Early access sadness FAQ

[DarthAlhazred]

So I, like many of you am not able to log in yet.

 

I work for another game company, so I couldn't log into the beta, and today I am a rather sad not to have light saber noises coming from my machine. I entered my code in July, so tomorrow I am sure I will be too giddy, but I figured I would write up an overview of why I think people are upset (even the ones who are angry rather than sad like me).

 

I - Early Access

 

I know they have been saying it will be in pre-order order for a while, and hinting at it from even before that as the site registered the date you entered the code, but still seems weird that players who ordered the same game at the same price, before launch to help the company forecast better get in on different dates. Maybe there should have been clearer hints from when pre-orders went live, like: "Order this week for the Earliest Game Access", "Order today for Earlier.... Early....Earlyish....Early-Adjacent...etc"

 

II - Chronological Waves

 

This may be me reading too much into this, but... isn't this rewarding people who spent less time thinking whether they really want the game? It seems the people who followed the betas, the diaries, and generally ordered the game when they were convinced the game was for them are being punished (or at least scolded) by getting in later than the people who ordered Day 1 because it's Star Wars and it's Bioware.

 

I saw a suggestion from somebody that it should have been a wave-by-wave random draw from pre-orders, and that seems like it would have made more sense.

 

III - A Global Launch?

 

Now there is a lot of arguments back and forth as to whether this is a launch, and both sides have decent points (I personally fall into the group that thinks it is). But the thing that bothers me is that the invite waves went out from 07:00-13:30 EST (I think). What kind of part time hobby schedule is this?

 

The game is going to be played around the world at all times of day, it's a big part of the Massively aspect, and I know Bioware have offices in different regions, so... Why aren't there more people working on gauging whether the servers can take some more people? Why are the asian players stuck in the same wave as europeans, why do the europeans have to wait for americans to wake up, etc?

 

IV - The Power of Name

 

There is a lot of players upset because they likely won't be able to get the name they wanted, even though they pre-ordered just like the next guy. Name is a big part of playing a role in an online world. How come we have had a chance to reserve names for guilds, but not for characters? Seems odd.

 

V - But what Tomorrow?

 

A large part of the disappointment stems from the unexplained. We know this is Bioware's game, and know all rights belong to them (unless EA pulls the leash), but... how does this staggered access really work? Is everyone getting worked up for nothing because more servers will be activated tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow to accommodate the new waves? Will the waves slow down if they realise that everyone is almost in?

 

It all seems a bit despotical with a "stuff happens as and how it happens" attitude, which is less than reassuring, since this is not the beta any more. Yesterday people were fans and testers, today they are customers, and I am not convinced their (our) expectations are really being measured.

 

Which makes a lot of people sad, or angry, or simply frustrated, and I think the above are the reasons why.

 

If you asked yourself why, please add, lets see if there may be some lessons for the next MMO launch perhaps.