RF Online Wrap Report

Best Decisions

Michael Rowland: During the beta period, we found we had some serious problems with the login servers as explained above. We chose to close the beta earlier than expected to work on this problem exclusively and test internally. We did lose some vital beta test time, and unfortunately, couldn't allow in the huge number of testers we wanted. However, the overall improvement to the service because of this was certainly worth the extra downtime between beta and launch.

It seems like every day, we're learning something new... We've noticed how many different types of MMO players there actually are, and how they all play the game slightly differently.

The beta test plan was altered late on due to some of the earlier issues, but for the better. A key area of beta is the stress testing, and the shortened beta period allowed us to test this to its maximum. We invited more people sooner then expected to join us on Novus, and simulated a launch day influx of players. The test was hugely successful and the hardware coped very well with the torrent of people and logins.

To have a big breakfast on launch day is always advisable, and I'm glad I did. I don't believe I got up from my PC for around 20 hours. It was a manic time for all of us, and eating wasn't an option. A full English breakfast can last a whole day if eaten correctly, and I can testify to that.

Key Strengths

Kyle "Laeth" Rowley: We feel RF Online excels is many areas; most noticeably the massive PvP wars that players get to participate in every eight hours. These wars - aka Chip Wars - enable players from each faction to basically blow the crap out of each other, in a struggle to control something called the Crag Mine. The Crag Mine is rich in resources for players to mine, but is guarded by a powerful foe called the Holy Stone Keeper. The only way players can gain access to the core of the Crag Mine is to win a Chip War, so as you can probably imagine, these conflicts are very intense!

We're also working very hard at getting great new content into the game. Like any other MMO, RF Online is going to need new content for the higher-level players. We're working very closely with CCR to make sure this content is delivered not only in a timely fashion, but that it is of the highest quality. Players can look forward to the Giga4 / Final updates in the coming months!

Aside from the in-game PvP and on-going development support, we're very proud of our customer service, both in-game through Alchemic Dream and our in-house telephone support. We have a very fast turnaround on all reports, and have received very positive feedback from our community members.

Speaking of the community, they're great! RF Online is very much a community-based game. Players really do feel like they are helping their faction when playing RF Online; everyone knows each other and will always help any new players to the game. We're like a family... no... really. :p

Areas for Improvement

Kyle "Laeth" Rowley: Saying that, we're under no illusion that RF Online or the service that we provide is perfect. Of course it's not. There are several aspects of RF Online that we would like to improve on, and we're working hard to try and do exactly that. For example, we are not very happy about the current RF Online website and the content that is provided on there at the moment. To remedy this, we're going to be involving the community a lot more on what content they would like to see, and possibly include community-written content as well.

We're also looking to improve the turnaround time from when the players report a bug to us and when it gets patched into the game. At the moment, it's taking slightly longer than we would like.

Lessons Learned

Kyle "Laeth" Rowley: All in all, launching RF Online has taught us a lot about the MMO market. It seems like every day, we're learning something new - but we expected that and it's been keeping us on our toes! We've noticed how many different types of MMO players there actually are, and how they all play the game slightly differently. Being a Korean-developed MMO (and we all know how hardcore they are), we have a large number of 'hardcore' players who love the grind. :P We also have a large number of role-playing players who enjoy the theme that RF Online is based on. You know... fantasy vs. science fiction. Catering for these different types of players has been a challenge, but it's also been an excellent learning experience, and it's something that we'll be taking on board for our future games.

Something that really goes hand in hand with this is the different ways in which we have had to deal in a diverse range of territories. Translation from English to French and German for the websites has been a tough process to get the hang of. These territories also require their own set of forums to converse about the game on, and from a community stand point, it has been tough getting the communication between all the territories to a standard that doesn't hinder us in other areas. While it may have been a struggle to begin with, we now feel we've cracked it and it all seems to be running smoothly. *touch wood :d*