Hmm, I debated and debated over joining EU (signed up yeserday!), and having read about a third of this thread, it seems not all is well in the universe!
Actually, I've been taking a peek at forums of this game for several months now, and I must say from my limited experience in the game development world as a 3d modeler and texture artist, what is taking place happens alot in the game development business. Then when things unravel, you have all the copyright issues to sort out. It can get messy.
From a development standpoint, they made a good move I think using the Cryek engine. Newer pc's can handle it, and quite frankly, they will have to handle it, hardware wise, as there is a transition to a new generation of chips; quad core. And there is also the software changes, namely with the operating systems. I'm originally a FPS palyer, and the new Battlefield 3 doesn't support Windows XP (DirectX 11 issue I think mostly, and that means new graphics chips and cards!). Times they are a changin' in the pc world! Time to upgrade your stuff, like it or not. The industry is forcing it. So, from a technical perspective, the Crytek move isn't a bad one. Apparently it can handle the game, graphics aside.
What some people tend to not realize though is how much resources all these various things a player can do, or what the game does, takes up which makes the game slower the more complex and dynamci it is. And graphics eats up ALOT of resources, thus EU has these wide open areas with virtually no structures in sight and little vegetation. Toss in the mix a bunch of avatars doing a variety of things, and your pc tries to render all that on your screen real time, and you get problems with lower end systems. The trick for developers is to find a balance between making the game for the most players possible, when considering what hardware they are using. That means compromise. Many things COULD be done n a game, but that doesn't mean it's practical.
Usually, problems arise over money, and who is entitled to what. The game itself really isn't the issue, it's the people running the companies. The artists and coders are usually innocent victims with the players.
To me, it sounds like MA is ripe for the picking. They got a great concept, and I think a great game engine to run it, though I know of the Crytek engine from a FPS perspective, which there should be more FPS action in a MMORPG, but it seems it can run this type game. As for the monetary aspect, there is some legal/banking isssues I'm sure, but that's fixable, and should be more prompt too. There is no way in this digital age that people should be waiting for 60 days to make a withdrawal of their own money. That's inexcusable, but may well be tied to local banking laws.
Whatever the case, improvements obviously are needed, but if they can't get the company end of things straight, things won't go well, and investers will not take a second look. Huge potential being squandered.
Many times when a company gets into trouble, it's employees step up and buy them out. Maybe a player buyout is in order. Artists and coders of top quality are sitting around doing nothing in the industry and would love to work on this project, so that part isn't a problem. Getting the company in line is the issue it seems.
A well-managed company will draw customers if the product is at least decent. People notice attention to detail, and how a company acts towards it's customers. A good indication of where a company's mindset is is in how they handle customer complaints. And the customer's comments tell the tale, as evidenced by this very thread!
Thanks for the insights in to EU's real world status. New players need to know these things, particularly what all these various acronyms are that veteran players mention. I know MA is MindArk, but it's gets blurry quick after that!