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Life of MMo gamers - "We hate all MMos".
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Comment of this week
lol
I am guessing the concept of MegaServers nailed the coffin on this one.
Anyhow, Black Desert Online (I think beta) will appear first quarter of 2015.
Credits to MMOculture
Credits to 2p.com
lol
I am guessing the concept of MegaServers nailed the coffin on this one.
Anyhow, Black Desert Online (I think beta) will appear first quarter of 2015.
Daum hiring industry 'veterans from western region' for Black Desert
As I reached the venue for ChinaJoy 2014, my first target was head right to the booth of Korean developer Pearl Abyss, whose upcoming free-to-play game Black Desert is making waves around the world. I posted a few quick questions to Mr Brian Oh, Director of Overseas Business, to find out more.
Me: Obviously the gaming community is in shock at the announcement of Korean giant Daum Communications being the publisher of Black Desert for North America and Europe. Could you tell me more about the deal?
Brian: I understand the shock of the community, but after much evaluation, we felt that the deal with Daum Communications is right, given how much support they have given us since the Korean deal was signed.
Me: Will there be any possible delays, given that Daum Communications is not an established company in the western market?
Brian: I am not sure what Daum will do, since I do not question their operations, but I do understand that Daum is looking to set up a new games business team and hiring veterans from the western region to operate the new games platform.
Daum recently merged with Kakao, Koreas biggest mobile gaming platform as well (cinderboy note: I guess Brian is hinting that Daum has all the products to make sure the Western platform launches smoothly)
Me: Since Daum still neeeds time to set up a team, is there a concern that Black Desert will be pushed further backwards for a western launch?
Brian: Working with Daum, I know that they make decisions and work fast, hence there is no worry at the moment.
Me: How about translation? Is Black Desert being translated now internally?
Brian: We have a partially translated version for Chinese, and we are translating the game into English internally. We might get other companies to do part of the translations, but overall we are controlling the core translation.
Me: How is the China server going along?
Brian: *Smiles* We are speaking to several companies, and there is no confirmation yet. (cinderboy note: I was informed that Brian was actually over at a Big 5 publisher in the morning)
Me: When is Closed Beta 3 and what new features can we expect?
Brian: Closed Beta 3 will happen around late August or early September, and the item dye system will be added.
Me: Is IP block being planned?
Brian: Yes, we do plan to restrict IP base on region.
Me: What about a Southeast Asia server?
Brian: We are definitely interested, and will look forward going over. Which publisher is the best from the community?
Me: All publishers are bad according to the community *Brian laughs*. But *top secret* is actually a better one.
Credits to MMOculture
Credits to 2p.com
Skyforge - Community Game Guide
E3 2014: Skyforge Exclusive Interview
More details - http://www.mmobomb.com/forum/general/skyforge/15/
Will re-update the initial thread with this one.
E3 2014: Skyforge Exclusive Interview
More details - http://www.mmobomb.com/forum/general/skyforge/15/
Will re-update the initial thread with this one.
Been trying f2p Scarlet Blade ("nsfw") since yesterday and.. it's pretty bad but a bit fun aswell.
How bad is it?
It is my birthday today.
Long Live Authority.
Progressive Breaks Mix 2013 Intervals of Peace [HQ]
Some of the environments looks ok but it's pretty boring and uninspiring unless you really like the nude-ish characters. Reminds me of when I tried to play Aion. You get a mount with a lvl 10 quest though which felt really nice. It also has auto-run-to-quest-object function.
I have not read up on what the game really is about. Seems to have awesome mechs and stuff at higher lvls but I really doubt I get there with any of the 3 chars I have so far. Think I'm still in the noob area.
Edit: Thanks!
So you think within 6 month something will change? Why haven't posted any public info about their numbers?
You can also check,
MegaServer Feedback
MegaServer was introduced to combat the fact of low population across a wide number of servers.
Anyway, MMOrpgs should be forced by law to be transparent as possible about server population. That is what I would do if I had the authority. It is not a hot debate at the moment but hopefully one day it will be.
Rumors are also speculating about the drop of numbers in WildStar from what I have been gathering.
Tamriel Infinium: My love/hate relationship with Elder Scrolls Online
Quakecon was certainly interesting, wasn't it? Whether you're looking forward to new zones, the veteran system's extreme makeover, active world PvP via the thieving system, or combat upgrades, Elder Scrolls Online acquitted itself pretty well at this year's ZeniMax Media shindig.
The reveals even led to positive ESO comment vibes here on Massively, which added some much-needed love to the love/hate relationship that everyone seems to have with this particular MMO. I've got my own twisted take on said dynamic, so join me after the cut to celebrate the good and ask for more of it.
When I say "hate" in relation to an MMORPG, I'm really talking boredom brought about by feature-deficiency. I don't actually hate games -- who has time for that? -- but I do shake my head at the way the MMO industry has convinced everyone that less equals more since 2004. With that in mind, here are a few areas where ESO desperately needs more meat on the bones.
Can we have a reason to revisit zones?
ESO is a big, beautiful world. I've mentioned this before. I've also been playing pretty regularly since launch and I've seen a little over two thirds of it. I've done all there is to do on the Daggerfall side of things and am well on my way to polishing off the Aldmeri content, too. And while Ebonhart stuff beckons, I'd also like a reason to revisit the previous two (because, you know, gorgeous).
Yeah, I'm a screenshot junkie and one of those crazies who believes in MMO immersion, but a gameplay reason to return to these incredible areas would be even better. I initially thought that adding more dungeon content might be the way to go, but then ZeniMax started talking about that active world PvP thing where thieving players will be hunted by flagged player guards, and hell yes that is exactly what the pre-50 areas need.
Oh, and some Heritage quests
I'm going to shamelessly steal this one from EverQuest II, and ZeniMax should too, in my humble opinion. EQII has these things called Heritage Quests, which are lengthy PvE excursions through the game's many zones designed to reward the player with XP, exploration fun, achievements, and epic gear. More importantly, the storylines and the reward items hearken back to lore established in the original EverQuest, and the whole enterprise is a nifty way to tie the two games together and allow franchise newbs and vets to (re)kindle their love for the setting.
I've sunk more hours than I care to admit into the Elder Scrolls franchise since 2002, so I can only imagine the awesome that would come of ESO incorporating even more of that mythos into a series of epic quests.
And how about boats, please
This one may be a bit outside the game's wheelhouse at the moment, but all of those badass ships docked at ESO's various port cities are an unfortunate tease. I'm thinking that a full-fledged seafaring sphere like ArcheAge's might be beyond the scope of what ZeniMax set out to accomplish with ESO. I do think a simpler, Vanguard-style system could work, though, and it would serve to expand the world for explorers and, ideally, crafters as well.
Yep, housing too
Yeah, I know, there will be a few comments from the who-cares-about-housing brigade, but the reality is that it's a mechanic that makes MMOs stickier and encourages players to play longer and put down roots. Even if it doesn't do that for you!
I won't spend too much time on the instanced-vs.-open-world housing debate here, mainly because I'd be happy with either implementation. Sure, open-world would be slick, perhaps even as part of a territory control mechanic in Cyrodiil, but the genre's most full-featured housing systems are in fact instanced. Either way, creative director Paul Sage has said that housing is a priority as recently as a couple of weeks ago, though he also said that it won't be a near-future update.
And that's pretty much that in terms of what I think the game lacks at this point. Clearly ongoing class and PvP balance tweaks are implied; I'm mainly talking today about feature-adds and quality of life stuff that would make Tamriel feel more like Tamriel and less like yet another Azeroth derivative. But what about the love portion of the love/hate dynamic I mentioned in the intro?
Dat world
I've written entire columns on this already, so I'm not going to repeat myself. Much. ESO's Tamriel is spectacular, whether we're talking about its breadth, its eye-candy, or its sounds. It is Tamriel, as far as I'm concerned, and that's saying something considering how much time I've spent in previous incarnations.
Distracting progression
It's hard to fully hide the fact that ESO is a dyed-in-the-wool themepark, but ZeniMax has done about as good a job of that as I can imagine thanks to the game's skill progression lines. I may ultimately be pigeon-holed into a glorified rogue archetype as a Nightblade, but the journey to the end is full of fun distractions like leveling up heavy armor skills and dabbling in a bit of healing staff magicky stuff.
More like that, please, MMO developers.
Disguises
This is a small thing, but it's one of those small things that few MMOs do. ESO's disguises function sort of like appearance armor in other games, meaning that you can don a particular cosmetic outfit while retaining the stats of your actual armor. The catch here is that you have to don these outfits at certain points during certain missions and quests, usually to sneak past a group of guards or otherwise misbehave without drawing too much attention to yourself.
I find this way more fun than I probably should, and it's even niftier that -- provided I don't get dragged into combat -- I can keep the disguise, unequip it when I'm done with the quest, and re-equip later if I feel like dressing as a pirate/elvish soldier/whatever.
Yeah, it's the IP
Let's face it. If it weren't for the IP, I wouldn't have given a new fantasy themepark the time of day in 2014. Done-to-death is the only phrase that really applies to this particular sub-genre, and yet here I am enjoying one enough to write a recurring column about it.
The combat and class/skill mechanics are solid, yes, but without the Tamrielian trappings, I don't know that I'd be playing (much less writing about) Elder Scrolls Online. That's not so much an indictment as it is reality. The IP is a huge, huge part of this game, and with just a few of the tweaks I've mentioned above, ESO will be well on its way to doing that IP justice.
Obsidian explains Skyforge's class-swapping system
Obsidian and My.com are back today with another new Skyforge dev diary, this one a lengthy explanation of the game's class system. Skyforge allows class-swapping that will remind players a bit of RIFT: You'll pick a base class and then unlock intermediate and advanced classes as you play, swapping your current played class along the way. Check out the team's full explanation!
Many people have made the observation that the Skyforge class system is non-traditional and unique for an MMORPG. Our decision to design our class system this way was influenced by changes we see in gamers. In recent years we've seen a change in the way people play games, specifically, with the new found popularity of MOBA games. They have fast become the most popular online games and are consistently beating records for participation in various tournaments.
One particular feature that we really like about these types of games is that players are not required to select one specific character for each subsequent game session. At the start of each battle, the gamer can select the class that best suits the battle or simply because they like a certain class. In Skyforge we have kept this feature – players will have constant access to all classes, without the need to progress each class individually!
Remember that when starting a typical MMORPG you are faced with a difficult choice: mage, warrior, archer, thief, and many other classes that look very appealing in their game descriptions. But it becomes even more difficult in class selection when they are further divided by race, so that even if you know you are going to play as a mage you would have to go to the trouble of selecting between an elf mage or a human mage. Let's say that on a whim or after reading through dozens of forum guide pages you select a class and then after spending a month or two developing your character you gradually realize that you do not like it. There could be many reasons for this, but the outcome is the same- you will have to start over and develop a new character.
When you enter the world of Skyforge for the first time you will not have to make this critical and permanent decision. For example, you could chose a Cryomancer, play for half an hour and change your class to a Lightbinder or even a Paladin, if long-range combat is not your thing. There is always the ability to change your class and with time, as you develop your character, more and more classes will become accessible.
In Skyforge classes are divided into several groups depending on access level. Beginners have access to three classes at the start of the game – Lightbinder, Paladin and Cryomancer. Gradually, after completing various adventures and receiving rewards, intermediate and advanced classes, with 5 in each, become accessible. For example, a Berserker is an intermediate class and it will take several days from the start of the game to gain access to it. However, to play as a Gunner you would have to spend several weeks developing your character because it is in the advanced group.
Moreover, as we have already said you can change your class anywhere and at any time as long as you or your group, is not in combat. You do not need to waste time going to a special place in a certain town – you can change class whenever and wherever necessary.
For many players our class system opens new horizons, but those that stick to one role probably ask why is this change necessary if I am just going to play with long range combat classes? The answer to that lies in the fact that there is a large number of classes with one role but each of them have their own unique qualities. Cryomancer and Gunner are both long range combat classes, but they are completely different in terms of style and gameplay. If you like to smash enemies that cross your path without stopping before anyone, a Gunner is an ideal choice. If you prefer positional combat, then a Cryomancer is an excellent candidate due to its crowd control skills. A Lightbinder is not just a DD, but also an excellent support class with additional protection skills. Close combat classes can also differ greatly from each other. For example, a Paladin is a DD oriented towards a single target. However, a Berserker will feel fairly comfortable in combat with a large number of opponents because its skills are more focused on area damage. Players will find their own entertainment here: by progressing this and other classes, they will gradually master a role, perfecting the art of close or long range combat.
You can focus on maxing out your character by playing and developing one type of class, but there is also the option of going further and developing classes which fit other roles in a group. In many MMORPGs you may have come across groups that needed to fill a specific role. "Need Tank Last Slot!". Sound familiar?
In this case several people can wait for hours for a tank to go on an adventure. In Skyforge the risk of not finding the required class is very minimal – in all likelihood you'll have a friend or someone already in the group who has opened and developed the required class. And even if they have not it only takes a few minutes to become a Paladin and open up the first few skills in the Progress Chart. The class switch system is designed so that even when you first switch classes from a class you've developed, the new class you switch to will also be as developed. This is because the main attributes are tied to the character and not the class. We have written about this in more detail in the article on the Ascension Atlas.
Have you ever come across a situation inside a dungeon where the boss stubbornly defeats the entire group and even switching tactics, maximum buffs and using potions do not make any dramatic difference? After trying a few more times, players often leave empty-handed deciding to try the adventure again later.
In Skyforge, changing classes opens up dozens of new strategies in raids or even against regular monsters. If a boss has increased resistance to long distance attacks - you need to switch to Berserker or Paladin and inflict damage close range. There are many examples of this type of strategy, teamwork as well as effective class redistribution that can decide the outcome of a battle.
Tactics are also important in PvP! In addition to the obvious advantage in battles you should not forget about the strategic basis for a class selection. During battle at the Ring of Immortals arena, players need to capture strategic points. If you want to get the enemy out of an occupied area, it is easier to do so with a Gunner and Lightbinder, but to maintain your hold of the point you will need another combination – for example a Berserker and Lightbinder. There are many options; teamwork and player ingenuity will also play an important role. Thus, in Skyforge there cannot be good or bad classes for PvP and victory depends solely on your skill.
When you select a class in the game you will always know that you're not locked into that class. For you can switch to another role and open a new world for yourself by playing for another class. Tactics in PvP and raids, game diversity, development of new builds - all this is possible with the opportunity to change classes at any moment.
Credits to Massively
I meant that the Reddit thread you were linking to is 6 months old and complaining about an issue that no longer exists since Megaservers were added in the April Feature update. There's nothing that needs to change, the system has been in place game-wide for more than 3 months.
As to the second comment, Megaservers weren't introduced to combat low server populations but low zone populations. In level-based MMOs the population density inevitably shifts towards max level, leaving the lower-level zones unpopulated. Instead of each server having their own copy of Zone A, Megaservers now create a singular copy that everyone filters into, and creates more as needed. The result is that zones appear less empty.
They've actually increased the server caps several times since launch, so if anything they're more populated.
Edit: Dude, how do you get away with quadruple bumping your own thread?
I meant that the Reddit thread you were linking to is 6 months old and complaining about an issue that no longer exists since Megaservers were added in the April Feature update. There's nothing that needs to change, the system has been in place game-wide for more than 3 months.
As to the second comment, Megaservers weren't introduced to combat low server populations but low zone populations. In level-based MMOs the population density inevitably shifts towards max level, leaving the lower-level zones unpopulated. Instead of each server having their own copy of Zone A, Megaservers now create a singular copy that everyone filters into, and creates more as needed. The result is that zones appear less empty.
They've actually increased the server caps several times since launch, so if anything they're more populated.
Edit: Dude, how do you get away with quadruple bumping your own thread?
In every highly populated MMOrpg there are people everywhere. Even 24/7 in smaller doses; on alts, crafting, roreplaying, doing quests, story-driven content, fates, hunts, exploration, puzzles, PvP, Dailies, whatever. Unless you are as old as World of Warcraft.
In older MMOrpgs, pre-WoW era, that was a given. And we are not even talking about millions of subs either. So it doesn't matter if it is a starting zone or not. Unless again the game is designed so bad that it supports zones to become dead-zones.
However, you are still not answering the main question. Where are the numbers? Why we never have numbers with Guild Wars 2?
See again. They never posted active population and they never will.
Because it is not high. It is as simple as that. The norm in MMOrpgs now, what is expected is 1m+. We are past the thousands and hundreds of thousands. We are getting more interlinked with other servers through World vs World or other types of interlinking to achieve PVE or PVP content.
Guild Wars 2 is still alive from its PVE community. Its SPVP is dead, its WvW is barely alive and ESO has drawn a large amount from it. It was expected. Nothing mind-blowing about it. WildStar is indeed suffering as well,
[Carbine Staff]Cougarp
So this is a topic near and dear to my heart. It is also soooo hard to talk about given that I can't actually talk real numbers due to finance concerns, proprietary information and all that rigmarole.
Short version? The realms are fine.
Longer version? Okay, so everyone complained about queues in the launch +2 week time frame? Well this is because many people were binge playing. During launch and during the binge playing, you get a TON more overlap in concurrency because players are just playing longer. Two people that play 6hr during launch might overlap to create higher concurrency, when maybe now they are only playing 2 hours each and those 2 hours don't actually overlap any more. Thus those two aren't building the Peak Concurrency, they are just adding to the normal population.
If we had opened up more realms than we did (instead of needing to open the realms based on the spike in demand that we had that Gaff talked about in a few of his interviews), we'd potentially be in a bad state right now. Because we didn't, and we did have queues (as crappy as it is to be in a queue when you want to play) it was the right decision for the long term health of the game. Now that the populations are starting to settle into their long term patterns and aren't binge playing anymore, the realms are nice and plump. They aren't bursting at the seams, we don't see many queues any more, and there is plenty of activity for everyone to enjoy their game mode of choice.
As far as the "lows" and "mediums" that people are seeing, don't get confused or psyched out by the names. Our individual realm capacity is larger than what you are used to, and as long as you are finding people to play the content with you that you enjoy, who cares what it says there? At one point I talked about removing the "low" "medium" and "high" nomenclatures to say something else (maybe: off peak, populated, and busy) but it felt too much like "spin" and I ultimately backed away from it. Spin is just not what we do here.
So yes, peak concurrency has dropped since launch, and that's totally to be expected. That's exactly how MMO's work as people stop binge playing and get into their normal routines (and not everyone binge plays, but enough do that it is a predictable phenomenon). We still do need to earn everyone's loyalties and subscriptions, and we are working hard to make everyone that we can into our long term customers. From the Strain patch that is coming, to the work we are doing to make the game better, to the efforts of the GSU team and removing the bad guys from the game, to us just telling you how it is with as little spin as possible.
Our tag line isn't just fluff/PR speak, and as we get into our normal rhythm of running this awesome game, we will have more and more chances to show you the truth of that statement.
So what are you doing reading this? You've got PvP/Housing/Questing/Econ PVP/Lore/Raiding/Exploring/ ALL THE THINGS to do. So go do those things rather than listen to this Ops Guy ramble
Developers have got allot to learn it seems. It should never be a given to lose so many players the first launch. You have to remember that so many wanted to play your game because there is something there and they have paid for it before hard. So something is not right. Something is definitely not right.
If they had millions of subs you think the Carbine would not publish that number? Don't be naive not even for a second. They would have give a /shout to the whole world. When things don't run well that is when the legal bullshit limitations and restrictions starts to run. It is simple.
Also, irrelevant but I have unsubbed from Final Fantasy XIV for good. I have reached a point where it was impossible (and I mean it) to pass old content. You would have to literally treat it as a second job and ironically enough more than 50% of the community has not cleared that old content. You want to know why?
Duty fucking finder - Randoms, randoms, randoms. I can give you a thousand examples of endless wasted hours waiting either through that or through Party Finder. Unless you have a big group of people or a guild willing to help you to go through everything (and bear in mind EXtreme in there is extreme to name one). So my advice if you are going to start that game find a proper FC for that or spend the days and weeks praying for a blessing group in a random hour shows.
In older MMOs you had servers with proper communities, you had many people that went with you and taught you for many and many times. There was content you had to practice multiple times for better gear and proceed.
So personally for me, turning my enjoying in months of old content into a second job is not something I value my money forth.
Good news is that I got accepted to VOTF (international competitive gaming community; from GW1, Aion, ect) so I will be playing ArcheAge with them from day one (yeah I know I still secretly believe that they will not fuck it up in the end).
Edit1: Because I am awesome.
Edit2: Because this thread is mainly about updating with new information regarding MMOrpgs and small talk in-between.
terrisus
Member
Edit: Dude, how do you get away with quadruple bumping your own thread?
Well, he got Juniored after making it, so may as well ride it out I guess.
His loss - as I have for the past 15+ years, I'm enjoying a variety of MMORPGs.
No I didn't you liar.
And tell me all about this great variety of MMOrpgs. I am all ears.
terrisus
Member
So you got Juniored before making it?
And, EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and EverQuest: Landmark are the ones that I am actively playing.
silvermember
Banned
I always thought Juniors couldn't make threads, I suppose you could be the ONLY exception to the rules.
When is Everquest Next coming out? Why are they so silent about it? And why do you like Everquest Landmark?
I feel like I'm making a mistake wading into your post here, but oh well....
Oh, there are people everywhere in Guild Wars 2 as well, even before the implementation of Megaservers, but after the change they're positively jumping in a way that reminds me of just after launch when the population was more evenly distributed across the level range.
Oh, that's the easy one; ArenaNet's policy is to not release that information;
Why, I'm not sure. It may have something to do with trade secrets or it could be your assertion that the population isn't that high and your implication that they're trying to hide it. We'll never know, and trying to paint it as an issue or non-issue is pretty pointless. The game is getting regular updates and shows no signs of slowing down two years in, so whatever the population is, it's enough to sustain the game.
Doesn't that go against GAF's rules against Megathreads though? Surely new news = new thread? Anyways, I wasn't picking on you (I added the emoticon because I could kind of see how it might be taken that way), I just think it's funny to check this thread and it's back-to-back-to-back-to-back posts. Very unusual, usually people try to avoid doing that and I always feel like I've screwed up when I accidentally double post. Must not be a problem though.
Oh, there are people everywhere in Guild Wars 2 as well, even before the implementation of Megaservers, but after the change they're positively jumping in a way that reminds me of just after launch when the population was more evenly distributed across the level range.
Oh, that's the easy one; ArenaNet's policy is to not release that information;
Devon Carter said:
Why, I'm not sure. It may have something to do with trade secrets or it could be your assertion that the population isn't that high and your implication that they're trying to hide it. We'll never know, and trying to paint it as an issue or non-issue is pretty pointless. The game is getting regular updates and shows no signs of slowing down two years in, so whatever the population is, it's enough to sustain the game.
Doesn't that go against GAF's rules against Megathreads though? Surely new news = new thread? Anyways, I wasn't picking on you (I added the emoticon because I could kind of see how it might be taken that way), I just think it's funny to check this thread and it's back-to-back-to-back-to-back posts. Very unusual, usually people try to avoid doing that and I always feel like I've screwed up when I accidentally double post. Must not be a problem though.
Another MMO Australian gamers won't be able to ever play (if it even goes to the West). Yay for us!
To be fair I have always heard the worst with MMOs and Australia. Not trolling but what MMOs do you actually have there so far?
That's very disappointing. That means there's a few friends I won't be able to play with. It's especially annoying since the netcode in the game is pretty good. High ping only barely affects the game.
I tried Scarlet Blade. It's got some clever writing, and it's got a couple good ideas (I like the auto running which works across zones), but it's really generic otherwise.
I think most of the stagnation is with high budget MMOs. You have lots of hype for games like FF14 and Elder Scrolls Online, but they're still following the WoW formula. I think most of the original ideas I've seen with MMOs is with Korean developers. There's games like Voyage Century (sea battles), Vindictus (mission based, action combat), and Granado Espada (control 3 characters at once, absolutely amazing music). But all of those seemed to have gone under the radar (although, to be fair, a few of the ones I mentioned aren't that great despite some really original ideas).
I hope Black Desert gets noticed by people and the press. It'll be a huge shame if it ends up going under the radar as it's easily the best and unique MMO I've tried. And if it becomes popular, maybe it'll encourage other developers to try more new ideas with their MMOs.
Why is that... curious? I seem to go fine in GW2, although this does look a lot more involved.
So I don't care what MMO I play, I just like a large good population and feeling that I am not alone. I am playing Frostmourne in WoW (being an aussie) I assume this will best fit as WoW still has the largest concurrent player base?
Warhammer had aus servers at launch which was great before the game became a ghost town due to all its issues.
Swotor had them as well before I believe culling them due to low population after awhile.
Otherwise it's living the 100-200+ms dream, depending on time, location and your individual Internet connection. (At least we got Diablo 3 thank goodness.)
Fast. Only 16k left.
Landmark Beta Key Give Away!
http://www.mmorpg.com/giveaways.cfm?offer=552&val=1&uh=AD80D39397637BD8547648D98F93E24B
Landmark Beta Key Give Away!
http://www.mmorpg.com/giveaways.cfm?offer=552&val=1&uh=AD80D39397637BD8547648D98F93E24B
thanks for the headsup
Don't you think that this is the greatest irony since these "shitty Korean Devs that only know how to make grindy-ass-MMOrpgs for no-lifers" are the ones who make a break through where as the "liberal, creative and originalale-day-one" Western Devs are still stuck with World of Warcraft formula?
lol sorry that sounded like a self-hating-Westerner post.
And I found my new hero - Ihatemmorpgs. Let us all jump in the hate train!
Well for me it is common sense to have one dedicated-megathread with regular updates and discussion. It is like a small subsection of the gaming forum. MMOrpgs are not single player games where you finish them and you are done. They are online "endlessly" so you would have to literally spam Neogaf with every thread of "updates" or "news". Why not have one place that tries at least to gather every MMOrpg-related-content into one thread? Why not have as many as possible "MMOers" gathered into one place to get their regular "fix" (daily, weekly updates of MMOrpgs)?
I know most if not all want to come in here and read stuff and that is fine by me. I always try to gather the best material possible worthy of updating or of interest. So I will never post something like "GAME UPDATE 1.3.45 shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit" because there is no need to and I find it boring. Neogaf has already got a community-based thread for every MMOrpg that is popular here.
So I don't know what is against. I just know I saw a gap and wanted to fill it in.
/Signed
~The humble me.
Zap any MMOrpg you are playing or going to play?
I hereby thank you, Authority, for taking the time to update this thread yourself. It's very convenient to be able to find a collection of MMO news in one place.
While I'm here, are there any MMOs worth wasting time with? I don't care for GW2 and I'd rather not play WoW again. FF14's combat was too slow and I didn't care for Wildstar. I rarely dabble in PvP. I'm more of a PvE person.
I'm interested in Black Desert, though. Hopefully that turns out okay.
While I'm here, are there any MMOs worth wasting time with? I don't care for GW2 and I'd rather not play WoW again. FF14's combat was too slow and I didn't care for Wildstar. I rarely dabble in PvP. I'm more of a PvE person.
I'm interested in Black Desert, though. Hopefully that turns out okay.
You could check out Vindictus. It leans more towards action RPG with its mission based structure and action combat. It feels more time friendly than other MMOs since missions are rarely longer than 10 minutes.
Be prepared for some jank though. The UI is messy at times, and the translation is bad here and there. And if you always need an open world in your online RPGs, you will be disappointed. It is completely free to play though, so there's nothing to lose by trying it.
Icomp
Member
Have you tried Tera: Rising? I for one really loved the combat in that one. Even though the quests and whatnot is a bit repetetive the combat really makes it worthwhile.
Last played FFXIV. Interested in BDO... but unlikely to past the trying out a new thing phase - simply because I can't afford the time sink of a MMO.
Having said that, MMO systems by and large are immensely intriguing to me.
Just had a 2 hour conversation with friends about how MMO's need to be evolving to reach the Minecraft generation. MMOs need more freedom to create, be whatever you want to be, go where ever you want to go. One thing I hate about MMOs is how they lock you into this STUPID story you probably care nothing about.
Your story is your story. The things that happen to you that you can tell your friends about. It's why people love D&D after all these years. Why don't we have MMOs that provide the kind of freedom that allows players to wind up in crazy situations? Or just build a quiet life away from the action?
We came to the conclusion that we hope No Man's Sky has a few of the elements we're craving and that MMOs can learn a thing or two from it. Let's make MMOs that actually feel like living, breathing worlds with living, breathing people. That can be scary, but I think it'll be worth it. The genre needs to evolve.
Your story is your story. The things that happen to you that you can tell your friends about. It's why people love D&D after all these years. Why don't we have MMOs that provide the kind of freedom that allows players to wind up in crazy situations? Or just build a quiet life away from the action?
We came to the conclusion that we hope No Man's Sky has a few of the elements we're craving and that MMOs can learn a thing or two from it. Let's make MMOs that actually feel like living, breathing worlds with living, breathing people. That can be scary, but I think it'll be worth it. The genre needs to evolve.
This seems to be the goal EQ Next has in mind. With procedural generated quests and events, things that happen on one server may never happen on any others. In addition to terrain destruction and player made buildings via Landmark it might end up being just the MMO the younger generation will latch on to.
Really, really, really sorry but I had 3 hours of sleep and have been up since 7am because I had allot of things to do until now so I can barely quote back some of you to help you out.
Something that came on my radar randomly.
Gloria Victis - Pre-alpha gameplay footage
Looks dooooooope.
and
Credits to Massively
Something that came on my radar randomly.
Gloria Victis - Pre-alpha gameplay footage
Looks dooooooope.
and
Destiny infographic reveals massive beta numbers
We already know that Destiny's beta was big -- on the order of 4.6 million testers big -- but a recently released infographic by Bungie piles on the numbers to give you a clue as to what this avalanche of fans has been up to during the testing process.
Among the stats revealed were 6.5 million characters created, an 853K concurrency rate on Saturday, 3.7 billion kills, and 777K users of the official phone app. "At its peak, the Destiny beta became the most simultaneously played Bungie game of all time," Bungie said. "There were more people online at the same time to play Destiny than any other game in our history."
You can check out the full infographic after the jump!
Credits to Massively
SatelliteOfLove
Member
OOOOOH, I remember making the page for that on Giant Bomb, I wonder how it's turning out; sounds damn fun and I like the Green/White livery they had going.
The only negative so far is the lack of correspondence from the Devs. It has been barely a year and they haven't upload it anything new yet.
Not sure if you missed these links but just to be sure,
http://www.ihatemmorpgs.com/
http://massauthority.blogspot.co.uk/
First one is highly recommend it though you do need an iron stomach for it. Second one is mine and I usually save there my "thesis"; thesis for me means ultimate statement, that I often right here and there about MMOrpgs. Also you can search for Corpsealot on Youtube. Not sure if any of your links are in the same mindset or interest as you or your friend, but although us "3" are different, I think we all share the same thought for the future; more sandbox please!
No need to thank me. Thank you for finding it at least worthy of your time. To be honest, and this is strictly my own way on things, the only MMOrpg that offers truly sociable community to the extend that you would expect on an open-world PVPVE and a great PVE system in combination with I believe, one of the best combats on the market, is PSO2.
Note that I have not played it yet but that is what my guts tell me. Feel free to visit PS0 World and register there if you have any issues installing the game with the English Patch.
I am still somewhat gutted that Destiny will not come to PC but to be honest I do not think it would be the MMO I thought it would be. Saw some footage of Star Citizen and Goddam game is hot. Well at least the physics.
New gameplay
I am not sure how to feel about Skyforge. Erm. It just comes off me as really uninteresting at the moment. Must be cause I am tired. I don't know really.
Credits to Eurogamer
Credits to MMOrpg
What do you guys think of Albion Online?
Also here are two interesting titles,
The Social Hub: We Are Not ‘Entitled’
How ArcheAge Captures the ‘Elder Scrolls’ Spirit Better Than ESO
I am not sure how to feel about Skyforge. Erm. It just comes off me as really uninteresting at the moment. Must be cause I am tired. I don't know really.
Credits to Eurogamer
Albion Online
Trailer
The Albion Online site has been completely reworked to give fans and players easier access to the information they want to know about the forthcoming title. In addition, the first details have been revealed about Founders Packs. Founders Packs, each with a variety of in-game perks, can be purchased for $99.95, $49.95 or $29.95.
Founder’s packs are a great way for community and developer to interact in a way that supports the achievement of a common vision of the game, while also benefitting both parties.
Founder’s packs are kits of rewards, such as access to alpha and beta testing and unique, exclusive in-game items, which players purchase, with all proceeds going directly to the development of a bigger, better game. In this way a developer gets support, the quality of the final product increases, and fans who want to show their support are rewarded with cool gear and the chance to test the game.
By buying a founder’s pack for Albion Online, you are directly contributing to helping Sandbox Interactive make Albion Online the game we all want it to be.
Credits to MMOrpg
What do you guys think of Albion Online?
Also here are two interesting titles,
The Social Hub: We Are Not ‘Entitled’
How ArcheAge Captures the ‘Elder Scrolls’ Spirit Better Than ESO
SatelliteOfLove
Member
I'm not sure she's got a stable argument built up instead of against the word "entitlement" and instead erected partial arguments here and there in semi-related topics (especially that devs started it; that doesn't wash the word off of those hit by it, it only paints them as a continuator instead of the instigator). It still remains a good word for sky-high expectations, having all the power in the Developer-Player dynamic, and thoughtless, selfish demanding from a player.
The article is decent from what I read. Still need to read most of it. For me self-entitlement comes under two forms - either you are a paying customer or you bring customers/money to the game via streaming.
ArcheAge closed beta event kicks off next weekend
Trion World today announced that the third ArcheAge Closed Beta event, titled Blood & Bounty, is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM PDT next Thursday, August 14 and run through Monday, August 18 at 10:00 AM PDT.
In the latest producer letter for ArcheAge, the team stated that in the last beta event, they focused on sorting out the billing interface, adjusting the marketplace, and catching bots and scammers, as well as testing the function that "catch the largest number of evildoers possible without affecting legitimate players". The team is also continuing to tweak the complicated labor system.
On the other hand, if you have yet to get a key for ArecheAge's next Closed Beta, participating in this event will be no doubt a good chance to gain one, because the team assured that the event will offer "even bigger with over double the number of invites" for players who sign up for the closed beta on official site. To learn more about the upcoming ArcheAge closed beta event, check out the official site.
Credits to 2p.com
MMORPG.com exposed! Archeage "editorial" is written by paid marketer and here is the controversial article,
ArcheAge Column: How ArcheAge Captures the ‘Elder Scrolls’ Spirit Better Than ESO
My most memorable moment playing Skyrim involved Lydia, the dutiful, rarely-speaking companion bestowed upon you as a reward for one of the game’s earliest quests. It was my first playthrough, and I quickly learned that my poorly thought-out destruction mage benefited immensely from her unflinching willingness to charge into the thick of battle and start swinging her sword around.
Beyond that sword, there really wasn’t much to Lydia. No backstory, no personal quests, nothing but about half a dozen options of canned dialogue that revealed little beyond that she was sworn to carry my burdens.
Still, after well over twenty hours of traveling with her, I realized she had become nearly as indispensable to my adventures as I myself was. My player character had grown much stronger, surely, and I had improved at playing the game; but all that learning came with her alongside me, and my tactics in battle heavily relied upon her presence. I don’t consider myself a “role player” in the sense that MMO players use the term – I didn’t construct a narrative to explain her presence, nor assign any personality traits to her that weren’t present in the game’s writing – but nonetheless I developed a kind of attachment to her, born out of the practical value that she provided to my gameplay experience.
One day I was sent to clear out a cave of vampires to complete some quest that I’ve long since forgotten, and quite possibly never paid attention to in the first place. Upon entering the cave, Lydia and I were attacked by a fair number of them, and managed to defeat the rush after a somewhat intense fight. But upon looting the corpses, I came across one that I could scarcely believe: Lydia’s. I was stunned. She had been knocked down in battle countless times, but always came running back. The possibility of her actually dying had not occurred to me for quite some time. Yet here we were, in the middle of some random cave, and she was dead. Dead! Like, permanently dead, with no resurrection potion or graveyard to return to for the penalty of 10% durability loss on her armor.
After recovering from the initial shock, I did the most practical thing I could think of: removed all the materials I had given her to carry – all the “burdens” that she sarcastically referenced - and brought them back to my home in the nearest city for safekeeping. It took multiple trips.
It’s been a year or so since I last played Skyrim, but the memory of making those lonely, shell-shocked trips to and from the cave sticks with me more than anything else I did in the 300-some total hours I ended up investing in the game.
And I think stories like that, more than anything, are the core of the Elder Scrolls experience, at least for many players. The idea that the pinnacle of your adventure is not some scripted point that every player reaches, like Sephiroth running his sword through Aeris, but a moment that is utterly unique to you, derived from your own experiences. The idea that in this insanely popular game that millions of people are playing, I can actually carve out my own story, however small, that has a distinct beginning, middle, and end. It’s almost subversive.
I loved Skyrim for creating the opportunity for moments like that, even while becoming increasingly aware that the game itself was designed with a very different intention in mind. From the rigidly linear guild quests to the straightforward, stock fantasy (at least to my mind) main quest, the game itself seemed to encourage a more traditional approach. The sheer amount of dialogue – all fully voiced! – left precious little room in the margins for improvisation or imagination. Once the player started really engaging with the main elements of the game, the idea of creating one’s own story quickly gave way to completing the heavily-scripted narrative that the developers carefully laid out.
I’m not trying to universalize my own experience, because I am positive that there are players who loved the story told by Skyrim and played the game at face value. But my sense, albeit from entirely anecdotal sources, is that at least a healthy percentage of Elder Scrolls players enjoy playing the world that the game creates quite a bit more than the game itself.
And the inability to recognize this is at the core of why, at least to me, The Elder Scrolls Online is a creative failure.
My experience with ESO is no different than many I’ve read: I played the beta, bought the game (the Imperial Edition, of course), and within a few months have stopped playing entirely. I bear no animosity towards the game, nor do I have any hot takes about the subscription fee, or cash store, or lack of auction house, or any of the various in-game systems.
No, I believe the chief failure of ESO is its inability to capture the spirit of creating your own story, much less incentivize the player for doing so.
During the beta, I was impressed with the number of random treasure chests and crafting nodes scattered around the map, hidden in places that quests wouldn’t take you, as a way to encourage exploration. But what you realize after investing considerable time in the game is just how petty that is, and how little it makes any difference at all to the game’s main objectives.
And those objectives are made crystal clear from the start, in the form of a main quest that progresses every five levels and offers such rewards that you’d be foolish not to partake in it. Upon completion of that quest, you respawn in another faction’s starting zone, and continue to level via that faction’s quests, as well as the “veteran” group content that becomes available.
There is no ambiguity about the intended “goal” of the Elder Scrolls Online: first to complete the main quest, then ultimately to gain power in the form levels, skills, and gear in order to be competitive in the open-world PvP or PvE group content. I’m sure there are people who have the commitment to role playing to make something else their personal goal, which is noble, but also essentially unsupported by all of the game’s systems.
ESO doubles down on Skyrim’s commitment to dialogue, bringing voice-acting to MMOs on a previously unheard of level. It’s certainly impressive, but also serves to reinforce the heavy focus on the story that the game wants to tell you as opposed to the one you create yourself. This sense becomes even stronger once you realize that the nominal choices you are making in dialogue are irrelevant to the long-term goal of accumulating levels, skills, and gear.
My most depressing moment in Elder Scrolls Online involved trying to make my own adventure. On my second character – my first was a Nightblade, which turned out to not be viable at the time by the developers’ own admission – I decided to commit myself to creating my own story in the mid-game. So I started ignoring quest hubs and exploring, picking up only those that interested me, and relying on the experience gained through opening chests, exploring, and killing enemies.
I was particularly interested in “Public Dungeons,” solo-able and often-underground areas resembling the ruins that you’d find in previous Elder Scrolls games. Many quests would lead you to them, but I was confident that through exploration, I’d find some that were well off the beaten path, only sparsely populated by other players, and maybe through that I’d experience I’d be able to create a story somewhat unique to me.
Nope. Time and again, I’d enter a dungeon and fight my way to the boss, only to be greeted by a dozen players camping him, killing him over and over again as soon as he respawns. See, these bosses can drop valuable items, so farmers and smart players alike kill them repeatedly for gold, experience, and crafting materials. I’d join them, of course, because I’d be foolish not to. Levels, skills, and gear, right? But eventually, I realized that I was living the same story as everyone else, decided that story wasn’t worth the time, and quit.
It’s easy to chalk this up to the very nature of MMOs. Good luck finding anything productive to do in WoW that hasn’t been done by a million other people, right? Online gamers have become relentlessly savvy at reasoning out the most efficient ways to achieve a game’s goals and attacking them for all they’re worth, even if doing so decreases the overall enjoyment for everyone involved by, say, requiring them to sit for hours in the same spot and kill the same enemy over and over again. It’s a depressing example of game theory, where each player is doing something because if he or she stops doing it and everyone else doesn’t stop, everyone else will more quickly achieve the levels, skills, and gear required to complete the goals that the game is pushing players towards.
Changing this behavior without disincentivizing it is a losing battle, yet removing the push towards levels, skills, and gear is a non-starter. So it’s hard to blame ESO for failing to capture the spirit of the Elder Scrolls series when it conflicts with the very nature of the MMO genre. Right?
Until last weekend, I thought so, and was more depressed at the state of the genre than the specifics of ESO’s failure.
But then I played the ArcheAge beta, and realized that ESO has just been doing it wrong. If the problem is players relentlessly pursuing the game’s goals to the point that playing is less fun for everyone, then the solution is for the game itself to take a more ambiguous stance towards what its goals actually are.
I’m not here to persuade you to play ArcheAge, or hail it as some kind of revolution. I’ve played it for four days, and upon longer exposure may sour on it myself. I’m not qualified to make any declarations about the quality of the game or its long-term potential.
But I also feel like the conversation surrounding it is obscuring the single most important thing about it, something that is largely independent from the quality of the game or the specifics of its systems.
Gamers throw around terms like “Sandbox” and “Pay to Win” as if they are hard black-and-white measurables as opposed to buzzwords that vaguely refer to situations that are clearly on a continuum, and a heavily subjective one at that. Reading people argue online about computer games is like reading people argue about politics on Facebook, where there’s an entire vocabulary that’s been created or co-opted for the purpose of such arguments, during which the participants bicker about the meaning of words in that very vocabulary. Is this a sandbox? Is that a theme park? I don’t know; but more importantly, when did this become an issue of semantics?
From the ArcheAge beta, the one conclusion I feel comfortable drawing is that the game does not push you towards a particular end-game goal. It certainly encourages you to participate in the main quest, but as gamers are fond of saying, the real game doesn’t begin until you’re at the max level anyway, and hitting the max level (currently 50) in ArcheAge does not seem like a particularly daunting task.
The game does feature a dungeon/raiding structure, but it’s far less robust than WoW or its counterparts. There is no group finder, and dungeon choices appear fairly limited, though they still provide the requisite gear drops. ArcheAge’s most powerful gear, however, is reportedly available only through crafting, and most articles about the game seem to remark on its intricate and wide-ranging profession system. In broad strokes, the conclusion most everyone has come to is: crafting is very important.
Which, based on my limited experience, seems absolutely true. But the more interesting question to me is, important to what end? Because while you can craft the expected swords, armor, and potions, much of the game’s crafting revolves around items not directly related to levels, skills, and gear: furniture, trade goods, ships, songs (songs!), siege weaponry, and hundreds, possibly thousands more.
And these items are far from cosmetic in value. Say you want to be a farmer. You can certainly use what you grow to create potions or food for buffs, as in other MMOs. Or you can focus on growing food with the purpose of bundling your crops into “trade packs,” which can be transported to another town and turned in for a sum of gold or other valuable items. The longer and more treacherous your trip, the bigger the reward you receive. Maybe your goal in the game is to, through trade, become so rich that you can afford to purchase and maintain a mansion, or even a castle, collecting taxes from other players who live on your lands and paying an army of fellow players to defend them.
Or maybe your goal is to prey on those merchant players who are transporting goods. Maybe you pour your resources into building the fastest ship and acquiring powerful gear, then put that gear to use towards hunting down other players who are pursuing their goal of gold accumulation, stealing their trade packs and turning them in yourself. Maybe you want to become the most hated player on your server, not through annoying people over Trade Chat, but through absolutely ruining entire merchant fleets and causing other players massive monetary losses.
Or maybe you do want to raid and beat the game’s biggest bosses with your guild. Maybe you want to work the auction house and build your fortune that way. Maybe you want to gather and help your guild build its castle, or grind enemies for profit and materials. Maybe you want to do a little of all of these things, or maybe you want to do something else entirely. After getting you started with rather routine quests and incentivizing you to embark on the main quest, the game seems to gradually pull back from funneling you in any particularly direction. Whether or not you call that a “Sandbox,” I don’t care; but to me, it’s rather exciting.
My most memorable moment from the ArcheAge beta happened on Sunday night. After a couple days spent questing, our small group of three people (my brother, my friend, and myself) decided to build a ship. This was our goal; there was no accompanying quest, nor any reward beyond the ship itself, which has massive in-game use for trading, pirating, and transportation. The materials were daunting, and given that none of us are yet subscribers, we were at certain disadvantages. But through a combination of making trade runs, choosing the right trees to chop down, a little bit of stealing, hunting for deals on the auction house, and one of us staying logged on all Saturday night, we somehow cobbled together the resources required. At around 10:30 PM Sunday night, after all of us devoted the entire afternoon to the project, our boat touched down in the water, and we celebrated. It felt like an accomplishment, but different than downing a raid boss or winning a roll for a piece of gear. This was something that we decided to do, that we determined the best way to go about doing, and that we judged as being worthwhile. And we accomplished it, through our own means and on our own terms. Of course scores of other people successfully built boats during the beta – and probably much more impressive things, too – but I’m positive that none did it in exactly the same way we did.
In short, ArcheAge provided us the opportunity to create a story outside of the one the game is telling us, the same way that Skyrim did for me years ago. Whatever you want to call that, I feel like it matters.
Kyle Trembley is the Editor-in-Chief of ShowRatings.TV, a user-driven television review website. Follow him on Twitter @KyleLovesTV -> Hello.
I mean I don't know. I just really think it was a very dishonest attempt to bring the whole ESO franchise down and overhype ArcheAge.
Regarding WildStar,
Just to elaborate a bit more and I think this post does justice,
Well to be honest I thought that WildStar would be a Sandboxy. I do not think another themepark will ever catch a large base of World of Warcraft players.
My advice for the ones interested, stay away for a while until things come down. Rage is phenomenal right now so wait and see until Carbine does its game on the game. Either way your choice.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
It's really a shock to me (whose main gripes come from the hodge-podge nature of some map's designs and the "land grab" nature of gearing in PvP) hearing the issues the game has with others, cuz I'm enjoying the shit out of it. Then again, I went in expecting this to be a likely case with people knowing they can get the X that they have to work for, team up for, and plan out ahead of time for in WS they can get by falling off a log in some other game. The end result is the same either way, though...
I'm just not sure anyone at this point can do any flavor of themepark, and it feels as if the zeitgeist has swung way way WAY in the other direction from the sanitized, channelized, nerf-a-plenty mentality of later WoW. People are demanding what they want, but it's not really assured what they ask for they'll like when they get it.
Black Desert Online 3rd Closed Beta Scheduled for September Followed by Open Beta This Winter
Black Desert Online 2nd Beta Sorcerer Gameplay UI 4k
The Black Desert hype continues as Inven News Korea finally unveils a Closed Beta date! The 3rd CBT will kick off starting early next month on September 3rd! (Updated) (Scheduled September) With Daum Games publishing the NA/EU versions of the game, this beta will most likely have an IP block enforced. Lastly, Open Beta is scheduled this Winter. Hype!
Credits to Steparu
About Blade & Soul in CN;
This game has got E-radio, QQ (CN-messenger) and Voice-Application in-game! (I was listening to Rihanna - Umbrella, lol)
For more information head over here, Blade&Soul Dojo
About ArcheAge,
About Sandbox,
Credits to Massively
About Rift (60 pages long),
For more head over here - http://forums.riftgame.com/general-discussions/general-discussion/434004-5-ah-posting-fee-really-trion.html
This game has got E-radio, QQ (CN-messenger) and Voice-Application in-game! (I was listening to Rihanna - Umbrella, lol)
For more information head over here, Blade&Soul Dojo
About ArcheAge,
About Sandbox,
Credits to Massively
About Rift (60 pages long),
For more head over here - http://forums.riftgame.com/general-discussions/general-discussion/434004-5-ah-posting-fee-really-trion.html
ChosenPredator
Banned
is there any MMOs that are coming out with full looting PVP?
MiamiWesker
Member
For the last month I played FFXIV for the first time, my first modern MMO (I played galaxies back when it started for a month). I am mostly a single player oriented action/adventure fan so when I view FF and MMOs in general I am really confused. Obviously something about them works, the game world and that quest of always getting better is addicting. But the game design is awful.
1. Everything feels like busy work. Why can't anything be fun outside of dungeons. Why does crafting/gathering have to be nothing but pressing x? Why can't they be based on fun mini games? Some grinding requirements are ridiculous, clearly they were designed to take lots of time so that multiple subscriptions are a must.
2. Why are all quests some form of "go there do that" and all so strict in their design. There is never any surprised to the missions, once you have seen a few you have basically seen then all.
3. Why does the game basically do everything for you? Any attempt at a puzzle or any form of deductive reasoning is pointless as there is always a giant marker telling you where to go or exactly what to do. Granted there are a few riddle quests in the game but they are very few and far between.
4. The tank, healer, dps system I think needs to be thrown out. It forces the different roles to play only one way. As a tank I have to do exactly as all tanks do or the team dies. There is no room for improvisation, every time I enter a new dungeon someone tells me exactly what I should do. Basically MMOs force you to play with a guide of sorts.
5. Going off number 4 all dungeons get mastered quick and everyone follows the same template. So why can't the dungeons have some form of randomness to them? Allow the team to figure out a strategy on the fly, not to just rehearse the winning script.
6. This was mentioned a few pages back, because it is a community based game everyone ends up doing the same tactics to maximize leveling. Every hunt plays out the same way, every boss battle uses the same strategies, everyone is finding the quickest ways to get the best loots. For a game about a massive world and creating your own character there is almost no discovery at all.
I was addicted, the formula these guys have created absolutely create a feedback loop that keeps gamers hooked. Plus many people form friendships with others, those aspects work well. But why does the gameplay have to be so bland and strict. I almost feel like the majority of MMO players would be against more complex deep gameplay cause it would force them to pay more attention rather than quickly grind to the next prize.
1. Everything feels like busy work. Why can't anything be fun outside of dungeons. Why does crafting/gathering have to be nothing but pressing x? Why can't they be based on fun mini games? Some grinding requirements are ridiculous, clearly they were designed to take lots of time so that multiple subscriptions are a must.
2. Why are all quests some form of "go there do that" and all so strict in their design. There is never any surprised to the missions, once you have seen a few you have basically seen then all.
3. Why does the game basically do everything for you? Any attempt at a puzzle or any form of deductive reasoning is pointless as there is always a giant marker telling you where to go or exactly what to do. Granted there are a few riddle quests in the game but they are very few and far between.
4. The tank, healer, dps system I think needs to be thrown out. It forces the different roles to play only one way. As a tank I have to do exactly as all tanks do or the team dies. There is no room for improvisation, every time I enter a new dungeon someone tells me exactly what I should do. Basically MMOs force you to play with a guide of sorts.
5. Going off number 4 all dungeons get mastered quick and everyone follows the same template. So why can't the dungeons have some form of randomness to them? Allow the team to figure out a strategy on the fly, not to just rehearse the winning script.
6. This was mentioned a few pages back, because it is a community based game everyone ends up doing the same tactics to maximize leveling. Every hunt plays out the same way, every boss battle uses the same strategies, everyone is finding the quickest ways to get the best loots. For a game about a massive world and creating your own character there is almost no discovery at all.
I was addicted, the formula these guys have created absolutely create a feedback loop that keeps gamers hooked. Plus many people form friendships with others, those aspects work well. But why does the gameplay have to be so bland and strict. I almost feel like the majority of MMO players would be against more complex deep gameplay cause it would force them to pay more attention rather than quickly grind to the next prize.