Comments on: Is Champions Online on the ropes?

By: balkaster

balkaster — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:01:46 +0000

Agree with Stabs, disagree with Frank. Sorry, Frank, but since when do customer expectations have anything to do with poor planning and underdevelopment? The great sin of our age is that software companies have convinced the buying public that it’s “okay” to release buggy, improperly tested products. If MMO devs would stop treating open betas like a buzz-generating marketing tool and actually use it to get fresh perspectives on possible problems with their product, we would get better product. The fact that Cryptic nerfed huge areas of CO THE DAY IT WENT LIVE indicates a real problem, and it’s not hard to believe that it’s partly because they’ve already diverted resources to STO. Peruse the CO forums, and you’ll see a lot of end user dissatisfaction. CO is in trouble. It won’t last anywhere near two years. Even the CoX expatriates that they managed to convince to defect are returning to the motherland for their cape-and-tights fix.

By: dv0rak

dv0rak — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:28:00 +0000

People need to realize this is actually a feature, and not price gouging. The MMOs I’m familiar with require you to re-roll and re-level to get a new character with completely different abilities up to the level cap. (I guess guild wars has a fairly liberal character-rebuild option, but I’ve never played it, so I can’t comment.)

Champions lets me level once, then spend less than a month’s subscription fee to utterly rebuild my character from scratch. They get something out of the transaction – which helps them keep the game running – and I get a whole new playstyle.

Since I value my time more than my money, I prefer this to games that require me to repeat content just to squeeze more subscription fees out of me.

By: Wyrm

Wyrm — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:52:05 +0000

Just cancelled my CO account.
I’ll resub when they drop this Full Respecc for 12$50 crap…

By: Honeymoon over already? « MMORPGs

Honeymoon over already? « MMORPGs — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:39:05 +0000

[...] $12.50 from the Champion Online item shop makes me think that this might be deliberate. Spinks asks whether Champions Online is on the ropes. Bootae can't stand leveling in Aion. Keen doesn't like crafting in Aion. Syncaine warns that by [...]

By: “Buck Bang” or “Immersed in Walls of Text” « Are We New At This?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:56:42 +0000

[...] is too much work for Cryptic Studios, who’s first MMO, Champions Online, has recently come under some criticism from the blogger [...]

By: Bronte

Bronte — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:20:53 +0000

The game is still fresh, which is why we have to give it the benefit of the doubt. Hell even I have bitched about all things Champions Online that annoy me on my blog. (http://arewenewatthis.wordpress.com/category/champions-online/)

But the game has set some innovative standards that can’t be denied. I just hope the game doesn’t stagnate because of the current lack of end-game activities or its implied insistence that Champions can complete most of the journey solo. It is supposed to be an MMO FFS!

By: Stabs

Stabs — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:23:57 +0000

Is it the players’ faults that these games are hyped to the heavens before they release?

If you look at the one game this year that wasn’t hyped at all, Darkfall Online, they haven’t suffered an unmanageable tourist problem at all.

Games companies are reaping what they sow.

By: Stabs

Stabs — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:21:48 +0000

Ah fair enough, I’m rather ignorant of CO.

Seems fairly reasonable as you describe it on a par with WoW’s “account services”.

By: We Fly Spitfires

We Fly Spitfires — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:54:03 +0000

It’s hard to say and depends a lot on what the expectations of the developer are and threshold subscription rate is. I hope CO does well as it seems like a perfectly fine game. Maybe not my cup of tea but I’m sure it will be someones.

By: Sareini

Sareini — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:49:01 +0000

The problem I found with Champions Online is that, while it has tremendous potential, right now I don’t think it’s achieving that potential and I worry that it’s not going to do so unless there are some serious changes/improvements in the next month or so. I certainly don’t think it’s going to wither and die completely in the next few months without those improvement (my own personal plea to the developers would be more content in the form of actual storylines, for the love of Eris!), but I’d worry that it won’t last more than two years, maximum, without them.

Also, if they really want to be making money, they need to fix the bug where cancelled players can still play the game for free.