When/If Steam Greenlight: Would you be willing to start fresh?

[Doc Holliday]

[Edited]

[Torg]

[Edited]

dear, you maybe want to calm down before we continue. at least you want to be taken serious, dont you? we may be of different opinions on the thread content, anyway.

[Divide]

The content of this thread really should have been no more than a yes or no. The question in itself is almost ludicrous... I was just curious what level of commitment to hard choices in the name of the greater good the community had in its stores.

[hudsonbeck]

true but whens the last time there was a 4 page thread? I lurk all the time and am enjoying something to read. Even if its just a few minutes per day. I'm glad you asked the question.

[J45]

I think the point is its pointless making the current population start over again if the game doesn't get significant updates as after a while only the current population will remain again. The question itself is a catch 22.

If there was input from the devs then we could at least establish what can be done. The bare essentials would be the following:

Server stability under high load.
Anti-Cheat (A way to detect or a least report and remove cheaters).
Various bug fixes.
Improved new player area/tutorials. (I like the Mr Jones concept maybe that could be expanded on).
More low end/high end content. (Could be as simple as tunnels or new areas if possible).
Texture updates on npcs/mobs (I know that's work in progress).
More user friendly interface on the citycomm.

Now the question is does a game like Neocron need steam. This game could survive happily with one server but you would want a few hundred people on it at all times.

If it gets released on steam then how many would at least try the game? Hundreds or thousands? Then how many servers can be brought online. All this extra cost would have to come from somewhere. So then you would have to charge for the game or a cash shop which is a whole other ball game.

Is steam a good idea? Yes if you are prepared enough and willing to invest to make it a relative success. Unfortunately I have seen little evidence to suggest it would be a good route to consider.

At the end of the day it comes down to money so maybe a kickstarter to pay the current devs or additional ones to revamp Neocron. I know I would be willing to throw some money their way if that was done.

[unc0nnected]

If the content and experience was refreshed, keeping the good and cleaning out the bad, I would love a wipe more than anything in the world. Playing through Neocron as a new player 10+ years ago was one of the highlights of my gaming life, if I could get to relive that again almost like it was the first time with new content and a 'new' experience that built on what worked in NC1 while learning from and moving beyond the lessons learned from NC2 onwards, I couldn't imagine the joy I'd feel

[William Antrim]

The problem you have got is twofold:

You have a development team who has limited resources and no money coming into the game who are doing things out of a love for the game.

You have a theoretical owner of an IP that he may or may not own due to a long line of legal trouble with various companies going bankrupt and probable debts being owed to banks after said bankruptcy.

The dev team cant make drastic changes to the game because A) they cant afford to and B) they probably dont have a lot of permission to do so because if the game suddenly becomes successful then it could potentially have the bank sieze some of the assets in payment for debts owed by the original company.

Zoltan stated that the Dev team's aim is to keep NC running for as long as possible. To me thats a noble idea sure but it just sounds like it is going to be a finite end.

Without the serious backing (financial and production capability) of a bigger company willing to take on the debts which may in part be owed to the bank then there is no hope for the IP itself. It is effectively tainted unfortunately.

If somehow someone won the euro millions and could sweep in and set things up from scratch then a steam launch and all of that jazz would be epic and yes if the game had a launch with a couple of thousand players playing then it would be great but the likelihood of that happening is just about zero.

All you can do is be thankfull that the game you have is here and enjoy it for what it is. These "what if" threads are all well and good but theyve been happening for years and nothing much has got any further. The potential is awesome in this game but it means nothing without realisation. The pace of development in this game is fairly slow at best and so without ruining the mood too much I would say be content with what you have and if thats not enough then then perhaps this is not the game for you.

[J45]

Yes I understand the financial problems, I think the forum is just an outlet for people who want the game to do well. I accepted many years ago the game will never be huge but thought having one server with a few hundred people active was an achievable goal. If there is anything the players can do to help then I think a fair few would (if its just donating some money for the devs to show support).

[William Antrim]

Yes I understand the financial problems, I think the forum is just an outlet for people who want the game to do well. I accepted many years ago the game will never be huge but thought having one server with a few hundred people active was an achievable goal. If there is anything the players can do to help then I think a fair few would (if its just donating some money for the devs to show support).

The problem is this post has been echoed hundreds of times over already. Zoltan refuses to comment any further or get involved in any serious discussion about how to improve the game.

All you get is non-committal answers at best or silence at worst. People have asked millions of times for some sort of insight into what is really going on but the truth is either A) he doesnt know or B) he does know and cant say because he is bound to some sort of archaic NDA agreement.

I dont know which is worse tbh.

Either way what you are left with is a digital antique.

I offered a lot of support plenty of times and all the reply I got was a thread deletion.

You can read into that whatever you will but nostalgia only goes so far and patience wears even thinner.

To end on a positive note: if NC floats your boat in its current state then dive in and play, get excited when new stuff happens for sure. I love the new art work for example. But if you are looking for the 2nd coming of HALF LIFE or the newest blockbuster smash cyberpunk game then this isnt it.

Me personally I am gonna keep an eye on these forums and hope beyond all hope that things improve but I am long past holding my breath.

[Nuvibe]

As someone who has been considering NC for a while during a mmo dry spell I would not mind it being available on Steam. Last time I considered trying it must have during the games owners demise. It had broken links to download sites and subscriptions being handled by what looked like dodgy third party sites. So I never got to try NC. Now a few years on I find myself checking out YouTube videos....Hmm

[William Antrim]

The best advice is to download the game and dive in to it mate. You might find that it is everything you ever wanted from a game and you might not. The only advice anyone can give you is to make up your own mind about it all. The download isnt huge and it IS free.

They have a support section too which handles any account errors or other issues you might have getting into the game and this is very helpful. However mostly it isnt needed as there is a launcher which should guide you through most of the historic pitfalls from times past. For a game of its age this one is still a gem. It is just a shame that there such a low population these days.

I would give the world to trade places with you and see it all through a fresh pair of eyes and experience all of that again but I cant. However I would absolutely encourage you to stab a few rats in the sewer before you come to a final judgement on this game.

[J45]

For me when I played it was the atmosphere of the game that I fell in love with. Unfortunately this included Plaza 1 brimming full of life and the chat being awesome. If you could encourage some friends to play with you it will make the whole experience a lot better and less frustrating. Regarding Williams comments there's nothing that can be argued with there. All I will say if they need any support I for one will help in anyway I can, and I will just casually check the forums for any updates etc.

[unc0nnected]

For me when I played it was the atmosphere of the game that I fell in love with. Unfortunately this included Plaza 1 brimming full of life and the chat being awesome. If you could encourage some friends to play with you it will make the whole experience a lot better and less frustrating. Regarding Williams comments there's nothing that can be argued with there. All I will say if they need any support I for one will help in anyway I can, and I will just casually check the forums for any updates etc.

Yep, it would be interesting to know how many people are still actively checking in the forums for updates and what not.. it's funny how once the crack's in your blood it never leaves

[Doc Holliday]

dear, you maybe want to calm down before we continue. at least you want to be taken serious, dont you? we may be of different opinions on the thread content, anyway.

Simply because you missed the topic by a country mile and then some and then you feel the need to patronize? Your post is condescending and i stand by my original sentiment which im sure you read before the edit. You picked out a small part of the post, quoted it, and then went off on a retarded tangent of which both you and I know has absolutely jack all to do with neocron.

If you are that unintelligent as to not see the point i was referring to then you should actually consider stopping trying to be the knowitall of the forum. My join date (I hate having to use this) shows i have been a somewhat active member of the community on and off for several years (as does yours) so there is really no need to be condescending nor is there a need to ramble on about something entirely irrelevant.

The thread has organically developed in to far more than a simple yes or no answer and as ever has followed the same tried and tested discussions of what happens next. Hoping this time for more input or somethin new to come to light.

Maybe you can organically develop also and grow a clue or even better a brain. Then come back and contribute some equal discussion to this thread rather than seizing on small parts of a larger post i made and trying to talk down to me after a quite long hiatus (again) from posting on the forum.

If this gets edited i will be impressed as im trying to hold my tongue but its not easy.

IMHO what needs to happen with this game is someone/something needs to find a way to come up with the capital/manpower and planning and make a "spiritual successor" for this game and be free of all the drama surrounding the current ip.

I realise i may be struck down by the gods themselves for merely suggesting this notion but truly if someone COULD do a proper go of it (not that blatant rip off pile of crap whos name i dont recall) but i would love to know has this ever been considered by anyone in the current NC heirarchy?

[yavimaya]

For me when I played it was the atmosphere of the game that I fell in love with. Unfortunately this included Plaza 1 brimming full of life and the chat being awesome. If you could encourage some friends to play with you it will make the whole experience a lot better and less frustrating. Regarding Williams comments there's nothing that can be argued with there. All I will say if they need any support I for one will help in anyway I can, and I will just casually check the forums for any updates etc.

Yes, the atmosphere! login for the first time, walk towards the first door you see, click ok on the panel, end up in the main city with booming voices "NCPD has an eye on you!", etc.

it was the best ever, we didnt need our hands held back then, gamers knew how to game, you get into a game and do what you want, not "what do i do? where is the mission guy? once ive done this guys missions are there more i can do? is this MMO about nothing but missions and leveling?" (you get the idea of what new comer MMO users are like).

REMOVE NEWBIE MC5!!!