The main differences between oldschool and new MMOs revolve mostly around actually having to spend time figuring how to play instead of jumping into the quest bandwagon that points you exactly where to go, what to do and how to get your stuff. Talking in a general sense, you would usually start off one of those games having no damn clue where to go, how to build your character, the appropriate places to evolve and efficient ways of earning money and gear - thus this being the main reason why people grouped up, talked to each other and joined clans. There's also the fact that those games weren't designed to be soloed which forced you to get friends and groups to even party to level up and get better, and this would take a long time, but the boredom factor was mitigated by constantly being in touch with other people, and seeing you and your group of friends evolve overtime. Then there's also the open-pvp aspect: being prone to attacks anytime while playing, and the fact people could grief openly over meaningful resources (leveling zones, raids, castles and alike) created more player-centered conflicts that weren't necessarily 'fair' in terms of numbers and gear and such like in arenas but actually had a purpose and gave you immense satisfaction as well as more reasons to create groups to defend such resources.
All of this created a much more immersive environment that rewarded people with determination and knowledge of things. Being in an open and persistent world allowed for everyone to have its impact in the grand scheme of things and not feel isolated like some game nowdays, simply because forming societies/clans and groups was not exactly 'for fun' but rather a necessity to progress. Pretty much almost no MMOs thesedays have this feel anymore, at least on the same extent as before.
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1999 Rallos Zek - need I say more?
Life IS Feudal
Perpetuum & wakfu spring immediately to mind, there must be more.
The main differences between oldschool and new MMOs revolve mostly around actually having to spend time figuring how to play instead of jumping into the quest bandwagon that points you exactly where to go, what to do and how to get your stuff. Talking in a general sense, you would usually start off one of those games having no damn clue where to go, how to build your character, the appropriate places to evolve and efficient ways of earning money and gear - thus this being the main reason why people grouped up, talked to each other and joined clans. There's also the fact that those games weren't designed to be soloed which forced you to get friends and groups to even party to level up and get better, and this would take a long time, but the boredom factor was mitigated by constantly being in touch with other people, and seeing you and your group of friends evolve overtime. Then there's also the open-pvp aspect: being prone to attacks anytime while playing, and the fact people could grief openly over meaningful resources (leveling zones, raids, castles and alike) created more player-centered conflicts that weren't necessarily 'fair' in terms of numbers and gear and such like in arenas but actually had a purpose and gave you immense satisfaction as well as more reasons to create groups to defend such resources.
All of this created a much more immersive environment that rewarded people with determination and knowledge of things. Being in an open and persistent world allowed for everyone to have its impact in the grand scheme of things and not feel isolated like some game nowdays, simply because forming societies/clans and groups was not exactly 'for fun' but rather a necessity to progress. Pretty much almost no MMOs thesedays have this feel anymore, at least on the same extent as before.