While some of the Hype is just because people are bored with the same old thing and looking for something new.
One of the reasons I believe it deserves the hype is the PvP system being integrated from the start with the PvE. Most other games I have played have basically been PvE shells with PvP tacked on with Duct tape and glue. EQ was infamous for having to turn off skills and abilities, DAoC had to add massive damage multipliers, in PvP.
DAoC had a nice system of Keep capture and RvR combat and its providing realm wide bonuses. Aion seems to have implemented an almost identical type of system. The bonuses and penalties for owning or failing to hold various keeps and artifacts could, in theory, be massively game affecting. I have not played the >30 world yet, so the RvR bonuses remain mostly hearsay from K/CAion.
But these benefits give players something that is worth continuingly fighting over the control of.
Unlike other RvR type games where sides were allowed to become unbalanced Aion from the start has and is adding/refining balance and control. Add in the NPC Balaur who are there just to occasionally reset the balance and you have a game that is trying to prevent rampant imbalances in the population of sides as happened in WAR/DAoC and others.
Character classes, well... I think you would be hard pressed to find a game with fewer than 2 races and 8 classes playable.
Is that good or bad? Well, it makes keeping the class versus class skill balances easier as you basically avoid things like in WoW having, at start, Shaman on one side and Paladins on the other and trying to allow their skill sets to balance off against each other.
The bad being there is little variety in play a few alts later and you have pretty much seen all everyone can do.
At least with the Stigma and Manastone and Godstones you have some customization options, but largely these will rapidly devolve into 1 or 2 'true paths' that are the 'only' ways to set up a character.
Gathering and Crafting seem fairly well thought out and seem to provide some of the best gear in game. The requirement for many of the higher level items to consume the rare version of the earlier tiers as a component means that the highest tier crafted items will be both somewhat rare and difficult to make, but WELL worth the effort.
As a counter to the 'it's just another asian grinder game' comments, it is really no different than any other MMO in the style and type of quests. And with 1.5 is adding even more higher level quests for 20+ areas.
At least for me getting into the low 20's was done entirely with quests and I never had to grind random mobs to level. Gathering can be a bit of a grind, especially Aether, but the results sell well as crafters are in constant need.
Worthy of the Hype? Remains to be fully seen. BUT! From what I have seen of it so far it has taken many of the tried and true mechanisms of the past, applied a bit of spin and a lot of polish to them. Balance seems well thought out. And the Game engine itself is incredibly optimized already, on my year old, $1k system I typically have 100+ fps in the open, dropping to 50-70 in the cities with all settings sliders maxxed , 8xAA abd full bloom.
Without fanboyism, explain to me what is appealing everyone to Aion. :P
Sorry, but I can't explain to you what is appealing to everyone, but I can explain to you what is appealing to me.
1. It was made by a company that has a mostly successful track record with MMOs. I know this doesn't guarantee future greatness, since NCSoft is also responsible for Tabula Rasa and Mythic seems to have flubbed with Warhammer, but it instills confidence that if they've gotten it right before, they can get it right again.
2. It's been played for the better part of a year in Korea. This means we are likely to get a fixed, patched version of the game at release. The chances are good that we'll avoid the pitfalls of a brand new MMO, resplendent with game breaking bugs.
3. It is designed around PvP. Real PvP is what I enjoy most about online games. I've got my skills, you've got your skills. Let's see who is better this time around. World of Warcraft is the one MMO that I've played the most the past few years and for me it's disappointing that Alterac Valley has become a ride by and kill the NPCs battleground. I understand players do it to get honor quickly so they can get gear, but for me, my favorite memories of Alterac Valley are the battles where the two sides would fight down to the last reinforcement, usually on the hill near Stormpike Graveyard. PvP was also my favorite part of Warhammer. Going into a Scenario with my Disciple was the most fun, especially when I felt / believed my healing could turn the battle and help our team press forward.
4. Speaking of PvP, we don't have just instanced PvP, we have open world PvP. As soon as I can get to the Abyss, I'll be going there. Even if people caution me against it, that's where I'll be. It's the same reason I prefer PvP servers in WoW and Warhammer. That fear that at any moment someone may step out of the shadows and try to gank you. As well as the thrill if you are able to turn the tables on them and teach the would be ganker a lesson. Not only that, but the rush you get when you find a would be victim and you contemplate how you are going to attack them. Because, as good as you are, there is always the chance you will come across someone who is that much better than you. But you never want to lose.
5. Also, I like the idea of faction controlled areas that allow you to do content the other faction can't. It gives you something to fight over. From what I understand, this will exist in the Abyss. As long as one side controls it, they will have access to areas where they can kill bosses to get uber loot.
6. While I like PvP, I don't mind earning my way there. As has been mentioned previously, this is an Asian MMO, which seems to indicate some amount of grindiness. I don't mind that at all, as long as it's not ubertard grindy. I don't want to have to spend six months of grinding to get one level. But I'd like to feel some sense of accomplishment about getting to the Level Cap.
---------------------------------
So, there you have it, the reasons I'm hyped about Aion. Mostly I like PvP and Aion seems to be made for it.
I participated in one of the Closed Beta weekends and knew I could play this game. I liked the combat style and all the mechanics that go with it. I may only play Aion for six months or a year, since I expect the content right now supports that amount of game play, but I'm going to get the game the day it's released and play it as long as it holds my interest. I'm just not sure it will hold my interest for more than a year.
Playing | GW2 Wanting | Pantheon Watching | Crowfall Retired | WAR, Cabal, MO, CO, SHK, WoW, FFXIV: ARR
"The issue is that I don't see anything unique or interesting about Aion other than the fact that it's polished. It may be a personal thing - but I dislike the graphics and most of the animations that I've seen, and for the most part the theme and visual style in general just doesn't appeal to me."
The reason I'm hyping the game is exactly this. The graphics, animations, theme, and visual style are probably the best I've seen from a polished MMO. Also, this is one of the only games out there with tons of options to create beautiful characters.
There are a lot of eastern MMO's with the beautiful visual style I love, but they are F2P and lacking polish. Conversely, although there are some well done western MMO's, the visual style is utterly unappealing to me.
In Aion you have a beautiful world (the sky especially is stunning), and amazing looking spells and abilities. You can create a cool looking character without having him look like the missing link (something that plagues a good deal of western mmo's imho).
Combine these things with a decent amount of content, Pay to Play system, 8 distinct classes, and a close as you can get bug free game and you're going to get some love.
Comments
While some of the Hype is just because people are bored with the same old thing and looking for something new.
One of the reasons I believe it deserves the hype is the PvP system being integrated from the start with the PvE. Most other games I have played have basically been PvE shells with PvP tacked on with Duct tape and glue. EQ was infamous for having to turn off skills and abilities, DAoC had to add massive damage multipliers, in PvP.
DAoC had a nice system of Keep capture and RvR combat and its providing realm wide bonuses. Aion seems to have implemented an almost identical type of system. The bonuses and penalties for owning or failing to hold various keeps and artifacts could, in theory, be massively game affecting. I have not played the >30 world yet, so the RvR bonuses remain mostly hearsay from K/CAion.
But these benefits give players something that is worth continuingly fighting over the control of.
Unlike other RvR type games where sides were allowed to become unbalanced Aion from the start has and is adding/refining balance and control. Add in the NPC Balaur who are there just to occasionally reset the balance and you have a game that is trying to prevent rampant imbalances in the population of sides as happened in WAR/DAoC and others.
Character classes, well... I think you would be hard pressed to find a game with fewer than 2 races and 8 classes playable.
Is that good or bad? Well, it makes keeping the class versus class skill balances easier as you basically avoid things like in WoW having, at start, Shaman on one side and Paladins on the other and trying to allow their skill sets to balance off against each other.
The bad being there is little variety in play a few alts later and you have pretty much seen all everyone can do.
At least with the Stigma and Manastone and Godstones you have some customization options, but largely these will rapidly devolve into 1 or 2 'true paths' that are the 'only' ways to set up a character.
Gathering and Crafting seem fairly well thought out and seem to provide some of the best gear in game. The requirement for many of the higher level items to consume the rare version of the earlier tiers as a component means that the highest tier crafted items will be both somewhat rare and difficult to make, but WELL worth the effort.
As a counter to the 'it's just another asian grinder game' comments, it is really no different than any other MMO in the style and type of quests. And with 1.5 is adding even more higher level quests for 20+ areas.
At least for me getting into the low 20's was done entirely with quests and I never had to grind random mobs to level. Gathering can be a bit of a grind, especially Aether, but the results sell well as crafters are in constant need.
Worthy of the Hype? Remains to be fully seen. BUT! From what I have seen of it so far it has taken many of the tried and true mechanisms of the past, applied a bit of spin and a lot of polish to them. Balance seems well thought out. And the Game engine itself is incredibly optimized already, on my year old, $1k system I typically have 100+ fps in the open, dropping to 50-70 in the cities with all settings sliders maxxed , 8xAA abd full bloom.
Sorry, but I can't explain to you what is appealing to everyone, but I can explain to you what is appealing to me.
1. It was made by a company that has a mostly successful track record with MMOs. I know this doesn't guarantee future greatness, since NCSoft is also responsible for Tabula Rasa and Mythic seems to have flubbed with Warhammer, but it instills confidence that if they've gotten it right before, they can get it right again.
2. It's been played for the better part of a year in Korea. This means we are likely to get a fixed, patched version of the game at release. The chances are good that we'll avoid the pitfalls of a brand new MMO, resplendent with game breaking bugs.
3. It is designed around PvP. Real PvP is what I enjoy most about online games. I've got my skills, you've got your skills. Let's see who is better this time around. World of Warcraft is the one MMO that I've played the most the past few years and for me it's disappointing that Alterac Valley has become a ride by and kill the NPCs battleground. I understand players do it to get honor quickly so they can get gear, but for me, my favorite memories of Alterac Valley are the battles where the two sides would fight down to the last reinforcement, usually on the hill near Stormpike Graveyard. PvP was also my favorite part of Warhammer. Going into a Scenario with my Disciple was the most fun, especially when I felt / believed my healing could turn the battle and help our team press forward.
4. Speaking of PvP, we don't have just instanced PvP, we have open world PvP. As soon as I can get to the Abyss, I'll be going there. Even if people caution me against it, that's where I'll be. It's the same reason I prefer PvP servers in WoW and Warhammer. That fear that at any moment someone may step out of the shadows and try to gank you. As well as the thrill if you are able to turn the tables on them and teach the would be ganker a lesson. Not only that, but the rush you get when you find a would be victim and you contemplate how you are going to attack them. Because, as good as you are, there is always the chance you will come across someone who is that much better than you. But you never want to lose.
5. Also, I like the idea of faction controlled areas that allow you to do content the other faction can't. It gives you something to fight over. From what I understand, this will exist in the Abyss. As long as one side controls it, they will have access to areas where they can kill bosses to get uber loot.
6. While I like PvP, I don't mind earning my way there. As has been mentioned previously, this is an Asian MMO, which seems to indicate some amount of grindiness. I don't mind that at all, as long as it's not ubertard grindy. I don't want to have to spend six months of grinding to get one level. But I'd like to feel some sense of accomplishment about getting to the Level Cap.
---------------------------------
So, there you have it, the reasons I'm hyped about Aion. Mostly I like PvP and Aion seems to be made for it.
I participated in one of the Closed Beta weekends and knew I could play this game. I liked the combat style and all the mechanics that go with it. I may only play Aion for six months or a year, since I expect the content right now supports that amount of game play, but I'm going to get the game the day it's released and play it as long as it holds my interest. I'm just not sure it will hold my interest for more than a year.
Playing | GW2
Wanting | Pantheon
Watching | Crowfall
Retired | WAR, Cabal, MO, CO, SHK, WoW, FFXIV: ARR
"The issue is that I don't see anything unique or interesting about Aion other than the fact that it's polished. It may be a personal thing - but I dislike the graphics and most of the animations that I've seen, and for the most part the theme and visual style in general just doesn't appeal to me."
The reason I'm hyping the game is exactly this. The graphics, animations, theme, and visual style are probably the best I've seen from a polished MMO. Also, this is one of the only games out there with tons of options to create beautiful characters.
There are a lot of eastern MMO's with the beautiful visual style I love, but they are F2P and lacking polish. Conversely, although there are some well done western MMO's, the visual style is utterly unappealing to me.
In Aion you have a beautiful world (the sky especially is stunning), and amazing looking spells and abilities. You can create a cool looking character without having him look like the missing link (something that plagues a good deal of western mmo's imho).
Combine these things with a decent amount of content, Pay to Play system, 8 distinct classes, and a close as you can get bug free game and you're going to get some love.