I Believe There Will Be More Subscribers And Why

Kalay · July 2008

I think the amount of subscribers to Lineage 2 will be picking up in the near future for a number of reasons:

The first reason would have to be NCSoft Designers and their graphics. If you compare NCSoft MMOs to other games, such as those listed here, you will see how the quality of their gaming graphics is far superior to other games. With their sucesses, (City Of Heroes/Villians being their top game), Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, and soon to be Aion and Guild Wars 2), their reputation is quite high in gaming MMO quality.

On a personally note, I love the characters and the way they look in Lineage 2, incredibly sexy and very fantasy oriented, AND they can still make more classes, hint...hint. They are not anime and they are not Goshi. They are something you could classify, as well somewhere in between with a touch of both but with their own style and originality. (This comes from a person who has never owned a console btw).

The second reason is that the current times are hard. 3rd and 4th quarter 2008. Without going into too much boring detail, the US economy is not so good at the moment and people are, to say the least, being cautious and tightening their belts. Though the average PC is not as high priced as it used to be, that does not mean that people will not "cut back" and try to get as much use out of their current PC as possible. L2 does not require the higher end 'very expensive' graphics card. Nor does it require gobs and gobs of dual processors. (Over time, if the game continues its success I am sure the graphics video will change, but not to the extent where buying a PC every 2 years is necessary. This of course brings to mind where will the PC gaming be at the end of the year. Example: Blizzard is releasing Starcraft II for Vista 'AND' XP. And most probably Diablo 3 will work on XP. That should tell you something right there.

MMOs need a broader range of processing and video capability in order to succeed.

Thirdly the game play itself. I think with the release of Gracia Part One And Two more and more people will start to see Lineage 2 for what it is.

According to what I have been reading on the forums and gaming reviews the game play needs work. But the L2 people are doing just that. The competitive market of MMOs also includes in the game making, the "Hey I Can Do That With Our Game". I have already seen some of this on the forums with the way people compare one game to another. An example of this pertaining to NCSoft is what I noticed in their MMO City of Heroes a year after it was out. Around that time Half Life 2 was released with Ragdoll effects. Oddly enough with a new patch the creeps or villians started to crumble in the same sort of fashion. I know for a fact that the gaming industry works together so they can make their game, whichever type it is, more appealing to their buyers or subscribers. I think that will be the case with Lineage 2. Not that designs themselves are copied but lets say as another example, World Of Warcraft adds First person seige engines to their game. L2 people say "Hey that sounds like a good idea!" And a type of gameplay like that may be added to Lineage 2. The forums are another source of new ideas for a game designer.

The possibilities are really endless on what can be added to an MMO. (My disappointment has always been with the space games but then again I am a Star Trek fan and used to beaming anywhere you want to go. To me that means alot of content to keep me happy and I am just not seeing it).

Fourthly and this is for the people that appreciate good role playing games, Lineage 2 overall is a very good RPG. I am sure that I am not the only one who appreciates a good RPG, and as word gets around just how good looking and fun the game is to play their will be more subscribers.

Some of the people reading this have probably played some of the D&D series of games, or perhaps the Might And Magic series and Dungeon Seige to name a few. Lineage 2 is a good traditional fantasy oriented Role Playing game based on some of the initial standards and rules started by the genre of Gary Gygax years ago.

My first experience with the game was laughable. As a matter of fact when I finally got my subscription I met a person who named a character "Youhavegottobekidding". When I first tried the game it was with a trial account and I started in the human area. The first thing I disliked was the click to move. I was just not used to using it for a battle. The second thing was the plain-ness of the game. It seemed to me to lack quality. I do not know if the trial was released with the Alt P key off but I remember it being very plain with hardly any foilage. In a nutshell it turned me off. My trial ended but something did not feel right. I felt as if something was missing. I tried the game again with another trial and felt more comfortable. The music, the movements and the overall feel of the human town suddenly seemed very down to earth to me. And I knew there was more to L2 then this. I just felt it. I then decided after reveiwng other MMOs to settle on Lineage 2. Something felt right to me about the game.

To my surprise, the more I played it, the more I really enjoyed it. It is more real to life than any other game I have played. (If you play it for a while and you will see what I mean). I decided that it was a must to have on my PC even if I didn't always keep the subscription going. It is on my desktop right next to my D&D online icon. :-D

Lineage 2 is probably one of the most under-rated games online. I am sure a good majority of people are waiting for Aion, Warhammer Online, and Guild Wars 2 or Diablo 3 to come out for online play. But if more people take a good look at what this game has to offer as I have done they will be interested in playing it for years to come. This game is a fantasy golden opportunity that has much to offer and I think it would be foolish to overlook it, especially if you like Role Playing Games.

Talk to anyone who has played it for a while and I am sure they will agree with me on just how good Lineage 2 really is. As word gets around I am sure the number of subscribers will increase, Though I would think that 1 million is already alot. Lol!

You can read about Gracia Part One and Two at the Gracia preview site. www.lineage2.com/gracia

Lonewolf · July 2008

Well since hearing about the Gracia release I am interested in Lineage 2 and will be signing up and I have never played the game

From the UK any suggestions what the best server to join would be?

Ephimero · July 2008

Originally posted by Lonewolf

Well since hearing about the Gracia release I am interested in Lineage 2 and will be signing up and I have never played the game

From the UK any suggestions what the best server to join would be?

Luna is kinda new, only Giran castle has been conquered thus far afaik, then Teon is packed with Euros, it's the most popular one, Franz is boring imho :P

xephonics · July 2008

omfg, even L2 is raising exp rates

I might go back if it is made less like a job and more like a damn game.

Though the interface is clunky as hell (and yes I've tried the new interface, and it is just fancier borders and thats about it), and the pve is still boring as hell (it is basdically built like today's f2p games with no good quests and just millions of monsters to kill)

I might try it but I doubt I would spend the money on this game again.

Greatness · July 2008

So true, my computer from 6 years ago, ya crazy! Geforce 4 MX could run Lineage 2 ! Although the game's specs are increasing I definitely could still use the Geforce 4 MX everywhere except at very big sieges, the new graphics card that come with regular computers could run it even better now.

xephonics · July 2008

on second thought I might give it a try, looked at the new update site, and I'm a bit impressed (though the UI still looks like shit )

Ephimero · July 2008

What's so bad about the interface?

I find it easy to use, all you need is f1-f12 and tab key, alt+m, alt+k and alt+x

laurius123 · July 2008

Good read. Hm CoH and CoV isn't their top games, Lineage franchise is .Lineage and Lineage 2 has each 1mln active suscribers. At best time Lineage had 3,2mln ant Lineage 2 2mln active suscribers. So they made best money of them.

Main market for NCsoft is Korea aren't hyping Lineage very much here. Whats a problem a think. If they would make less grind to L2 and hype it people would try it. Now people or don't know L2 or think its girindfest and change that will be hard.

Myself i love L2 my best played mmorpg, now waiting Aion. I wish ncsoft would take cear more eu/us market.

xephonics · July 2008

Originally posted by Ephimero

What's so bad about the interface?
I find it easy to use, all you need is f1-f12 and tab key, alt+m, alt+k and alt+x

its old and clunky, and no way to mod it, no way to move the chat windows, the movement interface is horrid, etc etc.

I can deal with it, but it is one of the worst interfaces I've dealt with, hell even Ragnarok Online felt better than L2

Raven · July 2008

Originally posted by xephonics

Originally posted by Ephimero

What's so bad about the interface?
I find it easy to use, all you need is f1-f12 and tab key, alt+m, alt+k and alt+x

its old and clunky, and no way to mod it, no way to move the chat windows, the movement interface is horrid, etc etc.

I can deal with it, but it is one of the worst interfaces I've dealt with, hell even Ragnarok Online felt better than L2

Not true you can move the chat windows, the interface has changed alot since pre-CT.

alyndale · July 2008

Thank you Kalay for your observations here. Lineage 2 was and I suppose still something of an emotion for me rather than an physical experience. I can say to those of you who visit this thread from time to time and wonder what L 2 is all about, I would say community, or at least in the beginning it was. With community there is tied an emotional bond with those that you grind and raid, fight and even die. I still find myself going back to days when it was simpler and less stress-inducing. You logged in, check your equipment and your quest log. Within minutes you received a pm from a friend and off you went.

Those days are gone now, and so too are many of those I experienced the beauty of this game with. While I agree that the graphics still rank in the high category and the game play is still basically the same fast excitement, be it PvE or PvP, there is something here that's missing, I feel. Did the merge help to inject new life into dying communities? Still a bit early to tell, but soon we shall see. Lineage 2 basically can not be enjoyed alone, at least not at higher levels. The content just doesn't allow that. L 2 at it core was and still remains about community. But in the past year that community has dwindled and the carefree experience of going out with a few of your friends to "level" just isn't the same.

Will new content bring new life to an old, tired venue? Maybe, but really depends on how much newness the content will be. Faster leveling will be nice, but as said before, those that subscribe now will see staring areas generally devoid of activity compared to what it was in 2004-2005. However, Gracia could bring enough new people online to bring life back into those starter areas. It's nice to hope for the best. Unlike many MMO's if you go to some archived forum's data base and look at threads for L 2, you'll see this emotional tie to this game. It was and still remains a most strange mixture of hate/love for the game. Seems, like the server politics you just can't be neutral about your feelings for Lineage 2.

Aion will come to the people of Korea and the rest of the Asian market by the end of the year. It should go "open beta" in the Euro/North America soon after. By this time, next year the world and NCSoft shall have a new MMO. Will NCSoft want to fund the further development of Lineage 2 after world release of Aion? I can only look at SoE with it's 3 MMO's now; EQ1, EQ2, and Vanguard. It is possible, but you must have a willing fan base that bring a cycling of new subscribers on a consistent basis to keep the game viable. I think L 2 will live on, but shall again see diminished fan base. Aion will most likely be NCSoft's flagship MMO.

Just my perception of this grand old game. I shall never forget my experiences as they brought pleasure, pain, excitement, sorrow, frustration, and companionship. All of which are an emotional tie to the world some of us know as L 2.

Raven · July 2008

Very well written, what i truly hope is they invest some money on L3, even tho some players are seeing Aion as "L3" its just not the same vibe.

Kalay · July 2008

I forget to mention a fifth reason and recently I guess that would be the most important. The addition of new content and the further change of interface. It looks to be for the better. The fifth reason would have to be the eaze of leveling and addition of detailed experience dsitribution.

www.lineage2.com/gracia

With the new Gracia Part 1 they are introducting even another change in the interface, which by the way has already been drastically changed in "The Kamael" upgrade.

The new interface addon will enable you to get experience with other areas of the game. Example: You will now be able to get experience when resting. This will bring the game playability to an even higher height.

*Additions "I" would like to see in the game is further detail in ground textures and water. (Foam and very small rocks or pebbles). Though what they do have already works. If you look at real life drastic changes to ground in close proximity does not change much. In WOW you go from one area to the other and the ground textures are quite different. The fauna in Linage 2 is fantastic! And I could not really ask for anything better. It is almost what I would consider a perfect multiplayer fantasy game. (Just to mention...Hope GW2 has a day and night cycle and that the specs are not too far from the first GW).

Thanks for your input and posts.

GlassEye

Torak · July 2008

Originally posted by Kalay

I think the amount of subscribers to Lineage 2 will be picking up in the near future for a number of reasons:
The first reason would have to be NCSoft Designers and their graphics.

L2 still looks great although it launched 4 years ago. Its starting to show its age but its a better game then junk like Conan and definetly runs better then Vanguard.

The second reason is that the current times are hard. 3rd and 4th quarter 2008.

I don't know how much of an impact this is going to have on the market but designers have been drifting to lower system specs for about a year or two now. One of the main issues in PC gaming in general is the constant escalating system requirements vs consoles which pretty much stay the same until a new model releases. It tends to annoy people when each time a game launches they need to go out a drop two to six hundred dollars on new hardware everytime a new game comes out.

Thirdly the game play itself. I think with the release of Gracia Part One And Two more and more people will start to see Lineage 2 for what it is.
IMHO, Not many western players really have not fully experienced L2 (especially US players). Most drop out because of the grind very early on. Thats why you see such lashing out at it. No one really knows what they are talking about.

Fourthly and this is for the people that appreciate good role playing games, Lineage 2 overall is a very good RPG. I am sure that I am not the only one who appreciates a good RPG, and as word gets around just how good looking and fun the game is to play their will be more subscribers.
Again, IMHO any MMORPG can be a good RPG. It takes the players to do that. All the game can do is provide the environment and a ruleset. Actual RP in L2 could get overshadowed by the raw competitiveness and aggressiveness of the players, especially at higher levels as clan politics starts to have impact....but thats a form of RP now, isn't it.

Lineage 2 is probably one of the most under-rated games online.

Depends where you are talking about. Its definetly under rated in the US but it is one of the most popular MMOs worldwide. The US players don't have the patience for the grind so they ignore it for the mostpart. You can see it throughout the games history in the west. The EU has consistently got more servers and now the US is consolidating. L2 is still a powerhouse in Korea and Asia.
IMHO where L2 is completely under rater is in the technical dept. The game runs like butter on warm toast, always has. It uses the same engine as Vanguard and we saw what kind of damage inept US designers can do to that.
Talk to anyone who has played it for a while and I am sure they will agree with me on just how good Lineage 2 really is. As word gets around I am sure the number of subscribers will increase, Though I would think that 1 million is already alot. Lol!
I doubt that but it has the potential of growing again. The main barrier to many western players was the grind and IF it really is going to change that much then we may see many of those folks return. Especially given the sorry state of new MMO's these days.
You are still going to have knotheads like the posters on this board who are going to constantely, no matter what NC does, throw junk like 'L2 is just a pointless grinder" out there.
No, a pointless grinder are games like Vanguard, where the devs never really fleshed out any compelling reason to keep playing the game other then to do more "kill 10 rats" content. VG has a ton to cool toys but nothing really to do with any of it. You can't fight from mounts, houses are static all you can do with them is decorate them, ships are nothing more then overpriced toys to sail around on...flying mounts only do just that, let you fly. There is no exclusive content accessible from these things, you can't fight from or on them, there is nothing basically to do with any of it. Its a nice PvE game if your hardware can handle it, other then that...unless "killing 10 rats" impresses you there isn't much reason to play it, like most MMOs.
Thats why you will always see high turnover in western games, they have no compelling reason to stick with them. Only WoW, EVE and GW really do this aside from L2, all successful MMO's. (Oh, by the way all of these games also have comparitively low system specs also...you would think devs would a pattern....) People float in and out of most western launches in a month or two because they are all the same crap, do "kill 10 rats" to level cap then raid. Hardly anything to get excited about.

Edit

I think a better "fifth reason" is the game world itself. The size and scope of Aden puts most games to shame. The player controllable castles at each town that have dynamic impact, the controllable fortresses scattered around the landscapes. The raw variety of environments. One of my favorite spots is the "sea of spores" but there are so many really unique places you can travel too.

And finally a good sixth reason is that NCSoft isn't finished with L2, it still has a lot coming and they STILL have big plans for L2. Like I said, it may not be popular in the US market but it has a very bright future ahead of it.

L2 always has been and remains the definitive fantasy MMORPG.

Sovrath · July 2008

To be honest, I like the interface. I don't like "everything" about it but I do like it. It's simple and out of the way.

I like the movement and it makes sense. If people have played diablow or neverwinter nights there should be no problems with movement.

I voted that the Graphics are better than other games but that really isn't true.

It's the ARt design that is better than other games. Games like LOTRO and EQ2 have far better graphics. But NOT art design.

Howdy, Stranger!

I Believe There Will Be More Subscribers And Why

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

I Believe There Will Be More Subscribers And Why

Comments