I'll probably get lynched for this but...

[Danth]

For my part, I joined this a week before it launched. It took me 4 days just to get things ready to log on. You do the math. I suspect a lot of people *did* only find out about it around launch time due to word-of-mouth and forum posts.

Nobody feels entitled to a wholly bug-free experience. Quite the contrary, every single person I've talked to appreciates that this is an emulated server; as such, it's not going to be 100% spot-on compared to historic EQ. That being said, folks do reasonably expect tweaks for the most serious issues. Nobody can realistically fault the player base for that, either.

Kesmai, the studio which made what was likely the first graphical/realtime MMOG, had an old saying about players: "We could get them all laid and they'd still bitch." There's truth to that. The hard part for the devs is in separating the valid complaints from the 'fluff'.

The beta for this project also highlights the problem with beta tests in general: People want to play the game, not fix things. I say that as a statement of fact, not a statement of accusation; I've been guilty of exactly that in other MMOG beta tests. Some vital mechanics are so blatant in their malfunction that I believe they saw no testing whatsoever. As such it's understandable, if sometimes frustrating, why some of these mechanics remain in need of tweaks.

Danth