Gameplay rules, but if the game play (or the community) just isn't that much obviously better in the demo period, I'll go with a game where the gameplay and community are good and the graphics are prettier (assuming they don't lag me out, see #10 *heh*)
It's not just a purchase/choice, it's a relationship (and usually a subscription). Choosing an MMO is a lot like scoping out a potential GF/BF -- and let's face it, many of us spend more time with our games...:) You want to know their character and history, and how likely they are to screw you over, and if they're going to produce more drama or joy, and how likely it is they'll stick with you in a pinch, help you with your problems, understand your needs, and be someone you want to see -- and look *forward to seeing* -- every day for years. How often will they make you go shopping with them at the mall? How many relationships go south because one partner changes the rules radically after months or years? You get my point.
Not enough quests usually. Boring repeat quests. PVP. Price for MMOs should be 9.99 i think. There is much more but too much to mention. I like MMOs but I have not played a perfect one yet. EQ2 is the closest one to number 1 for me personally. I am a casual gamer although i spend long hours playing when i play.
I did enjoy the 10 reason and I can see there is something broken in the MMO world.
Here's what I would like to see in the future of MMO's:
Gaming Engines that look good and run good
I want to see MMO's on console systems, they can handle them...so what gives.
Subscription fee? Maybe 15 dollars is too high, maybe 10 dollars is too high, maybe a subscription fee should removed
Purchase the full retail game and when new content comes out...usually in the form of a patch we would pay for that in a DLC kind of way.
Grinding doesn't have to be a chore, there can be some grinding but don't make it take up so much of our time.
Pre-order bulls@it needs to stop with all of these goodies from dozens of retailers, I think there should only be a few pre-order bonuses and that's it, I don't want to have to check out 15 different places and see what would be better, this shouldn't be window shopping, I shouldn't be stressed out on if I selected the right pre-order or not.
Story that's gripping and pulls you in.
Missions that have more of a meaning to them and they actually make you want to read the text.
Voiced dialog from main NPC's, it's always nice to hear the voice of characters in a game. I will be happy to see how voice dialog rolls out with Star Wars TOR in 2011.
In-game or CGI cut scenes , this is a huge lack MMO's - I would love to see this more in a game and not a few times in the game, if even that.
Stop making EQ clones, make something different already. Everyone says oh it's a WOW clone, lol WOW is a heavily modified EQ clone.
I'm glad to see Character Creator's are becoming more important that's a plus right there.
Customizing your UI, most MMO's now have this which I am so glad to see, stares at Blizzard
Music that actually sounds great and doesn't become annoying after a hour, then you immediately are looking for the mute button. AOC to me had great music and still does to me....I want more of this. I'm sure Hans Zimmer or John Williams would like to do some MMO music.
Character animations, I would like to see more movement in fighting, walking and how toons are expressed in games.
Sandbox plz, instance zone with limited amount of ppl have been done way too much, I mean were paying money to play these games monthly, I want to see 100's to 1000's of ppl in the same zone.
Questing gives you great items, not just raids, pvp zones or dungeons/instances.
I'm glad to see that Final Fantasy XIV is going to step away from leveling/experience points, this could be something great to see in MMO's
Weather conditions in the game effect how gameplay feels and can change how you look at a fight.
Day and Night quests, having quest givers giving you something different if you seek them out at a different time in the day, this would make the game twice as enjoyable.
Great crafting options if the game has them, only a few games have done this well, but that's not enough.
Travel options, limiting players on ways to get around can cause us to play less cause it takes so much time to get from point A to point B.
Make exploring fun, maybe while wandering around something happens in real time that effects the area your in.
Skill system to have a easy layout and have guide lines that make it easier to spec your toon the correct way, more so you don't have to look at websites or search out forums to finding out what your doing incorrectly.
Going in water should not kill your toon...Aion needs to let you swim in water, what the hell is that about, I don't care if I'm wearing all metal, that is just plain ole stupid.
AOC allowed you to attack your foe's with multiple options, giving you a different feel when playing.
Flying and Mount combat, if the game has mount options, maybe a upgrade system that allows you to use your mount in a fight, this would be great to see, I know only a few MMO's have really tried and this and it's still in the trial and error stages.
Trading systems, this always need to be an option, sometimes you want to give a alt something, or a team mate a item or maybe your guild.
Auction Houses, this is a must like always, without this something is going to go wrong.
Spam bots need not to exist, this is why I ended my Aion account, this was a pain for me for over 2months and I got fed up with it.
Server lag needs to be address and corrected, WOW has been the biggest lag to this day and it doesn't matter how great my system is.
Being in a guild gives your perks and of course having guilds in a MMO.
Titles that actually give you stat boost, I loved this in Aion and I know a few other games out there do this as well.
Housing and Guild Housing, EQ2 was the first MMO I played that had this and I was impressed.
I have a feeling that Final Fantasy XIV will be the MMO a lot of ppl have been waiting for and I can't wait till it's launch.
Wildstar (2013) & Elder Scroll Online (2013)
Playing: Diablo 3, WOW, Far Cry 3 & X-Com.
Enjoyed: WOW 5 1/2 yrs, LOTRO 3yrs, GW 1/2yr, DFO 1yr, EVE Online 3yrs, and Huxley (Beta).
Failed to impress: GW2 3months, Tera Online 6 months (best combat system in any MMO I've played) STO 1/4yr, Aion 1/2yr, AoC 1yr, CO, Fallen Earth, DDO, EQ2 1/2yr, WAR 1/2yr, Lineage 2 and FF XI 1/2yr, FF XIV.
I also find the whole "lag is terrible!" thing ridiculous, especially when people can't even differentiate between ACTUAL lag (caused by internet connection and server-side connection or infrastructure) and their own client's hardware performance issues (weak PC)... even more when those very same people complain about lag in singleplayer games. /face palm
Good read.
Ever heard of optimisation issues? Ever heard of outdated and poorly visioned graphic concepts which does not realise itself couple years down the road upon game release (EQ2)?
The three that I use the most from your list all go together - Not interested in another themepark, grindfest, WoW clone. See? Three in one. The thing I don't like about this post is its intimation that most gripes are irrational, coming from the simple fact of human nature that we all like to bitch. The general notion that most MMO's are not particularly original, being slight variants on other recent MMO's, is a legitimate complaint. The problem with MMOs isn't that they've all gotten terrible since the good all days. It's that they're mostly the same. They have somewhat improved interfaces, slightly nicer graphics, slightly different combat, a slightly different setting, but they're not really doing anything different. And people do have a right to expect innovation. And yes, to return to my favorite bitch, no one is really looking to create an immersive world anymore. That's too much work. Quest/grind/level/repeat until endgame, cliche though it may be, is still at the heart of 99% of MMOs these days. There's nothing wrong with combat and advancement, but is a game that allows one to discover a new world too much to ask? It's a big job, but if you're not creating immersive worlds, then why are you creating an MMO?
The OP never said that complains are illegitimate. He just list 10 of the more common reasons to come here to spam and moan. Thank you for confirming the OP's list.
Can't agree no more with you. Living in Asia, I can understand that most F2P games are trying every methode to hog our time to stay online in the game world, But com'on, P2P games do this, too! The reason is beyond me.
And knowing that I'll get flamed pointing fingers, but I have to say WoW does this same mechanism of letting players flying all over the place between distant landmarks. Some times a 15min ride just to deliver a freakin quest.
I really understand the design of the whole culture that WoW wants to maintain in it's world, but is this traveling time really neccesary! I don't mind flying the first time, but everytime!!
I would really appreciate the Fallout3 design, where you discover it the first time on foot and can instantly back travel via the pipboy2000 map.
Each person can only hold enough knowledge to add one small rung to the ladder, but together we can climb to the moon.
A hate article from the site's Managing Editor, you gotta love it
#10 Lag – Is actually one of the greatest gamer excuses of all time. If I agg a mob I was not supposed to, it is lag, if I get killed by an opponent in FPS it is that darn lag!
#9 Graphics from 1999 – It was the non hardcore players who joined us with WoW and consoles that made the player population love graphics too much. That said we all love better graphics, it just part of the schizophrenia of being a gamer.
#7 This Game is for Griefers – I am a PvP fan, but not open PvP, servers which are open PvP seem to lose their population more quickly than those which are RvR or PvE. Why this is I am not sure, but it does not bode well for long term success.
#6 This Game is for Carebears – The whole gaming industry is moving towards a carebear doctrine so as to exapand the player base, perfectly legit gripe.
#3 It's a Grindfest – As much a result of our jaded tastes as of gaming design.
#2 Microtransactions are the Devil – They are and if the MMO you play has its way, that wallet of yours might get a bit too light to be a paperweight.
so, to sum up the article. - we have legit reasons to criticize most MMOs. - we all seem to like to generalize in how we do it. Neat list, not sure what the point is though, really.
Sarcasm and its a parody of the nonsense you read in any game forum.
#2 Microtransactions are the Devil – They are and if the MMO you play has its way, that wallet of yours might get a bit too light to be a paperweight.
I agree. I hate microtrans, especially if it is double dipping. You might, might be able to convince me to check out a F2P with micros, but when a P2P start nickle and diming customers who are ALREADY PAYING... I take issue.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
Just reading the responses made me think: can you imagine if we all refrained from using any of the 10 stated reasons for disliking a game (I'm with the poster that said hating a game = reason to get out more) in posts for a week? The forums would turn into tumbleweed city.
Just look at the posts about Star Trek Online (handy since OB started t'other day) and see how many posters are clinging to the gaming-whiner-decalogue Jon listed.
It's kinda scary.
I have an idea for a follow-up as well: 10 most over-used (and probably irrelevant) arguments for why a game "sucks" at launch. There'd be some crossover, to be sure, but room for classics like "OMG OB started 15 minutes late!!! /ragequit" or "ZOMG I can't roll a toon of blah faction and so can't play with my friends EVER!!!! /ragequit" (the latter being my favourite headdesk-inducement from the Aion launch).
I consider myself a MMO veteran and from my point of view, there are significant problems with lots of modern MMOs.
1) LAG... the real lag where you sit on 1Gbit line connected to Cisco Catalyst and further running on fiber 2.5Gb... and you try to cast a spell and wait seconds before the spell starts to activate (while keeping your 60FPS)... This was a great issue with Warhammer, the server lag was just nuts.
2) Freaking instances... for the Christ sake, I am going to play _M_MO to play with people, not to get sucked in some stupid instance to solo whole day... I can install offline RPG to do so. In my opinion instances just point out inability of game designers to design good game environment that doesn't need instances to keep stable.
3) Well balanced PvE/PvP part... If I have a mood, I want to PvE without being bothered by some PKer... when I have a mood to slaughter, I want to do that against people with same feeling, not to slaughter poor casual trying hard to earn his first shoes. The best solution to this I have ever met was in Dark Age of Camelot.
4) Binding stuff should not exist. To provide working balanced market, there should be as little binding of stuff as possible. Ofc, this puts A LOT of stress on the GMs etc. to catch and kick money/item sellers. But I am well willing to pay few more $ a month if I don't get any seller spam.
5) I want my MMO to be massive. If there is a war between fractions, I do not want to be limited by "40" players in the zone... Damn, if I am at war I bring an army and except an army to face, not some few volunteer raiding party. Ten years ago, Dark Age of Camelot handled hundreds of players in same zone with much less lag than Warhammer does with few dozens players these days (and I am not comparing abyssal performance gap between server hardware these days and 10 years ago).
6) Good game makes you sincerely hate your enemy... be it computer managed AI or player of enemy realm.
7) I want graphics to look realistic... in a way it doesn't look like animated cartoon. I want tree looking like a tree (and not like if it was designed for 6 yrs old), I want orc looking like an orc, not reminding me Mickey Mouse. Hope you get what I mean.
8) I want to have a community I feel good with... this is the most important factor in a MMO. Thing is back in days I started with MMOs, there wasn't that much people with usable internet access, it was mostly "older" people at age of university students or older. The games were designed for them. These days major community playing MMOs seem to be teenagers and as such the games are designed for them. I am getting too old to have fun with bunch of teens.
9) Grinding or questing... honestly it doesn't matter slightest... as long as you have fun doing it.
10) Don't get sucked in producers lines "Make a WoW clone, we give you 1/5 money they had and 1/3 time they had" to expect easy profit. Try something new, don't be afraid to bring out new ideas.
Honza, Paladin RR7L9, proud member of Herfølge Boldklub, Excalibur, Dark Age of Camelot ... retired
You could also add: 1) Game did not ship with the features they promised ( or that I read about somewhere or someone told me or I dreamt about last night) 2) Game is totally instanced and that spoils the immersion (I have a crap computer that takes ages on the loading screens) 3) The Char creator is shit ( I cant get big enough muscles on the men to satisfy my homoerotic slef loathing or big enough breasts on the female - im so lonely) 4) This game was so overhyped by the marketing team (I do not understand business and have a jaded opinion that devs make games just for me and I own their very souls) 5) I hate SOE (I still cant let go of the SWG past - even though there is a good probability i never even played that game) 6) It is is not a sandbox (I have no idea what a bloody sandbox is) 7) Its just more fantasy ( dragons make me pee myself a little) 8) Leveling is too damn hard / the quests are shit and repetitive (I may have to put some effort in) 9) Botters and spammers are ruining this game (I cant find teh IGNORE command or do not want to use it in case I miss something interesting) 10) They will not / could not / ignore / never will fix that bug that makes this game unplayable (I cant really be bothered playing anymore so all I have left is an opinion - must hate)
so, to sum up the article. - we have legit reasons to criticize most MMOs. - we all seem to like to generalize in how we do it. Neat list, not sure what the point is though, really.
so, to sum up the article. - we have legit reasons to criticize most MMOs. - we all seem to like to generalize in how we do it. Neat list, not sure what the point is though, really.
Most of the "Lists" published here usually don't have a point,but are purely for entertainment. Kind of like juggling cats.
I made a post about a game calling it a WoW clone. And what happens? I'm called a troll!
Why can't you be negative at this place? Must we all love every game?
How fun would it be if we all looked the same? Every movie was the same? If you say that a movie is a clone thats ok.... but here you are called a troll and then I get banned....
Played: From Earth & Beyond, Anarchy Online, Matrix Online, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Tabula Rasa (Beta), EvE Online, City of Villians, Atlantica Online, Guild Wars, Lineage 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, PlanetSide, RF Online, Second Life, Fallen Earth.
Good list but I wonder... when people say WoW didn't invent the theme park MMO what MMO do they think did? Agreed WoW launched amid other theme park launches but I can't think of any theme parks before 2004. UO? No. EQ? No. AC? No. DAoC? Ish. AO? No. AC2? Ish. SWG? No. EQ2? Yes. WoW? Heavily.
Unless my memory is foggy I can't remember an MMO that embraced the theme park model as fully as WoW... before WoW. No other game sets you lose in an open world and yet if you follow the quest lines, directs you through the content both solo and group. That said I didn't like WoW in 2004 and boy is it fugly today but design wise its impressive.
People who hate games need to sort out their priorities in life, seriously. Dislike? Ok, sure - but hate is a word way too strong to be wasted on something as trivial as a computer game.
Computer games live or die by the flow of coin. Don't like it, just stop paying time or money for it. Spending personal energy to "hate" a game is a bit of a waste, no?
OTOH, the phrase "trivial as a computer game" struck me.
I wonder if the poster has ever experienced "immersion" another standard that might have made the list...
"It's not immersive."
Ever gotten so caught up in the community, environment, etc. so that something happened that was special? Happened several times for me in EQ, but in about the same playing time never in WOW. And yet I enjoyed WOW. But for instance, I never experienced a moment in WOW when my group absolutely went berserk, laughing like hell, and couldn't think of it later without cracking up again. The game provided a setting where the interaction between people could reach "critical mass".
The first time it happened I realized it might just be a computer game, but the experiences, some times, were not trivial at all.
Come to think of it, one MMO in 10+ years had rare moments of "immersion." Strictly a personal thing, I am sure.
Comments
[quote]Originally posted by girlgeek
Do you seriously think WoW's graphics are WORSE than EQ1? O.o I mean, I can...
<snip>
Wow....just....wow.[/b][/quote]
ROFLMAO!!! Pwned...by a girlgeek!
They say that right before you die, your life flashes before your eyes. That's true, even for a blind man. ^DareDevil^
#9 Graphics like 1999
Gameplay rules, but if the game play (or the community) just isn't that much obviously better in the demo period, I'll go with a game where the gameplay and community are good and the graphics are prettier (assuming they don't lag me out, see #10 *heh*)
#4 SOE (er, sorry, This Game Shop) Sucks!
It's not just a purchase/choice, it's a relationship (and usually a subscription). Choosing an MMO is a lot like scoping out a potential GF/BF -- and let's face it, many of us spend more time with our games...:) You want to know their character and history, and how likely they are to screw you over, and if they're going to produce more drama or joy, and how likely it is they'll stick with you in a pinch, help you with your problems, understand your needs, and be someone you want to see -- and look *forward to seeing* -- every day for years. How often will they make you go shopping with them at the mall?
How many relationships go south because one partner changes the rules radically after months or years? You get my point.
Yrs,
Shava
Maybe 1 or 2 is most likely, but the rest dont make sense.
Kain_Dale
Not enough quests usually. Boring repeat quests. PVP. Price for MMOs should be 9.99 i think. There is much more but too much to mention. I like MMOs but I have not played a perfect one yet. EQ2 is the closest one to number 1 for me personally. I am a casual gamer although i spend long hours playing when i play.
People who hate games need to sort out their priorities in life, seriously.
Dislike? Ok, sure - but hate is a word way too strong to be wasted on something as trivial as a computer game.
I did enjoy the 10 reason and I can see there is something broken in the MMO world.
Here's what I would like to see in the future of MMO's:
Gaming Engines that look good and run good
I want to see MMO's on console systems, they can handle them...so what gives.
Subscription fee? Maybe 15 dollars is too high, maybe 10 dollars is too high, maybe a subscription fee should removed
Purchase the full retail game and when new content comes out...usually in the form of a patch we would pay for that in a DLC kind of way.
Grinding doesn't have to be a chore, there can be some grinding but don't make it take up so much of our time.
Pre-order bulls@it needs to stop with all of these goodies from dozens of retailers, I think there should only be a few pre-order bonuses and that's it, I don't want to have to check out 15 different places and see what would be better, this shouldn't be window shopping, I shouldn't be stressed out on if I selected the right pre-order or not.
Story that's gripping and pulls you in.
Missions that have more of a meaning to them and they actually make you want to read the text.
Voiced dialog from main NPC's, it's always nice to hear the voice of characters in a game. I will be happy to see how voice dialog rolls out with Star Wars TOR in 2011.
In-game or CGI cut scenes , this is a huge lack MMO's - I would love to see this more in a game and not a few times in the game, if even that.
Stop making EQ clones, make something different already. Everyone says oh it's a WOW clone, lol WOW is a heavily modified EQ clone.
I'm glad to see Character Creator's are becoming more important that's a plus right there.
Customizing your UI, most MMO's now have this which I am so glad to see, stares at Blizzard
Music that actually sounds great and doesn't become annoying after a hour, then you immediately are looking for the mute button. AOC to me had great music and still does to me....I want more of this. I'm sure Hans Zimmer or John Williams would like to do some MMO music.
Character animations, I would like to see more movement in fighting, walking and how toons are expressed in games.
Sandbox plz, instance zone with limited amount of ppl have been done way too much, I mean were paying money to play these games monthly, I want to see 100's to 1000's of ppl in the same zone.
Questing gives you great items, not just raids, pvp zones or dungeons/instances.
I'm glad to see that Final Fantasy XIV is going to step away from leveling/experience points, this could be something great to see in MMO's
Weather conditions in the game effect how gameplay feels and can change how you look at a fight.
Day and Night quests, having quest givers giving you something different if you seek them out at a different time in the day, this would make the game twice as enjoyable.
Great crafting options if the game has them, only a few games have done this well, but that's not enough.
Travel options, limiting players on ways to get around can cause us to play less cause it takes so much time to get from point A to point B.
Make exploring fun, maybe while wandering around something happens in real time that effects the area your in.
Skill system to have a easy layout and have guide lines that make it easier to spec your toon the correct way, more so you don't have to look at websites or search out forums to finding out what your doing incorrectly.
Going in water should not kill your toon...Aion needs to let you swim in water, what the hell is that about, I don't care if I'm wearing all metal, that is just plain ole stupid.
AOC allowed you to attack your foe's with multiple options, giving you a different feel when playing.
Flying and Mount combat, if the game has mount options, maybe a upgrade system that allows you to use your mount in a fight, this would be great to see, I know only a few MMO's have really tried and this and it's still in the trial and error stages.
Trading systems, this always need to be an option, sometimes you want to give a alt something, or a team mate a item or maybe your guild.
Auction Houses, this is a must like always, without this something is going to go wrong.
Spam bots need not to exist, this is why I ended my Aion account, this was a pain for me for over 2months and I got fed up with it.
Server lag needs to be address and corrected, WOW has been the biggest lag to this day and it doesn't matter how great my system is.
Being in a guild gives your perks and of course having guilds in a MMO.
Titles that actually give you stat boost, I loved this in Aion and I know a few other games out there do this as well.
Housing and Guild Housing, EQ2 was the first MMO I played that had this and I was impressed.
I have a feeling that Final Fantasy XIV will be the MMO a lot of ppl have been waiting for and I can't wait till it's launch.
Wildstar (2013) & Elder Scroll Online (2013)
Playing: Diablo 3, WOW, Far Cry 3 & X-Com.
Enjoyed: WOW 5 1/2 yrs, LOTRO 3yrs, GW 1/2yr, DFO 1yr, EVE Online 3yrs, and Huxley (Beta).
Failed to impress: GW2 3months, Tera Online 6 months (best combat system in any MMO I've played) STO 1/4yr, Aion 1/2yr, AoC 1yr, CO, Fallen Earth, DDO, EQ2 1/2yr, WAR 1/2yr, Lineage 2 and FF XI 1/2yr, FF XIV.
Ever heard of optimisation issues? Ever heard of outdated and poorly visioned graphic concepts which does not realise itself couple years down the road upon game release (EQ2)?
The OP never said that complains are illegitimate. He just list 10 of the more common reasons to come here to spam and moan. Thank you for confirming the OP's list.
Can't agree no more with you. Living in Asia, I can understand that most F2P games are trying every methode to hog our time to stay online in the game world, But com'on, P2P games do this, too! The reason is beyond me.
And knowing that I'll get flamed pointing fingers, but I have to say WoW does this same mechanism of letting players flying all over the place between distant landmarks. Some times a 15min ride just to deliver a freakin quest.
I really understand the design of the whole culture that WoW wants to maintain in it's world, but is this traveling time really neccesary! I don't mind flying the first time, but everytime!!
I would really appreciate the Fallout3 design, where you discover it the first time on foot and can instantly back travel via the pipboy2000 map.
Each person can only
hold enough knowledge to add one small rung to the
ladder, but together we can climb to the moon.
A hate article from the site's Managing Editor, you gotta love it
#10 Lag – Is actually one of the greatest gamer excuses of all time. If I agg a mob I was not supposed to, it is lag, if I get killed by an opponent in FPS it is that darn lag!
#9 Graphics from 1999 – It was the non hardcore players who joined us with WoW and consoles that made the player population love graphics too much. That said we all love better graphics, it just part of the schizophrenia of being a gamer.
#8 Just Another Theme Park – Well usually, it is.
#7 This Game is for Griefers – I am a PvP fan, but not open PvP, servers which are open PvP seem to lose their population more quickly than those which are RvR or PvE. Why this is I am not sure, but it does not bode well for long term success.
#6 This Game is for Carebears – The whole gaming industry is moving towards a carebear doctrine so as to exapand the player base, perfectly legit gripe.
#3 It's a Grindfest – As much a result of our jaded tastes as of gaming design.
#2 Microtransactions are the Devil – They are and if the MMO you play has its way, that wallet of yours might get a bit too light to be a paperweight.
so, to sum up the article.
- we have legit reasons to criticize most MMOs.
- we all seem to like to generalize in how we do it.
Neat list, not sure what the point is though, really.
Sarcasm and its a parody of the nonsense you read in any game forum.
I agree. I hate microtrans, especially if it is double dipping. You might, might be able to convince me to check out a F2P with micros, but when a P2P start nickle and diming customers who are ALREADY PAYING... I take issue.
parrotpholk-Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better.
How about a list "Top Ten MMO excuses"?
like...
"This game is not for everyone"
"You have to be in a guild/corp/kinship/whatever to start the fun"
"the fun starts at level X"
"Go back to WoW"
Loved the article, it made me giggle.
Just reading the responses made me think: can you imagine if we all refrained from using any of the 10 stated reasons for disliking a game (I'm with the poster that said hating a game = reason to get out more) in posts for a week? The forums would turn into tumbleweed city.
Just look at the posts about Star Trek Online (handy since OB started t'other day) and see how many posters are clinging to the gaming-whiner-decalogue Jon listed.
It's kinda scary.
I have an idea for a follow-up as well: 10 most over-used (and probably irrelevant) arguments for why a game "sucks" at launch. There'd be some crossover, to be sure, but room for classics like "OMG OB started 15 minutes late!!! /ragequit" or "ZOMG I can't roll a toon of blah faction and so can't play with my friends EVER!!!! /ragequit" (the latter being my favourite headdesk-inducement from the Aion launch).
I consider myself a MMO veteran and from my point of view, there are significant problems with lots of modern MMOs.
1) LAG... the real lag where you sit on 1Gbit line connected to Cisco Catalyst and further running on fiber 2.5Gb... and you try to cast a spell and wait seconds before the spell starts to activate (while keeping your 60FPS)... This was a great issue with Warhammer, the server lag was just nuts.
2) Freaking instances... for the Christ sake, I am going to play _M_MO to play with people, not to get sucked in some stupid instance to solo whole day... I can install offline RPG to do so. In my opinion instances just point out inability of game designers to design good game environment that doesn't need instances to keep stable.
3) Well balanced PvE/PvP part... If I have a mood, I want to PvE without being bothered by some PKer... when I have a mood to slaughter, I want to do that against people with same feeling, not to slaughter poor casual trying hard to earn his first shoes. The best solution to this I have ever met was in Dark Age of Camelot.
4) Binding stuff should not exist. To provide working balanced market, there should be as little binding of stuff as possible. Ofc, this puts A LOT of stress on the GMs etc. to catch and kick money/item sellers. But I am well willing to pay few more $ a month if I don't get any seller spam.
5) I want my MMO to be massive. If there is a war between fractions, I do not want to be limited by "40" players in the zone... Damn, if I am at war I bring an army and except an army to face, not some few volunteer raiding party. Ten years ago, Dark Age of Camelot handled hundreds of players in same zone with much less lag than Warhammer does with few dozens players these days (and I am not comparing abyssal performance gap between server hardware these days and 10 years ago).
6) Good game makes you sincerely hate your enemy... be it computer managed AI or player of enemy realm.
7) I want graphics to look realistic... in a way it doesn't look like animated cartoon. I want tree looking like a tree (and not like if it was designed for 6 yrs old), I want orc looking like an orc, not reminding me Mickey Mouse. Hope you get what I mean.
8) I want to have a community I feel good with... this is the most important factor in a MMO. Thing is back in days I started with MMOs, there wasn't that much people with usable internet access, it was mostly "older" people at age of university students or older. The games were designed for them. These days major community playing MMOs seem to be teenagers and as such the games are designed for them. I am getting too old to have fun with bunch of teens.
9) Grinding or questing... honestly it doesn't matter slightest... as long as you have fun doing it.
10) Don't get sucked in producers lines "Make a WoW clone, we give you 1/5 money they had and 1/3 time they had" to expect easy profit. Try something new, don't be afraid to bring out new ideas.
Honza, Paladin RR7L9, proud member of Herfølge Boldklub, Excalibur, Dark Age of Camelot ... retired
That made me laugh a little more
To entertain the readers?
Most of the "Lists" published here usually don't have a point,but are purely for entertainment. Kind of like juggling cats.
DarkFall FAQ - Read then Question with Boldness
Needed an outlet for nerd rage should have been on the list
Kind of funny that you made this list.
I made a post about a game calling it a WoW clone. And what happens? I'm called a troll!
Why can't you be negative at this place? Must we all love every game?
How fun would it be if we all looked the same? Every movie was the same? If you say that a movie is a clone thats ok.... but here you are called a troll and then I get banned....
Played:
From Earth & Beyond, Anarchy Online, Matrix Online, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Tabula Rasa (Beta), EvE Online, City of Villians, Atlantica Online, Guild Wars, Lineage 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, PlanetSide, RF Online, Second Life, Fallen Earth.
Good list but I wonder... when people say WoW didn't invent the theme park MMO what MMO do they think did? Agreed WoW launched amid other theme park launches but I can't think of any theme parks before 2004. UO? No. EQ? No. AC? No. DAoC? Ish. AO? No. AC2? Ish. SWG? No. EQ2? Yes. WoW? Heavily.
Unless my memory is foggy I can't remember an MMO that embraced the theme park model as fully as WoW... before WoW. No other game sets you lose in an open world and yet if you follow the quest lines, directs you through the content both solo and group. That said I didn't like WoW in 2004 and boy is it fugly today but design wise its impressive.
Anywho back to EQ2:SF beta
#5 It's in Direct Competition with MMO Y, Which is Much More Awesome
Actually we have quite alot of arguments regarding this in VG forums, VG vs EQ2 when players question why soe doesn't promote VG...
RIP Orc Choppa
Computer games live or die by the flow of coin. Don't like it, just stop paying time or money for it. Spending personal energy to "hate" a game is a bit of a waste, no?
OTOH, the phrase "trivial as a computer game" struck me.
I wonder if the poster has ever experienced "immersion" another standard that might have made the list...
"It's not immersive."
Ever gotten so caught up in the community, environment, etc. so that something happened that was special? Happened several times for me in EQ, but in about the same playing time never in WOW. And yet I enjoyed WOW. But for instance, I never experienced a moment in WOW when my group absolutely went berserk, laughing like hell, and couldn't think of it later without cracking up again. The game provided a setting where the interaction between people could reach "critical mass".
The first time it happened I realized it might just be a computer game, but the experiences, some times, were not trivial at all.
Come to think of it, one MMO in 10+ years had rare moments of "immersion." Strictly a personal thing, I am sure.
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Rose-lipped maidens,
Light-foot lads...
bad patches are the number 1 reason why i quit some mmo's.....