Since posting my impressions and my first steps into the Age of Conan, I've gotten daily emails from folks who would like to point out that the launch hasn't gone smoothly for everyone involved, and I figured I would take a moment to acknowledge this.
Yes, some folks in Europe had bad key codes in their boxes, which they are taking care of. Yes, Funcom wasn't prepared for the massive influx of players and so not everyone go into the early start, which led to some understandable grievances. The buddy code system has been postponed until they get the severs stable for the paying customers.
I'm also aware that this sort of shit is going to happen, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Look, Funcom has done an admirable job so far with the game, considering their only other real MMO is Anarchy Online, which has been running for years with three servers (one in German, if I remember correctly). For a company going from running a game with tens of thousands of players to suddenly having to contend with 400K+ players they are doing a good bit better than most other companies would.
What really gets me is the conspiracy people, who have somehow made issues with the game into plots that effect them personally. The buddy codes aren't activated to force players to buy the game before they know how "horrible" it is. The forums require a registered copy of the game so you have to buy it to see anything.
My favorite? When folks point out that the forums are filled with negative comments, and that no one is enjoying their giant failure of a game. Perhaps the only people who feel they need to use the forums right now are the people with technical issues? I'm too busy leveling up my Bear Shaman (ding 31!) to bother hopping onto the boards to drop a friendly letter of thanks. I assume there are more out there like me.
We do get it, though. Big MMO launches are going to have problems. It is the nature of the beast. I don't particularly see the need or use in having someone write 20 paragraphs to me about how they are beta testing the game on us because they have to tweak the servers when the main population arrives. This happens in every MMO, whether or not you choose to remember.
Calm down. Relax. If your issues get resolved, they get resolved. If they don't, you might have picked the wrong game. Either way, we are well aware, and we will update you the moment Funcom or Age of Conan begin biting the heads off of live infants.
I know some of you will be disappointed that I am not fervently taking up the anti-Funcom banner, but an MMO like Age of Conan is a different experience for everyone, and in the end the only experience I can go off is my own.