It can't be a surprise, I think everyone saw this comming.
Its a pity. It wasn't the perfect MMO for me, But I always applauded Auto Assault and NetDevil for their innovative take. Fast paced action instead of slow paced combat, Vehicles instead of elfs and dwarfs, Sci - fi post apocalypse instead of medieval fantasy.
Id like to wish everyone involved in the development, and running of the game successes in there next endeavor.
---------- "Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
I don't get why people are pretending to be sad about this -- people who never played it or who played it and didn't like it.
Yes, it was different, and kudos for that, but it sounds like it was poorly designed and rather tedious even for people who WANTED to enjoy it.
Personally, I do a little happy dance every time a poorly designed game bites the dust. I find it rather offensive that so many games are produced (and produced poorly) for nothing more than the sake of jumping on the MMOG cash-wagon. Would-be developers need to realize that MMOGs are a risky endeavor, requiring immense amounts of commitment and resources. Unless you have plenty of both, you are going to end up half-assing it and wasting everyone's time and money.
RIP AutoAssault. I never knew ye but somehow i figured you wouldn't last (low subscribers). The difference between Earth and Beyond's cancellation and Auto Assault's cancellation is that AA team actually was trying to improve the game while EA just let EnB sit with minimal change for a few years after purchasing Westwood. There should be a list of deceased games on the game list with their former scores.
Member of the Phoenix Alliance Guild in Vendetta Online www.vendetta-online.com
Aw poo! I picked up a copy last month for a whopping $5 at Futureshop (like Bestbuy in Canada). I knew from the price it was gonna die sometime, but not that soon. I haven't even installed it yet :P Guess tonight I break out those discs... use up my 'free month'.
I never thought this game was worthwhile. Terrible control mechanics, bad zone design.
MMORPG should try new things but this game is proof thatinnovative is not the same as good.
Have good game design with useable controls and interesting content and you can set it anywhere you want, fantasy, sci-fi or whatever. This was a case of the setting trying to sell the game, rather than the game selling the game. The developers spend too much time on their 'cool' setting with its bizarre factions and history while forgetting to pay attention to the game mechanics.
I do think this game was destined to failure in a sense unfortunetly. Interestingly enough, and I hate to say it, but I'll bet it would've faired much better on a console.
Id like to wish everyone involved in the development, and running of the game successes in there next endeavor.
Agreed, i wasn't fond of the beta, but having played it recently in retail i really enjoyed the AH features and gameplay. It's a shame that games like this keep going and Dark and Light, Matrix Online refuses to die :-p
This was the FIRST game that actually got me paying a subscription to play.
WHO knows how many others also.
Maybe being there at the start had something to do with that, probably infact.
None the less, it STILL IS a GREAT game in my opinion and much chaos and havoc is to be had for those who can bear the so-called repetitive grind to 80.
I talk in present tense for the game is NOT DEAD YET (not till the server plug is pulled for me).
WHO knows what the future may behold.
Admittedly it is in much need of some fixing and major advertising revenue to be at all successful should anyone decide to take AA on.
And to any potential company reps that may be reading this.
THERE IS A LOYAL PLAYERBASE WHO WOULD RETURN IF AA WAS TO BE RE_DEVELOPED.
TO those who say stuff like' fantasy will always rule blah blah'
WHat makes you think this is NOT fantasy?
ANyway, to all those I have fought alongside (DRUMMZZ !) who even bother to come here and read the skidmarks;
I had a great times fighting alongside ya and my Biomek spirit will never die!
Auto Assault is a wonderful game imao, and all those trolls who come here and talk smack about it won't change my mind. Auto Assault didn't die because it was a bad game, it just had a low population, that's all... I guess if someone had done a little more advertising, and if games like WOW didn't take 98% of the MMO players in the world, maybe it would have had more of a chance for survival.
I will always love driving over walking/running in a game.
Some other company will develop a driving MMO game at some point in the future, and I will be the first in line to buy it - because I love driving games. Give me speed any day over strolling down a path to find the nearest elf to slap.
I will miss all the fun I've had in this thrilling game. Thanks for all the great times you've given me AA!
As a current subscriber, IMHO there are elements of "truth" in most of these comments-
1) The game was released half-baked performance-wise
2) The game was truly innovative relative to hack-n-slash fantasy, and played differently with an arcade-like focus
3) From a raw standpoint, many if not most gameplay elements are/were almost identical to other MMOs, however...
4) It was/is really hard to adjust to a "car" as being "you" in a virtual world compared to a biped.
5) Gameplay is mostly repetitive (then again, so is rinse-n-repeat grinding with a dwarf and an axe). Drive around, run over and or shoot things.
6) Companies are going to think long and hard before departing from the biped-with-a-sword(or wand) formula
7) Trolls, many of whom have never played the game after official release, have been all to happy to come here and gloat "ha ha!"
8) Few people played AA because they logged on (such as a trial) and saw that few people were playing. Rinse and repeat.
9) AA serves vivid notice that developers (really the software company executives) can't just push out crap and expect people to pay for it
10a) AA could have survived had the price stucture been lowered to make it an economically-feasible "side game." I believe that had they dropped the monthly fee to $4.99 a month instead of $14.99, they would have had more than triple the current subscribers.
10b) As a related concept, since the code and infrastructure is all there, AA could be resurrected with in-game ads and no monthly fee, and many players would play for free as a diversion.
11) The player community (aside from free trial types) was remarkably mature and helpful. I would attribute much of this to solidarity in response to legions of trolls and a shared love of vehicles.
This is a testament to the fact the fantasy genre will always rule the MMORPG scene. I played in beta and it was completely transparent that this game would fail if released.
NCSoft did wrong by their name releasing this game. People would cry out that no one likes fantasy MMOs, that someone needs to come out with a new model, yet no one played this game. I am sick of hearing that people want something different, yet they won't play EVE or AA. All people want is a game where they can play an elf and get to be the most powerful person on the server with only twenty hours played. That no matter how much someone else plays, like 40-60 hours a week, they will never become more powerful.
You're right. That's why Anarchy Online is right now celebrating 6 years online, has just been slated for new server infrastructure, engine, and graphics. Because people only want elves.
Yeah, I was confused by this too - AO was the first MMO that got me hooked and it was _because_ of the cyber punk angle. I was really excited about the concept of this game pre-beta and I think there was a lot of interest - it just never came together right for various reasons, I don't think the fiction/storyline was the problem though.
NCSoft really needs to do something similar to Sony's Station Pass and then keeping small games like this around (Matrix Online, anyone?) won't seem like such a bad idea. As many people said, it's a fun game...not $15 a month fun, but I'm sure I'd fire it up from time to time if I could pay, say $25 a month and have access to CoX/L/L2/AA and then when Tabula Rosa comes out, they can tack another $5 onto the cost (V:SoH*cough*). Ah well, it was fun the month or two I played it, would have liked to pop back from time to time, but I just couldn't justify the continued $15 a month for something that was a distraction, at best.
I asked about this on a media run through at E3 a few years ago (that was also the first time I saw AA coincidently) and the media liaison said he didn't think that was in the future at the time because of their structure - they used multiple development companies and published them as well as their own in house games. Where as (at the time), SOE only had their own games.
I didn't see at the time (or now even :P ) why they couldn't work around the licensing issues and just work out a deal on a case by case basis, but I didn't press the point (we were on the way out and a new group was coming in). Maybe one of the staffers here knows an updated version of their take? This was the last I heard though.
i played during the beta. closed and open beta. ALthough the game had interesting departure from the average sword and sorcerer fantasy MMO, it was poorly implemented. Memory leaks, bugs, quests problems, performance issues, server instability issues, latency. the game however was original in concept but just like i said poorly implemented, and they are paying for that mistake. I think this game will define what it means to fail, and what lessons will be learned and how to apply those lessons learned to a new MMO. just too bad the game didnt stick. oh well moving on.
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
I think the is no room for class B mmorpgs today. Rank AAA MMorpg titles monthly fees are very low compared to the new "free to play&Buy items" titles. Most of the current released MMorpgs should follow AA example before it too late.
Games that sould follow AA example and quit for good:
Anarchy Online
ArchLord
Asheron's Call
City of Heroes
City of Villains
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark and Light
EVE Online
Everquest
Everquest II
Face of Mankind
Horizons
Knight Online
Lineage II (maybe not, but ... most people are leaving...)
MapleStory
The Matrix Online
Phantasy Star Universe
Planetside
RF Online
Ragnarok Online
Roma Victor
The Saga of Ryzom
Second Life (Is it realy a mmorpg? I dont see a bright future for this one, but maybe it won't close the business right now but wont last more than a year or 2 (different reasons too extensive to write here))
Shadowbane
Star Wars Galaxies
Ultima Online
Games in Development that are currently obsolete or without a bright future:
It's always a shame when a game draws its last breath. I didn't care for it personally. I only lasted 2 days before I uninstalled it because of sheer boredom, but it's still a shame for those people that did enjoy it.
Instead of closing it forever they should offer a free server with no future updates or support for people who already bought the game and just want to kill some time. Or even a server with a reduced subscription fee.
==================== Remember man that passes by, as you are now so once was I. And as I am so must you be, prepare yourself to follow me.
I think the is no room for class B mmorpgs today. Rank AAA MMorpg titles monthly fees are very low compared to the new "free to play&Buy items" titles. Most of the current released MMorpgs should follow AA example before it too late. Games that sould follow AA example and quit for good: Anarchy Online
ArchLord
Asheron's Call
City of Heroes
City of Villains
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark and Light
EVE Online
Everquest
Everquest II
Face of Mankind
Horizons
Knight Online
Lineage II (maybe not, but ... most people are leaving...)
MapleStory
The Matrix Online
Phantasy Star Universe
Planetside
RF Online
Ragnarok Online
Roma Victor
The Saga of Ryzom
Second Life (Is it realy a mmorpg? I dont see a bright future for this one, but maybe it won't close the business right now but wont last more than a year or 2 (different reasons too extensive to write here))
Shadowbane
Star Wars Galaxies
Ultima Online Games in Development that are currently obsolete or without a bright future: Age of Conan
The Chronicles of Spellborn
Fury
Gods and Heroes
Hero's Journey
Pirates of the Burning Sea
So from this, I assume you are either a fan of free games, or World of Warcraft. Is there any actual factual evidence why you think these games should be pulled or is it based on your opinion? I would be inclined to say that you don't like and havent played almost all those games seeing as your current posts on this site just show you complaining about Lineage2 and AutoAssault, encouraging people to play Private servers, speaking about how you used bots on Lineage2, or asking for Dungeon Runners keys.
Almost all the games on your list are currently well populated and enjoyed by a lot of players, just because you don't like them, it doesn't make them terrible games. This is quite possibly one of the most stupid posts Ive ever read on this site.
I think the is no room for class B mmorpgs today. Rank AAA MMorpg titles monthly fees are very low compared to the new "free to play&Buy items" titles. Most of the current released MMorpgs should follow AA example before it too late. Games that sould follow AA example and quit for good: Anarchy Online
ArchLord
Asheron's Call
City of Heroes
City of Villains
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark and Light
EVE Online
Everquest
Everquest II
Face of Mankind
Horizons
Knight Online
Lineage II (maybe not, but ... most people are leaving...)
MapleStory
The Matrix Online
Phantasy Star Universe
Planetside
RF Online
Ragnarok Online
Roma Victor
The Saga of Ryzom
Second Life (Is it realy a mmorpg? I dont see a bright future for this one, but maybe it won't close the business right now but wont last more than a year or 2 (different reasons too extensive to write here))
Shadowbane
Star Wars Galaxies
Ultima Online Games in Development that are currently obsolete or without a bright future: Age of Conan
The Chronicles of Spellborn
Fury
Gods and Heroes
Hero's Journey
Pirates of the Burning Sea
So from this, I assume you are either a fan of free games, or World of Warcraft. Is there any actual factual evidence why you think these games should be pulled or is it based on your opinion? I would be inclined to say that you don't like and havent played almost all those games seeing as your current posts on this site just show you complaining about Lineage2 and AutoAssault, encouraging people to play Private servers, speaking about how you used bots on Lineage2, or asking for Dungeon Runners keys.
Almost all the games on your list are currently well populated and enjoyed by a lot of players, just because you don't like them, it doesn't make them terrible games. This is quite possibly one of the most stupid posts Ive ever read on this site.
Hi m8, thanks for your reply. I am also glad about the hard study you did reading all my last posts...
But you get it all wrong! Maybe you have a problem understanding english, or maybe my english isnt good enough? I am sorry if thats the case).
I think Lineage2 was a great game, it had its golden moments, it as a real AAA title. But the main mechanics stood still in time and the main engine is now quite old (Unreal Engine Warfare) like the "Chronicles of Spellborn" engine, it wont stand for long after AION opens to public.
As oposed to what you said I am not a fan of free games, I even said class B free games don't stand a chance with the low monthly fees of major AAA Morpg subscription games. One exception is SUN, wich is a great game but I think unfortunatly it might not reach the EU or US market. I am not a fan of WoW but I must say its a great game and it will last for at least more 3 to 5 years.
I find it hard for you to understand some more sensible topics like bots and private servers, cheats, hacks due to your lack of experience in Morpgs maybe, but they are very important subjects. Sword of new world is a game that tryed to solve some of those problems (I think it failed and that is not a game with bright future) due to its importance.
I currently don't play any MMorpg because I don't have time to play, but I tested most of these games and collected info about them on my free time.
PS - Thanks for reminding me of Dungeon Runners, I think that game has no future either. Played it as a beta player thanks to a mmorpg.com invitation you refered and tested the full membership service for 1 month.
I have a lot of experience with MMORPG's and while bots and private servers are fine for discussion, encouraging their use, or saying you use them is not. This site frowns upon people encouraging use of private servers and bots as do players of these games as well. For example, plenty of people post complaining about the bot situation on Lineage2, but nobody posts saying they use bots and its great etc.
However I still stand by the fact you cannot dismiss games out of hand because they are not the "Latest and Greatest." While I don't doubt Aoin will be a good game, it doesn't mean every other game will fail. Age of Conan and The Chronicles of spellborn are games that revolutionise the general MMORPG playstyle by using FPS style controls. WAR is based on a strong franchise and is being recognised by many as the PvP worlds answer to WoW.
You just seem to dismiss a large number of games and seem to think that because they don't have a huge backing they should close down. A lot of games on your list are stiull turning a large profit and have large playerbases supporting the game. AutoAssault closed because the playersbase was slo low it wasn't profitable. If other games are running and turning a profit, then there is no reason why they should close.
I have a lot of experience with MMORPG's and while bots and private servers are fine for discussion, encouraging their use, or saying you use them is not. This site frowns upon people encouraging use of private servers and bots as do players of these games as well. For example, plenty of people post complaining about the bot situation on Lineage2, but nobody posts saying they use bots and its great etc. However I still stand by the fact you cannot dismiss games out of hand because they are not the "Latest and Greatest." While I don't doubt Aoin will be a good game, it doesn't mean every other game will fail. Age of Conan and The Chronicles of spellborn are games that revolutionise the general MMORPG playstyle by using FPS style controls. WAR is based on a strong franchise and is being recognised by many as the PvP worlds answer to WoW. You just seem to dismiss a large number of games and seem to think that because they don't have a huge backing they should close down. A lot of games on your list are stiull turning a large profit and have large playerbases supporting the game. AutoAssault closed because the playersbase was slo low it wasn't profitable. If other games are running and turning a profit, then there is no reason why they should close.
Please Atomicide I ask you to change your flaming childish speech.
1st of all I want you to stop acusing me of encouraging other people to use bots use private servers etc. That subject was and is off of this topic and you are too young and inexperienced to deal with it. You started using those acusations in a public place and off topic after wasting your time searching the forums for my last posts along with the intention of altering and degrading my image towards other people. That is wrong, and its a very poor and under-educated way of argumenting your opinion.
2nd You are not a moderator and your post count doesnt give you the power of being rude and arrogant to other persons and to decide what should or should not be discussed on mmorpg.com
"MMM.... this post has an incomplete way of dealing with the subject, in my opinion. Cheating has always been around in mmorpgs. I think that whenever you think about competition in computer games, the big C word comes around. A mmorpg is by definition a BASIC type of entertainment, where personal skills and intelligence won’t make you improve your "status" or "score" in that type of game. Instead and unfortunately, your "score" and "status" is measured by the TIME your spend in game. That notion of TIME, leads to the creation of the term GRIND. That’s when Cheats can save you from suffering. Isn't it great to wake up after a good night sleep, turn on your monitor and discover that your BOT leveled your char 5 levels, got you a full bag of craft materials and a pile of gold? Yes it is.
Let’s be honest, most of the players who play a subscription mmorpg, have a real life job. Its allways hard for children to convince their parents to pay for a subscription mmorpg that will most surely degrade their real life performance specicaly in school, fammily, etc.
I was hoping to find problematic issues like BOTs, CSH (client side hacking), PE's (Packet Emulators), CE's (Cheat Engines), HS (hack shields) and AHB (anti-hack bypassing) presented in the context of the actual& modern MMOs. It might be interesting also to reflect on the impact of the increasing use of hacking&cheating by players and its relation to the exponential increase of MMO game products.
Currently its observable that unlike a few years ago, some MMO's see their subscriptions increase when new bots and tools appear and decrease when those tools are disabled.
What will the future reserve? Will future game be more oriented to automation like Granado Espada, where you can leave your party of characters leveling in your hunting spot while you go eat your dinner or see an episode of your favourite TV show?
Only time will tell... "
4rd I think it could have been realy interesting to develop this subject even more, regarding the possible future mmorpg growth correction and the its relations with the upcoming titles and the current state of the art in what is now called the 9th Art, the online computer games. But unfortunatly childish attitudes and arrogance and lack of respect can realy castrate the will to continue.
I never played it and it doesn't bother me that it failed. From what I've heard and what seems to be the general consensus in this thread, AA was a poor to mediocre game. No big loss.
Comments
It can't be a surprise, I think everyone saw this comming.
Its a pity. It wasn't the perfect MMO for me, But I always applauded Auto Assault and NetDevil for their innovative take. Fast paced action instead of slow paced combat, Vehicles instead of elfs and dwarfs, Sci - fi post apocalypse instead of medieval fantasy.
It didn't deserve to die like this.
Id like to wish everyone involved in the development, and running of the game successes in there next endeavor.
----------
"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I don't get why people are pretending to be sad about this -- people who never played it or who played it and didn't like it.
Yes, it was different, and kudos for that, but it sounds like it was poorly designed and rather tedious even for people who WANTED to enjoy it.
Personally, I do a little happy dance every time a poorly designed game bites the dust. I find it rather offensive that so many games are produced (and produced poorly) for nothing more than the sake of jumping on the MMOG cash-wagon. Would-be developers need to realize that MMOGs are a risky endeavor, requiring immense amounts of commitment and resources. Unless you have plenty of both, you are going to end up half-assing it and wasting everyone's time and money.
RIP AutoAssault. I never knew ye but somehow i figured you wouldn't last (low subscribers). The difference between Earth and Beyond's cancellation and Auto Assault's cancellation is that AA team actually was trying to improve the game while EA just let EnB sit with minimal change for a few years after purchasing Westwood. There should be a list of deceased games on the game list with their former scores.
Member of the Phoenix Alliance Guild
in Vendetta Online
www.vendetta-online.com
Aw poo! I picked up a copy last month for a whopping $5 at Futureshop (like Bestbuy in Canada). I knew from the price it was gonna die sometime, but not that soon. I haven't even installed it yet :P Guess tonight I break out those discs... use up my 'free month'.
I never thought this game was worthwhile. Terrible control mechanics, bad zone design.
MMORPG should try new things but this game is proof that innovative is not the same as good.
Have good game design with useable controls and interesting content and you can set it anywhere you want, fantasy, sci-fi or whatever. This was a case of the setting trying to sell the game, rather than the game selling the game. The developers spend too much time on their 'cool' setting with its bizarre factions and history while forgetting to pay attention to the game mechanics.
I do think this game was destined to failure in a sense unfortunetly. Interestingly enough, and I hate to say it, but I'll bet it would've faired much better on a console.
Agreed, i wasn't fond of the beta, but having played it recently in retail i really enjoyed the AH features and gameplay. It's a shame that games like this keep going and Dark and Light, Matrix Online refuses to die :-p
ahh well... c'est la vie
Most of all you haters are missing something.
This was the FIRST game that actually got me paying a subscription to play.
WHO knows how many others also.
Maybe being there at the start had something to do with that, probably infact.
None the less, it STILL IS a GREAT game in my opinion and much chaos and havoc is to be had for those who can bear the so-called repetitive grind to 80.
I talk in present tense for the game is NOT DEAD YET (not till the server plug is pulled for me).
WHO knows what the future may behold.
Admittedly it is in much need of some fixing and major advertising revenue to be at all successful should anyone decide to take AA on.
And to any potential company reps that may be reading this.
THERE IS A LOYAL PLAYERBASE WHO WOULD RETURN IF AA WAS TO BE RE_DEVELOPED.
TO those who say stuff like' fantasy will always rule blah blah'
WHat makes you think this is NOT fantasy?
ANyway, to all those I have fought alongside (DRUMMZZ !) who even bother to come here and read the skidmarks;
I had a great times fighting alongside ya and my Biomek spirit will never die!
ASSIMILATION OR DEATH..YOU DECIDE...
WHAT IS AUTO ASSAULT?
AUTO ASSAULT 14 DAY TRIAL
..
"It is the nature of herds that they flock to where there are more of the same not more quality."
Amen man!
Auto Assault is a wonderful game imao, and all those trolls who come here and talk smack about it won't change my mind. Auto Assault didn't die because it was a bad game, it just had a low population, that's all... I guess if someone had done a little more advertising, and if games like WOW didn't take 98% of the MMO players in the world, maybe it would have had more of a chance for survival.
I will always love driving over walking/running in a game.
Some other company will develop a driving MMO game at some point in the future, and I will be the first in line to buy it - because I love driving games. Give me speed any day over strolling down a path to find the nearest elf to slap.
I will miss all the fun I've had in this thrilling game. Thanks for all the great times you've given me AA!
My 2 C - peace
Its always sad when this happen for the players that did like game but they did to little to late imo and it lacked general game enjoyment.
it just lacked that extra umpf for me that was why i never got into it.
-Semper ubi sub ubi!
always wear underwear
As a current subscriber, IMHO there are elements of "truth" in most of these comments-
1) The game was released half-baked performance-wise
2) The game was truly innovative relative to hack-n-slash fantasy, and played differently with an arcade-like focus
3) From a raw standpoint, many if not most gameplay elements are/were almost identical to other MMOs, however...
4) It was/is really hard to adjust to a "car" as being "you" in a virtual world compared to a biped.
5) Gameplay is mostly repetitive (then again, so is rinse-n-repeat grinding with a dwarf and an axe). Drive around, run over and or shoot things.
6) Companies are going to think long and hard before departing from the biped-with-a-sword(or wand) formula
7) Trolls, many of whom have never played the game after official release, have been all to happy to come here and gloat "ha ha!"
8) Few people played AA because they logged on (such as a trial) and saw that few people were playing. Rinse and repeat.
9) AA serves vivid notice that developers (really the software company executives) can't just push out crap and expect people to pay for it
10a) AA could have survived had the price stucture been lowered to make it an economically-feasible "side game." I believe that had they dropped the monthly fee to $4.99 a month instead of $14.99, they would have had more than triple the current subscribers.
10b) As a related concept, since the code and infrastructure is all there, AA could be resurrected with in-game ads and no monthly fee, and many players would play for free as a diversion.
11) The player community (aside from free trial types) was remarkably mature and helpful. I would attribute much of this to solidarity in response to legions of trolls and a shared love of vehicles.
I'm not thrilled to see it go.
So very true
-Semper ubi sub ubi!
always wear underwear
You're right. That's why Anarchy Online is right now celebrating 6 years online, has just been slated for new server infrastructure, engine, and graphics. Because people only want elves.
Yeah, I was confused by this too - AO was the first MMO that got me hooked and it was _because_ of the cyber punk angle. I was really excited about the concept of this game pre-beta and I think there was a lot of interest - it just never came together right for various reasons, I don't think the fiction/storyline was the problem though.
I asked about this on a media run through at E3 a few years ago (that was also the first time I saw AA coincidently) and the media liaison said he didn't think that was in the future at the time because of their structure - they used multiple development companies and published them as well as their own in house games. Where as (at the time), SOE only had their own games.
I didn't see at the time (or now even :P ) why they couldn't work around the licensing issues and just work out a deal on a case by case basis, but I didn't press the point (we were on the way out and a new group was coming in). Maybe one of the staffers here knows an updated version of their take? This was the last I heard though.
Awww man, I still havent even installed the copy I got free with GW Nightfall...oh well lol no chance on ebay guess I should chuck it
i played during the beta. closed and open beta. ALthough the game had interesting departure from the average sword and sorcerer fantasy MMO, it was poorly implemented. Memory leaks, bugs, quests problems, performance issues, server instability issues, latency. the game however was original in concept but just like i said poorly implemented, and they are paying for that mistake. I think this game will define what it means to fail, and what lessons will be learned and how to apply those lessons learned to a new MMO. just too bad the game didnt stick. oh well moving on.
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
Games that sould follow AA example and quit for good:
Anarchy Online
ArchLord
Asheron's Call
City of Heroes
City of Villains
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark and Light
EVE Online
Everquest
Everquest II
Face of Mankind
Horizons
Knight Online
Lineage II (maybe not, but ... most people are leaving...)
MapleStory
The Matrix Online
Phantasy Star Universe
Planetside
RF Online
Ragnarok Online
Roma Victor
The Saga of Ryzom
Second Life (Is it realy a mmorpg? I dont see a bright future for this one, but maybe it won't close the business right now but wont last more than a year or 2 (different reasons too extensive to write here))
Shadowbane
Star Wars Galaxies
Ultima Online
Games in Development that are currently obsolete or without a bright future:
Age of Conan
The Chronicles of Spellborn
Fury
Gods and Heroes
Hero's Journey
Pirates of the Burning Sea
It's always a shame when a game draws its last breath. I didn't care for it personally. I only lasted 2 days before I uninstalled it because of sheer boredom, but it's still a shame for those people that did enjoy it.
Instead of closing it forever they should offer a free server with no future updates or support for people who already bought the game and just want to kill some time. Or even a server with a reduced subscription fee.
====================
Remember man that passes by,
as you are now so once was I.
And as I am so must you be,
prepare yourself to follow me.
So from this, I assume you are either a fan of free games, or World of Warcraft. Is there any actual factual evidence why you think these games should be pulled or is it based on your opinion? I would be inclined to say that you don't like and havent played almost all those games seeing as your current posts on this site just show you complaining about Lineage2 and AutoAssault, encouraging people to play Private servers, speaking about how you used bots on Lineage2, or asking for Dungeon Runners keys.
Almost all the games on your list are currently well populated and enjoyed by a lot of players, just because you don't like them, it doesn't make them terrible games. This is quite possibly one of the most stupid posts Ive ever read on this site.
So from this, I assume you are either a fan of free games, or World of Warcraft. Is there any actual factual evidence why you think these games should be pulled or is it based on your opinion? I would be inclined to say that you don't like and havent played almost all those games seeing as your current posts on this site just show you complaining about Lineage2 and AutoAssault, encouraging people to play Private servers, speaking about how you used bots on Lineage2, or asking for Dungeon Runners keys.
Almost all the games on your list are currently well populated and enjoyed by a lot of players, just because you don't like them, it doesn't make them terrible games. This is quite possibly one of the most stupid posts Ive ever read on this site.
Hi m8, thanks for your reply. I am also glad about the hard study you did reading all my last posts...
But you get it all wrong! Maybe you have a problem understanding english, or maybe my english isnt good enough? I am sorry if thats the case).
I think Lineage2 was a great game, it had its golden moments, it as a real AAA title. But the main mechanics stood still in time and the main engine is now quite old (Unreal Engine Warfare) like the "Chronicles of Spellborn" engine, it wont stand for long after AION opens to public.
As oposed to what you said I am not a fan of free games, I even said class B free games don't stand a chance with the low monthly fees of major AAA Morpg subscription games. One exception is SUN, wich is a great game but I think unfortunatly it might not reach the EU or US market. I am not a fan of WoW but I must say its a great game and it will last for at least more 3 to 5 years.
I find it hard for you to understand some more sensible topics like bots and private servers, cheats, hacks due to your lack of experience in Morpgs maybe, but they are very important subjects. Sword of new world is a game that tryed to solve some of those problems (I think it failed and that is not a game with bright future) due to its importance.
I currently don't play any MMorpg because I don't have time to play, but I tested most of these games and collected info about them on my free time.
PS - Thanks for reminding me of Dungeon Runners, I think that game has no future either. Played it as a beta player thanks to a mmorpg.com invitation you refered and tested the full membership service for 1 month.
I have a lot of experience with MMORPG's and while bots and private servers are fine for discussion, encouraging their use, or saying you use them is not. This site frowns upon people encouraging use of private servers and bots as do players of these games as well. For example, plenty of people post complaining about the bot situation on Lineage2, but nobody posts saying they use bots and its great etc.
However I still stand by the fact you cannot dismiss games out of hand because they are not the "Latest and Greatest." While I don't doubt Aoin will be a good game, it doesn't mean every other game will fail. Age of Conan and The Chronicles of spellborn are games that revolutionise the general MMORPG playstyle by using FPS style controls. WAR is based on a strong franchise and is being recognised by many as the PvP worlds answer to WoW.
You just seem to dismiss a large number of games and seem to think that because they don't have a huge backing they should close down. A lot of games on your list are stiull turning a large profit and have large playerbases supporting the game. AutoAssault closed because the playersbase was slo low it wasn't profitable. If other games are running and turning a profit, then there is no reason why they should close.
Please Atomicide I ask you to change your flaming childish speech.
1st of all I want you to stop acusing me of encouraging other people to use bots use private servers etc. That subject was and is off of this topic and you are too young and inexperienced to deal with it. You started using those acusations in a public place and off topic after wasting your time searching the forums for my last posts along with the intention of altering and degrading my image towards other people. That is wrong, and its a very poor and under-educated way of argumenting your opinion.
2nd You are not a moderator and your post count doesnt give you the power of being rude and arrogant to other persons and to decide what should or should not be discussed on mmorpg.com
3rd I talked about Bots, hacks etc in the post topic "General: MMOWTF: Lax on the HaXzors " and I said :
"MMM.... this post has an incomplete way of dealing with the subject, in my opinion. Cheating has always been around in mmorpgs. I think that whenever you think about competition in computer games, the big C word comes around. A mmorpg is by definition a BASIC type of entertainment, where personal skills and intelligence won’t make you improve your "status" or "score" in that type of game. Instead and unfortunately, your "score" and "status" is measured by the TIME your spend in game. That notion of TIME, leads to the creation of the term GRIND. That’s when Cheats can save you from suffering. Isn't it great to wake up after a good night sleep, turn on your monitor and discover that your BOT leveled your char 5 levels, got you a full bag of craft materials and a pile of gold? Yes it is.
Let’s be honest, most of the players who play a subscription mmorpg, have a real life job. Its allways hard for children to convince their parents to pay for a subscription mmorpg that will most surely degrade their real life performance specicaly in school, fammily, etc.
I was hoping to find problematic issues like BOTs, CSH (client side hacking), PE's (Packet Emulators), CE's (Cheat Engines), HS (hack shields) and AHB (anti-hack bypassing) presented in the context of the actual& modern MMOs. It might be interesting also to reflect on the impact of the increasing use of hacking&cheating by players and its relation to the exponential increase of MMO game products.
Currently its observable that unlike a few years ago, some MMO's see their subscriptions increase when new bots and tools appear and decrease when those tools are disabled.
What will the future reserve? Will future game be more oriented to automation like Granado Espada, where you can leave your party of characters leveling in your hunting spot while you go eat your dinner or see an episode of your favourite TV show?
Only time will tell... "
4rd I think it could have been realy interesting to develop this subject even more, regarding the possible future mmorpg growth correction and the its relations with the upcoming titles and the current state of the art in what is now called the 9th Art, the online computer games. But unfortunatly childish attitudes and arrogance and lack of respect can realy castrate the will to continue.
I never played it and it doesn't bother me that it failed. From what I've heard and what seems to be the general consensus in this thread, AA was a poor to mediocre game. No big loss.
I was thinking to give it a shot when i get my new computer, it was cheap after all.
Since it's going down, i wont get it. Anyways rest in peace AA.