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2 Questions
Laserwolf
Member Posts: 2,383
1. Since AoC is really my last hope for MMORPGs, I am probably more nervous than excited about its release. Two things have me especially worried. One, I hear only bad things from Beta Testers. Now I realize that the NDA is still in place and so these people are obviously breaking it just by implying they have played AoC and think it will fail. I also realize that this means they are either trolls who are lying about being in the beta, or that the only Beta Testers we are going to hear from are those who didn't like the game and therefore don't care much about bans and such.
My first question is about WoW. I didn't follow it pre-release and so I don't know what the beta stage was like. Were the forums also flooded with the same kind of negative reports while the NDA was in place. Now I am not the biggest fan of WoW, but I also recognize it is the first really polished MMORPG to be released in probably 15 years. So it would be a relief to know that there was similar negative feedback leaking out of WoW's Beta Stage.
2. My second question has only been on my mind recently. A few days back someone posted here looking for information on how "limited" exploration would be. He was under the impression the game was more Guild Wars than Star Wars Galaxies or even World of Warcraft. I figured the replies would put him at ease due to the video footage I have seen thus far, but instead a lot of the posters seemed to thing AoC really was very similar to Guild Wars. Now I prefet the wide open worlds of UO and SWG, but I can very easily live with the zones of World of Warcraft. However the Guild Wars maps I played on were almost as restrictive as those found in games like Knights of the Republic or Fable. If that was the case, I honestly couldn't see myself playing this game. Now I assume this is very wrong because Player Housing and Battlekeeps would not work in such limited zones, but I'd appreciate a bit of assurance just the same. Appreciate it.
Comments
Well I don't know if you can compare WoW with AoC to be honest. Blizzard's titles have been very good and have therefore a huge amount of fans. In the closed beta there wasn't so much whine on forums cause people were mostly playing. Some did leak out some info but I know most people loved it from the start. But there's always a group of people who find things to nag about. With WoW a lot of people didn't like the colors, the not-realistic characters or the missing PvP stuff. As you see that targets specific players who want that to be in it or they won't play it. But in average I think it's the same.
Don't get me wrong I loved WoW, but at some point a lot of things started to feel as work and daily routines. That's something a player doesn't want after a daily routined day
(See even I can find something to nag on). But nevertheless it's a great starter as MMORPG. And a general tip: Avoid the forums, nothing interesting on it, nothing you need and for daily updates about WoW I'd advice a community site like Curse.
The second question I honestly don't know for sure (as I'm not a beta player). But I can concur that there have been some people mentioning that fact. In WoW they fixed it mostly by using the terrain (mountains, cliffs, abyss etc.) But if you look closely a lot of zones have also limited access to each other (passage, cave, bridge, etc.). So WoW doesn't really fit in the "open" environment either. I think (just a thought) that the people who nag about this in AoC are doing so cause of some "passing through" zones. But as I said it's just a thought. As I haven't seen any zone info (or ingame map) yet of the mainland.
And who knows, maybe they can alter those invisible walls easily and add more stuff over time.
Ow and one last tip: Try to find some loyal / good friends and make or join some guild that fits you. Cause playing solo in a MMORPG isn't really the idea the makers had in mind
OP, I'll tackle question #1 and defer to others on questions #2.
Believe it or not, the closed beta boards of WoW were actually pretty good early on, but the more and more people that got invited in, the less people were focusing on what the devs wanted feed back on. Then, in mid September of 2004 people began to cry "wolf" that this and that needed fixed. It was funny that everything was fine while there were getting a free ride, but once their candy was about to be taken away, people revolted with leaks starting to mount. The beta now, I suspect you see a lot of that happening with regards to AoC.
This is one reason why I wish game developers would go back to old school beta testing and actually interview their testers with resumes and all. I still remember the first call I got from a dev talking with me about why I'd make a good tester. Things like that are what helps people "buy into" and take ownership in the beta process of the game they are asking to test.
Bottom line is, it doesn't matter the game or beta or board, you will have three types of players.
You'll have the die-hard fanbois that no matter what the devopers can do no wrong. The die-hard troll that no matter what the developers can do no right. And finally the tweeners that are rational to see both sides point of view.
Myself, I'm a tweener. As far as AoC goes, at one point in time, I was a die-hard fanbois but the egg started breaking over a year ago. I had too many high hopes of what this game was going to be and how I was going to enjoy it. I guess the delays started getting on my nerves. I know delays are good for the game, but frustrating no the less. About the time I really got upset with the game is when a dev announced that full player looting in PvP was still on the table (still is today from what I understand), I wasn't happy at all.
Then, the devs answered one of my post on the official forums about crafting and said it was "mechanically functional" and that made me worry. Then a couple of months ago they released the info on the crafting system and I admit, it really turned me off to AoC. IMHO, as good as this game is, it could have been much better if they had a dev that loved crafting instead of adding it in as a "ho-hum" after thought.
Bottom line is, you have to ask yourself, "what game mechanics are attracting you to AoC or driving you away from it? If you find enough that you like, try it. If not, don't. Only you can answer if AoC is going to be the game for you or not. Take everyone else's opinion about the game like a grain of salt. After all, you pay the $15 a month to play.
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."