Why PC players should care about MacFollow

Thanks for posting this here Snailish. I voted and posted.

I own a PC and a Mac. The one thing keeping me from playing on Al'Kabor was the fact it was a separate sub - but with EQ going F2P, there is no barrier to entry into EQMac... except that they want to shut it down.

edit: Just wanted to say that their reasons for this are clear and honestly, understandable. They are recoding EQ to a F2P tiered model. They don't have the resources to recode the EQMac code for the (pulls number from air) 4000 people that subscribe to EQMac. It was already an orphan, and would be even more so after this transition. What they aren't considering, IMO, is that if they expend the resources to recode it for tiered F2P, more people would want to play who prefer Macs!

Edited, Jan 31st 2012 7:56pm by Samatman

Just voted yes also. Even though I've never owned a MAC. The Al'Kabor playerbase need all the support they can get to let the devs keep a MacIntosh option open.

The fact that the Mr.Smedley actually started a poll on this indicates that they might create another (reasonably easy) option for Mac users to play EQ.

Best wishes for all the Al'Kabor users.

I said I own a mac, not that I love it. It's a tool not a lifestyle. Macs represent upwards of 10% of computers now. Sure even I could make the case for ignoring just 10% of a potential base and this, coupled with the fact that even getting activated to play EQMac has been a major hassle has (probably) left the Al'Kabor server far less populated than even Mac numbers might suggest.

But I have read that the EQMac dev, Hobart, logs into the server using a PC, with a PC launcher. Now, suddenly this isn't about Macs vs. PC (which seems to be a valid issue initially). This is about preservation of a gamestate and codebase that could be taken and opened up to all EQ players, Mac OR PC. This is about a better "Classic" experience than the sad excuse they actually spend dev time and $$ on, Fippy and Vulak.

Al'Kabor is a set of code that requires essentially no maintenance. All it needs is destroying the artificial barriers to entry that have existed since it started. Get a PC launcher out and put the damn server on everyone's launcher list!

What boggles my mind is that here you have a man in charge that really only cares about monetizing his player base. Yet he has sat on this classic code as if it was anathema while spending dollars on TLP servers that are only a shadow of what classic should be.

Bottom line, open Al'Kabor to all. This isn't about Macs at all.

rated up for smelling the bigger picture.

Note: I may not agree with my old chum alwayslost on this one, but I rated him up too for a counterpoint requiring thinking about.

Edit: and grats to Hexeez on the guru ding from this thread --I love it when I see that change happen :)

I would be playing on Al'Kabor years ago if my PC could have logged in. I've read many Al'Kabor forums over the years (before they got legit status on the Official boards). Amazing people there.

My coughing and sneezing PC could be replaced by a Mac easily any time. I happen to be tied to the PC EQ game by my brother.

Al'Kabor's unique ruleset is a major attraction... at this point SOE might just give Mac users a new-port but locked at _____ server. Once they clue in and let us PCers access it too... it would be a robust server that people pay full subs to play on for an indefinate period of time.

So basically... the most likely "compromise" to help out the Mac players is a good thing for everyone, even those that never would even login there. (subs paying for no content development and happy to do so = gravy. I understand they need to do a new Mac port to make this viable in the FTP codebase world. So do it.).

Edited, Feb 1st 2012 6:50pm by snailish

Neverminding all that pointless stuff, the server isn't getting shut down because it is losing SOE money, in fact it seems that it has been profitable enough to even have its own dedicated developer. The issues seem to be entirely seperate from a simple monetary issue.

They simply don't like the idea of an eq client that is so different and "out-of-date" compared to modern EQ, add to the fact that this guy is apparently the only one with the knowledge of working with the code on the server and they're afraid of the possible disaster in having only one person able to service the game. I kind of cringed reading Smedley's address to the playerbase because it feels like they are flat out embarassed by the server, which is a whole other ridiculous thing I'll just avoid rambling further about.

You seem convinced that the Al'Kabor players are stealing from us by getting some love from SoE on keeping their community alive, they have been loyally subscribing all these years just like us, maybe its their turn to get some focus outside of whatever basic maintenance and small attention they've received over the years. The regular EQ servers will not be simply allowed to atrophy away if a Mac client or whatever else were to happen. There is a reason Smedley made a "no promises" poll, they will not do this if it will irreparably harm the rest of EQ. The sky will not simply fall.

I've never owned a mac or even touched this server, but I find it silly to get so wrapped up in biases and whatever else while seemingly not even stopping to read up on the real issues with the Server. (This could not have less to do with the real world and political gripes, seriously.)





Edited, Feb 1st 2012 9:16pm by Saeel

For those of you who don't get Bijou's reference.
Substitute the words Communist, Jew, Trade Unionist, Catholics and you have what Pastor Martin Niemoller wrote, and what snailish referred to in his orginal post.

yeah, I can be pointless...

I honestly think it is silly to compare the economics of a commercial enterprise to the persecution and attempted decimation of a religous group...and more than a little insulting to them.

I read this stuff you guys post because we are a community...with ideas that need to be expressed...keep up the good work...
even if some of us get


;-)