Forever? No. But it can influence you for a damn long time. The thing is, back when most of us started playing there wasn't enough variety and options to allow for game preference. You pretty much either likes one of the 2-3 games released or you didn't. Nowadays we have options. My preferences have changed with time and experience. My taste in MMOG's has developed over the years and what I want now is nothing like what I wanted back when I started.
I don't think my early MMOG experiences coloured my tastes at all. My first MMOG was UO; I played a PK.
My second MMOG was SWG; I was primarily a craftsman.
My third MMOG was/is WoW; I'm a PVE player.
My fourth MMOG was/is EVE; I'm a miner / occasional pirate. I mourn the loss of features that were well-implemented, but I don't let my past experiences colour my judgements of new releases; I judge them purely on their own merits.
Another theory I have and I think we all try to ignore it is, Age.
I was more PvP when I was 18-22, and now that Im 27 I see myself liking PvE and crafting more.
My first MMO was meridian 59. I think it and UO influenced me in hoping that some day, so game gets PvP done right because both games hinted at how fun it could be fore me.
My first MMORPG was UO. I think that I tend to look for something closer to my second and/or third games, though, which were EverQuest and Asheron's Call.
Whether or not I stick to a new game has more to do with the people I play with than any other factor. I tend to stick to games when I am playing with people I know IRL, even if they aren't quite my ideal game. But if you take that factor out, yeah, I'm still looking for EQ or AC... And, for that matter, I still play EQ from time to time.
... This is where I draw the line: __________________.
I don't think my early MMOG experiences coloured my tastes at all. My first MMOG was UO; I played a PK.
My second MMOG was SWG; I was primarily a craftsman.
My third MMOG was/is WoW; I'm a PVE player.
My fourth MMOG was/is EVE; I'm a miner / occasional pirate. I mourn the loss of features that were well-implemented, but I don't let my past experiences colour my judgements of new releases; I judge them purely on their own merits.
Another theory I have and I think we all try to ignore it is, Age.
I was more PvP when I was 18-22, and now that Im 27 I see myself liking PvE and crafting more.
I can see where some may go with that theory. My experiences were just the opposite. I don't think I ever PvP'd in Ultima Online. At that time I held firm a belief that those in game were supposed to be working together against the "game". I was heavily influenced by my tabletop pencil and paper gaming for sure and didn't realize how many people enjoyed being the asshat when they could do so in an anonymous venue. Same with Asheron's Call. The only time I ever PvP'd in that game was late one night, after about a case and a half of beer a friend and I decided to roll on darktide and run around naked. We were jumped not 2 minutes into the game, got killed, logged out, deleted the characters and drank more beer.
Now, after logging countless hours playing FPS' online and a good PvP experience in DAoC (a game where to me gave a justifiable reason for PvP other than "I'm l337 and b/c I can"), I've tried PvP some in a few games. Heck, that's really the only thing I can say I liked about WoW was that it gave an storyline reason for PvP (I didn't/don't like the implementation, however).
The games being made today (post WoW) barely give any consideration to anything other than combat, and don't do that so great. While the combat may be considered mediocre at best in the first games, at least that had very good storylines (or gave you the tools to make them evidence the Shadowclan Orcs in UO) which gave them a certain longevity. Games today are made for a box sale and to play 4-6 months and then dispose of them, as I see it. If you have a short attention span, limited play time or have to have some form of "cookie" for the 20 minutes you log in, then you have a target rich environment. Those that have more time to devote to their gaming hobby (which to me is a hobby just like fishing, hunting, playing sports), it's a challenge to find anything that is so well-rounded and produced that you get a satisfactory return on your time invested.
BTW, thanks for the pic compliment. Been running with it since I signed up long ago, lol.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
I have noticed that most MMORPG players seem to have a strong affinity to their first serious MMORPG. UO, EQ, Asheron's Call, DAOC, SWG, ect.. original players are having a tough time sticking to the newer games. I played Asheron's Call:Darktide server(ffa pvp) and other than WoW and SWG, I am having trouble sticking to a game for more than 1-2 months. I absolutely love the character skill creation freedom of Asheron's Call and I haven't really came across a new game I like. Loot is so random, unique armor/weapons drop every kill. Twitch based combat, player housing, tons of dungeons. ect... Everyone seems to be waiting for that new game alot like their old one.
Yup, I started with AC1 DT and UO, and have I'm still waiting for a modern version of these games to come out - you know, open world, tonnes of freedom, ffa PVP, item loot, skill based progression, dodgable projectiles, challenging quests, great community... etc etc...
One main feature I don't see coming with these new mmos is group leveling faster then solo leveling. Most are quest base and anti social till end game.
I don't go back to the old games because they done the same thing to them.
I think newer mmos should start with very small levels caps. Maybe around 20 or so but a lot longer to level. This way gear and any old content doesnt become wasted content.
-- "Any free people have the right to choose how it wants to be govern thats the essence of democracy. It's sad when America has chosen for the stability and consistency of a dictatorship and doing it democratically" -utnow
Not me. I mean, sure, some things last, but I found I sorted the stuff out. My first MMO was SWG, and I regard it the best MMO days I had. There never was a community like there, and that I kept in my expectations. However, the sandbox style, no quests, just hunt/grind isnt my kind of game anymore.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I honestly agree with op. I first started with EQ1 and then jumped to SWG PRE-CU. I still am waiting for a game to come out thats similiar to this. EQ1 has gotten so easy now the threat is gone. I remember Raiding back in the day, Raiding Plane offear when it was in its infancy. Entering the zone alone could cost hours if 1 person screwed up and agroed to much. If you died you were lucky if you got your corpse back. The game started going down hill after planes of power, the 4th expansion. I have played it off an on since just before the Omens of war expansion. Its just too easy now. No death penalty, Summon your corpse to a safe zone. Mercs to solo taking away from grouping. SWG pre-cu and pre-nge. Man I remember pvping on that game and then crafting also. With player housing, And decorating your house. Lets see another game come out with that one. Using random items to create magnificant designs. People got really creative on that game. Those 2 games along were wrecked by SOE and smedly at the wheel. He should have been fired. Anyway, I still have not played a game besides EQ1 and SWG (Pre-nge aka F*** up #2) that has held my attention for more then 1-2 months at a time. I wish another company would try to make another game that mirrors SWG PRE-CU or even pre-nge
Waiting to see Star trek online, SW: Kotor, the SWG emulator.
Have played, EQ1, EQ2, WoW, CoH/V. Eve, AoC, War, SWG (PRE-CU :: CU :: NGE), Tabula, Planetside, PotBS, Matrix, Vanguard, LOTRO, Ragnarok, Runescape, Guildwars, Navy field, Silkroad
Definitiely there is what I like to call the Golden Era
This is the time around DAOC/ SWG/ EQ and so on.
This is when the MMO world was kind of just forming properly - no one had hit the big time and the games were as mainstream as they are today - it was more the select guys (usually considered the geeks) playing and loving these games.
Everything coming out was a new idea and pretty much the world was their oyster in terms of groundbreaking ideas.
For me its SWG.
My love of star wars, was fed in huge doses with Star wars in an online game. I was really joining another galaxy the music for the loading screen for tatooine alone used to get me all excited. Loading into a sandstorm was nothing short of epic in my eyes.
Nothing will compare with my first fight against a Krayt - the whole guild i was in plus others all trying to down this beast with effects going off everywhere filling my screen with pure joy.
Then it was all about social with a game on it.
Todays games aren't geared to this - todays games are quick fixes for the new generation of "must have now" players. The ones who dont enjoy playing a class but do enjoy playing what it perceived as top of the pile - that to them is enjoyment. solo grinding and all the other bumpf that can make you cringe and see the worst side of greed/anger etc...
So whilst yep we all love our first game theres also a good reason for it. todays games have changed along with the players.
UO (briefly), AO, SWG, PlanetSide (admitatly not an MMORPG but MMO none the less), Matrix Online, COH, EvE...
I can't name just one as the largest influence...more over it was a continual refinement of taste and what was truly important in a game...which culminated in the top 3 things I need to have truly make a game my home.....because lets be honest....if any single was a "perfect fit" we would still be playing it today......
1. Setting (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, ect). I am truly glad to see some games moving into unchartered terriroty in respect to the game setting they are incorporating...in particular Fallen Earth...its about time some one made a Post Apacolyptic MMO (this is probaly due to my favorite RPG being the Fallout series....that and healthy dosses of movies like Mad Max and Ice Pirates growing up).
2. PvP Enviroment. Its odd but I am not actualy a constant PvPer. But I hate the idea of being forced into not being one if I want. It also hampers RPing, again not big on it but If i want to I want to be able to....which brings me to my final "must have"
3. Sand box. TRUE sand box enviroment. The closests I have found to this was is fact my first MMO UO. The fact that "Lord British" was killed by that tool Garriot is awsome...even epic. The closest current evolution is EvE...yet still very restrictive due to not wanting to offend either side of the hardliner player spectrum (carebears and grefiers).
I wait for the day a game captures all elements effectivly in a FUN manner....until that time I search....
I have noticed that most MMORPG players seem to have a strong affinity to their first serious MMORPG. UO, EQ, Asheron's Call, DAOC, SWG, ect.. original players are having a tough time sticking to the newer games. I played Asheron's Call:Darktide server(ffa pvp) and other than WoW and SWG, I am having trouble sticking to a game for more than 1-2 months. I absolutely love the character skill creation freedom of Asheron's Call and I haven't really came across a new game I like. Loot is so random, unique armor/weapons drop every kill. Twitch based combat, player housing, tons of dungeons. ect... Everyone seems to be waiting for that new game alot like their old one.
I disagree. I do think it's hard to backtrack on quality though.. it's hard to leave a polished and balanced game and start over in a game that is in a worse state. The mantra of "its new, give it time" just doesn't hold up. Yes, games like AOC have gotten better over the past year, but so have the games that it is trying to catch up to. When AOC launched, EVE was a much better game. A year later, AOC has gotten better, but the distance between it and EVE has widened... it has lost ground.
I started in UO.. played for 5 years (quit at Age of Shadows)
Went to Earth and beyon for a year and loved it, right up til they closed it
Played WOW and love it. I still play it but get bored a few months a year.
When I get bored with WOW, I try other games. This past year I tried 4 games
1. AOC - lasted very briefly at launch (2 weeks) but then came back and am playing it, even though it is far inferior to WOW
2. War - lasted 2 month, very very boring at lvl 40
3. EVE - been playing it and loving it for about 8 months now
4. Darkfall - lasted about 2 weeks on this garbage game.
Not sticking with AOC, War and DF had nothing to do with me starting with UO, or with my playing WOW... except for the fact that I realize there is no reason to actively play an inferior game when there are much better games out there. EVE, WOW and the original UO are great games, the others aren't.
My first MMO was FFXI which was my only MMO for 4 years. Through that game I learned that in most cases if I want something I best be prepared to bust my balls to get it. Also there was a great deal of depth in that game from just the moon phases, time of day, and day of the week alone. So far I just haven't found MMO that was as challenging or satisfying.
I partially disagree with the OP. I do not want any of my new games to be like any of my first MMOs (I played text based MUDs, then UO, then EQ - EQ was my first MMO not counting MUDs that I got really into). I do wish they'd implement some of the features of the MUDs, but some of the harsher things in UO and EQ are huge turnoffs for me when I see them implemented in one of the newer generation MMOs. If anything I'm looking right now for something completely new and different.
Here are a few things I can think of that existed in these old MUDs, EQ, and UO that I never want to see in a MMO:
- Huge death penalities. While I think in today's games the death penalty is way too soft, these old games had way too harsh a death penalty. A person shouldn't lose more than 1 hour worth of game time from dying (even if they die deep within some dungeon). It's just ridiculous that because you were being adventurous and wandering into somewhere dangerous that you should have to suffer something that harsh. Games are suppose to be fun.
- Really long downtimes. Sorry I don't want to stare at a wall or spellbook while I wait for my mana or health bar to tick up slowly. I want to play the game.
- Boring combat. The DnD combat system just isn't fun for me anymore. Take after single player games and make combat more interesting. No more hotkey pressing. If I wanted to hit keys all day monotonously I'd get a job in Data Entry or something similar.
- Killing rats and bats... I'm a hero/adventurer, hire an exterminator, not me. I certainly don't want to have any chance of being killed by these rats and bats. There also should be any ridiculously high level rats or bats unless it's done as a joke or something. Start me off at the very least killing some sort of monster or if you are going to be creative at least make it a wolf. Something that could possibly kill a humanoid (and keep in mind we are suppose to be really powerful humanoids) aside from maybe contracting rabies.
- Make the tutorial interesting and informative. Don't jump me straight into the game. Just give me the option to skip it if I want to dive straight into the game and figure out everything. Let it introduce some backstory for my character. Popups are not a good way of giving tutorials.
- Ridiculously long forced time sinks to prevent quick raid progression. For example needing keys or attunement to enter the next raid instance or requiring the raid to repeatly farm the previous raid boss to get some sort of drop that prevents an ability. EQ is notorious for these huge time sinks. Even WoW has quite a few. Just make the encounter harder instead of relying on this gimmicky crap to slow the hardcore from blowing through your content.
- Make it so every class can solo effectively. Let me actively look for a group while I can solo (EQ actually had a decent looking for group system I believe they put in place during the Planes of Power expansion). It's not fun sitting around waiting for people so I can actually play the game.
I partially disagree with the OP. I do not want any of my new games to be like any of my first MMOs (I played text based MUDs, then UO, then EQ - EQ was my first MMO not counting MUDs that I got really into). I do wish they'd implement some of the features of the MUDs, but some of the harsher things in UO and EQ are huge turnoffs for me when I see them implemented in one of the newer generation MMOs. If anything I'm looking right now for something completely new and different. Here are a few things I can think of that existed in these old MUDs, EQ, and UO that I never want to see in a MMO: - Huge death penalities. While I think in today's games the death penalty is way too soft, these old games had way too harsh a death penalty. A person shouldn't lose more than 1 hour worth of game time from dying (even if they die deep within some dungeon). It's just ridiculous that because you were being adventurous and wandering into somewhere dangerous that you should have to suffer something that harsh. Games are suppose to be fun. - Really long downtimes. Sorry I don't want to stare at a wall or spellbook while I wait for my mana or health bar to tick up slowly. I want to play the game. - Boring combat. The DnD combat system just isn't fun for me anymore. Take after single player games and make combat more interesting. No more hotkey pressing. If I wanted to hit keys all day monotonously I'd get a job in Data Entry or something similar. - Killing rats and bats... I'm a hero/adventurer, hire an exterminator, not me. I certainly don't want to have any chance of being killed by these rats and bats. There also should be any ridiculously high level rats or bats unless it's done as a joke or something. Start me off at the very least killing some sort of monster or if you are going to be creative at least make it a wolf. Something that could possibly kill a humanoid (and keep in mind we are suppose to be really powerful humanoids) aside from maybe contracting rabies. - Make the tutorial interesting and informative. Don't jump me straight into the game. Just give me the option to skip it if I want to dive straight into the game and figure out everything. Let it introduce some backstory for my character. Popups are not a good way of giving tutorials. - Ridiculously long forced time sinks to prevent quick raid progression. For example needing keys or attunement to enter the next raid instance or requiring the raid to repeatly farm the previous raid boss to get some sort of drop that prevents an ability. EQ is notorious for these huge time sinks. Even WoW has quite a few. Just make the encounter harder instead of relying on this gimmicky crap to slow the hardcore from blowing through your content. - Make it so every class can solo effectively. Let me actively look for a group while I can solo (EQ actually had a decent looking for group system I believe they put in place during the Planes of Power expansion). It's not fun sitting around waiting for people so I can actually play the game.
I would have disagreed with you a year ago, but now I totally agree. I used to be an avid fan of EQ, FFXI, and I did some UO playing back in the day. However after trying to go back and play EQ a few weeks ago its just so annoying to have that much downtime. I really can't sit around waiting for MP when I have a limited amount of time to play games.
Though I do miss the depth of these games a lot of that can still be achieved without the harsher negatives that you list. Someday a developer will combine the best aspects and make something truely unique.
I suppose it's possible... but maybe not. WoW was my first mmo, but i have played CoX for about 6 months, and WAR since befor elaunch and have since quit wow and cox... really enjoying WAR... no thoughts of going back to either. Although i AM looking forward to SW, and Alganon (I know, it looks like wow)
CoX = City of Heroes/Villians right?
I forgot about that game, it does have very nice skill customization. It was alittle too monotenous for me, but fun while I played.
ya the city of games.. and yes the skill customization was fun.. i just hate dealing with the account management from that company, as i quit coh and came back with cov and had issues getting my account reinstated... they left a bad taste in my mouth
My first MMO was Everquest, and I started it about three months after it launched. I hated it. I kept wanting to like it, but I came from a MUDding background and I'd seen everything it had to offer (races, classes, mobs, even /commands) in stock text-based games, but those stock text-based games had less downtime, more frequent updates, and were free to play. Still, I wasn't a pvper, and UO was the only other MMO out at the time, so I stuck with EQ for 6 months while hoping it would grow on me.
At the six month mark, Asheron's Call launched. I hadn't seen anything like it before. An interesting combination of skill-based and level-based progression, extensive stat customization, more avatar customization than EQ offered, lots of soloability, 126 levels (increased to 275 in the game's first expansion pack), completely original mobs (no dragons or elves to be seen!), and a progressing story. All those years I spent MUDding taught me which features I didn't like in online games, but Asheron's Call taught me what I did like. So, for me, it wasn't my first game that influenced me, it was my second.
I think there's some truth to the old adage that its never as good as the first time. That's magnified by the current crop of games that are all very similar in their attempts to emulate WoW to one degree or another. Those older games you mentioned (DaoC, UO, SWG, AC, etc) were all fairly unique titles, and you just don't have as much diversity in today's mmo lineup. That's the main reason I game-hop so much and have such a short attention span when it comes to these post-2004 titles. Each new game feels like I've already played it, because I basically have.
I am not sure that your first try at anything influences your taste forever... In terms of gaming, I started off in LotR but have left it for TCoS due to it being too easy and, imo, boring. By the cliched thinking of the 'first love' theory LotR would be the game I spend the rest of my time from now on chasing right? I am here to say that it won't be
I have noticed that most MMORPG players seem to have a strong affinity to their first serious MMORPG. UO, EQ, Asheron's Call, DAOC, SWG, ect.. original players are having a tough time sticking to the newer games. I played Asheron's Call:Darktide server(ffa pvp) and other than WoW and SWG, I am having trouble sticking to a game for more than 1-2 months. I absolutely love the character skill creation freedom of Asheron's Call and I haven't really came across a new game I like. Loot is so random, unique armor/weapons drop every kill. Twitch based combat, player housing, tons of dungeons. ect... Everyone seems to be waiting for that new game alot like their old one.
...all too true!! My first was Meridian 59 which I still think had the most fun PvP ever, and at the time there was just nothing else ever like it...
The graphics in it suck by today's standards, even the worst of the new games blow the M59 engine away, but I can't say I ever had as much fun or staying power in any other game. EQ was close, though.
Doesn't really apply for me. My first mmorpg was EQ and as much as I enjoyed the game for its time I'm very happy at the advances made in the genre since then.
No more camping and grinding mobs over and over again
No more waiting eons to regen things like mana
No more lag from hell from having umpteen toons in one area selling their wares
No more non-story line mmos (eh...well they have improved a bit at least), etc.
I could go on and on really...
The only thing I miss from that game is the community seemed to be more close knit and a lot more helpful/friendly than what you come across in more modern mmos. That would be it.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
I often wonder as Ultima Online was my first mmorpg.
I wonder because I loved the skill system and later found I hated level systems etc (for an mmo).
By this I mean *I* wonder if the first mmorpg I played was say EverQuest... would I have decided I liked it or would I have hated it. Then probably never played another mmorpg...
Comments
Forever? No. But it can influence you for a damn long time. The thing is, back when most of us started playing there wasn't enough variety and options to allow for game preference. You pretty much either likes one of the 2-3 games released or you didn't. Nowadays we have options. My preferences have changed with time and experience. My taste in MMOG's has developed over the years and what I want now is nothing like what I wanted back when I started.
Another theory I have and I think we all try to ignore it is, Age.
I was more PvP when I was 18-22, and now that Im 27 I see myself liking PvE and crafting more.
My first MMO was meridian 59. I think it and UO influenced me in hoping that some day, so game gets PvP done right because both games hinted at how fun it could be fore me.
My first MMORPG was UO. I think that I tend to look for something closer to my second and/or third games, though, which were EverQuest and Asheron's Call.
Whether or not I stick to a new game has more to do with the people I play with than any other factor. I tend to stick to games when I am playing with people I know IRL, even if they aren't quite my ideal game. But if you take that factor out, yeah, I'm still looking for EQ or AC... And, for that matter, I still play EQ from time to time.
...
This is where I draw the line: __________________.
Another theory I have and I think we all try to ignore it is, Age.
I was more PvP when I was 18-22, and now that Im 27 I see myself liking PvE and crafting more.
I can see where some may go with that theory. My experiences were just the opposite. I don't think I ever PvP'd in Ultima Online. At that time I held firm a belief that those in game were supposed to be working together against the "game". I was heavily influenced by my tabletop pencil and paper gaming for sure and didn't realize how many people enjoyed being the asshat when they could do so in an anonymous venue. Same with Asheron's Call. The only time I ever PvP'd in that game was late one night, after about a case and a half of beer a friend and I decided to roll on darktide and run around naked. We were jumped not 2 minutes into the game, got killed, logged out, deleted the characters and drank more beer.
Now, after logging countless hours playing FPS' online and a good PvP experience in DAoC (a game where to me gave a justifiable reason for PvP other than "I'm l337 and b/c I can"), I've tried PvP some in a few games. Heck, that's really the only thing I can say I liked about WoW was that it gave an storyline reason for PvP (I didn't/don't like the implementation, however).
The games being made today (post WoW) barely give any consideration to anything other than combat, and don't do that so great. While the combat may be considered mediocre at best in the first games, at least that had very good storylines (or gave you the tools to make them evidence the Shadowclan Orcs in UO) which gave them a certain longevity. Games today are made for a box sale and to play 4-6 months and then dispose of them, as I see it. If you have a short attention span, limited play time or have to have some form of "cookie" for the 20 minutes you log in, then you have a target rich environment. Those that have more time to devote to their gaming hobby (which to me is a hobby just like fishing, hunting, playing sports), it's a challenge to find anything that is so well-rounded and produced that you get a satisfactory return on your time invested.
BTW, thanks for the pic compliment. Been running with it since I signed up long ago, lol.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Yup, I started with AC1 DT and UO, and have I'm still waiting for a modern version of these games to come out - you know, open world, tonnes of freedom, ffa PVP, item loot, skill based progression, dodgable projectiles, challenging quests, great community... etc etc...
Needless to say, I am still waiting.
One main feature I don't see coming with these new mmos is group leveling faster then solo leveling. Most are quest base and anti social till end game.
I don't go back to the old games because they done the same thing to them.
I think newer mmos should start with very small levels caps. Maybe around 20 or so but a lot longer to level. This way gear and any old content doesnt become wasted content.
--
"Any free people have the right to choose how it wants to be govern thats the essence of democracy. It's sad when America has chosen for the stability and consistency of a dictatorship and doing it democratically" -utnow
Not me. I mean, sure, some things last, but I found I sorted the stuff out. My first MMO was SWG, and I regard it the best MMO days I had. There never was a community like there, and that I kept in my expectations. However, the sandbox style, no quests, just hunt/grind isnt my kind of game anymore.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I honestly agree with op. I first started with EQ1 and then jumped to SWG PRE-CU. I still am waiting for a game to come out thats similiar to this. EQ1 has gotten so easy now the threat is gone. I remember Raiding back in the day, Raiding Plane offear when it was in its infancy. Entering the zone alone could cost hours if 1 person screwed up and agroed to much. If you died you were lucky if you got your corpse back. The game started going down hill after planes of power, the 4th expansion. I have played it off an on since just before the Omens of war expansion. Its just too easy now. No death penalty, Summon your corpse to a safe zone. Mercs to solo taking away from grouping. SWG pre-cu and pre-nge. Man I remember pvping on that game and then crafting also. With player housing, And decorating your house. Lets see another game come out with that one. Using random items to create magnificant designs. People got really creative on that game. Those 2 games along were wrecked by SOE and smedly at the wheel. He should have been fired. Anyway, I still have not played a game besides EQ1 and SWG (Pre-nge aka F*** up #2) that has held my attention for more then 1-2 months at a time. I wish another company would try to make another game that mirrors SWG PRE-CU or even pre-nge
Waiting to see Star trek online, SW: Kotor, the SWG emulator.
Have played, EQ1, EQ2, WoW, CoH/V. Eve, AoC, War, SWG (PRE-CU :: CU :: NGE), Tabula, Planetside, PotBS, Matrix, Vanguard, LOTRO, Ragnarok, Runescape, Guildwars, Navy field, Silkroad
no i dont think so
i started with daoc and moved to other games like shadowbane and went on to swg
i played a lot of different mmorpg over the years
while my first game is surly something nice to remember i was spoiled by the character system of swg
after that i just cant stand it anymore to be pressed in a fixed class system .. it feels so limited
swg was the 4 th mmorpg i played
Definitiely there is what I like to call the Golden Era
This is the time around DAOC/ SWG/ EQ and so on.
This is when the MMO world was kind of just forming properly - no one had hit the big time and the games were as mainstream as they are today - it was more the select guys (usually considered the geeks) playing and loving these games.
Everything coming out was a new idea and pretty much the world was their oyster in terms of groundbreaking ideas.
For me its SWG.
My love of star wars, was fed in huge doses with Star wars in an online game. I was really joining another galaxy the music for the loading screen for tatooine alone used to get me all excited. Loading into a sandstorm was nothing short of epic in my eyes.
Nothing will compare with my first fight against a Krayt - the whole guild i was in plus others all trying to down this beast with effects going off everywhere filling my screen with pure joy.
Then it was all about social with a game on it.
Todays games aren't geared to this - todays games are quick fixes for the new generation of "must have now" players. The ones who dont enjoy playing a class but do enjoy playing what it perceived as top of the pile - that to them is enjoyment. solo grinding and all the other bumpf that can make you cringe and see the worst side of greed/anger etc...
So whilst yep we all love our first game theres also a good reason for it. todays games have changed along with the players.
"during the war......"
UO (briefly), AO, SWG, PlanetSide (admitatly not an MMORPG but MMO none the less), Matrix Online, COH, EvE...
I can't name just one as the largest influence...more over it was a continual refinement of taste and what was truly important in a game...which culminated in the top 3 things I need to have truly make a game my home.....because lets be honest....if any single was a "perfect fit" we would still be playing it today......
1. Setting (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, ect). I am truly glad to see some games moving into unchartered terriroty in respect to the game setting they are incorporating...in particular Fallen Earth...its about time some one made a Post Apacolyptic MMO (this is probaly due to my favorite RPG being the Fallout series....that and healthy dosses of movies like Mad Max and Ice Pirates growing up).
2. PvP Enviroment. Its odd but I am not actualy a constant PvPer. But I hate the idea of being forced into not being one if I want. It also hampers RPing, again not big on it but If i want to I want to be able to....which brings me to my final "must have"
3. Sand box. TRUE sand box enviroment. The closests I have found to this was is fact my first MMO UO. The fact that "Lord British" was killed by that tool Garriot is awsome...even epic. The closest current evolution is EvE...yet still very restrictive due to not wanting to offend either side of the hardliner player spectrum (carebears and grefiers).
I wait for the day a game captures all elements effectivly in a FUN manner....until that time I search....
MMORPGS are like Ecstacy tablets. It's GREAT the first time around but after the second or third time it gets very diluted.
I disagree. I do think it's hard to backtrack on quality though.. it's hard to leave a polished and balanced game and start over in a game that is in a worse state. The mantra of "its new, give it time" just doesn't hold up. Yes, games like AOC have gotten better over the past year, but so have the games that it is trying to catch up to. When AOC launched, EVE was a much better game. A year later, AOC has gotten better, but the distance between it and EVE has widened... it has lost ground.
I started in UO.. played for 5 years (quit at Age of Shadows)
Went to Earth and beyon for a year and loved it, right up til they closed it
Played WOW and love it. I still play it but get bored a few months a year.
When I get bored with WOW, I try other games. This past year I tried 4 games
1. AOC - lasted very briefly at launch (2 weeks) but then came back and am playing it, even though it is far inferior to WOW
2. War - lasted 2 month, very very boring at lvl 40
3. EVE - been playing it and loving it for about 8 months now
4. Darkfall - lasted about 2 weeks on this garbage game.
Not sticking with AOC, War and DF had nothing to do with me starting with UO, or with my playing WOW... except for the fact that I realize there is no reason to actively play an inferior game when there are much better games out there. EVE, WOW and the original UO are great games, the others aren't.
I agree.
My first MMO was FFXI which was my only MMO for 4 years. Through that game I learned that in most cases if I want something I best be prepared to bust my balls to get it. Also there was a great deal of depth in that game from just the moon phases, time of day, and day of the week alone. So far I just haven't found MMO that was as challenging or satisfying.
I partially disagree with the OP. I do not want any of my new games to be like any of my first MMOs (I played text based MUDs, then UO, then EQ - EQ was my first MMO not counting MUDs that I got really into). I do wish they'd implement some of the features of the MUDs, but some of the harsher things in UO and EQ are huge turnoffs for me when I see them implemented in one of the newer generation MMOs. If anything I'm looking right now for something completely new and different.
Here are a few things I can think of that existed in these old MUDs, EQ, and UO that I never want to see in a MMO:
- Huge death penalities. While I think in today's games the death penalty is way too soft, these old games had way too harsh a death penalty. A person shouldn't lose more than 1 hour worth of game time from dying (even if they die deep within some dungeon). It's just ridiculous that because you were being adventurous and wandering into somewhere dangerous that you should have to suffer something that harsh. Games are suppose to be fun.
- Really long downtimes. Sorry I don't want to stare at a wall or spellbook while I wait for my mana or health bar to tick up slowly. I want to play the game.
- Boring combat. The DnD combat system just isn't fun for me anymore. Take after single player games and make combat more interesting. No more hotkey pressing. If I wanted to hit keys all day monotonously I'd get a job in Data Entry or something similar.
- Killing rats and bats... I'm a hero/adventurer, hire an exterminator, not me. I certainly don't want to have any chance of being killed by these rats and bats. There also should be any ridiculously high level rats or bats unless it's done as a joke or something. Start me off at the very least killing some sort of monster or if you are going to be creative at least make it a wolf. Something that could possibly kill a humanoid (and keep in mind we are suppose to be really powerful humanoids) aside from maybe contracting rabies.
- Make the tutorial interesting and informative. Don't jump me straight into the game. Just give me the option to skip it if I want to dive straight into the game and figure out everything. Let it introduce some backstory for my character. Popups are not a good way of giving tutorials.
- Ridiculously long forced time sinks to prevent quick raid progression. For example needing keys or attunement to enter the next raid instance or requiring the raid to repeatly farm the previous raid boss to get some sort of drop that prevents an ability. EQ is notorious for these huge time sinks. Even WoW has quite a few. Just make the encounter harder instead of relying on this gimmicky crap to slow the hardcore from blowing through your content.
- Make it so every class can solo effectively. Let me actively look for a group while I can solo (EQ actually had a decent looking for group system I believe they put in place during the Planes of Power expansion). It's not fun sitting around waiting for people so I can actually play the game.
I would have disagreed with you a year ago, but now I totally agree. I used to be an avid fan of EQ, FFXI, and I did some UO playing back in the day. However after trying to go back and play EQ a few weeks ago its just so annoying to have that much downtime. I really can't sit around waiting for MP when I have a limited amount of time to play games.
Though I do miss the depth of these games a lot of that can still be achieved without the harsher negatives that you list. Someday a developer will combine the best aspects and make something truely unique.
CoX = City of Heroes/Villians right?
I forgot about that game, it does have very nice skill customization. It was alittle too monotenous for me, but fun while I played.
ya the city of games.. and yes the skill customization was fun.. i just hate dealing with the account management from that company, as i quit coh and came back with cov and had issues getting my account reinstated... they left a bad taste in my mouth
My first MMO was Everquest, and I started it about three months after it launched. I hated it. I kept wanting to like it, but I came from a MUDding background and I'd seen everything it had to offer (races, classes, mobs, even /commands) in stock text-based games, but those stock text-based games had less downtime, more frequent updates, and were free to play. Still, I wasn't a pvper, and UO was the only other MMO out at the time, so I stuck with EQ for 6 months while hoping it would grow on me.
At the six month mark, Asheron's Call launched. I hadn't seen anything like it before. An interesting combination of skill-based and level-based progression, extensive stat customization, more avatar customization than EQ offered, lots of soloability, 126 levels (increased to 275 in the game's first expansion pack), completely original mobs (no dragons or elves to be seen!), and a progressing story. All those years I spent MUDding taught me which features I didn't like in online games, but Asheron's Call taught me what I did like. So, for me, it wasn't my first game that influenced me, it was my second.
Ultima Online was my first, and favorite. Havn't found one that ive enjoyed as much as UO.
QFT
I am not sure that your first try at anything influences your taste forever... In terms of gaming, I started off in LotR but have left it for TCoS due to it being too easy and, imo, boring. By the cliched thinking of the 'first love' theory LotR would be the game I spend the rest of my time from now on chasing right? I am here to say that it won't be
...all too true!! My first was Meridian 59 which I still think had the most fun PvP ever, and at the time there was just nothing else ever like it...
The graphics in it suck by today's standards, even the worst of the new games blow the M59 engine away, but I can't say I ever had as much fun or staying power in any other game. EQ was close, though.
Doesn't really apply for me. My first mmorpg was EQ and as much as I enjoyed the game for its time I'm very happy at the advances made in the genre since then.
No more camping and grinding mobs over and over again
No more waiting eons to regen things like mana
No more lag from hell from having umpteen toons in one area selling their wares
No more non-story line mmos (eh...well they have improved a bit at least), etc.
I could go on and on really...
The only thing I miss from that game is the community seemed to be more close knit and a lot more helpful/friendly than what you come across in more modern mmos. That would be it.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
I often wonder as Ultima Online was my first mmorpg.
I wonder because I loved the skill system and later found I hated level systems etc (for an mmo).
By this I mean *I* wonder if the first mmorpg I played was say EverQuest... would I have decided I liked it or would I have hated it. Then probably never played another mmorpg...