I am more confident about this game that the other one i am watching.. Camelot Unchained. EQ and DAOC are my two favourite games of all time so i have been desperately wanting successors for nearly 20 years! The reason i am more confident is that here they are upscaling systems that they seem to have more or less sorted so it is just zone design/expanding character classes etc. Sure there will be a lot of tuning/balancing etc, but they have working mechanics thaty allow groups to fight through zones etc, whereas CU after FOUR YEARS almost in beta still does not even have many core mechanice touched upon.
It's going to be slow, but at least in beta here you will have a very playable and enjoyable experience, compared to a 'shell' that is not nearly close to being feature complete.
Help me Obi Pan Tenobi You're My only hope
All that comes to mind when waiting ... since um lets see when i joined ....ah mid 2015. But at least it seems to be looking better now, according to what the developers posted. I really hope we at least see an alpha next year. That would be already a very good sign to me. If they happen to really make it this year even better.
I just want to experience that EQ feeling once more in a MMO ..played it for 7 Years and it was the most interesting time in a MMO i had ever. Thats because you actually got something by forming a group. Not like modern Mmos where you feel like you loose something or at least gain nothing out of it.
Benezetta said:I've been diagnosed with cancer. Have lived through chemo, surgery, and radiation. Have lived through remission. Am now surviving recurrent cancer. I really don't think I'll live to play this game - and I signed up for an original Knight's pledge when it was first offered so I could play in alpha. Serious question: Can I gift my purchase to a gaming friend? I'd rather not see it die out with me.
I'm incredibly saddened to hear this, Benezetta. I have passed your request onto our CS team and we will reach out to you with options.
Benezetta said:I've been diagnosed with cancer. Have lived through chemo, surgery, and radiation. Have lived through remission. Am now surviving recurrent cancer. I really don't think I'll live to play this game - and I signed up for an original Knight's pledge when it was first offered so I could play in alpha. Serious question: Can I gift my purchase to a gaming friend? I'd rather not see it die out with me.
Brave to post this, I give you a lot of credit. Sending all my good vibes your way. I have nothing meaningful to add but I wanted to aknowledge your post in some way.
Benezetta said:I've been diagnosed with cancer. Have lived through chemo, surgery, and radiation. Have lived through remission. Am now surviving recurrent cancer. I really don't think I'll live to play this game - and I signed up for an original Knight's pledge when it was first offered so I could play in alpha. Serious question: Can I gift my purchase to a gaming friend? I'd rather not see it die out with me.
I may be speaking out of school, and I understand how I may sound like a total fangrl.
But.
Making my laypersons comparison with the history of other MMORPG development I make the following assumptions from the allegorical history at hand:
- Practical/business/asshole-ish-ness viewpoint:
Income: 1. Kickstarter sucked, however post-kickstarter, a regular, proven, monthly, income stream amounting from at least 5.00$ to 14.95$ per month from subscribers has been reflected on the income statement of Visionary Realms for the past 5+ years **
2. Assuming attrition overtime, the income stream from these sibscribers can be fairly projected from the average number of members that have subscribed to the forums for the past 5+ years.
3. This is a conservative number, and does not include by order of "waterfall payment" in the event of liquidation**; "Angel investors of which there is one that remains anonymous but publically mentioned on these forums in the 7 figure amount (lets assume conservatively 1mm), private investors for which the opportunity still remains for those that qualify (I do not. "qualify" is an industry term encapsulating N.A.S.D rule 2310, NYSE rule 430 combined now under FINRA rule 290 meaning " know your customer" where due diligence must be done to determine if a potential client has the economic stability [income] and net worth [liquid assets] to invest in the project), and other monthly contributors at the 14.95+ range. This number does not include initial one time pledges which will need to be accounted for seperately.
Expenditures: 1. Contracted work. 2. some NFT assets. 3. Core development team (please note, time involved)
Fun stuff (how the above was able to happen):
Development: 1. A team that is oriented to maintain their core tennets at the expense of yielding to a publisher that could accelerate the development process.
2. Development process has included gameplay.
3. Development process has included numerous "pre-alpha" testing in which outside, objective members of the target player audience have played the game. This testing has involved increasing number of players as well as increasing time in the game itself.
4.Development Transparency or "tone from the top" , Development team has been publically forthright and open in regards to game development changes and overhauls (that interview with programmers where he said (paraphrased)-"I dont want to work on a PTW game but on concept" and that other one where the young guy said (paraphrased)- "hey, this hard-coding blows, we need to re-do the whole thing") **
** Why this means perhaps release may be faster than anticipated once game is completed. It has been attributed that the success of a particular MMORPG was due to a Long beta. A long beta may not be the case with Pantheon considering all the Pre-alpha work being done now. In fact I think once the core game is completed and all the zones created, alpha could be short, maybe 2 months, and Beta could be shorter, maybe 6 months tops if that partly because all the bugs will be worked out before hand. This means Pantheon will be released in a manner that has never been done before with MMO's with little to no bugs. Sure there may be some, but not to the point of complete shut-downs as is the habit. Also the subscribers will join the game once released, the team understand they dont intend to hit it our of the park but if they get a nominal subscribership that is consistent with the number of current subcribers- that will be fine AND set a precedent for VR as a team. Think of it, when Pantheon is released, the industry will see them as the de-facto team to go to for modern game development. I compare it to how Hollywood embraced independent filmmakers around the time "boondock saints" was made, The VR Pantheon Development could be seen as the next Independent Game Development business model- and they did this through the Great Pandemic.
"For I am saved by hope, for hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for"
I hope you beat it again. I hope Pantheon gets released soon after the game is completed. I hope Alpha testers smile, and Beta testers can't stop talking about it (within NDA of course).
My guess:
Q3 2022 Alpha
Beyond that depends on interest and funding that Alpha generates - minimum release Mid 2024 (if they get loads investment)
Reasoning:
- Road to Alpha items left open. Particually Classes , which seem to be one per couple of months.
- Then these all need testing in at least one pre-alpha.
- Then there is the complex behind the scenes stuff (Networking & Optimisation) which will throw up some gotchas and need a refactor/retest.
- For full release recruitment and onboarding of resource is not fast for a small team , even with an investor shortly after Alpha live ~ 6 months to scale up and another 9 to build the beta content. Then 6 months beta (and build full live world).
EppE said:I'll be honest, I've been here for over 5 years (can't believe its been that long) and it seems like there has been almost no real progress in that time. I check in every couple weeks just to read the drama of people arguing but I've long given up on the game ever coming out. I hope it does, I just don't think it will.
5 years ago:
https://youtu.be/INd9SfIbWN4?t=1506
Now:
https://youtu.be/XUx_uQ0HEXI?t=1518
Speculation is a tad pointless. Negativity doubly so. The speculative negativity combo is self-defeating and depressing too.
Some see two start-overs and doubt the game will ever come out.
Others see a proof-of-concept phase left far behind, a major refactor from hard-coded initial work, development continually gaining in momentum and detail and the almost inevitable release of a quality product.
This is a very different development than most others, current and past, and even if it were a traditional studio development, some 'big' games have taken 10+ years.
If you are really a 'supporter' of the game and can only be negative, whether you feel you are being 'realistic' or not, maybe just take a break rather than hang around like a bad smell spreading negativity which can actually damage the project you supposedly support?
Yes, I realise moaning about people moaning is pretty much as bad *sigh*.
EppE said:I'll be honest, I've been here for over 5 years (can't believe its been that long) and it seems like there has been almost no real progress in that time. I check in every couple weeks just to read the drama of people arguing but I've long given up on the game ever coming out. I hope it does, I just don't think it will.
Don't let the white knights talk down to you (I see you deleted your post). Criticism at this stage of development, given everything that has happened, is absolutely reasonable.
Saying: "I've long given up on the game ever coming out. I hope it does, I just don't think it will." is a good mindset to have.
Have hope that Pantheon comes out but understand there is a very real possibility we don't get there or it doesn't last.
