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Mythic Entertainment shows they have a clue to what is going on!
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setview/features/loadFeature/3/gameID/11/
It is cool that DAoC is taking what has been proven to work in MMORPGs and adapting it, before they are even close to the position of being forced to adapt. 
Anarchy Online has forever made its revolutionary mark on the entire MMORPG industry - since it was the first to introduce personal dungeons aka "personal instancing". 
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MMORPG.COM: Another well anticipated feature of Catacombs is instanced environments. Will most combative areas of the expansion incorporate instancing or will there be a number of static, common dungeon areas as well?
Firor: There will be a mix of both. We're also enhancing some of the older dungeons in the original world with better visual effects to make them more appealing.
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Now this is a NICE movie on Mythic's part. The part I marked in boldface, shows the Mythic game DEVs do so have a clue on the current MMORPG market and industry - unlike the UXO game DEVs. Mythic admits there is a chance/worry any new MMORPGs they make (DAoC 2, or any new MMORPG by them) will and can compete vs their older MMORPGs.
They cannot stop it from indirectly compeating - they know it and admit it. BUT they can try to make it different enough so that it will not directly compete. They on purpose use the word directly compete. Not simply "compete". Unlike the out of touch UXO game DEVs and parent company Electronic Arts who kept saying UXO will not be competing vs UO at all. (They later canned UXO claiming it would be competing vs UO and they did not want to risk that happending LOLOL!!!)
All other MMORPG parent companies, and game DEVs take notes! 
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MMORPG.COM: I hesitate to ask this question, as it has been addressed before (by Mark Jacobs, no less), but is there a chance the future will bring a Dark Age of Camelot II?
Firor: We've always had the opinion that an MMORPG doesn't need a version II. Our goal is to constantly update Camelot with new content and graphics on an ongoing basis so that it remains competitive with each new MMO that gets released. Any new game that we work on (such as Imperator) will be designed so as to NOT directly compete with Camelot.
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Comments
While I think it's great that they are adding new dungeons and redesigning the old ones, but imo the biggest problem facing DAoC right now is the pop imbalance; the second biggest problem would be lack of groups for the newbies, and teleportation has really killed open field warfare on a lot of servers. I don't see this expansion solving these problems, and I haven't really seen them make any changes that will solve them.
It appears that Mythic is trying to address the population disparity, but only time will tell if its latest efforts will succeed. I'm skeptical about the current "solution." After three years of playing DAOC, I have cancelled my subscriptions. The game has changed into a boring siege warfare game in which skill and tactics are meaningless.
I agree that the transportation system has crippled the game. But in fairness to Mythic, people on the boards constantly said that they wanted something like Planetside, and they got their wish. The ToA expansion with the necessity for obtaining master levels and artifacts only made the grind that much longer and harder. Catacombs doesn't address the problems, and I fear that it will only add to them.
If Mythic ever makes an "old school" server, I'll be one of the first to sign up.
No offense to Mythic.
DAoC deserve it high hype, they react better then anyone else. But someone will have to show me how they can act from time to time.
- "EQ2 or WoW? I wont touch it! Not even with a stick!''
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
In responding to the comment about new players, Mythic has started a system where new players can level much faster. On some servers you could get a new level every two days. As one that has played DAOC for over three years, you can level to 20 just by doing tasks. It's not hard at all. That's not the problem.
Before New Frontiers, in order to compete in the higher RvR levels, you had to acquire many artifacts and obtain master levels. Those are still helpful, but with NF, it's all about zergs and seige equipment. If you investigated who is getting the highest realm pts, you would find it to be healers, clerics, and druids. For those that actually play the game, that says a lot about what's going on.
I still think that DAOC is one of the best MMORPGs around, but it's not the game it used to be (for better or worse). It's definitely not a game for those that used to like to solo.
My problem with DAoC is Trials of Atlantis. I was a die hard fan of DAoC until the piece of crap expansion came out. Mythic maybe have a clue with the instanced dungeons but they had no clue with ToA. That expansion alone ruined it for me and many others. I no longer could compete against others in the pvp arena unless I did the ultra EQ camping missions/trials. I quit EQ because of that. Sitting on my but for 10 hours straight to accomplish one thing which had poor odds of happening in those 10 hours is not my idea of fun and is in fact the exact opposite. DAoC has forced me to do this ridiculous camping just so I can compete. I would probably still be playing if ToA didn't come out.
ToA ruined the game for me. I quit right before NF came out, after testing it on pend and not enjoying it. I kept my account, hoping that things would change. They didnt, and i sold the account about a week ago.
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| Final Fantasy | Free iPod |
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| Final Fantasy | Free iPod |
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