First of all, I am really excited for this game. Can't wait to play it.
That being said. I have been reading these forums for a LONG time. I even gave (and am giving) money towards the game.
I have been following the "pace" of things for quite a while. We have super BARE bones info on 3 classes. Other than the "iconic ability" we already knew everything else posted based off EQ classes. Nothing new or un-everquest-like in the class choices. (other than no bards or necros to start off the game)
I have seen some mention of Alpha early next year, like Jan to March??
I would think Alpha will be at least a year, if not more. That gets us to 2018. Beta will be no less than 6-9 months, maybe 9 to 12 months and that pushes us into 2019 before the game is released. it's 2016 now.
As fun as it is to read posts and seeing questions that Kilsin posts, I am not sure I have the stamina to follow forums daily or weekly for 2+ to 3+ more years. (I say I am following forums because I feel like forums is what I am following right now, not the game) Game updates and progress are at a snails pace since no mass crowd funding was achieved.
I get that the game is in developement. I love giving my opinion here on the forums but I feel like so much has already been decided at this point, opinions are just that, opinions that won't sway the game in any direction that hasn't already been decided in the name of Progress, forward progress.
We can suggest things all day long. but if they game is ever going to get released. Brad just has to make a decision and move on. He doesn't have time to do major game changes based on Forum feedback.
He can't do that if he ever wants anyone to play this game.
I haven't decided if I am going to continue the monthly "forum sub" or not. I am thinking of deleting this site from favorites and checking back a year from now, maybe just follow on facebook for major updates. The forums just seem like a big arguement for things to be "My way or the highway" anyways.
I like a lot of the community here, but it's frustrating to wait another 2-3+ years. I think I need to put the game out of my mind for a year or two and see how things are going then.
What keeps you guys active on these forums? Do you feel like what you say is still shaping the game? if so, are we 3+ years away? 2020 release?
I will buy and play this game. I am just not sure I can keep reading forums and maintain interest in Pantheon Forums for 2+ or 3+ years.
The closer to release date, the less these forums even matter. We can't keep asking for this and that to be in the game if we want Brad to finsih the product.
I already feel it too late in the game to be suggesting this and that to be added or changed.
I am keeping my forum sub going for another month since I just paid, but I might cancel and leave this game alone til mid or end of 2017. I don't want to play in Alpha.
Lots of people gave the $100 thinking that alpha was just early access. Alpha is TESTING. not a fun early access. if you think of alpha as early access, you have the wrong idea in mind.
Alpha also kind of ruins the surprizes in the real game too. Some people just want alpha so they can figure out how to monopolize on the game economy.
They use this time to figure out what players need and want, and they farm or scam people since they know the item is sold by One vendor in One town, so they buy them and sell them in trade chat etc. or they look for exploits to use once the game starts before its discovered by others so they can make a fortune.
I don't want to do stuff like that. For me, if it's not earned, it not worth having.
Anyways. I just wonder if others are feeling discouraged know we have a VERY LONG time before release. Again, I will buy and play the game, but reading forums for the next 2-3+ years just doesn't seem like a lot of fun to me.
Sorry, long winded. Just ramblings on a late night of boredom since I have no game to play other than WoW or GW2 or EQ1. all of which I am bored to tears with, and know I have nothing to look forward to until Pantheon gets going.... a very very long time from now. .....
Is my expectations of mid to late 2019 unreasonable or about right?
Well it was either this or take over the world, and frankly Im just not that ambitious :b
I dont have an MMO to really look forward too aside from this one. And although I have an active job there are many short breaks while Im waiting on something (which ofcourse leads to android shenanigans on my posts lol). So Im very invested and very active. Though I do take short 1-2 week breaks from the forums for a badass game (Most recently for Dark Souls 3).
What keeps me posting is the fact that the best games I played in 30 years of gaming have all gone and with it, the very things that made them worth playing.
Since I got internet access in the mid 90s, I fell in love with the idea of online games. The possibilities seemed endless and I expected the greatest games to be ahead. Except that never happened. Everything that I liked about mmos seemed to slowly disappear from the genre.
I started analyzing everything that I once loved and felt was missing in MMOs and that began to replace gaming as my hobby. Really it became something of an obsession. Now I know what those things are and I feel like, if nothing else, I can offer some insight into what I've learned and discuss my hobby with other people.
Pantheon is pretty much the last bastion for MMORPGs as far as I'm concerned, and I want to contribute in any way I can. Even if it's merely an idea from some blurb on the forums that bounces around in the heads of the VR team.
Because I'm a pretty new "subcriber" to the game, I'm not feeling this fatigue when reading and posting in the forum.
But I know from another game which is now history, that if you are acitve for a long period this can happen from time to time. Short- or midterm breaks are very essential to keep the flame of interesst burning. :)
I totally agree, that our arguing about our sometimes good and sometimes not so good ideas wont change the game dramatically. Maybe and only mabye we can give it a very light push in some direction. But I think and hope, that the main direction of the game will be decided by the professionals there at VR and in the end we are astonished in a positive way, how all the features work.
So my advice for everyone is to have fun in the forums as long as you have fun, otherwise take a break and check back later. And also very important, don't expect that your ideas and what you post will change anything. Reading an writing posts can do one thing, it shortens the time to wait for release, at least a bit. :)
Like Amsai, I go play other games for a few weeks, then come back to the forums for a bit of a read and then move on again. If a particular thread catches my eye, or it's a slow day at work, I'll post and chip in, otherwise it really is a slow burn.
Been through a few of these types of issues/periods of time with other games, and seen a lot of people burn out and disappear. My only advice is to just relax about it all and find something else to do and just check in periodically.
Football Manager 2017 will be out soon. That will suck up 200+ hours of your life if you're into football :)
I'm mostly like Dull (though I really think there's much in 'old' games that was crappy hehe). All games genres, not just MMORPGs, have devolved towards instant gratification and lack of, well, need for thinking or effort. I might go further and say all life has devolved toward instant gratification, but I'd just sound like a grumpy old man, that and I enjoy some aspects of that stuff... anyway...
I appreciate, though, t's very hard to distill the essence of old games without ruining the flavour.
I've been waiting for something like Pantheon to come along since I started writing Game Master aid software (dice rollers, character sheet generators, etc. for the (A)D&D P&P RPG) on my Sinclair Spectrum and wondering if it could be made to do some of the Game Mastering.
EQ scratched that itch in a major way, but it had many flaws, as we know.
I still love gaming and a modern successor to EQ encapsulates everything I want in a game.
So, I'll keep hanging about and dropping back into the forums.
Each time there's a live stream (or more likely I see the recorded YouTube version) it brings me back.
I haven't yet worked out how to be notified when Kilsin posts a new thread - I'll go and do that now, because I guess that would bring me back to have a look.
I have been following the game since the kickstarter, and been reading the forum more or less regularly since then. I'm not a super active poster, but I'm checking the forum for news practially every day. And that's it for me atm. No point in joining old discussions or re-hashing old topics. I'm very happy if I see some new screenshot though, or if there's a new class announcement or anything really. Those are my reasons for coming back.
I enjoy the forums because it gives me the opportunity to learn about people. Gives me a window into how others percieve different ideas, how they struggle to make their points and somehow at the end come out with a positive resolve. Hearing from the dev's every now and then is cool :) Them asking what we think on certain issues I feel is just awesome, so being able to be there and give an answer no matter how silly it may be is a privilege for me :) I honestly believe if our feedback didn't sway them one way or the other, then why would they ask ? Be kind of pointless wouldn't it ? No, I think the feedback this community gives has sway, might not be much, but it does. So to be an active part of that, no matter how long it takes for this game to be released is an exciting part of my day. Does the bickering back and forth get old, YES, God, YES, but i understand there are going to be those kind of days. I believe the more time we spend with eachother as a community the better we will get to know eachother as a true person instead of an avatar and the respect and consideration of feelings will follow. We are all here because we are all looking for the same thing that is what is so funny about all of the bashing sometimes...heh When it comes down to the bottom line we are all here for the same reason. So let's make the best of it, let this time on these forums be just as good and fun a memory as the ones we are going to be making in the game itself. *cheers
#tooblessedtobestressed
Kelem
Naim said:I have seen some mention of Alpha early next year, like Jan to March??
I would think Alpha will be at least a year, if not more. That gets us to 2018. Beta will be no less than 6-9 months, maybe 9 to 12 months and that pushes us into 2019 before the game is released. it's 2016 now.
There are many variables involved and developing a massively multiplayer game is not an easy thing to do. Our goal is to be in alpha and beta in 2016, and to release the game in 2017. But this is not set in stone, and the above dates are subject to change.
The above is taken directly from the FAQ for Pantheon on their official website.
This may not be absolutely accurate, but it is the only official posting I've seen. Of course, they covered their asses and said that the dates are completely subject to change, but again, this is the only official estimate I've seen.
I'm a pretty new face around here, so I'm definitely not feeling the fatigue that others may feel. However, the single thing that probably keeps me interested the most is beginning to write my character's story with my significant other. Our writing is within the universe of the game, so we feel like we're involved and invested in the game without sitting here constantly browsing the forums and praying for updates.
I have been here since the beginning. It's not a matter of wanting instant gratification right now. It's a matter of the person needing to find a way to wait it out. Trust me I as a few others have been waiting awhile ( a couple of years). I will continue to wait until they say it's time. I don't feel the need to check the forums daily. I'm lucky to get over here a couple of times a month now. I read what they have to say, and then I do something else. Rinse and repeat. This game has been a long time coming for a few of us, and while I understand you are hesitant I wouldn't be. I have no idea when Alpha will be implemented, and/or how long beta will run. That's for Brad and company to decide. Don't give up though it will be here eventually.
It's interesting to hear peoples ideas and thoughts about a game that we actually know very little about.
Like most, this is it for me, I havn't played an MMO properly in years and there is nothing else that really interests me so it Pantheon or nothing. Hopefully in the next 6 months or so they will start releasing more information as more things about the game get set and we will have more to chew on...
Kelem said:I enjoy the forums because it gives me the opportunity to learn about people. Gives me a window into how others percieve different ideas, how they struggle to make their points and somehow at the end come out with a positive resolve. Hearing from the dev's every now and then is cool :) Them asking what we think on certain issues I feel is just awesome, so being able to be there and give an answer no matter how silly it may be is a privilege for me :) I honestly believe if our feedback didn't sway them one way or the other, then why would they ask ? Be kind of pointless wouldn't it ? No, I think the feedback this community gives has sway, might not be much, but it does. So to be an active part of that, no matter how long it takes for this game to be released is an exciting part of my day. Does the bickering back and forth get old, YES, God, YES, but i understand there are going to be those kind of days. I believe the more time we spend with eachother as a community the better we will get to know eachother as a true person instead of an avatar and the respect and consideration of feelings will follow. We are all here because we are all looking for the same thing that is what is so funny about all of the bashing sometimes...heh When it comes down to the bottom line we are all here for the same reason. So let's make the best of it, let this time on these forums be just as good and fun a memory as the ones we are going to be making in the game itself. *cheers
#tooblessedtobestressed
Kelem
Pretty much covered why I am here. I love the technical stuff too so I ask questions with that in mind. This place is for us the community so it is a place to be enjoyed.
Ox
I just found out about Pantheon this last month. I subscribed because of hope. Hope that Pantheon can resurrect the feeling I got from EQ1. Im still here because I literally just got here.
Naim said:...Is my expectations of mid to late 2019 unreasonable or about right?
I think that is too late of an estimate.
The big issue, right now, is to get more development done under somewhat limited funding. Then show that as a viable investment to more investors to secure more funding, rinse and repeat. If a believer swoops in early, things could accelerate greatly with big funding for developers.
Assuming things go along with more conservative investment growth along the way, I think we can expect something like this:
Pre-Alpha - 2016
Closed Alpha - Q1 2017
"Open" Alpha Q2 2017
Closed Beta Q3 2017
Open beta Q4 2017
Release Q1 2018
I'm waiting for a few scraps of information from the team here and there, wishing they had a speedometer type graphic with a needle showing at what point they were at and being able to see that the dial moved at least a notch since I was last here..
Back everyday for a few minutes to see if any updates.
edit: as autocorrect sucks
I can't say it any better than fazool-"Sheer, herculean stubborn refusal to ever give up hope.......".
I refuse to believe that I'm some ancient relic that has been phased out by twitch-centric, DDR games with no soul. I believe that there are a number of people like me floating around in the gamerverse hoping to latch on to a new world we can call home. Pantheon has to be it. While not everyone on this forum agrees on every detail, they are proof that I'm not some gaming aberration. So I check in pretty much daily and I hope.....
I am looking for a spiritual successor for the games I loved. Besides, I have free time on breaks as well. This puts me in the same camps as Amsai and Dullahan. I put in for the long term, one payment thing, so I will be around a long time I think.
Besides, I truly hope and believe this game will be out before 2020.
Naim said:
I would think Alpha will be at least a year, if not more. That gets us to 2018. Beta will be no less than 6-9 months, maybe 9 to 12 months and that pushes us into 2019 before the game is released. it's 2016 now.
Is my expectations of mid to late 2019 unreasonable or about right?
I dont mean to sound rude, but how would anyone including brad or anyone else know how long its going to be before release of alpha, beta or live? things could go 100% awsome and it could launch on time or the poo could hit the fan and it releases later than expected. I understand your frustration, i want this game to launch yesterday. Perhaps its the live streams, is building to much hype and anticipation for the game to release but these things take time. once the basics are down the development progresses at a faster pace, be patient and dont assume the worst and splatter it on the forums it does nothing but creating doubt and negative feedback for new members in my opinion, this game needs a good community, shedding doubt will not help us or the game succeed. Unless I hear it from VR directly the game is going as planned, and the fact that they now have more people on the team than they did when they first posted about the expected release date of alpha/beta etc gives me only more hope that the game is progressing as planned if not getting a little closer than expected. So in short i believe your mistaken about a 2019 release date, i hope you do not take offense naim, im not trying to sound that way.
Now? The people I have heard comment and reply. I can't wait to run into you guys n gals in game, I hope I can guess your name.
I have such a flavor for the community- even form those that have not posted in a loooong time- and interestingly from all the new names I am seeing and how they are responding with their strange WoW and FFXI ways, there is alot in this forum community to like.
Even with the spirited arguments I have rarely seen outright flames and instead have read the sage voices of the people behind the avatars. I can't wait to meet you in game no matter how long it takes.
and hope, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?"
What keeps me here is the belief my thoughts and opinions are getting directly to the developers to stir the creative pot. I honestly picture this game like a rubix cube, what the game will be in the end will take a lot of twists and turns, and I think the forums is a good tool for developers to gague the audience and gleen creativity in some way to help get the completed game. I'm happy to give em a laugh also (meme thread).
One more thing ... It's going to be fun to play with you all, this is what I get until that day.
-Todd
To answer the OP, not much honestly. My forum activity goes in waves. Most of the conversations I steer clear of, especially the ones that go on for months and months. I pretty much just quickly skim any new threads in an attempt to stay informed of anything new, catch the monthly newsletters and pray for a big announcement. I'm not jaded to the point of quitting the forums altogether, but I can certainly understand how boredom and frustration set in when all we really want is to play Pantheon!
I too feel like we are probably still further away from Alpha (and launch for that matter) than the team is currently willing to let on. The fact thatno date has been made leads me to believe that they are still a ways off, thogh that is pure speculation on my part. I would not be the least bit surprised if there is not any substantial Alpha invites until Q2 of 2017 or later. But only time will tell and I hope that I’m wrong.
I stick around to show my support for the team and chat with those I have grown to "know" a couple times a week. The team has my support and my money (and will continue to get it so long as the game continues in the direction I'm hoping) but I too have largely lost the desire to have discussions about a game that we still know next to nothing about. I’ve said this many times in many different threads, but it will be nice when we get some actual information about the game so that meaningful discussion can take place. Even the three character reveals are so fague that I can't even bring myself to comment on any of their respective threads. The vast majority the conversations on these forums to this point are speculation (either pure or partial) or juxtapositions of EQ and Vanguard.
All that said, I'll continue to be active in waves and wait for the day when we have something tangible to discuss.
I've been following Pantheon since before the kickstarter - when Brad tweeted abot an upcoming announcement way back when. I'm not really all that active on the forums, tend to lurk more than post, but as others have said I feel this is the last hope for a true MMO, and one I really want to play. I check in on the forums once a day or so to see if there are any new interesting posts. I follow Brad and Pantheon on Facebook / Twitter, hang out in the discord channel when I can. It's a great community so far, and if nothing else gives something to do during the work day.
As for the timeline, I think you're a bit off. They originally wanted to be in alpha early this year but that has been pushed back - last I remember hearing was it should be end of this year, early next year. That would put release somewhere in 2017/2018. Sure waiting is rough, we all want our new shiny toy - but we also want our toy to be the best it can. Plenty of people have seen (or at least heard about) what happens when games get rushed, so I'm sure we all agree that taking the time to do it right is better than rushing so we can play sooner.