<!--QuoteBegin--Burr+Jun 8 2003, 11:24 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Burr @ Jun 8 2003, 11:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Injury+Jun 8 2003, 05:38 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Injury @ Jun 8 2003, 05:38 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> World of Warcraft looks interesting, but probably not until next year. Anything with Elves I love, mind you not Night Elves, but Elves. I do hope they put in <b>normal</b> Elves. Alleria.. oh yes. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> the plan I believe, is night elves, I havent heard anything about the high elves yet. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> ***WARCRAFT 3 SPOILER***
Aren't all or most of the high elves a bit dead? There might be a few survivors but I got the impression they had been pretty much wiped out.
Now I don't want to deny that MMOGs can be entertaining. But there are myriads of other ways to entertain myself without paying a monthly fee, so for me there's no reason to succumb to these subscription scams.
For a free MMOG, I recommend <a href='http://www.furcadia.com' target='_blank'>Furcadia.</a> The good thing is that there's no combat and no levelling treadmill. Instead you get to design your own content and share it with others.
IMHO that's a thousand times more worthwhile than the "kill giant rats for EXP" design which is featured in the so-called MMORPGs (which aren't about roleplaying at all). This D&D system was en vogue in the 70s, and even if I craved it I'd rather play <a href='http://www.dungeoncrawl.org/' target='_blank'>Dungeon Crawl</a>, which, incidentally, is FREE too, like all good things in life. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
already tried furcadia, wasnt that good, was hooked for a tiny bit but then im like "this is ****" and left <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
I would start paying for MMORPGs if the game would hold my interest for a long time (Which is rather hard as I have a rather short attention span. Once a game gets boring I won't play it anymore. That is usually a very short period.)
Problem is there aren't any MMORPGs that really interest me.
However isn't there a way for a Half-Life server to store information on players?
Now what if somehow a plugin was developed to store information about players. That way a type of Experience could be formulated by the server and whenever you left the server your experience would be saved for when you rejoin again. Now that would be better than a MMORPG. And if only I knew C++
<!--QuoteBegin--Duff-Man+Jun 8 2003, 08:33 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Duff-Man @ Jun 8 2003, 08:33 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I have to ask, how many of you naysayers have <i>played</i> an MMORPG?
Now, how many of you have gotten to the high end game in an MMORPG? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Yes, i have infact. I've played Everquest and (as i've now figured) Asheron's Call. Everquest looked dire, had the worst interface in the world, had awful lag and the servers were full of tossers. I managed to get a refund on the game cost but not my subscription.
As for Asheron's Call, this one lasted about a week. The lag i experienced on +every+ server i tried was unbearable, but the game seemed quite fun. So i tried it every day at different times to see if i could negate the lag. I didn't. Once again another sucessful job for the Electronics Boutique 10 day return policy. Again, i lost the subscription cost.
I have tried these before, and as with SWG, i probably will be trying again. It's not like i'm writing them off as poor games, it's just the actual cost that makes it unbearable and not worthwhile.
Well, I apologize if this was mentioned before but, you guys can try this FREE MMORPG. The only catch is, that you don't really have much to do, if you don't have credits.
It goes like this. The downlaod (550 MB) is free. Money can be obtained by some other means, but it is hard to have fun without it. You could get employed by someone (as did I.. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> ) and make bucks.
You can trun real money into PEDs (1$ = 10PEDs) <i>and</i> vice versa. So, if you're a real gambler and earn a lot of money, you can take your girlfriend to a dinner with that. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Here's the link. Modem users beware (Although they do sell installation CDs for a small price...). <a href='http://www.project-entropia.com' target='_blank'>Project Entropia</a>
Well, the lag does seem to get real bad sometimes, but this game entertained me for a few weeks. Hey, it's free, you should try. ^^
<!--QuoteBegin--eediot+Jun 9 2003, 12:46 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (eediot @ Jun 9 2003, 12:46 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> hanbg on... warcraft 3 as in, the game? or is there some MMORPG of it coming out? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> World of Warcraft, MMORPG set in the Warcraft universe 4 years ( ithnk its 4) after the events of THe FRozen Throne...
<!--QuoteBegin--Salty+Jun 9 2003, 01:36 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Salty @ Jun 9 2003, 01:36 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I had 2 characters with maximum level on EQ <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> and you didn't mind paying?
See, once you play the game a lot, you don't mind paying.
<!--QuoteBegin--Duff-Man+Jun 9 2003, 05:42 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Duff-Man @ Jun 9 2003, 05:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Salty+Jun 9 2003, 01:36 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Salty @ Jun 9 2003, 01:36 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I had 2 characters with maximum level on EQ <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> and you didn't mind paying?
See, once you play the game a lot, you don't mind paying. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Actually I did mind after playing that much and realising how much it sucks you feel like you have been virtually raped. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Aren't all or most of the high elves a bit dead? There might be a few survivors but I got the impression they had been pretty much wiped out. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In the Frozen Throne the High Elves feature as the "Blood Elves", the last remnants of the High Elves. Also, the priests in the human army are elves. There's not much left of them however; Arthus pretty much wiped them out.
<!--QuoteBegin--Jobabob+Jun 8 2003, 09:17 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Jobabob @ Jun 8 2003, 09:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> and excessive over-filling of the shelves..
Mporg's are a waste of time and money. Especially time, considering they took 2 years out of my life and I want them back, they are like crack only more addictive. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Mine took away 4 years and a bit..
back to first page hmmm if you have broadband or highspeed internet YOU are paying to play even the game YOU children Burned from a friend and then generated a key for 40 to 100 $ a month for the internet connection ...oh wait your parents pay for that your parents probably gave you the computer too ...............(this don't go for the % of the underage gamers that WORK)
PulseTo create, to create and escape.Join Date: 2002-08-29Member: 1248Members, Constellation
edited June 2003
Alright, thats <i>it</i>! I've just lost what little faith I had in humanity, pardon me while I go get a gun, stick in it my mouth, and pull the trigger.
<!--QuoteBegin--{DEAD}Silent-Er@sEr+Jun 9 2003, 11:32 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> ({DEAD}Silent-Er@sEr @ Jun 9 2003, 11:32 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> back to first page hmmm if you have broadband or highspeed internet YOU are paying to play even the game YOU children Burned from a friend and then generated a key for 40 to 100 $ a month for the internet connection ...oh wait your parents pay for that your parents probably gave you the computer too ...............(this don't go for the % of the underage gamers that WORK) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> What about us who paid for their computer, buy their games and pay for their internet access.
Your point being?
Or is this just an attempt to brand people software pirates and spread a little arrogance?
/me observes the "Do not feed the trolls" sign.... Oh, sorry.
Number of Main servers EQ has: 30 Number of Raid backups (dual probably): 60 total (2 for each server) Number of zones on each server: 70 (+ Im just rounding way down) Number of players total on each server: 20,000 (that's rounded as well, that's the number of characters on the server, NOT the number currently online) Amount of bandwidth used per month per server: 200GB (this is probably WAY too low considering any patch over 5 megs would generate ridiculous amounts of bandwidth usage. Number of developers: ~30? Marketing peoples: 20ish Managerial overhead crap: 40+ CEO, Vice, etc: 5 Different types of dev software: 10 Number of computers for each of these people: 1, possibly 2 Number of buildings: 1...maybe more, who knows Number of people with a degree (bach at least) in computer science: all of them Customer service: Im tempted to say 0 for EQ but in reality its probably like 100 (including GMs for servers) Server Tech team: 10 Game Maintanence team: 10 Technical game support: 30 Art/Graphic designers: 30
-Theres even more but I won't go into it as I don't have the time and this should be enough to prove my point.
Number of people total (about): 200 Price of each server: by Gateway and IBM standards in order to hold and manage this many players at one time without significant lag, around $50K each - 50 X 30servers = $1,500,000 Price of fiber optic cables: $10K Full furnishing for buildings: $5K Computers for all: $200K (considering 1K per computer since they bought in bulk and top of the line) Air & Heat for building setup: $2K Monthly bill for air/heat: $1K Electricity setup: $1k Insurance/medical plans: $20K total? Normal average salary (per month): $3K X 150 people = $450,000 CEO salary: $1,000,000 all together (if you don't believe me, check out how much more the average CEO is payed on google) Software licenses (one for each person if you're not cheating): $50K (this includes buying the software itself) Monthly bill for electricity: $5k? Business license: $1k? (corporation licenses cost a lot, this is probably more) Bandwidth:200 X 30 = 6000 GB X $1 per GB = $6K All the phone lines installed: $1k Monthly phone bill: $2k Taxes: about 30% of the income total
<b><u>GRAND TOTAL COST</u>: $4,000,000 startup costs</b> (about)
Income per month from players: 300K X $13 = $3,900,000
So that's missing about $100K which could be split up nearly anywhere. And that's saying that the employees at Verant are only getting $24K a year which is abysmally low for programmers that can code a game like that. Your monthly income won't even get up that high until you have 300K active players who PAY as well. It took EQ YEARS to get up that high, most games barely have 100K players who bought the game much less play it and PAY for it, (companies like to add in their player numbers even though they hand out 30 day trials like candy.)
Tell me again how your numbers work?
Plus the fact that you're playing a game that is constantly updated (for some of them per month). If they add new things to do, more storyline, more gameplay every month, then even without all the pretty numbers to boggle your mind, you're paying for the updated game every month, which makes sense to me. If you want to make a complete MMORPG freely go to:
and find yourself one of the projects and waste some years away. Because most of the people who want to make these games don't understand the feasability of it at all, much like the people who don't want to pay for them.
<!--QuoteBegin--Twisted Master+Jun 9 2003, 01:36 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Twisted Master @ Jun 9 2003, 01:36 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> ...lots of numbers... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> First off, i +did+ state all my numbers were fictional. But onto your post....
Right, so a quarter of that $4m approximation went on the CEO's wages.
And anyones disputing my urges to murder these greedy corporate types?
And one thing you missed (since you discussed most of that as <b>setup costs</b>) Is that there's, by your numbers, 600,000 EQ players out there. Each one paid, on average around, i dunno, $40 on the game? (I dunno how much games cost across there) so by your numbers, that's <b>$24,000,000</b>. Ok, so $4,000,000 went on the server / workstation costs and also the CEO salary.
Where's the other $20,000,000?
And as you stated yourself, <b>1 month</b> of subscription from all these players generated all but $100,000 of the aformentioned costs.
And also please remember that EQ has been going for several years. By your numbers, they generate $46,800,000 a year.
Are you attempting to say these people are hard up?
<!--QuoteBegin--Wheeee+Jun 9 2003, 04:34 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Wheeee @ Jun 9 2003, 04:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> nothing is ever worth pay to play. If the best game in the world were pay to play, I would instead play the 2nd best game. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Absolutely.
When you look at it very basically, essentially pay for at +least+ 2 games retail price just to get a few months out of 1.
The way I see it they arent worth it. Alright the base argument was that with the monthly cost, companies would be getting enormous amounts of money. This is partially offset by the fact that they have to pay to keep servers up. But if it costs so much to maintain servers, why am I always hearing about how laggy / buggy / insert crap here?
The people have to advertise... Thats about $10,000,000 gone. Though you earn about $20,000,000 after <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->.
I used to Play Ultima Online ( just cancelled my account after 1.5 years of disuse). The game was fun and the community was great,but there was a major problem with OSI/EA coddling the newbies and basically neglecting or acting in ways hurting vets. I found a better community with NS (dont let post count fool you, I've been lerking the boards since well before release) and have $10 extra a month.
in closing Free <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> Pay for play anytime
<!--QuoteBegin--Pookie+Jun 9 2003, 06:24 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Pookie @ Jun 9 2003, 06:24 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I used to Play Ultima Online ( just cancelled my account after 1.5 years of disuse). The game was fun and the community was great,but there was a major problem with OSI/EA coddling the newbies and basically neglecting or acting in ways hurting vets. I found a better community with NS (dont let post count fool you, I've been lerking the boards since well before release) and have $10 extra a month.
in closing Free <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> Pay for play anytime <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> If you want to use UO, there's MPZ, or something, who run free servers for it. All you need to do is sign up for free (no credit card required) and you can start playing.
Unfortunately i only got as far as the bar, and once all my money was spent i was forced to endure a great period of going *hic* and couldn't move. I subsequently got bored and never played again <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--::esuna::+Jun 9 2003, 04:23 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (::esuna:: @ Jun 9 2003, 04:23 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> And anyones disputing my urges to murder these greedy corporate types? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I do, you wouldn't have the game in the 1st place otherwise.
As far as the actual making of the game you have to include hours that you pay the programmers, and the ammount you pay them is actually alot less then what it costs to have them for instance you have to pay insurance, unemployment, HMO if they have it, managment for the team, supplies, space exc. Not only do you have to pay the time for what actually what went into the game but what didn't, if they spend alot of time making something they thought was cool and it sucks well you have to pay for that too.
<!--QuoteBegin--Salty+Jun 9 2003, 07:10 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Salty @ Jun 9 2003, 07:10 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--::esuna::+Jun 9 2003, 04:23 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (::esuna:: @ Jun 9 2003, 04:23 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> And anyones disputing my urges to murder these greedy corporate types? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> I do, you wouldn't have the game in the 1st place otherwise.
As far as the actual making of the game you have to include hours that you pay the programmers, and the ammount you pay them is actually alot less then what it costs to have them for instance you have to pay insurance, unemployment, HMO if they have it, managment for the team, supplies, space exc. Not only do you have to pay the time for what actually what went into the game but what didn't, if they spend alot of time making something they thought was cool and it sucks well you have to pay for that too. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> From interviews and so on i've read of game developers, every single one says the best thing about programming games is playing the finished product and seeing your dreams become a reality. Is this actually a real thing or is it some sort of BS they're just making up to make them appear better?
Through what i do i can say i'd rather work minimum wage and do something fantastic i can be proud of rather than making a shedload of money and looking like that's all i care about.
Comments
the plan I believe, is night elves, I havent heard anything about the high elves yet. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
***WARCRAFT 3 SPOILER***
Aren't all or most of the high elves a bit dead? There might be a few survivors but I got the impression they had been pretty much wiped out.
For a free MMOG, I recommend <a href='http://www.furcadia.com' target='_blank'>Furcadia.</a> The good thing is that there's no combat and no levelling treadmill. Instead you get to design your own content and share it with others.
IMHO that's a thousand times more worthwhile than the "kill giant rats for EXP" design which is featured in the so-called MMORPGs (which aren't about roleplaying at all). This D&D system was en vogue in the 70s, and even if I craved it I'd rather play <a href='http://www.dungeoncrawl.org/' target='_blank'>Dungeon Crawl</a>, which, incidentally, is FREE too, like all good things in life. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Problem is there aren't any MMORPGs that really interest me.
However isn't there a way for a Half-Life server to store information on players?
Now what if somehow a plugin was developed to store information about players. That way a type of Experience could be formulated by the server and whenever you left the server your experience would be saved for when you rejoin again. Now that would be better than a MMORPG. And if only I knew C++
Now, how many of you have gotten to the high end game in an MMORPG? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes, i have infact. I've played Everquest and (as i've now figured) Asheron's Call. Everquest looked dire, had the worst interface in the world, had awful lag and the servers were full of tossers. I managed to get a refund on the game cost but not my subscription.
As for Asheron's Call, this one lasted about a week. The lag i experienced on +every+ server i tried was unbearable, but the game seemed quite fun. So i tried it every day at different times to see if i could negate the lag. I didn't. Once again another sucessful job for the Electronics Boutique 10 day return policy. Again, i lost the subscription cost.
I have tried these before, and as with SWG, i probably will be trying again. It's not like i'm writing them off as poor games, it's just the actual cost that makes it unbearable and not worthwhile.
It goes like this. The downlaod (550 MB) is free. Money can be obtained by some other means, but it is hard to have fun without it. You could get employed by someone (as did I.. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> ) and make bucks.
You can trun real money into PEDs (1$ = 10PEDs) <i>and</i> vice versa. So, if you're a real gambler and earn a lot of money, you can take your girlfriend to a dinner with that. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Here's the link. Modem users beware (Although they do sell installation CDs for a small price...).
<a href='http://www.project-entropia.com' target='_blank'>Project Entropia</a>
Well, the lag does seem to get real bad sometimes, but this game entertained me for a few weeks. Hey, it's free, you should try. ^^
World of Warcraft, MMORPG set in the Warcraft universe 4 years ( ithnk its 4) after the events of THe FRozen Throne...
<a href='http://www.blizzard.com/wow/' target='_blank'>Official Site</a>
and you didn't mind paying?
See, once you play the game a lot, you don't mind paying.
and you didn't mind paying?
See, once you play the game a lot, you don't mind paying. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually I did mind after playing that much and realising how much it sucks you feel like you have been virtually raped. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
Its not the paying thats annoying its the game
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In the Frozen Throne the High Elves feature as the "Blood Elves", the last remnants of the High Elves. Also, the priests in the human army are elves. There's not much left of them however; Arthus pretty much wiped them out.
Planetside: <u><i><b>Y E S</b></i></u>
Mporg's are a waste of time and money. Especially time, considering they took 2 years out of my life and I want them back, they are like crack only more addictive. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Mine took away 4 years and a bit..
EQ = 3 Years.
AO = 6 Months..
Daoc = 4 Months and abit
What about us who paid for their computer, buy their games and pay for their internet access.
Your point being?
Or is this just an attempt to brand people software pirates and spread a little arrogance?
/me observes the "Do not feed the trolls" sign.... Oh, sorry.
Number of Raid backups (dual probably): 60 total (2 for each server)
Number of zones on each server: 70 (+ Im just rounding way down)
Number of players total on each server: 20,000 (that's rounded as well, that's the number of characters on the server, NOT the number currently online)
Amount of bandwidth used per month per server: 200GB (this is probably WAY too low considering any patch over 5 megs would generate ridiculous amounts of bandwidth usage.
Number of developers: ~30?
Marketing peoples: 20ish
Managerial overhead crap: 40+
CEO, Vice, etc: 5
Different types of dev software: 10
Number of computers for each of these people: 1, possibly 2
Number of buildings: 1...maybe more, who knows
Number of people with a degree (bach at least) in computer science: all of them
Customer service: Im tempted to say 0 for EQ but in reality its probably like 100 (including GMs for servers)
Server Tech team: 10
Game Maintanence team: 10
Technical game support: 30
Art/Graphic designers: 30
-Theres even more but I won't go into it as I don't have the time and this should be enough to prove my point.
Number of people total (about): 200
Price of each server: by Gateway and IBM standards in order to hold and manage this many players at one time without significant lag, around $50K each - 50 X 30servers = $1,500,000
Price of fiber optic cables: $10K
Full furnishing for buildings: $5K
Computers for all: $200K (considering 1K per computer since they bought in bulk and top of the line)
Air & Heat for building setup: $2K
Monthly bill for air/heat: $1K
Electricity setup: $1k
Insurance/medical plans: $20K total?
Normal average salary (per month): $3K X 150 people = $450,000
CEO salary: $1,000,000 all together (if you don't believe me, check out how much more the average CEO is payed on google)
Software licenses (one for each person if you're not cheating): $50K (this includes buying the software itself)
Monthly bill for electricity: $5k?
Business license: $1k? (corporation licenses cost a lot, this is probably more)
Bandwidth:200 X 30 = 6000 GB X $1 per GB = $6K
All the phone lines installed: $1k
Monthly phone bill: $2k
Taxes: about 30% of the income total
<b><u>GRAND TOTAL COST</u>: $4,000,000 startup costs</b> (about)
Income per month from players: 300K X $13 = $3,900,000
So that's missing about $100K which could be split up nearly anywhere. And that's saying that the employees at Verant are only getting $24K a year which is abysmally low for programmers that can code a game like that. Your monthly income won't even get up that high until you have 300K active players who PAY as well. It took EQ YEARS to get up that high, most games barely have 100K players who bought the game much less play it and PAY for it, (companies like to add in their player numbers even though they hand out 30 day trials like candy.)
Tell me again how your numbers work?
Plus the fact that you're playing a game that is constantly updated (for some of them per month). If they add new things to do, more storyline, more gameplay every month, then even without all the pretty numbers to boggle your mind, you're paying for the updated game every month, which makes sense to me. If you want to make a complete MMORPG freely go to:
<a href='http://www.sourceforge.com' target='_blank'>SOURCEFORGE</a>
and find yourself one of the projects and waste some years away. Because most of the people who want to make these games don't understand the feasability of it at all, much like the people who don't want to pay for them.
First off, i +did+ state all my numbers were fictional. But onto your post....
Right, so a quarter of that $4m approximation went on the CEO's wages.
And anyones disputing my urges to murder these greedy corporate types?
And one thing you missed (since you discussed most of that as <b>setup costs</b>) Is that there's, by your numbers, 600,000 EQ players out there. Each one paid, on average around, i dunno, $40 on the game? (I dunno how much games cost across there) so by your numbers, that's <b>$24,000,000</b>. Ok, so $4,000,000 went on the server / workstation costs and also the CEO salary.
Where's the other $20,000,000?
And as you stated yourself, <b>1 month</b> of subscription from all these players generated all but $100,000 of the aformentioned costs.
And also please remember that EQ has been going for several years. By your numbers, they generate $46,800,000 a year.
Are you attempting to say these people are hard up?
Absolutely.
When you look at it very basically, essentially pay for at +least+ 2 games retail price just to get a few months out of 1.
in closing Free <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> Pay for play anytime
in closing Free <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> Pay for play anytime <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you want to use UO, there's MPZ, or something, who run free servers for it. All you need to do is sign up for free (no credit card required) and you can start playing.
Unfortunately i only got as far as the bar, and once all my money was spent i was forced to endure a great period of going *hic* and couldn't move. I subsequently got bored and never played again <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
I do, you wouldn't have the game in the 1st place otherwise.
As far as the actual making of the game you have to include hours that you pay the programmers, and the ammount you pay them is actually alot less then what it costs to have them for instance you have to pay insurance, unemployment, HMO if they have it, managment for the team, supplies, space exc. Not only do you have to pay the time for what actually what went into the game but what didn't, if they spend alot of time making something they thought was cool and it sucks well you have to pay for that too.
I do, you wouldn't have the game in the 1st place otherwise.
As far as the actual making of the game you have to include hours that you pay the programmers, and the ammount you pay them is actually alot less then what it costs to have them for instance you have to pay insurance, unemployment, HMO if they have it, managment for the team, supplies, space exc. Not only do you have to pay the time for what actually what went into the game but what didn't, if they spend alot of time making something they thought was cool and it sucks well you have to pay for that too. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
From interviews and so on i've read of game developers, every single one says the best thing about programming games is playing the finished product and seeing your dreams become a reality. Is this actually a real thing or is it some sort of BS they're just making up to make them appear better?
Through what i do i can say i'd rather work minimum wage and do something fantastic i can be proud of rather than making a shedload of money and looking like that's all i care about.