AoC has a lot of faults and can become boring if you rush through the game but most of your points are simply not true...sorry.
1: 2 weeks to get to 80..yes for people who take it as a challenge to level as fast as poss. but no chance for your average player. 2:UI is bad but you can open 4 bars which is easily enough to accomodate all your skills and more. 3: Crafting has gotten a lot better over the last few months and economy seems to be actually levelling out now and as a crafter i can actually make money now. 4:arent all games like that? i actually as a Ranger use around 10 skills. And i definately take advantage of my opponents shielding, it makes up to 100% difference in my dps. 5:Stats i agree! skill tree's linear? yes you can't choose whatever you want but there needs to be some kind of order there. 6: Yes there are a lot of instances but for players like me that dont just rush from one area to another..for instance if i do a dungeon, i do it from start to finish nit just to kill a quest mob. then the instancing doesn't effect me that much....that ones purely opinion though and i understand it bothers a lot of people. So come on lets be fair and criticise it for it's failings. i mean i dont give a monkey if it comes onto Xbox, how will that hurt me?
It will start hurting you, because the company that approves XBOX360 port is the one that pretty much says how the game will develop.
Are you really saying that having a)multiple instances of same open world (not dungeons), b)instanced pieces of instanced open world in a MMORPG is acceptable and doesn't bother you?
Yea, there should be somekind of order and is. But what I meant with linear is that you have to choose one line or else you're screwed. Other choices are just eyecandy. (I'm DT, btw)
No, all games aren't like that. This one is, and to more criticize the "revolutionary combat system", close combat is nothing and ranged nuking is everything. The most effective way is to hit straight attacks. Of course you take advantage on shields PvE. NPC changes how they are set, in PvP there's just no real chance to adjust them at all.
I'm glad to hear you're making money with your crafting profession, although I don't understand what people do with those gear crafted, since gems got nerfed.
Ever checked how many of your combos are actually the same but acquired on higher level. Leech Life I-IV for example.
Age of Conan isn't that bad, but Funcom is...terrible customer service, terrible updates!!!, broken promises, and the writing on the wall says, "we will not listen to the customers, they're dumb" I say, "good bye Funcom, Warhammer will kill ya."
It's pretty bad, yeah, but people should try it if they have the chance I suppose. <shrug> Might as well i guess, nothing to lose, plus, it could float your boat.
I suggest new players stay away from the official boards though..
It isn't really that bad, but in my opinion it is a bit 'Hollow' & I don't mean in terms of missing content.
It's fun enough for quite a while, especially for casual players like me who don't burn through all the existing content that quickly, or at least not as fast as Funcom are trying to add it at the higher levels.
The thing that seems to be missing for me is 'atmosphere'. The scenery is great, the music is great, even the character animations seem great, but somehow it still doesn't feel like 'Home' & unless things change over the next couple of months I seriously doubt that I will still be playing after September.
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
It isn't really that bad, but in my opinion it is a bit 'Hollow' & I don't mean in terms of missing content. It's fun enough for quite a while, especially for casual players like me who don't burn through all the existing content that quickly, or at least not as fast as Funcom are trying to add it at the higher levels. The thing that seems to be missing for me is 'atmosphere'. The scenery is great, the music is great, even the character animations seem great, but somehow it still doesn't feel like 'Home' & unless things change over the next couple of months I seriously doubt that I will still be playing after September.
Thnak g@d you're on London..was getting lonely waiting for you guys to wake up.
It isn't really that bad, but in my opinion it is a bit 'Hollow' & I don't mean in terms of missing content. It's fun enough for quite a while, especially for casual players like me who don't burn through all the existing content that quickly, or at least not as fast as Funcom are trying to add it at the higher levels. The thing that seems to be missing for me is 'atmosphere'. The scenery is great, the music is great, even the character animations seem great, but somehow it still doesn't feel like 'Home' & unless things change over the next couple of months I seriously doubt that I will still be playing after September.
Thnak g@d you're on London..was getting lonely waiting for you guys to wake up.
**searches for Malickibloo**
Believe it or not I am working on a Sunday morning, the perils of working for small data analysis companies!
I haven't time to play MMOs this morning & I am taking my son to the bi-monthly London Anime Club later to stock up on more DVD imports.
The 'Hey Days' of British TV are over & almost all we ever watch is imported Anime, LOL.
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
No offence Sourjit, but I hate your posts. Not the content but the presentation. You try to hit the reader over the head. I bet i'm not alone.
make that tines 2. I refuse to read any post that has more colors in it than a rainbow bright commercial or text sizes that belong on a eyesight impaired site.
Londonmage I agree a lot with the way you described your experience with AoC. I really enjoyed the game the first week, the second week it started to get old and by the time I was in my 20's I was pretty much done with it. I still had plenty of content at that level but it just missed somehow. I loved the world graphics and the atmosphere in the cities, I like the music and animations and quest lines. I had no issues with performance, but a very bad experience with the so called customer service department.
Somehow they missed the mark and the game felt more like a single player game than a MMO to me. When a patch broke the game for me to the point where it would not load and I ended up reformatting my hard drive and still could not get any reply to my email ticket whatsoever from their tech department even after a week I said to heck with it.
Bad quality control, bad CS department and a shallow shallow game. Still you can find some copies for bargain bin prices over on Amazon I say try it, you might find it worth 30 bucks or so for the free 30 days.
1. no content past 20... it is simply not acceptable to have a grindfest in a modern mmorpg unless the game was made in Korea. Maybe at endgame right before an expansion the game should slow down.. but in AoC, after you hit lvl 20, it's simply boring. (takes about 3 days).
2. Believe it or not.. they currently have devs working on an expansion. Yep, there is no content from 20-80, but instead of fixing that, they are working on another box you must pay for. Probably the worst rap WOW has is that the expansions are so far apart... that is because Blizzard 'wasted' a lot of dev time giving subscribers free content. Failcom is doing the opposite.. they are basically going to make you buy a second box to give you content they promised on the first one... with absolutely no real content in updates. They can't even manage to fix bugs in their updates.. it's always 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
3. Workforce. Not only are they wasting devs by having them work on an expansion.. but do you really think they are going to be able to maintain their current workforce the way their subscribers are leaving in droves... AOC is probably down to 175k by now, and will drop below 100k when Warhammer launches. The majority of AoC players joined for pvp... and it's barely even in the game yet. The big pvp patch keeps getting delayed and isn't even all that good. Seige weapons and city warfare is barely implemented and extremely broke. This game will not be able to pay for the devs that will be needed to fix the game... let alone add new content.
it's not that it's "bad" it's just alot of key feature that made this game distinct from other mmos weren't released with the game, and no telling if they'll ever be in it other than that it's just an average mmo. All you do is quest and run dungeons for loot, random meaningless PvP, quest dialogue that makes no difference if you actually read it.
Originally posted by Crnobog
I've never looked into AoC to be honest, i knew WAR was coming and set my heart on it. Months ago it was known that both AoC and WAR will be released close together and the community here at mmorpg.com were 50/50 on which to go and play as their main mmo. Now, all i see is threads and posts about this game saying how bad it is, how it has failed and that even some people want their money back??? Is it really that bad? or did most people just expect to much from the game? A friend of mine plays the game and he says its not bad, but will continue with Lineage II. I'd just like some more reasons why not to try this game out encase WAR doesn't deliver.
AoC really IS that bad. 1. no content past 20... it is simply not acceptable to have a grindfest in a modern mmorpg unless the game was made in Korea. Maybe at endgame right before an expansion the game should slow down.. but in AoC, after you hit lvl 20, it's simply boring. (takes about 3 days). 2. Believe it or not.. they currently have devs working on an expansion. Yep, there is no content from 20-80, but instead of fixing that, they are working on another box you must pay for. Probably the worst rap WOW has is that the expansions are so far apart... that is because Blizzard 'wasted' a lot of dev time giving subscribers free content. Failcom is doing the opposite.. they are basically going to make you buy a second box to give you content they promised on the first one... with absolutely no real content in updates. They can't even manage to fix bugs in their updates.. it's always 1 step forward, 2 steps back. 3. Workforce. Not only are they wasting devs by having them work on an expansion.. but do you really think they are going to be able to maintain their current workforce the way their subscribers are leaving in droves... AOC is probably down to 175k by now, and will drop below 100k when Warhammer launches. The majority of AoC players joined for pvp... and it's barely even in the game yet. The big pvp patch keeps getting delayed and isn't even all that good. Seige weapons and city warfare is barely implemented and extremely broke. This game will not be able to pay for the devs that will be needed to fix the game... let alone add new content.
I am going to have to assume that you did not actually play past 20. there is loads of content between 20th and 50th level; quality conent as well with great quest lines for all three races. The content gap is above that and they need to add "good" quest lines for those in the 50 + folks. In some of the higher end locations they have added mobs but that is not the answer.
I do totally agree that dedicating resources towards an expansion is not a good way to go. The game is "fixed" as far as lag, etc. I cleanly run at all times on high setting wih a 40+ fps rate in all locations, even the Villas. They need to add quality content and finish the DX10 piece plus add some of the committed items before moving on to an expansion.
I am still playing AOC and enjoy it but they do need to focus correctly, improve their image and their customer support.
Lastly, as much as I am looking forward to WAR I am prepared for the flame wars to begin when it releases as it will launch in worse shape than LOTRO which was the best MMO launch I have seen and even it got flamed (small world, lack of content, blah, blah). WAR will be next even if it is a good game, I have faith in the haters to make themselves known.
AOC is a good game 9in my opinion and does have lots of content past 20th. That is a mistatement. My quest load stayed at max with my Barbarian until mid 50s and even so I still had dozens of quests. It has flaws that need to be focused on before dedicating resources to expansions, just to sum it up.
I'm glad i started this thread, many different opinions that really help make anyone who is considering this game think twice or go for it. I'll say it again though, it really does sound like this is another Vanguard, a game that COULD be the next big thing, just needs time to finish. Its one to watch i guess.
It will never be the next big thing. You got to nail the landing right from the start to have any shot at that. You can't go back and release it again for the first time. The damage is done. The best they can hope is a fair percentage (1/3) will try it out 6-12 months from now and like it then, as they wait for the next great mmo, that most likely won't happen because mmo's are built imo to disapoint.
You know what is funny about this is that WOW did not nail the landing either. Took about a year or more to fix PVP and the game was lag ridden on release (waited hours in queue to do raids too). Ah the short memories of the mob. But...how did Blizzard pull it off and make everyone forget the initial challenges.
AOC launched better than Vanguard but worse than LOTRO. I recall the EQ2 launch and can't remember if it was better or worse but I know it was not great. AOC has made leaping strides in client stability and lag in the las few weeks so if they keep it up it will be on par with the typical PTP games of today but with higher graphics.
The instancing people mention is not that big of a deal to me. Guildwars, EQ 2 and others have done this already and did not get utterly lambasted for it.
You know.... After the first week WoW was released, it already had more subs than any other mmorpg. It had crushed EQ2, which many said would win over WoW like a 100 ton tank vs a wall of paper.
WoW was gorgeous and great in closed beta and already there more polished than pretty much all other mmorpgs. The only reason people whined was because they had to whine about something, it was luxury things they whined about, also the reason people today aren't tolerant to bugs and such, which was totally normal back before WoW.
After WoW, gamers want they are treated as gods or kings and only need the finest and the best. Great and bad for Blizzard on the same time.
However Funcom still are the used car salemen of the mmo companies....
You know.... After the first week WoW was released, it already had more subs than any other mmorpg. It had crushed EQ2, which many said would win over WoW like a 100 ton tank vs a wall of paper.
WoW was gorgeous and great in closed beta and already there more polished than pretty much all other mmorpgs. The only reason people whined was because they had to whine about something, it was luxury things they whined about, also the reason people today aren't tolerant to bugs and such, which was totally normal back before WoW.
After WoW, gamers want they are treated as gods or kings and only need the finest and the best. Great and bad for Blizzard on the same time.
Well, you better brace yourself for the onslaught of fanboys who lack the intellectual capacity to differentiate between "server issues from massive unexpected popularity" and "a buggy, unfinished client".
AOC is an ok game, it just isn't a very good MMORPG. It plays like a console single player game with others online at the same time. The overly simplistic combat mechanics make it feel like a beer and pretzel game rather than a real MMORPG and it has just enough content to be fun leveling up one time to max level.
It is fun in the same way that say The Witcher is fun, not in the same way as WoW.
AOC is an ok game, it just isn't a very good MMORPG. It plays like a console single player game with others online at the same time. The overly simplistic combat mechanics make it feel like a beer and pretzel game rather than a real MMORPG and it has just enough content to be fun leveling up one time to max level.
Ironic isn't it.
One of the most hyped feature about AoC was its "innovative, complex combat system".
You know.... After the first week WoW was released, it already had more subs than any other mmorpg. It had crushed EQ2, which many said would win over WoW like a 100 ton tank vs a wall of paper.
WoW was gorgeous and great in closed beta and already there more polished than pretty much all other mmorpgs. The only reason people whined was because they had to whine about something, it was luxury things they whined about, also the reason people today aren't tolerant to bugs and such, which was totally normal back before WoW.
After WoW, gamers want they are treated as gods or kings and only need the finest and the best. Great and bad for Blizzard on the same time.
Well, you better brace yourself for the onslaught of fanboys who lack the intellectual capacity to differentiate between "server issues from massive unexpected popularity" and "a buggy, unfinished client".
I am not coming at this like a fanboi but Qmire must have played in a different World of Warcraft then me. I was in beta and played at launch and I thought WOW was great. HOWEVER, I don't believe the non-existant PVP that took in the area of a year to fix was a luxury item or sever issues from massive popularity. It was virtually non existant and it was not initially implemented well. I also HATED waiting in queues for Raid events for hours and that was well after the first year of WOW launch. There was plenty wrong with WOW when it launched, some zones were broken, there were broken quest lines and tweaks happening constantly to fix things plus what I mentioned above.
Also, Lag is lag for whatever reason. it still causes gameplay issues. WOW had plenty of lag. I really like WOW and it is in my top three MMOs. It just amazes me at the short memories of people.
The hate from the community that does not like AOC has taken on a life of its own and the MOB mentallity around it is huge. It goes way beyond the technical aspects and game play of AOC. The game is pretty good and is improving constantly. It is no where near as bad off in its progress as people make it out. The only really smooth MMO launch in my recolection was LOTRO and a couple of the Asian MMO games.
I think it is Funcom's position on things and the way they are handling their issues that is driving this extreme hatred. The game itself is playing solid and has some great quests lines and wonderful graphics. The combat system and use of instances are a matter of taste and not fatal game flaws. some will like these elements and some won't . Instancing did not hurt Guild Wars or EQ2.
The hatred towards AOC isn't what I would describe as irrational, but it is rather totally normal given the combination of unique events that have surrounded the release.
The main and important factors are as follows:
A)The game was released early. We all know this. The developers know this. The players knows this. The GMs know it. Everyone knows it. At some point, someone in some office somewhere said: "The game isn't finished at all, but we have to release it because xxxxxxxxxxxxxx". As a result, people are seriously narked at the shoddy nature of the game. People can handle bugs. What they can't handle are messy interfaces, borked game mechanics and non-existant customer support.
Misleading advertising and secretive Beta testing. People expected something they didn't get. This is simply Funcom's fault. They said things were gonna be in the game that were not in the game. You all know the usual examples as quoted regularly on these forums: Bar brawls, DX10, sieges etc etc. When people get to level 50 and find out the only way to progress is to do repeatable 'Kill 500 mob' quests and repeatable villa quests 10,000 times, people will get angry.
C) World of Warcraft. This is, in my opinion, the biggest factor in the anger towards Funcom. People have been used to amazing service and game quality for 3 years via playing World of Warcraft. Also, people are now getting bored of World of Warcraft in great numbers and are eagerly anticipating new games. AOC was released and did wonderfully well out of the 'WOWboredom' factor. Lots dropped WOW and tried AOC, hoping for something new to replace their beloved (but tired) WOW. What they got was a WOW clone with gimmicks, and an all-round inferior game setup. Everything is inferior in basically every way apart from the graphics. So, people are pissed off and dont understand how a game that is 3 years newer than WOW can be so unbelievably inferior to it.
-They arent talking about content or bugs. Everyone knows new games have less content and more bugs. What people are angry about is that the absolute fundamental basics of the game are a shambolic mess. Stats dont work. PVP system not in place yet (for a supposed PVP centred game, is it forgivable for a PVP system not to be in place from the launch? - I dont think so). UIs messy. Grouping counter-intuitive and full of hassle (instances and cant see players on map etc). Crafting a mess. Sieges not in yet. Game feeling small and enclosed. No GMS at all etc etc
It all adds up into a cumulative disaster that people want to shout about! WAR will have exactly the same problem if it doesnt match Blizzard's high standards for ease of use and intuitively easy gameplay, or if it doesnt provide anything new or interesting at launch. Simply, the bar has been set to a massively high level by Blizzard and if people cant at least match it, then they will die or crawl along like a mouse beside the WOW elephant.
I am not coming at this like a fanboi but Qmire must have played in a different World of Warcraft then me. I was in beta and played at launch and I thought WOW was great. HOWEVER, I don't believe the non-existant PVP that took in the area of a year to fix was a luxury item or sever issues from massive popularity. It was virtually non existant and it was not initially implemented well. I also HATED waiting in queues for Raid events for hours and that was well after the first year of WOW launch. There was plenty wrong with WOW when it launched, some zones were broken, there were broken quest lines and tweaks happening constantly to fix things plus what I mentioned above.
WoW was never advertised as a PvP game so I don't see why Blizzard was obligated to have a PvP system implemented at launch.
Waited in queues for Raid events? wtf are you talking about?
It all adds up into a cumulative disaster that people want to shout about! WAR will have exactly the same problem if it doesnt match Blizzard's high standards for ease of use and intuitively easy gameplay, or if it doesnt provide anything new or interesting at launch. Simply, the bar has been set to a massively high level by Blizzard and if people cant at least match it, then they will die or crawl along like a mouse beside the WOW elephant.
I think you've made some very good points here. The bar has indeed been raised, and MMOs coming out now not only need to meet the competition, they need to exceed it.
Other than graphics, AoC delivers less in every area than established games like WoW. People who try to exhonerate the shortcomings of AoC by comparing it to the launches of other games miss the point. AoC isn't competing with the WoW of 2004 - it's competing with the WoW of 2008. In that regard, AoC needs to offer more than its current competitors.
What's even worse is that FC doesn't appear to have been able to learn from other existing successful games, and take elements of those games and incorporate them into their own from the start.
Comments
The game is not as good as people wanted it to be. But the game is not as bad as people say in this forums.
It will start hurting you, because the company that approves XBOX360 port is the one that pretty much says how the game will develop.
Are you really saying that having a)multiple instances of same open world (not dungeons), b)instanced pieces of instanced open world in a MMORPG is acceptable and doesn't bother you?
Yea, there should be somekind of order and is. But what I meant with linear is that you have to choose one line or else you're screwed. Other choices are just eyecandy. (I'm DT, btw)
No, all games aren't like that. This one is, and to more criticize the "revolutionary combat system", close combat is nothing and ranged nuking is everything. The most effective way is to hit straight attacks. Of course you take advantage on shields PvE. NPC changes how they are set, in PvP there's just no real chance to adjust them at all.
I'm glad to hear you're making money with your crafting profession, although I don't understand what people do with those gear crafted, since gems got nerfed.
Ever checked how many of your combos are actually the same but acquired on higher level. Leech Life I-IV for example.
Age of Conan isn't that bad, but Funcom is...terrible customer service, terrible updates!!!, broken promises, and the writing on the wall says, "we will not listen to the customers, they're dumb" I say, "good bye Funcom, Warhammer will kill ya."
Yes
10 characters.
It's pretty bad, yeah, but people should try it if they have the chance I suppose. <shrug> Might as well i guess, nothing to lose, plus, it could float your boat.
I suggest new players stay away from the official boards though..
It isn't really that bad, but in my opinion it is a bit 'Hollow' & I don't mean in terms of missing content.
It's fun enough for quite a while, especially for casual players like me who don't burn through all the existing content that quickly, or at least not as fast as Funcom are trying to add it at the higher levels.
The thing that seems to be missing for me is 'atmosphere'. The scenery is great, the music is great, even the character animations seem great, but somehow it still doesn't feel like 'Home' & unless things change over the next couple of months I seriously doubt that I will still be playing after September.
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
Take the Hecatomb? TCG What Is Your Doom? quiz.
Yes
Beta:
GW, WOW, AOC, DAOC, DOD, L2, VG.
Playd:
GW necro msx, WOW never maxd, DAOC reaver-paladin-cabalist-vamp max, L2 never maxd, VG never maxd.
Play:
Daoc - Paladin. Classic.
Thnak g@d you're on London..was getting lonely waiting for you guys to wake up.
**searches for Malickibloo**
Thnak g@d you're on London..was getting lonely waiting for you guys to wake up.
**searches for Malickibloo**
Believe it or not I am working on a Sunday morning, the perils of working for small data analysis companies!
I haven't time to play MMOs this morning & I am taking my son to the bi-monthly London Anime Club later to stock up on more DVD imports.
The 'Hey Days' of British TV are over & almost all we ever watch is imported Anime, LOL.
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
Take the Hecatomb? TCG What Is Your Doom? quiz.
This game is terribad, avoid like the plague.
No offence Sourjit, but I hate your posts. Not the content but the presentation. You try to hit the reader over the head. I bet i'm not alone.
make that tines 2. I refuse to read any post that has more colors in it than a rainbow bright commercial or text sizes that belong on a eyesight impaired site.
Londonmage I agree a lot with the way you described your experience with AoC. I really enjoyed the game the first week, the second week it started to get old and by the time I was in my 20's I was pretty much done with it. I still had plenty of content at that level but it just missed somehow. I loved the world graphics and the atmosphere in the cities, I like the music and animations and quest lines. I had no issues with performance, but a very bad experience with the so called customer service department.
Somehow they missed the mark and the game felt more like a single player game than a MMO to me. When a patch broke the game for me to the point where it would not load and I ended up reformatting my hard drive and still could not get any reply to my email ticket whatsoever from their tech department even after a week I said to heck with it.
Bad quality control, bad CS department and a shallow shallow game. Still you can find some copies for bargain bin prices over on Amazon I say try it, you might find it worth 30 bucks or so for the free 30 days.
I miss DAoC
AoC really IS that bad.
1. no content past 20... it is simply not acceptable to have a grindfest in a modern mmorpg unless the game was made in Korea. Maybe at endgame right before an expansion the game should slow down.. but in AoC, after you hit lvl 20, it's simply boring. (takes about 3 days).
2. Believe it or not.. they currently have devs working on an expansion. Yep, there is no content from 20-80, but instead of fixing that, they are working on another box you must pay for. Probably the worst rap WOW has is that the expansions are so far apart... that is because Blizzard 'wasted' a lot of dev time giving subscribers free content. Failcom is doing the opposite.. they are basically going to make you buy a second box to give you content they promised on the first one... with absolutely no real content in updates. They can't even manage to fix bugs in their updates.. it's always 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
3. Workforce. Not only are they wasting devs by having them work on an expansion.. but do you really think they are going to be able to maintain their current workforce the way their subscribers are leaving in droves... AOC is probably down to 175k by now, and will drop below 100k when Warhammer launches. The majority of AoC players joined for pvp... and it's barely even in the game yet. The big pvp patch keeps getting delayed and isn't even all that good. Seige weapons and city warfare is barely implemented and extremely broke. This game will not be able to pay for the devs that will be needed to fix the game... let alone add new content.
I am going to have to assume that you did not actually play past 20. there is loads of content between 20th and 50th level; quality conent as well with great quest lines for all three races. The content gap is above that and they need to add "good" quest lines for those in the 50 + folks. In some of the higher end locations they have added mobs but that is not the answer.
I do totally agree that dedicating resources towards an expansion is not a good way to go. The game is "fixed" as far as lag, etc. I cleanly run at all times on high setting wih a 40+ fps rate in all locations, even the Villas. They need to add quality content and finish the DX10 piece plus add some of the committed items before moving on to an expansion.
I am still playing AOC and enjoy it but they do need to focus correctly, improve their image and their customer support.
Lastly, as much as I am looking forward to WAR I am prepared for the flame wars to begin when it releases as it will launch in worse shape than LOTRO which was the best MMO launch I have seen and even it got flamed (small world, lack of content, blah, blah). WAR will be next even if it is a good game, I have faith in the haters to make themselves known.
AOC is a good game 9in my opinion and does have lots of content past 20th. That is a mistatement. My quest load stayed at max with my Barbarian until mid 50s and even so I still had dozens of quests. It has flaws that need to be focused on before dedicating resources to expansions, just to sum it up.
I like Age of Conan.
It will never be the next big thing. You got to nail the landing right from the start to have any shot at that. You can't go back and release it again for the first time. The damage is done. The best they can hope is a fair percentage (1/3) will try it out 6-12 months from now and like it then, as they wait for the next great mmo, that most likely won't happen because mmo's are built imo to disapoint.
You know what is funny about this is that WOW did not nail the landing either. Took about a year or more to fix PVP and the game was lag ridden on release (waited hours in queue to do raids too). Ah the short memories of the mob. But...how did Blizzard pull it off and make everyone forget the initial challenges.
AOC launched better than Vanguard but worse than LOTRO. I recall the EQ2 launch and can't remember if it was better or worse but I know it was not great. AOC has made leaping strides in client stability and lag in the las few weeks so if they keep it up it will be on par with the typical PTP games of today but with higher graphics.
The instancing people mention is not that big of a deal to me. Guildwars, EQ 2 and others have done this already and did not get utterly lambasted for it.
You know.... After the first week WoW was released, it already had more subs than any other mmorpg. It had crushed EQ2, which many said would win over WoW like a 100 ton tank vs a wall of paper.
WoW was gorgeous and great in closed beta and already there more polished than pretty much all other mmorpgs. The only reason people whined was because they had to whine about something, it was luxury things they whined about, also the reason people today aren't tolerant to bugs and such, which was totally normal back before WoW.
After WoW, gamers want they are treated as gods or kings and only need the finest and the best. Great and bad for Blizzard on the same time.
However Funcom still are the used car salemen of the mmo companies....
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Well, you better brace yourself for the onslaught of fanboys who lack the intellectual capacity to differentiate between "server issues from massive unexpected popularity" and "a buggy, unfinished client".
AOC is an ok game, it just isn't a very good MMORPG. It plays like a console single player game with others online at the same time. The overly simplistic combat mechanics make it feel like a beer and pretzel game rather than a real MMORPG and it has just enough content to be fun leveling up one time to max level.
It is fun in the same way that say The Witcher is fun, not in the same way as WoW.
Ironic isn't it.
One of the most hyped feature about AoC was its "innovative, complex combat system".
Well, you better brace yourself for the onslaught of fanboys who lack the intellectual capacity to differentiate between "server issues from massive unexpected popularity" and "a buggy, unfinished client".
I am not coming at this like a fanboi but Qmire must have played in a different World of Warcraft then me. I was in beta and played at launch and I thought WOW was great. HOWEVER, I don't believe the non-existant PVP that took in the area of a year to fix was a luxury item or sever issues from massive popularity. It was virtually non existant and it was not initially implemented well. I also HATED waiting in queues for Raid events for hours and that was well after the first year of WOW launch. There was plenty wrong with WOW when it launched, some zones were broken, there were broken quest lines and tweaks happening constantly to fix things plus what I mentioned above.
Also, Lag is lag for whatever reason. it still causes gameplay issues. WOW had plenty of lag. I really like WOW and it is in my top three MMOs. It just amazes me at the short memories of people.
The hate from the community that does not like AOC has taken on a life of its own and the MOB mentallity around it is huge. It goes way beyond the technical aspects and game play of AOC. The game is pretty good and is improving constantly. It is no where near as bad off in its progress as people make it out. The only really smooth MMO launch in my recolection was LOTRO and a couple of the Asian MMO games.
I think it is Funcom's position on things and the way they are handling their issues that is driving this extreme hatred. The game itself is playing solid and has some great quests lines and wonderful graphics. The combat system and use of instances are a matter of taste and not fatal game flaws. some will like these elements and some won't . Instancing did not hurt Guild Wars or EQ2.
The hatred towards AOC isn't what I would describe as irrational, but it is rather totally normal given the combination of unique events that have surrounded the release.
The main and important factors are as follows:
A) The game was released early. We all know this. The developers know this. The players knows this. The GMs know it. Everyone knows it. At some point, someone in some office somewhere said: "The game isn't finished at all, but we have to release it because xxxxxxxxxxxxxx". As a result, people are seriously narked at the shoddy nature of the game. People can handle bugs. What they can't handle are messy interfaces, borked game mechanics and non-existant customer support.
C) World of Warcraft. This is, in my opinion, the biggest factor in the anger towards Funcom. People have been used to amazing service and game quality for 3 years via playing World of Warcraft. Also, people are now getting bored of World of Warcraft in great numbers and are eagerly anticipating new games. AOC was released and did wonderfully well out of the 'WOWboredom' factor. Lots dropped WOW and tried AOC, hoping for something new to replace their beloved (but tired) WOW. What they got was a WOW clone with gimmicks, and an all-round inferior game setup. Everything is inferior in basically every way apart from the graphics. So, people are pissed off and dont understand how a game that is 3 years newer than WOW can be so unbelievably inferior to it.
-They arent talking about content or bugs. Everyone knows new games have less content and more bugs. What people are angry about is that the absolute fundamental basics of the game are a shambolic mess. Stats dont work. PVP system not in place yet (for a supposed PVP centred game, is it forgivable for a PVP system not to be in place from the launch? - I dont think so). UIs messy. Grouping counter-intuitive and full of hassle (instances and cant see players on map etc). Crafting a mess. Sieges not in yet. Game feeling small and enclosed. No GMS at all etc etc
It all adds up into a cumulative disaster that people want to shout about! WAR will have exactly the same problem if it doesnt match Blizzard's high standards for ease of use and intuitively easy gameplay, or if it doesnt provide anything new or interesting at launch. Simply, the bar has been set to a massively high level by Blizzard and if people cant at least match it, then they will die or crawl along like a mouse beside the WOW elephant.
WoW was never advertised as a PvP game so I don't see why Blizzard was obligated to have a PvP system implemented at launch.
Waited in queues for Raid events? wtf are you talking about?
I think you've made some very good points here. The bar has indeed been raised, and MMOs coming out now not only need to meet the competition, they need to exceed it.
Other than graphics, AoC delivers less in every area than established games like WoW. People who try to exhonerate the shortcomings of AoC by comparing it to the launches of other games miss the point. AoC isn't competing with the WoW of 2004 - it's competing with the WoW of 2008. In that regard, AoC needs to offer more than its current competitors.
What's even worse is that FC doesn't appear to have been able to learn from other existing successful games, and take elements of those games and incorporate them into their own from the start.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.