http://vnboards.ign.com/Horizons_General_Board/b5252/70524460/?0

http://www.tazoon.com/releaseForums/tm.asp?m=318676

Probably the most important part of the threads so far...

David Bowman
<SCRIPT>titleAndStar(90,0,0,false,"Horizons Developer")</SCRIPT>Horizons Developer

Your team was short manned before the ;lay offs, whats the chance your current team can keep up with teh contant thats been promised and or needed to keep Horizans going strong?

Chances are very good that we will continue to add content. Chances are very bad that we'll be able to do so as quickly with fewer people. So, we've been meeting to discuss which areas to focus upon. We are coming up with a list based on subscriber feedback and our personal experiences within the game. We will be prioritizing the list in light of our reduced staff size, but we have every area covered that involves the improvement of the game. We will be focusing on issues that appear to be of greatest concern first.

Given the state of the game, how can you lay off any developer?
Do you belive this game is finished? or near it?
What are you going to do to keep people with WOW and EQ2 around the corner?

If we did not lay off staff, we would not be here to support the game at all. Now that we have, and have reduced other costs, we can be here to continue to develop and improve the game. I do not believe Horizons is finished, or near it. It was designed to be a constantly expanding experience. It will continue to be expanded for many years. We are focusing on what Horizons is, and concentrating on improving the existing experience. WOW and EQ2 will draw a strong audience, but they will have things they do well, and other things that they do not. We are concentrating on what we do well, and will be building more to support those systems and concepts.

Server mergers: are they going to happen. If its a possability what about the plots, and character transfers etc ?

We have discussed the desire for more players to be in the same worlds and methods to allow that. We've been working on a character transfer upon request system for weeks, and we will continue to work on this at a minimum. We have several excellent ideas that would allow for transfer of plot ownership and constructed structures and would have to see some form of support for this prior to any attempt to consolidate worlds.


What kind of player retentiuon do you need to keep all the servers up and running and your sataff making money? are we there now with the layoffs or are we looking at mergers ?

I've been critisized for making a truthful statement earlier that our shard status reporting system reported not player numbers but system load. At the time I made that statement, we had not seen significant declines in our total number of subscribers. Since that time, we have lost subscribers due to many reasons, which include problems with the game and company. We've worked hard to improve the game, and the company. We believe if we continue to do this we will see our numbers begin to increase. As it stands today, after the changes in costs (including the layoff) we are in a stable financial position. The merging of shards together would be a very complex task, with mixed benefits and problems.

More later

Been watching it all closely, of course. Bad news with the layoffs, but I have to say the spate of communication from numerous AE employees (including those leaving) has given me a more positive outlook than I had 24 hours ago.

Best new tidbit...two new monster models on the way that look pretty darn cool ; )

Monster 1 (http://www.istaria.com/page.php?pg=screenshots&mid=kwellen_ingame1)

Monster 2 (http://www.istaria.com/page.php?pg=screenshots&mid=vexator_ingame)

That second one looks truly unique. It looks like it belongs in Barlowe's Guide to Extra Terrestrials.

Every game has winged devils, but its always nice to have something new.

I have to say I was a bit demoralized with the sudden layoffs. It was sudden to us, not those working with the company. It reminded me of a series of layoffs done for a similar reason for an unnamed company that I used to work for.

The immediate silence helped fuel the panic but then an intense stream of dialogue began which brings back hope. The next step is to see the results, which at this point I am hopefully optimistic about.

The thing that most impressed me was the discussion that began amongs the player community about what they could do to help this game survive.

It was very sudden news when it happened and I was very discouraged. I honestly have played a bit less this week...but that is more because I am caught up in a playstation 2 RPG though I am just about finished with it.

I wish in many ways AE had taken this approach to communication all along. It was like this during beta - much more direct contact and discussion of ideas.

I do think there will be some very major changes coming in gameplay - particularly in the area of dropped loot. How quickly they can enact these things will be a big question with the thinner staff.

All along HZ has been a game that polarizes people. Sure, there were a lot of people who were just "meh" about it, but there were a lot of rabid critics and fans. I think it is because the design decisions really slant towards a more casual play style - less focus on uber gear, more focus on character development. Good ability to solo but that means that mobs themselves are not necessarily as challenging as you might find in EQ.

I still like playing and will keep playing and see where it all goes -- just as soon as I finish the book I am reading and Dark Alliance 2 ; ).