RIFT: Year Two State of the Game (part Two of Two)

[Taree]

Thank you for the update!

[fD123]

That's it? Not much of the state of the game. What about addressing the massive concerns of the playerbase over the direction of the game with the loss of Hartsman. What about addressing f2p? What about addressing the game population?

He did address the direction of the game, just not obvious enough for you to understand apparently.

Address F2P? Just because there's some thread on the forum doesn't mean it is even remotely a possibility, which it obviously isn't. If it was going to happen I'm sure it would have been mentioned.

What's there to say about the game population? "It has gone up and down since release." No sh*t.

[simpa1988]

He did address the direction of the game, just not obvious enough for you to understand apparently.

Address F2P? Just because there's some thread on the forum doesn't mean it is even remotely a possibility, which it obviously isn't. If it was going to happen I'm sure it would have been mentioned.

What's there to say about the game population? "It has gone up and down since release." No sh*t.

exactly, i cant understand what some ppl was expecting...

[Synovia]

Greetings, Ascended!

It’s been a long road since an intrepid band of developers introduced the world to RIFT in 2010 by opening the original Alpha shard. Being able to share the game with external testers for the first time was a transformative experience. RIFT was no longer just a product, RIFT became a service, a living breathing game world. That idea was central to the team early on, but it really came to fruition the moment we threw the switch and let people in.

How can we make the game better for our players? This is the same question we've continued to ask ourselves and the community since that first day of Alpha. Every week of pre-release we added new content, new features, updated balance and pressed onward. That same spirit guides the RIFT team today. We strive to provide meaningful game updates and push the game forward just like we've done since that fateful day in August of 2010. We push to provide hotfixes every week that address issues brought to our attention.

As Rift approaches its second anniversary this March it could be all too easy rest on our laurels and focus on the past – but that’s not what the RIFT team is about. We’re about looking forward and finding ways to improve upon what we have built. The team is busy actively working on our next two major game updates, 2.2 and 2.3 – and the game updates beyond those are starting to solidify more with each day.

With 2.2 the Carnival of the Ascended – a celebration of the first appearance of the Ascended - will return to Telara. Along with it, new carnival games as well as some old favorites will be available, a slew of new Zone Events will appear in the Storm Legion zones, the Planar Attunement system will expand to tier 3, and we hope to add our first activated Hard Mode encounters to Endless Eclipse and Frozen Tempest. Of course, you can also expect more bug fixes, and updates to classes as we always provide. There are also some updates to PvP that have been sneaking out to the live servers before 2.2 hits.

What secrets are hidden behind the walls surrounding the Dendrome? As we approach game update 2.3 we’ll start to peel back the layers of mystery – but that is a story for another day, Ascended.

We look forward to sharing those secrets, and the continuing saga of RIFT as we boldly step into 2013.

Bill "Daglar" Fisher
Lead Game Designer: RIFT

While I very much appreciate the post, Daglar, I, too, was expecting a bit more. You've told us a bit about 2.2 but all of that was largely speculated to be there regardless. We assumed Carnival would come back and, given the timing, with 2.2. We also knew hardmodes were coming very soon and that T3 PA was on the table for 2.2 or 2.3. So while the clarity is appreciated confirming they are all coming in 2.3, what about some elaboration on the direction Rift is heading? For example, what of the following:

1) Are there any plans for high-end, competitive PvP in Rift (Arena, rated Warfronts, or some other idea)?

2) Can we expect a new tier of raiding with 2.3 or will there be a new 10m added to the existing tier (as is implied by the achievements on the PTS for a new death-themed 10m)?

3) What about shutting up the trolls for at least a few months and telling them that Trion has zero plans for F2P in the foreseeable future (not that it would even matter as I would still play Rift even if it were)?

I'm sure the list could go on.

Thanks for your time, Daglar!

[drkdragon909]

While i'm glad to hear that 2.2 and 2.3 are being worked on and thought about i am some what saddened by the lack of any substantial information on how the game is doing. I mean i was expecting a quick but informative recap of the last year and some real plans/goals for this year and we just didn't get that. With the whole Scott thing yesterday i guess i was just hoping for a little more of a reassurance that the game and team are still going to push on like it did with him here but even the state of the game address is lacking.

[Muffinmans]

Would have really liked a little more about the direction the game is going in. No mention of PvP content? But at least we know what to expect for the next couple updates.

Thanks

[Vulkax]

While i'm glad to hear that 2.2 and 2.3 are being worked on and thought about i am some what saddened by the lack of any substantial information on how the game is doing. I mean i was expecting a quick but informative recap of the last year and some real plans/goals for this year and we just didn't get that. With the whole Scott thing yesterday i guess i was just hoping for a little more of a reassurance that the game and team was still going to push on like it did with him here but even the state of the game address is lacking.

Thank you....

[simpa1988]

Would have really liked a little more about the direction the game is going in. No mention of PvP content? But at least we know what to expect for the next couple updates.

Thanks

they told us about the direction of the game,as for what content to wait for the feature it will be nice but maybe things arent set up yet to say sth at public

[CJE]

He did address the direction of the game, just not obvious enough for you to understand apparently.

Address F2P? Just because there's some thread on the forum doesn't mean it is even remotely a possibility, which it obviously isn't. If it was going to happen I'm sure it would have been mentioned.

What's there to say about the game population? "It has gone up and down since release." No sh*t.

I'm not a doom and gloomer but the writing is on the wall unfortunately. Trion layed off more than 40 of the RIFT development team, the LEAD left, just as he left EQ2 before it went F2P.

I'm not even saying F2P would be bad for the game, I'm just saying everyone I've talked too has noticed there is an aura of unknown about RIFT atm and it's direction.

Even if you look in terms of content, 2.2 is slated to be one of the lighted content patches since RIFT was released.

This "State of the game" did not address the STATE of the game. Is RIFT growing? You don't have to give up numbers... What is the CURRENT stance on F2P? What is beyond 2.2, 2.3? What KIND of content are you going to add, just in terms of direction.

This was not a state of the game at all because it told us nothing about the current state (health) of RIFT.

The first state of the game from 2012 was a HUGE list of direction and improvements.

http://community.riftgame.com/en/201...ne-year-later/

Now compare THAT to the few words we got out of Daglar?

How can anyone even argue they are comparable?


1570 words vs 421 words.

This is a joke.

[xanduin246]

Very thankful for this Daglar, the most reassuring thing is that no F2P model was announced. I know it's still a possibility, but I think that if it was going to be soon, today would've been the day to announce it.

Gotta agree with others on my disappointment with the length/depth though, past ones were way way more informative. I mean you have this one from summer 2011, and this is last year's around this time. Hopefully it can be made up with regular doses of info all throughout the following months.

[Ajax1114]

Well said, Daglar. Good luck with this game and with your future after Rift.

[Misun]

exactly, i cant understand what some ppl was expecting...

Oh...I don't know...

Maybe something like this? You know..what was posted last year?

[Gile]

Wow

I didn't expect a generic 2.2 preview as state of the game post lol.

I expected

We are sorry for invading your privacy with our useless bot detection and all it did was hurt our player base. We are sorry for constantly putting out broken content and not addressing it for months and staying silent. We will try harder in the future.

But nope a generic 2.2 preview is considered the State of the Game!

But hey the Carnival is coming guys we are GTG!

[Magis]

That was barely a patch note.

<3 Everyone there.

But still read much longer patch notes..

Did Amary proof this?

[No Quarter]

Wow all that anticipation to just be let down with a vague, un-descriptive and half-assed post.

I'm assuming this is what to expect from Trion now that Scott Hartsman is no longer there?

How about some details of what you guys are planing over the next year, what your working on etc.