Forums » General Pantheon Discussion

• Feastycentral

  

  • 146 posts
   

  October 31, 2023 11:17 AM PDT

  I know most of the community will disagree with this, but I genuinely feel 247 is the correct path forward for VR. It's a big gamble, but because of the devs we have I feel it will pay off. There is one caveat I must mention when I imagine the success of this game mode, and it's that it must remain as true to the MMO gameplay as possible. According to Joppa's responses in the Q&A, I believe this is the case, but I'm not a PA tester and have no way to know for sure.
  
  
  
  So why is it an optics issue? Everyone likes to point out the games that failed when trying to put out a side game for extra revenue or testing. Apocalypse, Ragnarok, Landmark, Squadron 42, and any others I missed. However, one that isn't discussed is Arena Commander. Why? Because it was released as a game mode (or module to use their terminology) that is a pre-release of the game itself. It's not a side game. It is a small portion of the actual game released on it's own for testing. Before it was released, Star Citizen had raised about 45 million. By the end of that year they had about 60 million. By my standards that seems like a success.
  
  
  
  I'm not being naive and trying to compare Star Citizen funding and interest to Pantheon. What I am trying to show is that it still had thousands of players, and not nearly the backlash Pantheon received essentially trying to do the same thing. The difference between Arena Commander and all those other attempts is that those games were not the true game. Arena Commander was. 247 could potentially be as well.
  
  
  
  What does this have to do with 247? If VR introduced this as a super hardcore version of the game itself with instanced versions of the zones/areas being worked on, people would be way more excited. They wouldn't be playing an extraction mode, but testing/playing specific zones and areas. The hardcore part coming from limiting groups to 4 instead of the intended 6 (and explaining the reasoning, as Joppa did), removing resurrections (if deaths are truly permanent and not just if you can't get a rez in time). Talk about intentional rolling server wipes every varying x hours to continue testing at the level ranges they want to focus on. At the same time, rewarding players either skilled enough to survive or who rather not restart if they're focusing on crafting/gathering/exploring/etc by getting back to any safe zones before the server resets. Mention all instances may not be the same, which gives VR the option to tweak many things like resource spawns, mobs, item locations, etc.
  
  
  
  This would've also made marketing much easier to people who might then easily transition to the final game release. It's now a hardcore instanced dungeon crawler style MMO with perma-death. The server wipes are a glitch in the world where we're stuck in a certain time loop. Have a low cost of entry like $20 if you haven't pledged then $5 monthly sub or something like that. Remove the sub for those who pledged above a certain amount.
  
  
  
  More importantly, have weekly/monthly/life-time high score boards that are based on stats VR wants people testing, which can be found in the base tower that's being used as a testing ground for future housing. Want people testing different armors? Show who has worn the most unique items, but a unique item isn't tallied unless you get 50 or 100 kills while wearing it. Who has entered the most instances without dying. Who has reached the highest level. Who mined the most, gathered most plants, crafting most x craft, found the most hidden locations/chests/rare mobs/rare drops etc.
  
  
  
  This way you always feel like you're testing and helping and playing an actual MMO (even if it's not yet open world). Hanging out in the tower lobby customizing it? Helping housing. Into pve? Go crafting, grind, explore. Pvp? Test your mettle in those instances. Win for data, win for players, win for future success of Pantheon.
  
  
  
  We can't turn back the hands of times to change the initial optics and poor communication, but I still have hope that this will be a success.
  This post was edited by Feastycentral at November 1, 2023 4:48 PM PDT
• Jeremiahcp

  

  • 48 posts
   

  November 1, 2023 2:51 PM PDT

  Why don't we revisit then in another decade? You know, while you are still waiting for the game to come out. 

• Feastycentral

  

  • 146 posts
   

  November 1, 2023 4:48 PM PDT

  Unless I die, I'm definitely not going anywhere. If Pantheon is ever released while I'm around, I'll be trying the game at the very least.
  
  
  
  The only way I can see Pantheon no longer appealing to me is if some other very very similar game releases and is exceptional. It is hard to leave a game that is already taking up all your time and you have established yourself in. The other way is if something revolutionary occurs in the industry like the release of non-taxing-to-play-for-long-periods virtual reality games, or another genre that we can't even conceive of yet just like in 1990 no one could imagine the reality of a 3D MMO game.
  
  
  
  PS.
  
  Anyone know why my font looks so tiny? Or is this an issue on my side?
  This post was edited by Feastycentral at November 1, 2023 4:50 PM PDT
• Inselberg

  

  • 26 posts
   

  November 1, 2023 7:12 PM PDT

  "Anyone know why my font looks so tiny? Or is this an issue on my side?"

  Try increasing font size to 14 or even 18, then trying decreasing your expectations.

  We all want a game, just not trusting it any more.

• dorotea

  

  • 3852 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 7:13 AM PDT

  My font suddenly shrank a few weeks ago also. It is not just you.
  
  I think I can fairly say that I have not exactly expressed joy over the new graphics and the possible reliance on an extraction game as a source of revenue. But I do not disagree that this may be the correct path forward as the OP posits.
  
  My read, which could be wrong, is that they are desperate. We can debate endlessly whether it is their own fault for various mistakes that have been made but we are where we are. They either abandon ship or take a big risk.
  
  When your choice is to either die or try to teach the horse to sing - the correct path forward is to begin vocalizing.
• BamBam

  

  • 627 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 9:01 AM PDT

  As an Alpha pledger im very much looking forward to play 247. I would even pay a sub to continue playing if I find it fun enough.
  
  I still think VR should look into an early acces model, it will bring a lot of money to the team and let them finish faster.
• justdrop

  

  • 194 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 12:54 PM PDT

  BamBam said:
  I still think VR should look into an early acces model

  
  
  What do you think the alpha and pre-alpha pledges are??
• Vandraad

  

  • 2419 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 12:59 PM PDT

  justdrop said:

  BamBam said: I still think VR should look into an early acces model

  What do you think the alpha and pre-alpha pledges are??

  Don't let VR know you see it as 'early access' because they insist, quite emphatically I might add, that PA and Alpha pledges are not early access.  It actually is for many people regardless of what VR says or thinks.

• Feastycentral

  

  • 146 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 1:47 PM PDT

  Vandraad said:
  
  

  justdrop said:

  BamBam said: I still think VR should look into an early acces model

  What do you think the alpha and pre-alpha pledges are??

  
  
  
  
  Don't let VR know you see it as 'early access' because they insist, quite emphatically I might add, that PA and Alpha pledges are not early access. It actually is for many people regardless of what VR says or thinks.
  
  

  
  
  
  
  Honestly, this is one of the major reasons I feel 247 is the way forward. Many, if not most, PA players are playing for efficiency and leveling up as Joppa stated in the interview. I've constantly seen people say they pledged those amounts to "play early". The problem with that is they're not effective testers.
  
  
  
  I'm sure there are some of you trying to break the game and test different gear/areas/etc repeatedly. But my guess is that's not the majority, which is problematic for testing and feedback purposes. Hell, it's the reason I'm happy with beta access. I know I'm not built for the monotony of true PA and Alpha cycles. At least 247 tries to gamify the process of forcing targeted testing.
  
  
  
  @Inselberg, your comment had me cracking up. Didn't expect that one. lol
  This post was edited by Feastycentral at November 2, 2023 1:48 PM PDT
• Duderino

  

  • 41 posts
   

  November 2, 2023 3:26 PM PDT

  BamBam said: As an Alpha pledger im very much looking forward to play 247. I would even pay a sub to continue playing if I find it fun enough. I still think VR should look into an early acces model, it will bring a lot of money to the team and let them finish faster.

  Early access requires a game.