Bill Roper – Page 2 – MMO Fallout

Why You Shouldn’t Preorder For The Bonus Items

screenshot_2010-01-12-13-03-55 — What do you mean, almost free?

I’ve been quite critical of Cryptic in the past, mentioning that they have the most convincing cardboard cutouts pretending to be community relations, and going as far as advocating that people never buy straight from Atari.com, ever… Whatever the case may be, writing articles on Cryptic has become something of a repetitive task, as generally the news that I would put on here comes in the same package: Cryptic did something, annoyed a lot of their customers.

Today’s news comes from the latest massive update to the Cryptic Store, making almost every preorder bonus (sans playable Borg) available to players for a fee. Needless to say, once again, the forums are in an uproar. I’m finding a lot of the issue comes from players not angry that the previously exclusive items are being sold on the cash shop, as this knowledge was known before the game launched, although a small number of items did not carry this. The manner in which Cryptic went about doing so is what is getting feathers ruffled.

Foremost, the phrase “too soon” comes to mind. Ignoring the several days of head start, the items remained exclusive for a whole four and a half months following launch. Many players believe that, even though Cryptic said that they would eventually make the items available on the cash shop, that they should have waited a longer period of time before doing so. A second major complaint I’ve seen is that only a certain group of the bonus items are available, while others remain exclusive. A number of players are crying foul due to a feeling of favoritism of some preorder options over others.

I have to agree with the complaint relating to the item shop versions being much cheaper than the bundled package. As someone who purchased an enhanced version of Star Trek Online, the same perks I paid around $30 more for are now available on the Cryptic Store for pennies on the dollar. Time is one factor, and as I have already pointed out, that extra cost became virtually useless in the matter of four months. Not only this, but I distinctly remember Cryptic employees recommending that players purchase numerous copies of the game in order to get all of the bonus items.

Perhaps the most relevant complaint, and the reason I decided to write up this article, is based around trust: Essentially, exclusive and unique are made subjective, fit to change at Cryptic’s discretion (which in the terms of these items, comes down to when newer players ask for them to be on the cash shop). This will put a lot of distrust around various Cryptic promotions, as anything listed as “exclusive” will no longer be viewed as such by the community, simply an attempt to lull players into making a purchase, and then sticking the item on the cash shop some months later for a drastically reduced price.

I’m not calling on Cryptic’s destruction, as anyone who reads MMO Fallout would know I stray away from. What I am saying is that there will likely be noticeable drop in certain preorder packages for Cryptic’s third MMO, to be announced this summer. Cryptic looks to lose some cash from those people who preorder just for the exclusive items, and yes those people do exist despite some of us (me) wishing people wouldn’t prepurchase five different copies of the same game for digital items.

If your purchase relies on the presumption that only you and a select group of people will ever be able to use that item, and if anyone else gained access to said item you would quit the game, do yourself a favor: Cancel the order before it finishes. It’s a fairly easy way to save money, especially for someone in your position.

Bill Roper No Longer Executive Producer of Champions Online

screenshot_2009-09-13-13-20-53 — What does this mean for Foxbat?

Bill Roper is to the MMO genre as JK Rowling is to children’s literature. On one hand, the man had a big role in Blizzard during the glory days of Warcraft, Diablo, and Starcraft. More recently, Roper’s name has been tied to Champions Online and Star Trek Online, both titles are doing quite well despite comments otherwise by trolls. On the other hand, Bill Roper is also responsible for the train wreck that was Hellgate: London, a game that (as it turns out) was only as good as its launch, and didn’t survive long enough to make those lifetime subscriptions worth it. Roper is also partially responsible for the coined term Flagshipping, named off of the company Flagship Studios, referring to a product being released in a buggy, unfinished state missing many of its promised features.

I should probably get to the point (and why 80% of you clicked this link…I’m talking about the title). Well, to the dismay of some and joy of others, Bill Roper has been replaced by Shannon Posniewski, as Executive Producer of Champions Online. Poz, as he is called on the forums, is expected to take the game in a brand new direction. Shannon has been the lead programmer on Champions Online and has been with Crptic since the City of Heroes days.

Now before you get your pants in a bunch, or start throwing a goodbye party for Mr. Roper, he is still working with Cryptic, just on other things (the rumored Neverwinter Nights MMO? He asked, stirring the pot). This announcement has come alongside the State of the Game, that promises more stitching of the level gaps in content, among other changes.

Poz has had quite a relationship with the community, so hopefully this will bring along the Cryptic I (and others) have been asking for for a long time: one that actually listens to player feedback and stores that feedback for future reference.