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can an entirely instanced game really be described as an mmo ?
Arthen123
Member Posts: 6
gameplay aside which is ok but nothing speacial and graphics aside which are very nice . can the fact that aoc use of zoned instances with a limit on the number of players that can be in one zone at a time really be described accuratly as an mmorpg . while its an online rpg i think it would be hard to describe it as massive possibly an lmo limited multiplayer on line game would be a more fitting description . the closest game i could liken it to is guild wars . but even guild wars could be described as an mmo because it did nt have the mirrored instanced system in its communal areas .
instances are an important part of any mmo , but they need to be used conservativly . if a whole game is instanced it destroys that feeling of community and an emerisble game world.
these are conans biggest problems i think . its a game the majority people will perhaps want to play a few months then leave only returning now and then to try some new patch or other .
i cant see it being a long term success myself . by the end of the summer the drop off in subscribers will be huge .
Comments
If they can called Hellgate:London an MMORPG, then AoC is certainly one.
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."
hellgate failed miserably
If the only problem that a mature AoC has is the instancing, then this game will do just fine. Right now it has more problems than that (as to be expected), which leaves some people in a wait and see state.
WAR, Spellborn, Guild Wars 2, at the least will have instanced zones of some sort. That fact alone does not make them immidiate failures.
I would love to discuss the topic of your thread OP, but even you didn't stay true to that topic.
If EQ2 is an MMORPG, same goes for AoC.
Hello. Reality check please.
HGL and GW consisted of personal instancing, aoc has almost none of this.
Instead it has rather more persistant version of instancing which simply divides crowded areas up.
MMO = Massive Multiplayer Online
Instanced or not instanced. Doesn't make a difference. Instancing is simply a tool to deal with choke points and camping.
No one has ever said that an mmorpg should have a big open world with no instances
the point of an mmorpg is that you can play an rpg game with other people on the internet
so, hellgate is an mmorpg, guildwars an mmorpg, wow is an mmorpg, dungeon runners is an mmorpg, eve online is an mmorpg, ... so aoc is also an mmorpg
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waiting for ... nothing..
For guildwar where an instance is only for you or your group I would say no. For AoC. CoH/CoV and EQ2 that all share the same zone/instane system its yes.
"You are the hero our legends have foretold will save our tribe, therefore please go kill 10 pigs."
he he he He He He HE HE Ha Ha HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HA HA !!!!!!!
New user, only one post. Smells like a troll but I'll bite.
FC's other game is Anarchy Online which I played for close to 3 years. If you look more closely, you can find a lot of similarities in the game mechanics. In AO, there was also a limited number of players who can be in one play field. This number was based on the purpose and the size of the field.
It was a long time since I played AO so I don't remember the exact number of people that lets say can be in zone at Tara but I think it was around 200-250. It created some interesting player strategies but that's not the point. In reality, you need only 10-12 people to kill Tara so the limit was more than enough to accomplish whatever was the purpose of the gathering.
On the other side, there were Mercs which back then pre-SL required a crapload of people. I am pretty sure that a lot of the time there were much more than 200 people including clams and OT. I've never heard of the different gs for Mercs. There was always only one.
AO was a niche game for sci-fi fans. If you will ask many people who played it, different play fields didn't kill it. In my opinion, they didn't even have any impact on our decisions whether to continue the sub or cancel it. It was the expansion packs who ultimately ruined the feel of sci-fi and turned off a lot of people.
So I guess there's 3, maybe 4, types of MMOs as far as instancing is concerned?
1. Private/small group instances - DDO, Hellgate, Guild Wars
2. Zoned player-count limited instances - Tabula Rasa, AoC
3. Single open world, group adventure instances - WoW, LOTRO, DAoC
4. Single open world, zero instances - are there any? (EVE?)
here you go
REALITY CHECK
4. Vanguard is single open world with no instances.
REALITY CHECK
2. EQ2. I remember Commonlands were so full there was 2-3 instances of them going on at the same time.
All of the mentioned are multi world (multi server)
EVE is the only non instanced, single world MMO with a real player driven economy and political landscape.
For all people b*tch about WoW and it's so "this this and this"
I bet they really miss being able to move from one side of the world to the other without any loading screens.
Oh, I'm sorry, there are two loading screens. One when you switch continents and one when you enter a dungeon/raid/battleground.
Ever run from Booty Bay to Silvermoon? Naked? In a race?
That is open world.
Oh wait, there is one 5 second load screen when you enter the new elven lands, but it exists as a physical barrier for those w/o the Burning Crusdade expansion.
rofl instanced zones. GG guild wars/AoC
Hehe, you know nothing OP
)
And is AoC MMO? Yeah, sure it is and the great one! (for me the best so far)
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Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Nevertheless, WoW still has instanced dungeons, in addition the zones are very obvious, the transition from one zone to another is usually made of a narrow path and extreme change in terrain.
REALITY CHECK
Yes it's an MMO since I've yet to see a definition of an MMO that says an instanced game isn't.
can an entirely instanced game really be described as an mmo ?
No..any online game with instanced world aside from dungeons is called a Cooperative online role playing game...a real mmo has a massive single world for everyone..
Some people like aoc...good..but the real mmo lovers are quiting fast, quited already, and soom others will follow...aoc will be just another online game some people consider an mmo...with enough subs to keep the game up...
I dont think funcom wanted alot of players to play the game..they want a small group of players that like this type of "mmo"..if they wanted huge numbers playing aoc..they would make a normal combat system, open world with no loadings or instancing of zones...
real mmo players ... hilarious
Massive (it is, server population is as big as any other MMO out there)
Multiplayer (It certainly is)
Online (That too)
Role Playing Game (Character advancement, world, lore, the RPG element is there)
So yes, it is an MMORPG.
Wrong. Vanguard is another . You can swim from Qualia to Thestra if you were so inclined.
Why does the world have to be open? who said that?
Good thing is, you spend less time running a generic copy paste landscape and more time bumping into people.
Online Role Playing Game )
Although I loved GW and all its complain I have started understanding as to why people have problems it instances
I personally feel in AOC that gameplay its all split in parts .There is no need to instance or zones withinh cities and different inns , warehouses etc
If instancing are important for whatever issues they should make it really big like you go in an instance it shoul be huge areas
Each and every quest in AOC you end up zoning and instances and thats really ridiculuous (like the underground tunnels that run from the harbor to mitrs temple = there are 4 to zones and instances and thats really kills the fun It should be only 1)
EVE is the only one shard game in the market. Everything else has multiple shards, multiple server farms, each with a separate name and some with different rules. Vanguard is not a one shard game.
I know.
It's better then loading screens.
I'll take 10 yards of transition terrain between "extreme changes in terrain" over a 10 second loading screen into extreme changes in terrain any day.
The point is...
Subbing graphics for the "MM" part of MMORPG is not a good idea, in my humble opinion.
1. 20 people in one instanced zone and uber sweet graphics
vs.
2. 200 people in one un-instanced zone and stylized, artistically sound graphics that fit the IP
I'll take door number 2 every time.
Sure, it's not completely open 1 game space like EVE, but I'd rather have content then grind just to get to the "good stuff" i.e. PvP ganking, more grinding, lag-crashing in large battles etc.