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[Lagspike_exe]

I'm sure other people got or will get it, but I just got a survey about MAG that included a question about a potential new mode via DLC called Interdiction, where both teams try to attack and control 3 command points. Sounds interesting, I hope they go through with it.

Potential?
If they're just doing focus groups that means we'll get it in like... September.

OR, I might be wrong and they'll launch it in a few weeks.

 

[Violater]

I'm sure other people got or will get it, but I just got a survey about MAG that included a question about a potential new mode via DLC called Interdiction, where both teams try to attack and control 3 command points. Sounds interesting, I hope they go through with it.

And for the price they stated they can fuck off.
If they end up charging, that will be he end of it as the user base will be splintered beyond repair.

 

[gunther]

And for the price they stated they can fuck off.
If they end up charging, that will be he end of it as the user base will be splintered beyond repair.

Face it people, the game will die . At this point there nothing that cn save this game. For domintaion we need at least 256 peopla in one team. The other night there where 300. I will just enjoy the game while i can. Downloable contend could give some life to the game but it will die aniway.

 

[Anerythristic]

^^^

Yeah 0 to 50 total player count (yes it read 0) last night (late night 1 AM U.S.) on Acquisiton and under 256 on Domination. The only bright spot is the Sabotage mode still had around 700 to 1500 a faction at that time.

So we still have a little time to enjoy. I worry how long that will last SVER Sabo map is balanced, Valors C objective is virtually a fortress and Ravens map is really a joke. So people will get frustrated with this to.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

And for the price they stated they can fuck off.
If they end up charging, that will be he end of it as the user base will be splintered beyond repair.

How much do they wanna charge?

Face it people, the game will die . At this point there nothing that cn save this game. For domintaion we need at least 256 peopla in one team. The other night there where 300. I will just enjoy the game while i can. Downloable contend could give some life to the game but it will die aniway.

You actually need 128 people in team for Domination.

 

[Click]

Just took the survey and here are the screenshots of the DLC and subscription questions:

Fuckin' hilarious.

 

[Click]

Zipper needs to focus on fixing Raven and SVER Domination maps, as well as the various glitches first before they worry about charging people $13 for DLC.

The game does need DLC badly and the "Interdiction Pack" sounds like a good idea, but for $13, they can go fuck off.
Oh, and the "$1/month for a character slot" idea is just retarded. They seriously think MAG is a MMORPG, lol.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

$12.99?:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[TelemachusD]

Did anyone listen to last week's Zipper podcast?

They said that any contract bonuses your faction has apply across all maps and modes.

You actually need 128 people in team for Domination.

He's right really. If there are only 128 players per faction that means you only have enough for one and a half domination games. The wait times would be close to 30 minutes for the side not in the battle.

 

[Click]

Did anyone listen to last week's Zipper podcast?

They said that any contract bonuses your faction has apply across all maps and modes.

Yup.
Didn't realize this until just recently.

Makes more sense this way.
But the Shadow War is still far from being what it was originally thought up to be.

 

[Anton668]

Just took the survey and here are the screenshots of the DLC and subscription questions:

Fuckin' hilarious.

A) no fucking way

B) if its free, yes way!

C) no fucking way. and can you please come to my house so I can shove this game disk up your ass?

D) see answer C

 

[Click]

Zipper is so awesome, they're doing an “Influence MAG Program” so fans can change the game to their liking!

Too bad it's pointless and their first poll is something they've already tested in beta. Which is probably why 80% of the votes are for keeping things the same:

They really do have the shittiest, most incompetent post-release team.
FFS, fix the damned Domination maps and stop worrying about polls and time limits, Zipper!

 

[Anton668]

from the blog....

Reminder: Play MAG with Zipper Friday, May 14, at 2pm PDT!
posted by Chris Roper, May 13, 2010 11:20 am

Tomorrow’s the day! We’re mere hours away from gathering our forces and hopping online to see if you have what it takes to beat us at our own game (spoilers: you do), so get in those practice rounds while you can.

We’ll have our team split into multiple squads across all three PMCs (Raven, S.V.E.R and Valor) so you should be able to play with us or against regardless of which side you’re on. We’ll be playing in four-person teams in order to allow you the chance to join our squads. Remember, look for players with the clan moniker [ZIP] (that’s short for “UnZipped”) to find us in the game.

Here’s our play schedule:

* Pacific: 2pm – 4pm
* Mountain: 3pm – 5pm
* Central: 4pm – 6pm
* Eastern: 5pm – 7pm
* Hawaii: 12pm (noon) – 2pm
* Alaska: 1pm – 3pm
* GMT: 9pm – 11pm

UPDATE: We’ll be playing Sabotage and Domination for roughly one hour each (we promise not to quit in the middle of a match). Here’s that loose schedule:

* Sabotage: 2pm – 3pm
* Domination: 3pm – 4pm

See you on the battlefield!

 

[KZObsessed]

Finally got to level 60 with Raven. All three factions complete, finished off with 2 wins over SVER Domination. mwahaha.

I've switched back to SVER, but in all honestly I don't think I'll play anymore. Though funnily enough over the course of 3 factions and 140hrs or whatever I've still yet to unlock the OIC role as I rarely get given any kind of leadership :lol

oh well.

A new mode/map sounds good, I'll play again with SVER GAF if they release something like that. But I paid £40 for MAG on release so I'm not going to pay for any expensive DLC if that's what's going to happen.

 

[theBishop]

Zipper/Sony could've gotten away with charging for DLC back in February or March. Now, either DLC is free or the game begins its death match. Premium DLC ($13!!!) would actually hurt the game at this point.

As for subscription player accounts: :lol :lol :lol :lol

This is coming from a diehard MAG defender.

 

[Anerythristic]

The only thing that upsets me is people don't come back. The game started to get stale for me, I was frustrated with the balance issues so I took a two month break.

I then decided to simply take the game off the shelf. I am enjoying myself again. (it seems that for gamers once a game goes on the shelf and gets a little dust on it its as good as dead...shame)

I am not afraid to start another recruitment thread for ValorGAF. I am sure not everybody traded it in...right?

 

[Lagspike_exe]

I'm sticking with Valor until I hit 60. Currently @ 54.

 

[Anerythristic]

I'm sticking with Valor until I hit 60. Currently @ 54.

I have been Valor since the beta. To be honest I really see no reason to switch. Has anybody played Raven, it alsmost seems that its futile for them.

 

[Click]

I have been Valor since the beta. To be honest I really see no reason to switch. Has anybody played Raven, it alsmost seems that its futile for them.

Quite a few of us GAF'fers have been through all 3 PMCs.

All 3 PMCs have good players and clans. But most of us who has gone through all 3 factions agree that Valor has the most incompetent players amongst the 3, with Raven not far behind.

When RavenGAF was still alive (before our consolidation and the previous double XP weekend), the faction actually did pretty well. I remember Raven owning Sabo. contract(s) a few times and almost always owning the Acquisition contract(s). However, they're now completely dominated in all 3 game modes for some reason. Guess that double XP weekend caused a lot of the talented players to migrate over to SVER....

 

[Click]

Finally got to level 60 with Raven. All three factions complete, finished off with 2 wins over SVER Domination. mwahaha.

I've switched back to SVER, but in all honestly I don't think I'll play anymore. Though funnily enough over the course of 3 factions and 140hrs or whatever I've still yet to unlock the OIC role as I rarely get given any kind of leadership :lol

oh well.

A new mode/map sounds good, I'll play again with SVER GAF if they release something like that. But I paid £40 for MAG on release so I'm not going to pay for any expensive DLC if that's what's going to happen.

Yeah, I haven't been the OIC since I vetted over to Valor.

Back then, I was usually the OIC. Being OIC was extremely fun, especially with a full squad of GAF. I remember our entire squad frequently having all 3 leadership positions back then. That's when we steamrolled through everybody everyday. Good times.

The best part about being OIC is having the auto-regen passive ability. Once I've used the 4 OIC abilities, I concentrated on attacking / defending. The auto-regen helps so much. I felt like a super soldier with it. Other players in the squad also got the auto-regen too.

 

[Das-J]

Anyone going to jump on and play with us?!

 

[Click]

Anyone going to jump on and play with us?!

Wish I could but I won't have access to a PS3 for another 3 days. ; ;

 

[commish]

The only thing that upsets me is people don't come back. The game started to get stale for me, I was frustrated with the balance issues so I took a two month break.

I then decided to simply take the game off the shelf. I am enjoying myself again. (it seems that for gamers once a game goes on the shelf and gets a little dust on it its as good as dead...shame)

I am not afraid to start another recruitment thread for ValorGAF. I am sure not everybody traded it in...right?

Yeah, I stopped with Mag and I'm 99% sure I'll never return to it. The devs have their heads up their asses still and most of the playerbase suck, have left, or whine. Too many other good games out there! They should have had a new game mode in place long ago.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

Anyone going to jump on and play with us?!

Played 4 rounds of Sabotage and didn't see you guys.

 

[Violater]

Played 4 rounds of Sabotage and didn't see you guys.

Same

 

[Violater]

Where is Lince

 

[Little_Luke]

Yeah, I stopped with Mag and I'm 99% sure I'll never return to it. The devs have their heads up their asses still and most of the playerbase suck, have left, or whine. Too many other good games out there! They should have had a new game mode in place long ago.

Agreed. I can't help but think we all payed for a relatively well put together tech-demo ... the "meat" of the game just isn't there.

 

[Click]

Agreed. I can't help but think we all payed for a relatively well put together tech-demo ... the "meat" of the game just isn't there.

Come on now. This statement isn't fair.

I'm very critical of Zipper failure to properly balance the maps and weapons, to fix the glitches, and failure to release true DLC in a timely fashion, amongst many other complaints. But to say that MAG is a tech demo is just wrong.

Yeah, the game doesn't have an offline mode and it is a full-priced game at $60. However, there are 9 ENORMOUS maps (not including Suppression), 3 factions to play for, lots of weapons, gadgets, and skills to use, and a lot of tactics / strategies to learn and perfect.

I may be a "hardcore" player, but I've already gotten over 260 hours out of MAG. Lots of other GAF'fers also have over 150-200+ hours logged as well. If MAG was merely a "relatively well put together tech demo," there would be no way we could've gotten that much playtime out of this game.

 

[Little_Luke]

Oh I've played my share too ... I vet'd quick cuz i couldn't stop playing ~80hrs then I have just crawled on my second run through; the game just doesn't hold my attention and I just can't help but get frustrated at the lack of fairness.

It's been mentioned before that in any game with a large player base small differences can create large issues, such as the small differences in maps having the grander effect of making the SVER maps a chore and largely a lesson in futility upon their attack. As it's been proposed, and even championed by you yourself I believe, why isn't it an actual war of winning and taking ground? Let the maps move around in terms of ownership. That would mitigate any "advantages" there are in the maps and level the playing field round to round.

In the end I'm tired of hopping on ... attacking SVER ... never getting anywhere and finding I wasted 20 minutes. When I first got the game I was pumped and did enjoy my time, but a games true colors show over time and this one has left me wanting. If you want to understand what I'm talking about look at a game like CS:S. Don't get started on how it's a different animal because at it's base it's a game about working as a team and shooting the other team, but it's balance is perfect as it's huge player base and length of popularity can attest too. Hell even BF2 showed a greater ability to balance "core" aspects such as guns and maps which of course leads to an environment where the smarter and more skilled player wins out, most the time.

By "tech-demo" I mean to say I feel they just wanted to prove they could get big battles ( even though you only ever actually attack 32v32 across different fronts) and then threw in some gadgets and said "There ya go! Oh and we're gonna lock you all into your maps and teammate pools so lets just cross our fingers that things don't go wacky."

/rant

EDIT:: I guess I'm just disappointed because I was really hoping this game would fill the void in my team-work, large scale FPS loving heart left after the BF2 scene died down; I guess there's always BF3

 

[Lince]

Where is Lince

Halo Reach, CS:S & SSFIV

 

[TelemachusD]

Anyone going to jump on and play with us?!

I played both hours, didn't see anybody.

Are you gonna vet to SVER, Das?

 

[Click]

Stuff.

I see where you're coming from.

I'm also very disappointed and frustrated with how Zipper has handled the post-release of MAG. I haven't had as much fun in an online shooter for a long time. It's sad to see Zipper screw up years of hardwork and a great launch in just a few months.

BF2 was a great game. I loved playing it and the expansions back in the day. Too bad I had a shitty PC back then or I probably would've played a lot more. CS wasn't my cup of tea. My cousin was amazing at it though and I've watched him play a lot. I can't believe how many people still play CS:S. Probably the longest-lasting online shooting game ever.

How come I've never seen you post here nor play with us? What's your PSN ID? You should join up with SVER GAF sometime and maybe you'll be a little less frustrated with the game.

 

[Click]

Halo Reach, CS:S & SSFIV

Figures you'd switch your avatar to Vega. :lol

 

[Click]

The 4th Zipper Podcast (Zipline) is a great episode. Extremely informative Q&A with the lead designer of "MAG Live."

Anyone that's still reading this thread and playing MAG should definitely listen to it:

http://blog.mag.com/blog/2010/05/zipline-podcast-episode-4/

Some of the changes in the next patch:

- Nerfing LMG (again) so that you can't run & gun with it effectively.
- Handbreak sliding (didn't even know there was a handbreak) and vehicles will handle better.
- CC (cost of weapons) will be lowered, while LMGs will remain the same, effectively upping the cost of LMGs without increasing anything. Handguns will now cost nothing, since they are mandatory in the loadout.

 

[Little_Luke]

I see where you're coming from.

I'm also very disappointed and frustrated with how Zipper has handled the post-release of MAG. I haven't had as much fun in an online shooter for a long time. It's sad to see Zipper screw up years of hardwork and a great launch in just a few months.

BF2 was a great game. I loved playing it and the expansions back in the day. Too bad I had a shitty PC back then or I probably would've played a lot more. CS wasn't my cup of tea. My cousin was amazing at it though and I've watched him play a lot. I can't believe how many people still play CS:S. Probably the longest-lasting online shooting game ever.

How come I've never seen you post here nor play with us? What's your PSN ID? You should join up with SVER GAF sometime and maybe you'll be a little less frustrated with the game.

I tend to troll . I've tried getting with groups but people switch PMC's so often I get used to a crowd and then everyone moves on .. which sucks. I'm raven now about lvl 48 and don't know if I'll switch; maybe back to Valor because I liked their guns and skins. Since the beginning I've had no interest in "easy mode" aka Sver

psn is little_luke hit me up any Raven GAF

 

[lsslave]

Is there anyone left on Raven? I play with dazed808 a lot (and have a pretty good crew going, its at the point where if we don't get top squad there is an "oh shit, we f'ed around too much this match" thing :lol )

Yes Raven sucks, but if everyone flocks over to SVER the game is going to suck, so Raven FTMFW!

 

[Little_Luke]

Yes Raven sucks, but if everyone flocks over to SVER the game is going to suck, so Raven FTMFW!

This encapsulates the inherent problem with the game ... people flock to the best team PERIOD and Sver has that rep.

 

[lsslave]

This encapsulates the inherent problem with the game ... people flock to the best team PERIOD and Sver has that rep.

SVER in general are some of the worst players actually :lol

Their maps are ridiculously overpowered but losing to SVER is a combination of their maps being a "tunnel" that you have to get through (I have that down pat to get through though) and glitching...

THANK *CENSORED* GOD ZIPPER PLAYED LAST NIGHT >.< If they don't fix the panel glitch I'll snap

But the playerbase is actually the worst players who flock to it because its "so powerful"

I've found some of the most talented players sit on Raven (everyone hates Valor haha) because its just the right amount of challenge (but idiots will constantly cost matches :/ really bad idiot-to-smart ratio)

Still, I don't care about trophies in the least so I won't be vetting out, I don't see any reason to

 

[Click]

Like I said, a lot of us have already been through all 3 PMCs (I personally did Valor once, Raven once, and SVER 3 times). We had a vote / poll a few weeks ago and decided to consolidate GAF into 1 PMC / clan. SVER barely won the poll, so we all vetted over there. However, a lot of people quit or are playing a lot less after the double XP weekend...

I have to disagree with you 2 when you say SVER has the least talented players. It's actually the opposite. While it's true that SVER has the easiest maps to defend, they also have the most amount of talented (or at least non-braindead) players BY FAR, compared to Valor and Raven. Most of the GAF'fers that have vetted all 3 PMCs would agree with me on this. That's not to say that SVER always have good players in every game because they most certainly do not. It's just more likely that you'll end up on a SVER team which uses their mics, can shoot their guns, know how to attack and defend positions / objectives, and doesn't sit back to snipe all game long.

 

[Little_Luke]

I didn't mean to imply that Sver doesn't have good players because it's obvious they do. Really it boils down to why does there even have to be ONE PMC that has the largest majority of players that know how to properly play the game. You said as much in your own words; that's the thing I can't look past and what drives me nuts. In BFBC2 I don't always have a great team, but I know I can join a different server and it will largely even out. In MAG because you're more or less locked into one pool of players by way of the PMC's it's led to where we are now. The player base has settled and as you put it we have this situation ....

It's just more likely that you'll end up on a SVER team which uses their mics, can shoot their guns, know how to attack and defend positions / objectives, and doesn't sit back to snipe all game long.

You wouldn't say this about the Russians or the Americans in BFBC2 or any other FPS for that matter. Sadly the PMC's are a good idea on paper, but in all reality and practicality it's a broken system. When paired with locked-in map imbalances this has led the community to feel as if you're some "Just Warrior" of the greater good by playing as any PMC other then Sver. All the while putting yourself through the frustration of knowing things could be a lot more fun if you just had a chance at a decently laid out map.

 

[Click]

I didn't mean to imply that Sver doesn't have good players because it's obvious they do. Really it boils down to why does there even have to be ONE PMC that has the largest majority of players that know how to properly play the game. You said as much in your own words; that's the thing I can't look past and what drives me nuts. In BFBC2 I don't always have a great team, but I know I can join a different server and it will largely even out. In MAG because you're more or less locked into one pool of players by way of the PMC's it's led to where we are now. The player base has settled and as you put it we have this situation ....

You wouldn't say this about the Russians or the Americans in BFBC2 or any other FPS for that matter. Sadly the PMC's are a good idea on paper, but in all reality and practicality it's a broken system. When paired with locked-in map imbalances this has led the community to feel as if you're some "Just Warrior" of the greater good by playing as any PMC other then Sver. All the while putting yourself through the frustration of knowing things could be a lot more fun if you just had a chance at a decently laid out map.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21062950&postcount=6003

 

[Little_Luke]

I see what you did there .... then that is all i'll say on the subject

 

[TelemachusD]

I managed to have one of my best and yet worst Sabo rounds ever earlier. I went 43-5 defending, but we lost with TWO seconds left.

 

[Click]

I managed to have one of my best and yet worst Sabo rounds ever earlier. I went 43-5 defending, but we lost with TWO seconds left.

Those last-minute wins and losses are the most exciting and gratifying / heart-breaking games I've ever experienced in an online shooter, especially if it's a Domination game.

The only other online shooters I can think of where I've ever felt so much excitement, tension, and enjoyment is ironically in SOCOM II, SOCOM Confrontation, and Warhawk.

 

[demolitio]

I can't wait to hear about the major DLC coming. I've always said it'd be cool if they had neutral ground maps. Hopefully this game can hold me off until S4.

 

[lsslave]

Those last-minute wins and losses are the most exciting and gratifying / heart-breaking games I've ever experienced in an online shooter, especially if it's a Domination game.

The only other online shooters I can think of where I've ever felt so much excitement, tension, and enjoyment is ironically in SOCOM II, SOCOM Confrontation, and Warhawk.

Yeah, I like Maps that present a perfect challenge. I actually was a part of a 1:37 win (we had B within the first minute, A didn't go the whole match until 5ish remaining)

When I get a good Raven squad going we win constantly... except Domination

Raven is designed to fail that :/

Here is hoping for good DLC to revive the community because what MAG does right it does best

 

[Click]

Here's your chance to Zipper's Creative Director, Ed Byrne, some questions and hopefully have them answered in the next Zipline podcast or by him in the thread:

http://forums.mag.com/t5/MAG-Blog-Discussion/Zipline-Episode-5-Q-amp-A-Thread-Ed-Byrne/td-p/488958

Not sure how responsive he'll be. Last week's podcast featured Scott Rudi, the Lead Designer of "MAG Live." Rudi answered tons of questions and is still answering them...

Here are the questions I asked Byrne:

- Will Platoon Leaders ever get more control over the battlefield and their troops?
i.e. Allowing PLs to set default FRAGO(s).

Currently, Squad Leaders are the only ones who can set FRAGOs and waypoints.
I (and many others) feel that PLs are not as useful as SLs.
PLs have some good (passive) abilities, but cannot really "lead" their platoon other than by telling them what to do / where to go via voicechat.


Here are some question more related to your job position, Mr. Byrne:

- How hard was it to convince SCE(A) to greenlight MAG?
- What were other game concepts that didn't get approved by SCEA?
- Did MAG turn out how you and your team imagined it would?
- Does Zipper have an in-house Marketing / PR department? Or do you guys rely on SCE(A) for that??
- How come the Shadow War was never fully realized? Was it because of time constraints / budget issues?
- Roughly how long did it take to develop MAG? From the conceptual stage to release.
- Are there other genres you and Zipper would like to develop other than online shooters? Or would you guys prefer to stick with what you do best and have always done?

I know you most likely can't / won't be able to answer this but, are there any plans on making a sequel to MAG after SOCOM 4?

Here are the questions I asked Rudi:

How come you didn't make the better, modded versions of the LMGs and sniper rifles weapons that you EARN, but instead, allow everyone to download them? This effectively made the original / regular versions of these guns obsolete. Also, these are the 2 weapon categories that have been abused by most players. Did we really need more people using LMGs and sniper rifles?

Very good points and all I'll say is that you should see any more of that kind of stuff. All future weapon additions will be actual new weapons rather than variants.

My 2nd question is related to the first one. How come there is no incentive to "vet" over to another PMC? We get nothing but a stupid PSN trophy and a small XP bonus. It's more frustrating than rewarding to switch PMCs, given the fact that we have to start all over again at level 1; without any skills or weapon enhancements. The first 30 levels can be unbearable at times, especially without a clan to back you up. This is where Zipper can take a page out of Infinity Ward's book. Encourage your veteran players and reward them for sticking with the game, keeping the online community populated, competitive, and healthy. Having a different colored name for each time we "vet" would be nice. Allowing us to pick 1 weapon to use from previous PMCs that we've played for would be nice. Or like my first question stated, giving us upgraded versions of weapons would be a cool reward, instead of handing them out to everyone for "free." All those ribbons and medals are no good to us in-game. If there's not much incentive to do well and keep playing, especially with existing issues in the game, people are going to leave the game (which most of the 700,000+ people that bought MAG already have).

Under discussion right now here, so don't have many details right now for you. I do like the idea of some perks for vetting, but we have to consider that not everyone wants to do that, so we don't want to short them, either. There's some forum discussions on this as well that we're keeping up on, too.

Is there going to be a better clan system / update in the future? The current system isn't bad but it's also not good. It would be nice to have a real clan leadership system. It's annoying to have to scroll through eveyrone in the clan to find those that are online. Group the online members up top. The leader of the clan is no different than officers of the clan, other than the fact that the leader can kick anyone out, even officers. Any officer can promote or kick any regular member, which makes no sense. We also need a better party screen. There is no way to tell who is talking in the party.

We're doing lots of work on improving clan support and features for a future update. Keep your eyes open for announcements from Dunham for details, but know that this is an area we're taking very seriously.

Why can't we have more than 8 people in a party? I understand that it may be unfair to have a huge clan of 32+ people join a game together and steamroll through the opposition, but it's unfair to leave out friends or clan members due to the party size limit.

Yup - the balance issue is why you currently can't join in groups larger than 8, but we think some of the things we're working on now will help address this. Not saying that we're changing that limit, but we want to support larger groups of players in a clan who want to all play together. Again, can't give any details other than watch for Dunham's announcements when the time is right.

Why hasn't the Raven Domination map been fixed yet? It is the worst map to defend, as I've detailed in this post. SVER's Domination map is extremely hard to win if you're the opposing team. I can't believe 2 out of the 3 Domination maps are STILL broken 4 months after this game's release. Domination is the game mode in which MAG differentiates itself from other online shooters. It can also be extremely fun if not for the fact that it's unfair to play due to map imbalance. I understand it's very difficult and takes a very long time to change / balance maps. However, 4 months is more than enough time to get this done. Most people don't even play Domination anymore due to queue time, caused by map imbalance. Acquisition is dead because it's a bad game mode. Sabotage seems like the only game mode people play these days...

Why isn't there a penalty for quitting out of games before they start or even during the game? I've seen so many people quit just because it's an attack game. Because of quitters, many games end up being unfun, unfair, lopsided test of patience and sanity. Disable the leave game button if people use it a certain number of times within a short period. Sure, stat-padders and a-holes will still find ways to quit out of games (unplug ethernet cable), but at least you'll make it harder for them to ruin other gamers' experience.

Is there a patch that will give us a map rotation system? It's terrible when we have to play the same maps over and over. The game already has a problem with the amount of maps it has. This is compounded by the fact that the "Shadow War" was never fully realized, map imbalance, and not having a good map rotation system.

Working on all of these issues and we know how serious the impact is on the game. Still working out what we can say and not say about these issues, other than we're fixing them and workign on getting them to you - no one is sitting around here, be assured of that. Gah - I apologize for my lame responses. *sad smiley*


The last question I can think of right now is for a clanmate from Europe (Spain to be exact). He has quit MAG recently because Domination is not a viable game mode for him to play anymore. Why did you guys (or SCE) shut down the European servers? He used to be able to play Domination fine before, but now gets over a 3,000 ms ping. Yeah, that's over 3 seconds worth of lag just because he plays in Spain. Is this because there aren't enough players in Europe? Or is it because of something else?

Wow - I was unaware of any sudden net issues in Europe. I'll get some net guys to see what's going on. Thanks for the heads-up!

Anyway, I hope at least a few of my questions get answered. I loved the Q&A you had in the 4th podcast and I appreciate you trying to answer all of our questions here. I just hope you and your team can do a better job at patching MAG in the future. Rather than saying you're going to do something, actually do it. Show us disappointed fans and gamers that Zipper isn't all about lip service.

Even more frustrating for us, actually. We ARE doing lots of stuff (patching better sums up a lot of it quite well, in fact), but can't quite communicate all the details about stuff until we're told the time is right to do so. For this you have my apologies. *another sad smiley*

 

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Updated my post with Scott Rudi's answers to my questions.
The answers are in bold.

 

[lsslave]

It is good to know that they understand how fucked up the domination maps are If they balance the SVER and Raven domination maps then I can see myself being stuck with MAG until MAG 2 arrives

Good choice of questions though man, the fact you asked about the dom maps is actually perfect, the exact question I would have wanted to ask!

 

[Click]

Yeah, Scott Rudi seems to really care about MAG and the playerbase.
It's nice of him to take the time and effort to read through and respond to all of the questions people have been asking him in that thread.

However, as the lead designer of "MAG Live" (post-release of MAG), him and his team has done a terrible job with the patches and balancing. I'm not exactly sure how or why they're so inept at this job, especially because it seems like he plays MAG often and understands everything that's wrong with the game. It must be due to the lack of manpower because Zipper had to move everyone to work on SOCOM 4. Heck, even Rudi's working on some SOCOM 4 things...

I'm just guessing, but I'm willing to bet that the real blame falls upon SCE(A). They wanted to release the PS Move wand thingy and needed a game that could demo and launch that stupid controller with. So what better developer to use than Zipper and what better game to demo it with than SOCOM 4? Zipper just finished MAG so it's not like they are in the middle of developing a game. Therefor, they took everyone that was supposed to support "MAG Live" and made them work on SOCOM 4 instead.

In the end, it hurt MAG tremendously and also destroyed gamers' faith / trust in Zipper. If only the team that developed MAG was still working on it the first 1-2 months after release, this game would have done sooo much better. I can't imagine how large the playerbase could have been if Scott Rudi had a team big enough to properly patch, fix, and balance all the issues that's been plaguing MAG since launch.

I kinda feel bad for everyone that worked so hard to make MAG. Because Zipper is no longer an independent company, it has to do whatever Sony tells them to. And because Sony told them to focus on SOCOM 4, they couldn't properly support MAG the way they originally planned to. This is the perfect example as to why it's a bad idea to have Sony buy your development company; which is why Insomniac Games remained independent from Sony / SCEA all these years.

Instead of selling well over a million copies of MAG and having this game last well over a year, it's now on life support and basically stuck in the shape it has been in since launch, 4 months ago. Hopefully what they've been telling us all this time is true, and we'll see some real DLC "soon." Even if they do release a lot of DLC, I'm not sure MAG will ever recover most of its playerbase.