One Month In Q&A Session at MMORPG

[Knite]

Hey everyone-

I stumbled across a Q&A that MMORPG.com posted today about Aion now that it has reached one month of live service. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but a decent read anyway. Have a look at what Brian Knox has to say and discuss!

From www.MMORPG.com

Would you describe the initial launch of Aion to the North American market to be a success?

So far so good! The response since launch has really exceeded our expectations, and players continue to keep logging in. As you know, an MMO doesn't stop at launch so we still have a long way to go. We learned a lot in those first few weeks and feel we're on a great path now to continue to build off of the great experience.


Can you explain what led to the decision to allow what many considered to be outrageous queue times directly after launch rather than to add more servers or take some other measure to be sure that all who paid for the game could play when they wanted to?

We tried to walk a very fine line and we strayed a bit in the beginning. Our goal was to always ensure there was a playable server for that language or region. Most players didn't use this option and continued to stay with their original server, but the option was there. That said, today we're seeing much more reasonable queue times today and continue to monitor this closely.


How has the queue situation played out over time? Has the system normalized since launch?

Now that the hype of the first two weeks are over things have levelled out and we have healthy populated servers with minimal to no queue times. We will continue to monitor and predict adding new servers as time goes but I think we can all agree that an empty unhealthy server in an MMO is not fun.


What are the developers currently doing to alleviate what many feel to be an epidemic in game when it comes to bots and gold spammers existing within the game?

We have many tools on the back end that we cannot necessarily go into. What I would like to make clear is that these bots and spammers aren't just regular people they are organized criminals. They steal accounts and credit cards to earn their gold and advertise their services. There are 40+ companies of these criminals all working against us, so this is not an easy fight. But as I said we have many tools behind the scenes to detect and prevent these criminals from ruining Aion. As my public service announcement for the day, don't trust these companies for kinah or power leveling. They will use your account to spam and bot and eventually steal it back, maybe not today but eventually. That being said, we have implemented new spam filters as of this latest update that we think should help limit the spam and have our team closely monitoring and banning these as quickly as we find them.


What advantages has Aion had in launching first in an Eastern market before being launched here in the West?

Stability and balance. We launched with a stable product that had been tested by massive amounts of players. We also have a game that has been balanced for months so that players have a good game experience.


There have been complaints that Abyss PvP is too centered around group battle, leaving the solo player more or less in the lurch. Can you speak to this?

This all depends on play style. The Abyss is certainly more tailored to large PvPvE battles but that doesn't mean a player cannot survive and thrive alone.


What kind of feedback have the developers received post-launch that they are looking at integrating into upcoming patches and updates?

We are looking into expanding the legion system and improvements to the UI, all things our players have been asking for. And as players are also seeing today, we've implemented some new spam filters to help address feedback from players, as well.


How long, on average, has it been taking for players to reach max level since launch?

Most of our players are reaching the max level in around 300 hours. We more or less what we predicted from before launch. That said, it's been exciting to watch the progression of players.


Can you tell us what the developers have learned from Aion's launch? What do you feel was done right, and what, if you had it to do over again, would you change?

We believe we did a good job in our beta testing. We received great feedback, thoroughly tested the game, didn't burn out users, and were able to show the game off to a larger number of users than traditional beta tests. I think we should have had a few more servers.

[Desha]

I think we should have had a few more servers.

At least they admitted it finally!

[Ishy]

Originally Posted by Knite

What are the developers currently doing to alleviate what many feel to be an epidemic in game when it comes to bots and gold spammers existing within the game?

We have many tools on the back end that we cannot necessarily go into. What I would like to make clear is that these bots and spammers aren't just regular people they are organized criminals. They steal accounts and credit cards to earn their gold and advertise their services. There are 40+ companies of these criminals all working against us, so this is not an easy fight. But as I said we have many tools behind the scenes to detect and prevent these criminals from ruining Aion. As my public service announcement for the day, don't trust these companies for kinah or power leveling. They will use your account to spam and bot and eventually steal it back, maybe not today but eventually. That being said, we have implemented new spam filters as of this latest update that we think should help limit the spam and have our team closely monitoring and banning these as quickly as we find them.

The big question here is: Are NCSOFT going to do anything against players using bots?
Since the recent bannings, most of the bots I see nowadays are actual players using these to powerlevel themselves, not just goldfarmers.
In a competitive game where level = advantage, this is NOT acceptable. Yet it seems nothing is being done.
Many people have reached 40-50 using bots whilst us legit players struggle to keep up with them. This gives the botters a large advantage in the game.

DO SOMETHING ASAP NCSOFT. You risk losing alot of players since competitive people will either resort to botting to keep up, or simply quit.

[clavrus]

I would like some sort of official communication regarding the obscene amount of crashing during fortress raids myself. It's great that they're aware of the bot situation because it still needs alot of work. However I pretty much hear nonstop in legion chat that their client crashed and they'll be back, multiple times from people. I myself had my client crash 6 times in a row, even with the Shift - F12 and graphics settings all the way down.

[Daedalius]

Would have liked more mention of fortress crashing bug.

Also maybe when next patch is going to be rolled out.

[Azteran]

Agreed. Biggest issue is fortress battle crashing and bots. I'd also like more info on upcoming patches and maybe and eta.

[scarr]

Depressing that this interview is so out of touch with reality. They don't even really know the issues, let alone have a plan to fix them.

[Aleste]

His words aren't encouraging, doesn't seem they have any effective system to counter Botting yet. It seems the message he's trying to pass over, is that most of the botters are stolen accounts, thus its the communities fault. And ultimately they are hesitant to Ban these accounts (which are originally legit player accounts).



They better hurry with the new GMs.

[Victory]

Originally Posted by Ishy

The big question here is: Are NCSOFT going to do anything against players using bots?
Since the recent bannings, most of the bots I see nowadays are actual players using these to powerlevel themselves, not just goldfarmers.
In a competitive game where level = advantage, this is NOT acceptable. Yet it seems nothing is being done.
Many people have reached 40-50 using bots whilst us legit players struggle to keep up with them. This gives the botters a large advantage in the game.

DO SOMETHING ASAP NCSOFT. You risk losing alot of players since competitive people will either resort to botting to keep up, or simply quit.

+1

It seems like NCsoft only cares about gold spamming. They never banned the people I snitched on. Heck, I even fraps them botting and they still do jack. They even have a automated-answerin mail when replyin to you. Many botters are going to get the ban-free hammer by the time NCsoft does somethin about it. What a joke.

They better hurry with the new GMs.

You mean actually get GMs. They all copy/paste the same asnwers when replyin back.

[Eric Danieros]

Originally Posted by Knite

What are the developers currently doing to alleviate what many feel to be an epidemic in game when it comes to bots and gold spammers existing within the game?

We have many tools on the back end that we cannot necessarily go into. What I would like to make clear is that these bots and spammers aren't just regular people they are organized criminals. They steal accounts and credit cards to earn their gold and advertise their services. There are 40+ companies of these criminals all working against us, so this is not an easy fight. But as I said we have many tools behind the scenes to detect and prevent these criminals from ruining Aion. As my public service announcement for the day, don't trust these companies for kinah or power leveling. They will use your account to spam and bot and eventually steal it back, maybe not today but eventually. That being said, we have implemented new spam filters as of this latest update that we think should help limit the spam and have our team closely monitoring and banning these as quickly as we find them.

[/LEFT]
[/CENTER]

And when do we get... actual results against them? I've decided to level in the Abyss because I rather be ganked by players 10 levels above me a few times per hour than needing to wait for mob respawns and being ks'd by bots because they swarm Beluslan into monster extinction at Azphel.

[Charliez]

I hope the next patch comes fast, with the legion changes implemented

[Aluen]

Originally Posted by Ishy

The big question here is: Are NCSOFT going to do anything against players using bots?
Since the recent bannings, most of the bots I see nowadays are actual players using these to powerlevel themselves, not just goldfarmers.
In a competitive game where level = advantage, this is NOT acceptable. Yet it seems nothing is being done.
Many people have reached 40-50 using bots whilst us legit players struggle to keep up with them. This gives the botters a large advantage in the game.

DO SOMETHING ASAP NCSOFT. You risk losing alot of players since competitive people will either resort to botting to keep up, or simply quit.

Our guild is 40-50 only, and we don't bot. Your logic is flawed, since the mass of the players are still 25-30, 30-40 and hardcore 40+. (50 is insane, of course )

Originally Posted by clavrus

I would like some sort of official communication regarding the obscene amount of crashing during fortress raids myself. It's great that they're aware of the bot situation because it still needs alot of work. However I pretty much hear nonstop in legion chat that their client crashed and they'll be back, multiple times from people. I myself had my client crash 6 times in a row, even with the Shift - F12 and graphics settings all the way down.

They know about that issues - they've addressed it on this forum, and they are working on it - do you really need a post about it in every interview they're giving?

[Sardoni]

I think the majority of NA/EU Aion players wouldn't complain about the bots if the bots were put in areas that people didn't care about. Not condoning botting in any way, shape, form, or fashion... being practical the frustrating piece to the actual gamers is that the bots exists in quest mob/hub areas.

I know in C-Aion the bots were always in obscure, off the beat path areas that the general player never traversed. And there weren't 16 of them in the same area. They were killing random mobs so when people rifted to kill bots that's exactly what you were doing. Killing the bots not getting interspersed with players.

Just seems the botters got dumber for NA/EU launch tbh.

Again, I'm not condoning it. Just... seriously... Trying to farm my wind spirit III pet I have to KS from bots PLUS those mobs are quest mobs. Pretty ludicrous in that regard. It's an issue that needs to be addressed.

More importantly, the fortress siege crashes need some input since they boasted stability in all the development videos. Personally I participated in fortress sieges in C-Aion and never crashed my client once. Not sure why my client would be crashing now.

[Ishy]

Originally Posted by Aluen

Our guild is 40-50 only, and we don't bot. Your logic is flawed, since the mass of the players are still 25-30, 30-40 and hardcore 40+. (50 is insane, of course )

Im 43 myself. I didnt say everyone 40+ is botting. Im saying many people who are 40+ now, were 10 levels behind me a few weeks ago, now, they miraculously caught up 10 levels. They are the botters.

[Aleste]

Originally Posted by Sardoni

I think the majority of NA/EU Aion players wouldn't complain about the bots if the bots were put in areas that people didn't care about. Not condoning botting in any way, shape, form, or fashion... being practical the frustrating piece to the actual gamers is that the bots exists in quest mob/hub areas.

I know in C-Aion the bots were always in obscure, off the beat path areas that the general player never traversed. And there weren't 16 of them in the same area. They were killing random mobs so when people rifted to kill bots that's exactly what you were doing. Killing the bots not getting interspersed with players.

Just seems the botters got dumber for NA/EU launch tbh.

Again, I'm not condoning it. Just... seriously... Trying to farm my wind spirit III pet I have to KS from bots PLUS those mobs are quest mobs. Pretty ludicrous in that regard. It's an issue that needs to be addressed.

More importantly, the fortress siege crashes need some input since they boasted stability in all the development videos. Personally I participated in fortress sieges in C-Aion and never crashed my client once. Not sure why my client would be crashing now.

Which is why we need more instances.