i know this blog has been neglected for months now, but i'm back to give it another shot. Ravnis on the other hand has been sucked into the world of Pirates of the Burning Sea so hard that even i cannot seduce him away from it. ;-)
one thing that has been bugging me, is that when people try a game (for free!!) when it's in the open beta phase, they complain, saying it's unfinished and needs too much work for them to even bother to play.
my question to those is, when is an MMO ever ready when it hits open beta? has there ever been a game that has been so polished, so free of bugs, one can consider it ready for release? i don't think there ever has, or ever will be a game like that, even at release. the first year usually determines how well the game will do. it should be expected, that when a game is in open beta or first released, that there will be bugs and other quirks that need to be ironed out. i don't think the developers can predict every problem that can occur when the servers go live. it's just not possible.
our expectation of a game that is 'ready for release' is so high, i don't know if a game will ever meet the requirements when it's released. where did this expectation come from, anyway, i wonder? i do agree, that the game needs to be stable and playable upon release, but it's not going to be perfect...
there's also the fact that when you participate in an open beta, you're not just getting to play a game for free because the developers like you. no, you're supposed to be helping them by breaking things, showing them what's wrong so they can fix them. they need to see how the game and servers handle a larger population. when people hear of an open beta, i think it is seen more as a trial for them to see how the game is. i'm not saying everyone needs to be gungho and keep a catalog of all the bugs they find, but at least pay attention to things you find that may be wrong and report them accordingly.
am i the only one who feels this way? >.<
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