game has ever been ran by guilds.

Complete misrepresentation of what was said. Almost stopped reading here. Should have. Simple solution tho, good luck soloing.

devoteoftempus wrote: »

EVE is a game ran by guilds

Didn't you just say .... never mind....

devoteoftempus wrote: »

Team sport? Laughable, all it takes is exploits or the right tactic.

Nerds dont play sports, and they take everything literal. Got that. D&D IS a group based form of entertainment. Does that satisfy your milk mustache?

Exploits? Oh so you like to cheat. Now there's a white knuckle ride through Shockerville. The right tactic? You like to do everything by yourself heh? TMI baby!

devoteoftempus wrote: »

You can scream all you want till your face turns blue........

No one is screaming, you failed to read again.

stormshade wrote: »

More information is coming guys. Just hang in there!

We've got screenshots, dev blogs, State of the Game reports, and tons of other great stuff planned to start appearing very soon.

Plus, it's convention season, which means LOTS of previews.

Cheers,

Stormshade

This was a worthwhile outcome of the thread I believe. Proved to me they are listening, and are forming a method of communication around what's being requested.

The only moral of this thread is simply this: Its time to get past the soon.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

enderlin50 wrote: »

Class / Race list would be awesome

Check this link, that's all we know so far:

Neverwinter Online New Users FAQ
http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=5211

aandrethegiant · July 2012

stormdrag0n wrote: »

D&D isn't a sport

Really? Did you think I meant it was a sanctioned sport? REALLY?

stormdrag0n wrote: »

group dynamics is a very tiny part of the MMO culture these days.

Its not only huge but the dominant fashion in which parties are run. At least in D&D online entertainment.

stormdrag0n wrote: »

You have this frame of mind that the DDO community is going to be this games bread and butter....

It will be one of the major ones. But there will be many other groups of like-minded folks. Those that played Neverwinter Nights, pre 4e pen and paper aficionados, 4e pnp players looking forward to finally having 4e computer based D&D experience, those that like RPGs that will be trying out an MMO for the first time, those that come from non-D&D related MMOs, and it goes on and on. Ages 10-65+ Cryptic is going to be doing business with all these demographics and more.

stormdrag0n wrote: »

there will be a very diverse audience, Neverwinter nights fans Baldurs gate fans...D&D fans in general...there isn't going to be a chosen demographic, just a collection of players that likes the game or not.

Thats exactly what Im saying. What you arent getting is they need to start marketing and communicating to these different mindsets. Because sometimes the mindsets overlap, and sometimes they are looking for entirely different implementations.

gillrmn · July 2012

stormshade wrote: »

More information is coming guys. Just hang in there!

...

Nice to hear that (and without the dreaded soon word...)

Regarding the discussion above I will drop my opinions and run away :-)

- Guilds are important part of MMOs whether or not you join them.
- Role-play is very very important (beating my own trumpet here

)
- Ex-DDO players is a large playerbase and cannot be ignored (almost everyone who really loves D&D has played DDO at least once.(and other games like BG,NWN,Daggerdale etc.)
- Teams are important. Even if content can be made such that it can be soloed in absence of team, teams will still be better.
- Group dynamics is still important part of MMO and can not be ignored. Check most games and see that they stress the importance of group play, teams and connecting together. That is what differentiates single player and MMOs.

p.s. Don't play the one in red if you haven't. Do yourself a favor.

gillrmn · July 2012

I had a weird dream during my afternoon nap. Maybe it was this thread so I will post here

Scene: inside an inn. There are hirelings standing with a party. You are a cleric with a mace and an inventory full of all goodies and components. You are well rested.
You: Walk over and use a NPC
NPC1: There are no quests.
You: Walk over another NPC and use
NPC2: There are no quests.
...
NPC20: (standing outside in the town) There are no quests currently available.
You: This one seems to talk differently. Maybe use again?
[After talking to NPC20 for 300 times]
NPC20: Stop poking me. Quests are coming soon.
...
...
*You poke NPC20*

testinukke · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Do you see the disconnect? It takes COMMUNICATION to build interest. Not trade show awards from internet websites just trying to build their OWN prestige. It takes "grass roots" old school communication. No place better than the Neverwinter website. The lack of it speaks volumes.

I agree. I don't give any weight to any of the tradeshow awards and very little to professional reviews. I mean what game isn't going to have some site awarding something to it or giving it a good review?

The things that I appreciate are communication and honesty. I don't care about flowery hype words and I absolutely loathe cinematic trailers because no game is going to match the marketing hype around it or the feeling or look of a well made CGI trailer. I want details. I want facts. Most of all I want personal experience with the game. I'm a demanding and largely disillusioned gamer. You can't sell me the same old in a shiny new package and expect me to like it. I want a proof that the game truly matches its promises.

I largely ignore and forget games while they are in development unless there's a really good developer-community relationship going that keeps me intrigued. As a fan I want to feel like I'm important! I want to see developers are dedicated to their fans and wish to interact with us rather than see us as a nuisance. Honestly it doesn't happen that often so games like Neverwinter where even community manager is largely absent tend to drop off radar fast. That being said even if I did miss the release I'm sure I'll end up trying the game once the gamer grapevine ends up reminding me about it.

stormdrag0n · July 2012

aandrethegiant wrote: »

Really? Did you think I meant it was a sanctioned sport? REALLY?

Its not only huge but the dominant fashion in which parties are run. At least in D&D online entertainment.

It will be one of the major ones. But there will be many other groups of like-minded folks. Those that played Neverwinter Nights, pre 4e pen and paper aficionados, 4e pnp players looking forward to finally having 4e computer based D&D experience, those that like RPGs that will be trying out an MMO for the first time, those that come from non-D&D related MMOs, and it goes on and on. Ages 10-65+ Cryptic is going to be doing business with all these demographics and more.

Thats exactly what Im saying. What you arent getting is they need to start marketing and communicating to these different mindsets. Because sometimes the mindsets overlap, and sometimes they are looking for entirely different implementations.

The way you are getting so worked up over this is pretty much laughable,(and please stop denying that you are because it's pretty apparent) you call others nerds in your replies but you are the only one here getting your pants in a bunch over a game and you are the one that keeps trying (and failing I might add) to be some sort of voice of the community..

This game will basically be about solo or Duoing through the level game with grabbing a few friends or joining a pug for the dungeon delves...no one is going to think that much about guilds or parties......and if they do a group finder no one will think about them at all.

Further, you keep thumping your chest about the DDO community, I have been part of that community since Ken Troop asked my RPGA group to participate in the friends and family test, and while grouping and guilds were essential when the game launched it really isn't that way anymore, right now I am pugging most of the MotU content.

As far as the marketing goes they will do it when they decide to do it, they sky isn't falling and the clock isn't ticking ...at least not to most rational people here.

zebular · July 2012

I too, normally, forget about the development of games when there is a major lack of social interaction from the development and service teams from mmos. While I may occasionally enjoy videos and reports from conventions, I really would much rather have written details and communication about the game.

The only two reasons why I have been able to stay excited about Neverwinter is because:

1) I am patient.
2) I have been playing PnP Forgotten Realms for nearly 20 years and ever since DDO was announced back when, I had been stating off and on how horrible an idea it was to make it Eberron (a little-known and brand new campaign setting) rather than the well established and much adored Forgotten Realms.

So yes, conventions do little for my insatiable NWO appetite but I have a deep love, fascination, dedication, and patience for Neverwinter. I would rather suffer my appetite and see NWO come to fruition as the best-released MMO to date than to see it rushed because of fan decrees of impatience.

aandrethegiant · July 2012

The few in here who think I'm somehow getting my grappling trunks in a bunch clearly do not get the gist of my thread and are picking apart pieces and interpreting them the way they want it to read.

zebular wrote: »

I too, normally, forget about the development of games when there is a major lack of social interaction from the development and service teams from mmos. While I may occasionally enjoy videos and reports from conventions, I really would much rather have written details and communication about the game.

The only two reasons why I have been able to stay excited about Neverwinter is because:

1) I am patient.
2) I have been playing PnP Forgotten Realms for nearly 20 years and ever since DDO was announced back when, I had been stating off and on how horrible an idea it was to make it Eberron (a little-known and brand new campaign setting) rather than the well established and much adored Forgotten Realms.

So yes, conventions do little for my insatiable NWO appetite but I have a deep love, fascination, dedication, and patience for Neverwinter. I would rather suffer my appetite and see NWO come to fruition as the best-released MMO to date than to see it rushed because of fan decrees of impatience.

Similar to you Zeb, I too am patient. Very patient. In fact I've spent much time planning for this game release, so I'm going NOWHERE.

Also like you, I've played in the Forgotten Realms for many years. I started pnp in 1978 and stopped at 3.5.

I too was dissatisfied when Eberron was chosen over the Forgotten Realms. The current FR content from Turbine is outstanding however, and its clear to someone who has been playing DDO from the start that Turbine made a mistake not embracing the FR AND THE PnP community. If Turbine spoke more often about adhering to 3.5e rules (and followed up with the necessary development), instead of trying to avoid the subject, they would of attracted and kept many more PnP'ers then they did.

When the USELESS Atari (Atari did NO promotion as contracted, hell they didnt even put a DDO logo on their corporate webpage!!) got the boot and WB took over, it let Turbine make decisions, which has been instrumental to their success. Make no mistake, Turbine is stronger then ever now, a blockbuster success and a model for many F2P American MMO developers.

Cryptic has a LOT IN COMMON with Turbine (aka Atari calling the shots during production), and sadly is making some of the same mistakes. These commonalities:

1. The early promotion of 4e then subsequent push away from said edition

2. the lackadaisical/nonexistent marketing

3. the dismal forum communication (its much worse actually than Turbine's early efforts).

4. potential trouble attracting and keeping the interest of the huge past and present D&D pnp demographic

Neverwinter, like DDO, needs to find its niche, and its voice. They need to add features and promote features that will attract core demographics. Do they want current & former D&D pnpers? Do they want Neverwinter Nights I and II communities? Do they want to "sell their product" to RPGers and prove a D&D MMO with group features can give a more realistic D&D experience? Do they want to "sell their product" to a younger MMO audience as the ORIGINAL dungeon experience, in which every other dungeon crawling game was influenced by?

These are just a few strong marketing ideas that can move forward via communication, via in this forum and outside gamer sites. And they can attract a more serious, longer paying playerbase then just throwing a can of paint out of the window and hoping it covers most of the sidewalk.

Now that doesnt sound like someone wetting a diaper now does it?

Where is the Developement team?

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