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Here's what i propose...
After logging onto MMORPG today and seeing a re-review of Ryzom, and all the people that havent really heard much about it, jump on the free trial bandwagon - I think we could do the same, if not better with DAOC.
If we get a kick-ass review, slap it on the front-page where it's viewed by thousands, then SURELY the numbers would grow. With the added help of us 'fans' spreading the good word - I'm sure we could have a solid playing base in a very short period of time.
DAOC is still the best game i've played and the only game that keeps my attention for longer than a few months! The PVP is unmatched IMO.
Lets push it?
Comments
There is one huge flaw in your idea, that review would have to be complete BullS*** to claim DAoC was still good. Many many people have played DAoC and most of them want a sequal, however EA is not capable of making that successful imo and Mythic is dead. The current state of DAoC is so far gone from the original game it isn't even recognizeable. The only chance DAoC will ever have is if they finally launch the origins server they promised 3 years ago. If any review comes out saying DAoC is good, then it will be a complete lie and instead of trying out free trials for DAoC we should boycott the crap out of whatever site had the nerve to publish such garbage.
I do admit, when ToA was released - that is when I left the game. Artifacts and ML's ruined the whole experience and gave players a huge advantage over those that didnt have the time to grind ML's etc.
This is where places like Molvik shine...
While I do agree that the game isnt nearly as good as it used to be - I still think it has potential. I'm stuck with what other game to try that will offer the same level of enjoyment?
Obviously my post is my opinion, but lack of something else still doesn't make DAoC good. I'm not currently playing an MMO, I am excited about a few and hope at least one of them is great enough to pay for. However I've done DAoC trials in the past and it seems the only consistancy in the game is that each time I try it again it is noticeably worse then the previous time. They have done nothing to show they diserve monthly payments nor is the game fun enough to warrant paying for. Infact, if it was free it is extremely doubtful I'd even play it at no cost in its current state, yes I think its gotten that bad.
If you want to save DAoC from its current fate your attention needs to be on EA and whats left of Mythic, pressuring them to finish work on origins. I doubt that will ever happen though, it didn't happen while Mythic was indie, its even more doubtful to happen under EA's rule, especially while they are trying to salvage Warhammer which in their opinion has a lot more to offer.
I worry about the review. In terms of mechanics and community, DAOC is by far the best mmo around. However, it has outdated graphics and a different UI and gameplay from what the current mmo community expects. This could make the review be worse. It certainly would need to be done by a seasoned (pre-WoW) and by someone who does not have bitterness towards the game.
Fact is games change and the newness of a game goes away. With it, goes the awsomeness people felt. I would like to see a DAOC 2, but the fact is if it was done, the same people bashing DAOC in this thread will bash that game as well no matter what the quality of the game is. ToA has simply become a convient thing to blame.
If DAoC 2 took the same path as post Catacombs (for me, it wasn't ToA that ruined it, it was catacombs that broke pvp and gameplay), then yes, I would bash it. So would every one else that played and loved DAoC, as the reason we want a sequel is to recapture the experience that the original DAoC offered, not the crap it has turned into today. There is nothing convient about having a reason something you loved turned to complete shit.
I'd still be playing it if they didn't ruin grouping and socialization with endless instances in catacombs. Or completely broke pvp for years with the classes introduced in catacombs that turned a game of numerous unique classes into a game where any of the new expansion classes could wipe full groups of the others solo. I'd still be playing if they didn't take lvl'ing from being an experience and adventure of its own and turn it into free lvl 20s and 30s and the rest of the way to 50 took less than 18 hours play time. I'd even still be playing if they didn't come out with the idea of server merges and server transfers 6 years ago but would only be willing to offer them if you paid for it, something that could have saved the game, or at least made it last a little longer they wanted to charge for!? Yep, clustering and the new single server, too little to late, they saw this problem years before hand and were to greedy to fix it. Guess what, a game ment to hold 3000 concurrent users in classical camelot now only holding 2000 or so spread across all the expansions and the kill task instances and catacombs instances.... is dead and empty and devoid of life which made the game so great when it released.
So yes, if they modeled DAoC 2 after the current state of DAoC, I would bash it, and rightfully so. If anyone asking for DAoC 2 wanted the current state of DAoC it is avialable for them to play and they need not ask for a sequel to get that. However, if they modeled DAoC 2 after the original version of DAoC, what would I or anyone else have to bash if we got what we asked for? The original DAoC grew to over 500,000 active subscribers before WoW came along, it was one of the biggest and most successful MMOs made. Who would be stupid enough to model a game after the dieing current state of DAoC with less then 25,000 subs and ignore the original which bosted as many as 500,000? (well besides EA....)
I'm not saying the original was flawless, it did have its issues. Buff bots, class balance, realm balance, glitches, hacks, exploits etc ... Exactly what you would except from an MMO, and that is what we paid monthly to have fixed. Instead we got a NGE in the form of expansions and patches, stuff we didn't want, but Mythic saw other companies doing it and decided they should too.
I wouldn't re-review DAoC.
It was groundbreaking in its day but has fallen way behind MMO technically speaking. Much of the newer content was added to appease / keep the older players not bring in new players. It is also somewhat "old school" and complex, let's face it, todays players would not appressiate that. It is also missing some basic communication tools that really ticks todays players off like: no notification when friends and guildies log on or off, to send tells you need to type out the other guys name and server name & number...rather then just click on their name...making commo a pain.
Mythic is basically just a logo now. EA pretty much desolved them.
There doesn't need to be a DAoC 2, the engine needs to be upgraded it is completely servicable and is used to make other games like Fallout 3 and Oblivion (Wahammer also)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamebryo
why do a full scale, tens of millions of dollars sequel when you only need to upgrade the engine and assets? Sequels NEVER pan out very well.
People want the old game with new graphics and improvements not sequels that are totally different games with the same name with a 2 added on.
I think that has been demonstrated more then enough times over the last decade. Players typically leave because the new shiny comes along. Games that have upgraded graphics have more longevity. EVE is a perfect example of this. They have had many graphic upgrades & game improvements over the years and in turn, have had continued growth. City of Heroes is following suit. These two aged games maintain much higher subscriber numbers then just about every new release.