JohnBarny wrote:
QUOTE:
They will probably still make it available for download, just box will be alot easier.
Hopefully, if they do a digital download prior to launch like Age of Conan did, they'll use a better system. For AoC, Funcom used a torrent system, but never really explained that it was important for people to leave the downloader open even after they finished. As a result, many people had download times of 2-3 days or more to get the game. Many paid extra for Early Access a few days before the official launch, but then were unable to get the software in time to use the time they'd bought.
Worse still, when Funcom finally activated the trial "buddy key" passes two months after launch, the people who tried to download the game found that because almost nobody with a complete copy of the game had the torrent downloader running, they had 8-10 day download times. Funcom's solution: "you should loan your buddies your installation DVDs."
The lesson here is that any MMO is going to be a very large download, and distributing it to thousands to people at once is not fast nor is it easy. Whatever system they choose, I hope they allow plenty of time for it to work prior to launch. Perhaps the easiest way would be for the box to be on sale one week before launch. People would then be able to install early without having to do a digital download (other than last minute patches). Then on launch day, there would be thousands of people ready to go when the servers open.
That would be fun indeed!