WW2OL (warning, likely to set pom poms on fire)

[Gadfly]

Dunno, but the sheer amount of crap on the screen is 100x more than AH and 80x more than WBIII.

[bowser]

You're absolutely right...WWIIOnline is a wholelotta crap.  

bowser

[Gadfly]

Man, I hope you didn't burn too many brain cells trying to figure that out.

[bowser]

Actually you make it exceedingly easy.  Usually you don't need anybody's help to look like a fool, but sometimes I just can't resist.  

We've got a few minutes here...tell us again how all of WWIIOnline's problems are the fault of the users/PC.

bowser

[Kieran]

To be fair to Gadfly, he never insinuated that point (the problems are all the users' machines). There are plenty of people on the WWIIO BBS that do pretty much think that, but Gadfly isn't one of 'em.

This does remind me of when AH first came out, though. Rip was posting on the AGW board (which is cool), he got solidly raped for doing so, then some guys here said that wouldn't have happened if the situation was reversed.

Now I would be the first to admit that talking too much about a competitor on a company-owned BBS is a bad idea, and one that is certain to cause conflict. Still, it wasn't all that long ago when the situation was reversed.

I have posted here on the WWIIO threads because I thought there were some here interested in hearing an informed opinion from someone with an AH background. I think I will avoid doing so in the future, as I sense the saturation level on WWIIO is about met here.  

[Gadfly]

While I do not think all(or even many) of the problems are on the users end, I do think that if you want to play bad enough, you can tweak it to make it where it will work, on your end, if only barely.

Is this good? No.
Is this smart on CRS's part? No
Should you have to do this? Hell No.

It is a buggy pc of crap that can be a hell of a lot of fun, provided it can be made to run on your system at all.

[koala]

Ya know, one thing I don't see talked about often is the same thing I posted before WW2Online was ever released.  Why would anyone go out and buy this thing when there was no open beta and not even an offline demo that you could try on your computer?  Why haven't they released a downloadable demo even now?  Aces High, Warbirds, Warbirds III, Air Warrior, etc, all have a means to try the game on your comp before you buy.  CRS and Strategy First strangely decided to abandon this very community-oriented approach and instead force you to lay down cash sight unseen.  Yet a bunch of you went out and bought the game, then complained when it worked like crap.  Until consumers wisely vote with their wallets, lame companies like CRS and Strategy First will continue to spew forth their crapola.  I don't blame them for doing it one bit.  There are too many lemmings with too much disposable income on their hands I guess.  And to those who say that nobody expected it would be this bad, my response is - too bad, all you had to do was wait a COUPLE OF DAYS to hear from others about all the problems it has.  So good or bad, buggy or not, I won't buy a game from a company that doesn't have enough confidence in their product to at least let folks try a demo, especially if it's in a genre as untested as this.

[Serapis]

Hear Hear koala, EXACTLY. I was excited too, but I've dumped too many dollars into POS software that never lived up to the hype on the box. I waited myself and began checking the boards the day it went live. I'm glad I did.

For those who accept WW2OL as is and want to "invest" in the company and "enjoy" moments of limited functionality gameplay until they get it sorted out sometimes down the road, maybe ... well it just tells these companies that they can treat the customer like a chump and get away with it. I think Red Baron 2 was the belated last straw in my case. I don't like being played for a chump.

Charon

[ 08-07-2001: Message edited by: Charon ]

[Kieran]

In my case, I suspected strongly that the game would have troubles. A search of the BBS here will verify this point. My thinking was that $40 was not that much, I was currently out of AH because of lag issues on my end, and the amount was little more than a month's subscription to AH.

I wasn't wrong. Everything from the implementation to the community is exactly as I imagined it would be. The only thing that hasn't turned out the way I thought it would was the ability to do what I wanted when I wanted- though this may change if resources get limited. The day that happens I am gone.

It might turn out ok, it might not. I wouldn't even be looking at it if I had anything better I could do. There are others here that play it as well, and they can pretty much back my sentiment. What little the game does it does well. What it does poorly creates a whole new level of the word "poor".

[AKDejaVu]

There haven't been alot of "I'VE BEEN RIPPED OFF!" posts over here.  Many people suspected that the game would turn out the way it did.  I am one of them.  Very little about it suprises me.  I chose to pay for it anyway, because I wanted to support the idea that cornered rat was trying to impliment.. a real virtual battlefield.  I'm hoping they can eventually move more in that direction.  I'll definately keep an eye on it.

Most of the reaction you see here is due to the fact that the game is tainted right now.  Someone will always enjoy anything put out for one reason or another... but this reviewer's responsibility means he can't be one of those people.

He has to look at what is paid and compare it to what is delivered.  The writeup is accurate.  Those that come in here and say otherwise really need to take a deep breath.

Basically, sure some people might like it, but most won't.  Most didn't.  EB touts it as the most returned game.  I can't help but think there may be some justification for that.

I paid my money and I knew what to expect.  Most of the response here is simply to keep potential customers informed of what to expect.  If they choose to purchase it anyway, so be it.

What I'd feel totally guilty about is selling this game by touting all of its great features and defending it whenever possible.  At some time a person might believe what I am saying and buy the game with false expectations... then look for someone to blame when things are not even near the nirvana described.

AKDejaVu

[Westy MOL]

Shoe? Meet prostrate rotting horse <thumP!>

 

Cod, glad I missed this topic by being gone. I do have to say it's not a horrid flame fest though and that's a releif. And Gadflys' topic in the AGW off topic forumn shed soem light for me that he's wrung WW2O out more than most have so I'll not knock his two cents on WW2O no more.

And glad to 'see' you Kieran, even if just visiting  

  Westy

[Vulcan]

Woohoo my 2nd post to score a century!

Koala, if you look at some of my earlier posts about WW2OL I shared the exact same concerns as yourself. Being an Aussie I suspect you also suffer from an additional concern I too suffered, nobody sold WW2OL on the shelf in NZ. So I would have had to order it ex-the-states, which mean't if it was a complete let down then returning it would have a) been hard b) been costly.

My mouse flickered over the order button several times at EB's website. Thank god I didn't click.

Unfortunately for the CRS guys my $$$ went to OFP. And I must say I'm very satisfied.

I swear if the CRS guys licensed the OFP engine and put in some MMPOG code they'd rule the world!

[Kieran]

The reviews keep pouring in. Lum the Mad calls it "Craptacular".

Sad, but funny as heck.