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what ever happened to adventure in MMO's
Swiftblade13
Member Posts: 638
WARNING: this is a rant (and a familiar one at that), you might not want to stick around.
At the risk of sounding like an EQ1 elitist (I'm not! I havent played EQ1 since shortly after SWG came out).........
What happened to exploration in MMO's? I remember spawning in Kelethin for the first time..... being terrified to venture too far for fear I might not find my way back.... discovering Felwithe and staring in awe, learning my way around zones by landmarks because there was no map... hear me NO MAP!!!!
What happened to risk? I remember questing in Befallen and being terrified at the thought of losing my corpse too deep and possibly never retrieving it. I remember some lunatic taking me into solusek for the first time, and nearly turning back out of fear.
I remember playing some races was harder then others, being evil meant the world (NPC's anyway) was mostly against you and you had to skulk through the sewers.
This sounds like adventure, what we have available now are just video games. I loved WoW at first, it was a fresh new take on MMO's but the changes Blizzard made now pervade the market. I don't want all games to be one way, I want variety!!!
Sigil was supposed to make a game to suit the needs of people like me, but the idea was scrapped before the game even went into beta 4. Sigil wound up with a somewhat broken game that could have been good, but was nothing like originally promised.
Will we ever get a modern MMO with no maps and TRULY meaningful death, oh and an EQ1 paced leveling curve? Those few features change the entire face of an MMO!! I look forward to WAR, AoC, and maybe PotBS, but I doubt any of them will hold my interest for more then four to eight months.... because thats all it takes to reach and become bored with end game for me in today's MMO's.
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
Comments
Easy answer is the use of websites like IGN Vault tha supplies maps and spoilers for those to quickly and efficiently play the mmorpg.
Add to that sites like IGE and the lame people who shop them. Payers (not players) who buy gold and items rather than actually PLAY the game don't help much either.
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I agree part of the appeal of early EQ was no maps and a HUGE world. I played a Druid and I remember porting to places just to see what they looked like and being scared as hell when I saw a tiger in Emerald Jungle for example. Going into HK for the first time I was definitely scared. The fear of losing your corpse in a place where you couldn't easily get it back (remember HK was quite a run) was genuinely terrifying. Even today I never use the map feature when I log onto EQ, more fun without it. But people will always find a way to make things easier, and the devs seem to go along with them. EQ1 is way way easier today than it was in 2000.
Wow excellent rant. I agree with alot of what you have to say. I do think maps should be included but they should be things you hold in your hand and you can try to figure out where you are by landmarks. The digital maps and directions in most games these days make you feel like you are just coasting along on a ride with no real choices. Most new games I play now I try to not use any spoiler sites at all, makes things more interesting IMO.
agreed, I logged into an EQ1 free trial about 6 months ago just to see how big the original world was by todays standards and saw they added a rudimentary map.
I think EQ1 was best pre PoP... maybe even pre SoL... though at the time I was very happy for the spires and the graphics upgrade.
Todays MMO's are just all about being friendly and trying not to be aggravating, but so much is lost. I agree that the mainstream games should be as they are, but I want just ONE GOOD GAME that gives me true exploration and fear.
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
too right, I'm sure another mmo can provide the feeling of an adventure again. Something which WoW just does not do.
I don't believe we will see the next big innovation from a larger firm... it's going to have to come from an indie studio. I was hoping Flying Labs Software would have delivered up something great... but they have partnered with SOE, and apparently using IGE in some of the promotion (or so I've read in the forums here... could be rumor, I still need to confirm it for myself).
Games used to be so much more... new and fresh concepts were coming from all directions back when PC gaming was still relatively underground. Before the suits got involved. Now developers are all about return on investment, and keeping shareholders happy. That is never good for innovation, as new ideas are looked upon as risk to profit.
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It was linear boring and frustraiting
One of the best things about EQ was that you would be blind at night for certain races and even then not see too far. You could stumble into something before you knew it and it was scary. The Feydarks were great for this as well as the pass after the mountains in the plains of Kelethin. (I forget their name it's been so long). Nasty stuff in there.
It seems like current MMOGs are afraid to put real darkness into the game. Takes away the fear factor.
AKA - Bruxail
Eh it's also the fact that the novelty of MMO's wears off after your fisrt one.
The new gen games coming out though should be a refreshing blast of fun.
Currently waiting for - Perfect World English, Age of Conan
How to play Perfect World in english
Currently messing with - Requiem Online
Yes, that is partly true as well. (Although EQ was not my first). I just think they are making things too easy. Hopefully the new ones coming out will show something not just different, but something meaningful for adventurers.
AKA - Bruxail
I've always thought that it would be a really neat concept to have an MMORPG that had an information blackout clause, so no information about the game could be posted on the web. No maps, no item/quest/crafting databases.
Instead, all of that information would be presented through in game means. Cartographers could make and sell maps, bulletin boards in towns could list rumors about dungeons in the area and treasures that might be found in them.
I know it would difficult to control, but I still think it would be fun. It would give the game a high level of immersion, IMHO.
Perception is Reality.
Although I think we will never see something like that, I would love to have a world like that to play in. Would be a blast in my opinion.
AKA - Bruxail
Adventure is alive and well in Vanguard.
Boycott EA Games. RIP Sim City.
Yes it would be... it would indeed.
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i'd say WoW super success made a lot of developers (not all) reconsider their designs. WoW has no adventure. its all been done before by 100000 other people and endgame is the same old thing over and over (not literally but you get my point). Pre NGE and Pre CU SWG and LOTRO are the only games i have played so far that actually feel like an adventure.
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
I probably do agree that your first MMORPG is a great experience and its hard for some of these newer RPGs that are coming out to recreate those experiences. My first was Asherons Call and I used to remember how people would be in aww when they saw someone level 50 and now if you arent 200+ its like, "what in the world have you been doing, I got to 200 in a week noob".
I think that one reason we are sick of the grindfest MMO games, is that that is all you have left. Grinding. No longer is "getting there half the fun". It's an inconvenience that hinders you getting there to kill the mobs to get xp. I remember taking an afternoon just to get to an area that I wanted to kill some mobs in, with EQ. And it wasn't until the next day that I actually started to kill those mob. Again, now, taking longer than 10 minutes to get to your destination is a royal pain. The focus is all on getting there ASAP, killing the mobs ASAP, to get the XP ASAP. This goes on until you reach max level. And then what?
"...and with that cryptic comment, I'm off to bed!"
i think they should tell about the races cause why are we going to play a game that we dont know even the backround or special traits of a race. I think there should be some kind of guide to get to places if there wasnt a map.
http://crazi-ville.myminicity.com/
EQ was a grindfest even though I enjoyed my time there a lot. I started playing at release and didn't have a max level character untill after Luclin. I always looked at those people running around in rubicite in awe. Wow regeneration chesplate OOO. Even the poeple who were just running around in normal non magical steel plate armor I was jelous of heh. The game was very difficult to level and when I died I lost many hours. Sometimes it actually felt like I was going backwards instead of forwards.
I feel ya MMOs don't feel like an adventure anymore since the EQ days. But I'm hoping AoC and Warhammer bring back the excitement to MMO gaming.