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AOC failed....so what's next?
VultureSkull
Member UncommonPosts: 1,774
I just had a look at the Tabula Rasa forums here, as i saw the game going cheap at Game(UK),the first thread i saw there, "How is the game NOW?" and it makes AoC look good.
My question is, if you have recently left AoC, what are you waiting for, or what have you gone back to?
NEW GAMES
I know WAR is coming soon and many are looking forward to it, however, they have made major cuts, and the game play and graphics are very WoW-ie. Also it is an unknown at the moment, as no one can tell what it will be like until release.
WOTLK, coming soon, but many are tired of WoW, this expansion may have a few new things, but if you were utterly tired of WoW before it will take you less than 3 months to get to 80 and see most of the content.
Aion and TCOSB are also up this year, do not know so much about them, but until a game actual releases it would be unwise to have full faith in them.
Any other new MMO?
OLD GAMES
Back to your old game, WoW, EQ2, VG, LOTROL GW etc?
Are you back to stay for a considerable amount of time or until one of the new games comes along?
QUIT MMOS
Found joy in another genre? FPS, RTS, simulations etc?
Changed paltform....... to PS3, Xbox 360 etc?
Comments
Hahaha, so you finally realized AoC sucks didn't you?
I'll be going over to WAR.
The cut's were for the better. The 4 classes that got cut just couldn't be worked out well from a balance / fun perspective.
The cities that got cut got cut because it split the focus of RvR and made it much more like race vs race other then realm vs realm. The other RvR T4 zones have fortresses instead of cities now, and you'll need to take 2/3 of their forts to get to the city.
e:
Didn't take long did it?
I went back to EvE after 2 weeks of playing AoC. I actually liked AoC despite its shortcomings. The reason i quit is because i have become sick of the Leveling systems in MMORPGs. I dont have 8 hours a day to keep up with guildmates etc so i prefer to stick to the EvE style skills systems where i can log in and kill stuff then log out.
As for games im waiting on id say im excited about AION. It sounds very promising, sure its also a level based game but i still want to try it out. im not interested in WAR itl prob be a great game in its own right but i dont see much that entices me.
All new MMOs will fail since making a MMO had become too expensive. Companies will have to release their game too fast and will fail.
I disagree. For one, there are still plenty of large companies out there with plenty of cash making MMO's. Bioware is working on a KoTOR MMO, blizzard has WoW and is working on another one. Hell, Mythic has the financial power of EA backing them.
I think MMO gamers are jaded right now because we got two failures in a row (Vanguard and Age of Conan) which both seem to have tried for the same thing. Vanguard I could understand because Sigil just didn't know what to do -- but from what I understand Sony has it going well.
Age of Conan on the other hand is just getting ass raped by Funcom.
I disagree. If you, the MMO Company, have $40 million dollars in your budget and you have a production schedule of 5 years from now to complete the game, it's your own fault if you try to cram $50 million dollars and 6 years worth of goodies into the game.
The reason why so many MMOs are facing this problem is management. They are not managing time or resources. They need to scale back, do what can be done, and save the extra stuff for expansions.
You simply cannot cram a size 14 ass in size 5 jeans. It won't work and no one wants to see it anyway.
WAR for sure.
Who cares about wow-esqu graphics if it works.
I am really interested to play in a relatively more open world; public quests; meaningful world pvp. Plus a sense of epic mayhem.
I am worried about boring combat... it seems that has been improving, but we'll see.
Well I left just before subscriptions started for AOC. I really wanted the game to do well but obviously that did not happen for me. Two months later I gave Lord of the Rings Online a try and I'm a happy mmo player. The game is well polished, fun, lots of content and the community is great. I'm keeping my eye out on games such as Stargate Worlds, The Agency and Earthrise.
If you look at the games that have failed in the recent past they all have had this in common -- poor management and trying to do too much.
Dark and Light: some no name company tries making a HUGE WORLD and hails it as the best thing ever. If you're new start small.
Vanguard: Sigil tries to create a "true equal" to everquest, and just tries to put too much on the table at once. Between having a bitch of a time finding a sponsor, money problems and a pretty arrogant lead designer they were destined to fail. Now that its under control of Sony it's stablized.
Age of Conan: Funcom just has poor management skills and poor coders period. They took 5 years to try and make the game and I feel that they just did not have experienced coders for the job. They too I think tried to bite off more then they can chew, considering their last game was Anarchy Online.
{ Mod Edit }
WAR and it won't fail, it is full of win.
-----------------------
...I'm in your panties
I'll see ya there
Since AoC has shown everyone what not to do in a MMO. I'm hoping all the other designers learn from Funcoms failure and take notes.
I'll be going to Warhammer for awile at least and then to Aion (can't wait for this one) when its released.
Games I am looking forward to trying- The Old Republic (Bioware/Lucas arts creation). Also Earthrise, Fallen Earth and Champions online seem to have potential.
War=not for me as I never got into WoW for that cartoony style. Just not my thing. I also make it a lifes goal to avoid the WoW kiddies whenever possible.
Games I went to
EVE has been consistant for me since I left SWG back when NGE first hit.
I also went back to SWG for free vet month and supprisingly am having lots of fun with many of my very old time friends I havn't spoken to in a few years. Seems many vets are returning from what I am seeing.
NGE is much improved (although pre NGE I still miss). There is many things to do now. I am having fun. Just had to get over my pre nge jedi not being quite what he used to be.
SHOHADAKU
Well WAR may share some gameplay qualities with WoW, but thats because WoW ripped off every gameplay feature it has. WAR is RvR based, if its copying anything its copying DAoC, because that was the companies first MMO, and the game that invented RvR. If they follow DAoC, the game should be great.
As for other new MMOs aside from WAR, wait for Darkfall.
Old games? Vanguard.
Darkfall Travelogues!
As for the Op's question what to play after AOC...Hmm its really difficult to tell. I think I'll buy Spore when its beeing released in september. Then I will maybe try TCoS. And maybe WAR...I always tend to buy the games when its too early. Same with AOC. I could have waited for the first reviews, but I just wanted to play somthing so I bought it ... Its really sad and it's a waste of money, too
Well next in line is obviously WAR, which I hope to be able to try out in Beta from this weekend.
I switched to AoC after several years playing EQ2 because I just felt like a change. I still think that EQ2 is a great example of a real MMO despite starting to show it's age in terms of graphics & design, but I don't really feel like going back now that I have made the break.
I have read all the comments in this thread about WAR { Which do no longer exist. sorry. - Mod } but even if it doesn't turn out to be 'The Next Big Thing' it should still be a lot of fun for a few months at least which is all that matters.
The Warhammer franchise has been around in one form or another for 20 years & I really like the quirky humour which seems to come through quite well in the screenshots that I have seen. Also they promise special seasonal quests which should be good for a laugh if they are in the same warped style.
I would really love to find another game that I could play for a year or two, but until I find one I will have to make do with short term runs on whatever looks the most fun.
I don't actually think AoC is that bad, but it feels more like a console game than a MMORPG to me & just doesn't seem to have that long term appeal. The factors that make me feel that way are so right at the core of the game that I doubt I will return once I have finally quit. Still it was fun while it lasted.
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
Take the Hecatomb? TCG What Is Your Doom? quiz.
Maybe it failed for a lot of people, but not entirely for me: The gameplay is outstanding and from what I've heard from people playing WAR, it's more intricate than WAR's (can't reveal any details due to NDA).
What I really like about Age of Conan is that it is very twitch-skill based and allows for meaningful small-scale PvP. People are complaining that it is a one-shot fest, but the thing is that most classes can one-shot and it often boils down to whoever doesn't make the first mistake (or gets the jump in some cases). The aforementioned could also easily be resolved by making invulnerability/constitution cheaper, or by putting appropriate stats on the PvP armor (which is coming out this Wednesday).
So far Age of Conan is the only other MMORPG which held me long enough to attain Max Level (WoW being the only other one). While I entirely agree that the performance is horrible on most computers and the game is lacking content, the leveling is mostly short, grindless and enjoyable meaning that most people can attain 80 (max level) in a matter of days, so I really enjoyed not having to do endless-PvE chores as I would have in other games.
The ease of max-level attainment is I think the biggest reason why it is losing subs: LIke all MMORPGs at release, there is a lack of end-game content (although there are a couple raids i.e. Kylikki's), so most of the MMORPG experience is still packed in the 1-80 range. The game world is also VERY small compared to other games: You could probably fit the entire world of AoC in a part of ONE of WoW's continents (not including expansion). The instancing doesn't help much either, since load screens can be prolific if you're dying in a raid, or trying to run to that distant quest (although thankfully they now have extra teleport options on the Wagoneers).
All in all I think AoC is still a great game, albeit disappointing due to all of it's hype and performance....
Of course my opinion is dogshit on these forums, because I think WoW is a great game and could not bring myself to like EQ, so... que sera sera
This is a sequence of characters intended to produce some profound mental effect, but it has failed.
I'd like to reminds you all that we have a few rules on this forum. The most important one being "Thou shalt not insult".
I know WAR will have the NDA lifted soon and you are all excited about it, but, as long as it isn't lifted, please try to stick to it.
This thread has been "down for maintenance". Some of you might notice it is quite a bit shorter now. Please don't let it become a flamewaaagh again.
I guess I missed out on the 'flamewaugh'. Must have been interesting.
I left AoC and went back to Vanguard, after a long absence. I originally left VG because of the obvious problems that it had at release, mostly centered around performance issues. Man, Im so happy that I went back. The game always had enormous 'potential', and it appears that some of that potential is finally being realized. I just made a post in another thread about my recent experiences there, which I will largely repeat here.
You often hear that Vanguard is a sub-par game that is deserted and dead. But that is far from the truth. In the last two weeks my guild alone has added over 20 new members, all new players, many of them AoC refugees, who are very active, especially during prime time. Now, dont get me wrong. Because of the size of the world, you can adventure in remote regions where you wont see another soul for hours. I actually like that. I feel like a true explorer in those situations.
On the other hand, you can travel to the major quest hubs, which are always busy, and where groups are constantly being formed. The other night my friend and I journeyed to Dargun's Tomb, a very large, three leveled, premier dungeon way off the beaten path that when i played before used to be totally abandoned and empty of other players. To my surprise we found it packed with groups on every level. We rapidly formed our own group from players in the area, and adventured there for 8 hours straight, with the same group (no one left), and had an absolute blast hunting named for heroic gear, and doing the heroic weapon quest there. This was one of the best times Ive had in an MMO since the early EQ1 days--and virtually no one had any connection or lag problems in spite of the fact that the dungeon was packed with both mobs and other players. In fact, the performance (lack of lag) in Vanguard on my machine is much better than it is in EQ2 in the same situation--i.e., a packed dungeon.
Yesterday, my friend and I bought our first boat--a qualian caravel, capable of sailing the high seas. We immediately set out to explore some of the large islands located far off shore from the mainland, and we were flabbergasted by the huge ruins packed with mobs that we found on some of those islands. They were too high for us to tackle, but we made a mental note to visit those places later. I have to tell ya, standing at the helm of my seaworthy ship and sailing off to distant and mysterious islands in search of adventure was a unique experience, which I have never had in any other MMO. It was flat out liberating. I cant wait to do the quest for a flying mount later, which I understand is truly a long, epic, and difficult quest.
So to say that Vanguard is a sub-par game at this point is really misingenuous. i am a veteran of EQ1, EQ2, WoW, Lotro, CoH, and AoC (only 2 months in AoC), and I can genuinely say that playing Vanguard is the most fun Ive had in any MMO since the early days of EQ1. Dont listen to the naysayers, who had some bad experience with VG a year ago, or who are powergamers only interested in pvp, end-game, or rapid leveling. Vanguard is all about the journey...and it is a glorious and fun journey indeed.
No doubt Vanguard faces some stiff competition, with more to come. But I wouldnt be surprised if the subscription numbers continue to rise, as they did for EVE, over the next year or so. They are certainly rising now. From ancedotal reports of those who have recently given out a number of buddy keys to friends and prospective players, the retention rate (those who actually subscribe after trying it out) is pretty dog-gone high. The trial island should accelerate the growth the game substantially. With increased revenue, we may see more content coming down the pipeline from the Devs. In addition to the excellent APW raid zone, more are already on the way, along with some other high end dungeons. I dont think Vanguard is gonna die anytime soon. And it certaintly isnt dead now.
Unlike the AoC forums, which are filled with negativity, the Vanguard forums are largely positive. The players are generally happy, friendly, and helpful. Its a great community, one of the best Ive ever experienced. Moreover, AoC refugees are welcome there. You will have plenty of company.
Im sure, from this post, I will be accused of being a Van-boi. But believe me, I used to be a Van-hater. I felt the Devs had squandered what could have been a great game. My opinions have obviously changed. Who knows, yours might too if you give it a solid chance now.
Sony has done a decent job, but check this out, believe it or not, Vanguard was developed in 15 months!!!! And people wonder why they were falling through the world on the first day geez...