Time commitment

Norborb

All my experience from MMOs come from FFXI and WoW. Well i have forgoten most of FFXI so heres a question about MMOs in general.  On average, how much time must you play per session in order to actually play the game. When are you allowed to leave after joining a party basicly. You can base your answer off of any MMO you have played or are playing. Not to be really good but just be able to play the game. I have to ask because I learned in WoW that you can't upset the gaming elite by leaving before you have finished  your "duties" which can take a long time.

And are there any games with no required commitments that you can play on your own time? Maybe just solo? And don't respond with "MMORPG= Multiplayer RPG" becuase that really doesn't help.

bonobotheory

Originally posted by Norborb


And are there any games with no required commitments that you can play on your own time? Maybe just solo? And don't respond with "MMORPG= Multiplayer RPG" becuase that really doesn't help.

I can play City of Heroes for less than an hour and get something done. Log in, run a solo mission or two, log out. When mission teams form, some people only stay for one or two missions, and there are rarely any complaints - the missions will scale to the number of players, and group composition is nowhere near as important as it is in WoW.

ArcheusCross

So your asking how much time is spent doing what in my current mmo: ffxi?

Well it used to not be so bad but now must of the time is spent looking for a party or other people to do something. And the rest of the time is spent grinding mobs.

I really only play it to socialize with my buddies. In my opinion i think that mmorpgs these days need too much time to play. And I blame that entirely on the fact that they are based around leveling.

But thats another topic for another thread.

Lodeclaw

Originally posted by bonobotheory

Originally posted by Norborb


And are there any games with no required commitments that you can play on your own time? Maybe just solo? And don't respond with "MMORPG= Multiplayer RPG" becuase that really doesn't help.

I can play City of Heroes for less than an hour and get something done. Log in, run a solo mission or two, log out. When mission teams form, some people only stay for one or two missions, and there are rarely any complaints - the missions will scale to the number of players, and group composition is nowhere near as important as it is in WoW.

I love City of Heroes. At this point I believe they did the best job with PvE combat; better than anything else available right now. In CoH, it was fun to fight in a team as well as alone. I especially liked that most of the time fights consisted of multiple enemies at a time, which really made group tactics better and made the game more thrilling, since there was more running around and action during a fight.

Kyleran

I've found EVE pretty flexible...even when my corp has an OP they don't mind if I have to leave...but your results may vary depending on what corp you belong to.

Produde

 

Originally posted by Norborb


All my experience from MMOs come from FFXI and WoW. Well i have forgoten most of FFXI so heres a question about MMOs in general.  On average, how much time must you play per session in order to actually play the game. When are you allowed to leave after joining a party basicly. You can base your answer off of any MMO you have played or are playing. Not to be really good but just be able to play the game. I have to ask because I learned in WoW that you can't upset the gaming elite by leaving before you have finished  your "duties" which can take a long time.
And are there any games with no required commitments that you can play on your own time? Maybe just solo? And don't respond with "MMORPG= Multiplayer RPG" becuase that really doesn't help.

Maybe I'm not understanding just what it is you are looking for...You are in control.

I can play ANY MMO, for any "amount of time" I choose, solo OR in party. Obviously solo I make all the calls. In party you should know before hand what kind of time sink is required for the task. Not all party endeavors can be performed by just any group of players.

I've been in party originally specified to accomplish X objective, that typically will require 1-2 hours for example. then. 30 minutes into it, the "Leader" informs everyone else, "I need to go do this while we are here". this takes 20 minutes that was not planned. At 2 hours into the original objective, I inform I will be leaving shortly.  I "played" the known amount of time and leave shortly there after. If that is not acceptable, so be it. I won't group with that Leader again.

Another example is the team just doesn't mesh and the task is taking much more time to accomplish. There should be no negatives to leave. If there is, I don't need to join that group of players in the future.

If you know the game, you should know the time sink to participate and accomplish it. Sure there are wipes and unforeseen things that can occur. Take those into account from the start.

Make it known what your time limit is. If it's a known 2+ hour task and  you are approaching 3 hours and not close to the goal, there are no stead fast rules for staying.

If you join with "the gaming elite", you should be aware of the "requirements". The "gaming elite" usually have no regard for "time" or a RL in general. YOU need to make that decision and accept  the responsibilities that are expected. Your expectations are irrelevant to them.

As stated above, I'm in control of  the "amount of time".

MR-Bubbles

With EvE in most corps the people dont mind if you have to leave in the middle of an operation just as long as you let them know as soon as possable.

Most EvE players understand you have to have a real life.

Bodysnatcher

    I am a "casual gamer" so I know what you mean. COH is the best so far for casual gamers that I have played. If you are playing WOW do excactly what the above poster said. Ask how long it should take and tell them how much time you have. Anyone who gets mad after that you don't want to party with anyway, remember it is YOUR life and time not the party leaders.