Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Why don't these games just skip the boring stuff
markyturnip
Member UncommonPosts: 837
I really do not understand why these games take so long to get to the epic-feeling adrenaline-pumping fun stuff... I can do boring stuff all day without turning on my pc; I don't want my game time to be boring too.
Do the majority of players really like this model, where you have to do hours of really boring stuff with limited powers to earn the right to do the cool stuff? I am sure some do, and I realise this game is geared to them, but I suspect the numbers of people who do are limited...
I so wish I could skip straight past the dull early level grind to the grand drama immediately. I want to buy a boat NOW! Not after six months of grinding. I want a shot at a flying mount after a few days of play. I want to be confronted with a scripted boss encounter NOW! Not in six weeks. I want to see giants come marauding from over the hills! I want to see a bad-ass evil wizard and his undead minions wreak havoc in elf-town, and watch as the NPC guards scurry to mount a defense. I want a dragon to start rampaging in the fields, and gather together a group of brave warriors to take him down. And hear him taunt us as we try to kill him. And then follow clues to the dragon's cave and find its cursed treasure... not get some random 'drop' that appears in my screen after I have 'established ownership'.
I don't know... bleh... this game has really made me lose faith in the current state of MMOs.
So looking forward to Warhammer/Age of Conan... and pray they avoid this yawn-fest.
Comments
Look into "Chronicles of Spellborn" if you are looking for games that "bite out of the box"...They say Q2 for release, we'll see.
Also, check out the more recent movie about this game.
"Good gaming to all and to all a good game."
You aren't into foreplay at all, are you?
Naw, not enough dirty parts......pick up a copy of Harvard Lampoon's "Bored of the Rings" if you want to read a real classic.
I did not really appreciate this until about a year and a half ago with City of Heroes. I played COH twice... for 1 year right at launch, then about 8 months hiatus in which I played other things but not that... and then another year of re-subscribing. When I left, I had a level 45 (out of 50 levels) scrapper and a level 30 or so Tanker. When I returned to COH, I logged straight into my level 45 scrapper, entered one of her regular missions... and got promptly and ignominiously OWNED by a single-player mission against the AI. The buttons were just too much. I didn't even remember what all of them did. I forgot I had to "turn on" certain defenses. I forgot what the long recharge timers were like. And so on. (It did not help that a bunch of things had been modified/nerfed/buffed in that time also.)
So I logged out of that character and said, "OK, let me make up a totally new toon." I went and made up an archery-based Blaster (that's a new power set that had been added in my absence) and started him up, and did the tutorial. Little by little, bit by bit, I got my "sea legs" back. The speed of the lower level game is much slower, so I was able to slowly learn the ropes again. After an afternoon and about 8 levels on that character, I was then able to log into a slightly higher level alt... and old level 14 scrapper I hadn't played much. She had a few more buttons than the blaster but not TOO many, and the pace of the game, though faster, was OK for me to get more used to it.
A few days later, I was playing my level 45 scrapper like a finely tuned instrument and crushing missions on the highest difficulty. BUT... I could not do that right out of the box. I needed that time with the slower-paced, lower-options "n00b" game, to get my sea legs so to speak. And this is with a 1-year vet of the game. You could not throw most totally new players into the level 40+ game of COH and expect them to do remotely well... for they probably would not.
So, COH, Vanguard, and all games do the slow progression for a reason. By the time you are level 10, those first 10 skills you learned one at a time come second nature to you. One new thing is added at a time (or maybe a few new things, but not too many), and so you do not get overwhelmed from day 1. Now to a vet gamer, especially if this is an alt, that might seem slow and boring, but to a true newbie, most people are overwhelmed at first as it is, without giving them 20 buttons to push out of the gate.
C
There is also a financial reason for the developer to include time sinks in MMOs. If all content is available off the bat, the churn would be much higher as people burned through and burned out. That's less money for the company. It is often forgotten that games have investors that expect to be paid as well as developers that have mortgages and car payments to make like everyone else. The first priority in MMO development is to create a game that people will purchase and keep playing for as long as possible. The secret to success is balancing the time sink with the burn-out factor.
That's what I thought at first, but read it again. He isn't joking.
That's what I thought at first, but read it again. He isn't joking.
He (OP) isn't?There are dungeons right from lvl 3 onwards. I'm lvl 22 now with my main and for the most part I've been in dungeaons.
In fact, compared to most of the MMO's ive played in the last 10 years, SoH is one of the most accessable at early levels. No I can't have a boat or house yet, though I want them, but I'm having blast adventuring. At lvl 22 I've been through 6 different dungeons and I've not even left my starting continent
<aref="http://www.enjin.com/"; alt="rift guild hosting"><img src="http://sigs.enjin.com/sig-rift/14060_d62c0a5a4ba0df2e.png"></a>;
Most mmo games have lot of boring stuff you need to live with, like downtime waiting for power regain,in game night you cant hardly see anything on the screen unless you are in totally dark room.What I personly dislike most is the waiting for mana regain downtime, this adds nothing to the game and if they are afraid that people level to fast if there is no downtime then why not reduse the xp gain for killing.
The Old Timers Guild
Laid back, not so serious, no drama.
All about the fun!
www.oldtimersguild.com
An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it. - Jef Mallett
As far as Vanguard goes...things like a horse at level 10 was a nice step. I imagine flying mounts and boats weren't set up for lower levels due to the intended restriction on travel.
Though, now that they're introducing teleporters and such now, and the game being in desperate need of creating a better newbie experience, I bet some day in the future we might see canoes and giant flying squirrels or somesuch eventually for lower levels.
You sir, are now my hero. Well said.
"When people don't know much about something, they tend to fill in the blanks the way they want them to be filled in. They are almost always disappointed." - Will Wright
/signed and QFT
Hmmm. The only differences between canoes and swimming are speed and having to look at the sky to breathe. And I don't think I'd want to be a level 1 character on my giant pigeon when the local gryphon comes by to check out the new arrival.
The only really boring thing I've found in Vanguard so far are the crafting work orders. After the first few dozen, they get boring and painful, and if you want to be able to actually make some useful stuff, you have to put up with them. The system mechanics are clever, but the grind is not.
You aren't into foreplay at all, are you?
lol - foreplay is awesome... and the longer the better IMO, but then again I find foreplay pretty fun the whole way through; building up to a great finale.NOW.. if MMOs could make the grind more like foreplay, then we would be talking!
Look, I did not come here to disrespect those of you who enjoy this, I really didn't. And I understand those who feel catering to the I want it all now crowd has ruined MMOs... And I guess I am not totally into instant gratification as I would not have played so much of these games if I were...
But I have been playing some next gen shooters recently - I know apples and oranges - but remembered the total thrill you can get from a first scene.
To the poster who said it looked like I wanted to watch a movie - maybe you are right; I am becoming more addicted to the more cinematic experience. I also think it is part of the coming of age of games that cinema and game become more like each other.
It is probably totally unrealistic to want a whole world full of cinematic experience... and yet, and yet... is it?
Anyhow.. just ignore my bored workday ramblings, but I suspect there are a lot like me who are older, have a job a life etc, who want to play games, but find it tragic that it takes too long to get to the good stuff (of which I am sure there is plenty) in an MMO like Vanguard. I guess it is not for me... but I also think there are enough like me that a game will come along which does leap into the good stuff, yet offer more than a FPS.
I think Oblivion's system made a pretty bold step into that direction. I loved that from moment one. A persistent world is a whole different thing , but there are clever people out there and where there is a market there is a way.
I think a lot of people are losing sight of just what constitutes a RPG. RPGs have always been about character progression. There really shouldn't be any instant gratification or cheat codes to make you godly. They kind of the defeat the purpose of a RPG.
It is the "boring parts" that give meaning to the rest of the game. Consider down time. Without it, efficiency would be meaningless. Down time is the penalty for not being efficient. If there is no down time, you just lost one of the dimensions of the game.
I think the problems that most MMORPGs have is that they concentrate a little too much on end game. They need to spend a little more time making the journey fun. If the journey is fun, the players won't feel the grind.
"Those who dislike things based only on the fact that they are popular are just as shallow and superficial as those who only like them for the same reason."
I mean come one.. kill 10 this, then 10 this, then 10 this... that's not progression, that is grind. Pure and simple. Yawn.
Nope.. I think that Vanguard really may have missed the shifting winds in MMOs... anyhow, we shall soon see! I suspect like so many others that this will prove to be a niche game at best, for a few people who continue to enjoy this formula even when something with far more pzazz comes along. For people like me without ten hours a day to devote to it, it's dull... it just plain is dull.
ah well, I gave it the old college try.
Not for me though... I want something more.
Though to be honest, if you want to stretch this argument why do you start with any decent skills at all? Surely you should spend ten hours sweeping floors to teach your character discipline.
Maybe you should spend the first year of your play time with simply a wooden stick, and not be allowed beyond the four walls of your dojo...
Clearly we all have a limit of how much tedium we can take; this game surpasses mine. But to those who enjoy it, I wish you well, and hope you many more hours of fun.
Go play a console game and download a save near the end of the game if you want to be thrown right into the mix.
It doesnt necessarily have to be 'boring' but it does have to take a good amount of time... And when you do something over a long period of time it gets boring after a while.
If you expect new interesting gameplay every hour of play then... Er... I dunno.... Because you wont get it 
Play as your fav retro characters: cnd-online.net. My site: www.lysle.net. Blog: creatingaworld.blogspot.com.