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Could it be MMORPG's are getting worse, not better?
Fugnudz
Member Posts: 480
From 2000 to today, I've been waiting for a game as good as early EQ1. And no, I'm not talking of the one-time nostalgia experience, but talking about a reasonably polished working game with "fear of death", "discovery of the unknown", and "reasons to group". A game with challenges.
Not seeing that in recent releases. I see easier games, with very linear quest paths, and solo quest grinding replacing group experience grinding. Heck, with "group experience grinding" at least you had social interaction and shared in the dangers and excitement of the game. In newer games, I see no fear of dying and therefore no sense of accomplishment.
But more than anything, I see games I used to bash being still much better (in almost all but graphics) than the newer games coming out.
I wonder if the place to look for a better game to play lies in the past, rather than in the future. EQ1, EQ2, DAOC... they're still around for a reason.
Other than picking out an old game from the bargain bin, were I to request a new particular design from a production team, I'd ask for possibly these elements:
- WOW interface
- EQ1 harsh death penalty
- EQ1 experience grinding
- EQ1 (early) world layout (or something similar)
- Vanguard or EQ2 graphics
- DAOC quest system (for keeping track of, but I'd have very few, very difficult quests)
Bottom line: Games need to get folks off the solo quest grind and back onto group survival. MMORPG's are meant to be social, scary, and fun.
Comments
Lol- I have to laugh at this old school carebear complaining about how even today's carebear game crop is too soft. If you think this is bad- imagine how much disdain you'd harbor for today's shitty games had you watched Ultima Online's community be segregated in attempt to save it from itself; only to watch EverQuest kill it like a wounded animal... and then be left hung out to dry for 10 years.
Why; you'd be mad enough to hold some real, authentic, good old fashioned hatred for those repsonsible... at least that's what i'd imagine if that sort of thing happened to me...
EQ was amazing because what it offered was new and fresh. WOW was nice because it re-engineered EQ and was essentially EQ2.
However, with the exception of SWG Pre NG and Eve, almost everything else has been a regurgitation of the level based fantasy grindquest MMO. EQ, DAOC, AC, AC2, WOW, DDO, etc, etc, etc...ad nauseum.
Levelling up in EQ was fun and challenging. Starting over was nasty because of the time commitment. WOW likewise was fun one time through mainly due to the fact it wasn't as in depth as EQ. Now, after levelling to the endgame in EQ, DAOC, DDO, and WOW, I for the life of me have no desire to ever kill another rat or boar or feel the pain of 'starting' over in a game that copies the stereotypical AD&D MMO model.
The games themselves are getting better. The problem is most of us have already done the gerbil on the wheel routine so much the concept of another levelquest game just has no appeal, regardless of the cool mythos or interesting raid like content waiting for us 70 levels from now.
Unfortunately the technology isn't there to actually create a deep dynamic game within a real simulated world that has the appeal and breadth that so many of us crave, so we're forced to look at more and more levelling games using the same old carrot on a stick approach of scripted static content, in flat dead worlds that seems to be enough for so many, unfortunately.
Say you get all that, then people will just complain of the game stealing ideas from other games.
Players are tired of doing the same thing again and again. We definately need something new that motivates and entertains. Right now the only thing that makes me sit on the edge of my seat is Eve PvP (Full loot, lots of ganking). Everything else, especially stuff involving NPCs is simply boring to hell.
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Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
I'm a big fan of world's where you don't have to be on a magical plane of existence; and have a signed permission slip before you can fight another player... but I'm also a big fan of worlds that have the depth of an actual world to them; at least as far as an MMO can simulate.
I'll give AoC a spin; but if it's as shallow as it looks it's gonna be- I'll pass. FPS games already cover my need for pointless bloodshed.
im almost 25...and all mmorpgs looks more or less thesame....grind.... pwn noobs (if possible)
just..nothing new
kinda last hope)
+ tabula rasa and haxly for me
edit: games made by funcom cant be good
Total time played: 9125 Days, 21 Hours, 29 Minutes, 27 Seconds
Time played this level: 39 Days, 1 Hour, 24 Minutes, 5 Seconds
The current MMORPGs are not ... ((drum roll))... fun.
The world's do not feel genuine or authentic.
Players have limited options and choices for gameplay such as forced-questing, forced-grouping, forced-guilding (zerg-raiding) and now the direction of forced-crafting.
Players do not feel free in MMORPGs. It feels linear, forced, or in many ways (very) predictable.
Solo content is not meaningful or fun. People want more SOLO content that is fun, meaningful, and worthwhile (casual, hardcore, and extreme gamers all want this).
We see a lot of first generation bugs, gameplay flaws and frustrations with new generation graphics.
Yay! GL with this as a business plan.
EQ or Asheron's call
They both had their pros and con, but most mmorpg now in our days are solo quest, basic function and they took the
ideas from the 2 above games.
I've been waiting for a good game to come out and get my attention and tell you the honest truth ...
Their is not much out their...i've only been playing rpg game since Dungeon and Dragons came out on paper many moons ago
so if only they would come out with a good mmorpg it would be great, but even them their would still be people complaining.
so we should just take what they give us and play the game.........
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Yup, MMOs are stale at this point. Even the best are very similar to almost all otehr MMOs out right now. There are some exceptions, but those have shot themselves inthe foot recently. EvE, well there is that whole fiasco which is making it lose loyal players due to mishandling. DDO had almost no content and when it became available it was just too late. Saga of Ryzom is one of the best MMOs made to date in my opinion, but many magazines copmletely ignored it and you would be amazed how many people never knew it existed. Eventually they couldn't make enough profit to stick around in their original form.
/sigh
Production value wise MMOs seem to be getting better, for the most part,
But as for gameplay, nothing has really changed since... well since people started rolling dice in their basement pretending to be wizzards,
Minus a few exceptions, MMOs play mostly like the PnP games they decended from, which PnP games are good in their own right , but you might think MMOs would change a little bit, being on the computer and all.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
Just tired of the same old crap. Tired of all the same choices. One of my hopes was COH, early on it looked good, before they switched from free style creation the the Archtype/Class crapp. Then came Wish, a near perfect game from a players standpoint, graphics were rough, but it was still Beta what can you expect.
I would love to see the old Hero System brought online, Champions (Supers)/Espionage/Western/Cyberpunk/ Fantasy it had it all and was easy to use. Would translate into a great online system.
As, I believe would Palladium and the story tellers system (Vampire the Masquerade/Warewolf the appocolypse/Mage the assention/ etc.).
Good lord, if I see one more mention of "Age of Conan" being the answer to anyone's gaming issues, there will be live footage of me on the news up in a bell tower picking people off...
Age of Conan is created by Funcom, the creators of the STILL BROKEN flagship AO. Don't believe it, log in, level a bit, and try to enter a mission outside Galway..Go ahead I dare ya. You're going to get that familiar little red error message that translate into "thanks for your money. please try another mish. try not to step on any leets on your way back to rome blue"
After 6 yrs, Funcom's never cared enough to fix the game that gave them the resources to make AOC. Don't believe for a second that it will be any different. Their absence of CS will roll on.
Huxley looks like a second-rate Imperator, which had promise. Too bad there's such a lack of good Sci-fi MMOs.
If you want to see something fresh, look at Fallen Earth (pretty sweet looking, and devs have said they don't like the concept of open beta $$) and Pirates of the Burning Sea (probably be a gank-fest, but still...). Those look like the only hope for something interesting over the next couple of years.
It's really too bad Microsoft killed Mythica for the piss-poor EQ3..oh, excuse me, "Vanguard", that they later dropped.
http://www.forceofarms.com/index.php
MMOs play nothing like PnP games (good ones anyway). Exploring lord darkitydark lair with your level 40 ranger was intense, when things went bad you didn't respawn with a bit of exp debt, you re-rolled another character. You lived with your choices, not respec into the latest optimised build every week. Entire mini-campaigns could be built around 'peaceful' activities - taking a caravan across the continent with no idea what challenges lay ahead, how to cross the river, local politics etc. There was never the feeling of doing something that 1498 other people had already done this week, with a good GM you had real choices in how to accomplish many tasks not the linear scripted quest. Advancement wasn't about getting a +5 sword, but your characters skill getting better. The best games weren't even level based. The issue of PvP never entered into things.
I'd disagree they are getting worse, just I'm not so sure the EQ experience will be repeated. New games are coming along all trying to bring something different to the table just like the regular games market.