Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Why is it so hard to find a good MMO?
Lazzaro
Member UncommonPosts: 548
Ever since Vanilla WoW I've had such a hard time sticking to an MMO for more than a month or so and I don't know why. Prior to WoW I played SWG (played it while playing WoW too) and UO.
I've been searching for 10 years to find an MMO that I can play and keep coming back to, but it's seems impossible for me. Maybe it's my short attention span, or MMO's don't do it for me anymore, but I just think there hasn't been one interesting enough for me to stay for a long period of time since old WoW.
Almost every new MMO that comes out is missing or has something I don't like making it not enjoyable for me that I don't stick around(if it's not one thing it's another). It seems like all these newer MMO's have lost the community aspect of the game and everything is Solo, or instanced PvP, instanced dungeons, etc. It's just so hard to find a good mix of old school, thrown in with 'some' newer school mechanics.
I was hoping archeage would be that game, but look how that turned out. I'm waiting on EQN, but we might not ever see that.
Such is life.
I've been searching for 10 years to find an MMO that I can play and keep coming back to, but it's seems impossible for me. Maybe it's my short attention span, or MMO's don't do it for me anymore, but I just think there hasn't been one interesting enough for me to stay for a long period of time since old WoW.
Almost every new MMO that comes out is missing or has something I don't like making it not enjoyable for me that I don't stick around(if it's not one thing it's another). It seems like all these newer MMO's have lost the community aspect of the game and everything is Solo, or instanced PvP, instanced dungeons, etc. It's just so hard to find a good mix of old school, thrown in with 'some' newer school mechanics.
I was hoping archeage would be that game, but look how that turned out. I'm waiting on EQN, but we might not ever see that.
Such is life.
Comments
I mentioned this in a recent blog post on the fact that those of us who appreciated the old-school games haven't disappeared or gone away. We're still here. It's just that the industry evolved around us.
For example, I relish and miss the days of forced grouping. EQ1, Vanilla WoW, even LOTRO up until the Mines of Moria expansion was an incredible group-based game where you required other players to complete the content.
None of those games still feature group content, at least not in the way it was done in the old days, when it was required. Now it's 100% optional, and players always take the path of least resistance, i.e. solo. That's human nature. So if you eliminate the required grouping aspect, those games evolve all on their own.
Daybreak has done a good job of looking to take EQ1 and EQ2 back to the golden days with their progression servers, but you can see a massive change in how players of today consume the content compared to when they used to consume it 15 years ago. Back then, the preference was NOT to box, but instead to group up with other players. Now, many would rather 3 or 4 or 5 box their own group rather than work together with other players, because it's the entitelement generation.
Again, not the fault of you or I, and not rose-tinted glasses, simply an evolution in mindset.
When we were playing the early forms of MMORPG, we were the majority, so most games out there were designed for us. Now, the majority has changed, so we see the bulk of games catering to the entitelement generation as opposed to our generation. Games for us still exist ,but they are fewer and further between.
Thankfully, there's a revival going on right now of old-school games to cater to our generation. Pantheon and Gorgon are two we're looking forward to with equal anticipation outside of our own, Saga of Lucimia. So there is hope for those of us who thrive on group-based gameplay and old-school mechanics without all the watered-down stuff that has taken over since then.
And the best thing is you won't need rose-tinted goggles to play. You'll be able to enjoy these games just for what they are, since they cater to the old-school!
Now, if some devloper wants to come along and invest money in a game that will only appeal to that pre-2k4 population. There might be a game that a few hundred thousand would call "good".
But...........it seems only one or two indies are / were willing to try that. But they seem to be struggling or failing depending on which title.
I like being able to solo, and having to group for everything is a turn off personally. But there needs to be a healthy median between the two and not just for dungeons or raids like FFXIV, but like what SWG had, or UO, or Vanilla WoW.
I love seeing general chat call out LFM to take down a boss or a group of mobs in an open world. That's how you build community and keep people playing.
Also, there needs to be more than just combat. I had a Musician only character in SWG and all I did was play music in the cantina and give buffs to my friends and others, I made so many cool friends. There was a top quality crafter on my server and we had a little thing where I would go out and get him the stuff he needed that he couldn't get because he had no combat skills and he payed me loads of credits for doing so. We had an awesome system. It's stuff like that I miss.
Love this tune
I have been able to ride the wave of a couple of MMORPG launches, taking part in low level group content in open world and dungeons with other new players and that wonderful period in a game's life cycle is to me just great. As time passes, those zones empty out and no one groups (because everyone is a speed-levelling alts or rushing to endgame following a levelling guide because they need to catch up and get to where the game "starts").
Nowadays I suspect that this loop has been repeated so many times that the period of excitement and wonder shortens because we all "know" that games really begin at max level and that developers know that players think this way and adapt their games accordingly (thus maybe the online worlds of today are poorer than those of times past, since the "game" has priority over the "world"?).
I for one would love to somehow break this cycle, keep the magic going and if possible enhance the feeling of connectedness to the world and the lore as the game keeps going (or at least try to prevent the rapid disenchantment), making the game and the lore more rather than less immersive over time but I don't know how that could be done.
My 2 cents. BTW, I enjoy "end game" too but I mourn the loss of everything that is sacrificed in order to provide it.
Are you looking for the WOW style of gameplay? If so, try not comparing the MMOs and play each based on their own merits. Hobbies are a lot like relationships, and if you post here, MMOs are more than likely a hobby or an interest greater to you than "just a game."
If you are looking for some specific aspect of MMOs (social interaction, PVP, raids, massively multiplayer, etc) then try looking outside of the EQ/WOW style games.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Impulsive bored gamer's are ruining the market because as long as devs can keep making a tidy profit from crap games ,they will keep doing it.
I don't get angry but it sure does make me cringe when i see the hundreds,thousands of utter crap games advertised on this site.Along with that the so called reviews,previews it is all the same marketing junk,trying to impose really bad games onto the public just to make a buck.Then of course gamer's in the drones go out and buy all these games and likely don't even realize they wasted their money and set a bad precedent.
I am not perfect either,i have bought some really bad games and even with my long time gaming knowledge and knowing those games would likely be crap.So yes i have also stupidly supported bad cheap game designs.Those devs make some nice profits then come back for more.However my stance of late has changed a lot from earlier years,i walk away from bad decisions and poor game developers.
There are only two mmorpg's i would play right now,FFXI and EQ2 nothing else is even remotely on my radar.I put those two games at a 7/10 everything else less than 5/10. I think what keeps me going is right when i am about to give up hope i see some new developer or idea pop up and rejuvenate my hope for the genre.
The underlying problem one that i guess has plagued mankind for a very long time is >>$$$$$$,it is futile to attempt game development without it.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I was in a cool guild. Stuff exploded, guild broke up. No more guild.
I was playing and it occurred to me: There is nobody on the server who cares that I am here or not, and I'm not having fun in the game. So why am I here?
My solution? I setup something here at the house so my GF and I can play for a gaming fix. And the only online game we play regularly is a tablet MOBA-RPG hybrid where we were lucky enough to find a cool guild.
TL;DR: If I don't find a good guild, I solo for a while then leave. Eventually I setup a LAN party game and stopped looking.
The OP even alluded to this with his story about playing SWG.
What I found hilarious about this thread was Renfail. He sees the OP mention UO, SWG and WoW and then automatically assumes the OP is an old school fan who wants hardcore forced grouping, and then quickly shuts up again when OP said he also likes soloing. When are we going to realize that even people who say they are "hardcore" or "old school" all want something different here?
In fact I think the only thing that the majority of us really want in an MMO is a fun game with a good group of people to play it with. And that doesn't mean forcing people to do it, it means making them want to do it and making it enjoyable for them to do it, if they so wish.
Just to add here, in two of those great guild experiences I had , the leaders were both top level players. They knew the game inside out. But they also were willing to help and share that knowledge with others. And they were damn nice people. In fact one was just a kid of 17 years old but I swear he was more mature than 90% of the so called adults I play with. So it generally takes that really good person at the top to hold things together, but also its that person that brings in all the other good people as well. Hard find but so rewarding if you do.
Anyway I guess the point here is that next time you look at a game OP, try looking at it from a community aspect, rather than just the nuts and bolts of the game. Almost any game can be enjoyable and one you want to return to if the right people are in it, IMO.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Cheers...
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
As far as the rest go? I would be excited for them if they looked a little nicer. Yes I understand limited budget etc etc. But there is a point where I just don't get any enjoyment out of a game that looks too old.
Mild tangent: One memorable experience I had with our guild. We had to take a break from a dungeon run because the tank had to AFK for a couple minutes. His mom wanted him to take out the trash.
I had no clue he was young. He was one of the most mature and personable people in the guild.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
And sure, I bet we all wish our wives looked like supermodels too, ( actually I find them too skinny) but I think we can get past that and see that beauty is more than skin deep. After a while beauty, with no substance, just wears thin. Great to have both, but thats generally not reality for the majority of us.
Same with games.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
Honestly, this whole month I've been playing indie browser games, and I've spent what I'd spend on like 1.5 years of a WoW sub lol.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.