The thing people forget about instances - instances can be fun! Its a heck of a lot of fun to get together with your buddies and trash some dungeon somewhere with no interference. Its a hell of a lot more relaxing than PvP, and is quite enjoyable.
A voice of reason there..
AoC is definitely more PvE/small scale PvP oriented and I'm sure it will be pretty awesome in that respect. (Like WoW with DX10 and mounted combat and boobs)
WAR is about mass PvP combat hence the lower gfx. (Like DAoC with better UI, orcs and big guns and stuff)
So if both games come out technically valid it'll be down to the matter of personal player taste. Pick your poison.
Dev's have said it before, PvP will be AoC's main thing. There is your normal PvE/raiding, but PvP is main. These aren't small scale battles and I have no clue where you are getting that from, dev's have described BK battles as "hundreds of players" fighting at once.
It is not like WoW, the only similarity is that it is an MMO.
To which I respond - why does an MMO have to be one OR the other? What's wrong with making an MMO with large amounts of PvE and PvP content? It just makes sense - if you have fun mechanics and fun fighting, they're fun in PvE and PvP.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
I was very hyped about Warhammer but i recently started to follow AoC and it offers exactly the same as Warhammer but a little more and diffrent. Nevertheless i will try both because the release dates are far enough out eachother, if there arent any further delays.
AoC offers:
Amazing GFX (warhammer's looks amazing in its own art direction ofcourse)
Building PvE city's (SW:G style)
Building PvP Keeps (detailed RTS building style)
Sieging
Enhanced and refreshing new combat system on all classes (you swing and hit what you swing)
80levels+20pvplevels
Fatalitis's in all formats (going from caster drain soul to shield slice + head kick)
Advanced PvE endgame raiding
Singleplayer start ( you start as a slave and land on the beach there it starts)
Ramp based class selection (you start off as nothing and end as something 4arch classes end up in 12clases)
Non grind crafting system (heavly quest based)
We all know what warhammers offers i just try to open people there eyes and say that AoC is worth a very big look at. WaR is as big as AoC to me so i dont give a damn yet about WaR because its release date is not for yet. Lets hope it does not fail
As to which game is better? Who knows. One thing everyone seems to be forgetting though is the system reqs each game is going to have. I think AoC will be shooting themself in the foot here. AoC is going to need a medium to high end system to run. WAR will not. SO for thoes that cant afford high end systems WAR will be there choice over AoC. AoC is relying on there "real combat" system which means lagg issues are going to be verry important. The more lagg you have the more your screwed. This goes for IP lagg, Server side lagg and computer lagg. So again, want to compete in AoC? Better be on at least a fast DSL IP and a pretty good computer.
For all you people worried about the pixelated boobies....they wont look to good with graphics all set to ultra low :P
Warhammer look like a comic tv show, like wow. FLuorecent color ! AOC look more realistic.
Class look better and original in AOC. Im little pissoff about koblin....with.... ugly pet ...lol
Now u cant play to mmo and just hit key "3" oh! target move.....ahh yeah im auto face on him ..."3"-"3"... in aoc u need to follow the situation. so warhammer for fat boy ( jk )
Warhammer look like a comic tv show, like wow. FLuorecent color ! AOC look more realistic.
Class look better and original in AOC. Im little pissoff about koblin....with.... ugly pet ...lol
Now u cant play to mmo and just hit key "3" oh! target move.....ahh yeah im auto face on him ..."3"-"3"... in aoc u need to follow the situation. so warhammer for fat boy ( jk )
wtf?
"Negaholics are people who become addicted to negativity and self-doubt, they find fault in most things and never seem to be satisfied." ^MMORPG.com
So in the end which one do you think is better? Explain why.
I'll buy both and figure it out from there.. Have no opinion atm because neither has been released .. and the support/development after release will be an important factor.
The only issue I have with WAR is how EAMythic currently handles daoc.. if they don't enforce the ToS more than they currently are in DAoC.. I won't pay for what I see in DAoC. (the radar/speed hack use is probably the worst I have seen since the game was launched.. among game mechanic exploits blah blah).
That is the only issue I have with EAMythic atm... Funcom well I played AO at launch so I have experience with them as well.
Warhammer look like a comic tv show, like wow. FLuorecent color ! AOC look more realistic.
Class look better and original in AOC. Im little pissoff about koblin....with.... ugly pet ...lol
Now u cant play to mmo and just hit key "3" oh! target move.....ahh yeah im auto face on him ..."3"-"3"... in aoc u need to follow the situation. so warhammer for fat boy ( jk )
Idiots like you are another reason MMO's are going down the tube. I'm not talking about your english but rather comparing a combat system that is proven to work to one that is flawed in many ways. I plan on trying both but AoC's combat system will either be its main driveing force for sucess or its demise. You cant say one is better than the other when you havent tried either yet.
AOC will be because its an actual departure from the norm for mmos. WarHammer seems to be and hopefully the final attempt at cloning WoW. I see warhammer as a full version of the battlegrounds of WoW's pvp Instances.
WoW clone is a term that annoys me because thats what people call things that have a slight similarity and it really annoys me, saying that though AoC all the way, I mean there is some really awesome stuff in it like mounted combat and being able to guide weapons, and well elves, dwarves and orcs have really been annoying me, I mean every other game, and I need a break, so I will give AoC a try, but I still am waiting for a good ranged combat MMO, i.e. Stargate Worlds! Instead of elves there are jaffa, instead of orcs there are P90s.
Warhammer look like a comic tv show, like wow. FLuorecent color ! AOC look more realistic.
Class look better and original in AOC. Im little pissoff about koblin....with.... ugly pet ...lol
Now u cant play to mmo and just hit key "3" oh! target move.....ahh yeah im auto face on him ..."3"-"3"... in aoc u need to follow the situation. so warhammer for fat boy ( jk )
Idiots like you are another reason MMO's are going down the tube. I'm not talking about your english but rather comparing a combat system that is proven to work to one that is flawed in many ways. I plan on trying both but AoC's combat system will either be its main driveing force for sucess or its demise. You cant say one is better than the other when you havent tried either yet.
AoC. I read every little info about it and yeah, sometimes I am mad about whats changing, but mostly I'm satisfied, WAR looks like a cool game too, but even if WoW copied the mechanics from WAR board game and I hate to say this, there are big similarities with WoW(races, aliances...)...I want some change, and that change need to be big..that is why I betatest Tabula and I completely loved it..so AoC is my choice, but I fear that because of its diversity from WoW, it'll have the succes as TR-->lesser than LoTRo, which I think is only a bad copy of WoW
But I'll definitely try both of them, though I am expecting more from AoC
I think I actually spent way more time reading and theorycrafting about MMOs than playing them
Yeah, today i am not playing any mmorpg ( i quit wow), when i look to the alternatives i got 2: AoC and Warhammer Online. The problem is that Warhammer Online is very similar to WoW even the art. I dont see any change in the type of play. AoC is fresh meat, the only problem maybe the size of the comunity, the universe of Conan isn´t so popular like Warhammer Universe, i just hope that AoC in release kickasses, so ppl can see that Warhammer is just another usual mmorpg.
Okay, I have researched each game decently... I'll give my synopsis..
AoC
Pros:
- Excellent graphics
- Focus on combat system
- Both PvE and PvP content
Cons:
- Great graphics means either upgrade system ($$$) or suffer choppy gameplay, even on low settings
- Questionable physics engine - a real roll of the dice
- Previous history shows Funcom to be iffy on releases
- Based almost completely on guild combat rather than "realm" combat
Comments:
I think this game is a real roll of the dice. If everything fits together, it stands to maybe even knock WoW off the top. The parts that make this seem less appealing are Funcom's previous history with AO ... and what is likely gonna be a grind-fest. Great graphics is a double-edge sword ... sure, it looks great, but a need for a more powerful computer may kill off a lot of people who can't shell out that extra cash (which can also keep away little kiddies, but they will likely find a way no matter what.) I think its gonna end up being a real "prime-time" game as it is guild-dependent in which the only actual time to enjoy the game is in the evening/night hours, which may not work for a lot of players.
WAR
Pros:
- Focused on the community, rather than just a guild
- Mythic's reputation (i will discuss in a moment)
- Both PvE and PvP content
- RvR content is great
Cons:
- Worse graphics than Aoc
- Threat of nerfs
- Animations look chunky
Comments:
I think this game is a much safer bet to be successful, but isn't likely to go so far as to topple WoW. Personally, I think if Mythic looks at what DAoC lacked and was problematic, this game will be 100 times better. I did not play AO for long, but i did play DAoC. My personal opinion was that it was a very good game, but lacked a lot of things, such as a good interface and a decent economy system. If Mythic fixes all minor things wrong with DAoC, then this game definitely stands to be an excellent game. Those worried about nerfs: certainly, every game has its share of nerfs/buffs. That was definitely a problem in DAoC. However, hopefully Mythic learned from these mistakes... imo, Mythic always took changes too far - such as the introduction of ToA which was probably the beginning of the end for DAoC. (If a ToA system of pve content had been introduced earlier in Mythic's life, preferably the release, this would not have been a great problem, but the sudden upheaval of nearly all the hardcore PvP'ers to PvE really threw the balance off.) If Mythic can learn to not be so drastic in their changes, to make a balance with a nerf rather than bury ... this stands to be much better than AoC
Conclusion:
I don't really like to spend money on games that I end up not liking (ugh Lineage II) so i will probably only get one. Choosing between the two, I would have to pick WAR. It really is way too early to tell which will be better, but judging from my research i would have to say WAR. I think the main reason is that AoC simply promises too much - they want to make an awesome online game with a cherry on top, which is gonna be really difficult to pull off flawlessly. I'm predicting a lot of people will end up playing AoC and being disappointed. However, assuming that AoC lives up to the hype and everything it promises, yes, it will be an awesome game. Also, it will probably appeal more to the hardcore, run-of-the-mill gamer that likes to play during primetime as well as farm during non-prime-time, forming his daily schedule around guild raids. Meanwhile, WAR is pretty similar to WoW in a lot of ways .. almost a mix between Daoc and WoW. The things i didn't really like about DAoC (inflated NPC-based economy, crappy interface, "boring" character models) all seemed to be answered in WoW ... but when playing WoW, i really missed the PvP system, different classes for each faction, and the RvR siege content. I think if WAR combines both of the pluses of both WoW and DAoC, then it will be an extremely solid game. Another plus is the community-based siege rather than guild-based siege allows you to find groups pretty much whenever you feel like playing. Hopefully, the "good" of the Mythic dev <trying to keep a system of balance without overdoing it> will conquer the "bad".
So, my guess is that I'll have WAR as first choice in 2008. But, if it does flop, im not gonna completely rule out AoC being on my hard drive.
I really do think Warhammer will rule the MMO market with a ironfist. I will tell you why they are doing the same thing that Blizzard did when WOW was starting. They are reaching past the MMO player base and going much farther. 1. They are carrying a franchise name which made Blizzard so successful. 2. They have the money behind them which is EA so they can give the fanbase what they want. 3. They are promoting the game world wide to give it such a hype that everyone is waiting for to play. Also the game is giving you so much to make people want to try it out RVR, Public Quest, The Tome, Taking your enemy city, your toon can be unique in the way you make him with tropies and the unique classes all are different. If Mythic keep their promise on everything they said they would give thier fanbase. This game will destory everything in it's path. But AOC yeah it got Conan but you must look at the big picture who is the game only reaching out to. The MMO fanbase so I only see it doing average. But I guess we have to wait and see whats going to happen.
Hi I'm Ravkeen!
Emilia_Emi Lvl 56 Witch Now Playing : Black Desert Online "America is not at war, the US Military is at war, America is at the mall."
To be honest both games do not look appealing to me for various reasons.
Warhammer
- it doesnt look vastly different to what you can do in WoW only it is on a larger scale with more focus on PvP. This is not enough to make me want to place a game style I am fed up with.
- The combat system, god I hate turn based/RPG like combat it really is getting old so more reason to not want to play it.
- Every PvP video I have seen makes this game look like a giant alteric valley battleground. And every other video makes it look like a WoW clone with better graphics. And I mean the gameplay, the graphic style is obviously different unless you are blind.
- theres the typical elf, orcs, drawves etc which I wouldnt care about because it is only a setting but it doesnt make me want to play it.
- The biggest reason the community looks like it is going to be terrible, it isnt exactly fantastic at the moment and pre release communitys are always better than release ones so it doesnt exactly make things look up.
- and lastly it is over hyped, which is never a good thing.
Age of conan
- boobs blood gore, M rating = lots of immature, annoying kids, and adults alike playing the game.
I somehow doubt they will be a minority, of course like all games there will be people that are decent and nothing like that but like I said they will most likely be the minority. Which is again another reason that makes me not want to play it.
- The graphics yes they look nice but they also scream high system specs.
- The combat system, it looks clumsy, and it was change recently to a system that is more along the lines of traditional mmo skill selection but in combos. And like I said with warhammer I am getting fed up of these type of combat systems.
- The game looks like it is going to be over instanced due to the graphics, the way the siege videos look so laggy etc, I do not see how they will not have heavy instancing in this game to keep it playable.
- And to go with the above statement it looks like a lag fest from their videos, apparently they improved this but I will not hold my breath.
- The company, I honestly can not remeber playing a single game by funcom that was any good. So I would wait for a free trial for this game until I give it a chance.
- and lastly like Warhammer this game is getting huge amounts of hype which usually is never a good thing.
There are more reasons for both, but those are the main reason why I will wait for reviews, and a free trial before playing the games. Neither look very appealing at the moment to me because of those points.
In terms of mmos I am looking forward to probably TCOS since it is compleatly different to anything that I have seen before, and maybe jumpgate evolution since again have not seen any mmo like it. Although if both those games suck I can not see any decent mmos on the horizon at least for a long time.
With all that said though, who knows looks arent everything all these games in development could be great, or they could be shit we wont know till we play them. All the points I made will do is dictate whether I buy the games on release or if I wait for a trial Ill still try them though.
Here are the problems I have with both games (mimic of the last couple posts):
WAR
- I don't calim to know everything about the game, and from my perspective and anyone else's who doesn't research the game 24/7, the game looks like (yeah, i'm going to say it) a WoW clone through and through. You have to remember that those of us who study each MMO are a minority in the group of MMO players. A casual player who sees a single video of WAR on the internet is going to think that it's the same as WoW. However, this could be a good thing because If 9mil+ people enjoy WoW, maybe they'll convert over to WAR.
- Being hyped up way too much. The game has such high expectations that it will be borderline impossible to live up to all of them, which will create disappointed gamers who will in turn, look for new MMOs.
- The game just seems like it's prone to receive an immature community. If it does become popular (which I suspect it will), the masses of 10 year olds will come flooding in because of the slightly cartoonish graphics (I don't mean that in a bad way), and the orcs/dwarves etc setting.
-Battle animations are less than stellar. Most of your time spent in MMOs you're engaged in combat, so why not take the time to make it exciting? Instead it seems they've rehashed the standard MMO battle system.
AOC
- As the above poster said, Mature rating is just going to attract a crappy playerbase. Think about it, if you have hundreds of people who still find it funny do dance naked in town as a female Night Elf in WoW, this is only going to be amplified by a lot if you actually can get naked.
- High sytem reqs. I have a computer that could easily run this game on max, but the general public won't be able to. Obviously if they're getting 20fps on lowest settings then they're going to be turned off by the game.
- I'd almost prefer it if the game stayed with the traditional battle system (which I still dislike). After watching various videos of battles in the game, I must say it looks boring to me. Of course it's all opinionated I suppose. If i'm going to be fighting my way up to level 80, I don't want to do it with a boring system.
I've only listed negative aspects, though each game does have many positive points. I won't bother to list them.
On the other hand, I plan on playing Aion when it releases, for a few reasons:
- Amazing graphics, and they're well optimized. Beta testers were able to run the game on low-end computers at around 25-35 fps, which seems good to me. The graphics are also comparable to that of AoC. And the art-style is breathtaking.
- Action-oriented battle system. While they keep the same ideas in this category as WoW, the battles move much faster, and you can perform combos by using certain skills in order. To top it all off, the battle animations are amazing.
- Flight. You have wings and the ability to fly freely, though it does have a timer on it. This feature is brought up a lot during conversations of the game, but I still feel it's worth mentioning. You can also partake in aerial battles if you please.
- PvPve. There are two playable factions that are constantly at war. However, Aion has implemented a third race (the Balaur), who intervene if and when the PvP becomes unbalanced. For example, in the Abyss there are castles that can be owned by guilds from either playable race. If the Asmodians (one of the playable races) own every castle in the Abyss, then the Balaur might come in and help the Elyos (other playable race) regain some ground.
- Unlike most other Korean MMOs, the level cap in Aion is only 50, and the grind is minimal. It's been said that you can achieve the level cap with about 1-2 months of play, depending on how much you play.
Of course Aion will probably never become very popular because of the people that stereotype Korean games and refuse to be corrected.
I'll pretend both games will deliver on everything promissed. My pick is AoC; more choice, more freedom, button mashing fighting > skill mashing, and alot less fantasy.
What I want is world, not an MMO, AoC seems closer to that.
Sign me up for open PVP server, less arbitrary limits please.
Oh, WAR will be more popular, because it is similar to WoW, not diferent.
The CES progress reported they were able to hold a constant frame-rate and high graphics on a laptop in AoC. That alone says something for scalability. But honestly, anyone who isn't planning on upgrading for a new game is living in a fantasy world. I had to upgrade my PC when WoW first came out and it lasted through the game's lifetime, upgrading is a part of being a PC consumer.
And secondly, AoC and Warhammer are games working on completely different premises. The constant is siege gameplay, they both have it but are going about it in different ways. WAR is basing the entire longevity of their game off of RvR gameplay. AoC is going for being your more standard MMO but changing basic gameplay mechanics. Comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges.
Well.. lol , I will try to AOC when he comming out or if I got the beta, but I got the warhammer beta and was not that great for the moment. I'm sure that's gonna be a great game later but...They innovation or combat system of AOC look great and... different.
People kill me with the same thing everytime oh its a clone of WOW. Last time I check WOW wasn't the first MMO that came out but everything is a clone of it. Also last time I checked WOW was a clone of every other MMO that came out before it the noobs (uh no its no). Also I saw WOW got its PVP idea from DAOC but it still suck and it got alot of its gameplay from EQ, UO, EQ2, DAOC and every other game that was out before it. Before you call every other game a clone of WOW you need to go back and think what WOW is a clone of.
Hi I'm Ravkeen!
Emilia_Emi Lvl 56 Witch Now Playing : Black Desert Online "America is not at war, the US Military is at war, America is at the mall."
Comments
A voice of reason there..
AoC is definitely more PvE/small scale PvP oriented and I'm sure it will be pretty awesome in that respect. (Like WoW with DX10 and mounted combat and boobs)
WAR is about mass PvP combat hence the lower gfx. (Like DAoC with better UI, orcs and big guns and stuff)
So if both games come out technically valid it'll be down to the matter of personal player taste. Pick your poison.
Dev's have said it before, PvP will be AoC's main thing. There is your normal PvE/raiding, but PvP is main. These aren't small scale battles and I have no clue where you are getting that from, dev's have described BK battles as "hundreds of players" fighting at once.It is not like WoW, the only similarity is that it is an MMO.
To which I respond - why does an MMO have to be one OR the other? What's wrong with making an MMO with large amounts of PvE and PvP content? It just makes sense - if you have fun mechanics and fun fighting, they're fun in PvE and PvP.
In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
-Thomas Jefferson
I was very hyped about Warhammer but i recently started to follow AoC and it offers exactly the same as Warhammer but a little more and diffrent. Nevertheless i will try both because the release dates are far enough out eachother, if there arent any further delays.
AoC offers:
Amazing GFX (warhammer's looks amazing in its own art direction ofcourse)
Building PvE city's (SW:G style)
Building PvP Keeps (detailed RTS building style)
Sieging
Enhanced and refreshing new combat system on all classes (you swing and hit what you swing)
80levels+20pvplevels
Fatalitis's in all formats (going from caster drain soul to shield slice + head kick)
Advanced PvE endgame raiding
Singleplayer start ( you start as a slave and land on the beach there it starts)
Ramp based class selection (you start off as nothing and end as something 4arch classes end up in 12clases)
Non grind crafting system (heavly quest based)
We all know what warhammers offers i just try to open people there eyes and say that AoC is worth a very big look at. WaR is as big as AoC to me so i dont give a damn yet about WaR because its release date is not for yet. Lets hope it does not fail
As to which game is better? Who knows. One thing everyone seems to be forgetting though is the system reqs each game is going to have. I think AoC will be shooting themself in the foot here. AoC is going to need a medium to high end system to run. WAR will not. SO for thoes that cant afford high end systems WAR will be there choice over AoC. AoC is relying on there "real combat" system which means lagg issues are going to be verry important. The more lagg you have the more your screwed. This goes for IP lagg, Server side lagg and computer lagg. So again, want to compete in AoC? Better be on at least a fast DSL IP and a pretty good computer.
For all you people worried about the pixelated boobies....they wont look to good with graphics all set to ultra low :P
Warhammer look like a comic tv show, like wow. FLuorecent color ! AOC look more realistic.
( jk ) 
Class look better and original in AOC. Im little pissoff about koblin....with.... ugly pet ...lol
Now u cant play to mmo and just hit key "3" oh! target move.....ahh yeah im auto face on him ..."3"-"3"... in aoc u need to follow the situation. so warhammer for fat boy
....eeee....
"Negaholics are people who become addicted to negativity and self-doubt, they find fault in most things and never seem to be satisfied."
^MMORPG.com
lol sorry for my good english, but well aoc ftw
....eeee....
The only issue I have with WAR is how EAMythic currently handles daoc.. if they don't enforce the ToS more than they currently are in DAoC.. I won't pay for what I see in DAoC. (the radar/speed hack use is probably the worst I have seen since the game was launched.. among game mechanic exploits blah blah).
That is the only issue I have with EAMythic atm... Funcom well I played AO at launch so I have experience with them as well.
Anyway I'll buy both..
Idiots like you are another reason MMO's are going down the tube. I'm not talking about your english but rather comparing a combat system that is proven to work to one that is flawed in many ways. I plan on trying both but AoC's combat system will either be its main driveing force for sucess or its demise. You cant say one is better than the other when you havent tried either yet.
WoW clone is a term that annoys me because thats what people call things that have a slight similarity and it really annoys me, saying that though AoC all the way, I mean there is some really awesome stuff in it like mounted combat and being able to guide weapons, and well elves, dwarves and orcs have really been annoying me, I mean every other game, and I need a break, so I will give AoC a try, but I still am waiting for a good ranged combat MMO, i.e. Stargate Worlds! Instead of elves there are jaffa, instead of orcs there are P90s
.
Idiots like you are another reason MMO's are going down the tube. I'm not talking about your english but rather comparing a combat system that is proven to work to one that is flawed in many ways. I plan on trying both but AoC's combat system will either be its main driveing force for sucess or its demise. You cant say one is better than the other when you havent tried either yet.
LoL that's funny.. but sad... true.
warhammer.
plus the AoC fanbois are annoying the s*it out of me lately.
AoC. I read every little info about it and yeah, sometimes I am mad about whats changing, but mostly I'm satisfied, WAR looks like a cool game too, but even if WoW copied the mechanics from WAR board game and I hate to say this, there are big similarities with WoW(races, aliances...)...I want some change, and that change need to be big..that is why I betatest Tabula and I completely loved it..so AoC is my choice, but I fear that because of its diversity from WoW, it'll have the succes as TR-->lesser than LoTRo, which I think is only a bad copy of WoW
But I'll definitely try both of them, though I am expecting more from AoC
I think I actually spent way more time reading and theorycrafting about MMOs than playing them
Yeah, today i am not playing any mmorpg ( i quit wow), when i look to the alternatives i got 2: AoC and Warhammer Online. The problem is that Warhammer Online is very similar to WoW even the art. I dont see any change in the type of play. AoC is fresh meat, the only problem maybe the size of the comunity, the universe of Conan isn´t so popular like Warhammer Universe, i just hope that AoC in release kickasses, so ppl can see that Warhammer is just another usual mmorpg.
Okay, I have researched each game decently... I'll give my synopsis..
AoC
Pros:
- Excellent graphics
- Focus on combat system
- Both PvE and PvP content
Cons:
- Great graphics means either upgrade system ($$$) or suffer choppy gameplay, even on low settings
- Questionable physics engine - a real roll of the dice
- Previous history shows Funcom to be iffy on releases
- Based almost completely on guild combat rather than "realm" combat
Comments:
I think this game is a real roll of the dice. If everything fits together, it stands to maybe even knock WoW off the top. The parts that make this seem less appealing are Funcom's previous history with AO ... and what is likely gonna be a grind-fest. Great graphics is a double-edge sword ... sure, it looks great, but a need for a more powerful computer may kill off a lot of people who can't shell out that extra cash (which can also keep away little kiddies, but they will likely find a way no matter what.) I think its gonna end up being a real "prime-time" game as it is guild-dependent in which the only actual time to enjoy the game is in the evening/night hours, which may not work for a lot of players.
WAR
Pros:
- Focused on the community, rather than just a guild
- Mythic's reputation (i will discuss in a moment)
- Both PvE and PvP content
- RvR content is great
Cons:
- Worse graphics than Aoc
- Threat of nerfs
- Animations look chunky
Comments:
I think this game is a much safer bet to be successful, but isn't likely to go so far as to topple WoW. Personally, I think if Mythic looks at what DAoC lacked and was problematic, this game will be 100 times better. I did not play AO for long, but i did play DAoC. My personal opinion was that it was a very good game, but lacked a lot of things, such as a good interface and a decent economy system. If Mythic fixes all minor things wrong with DAoC, then this game definitely stands to be an excellent game. Those worried about nerfs: certainly, every game has its share of nerfs/buffs. That was definitely a problem in DAoC. However, hopefully Mythic learned from these mistakes... imo, Mythic always took changes too far - such as the introduction of ToA which was probably the beginning of the end for DAoC. (If a ToA system of pve content had been introduced earlier in Mythic's life, preferably the release, this would not have been a great problem, but the sudden upheaval of nearly all the hardcore PvP'ers to PvE really threw the balance off.) If Mythic can learn to not be so drastic in their changes, to make a balance with a nerf rather than bury ... this stands to be much better than AoC
Conclusion:
I don't really like to spend money on games that I end up not liking (ugh Lineage II) so i will probably only get one. Choosing between the two, I would have to pick WAR. It really is way too early to tell which will be better, but judging from my research i would have to say WAR. I think the main reason is that AoC simply promises too much - they want to make an awesome online game with a cherry on top, which is gonna be really difficult to pull off flawlessly. I'm predicting a lot of people will end up playing AoC and being disappointed. However, assuming that AoC lives up to the hype and everything it promises, yes, it will be an awesome game. Also, it will probably appeal more to the hardcore, run-of-the-mill gamer that likes to play during primetime as well as farm during non-prime-time, forming his daily schedule around guild raids. Meanwhile, WAR is pretty similar to WoW in a lot of ways .. almost a mix between Daoc and WoW. The things i didn't really like about DAoC (inflated NPC-based economy, crappy interface, "boring" character models) all seemed to be answered in WoW ... but when playing WoW, i really missed the PvP system, different classes for each faction, and the RvR siege content. I think if WAR combines both of the pluses of both WoW and DAoC, then it will be an extremely solid game. Another plus is the community-based siege rather than guild-based siege allows you to find groups pretty much whenever you feel like playing. Hopefully, the "good" of the Mythic dev <trying to keep a system of balance without overdoing it> will conquer the "bad".
So, my guess is that I'll have WAR as first choice in 2008. But, if it does flop, im not gonna completely rule out AoC being on my hard drive.
I really do think Warhammer will rule the MMO market with a ironfist. I will tell you why they are doing the same thing that Blizzard did when WOW was starting. They are reaching past the MMO player base and going much farther. 1. They are carrying a franchise name which made Blizzard so successful. 2. They have the money behind them which is EA so they can give the fanbase what they want. 3. They are promoting the game world wide to give it such a hype that everyone is waiting for to play. Also the game is giving you so much to make people want to try it out RVR, Public Quest, The Tome, Taking your enemy city, your toon can be unique in the way you make him with tropies and the unique classes all are different. If Mythic keep their promise on everything they said they would give thier fanbase. This game will destory everything in it's path. But AOC yeah it got Conan but you must look at the big picture who is the game only reaching out to. The MMO fanbase so I only see it doing average. But I guess we have to wait and see whats going to happen.
Hi I'm Ravkeen!
Emilia_Emi Lvl 56 Witch
Now Playing : Black Desert Online
"America is not at war, the US Military is at war, America is at the mall."
To be honest both games do not look appealing to me for various reasons.
Warhammer
- it doesnt look vastly different to what you can do in WoW only it is on a larger scale with more focus on PvP. This is not enough to make me want to place a game style I am fed up with.
- The combat system, god I hate turn based/RPG like combat it really is getting old so more reason to not want to play it.
- Every PvP video I have seen makes this game look like a giant alteric valley battleground. And every other video makes it look like a WoW clone with better graphics. And I mean the gameplay, the graphic style is obviously different unless you are blind.
- theres the typical elf, orcs, drawves etc which I wouldnt care about because it is only a setting but it doesnt make me want to play it.
- The biggest reason the community looks like it is going to be terrible, it isnt exactly fantastic at the moment and pre release communitys are always better than release ones so it doesnt exactly make things look up.
- and lastly it is over hyped, which is never a good thing.
Age of conan
- boobs blood gore, M rating = lots of immature, annoying kids, and adults alike playing the game.
I somehow doubt they will be a minority, of course like all games there will be people that are decent and nothing like that but like I said they will most likely be the minority. Which is again another reason that makes me not want to play it.
- The graphics yes they look nice but they also scream high system specs.
- The combat system, it looks clumsy, and it was change recently to a system that is more along the lines of traditional mmo skill selection but in combos. And like I said with warhammer I am getting fed up of these type of combat systems.
- The game looks like it is going to be over instanced due to the graphics, the way the siege videos look so laggy etc, I do not see how they will not have heavy instancing in this game to keep it playable.
- And to go with the above statement it looks like a lag fest from their videos, apparently they improved this but I will not hold my breath.
- The company, I honestly can not remeber playing a single game by funcom that was any good. So I would wait for a free trial for this game until I give it a chance.
- and lastly like Warhammer this game is getting huge amounts of hype which usually is never a good thing.
There are more reasons for both, but those are the main reason why I will wait for reviews, and a free trial before playing the games. Neither look very appealing at the moment to me because of those points.
In terms of mmos I am looking forward to probably TCOS since it is compleatly different to anything that I have seen before, and maybe jumpgate evolution since again have not seen any mmo like it. Although if both those games suck I can not see any decent mmos on the horizon at least for a long time.
With all that said though, who knows looks arent everything all these games in development could be great, or they could be shit we wont know till we play them. All the points I made will do is dictate whether I buy the games on release or if I wait for a trial Ill still try them though.
Here are the problems I have with both games (mimic of the last couple posts):
WAR
- I don't calim to know everything about the game, and from my perspective and anyone else's who doesn't research the game 24/7, the game looks like (yeah, i'm going to say it) a WoW clone through and through. You have to remember that those of us who study each MMO are a minority in the group of MMO players. A casual player who sees a single video of WAR on the internet is going to think that it's the same as WoW. However, this could be a good thing because If 9mil+ people enjoy WoW, maybe they'll convert over to WAR.
- Being hyped up way too much. The game has such high expectations that it will be borderline impossible to live up to all of them, which will create disappointed gamers who will in turn, look for new MMOs.
- The game just seems like it's prone to receive an immature community. If it does become popular (which I suspect it will), the masses of 10 year olds will come flooding in because of the slightly cartoonish graphics (I don't mean that in a bad way), and the orcs/dwarves etc setting.
-Battle animations are less than stellar. Most of your time spent in MMOs you're engaged in combat, so why not take the time to make it exciting? Instead it seems they've rehashed the standard MMO battle system.
AOC
- As the above poster said, Mature rating is just going to attract a crappy playerbase. Think about it, if you have hundreds of people who still find it funny do dance naked in town as a female Night Elf in WoW, this is only going to be amplified by a lot if you actually can get naked.
- High sytem reqs. I have a computer that could easily run this game on max, but the general public won't be able to. Obviously if they're getting 20fps on lowest settings then they're going to be turned off by the game.
- I'd almost prefer it if the game stayed with the traditional battle system (which I still dislike). After watching various videos of battles in the game, I must say it looks boring to me. Of course it's all opinionated I suppose. If i'm going to be fighting my way up to level 80, I don't want to do it with a boring system.
I've only listed negative aspects, though each game does have many positive points. I won't bother to list them.
On the other hand, I plan on playing Aion when it releases, for a few reasons:
- Amazing graphics, and they're well optimized. Beta testers were able to run the game on low-end computers at around 25-35 fps, which seems good to me. The graphics are also comparable to that of AoC. And the art-style is breathtaking.
- Action-oriented battle system. While they keep the same ideas in this category as WoW, the battles move much faster, and you can perform combos by using certain skills in order. To top it all off, the battle animations are amazing.
- Flight. You have wings and the ability to fly freely, though it does have a timer on it. This feature is brought up a lot during conversations of the game, but I still feel it's worth mentioning. You can also partake in aerial battles if you please.
- PvPve. There are two playable factions that are constantly at war. However, Aion has implemented a third race (the Balaur), who intervene if and when the PvP becomes unbalanced. For example, in the Abyss there are castles that can be owned by guilds from either playable race. If the Asmodians (one of the playable races) own every castle in the Abyss, then the Balaur might come in and help the Elyos (other playable race) regain some ground.
- Unlike most other Korean MMOs, the level cap in Aion is only 50, and the grind is minimal. It's been said that you can achieve the level cap with about 1-2 months of play, depending on how much you play.
Of course Aion will probably never become very popular because of the people that stereotype Korean games and refuse to be corrected.
Damn, that was a long post.
success does not equal toppling WoW, sucess is return on investment. something both games are likely to do.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
I'll pretend both games will deliver on everything promissed. My pick is AoC; more choice, more freedom, button mashing fighting > skill mashing, and alot less fantasy.
What I want is world, not an MMO, AoC seems closer to that.
Sign me up for open PVP server, less arbitrary limits please.
Oh, WAR will be more popular, because it is similar to WoW, not diferent.
The CES progress reported they were able to hold a constant frame-rate and high graphics on a laptop in AoC. That alone says something for scalability. But honestly, anyone who isn't planning on upgrading for a new game is living in a fantasy world. I had to upgrade my PC when WoW first came out and it lasted through the game's lifetime, upgrading is a part of being a PC consumer.
And secondly, AoC and Warhammer are games working on completely different premises. The constant is siege gameplay, they both have it but are going about it in different ways. WAR is basing the entire longevity of their game off of RvR gameplay. AoC is going for being your more standard MMO but changing basic gameplay mechanics. Comparing them is like comparing apples and oranges.
Well.. lol , I will try to AOC when he comming out or if I got the beta, but I got the warhammer beta and was not that great for the moment. I'm sure that's gonna be a great game later but...They innovation or combat system of AOC look great and... different.
....eeee....
I'm pretty sure both games are good. I'll enjoy both. It's more like whoever comes out first, I'd hate to leave a game to try another.
So it looks like AOC for me
People kill me with the same thing everytime oh its a clone of WOW. Last time I check WOW wasn't the first MMO that came out but everything is a clone of it. Also last time I checked WOW was a clone of every other MMO that came out before it the noobs (uh no its no). Also I saw WOW got its PVP idea from DAOC but it still suck and it got alot of its gameplay from EQ, UO, EQ2, DAOC and every other game that was out before it. Before you call every other game a clone of WOW you need to go back and think what WOW is a clone of.
Hi I'm Ravkeen!
Emilia_Emi Lvl 56 Witch
Now Playing : Black Desert Online
"America is not at war, the US Military is at war, America is at the mall."
I think they are both good games depending on the genre you like, basically if you like pvp it is WaR and if you like pve choose AoC!