SSG's inconsistency is going to make the rest of the playerbase Leave.

[Ellisaria]

How about each past life generates 10 percent more hate?

Rip first life tank alts

 

[Altra]

Idk, I love this game and had a lot of fun playing until this last update. I simply stopped playing now.

I still check forums and see what’s evolving, but SSGs actions have direct impact on continued player support.

Yup.
This is the same thing I'm doing.
Sick of players being treated like an inconvenience they have to deal with, but would rather not.

I appreciate Cordo and Tonquin, Thank you guys, I don't think that's said enough, but the "Devs" and management have completely turned me off.
Not playing, not paying anymore.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't care.

@SSG
I'm watching you.

 

[Kathwynn]

Healthier that ever? That's rich. At this point one can only conclude you are trolling.
The data is right there for you to see. Posted screenshot below to make it easier. You know there is an opposite to "doomsaying" that is just as bad. Blind optimism is the belief something is great even though there is evidence to the contrary.

So according to your philosophy the game is doing better now than anytime in its 18 year history (i.e. better than ever.)
That single statement just shows you are looking to downplay the issue at hand. Not sure if you are simply trolling or you want the issue to be ignored and for the game to spiral further down into the abyss.

It could also be a case of you not wanting to air the games dirty laundry for all to see. This is very short sighted. Yes, potential new players can read this and that might deter them from playing. I would rather have that than them join, spend money, get mad, quit and tell everyone that will listen how awful the game is. One person can spread the word via social media, of how bad something is and cause more damage than if they simple did not play to begin with.

I do not know where this graph came from. I suspect it does not originate from an inhouse source. I suspect that the inhouse graph would look very different as it would show those coming on anonymously. Something that a third party site would not have access to. also 2020 the very start of covid shows a spike, One that many games large and small were seeing at the time.

At the same time your graph as error filled as it probably is. Does not show what you think it does. At no point in that graph shows a game threatening to flat line. It actually shows across the board a pretty consistent players logging into the game. With the usual valleys and peeks that I would expect to see in any small company. It actually shows from march 2020 to Feb 2024 a modest growth of population.

But without the data of those that choose to come on anonymously. We can not really know what the truth is behind this graph. But if i were still in the position of being an investor. These numbers would not frighten me off. In fact would inform me that on the surface. That the company is a good one. Not fantastic or even anything to jump up and down about. But a good company that is not a triple A game.

Which brings me to ask the inevitable question. If you feel this way about the game. Why are you still here? Please do not hand me the "I am doing it out of concern for a game I love.' or its variations on that answer. It is obvious you feel the game is trouble and have come on here to voice that opinion. Why are you still here feeling as you do about the game?

 

[JustHavingFunBro]

Which brings me to ask the inevitable question. If you feel this way about the game. Why are you still here? Please do not hand me the "I am doing it out of concern for a game I love.' or its variations on that answer. It is obvious you feel the game is trouble and have come on here to voice that opinion. Why are you still here feeling as you do about the game?

You do realize people can be upset or disappointed about the direction or decision? Right? If you get upset by people who do not bow down and kiss the ground DDO walks on, then perhaps you should avoid post like this.

Which brings me to the inevitable question. What is your agenda here? To run off a player? To make the forums your happy place where no one is allowed to voice an opposing view?

 

[Kathwynn]

You do realize people can be upset or disappointed about the direction or decision? Right? If you get upset by people who do not bow down and kiss the ground DDO walks on, then perhaps you should avoid post like this.

Which brings me to the inevitable question. What is your agenda here? To run off a player? To make the forums your happy place where no one is allowed to voice an opposing view?

SMH
Seriously? Really? That is not an answer.. The OP is doom saying just like so many others have done. My question stands as an effort to understand the logic, if any, there is to posting such messages. Because from where I sit. It is not for 'a game that I love' or its variations on that answer. Such posts as the OP first post are by designed, whether the OP is cognizant or not, of discouraging people from trying to come into the game. There are other ways that can be more effective to help the game grow. This is, in my opinion, not one of them.

 

[Kimbere]

I do not know where this graph came from. I suspect it does not originate from an inhouse source. I suspect that the inhouse graph would look very different as it would show those coming on anonymously. Something that a third party site would not have access to.

How to tell us you have no idea about how it works without telling us you have no idea how it works.

You even doubled down on it by not knowing where that data came from AND also by also guessing about "in-house" numbers. Unless you work for SSG, you don't know anything about those numbers either.

Arguing from ignorance generally doesn't work out very well for making a point.

 

[Toede]

Honestly, LFM looks exactly the same to me as it always does on every server. less than 10 lfms (usually way less) and all but one or two are reaper. If there has been some mass exodus over this latest patch, LFM is certainly not the place showing it. I dunno, I feel like some veteran players are blissfully unaware of how low the population of this game actually is, probably because some are isolated by their private guild bubble. It can only get worse by shutting off the servers at this point.

 

[Onyxia2016]

I do not know where this graph came from. I suspect it does not originate from an inhouse source. I suspect that the inhouse graph would look very different as it would show those coming on anonymously. Something that a third party site would not have access to. also 2020 the very start of covid shows a spike, One that many games large and small were seeing at the time.

At the same time your graph as error filled as it probably is. Does not show what you think it does. At no point in that graph shows a game threatening to flat line. It actually shows across the board a pretty consistent players logging into the game. With the usual valleys and peeks that I would expect to see in any small company. It actually shows from march 2020 to Feb 2024 a modest growth of population.

But without the data of those that choose to come on anonymously. We can not really know what the truth is behind this graph. But if i were still in the position of being an investor. These numbers would not frighten me off. In fact would inform me that on the surface. That the company is a good one. Not fantastic or even anything to jump up and down about. But a good company that is not a triple A game.

Which brings me to ask the inevitable question. If you feel this way about the game. Why are you still here? Please do not hand me the "I am doing it out of concern for a game I love.' or its variations on that answer. It is obvious you feel the game is trouble and have come on here to voice that opinion. Why are you still here feeling as you do about the game?

I will attempts to respond as best I can.

That graph is from DDO Audit. It has been around for years and is a trusted source of the statistics they present.

The graph shows that the number of accounts access the game as dropping steadily over time. If it were to level out that would indicate the lost of players has stopped or eased up.

There is no way to access the game anonymously. You have to have an accrual account and sign-in.

The left most part of the graph is the start up, which is why it jumps suddenly once everything was up and running. For there the population is trending down. Yes there are small hills and valley but the overall trend is downward.

Why am I here? Simple I love the game or I love how it was. You may not want to hear it but that is the plain and simple true of it. You may be content with letting the game fall into obscurity but I an not. I would shout from the rooftops in the hope that someone at SSG will finally start to listen, not just to me but everyone that is desperately trying to keep it going but pointing out the issues and less that stellar decisions being made. If I did not care of would say let it die and move on. Look back over the forums and the old forum that are achieved and you will see many of us that have been praying for years, some were even testing the game before it went public all voicing concerns.

I do not feel the game is trouble but rather in trouble. There is a difference.

Before you start getting of wound up on about something, perhaps you should do some research into where the data comes from. The impact decision many over the last couple years have done to the population and the outcry from the players pointing out the pitfalls those decisions. This is not Monday morning quarterbacking. Predictions were made based on experience with the game and player base which then came to pass. You would soon learn it is not my data or even my graph but from a dedicated and trusted source.

So data is correct and the graph is not in error.
The population is steadily dropping and nothing done in the past 3 years has stopped that or had any lasting influaction or player retention.
There is little in the way of attracting new player.
I does not take an economics major to see this is not a sustainable practice.

But if you have to rage against the facts you are certainly allowed to do so. Just as I am allowed to continue fighting to voice concerns.

 

[Kathwynn]

How to tell us you have no idea about how it works without telling us you have no idea how it works.

You even doubled down on it by not knowing where that data came from AND also by also guessing about "in-house" numbers. Unless you work for SSG, you don't know anything about those numbers either.

Arguing from ignorance generally doesn't work out very well for making a point.

SMH A third party graph can npt be taken as factual. Does that really needed to be spelled out...

 

[Kathwynn]

I will attempts to respond as best I can.

That graph is from DDO Audit. It has been around for years and is a trusted source of the statistics they present.

The graph shows that the number of accounts access the game as dropping steadily over time. If it were to level out that would indicate the lost of players has stopped or eased up.

There is no way to access the game anonymously. You have to have an accrual account and sign-in.

The left most part of the graph is the start up, which is why it jumps suddenly once everything was up and running. For there the population is trending down. Yes there are small hills and valley but the overall trend is downward.

Why am I here? Simple I love the game or I love how it was. You may not want to hear it but that is the plain and simple true of it. You may be content with letting the game fall into obscurity but I an not. I would shout from the rooftops in the hope that someone at SSG will finally start to listen, not just to me but everyone that is desperately trying to keep it going but pointing out the issues and less that stellar decisions being made. If I did not care of would say let it die and move on. Look back over the forums and the old forum that are achieved and you will see many of us that have been praying for years, some were even testing the game before it went public all voicing concerns.

I do not feel the game is trouble but rather in trouble. There is a difference.

Before you start getting of wound up on about something, perhaps you should do some research into where the data comes from. The impact decision many over the last couple years have done to the population and the outcry from the players pointing out the pitfalls those decisions. This is not Monday morning quarterbacking. Predictions were made based on experience with the game and player base which then came to pass. You would soon learn it is not my data or even my graph but from a dedicated and trusted source.

So data is correct and the graph is not in error.
The population is steadily dropping and nothing done in the past 3 years has stopped that or had any lasting influaction or player retention.
There is little in the way of attracting new player.
I does not take an economics major to see this is not a sustainable practice.

But if you have to rage against the facts you are certainly allowed to do so. Just as I am allowed to continue fighting to voice concerns.

A third party website.. Not as accurate as you would like people to think. SSG is not going to hand out sensitive information as to how many people are actually entering the game. But yeah, take it as gospel.. Whatever.

 

[Kimbere]

SMH A third party graph can npt be taken as factual. Does that really needed to be spelled out...

SYH all you want, it just makes you look silly and doesn't change anything.

Do you even know how it pulls the numbers? Clearly you don't, so you're not really qualified to state whether it's accurate or not, are you? You're still arguing from ignorance.

Their numbers aren't that hard to spot check any time you wish by manually counting the players in LFMs and comparing to the current displayed numbers there. Have you even bothered to do that before naysaying it?

 

[DDO Gaming]

The population is steadily dropping and nothing done in the past 3 years has stopped that or had any lasting influaction or player retention.

Only facts that matter to anyone:

// Things are looking pretty good for Enad Global 7, the parent company of Daybreak and Standing Stone Games. According to the company’s most recent financial report, it brought in $54 Million USD during the first quarter of 2023. That’s a big increase over last year, by about 43%. While some of those profits are attributed to things like Piranha’s MechWarrior 5, MMO developers Daybreak Game Company and Standing Stone Games were responsible for nearly half the video game-related sales. Interestingly, sales are a bit down for Daybreak – so, that basically means sales went up in other areas. //

https://www.mmobomb.com/news/daybreak-standing-stone-parent-company-boasts-54-million-revenue-first-quarter-of-2023

 

[canicus]

Only facts that matter to anyone:

// Things are looking pretty good for Enad Global 7, the parent company of Daybreak and Standing Stone Games. According to the company’s most recent financial report, it brought in $54 Million USD during the first quarter of 2023. That’s a big increase over last year, by about 43%. While some of those profits are attributed to things like Piranha’s MechWarrior 5, MMO developers Daybreak Game Company and Standing Stone Games were responsible for nearly half the video game-related sales. Interestingly, sales are a bit down for Daybreak – so, that basically means sales went up in other areas. //

https://www.mmobomb.com/news/daybreak-standing-stone-parent-company-boasts-54-million-revenue-first-quarter-of-2023

This is super interesting, thanks for posting this.

 

[Reaped and Ravaged]

"Inconsistency? I don't see anything inconsistent at all"

 

[Vua]

Only facts that matter to anyone:

// Things are looking pretty good for Enad Global 7, the parent company of Daybreak and Standing Stone Games. According to the company’s most recent financial report, it brought in $54 Million USD during the first quarter of 2023. That’s a big increase over last year, by about 43%. While some of those profits are attributed to things like Piranha’s MechWarrior 5, MMO developers Daybreak Game Company and Standing Stone Games were responsible for nearly half the video game-related sales. Interestingly, sales are a bit down for Daybreak – so, that basically means sales went up in other areas. //

https://www.mmobomb.com/news/daybreak-standing-stone-parent-company-boasts-54-million-revenue-first-quarter-of-2023

And what do you imagine the revenue from this game was? Maybe 2% of that?

 

[DDO Gaming]

And what do you imagine the revenue from this game was? Maybe 2% of that?

Why don;t you try posting an evidence-based argument instead of grasping at straws at a futile attempt to prove DDO will be closed down next week?

 

[Vua]

Why don;t you try posting an evidence-based argument instead of grasping at straws at a futile attempt to prove DDO will be closed down next week?

I never said they'll be shutting down, but listing a company's overall revenue isn't evidence of anything concerning this game. I based my answer on how many active accounts I believe they have, counted all of them as VIP, doubled that revenue for point sales, then rounded up. What do you think this game brought in for the first quarter of last year? How many people do you actually think play? Get out of here.

 

[Onyxia2016]

Only facts that matter to anyone:

// Things are looking pretty good for Enad Global 7, the parent company of Daybreak and Standing Stone Games. According to the company’s most recent financial report, it brought in $54 Million USD during the first quarter of 2023. That’s a big increase over last year, by about 43%. While some of those profits are attributed to things like Piranha’s MechWarrior 5, MMO developers Daybreak Game Company and Standing Stone Games were responsible for nearly half the video game-related sales. Interestingly, sales are a bit down for Daybreak – so, that basically means sales went up in other areas. //

https://www.mmobomb.com/news/daybreak-standing-stone-parent-company-boasts-54-million-revenue-first-quarter-of-2023

If you really want a deep dive, I suggest you take in the following. Warning this is a lot of financial and market info that many may find boring.
https://storage.mfn.se/a/enad-globa...2a3a1559/q4-interim-report-eng-v-23-final.pdf

This is directly from EG7.
While there is a lot of good information in this report, the import part pertaining to DDO is on page 7 under Daybreak.

DAYBREAK
For Q4, Daybreak contributed Net Revenue of SEK 181.8 (198.9) million, down 8.6 percent from the prior year, and Adjusted EBITDA of SEK 29.1 (41.7) million. Adjusted EBITDA margin amounted to 16.0 (21.0) percent. The lower performance for the quarter was consistent with observed trends throughout the year. The underperformance is largely attributable to the lower content delivery for a few of the titles for the year, including the delayed launch of DC Universe Online (DCUO) on the latest generation of consoles, which had an impact on the game’s visibility during the year-end holidays, especially on PlayStation 5. The launch is now set for Q1 2024. Further, the overall industry softness likely has impacted performance negatively.

Key highlights for the period included successful expansion pack releases for EverQuest, EverQuest 2 and The Lord of the Rings Online. The content releases were received well by the player communities and performed according to plan.

Subsequent to the year end, Daybreak successfully closed on the sale of a non-core IP for USD 5.9 million, resulting in a nice boost to its liquidity and a profit compared to the book value of the asset on the balance sheet.

Looking forward, 2024 will be a special year for Daybreak as it celebrates big anniversaries for the EverQuest franchise. Both EverQuest and EverQuest 2 will be reaching major milestones with EverQuest turning 25 and EverQuest 2 turning 20 this year. For these significant milestones, the team has kicked off the Year of Darkpaw (EverQuest franchise studio), a yearlong celebration with exciting new content and events throughout the anniversary year.

On the investment front, Daybreak is collaborating closely with Cold Iron on its new title targeted for release mid-2025 and making solid progress. Additionally, the plans have been put in motion for H1Z1 game development to execute against our mid-market publishing business strategy.


Note 8.6% lost for the prior year which is 17.1 million. Also the lack of any mention of DDO is telling.
Equally telling in the lack of DDO being mentioned in the second paragraph. EQ, EQ2, LotR all got mentioned but DDO was not.
This could lead to the belief the DDO's releases were not received well and did not perform according to plan.

Daybreak has a lot of good titles under their brand so it is possible for a company to do well, or in this case at a loss from the prior year, but still look good as other titles can help carry the poor performing ones.

 

[DDO Gaming]

If you really want a deep dive, I suggest you take in the following. Warning this is a lot of financial and market info that many may find boring.
https://storage.mfn.se/a/enad-globa...2a3a1559/q4-interim-report-eng-v-23-final.pdf

This is directly from EG7.
While there is a lot of good information in this report, the import part pertaining to DDO is on page 7 under Daybreak.

DAYBREAK
For Q4, Daybreak contributed Net Revenue of SEK 181.8 (198.9) million, down 8.6 percent from the prior year, and Adjusted EBITDA of SEK 29.1 (41.7) million. Adjusted EBITDA margin amounted to 16.0 (21.0) percent. The lower performance for the quarter was consistent with observed trends throughout the year. The underperformance is largely attributable to the lower content delivery for a few of the titles for the year, including the delayed launch of DC Universe Online (DCUO) on the latest generation of consoles, which had an impact on the game’s visibility during the year-end holidays, especially on PlayStation 5. The launch is now set for Q1 2024. Further, the overall industry softness likely has impacted performance negatively.

Facts matter:

https://imgur.com/DL63c1X

 

[DDO Gaming]

there must be a simpler way to post JPGs than via imgur