I played when it was released and I think it probably did fail. There just wsn't much new content to justify the cost, it was 90% repeatable quests which are pretty boring.
Though if they want to try and get more people in to the game right now is the best time (as in this week). Blizzard just screwed up big time with WoW and theres riots going on with many people threatening to quit. If AoC offered some free play time I'm sure people would be tempted away.
Someone should suggest it to them. LOTRO is doing it and so is Warhammer :P
AoC has such a bad reputation right now I doubt it could retain many new subs at this point, maybe they could attract some people to play, but then you have to retain them.
Going free to play is probably a good option for them. Although with the expansion just out it wouldn't be the best idea to piss off even more people. Not in this moment anyway. But given that Morrison said he wasn't averse to the idea of microtransactions in a recent interview with massively. It remains something that they will I am sure consider at some point.
AoC has such a bad reputation right now I doubt it could retain many new subs at this point, maybe they could attract some people to play, but then you have to retain them.
Actually, AoC isn't doing that bad in that area, certainly better than before the launch of the RotGS. Ok, you will always have the people who will never stop hating AoC or Funcom feeling personally affronted and hurt by what happened at the launch 2 yrs ago and some people who've grown to hate AoC in the course of time, but looking around on the several sites and forums general opinion tends to go towards that AoC has certainly redeemed itself somewhat compared to how it was.
I myself would say that the RotGS expansion left a better impression than a SoM did for LotrO or WotLK did for WoW, but that's my opinion.
Not that the expansion boosted the subs that much, but we were talking about general reputation.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
AoC has such a bad reputation right now I doubt it could retain many new subs at this point, maybe they could attract some people to play, but then you have to retain them.
Actually, AoC isn't doing that bad in that area, certainly better than before the launch of the RotGS. Ok, you will always have the people who will never stop hating AoC or Funcom feeling personally affronted and hurt by what happened at the launch 2 yrs ago and some people who've grown to hate AoC in the course of time, but looking around on the several sites and forums general opinion tends to go towards that AoC has certainly redeemed itself somewhat compared to how it was.
I myself would say that the RotGS expansion left a better impression than a SoM did for LotrO or WotLK did for WoW, but that's my opinion.
Not that the expansion boosted the subs that much, but we were talking about general reputation.
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
Well... there's a lot of ruckus about the whole Real ID thing and real names on WoW forums, so I'm expecting a horde of WoW gamers to give LotrO another try
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
Well... there's a lot of ruckus about the whole Real ID thing and real names on WoW forums, so I'm expecting a horde of WoW gamers to give LotrO another try
If you think there will be an exodus of players leaving WoW because some feature on the official forum, you are delusional or simply one of those "haters gonna hate" types that won't grasp the success of WoW.
Relax, don't get your pants stirred, you're starting to sound like a WoW fanboi
I'm merely commenting on the reactions of a number of WoW players in the gazillion threads that weren't happy or cancelled their sub, besides the smiley should have told you that I wasn't being that serious about it. If that missed your eye, then I'm telling you now.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
from what I have read in the FAQ's the LoTRO F2P is simply nothing more than generous free trial. To get all of the content it will still cost you 15 bucks a month or you buy quests by zones. The unlimited free quest content is the 1-20 zones and then just the epic quest line up to lvl 50. I would not worry too much. There are other restrictions also
AoC has such a bad reputation right now I doubt it could retain many new subs at this point, maybe they could attract some people to play, but then you have to retain them.
Actually, AoC isn't doing that bad in that area, certainly better than before the launch of the RotGS. Ok, you will always have the people who will never stop hating AoC or Funcom feeling personally affronted and hurt by what happened at the launch 2 yrs ago and some people who've grown to hate AoC in the course of time, but looking around on the several sites and forums general opinion tends to go towards that AoC has certainly redeemed itself somewhat compared to how it was.
I myself would say that the RotGS expansion left a better impression than a SoM did for LotrO or WotLK did for WoW, but that's my opinion.
Not that the expansion boosted the subs that much, but we were talking about general reputation.
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
LoTR sub numbers are also much higher and much more stable than AoC atm.
Relax, don't get your pants stirred, you're starting to sound like a WoW fanboi
I'm merely commenting on the reactions of a number of WoW players in the gazillion threads that weren't happy or cancelled their sub, besides the smiley should have told you that I wasn't being that serious about it. If that missed your eye, then I'm telling you now.
I hate the REAL ID change in wow. But two points to keep in mind. It only will prevent some people from posting on the forums, and only a very small majority of players ever posted on the forums to begin with.
1. Small percentage post
2. Only some percentage of them actually hate the change
3. Of those that post on the forums, AND hate the change, only a small percentage will quit playing WOW, most will just quit posting like me.
I do think it was bad timing on Blizzards part though. If people are going to quit WOW and try another game, it is almost alwayas in the 'dry' months leading up to an expansion. Things are pretty boring right now and there are at least 4 months til the expansion. Perfect time to try LOTRO.
As for AOC... there is very little chance a player would leave wow and be satisfied with AOC. Even the best and most polished part of AOC (tortage) isn't done as well as WOW zones.. and if any player did ever get to 80 in AOC, the repetition would crush them. WOW has a lot A LOT more options at endgame then AOC. Doing a handful of repeatable quests to grind faction rep is what WOW was 4 years ago in vanilla... and that is all AOC has at the moment
#53 on Xfire today, holding steady at pre-expansion levels.
up to 45 today with the vet come back emailouts. Amazing how no one uses XFire but when they have push a free trial , the numbers go up... 3rd quarter financial report will determine if the expansion was a success, unless it goes F2P before then of course
LotRO is Free 2 Play... Or should I say Free 2 Scam.
Are you somehow implying that going F2P is the final proof of a game being a failure?
Funny because I thought you loved LotRO..
actually LoTRO wil have a 3 tiered system, free, premium, and VIP and that is still in beta testing. The F2P is really justa extended no time limit trial. and one that does not confine people to 1/10 of the world as AoCs free trial does
To answer your question what I was implying that Funcom has not demonstrated anything original since the launch of AoC so I figure they will copy Turbine and go F2P. Monkey see, monkey hungry for a banana, monkey copy what seems to be working for other companies. Funcom is destined to be the follower it seems
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now. Also, don't see how you think Funcom is some kind of follower, every company borrows ideas from other games in some way. Funcom was the 1st company to put out an M-rated mmo, so not sure who they "followed" to do that.
Anyways, the reason the trial on AoC is smaller than LOTRO is because AoC is still a subscription based game. LOTRO wants to bring you in with the hopes you'll buy points here and there for ingame perks.
#53 on Xfire today, holding steady at pre-expansion levels.
up to 45 today with the vet come back emailouts. Amazing how no one uses XFire but when they have push a free trial , the numbers go up... 3rd quarter financial report will determine if the expansion was a success, unless it goes F2P before then of course
LotRO is Free 2 Play... Or should I say Free 2 Scam.
Are you somehow implying that going F2P is the final proof of a game being a failure?
Funny because I thought you loved LotRO..
actually LoTRO wil have a 3 tiered system, free, premium, and VIP and that is still in beta testing. The F2P is really justa extended no time limit trial. and one that does not confine people to 1/10 of the world as AoCs free trial does
To answer your question what I was implying that Funcom has not demonstrated anything original since the launch of AoC so I figure they will copy Turbine and go F2P. Monkey see, monkey hungry for a banana, monkey copy what seems to be working for other companies. Funcom is destined to be the follower it seems
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now. Also, don't see how you think Funcom is some kind of follower, every company borrows ideas from other games in some way. Funcom was the 1st company to put out an M-rated mmo, so not sure who they "followed" to do that.
Anyways, the reason the trial on AoC is smaller than LOTRO is because AoC is still a subscription based game. LOTRO wants to bring you in with the hopes you'll buy points here and there for ingame perks.
First company to put out a AAA M rated MMO to be precise, pixel boobies! woo hoo!
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now.
the "fatality " system goes as far back as DaoC where you had to have one ability on a attack be sucessful to use a followup attack ability. Also saw it in EQII group attacks and in the original SWG game. LoTRO uses the same thing. I thinlk VGSoH does also but won't swear to it cause I did not play Vanguard long enough to be certain. All Funcom did in AoC is call it fatalities and add some neat animations. That and make it a paint by numbers system so you don't have to think too hard to use it.
AoC's comabt is really nothing special other than the flashy animations which are great. It is really easier than most MMORPG's when it comes right down to it because Funcom makes it a no brainer on which ability to click next because they light it up for you. And if you die no biggie since all it means is a trip to the rez pad.
Combat in AoC is like riding a bike with training wheels in sand, you have to work real hard to fall off and if you do it isn't very painful.
Speaking as a pvp'er I'm fairly sure that fatalities and the directional attacks were what kept AoC from losing even more subscribers. For my part I wouldn't have played nearly as long if it wasn't for that. But once you get over your combo addiction it's very easy to walk away.
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now.
the "fatality " system goes as far back as DaoC where you had to have one ability on a attack be sucessful to use a followup attack ability. Also saw it in EQII group attacks and in the original SWG game. LoTRO uses the same thing. I thinlk VGSoH does also but won't swear to it cause I did not play Vanguard long enough to be certain. All Funcom did in AoC is call it fatalities and add some neat animations. That and make it a paint by numbers system so you don't have to think too hard to use it.
AoC's comabt is really nothing special other than the flashy animations which are great. It is really easier than most MMORPG's when it comes right down to it because Funcom makes it a no brainer on which ability to click next because they light it up for you. And if you die no biggie since all it means is a trip to the rez pad.
Combat in AoC is like riding a bike with training wheels in sand, you have to work real hard to fall off and if you do it isn't very painful.
Umm there were no fatalities in DAoC, I played it from launch til Catacombs. If you mean reactionary then that is possibly where Funcom got the idea for their combat. Although DAoC still had an auto attack and mob AI would not change depending on where you were attacking them.
LOTRO still uses an auto-attack spam hotkey system which is typical of most fantasy mmos out today.
Unfortunately I am beginning to think you haven't actually played AoC or just did a trial and played a caster for a week or so. The "flashy" animations are all motion capture. There is no auto-atttack and if I keep attacking one side the mob AI will start defending that side forcing me to change up my attacks and what combos I use. Combat is fun, fast paced and makes you pay attention. Dying can be a big deal if you die repeatedly as the rez sick debuff stacks, though they changed it to a max limit of 5 stacks now.
Replace "AoC" with "WoW' and your last sentence is 100% accurate.
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now.
the "fatality " system goes as far back as DaoC where you had to have one ability on a attack be sucessful to use a followup attack ability. Also saw it in EQII group attacks and in the original SWG game. LoTRO uses the same thing. I thinlk VGSoH does also but won't swear to it cause I did not play Vanguard long enough to be certain. All Funcom did in AoC is call it fatalities and add some neat animations. That and make it a paint by numbers system so you don't have to think too hard to use it.
AoC's comabt is really nothing special other than the flashy animations which are great. It is really easier than most MMORPG's when it comes right down to it because Funcom makes it a no brainer on which ability to click next because they light it up for you. And if you die no biggie since all it means is a trip to the rez pad.
Combat in AoC is like riding a bike with training wheels in sand, you have to work real hard to fall off and if you do it isn't very painful.
Umm there were no fatalities in DAoC, I played it from launch til Catacombs. If you mean reactionary then that is possibly where Funcom got the idea for their combat. Although DAoC still had an auto attack and mob AI would not change depending on where you were attacking them.
LOTRO still uses an auto-attack spam hotkey system which is typical of most fantasy mmos out today.
Unfortunately I am beginning to think you haven't actually played AoC or just did a trial and played a caster for a week or so. The "flashy" animations are all motion capture. There is no auto-atttack and if I keep attacking one side the mob AI will start defending that side forcing me to change up my attacks and what combos I use. Combat is fun, fast paced and makes you pay attention. Dying can be a big deal if you die repeatedly as the rez sick debuff stacks, though they changed it to a max limit of 5 stacks now.
Replace "AoC" with "WoW' and your last sentence is 100% accurate.
I thinlk you are confusing auto target with auto attack. If you have a LoTRO account now try going into a area with green level aggro mobs and going afk. Be prepared to come back and find your toon taking a dirt nap or at the rez pad.
DAoC most certainly did have the precursor to AOC's fatalities. There were several classes where you had to successfull launch attack (A) before you could use attack (B) etc.
AoC's fatality system consists of hit button (A) then button (B) then button (C) in that order before you can hit button (D) for a fancy fatality graphic. Funcom even lights the next button up as you need to hit it to make it easier for you.
hey if you find it fun more power to you but with the paint by numbers key lighting and zero death penalty to me it is more like a beginner MMO
Umm there were no fatalities in DAoC, I played it from launch til Catacombs. If you mean reactionary then that is possibly where Funcom got the idea for their combat. Although DAoC still had an auto attack and mob AI would not change depending on where you were attacking them.
LOTRO still uses an auto-attack spam hotkey system which is typical of most fantasy mmos out today.
Unfortunately I am beginning to think you haven't actually played AoC or just did a trial and played a caster for a week or so. The "flashy" animations are all motion capture. There is no auto-atttack and if I keep attacking one side the mob AI will start defending that side forcing me to change up my attacks and what combos I use. Combat is fun, fast paced and makes you pay attention. Dying can be a big deal if you die repeatedly as the rez sick debuff stacks, though they changed it to a max limit of 5 stacks now.
Replace "AoC" with "WoW' and your last sentence is 100% accurate.
I thinlk you are confusing auto target with auto attack. If you have a LoTRO account now try going into a area with green level aggro mobs and going afk. Be prepared to come back and find your toon taking a dirt nap or at the rez pad.
DAoC most certainly did have the precursor to AOC's fatalities. There were several classes where you had to successfull launch attack (A) before you could use attack (B) etc.
AoC's fatality system consists of hit button (A) then button (B) then button (C) in that order before you can hit button (D) for a fancy fatality graphic. Funcom even lights the next button up as you need to hit it to make it easier for you.
hey if you find it fun more power to you but with the paint by numbers key lighting and zero death penalty to me it is more like a beginner MMO
The fatality system in AoC is not the same as their combo system. A fatality can occur when you critically hit mob, and you by doing the fatality, you insta-kill the mob.
Combat systems or whether a company is original in its ideas, matters not - Lotro's expansions were much bigger failures fthan AoC's expansion, for me. Simply because Funcom gave me the option to ignore the expansion's content if I wanted to, while Turbine has an ugly tendency to force players through their new content.
The fatality system in AoC is not the same as their combo system. A fatality can occur when you critically hit mob, and you by doing the fatality, you insta-kill the mob.
so what you are saying is that the fality system in AoC is nothing except market speak for crits...newsflash crits have been around darn near as long as MMO's have
As far as failure of the expansion it is intreresting that 60 days from a expansion release adn a major comeback to AoC campaign that populations are back to pre expansion levels. What is Funcoms next step ? Another server merge perhaps? 2 servers for Europe and 2 for N America?
To be precise, you have a base of fatality chance (20%) and you can add some additional values through feats, skills etc. You can only do fatalities with combo finishers (noraml "white" hits do not count) and if the amount of HP on the target is equal or less then the total damage from your combo. If you do a fatality you and your group (if you have one) will get some mana and stamina boost and a damage multiplier buff for a short time. And on top of that, especially the melee ones are pretty awesome and fall under the category of blood and gore.
The fatality system in AoC is not the same as their combo system. A fatality can occur when you critically hit mob, and you by doing the fatality, you insta-kill the mob.
so what you are saying is that the fality system in AoC is nothing except market speak for crits...newsflash crits have been around darn near as long as MMO's have
As far as failure of the expansion it is intreresting that 60 days from a expansion release adn a major comeback to AoC campaign that populations are back to pre expansion levels. What is Funcoms next step ? Another server merge perhaps? 2 servers for Europe and 2 for N America?
They'll merge the PvP servers for NA first
Tyranny into Cimmeria most likely since the pop on Tyranny has hit rock bottom,
they would probably keep two PvE servers though since for some reason the PvE population isn't doing that bad, I wonder why?
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now.
the "fatality " system goes as far back as DaoC where you had to have one ability on a attack be sucessful to use a followup attack ability. Also saw it in EQII group attacks and in the original SWG game. LoTRO uses the same thing. I thinlk VGSoH does also but won't swear to it cause I did not play Vanguard long enough to be certain. All Funcom did in AoC is call it fatalities and add some neat animations. That and make it a paint by numbers system so you don't have to think too hard to use it.
AoC's comabt is really nothing special other than the flashy animations which are great. It is really easier than most MMORPG's when it comes right down to it because Funcom makes it a no brainer on which ability to click next because they light it up for you. And if you die no biggie since all it means is a trip to the rez pad.
Combat in AoC is like riding a bike with training wheels in sand, you have to work real hard to fall off and if you do it isn't very painful.
Umm there were no fatalities in DAoC, I played it from launch til Catacombs. If you mean reactionary then that is possibly where Funcom got the idea for their combat. Although DAoC still had an auto attack and mob AI would not change depending on where you were attacking them.
LOTRO still uses an auto-attack spam hotkey system which is typical of most fantasy mmos out today.
Unfortunately I am beginning to think you haven't actually played AoC or just did a trial and played a caster for a week or so. The "flashy" animations are all motion capture. There is no auto-atttack and if I keep attacking one side the mob AI will start defending that side forcing me to change up my attacks and what combos I use. Combat is fun, fast paced and makes you pay attention. Dying can be a big deal if you die repeatedly as the rez sick debuff stacks, though they changed it to a max limit of 5 stacks now.
Replace "AoC" with "WoW' and your last sentence is 100% accurate.
I thinlk you are confusing auto target with auto attack. If you have a LoTRO account now try going into a area with green level aggro mobs and going afk. Be prepared to come back and find your toon taking a dirt nap or at the rez pad.
DAoC most certainly did have the precursor to AOC's fatalities. There were several classes where you had to successfull launch attack (A) before you could use attack (B) etc.
AoC's fatality system consists of hit button (A) then button (B) then button (C) in that order before you can hit button (D) for a fancy fatality graphic. Funcom even lights the next button up as you need to hit it to make it easier for you.
hey if you find it fun more power to you but with the paint by numbers key lighting and zero death penalty to me it is more like a beginner MMO
Not confusing anything sorry. DAoC did NOT have Fatalities of ANY kind. Now if you are talking combos I will grant that AoC's combo system could have been an evolved form of DAoC's reactionary combat. Although, again, DAoC had an auto-attack and it would be possible to beat a mob down just using that. In AoC, the game is designed around using combos so if you just do "white hits" it will take you 3X as long to kill a mob.
There is no button in AoC that is the "fatality button". The only way to get a fatality is to have the last attack of a combo be the killing blow. If it is, you have a base chance of 20% (modified by fatality rating) to execute a fatality. I am glad that the combos show what order the attack chain is, otherwise it would be impossible to memorize everything as the attack chains change when you get the next rank of the combo.
Finally, a zero death penalty is more akin to WoW. Though AoC's death penalty is surely not as bad as say EQ1's.
There is no button in AoC that is the "fatality button". The only way to get a fatality is to have the last attack of a combo be the killing blow. If it is, you have a base chance of 20% (modified by fatality rating) to execute a fatality.
I always thought the fatality's were random. I didn't realize they were actually based on the players combat input. So to see more faltalities, pay attention and make the coup de grace a combo attack!
Speaking as a pvp'er I'm fairly sure that fatalities and the directional attacks were what kept AoC from losing even more subscribers. For my part I wouldn't have played nearly as long if it wasn't for that. But once you get over your combo addiction it's very easy to walk away.
That's true, it's the most awesome combat I've encountered in MMO's, the melee combat that is, and I've played quite a number of MMO's.
I think people will be hard pressed to find any top MMO that has the same combat in that form as AoC has, I think Funcom wass pretty innovative with it.
I like even more what they've done with the Ranger combos: you aren't restricted anymore to follow directions when executing your combo, but you can build your own combo: you can fire the skill blank, or you can add effects with the directional keys (more dmg, longer duration, fire or snare effect, etc) while at the same time aiming your directional hits at the weak spots of the mob, not where your combo directs you to.
It makes the combat even more dynamic than the melee combat, that I found already engrossing.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Beta keys never ran out, those crocodile pet thingies never ran out (I think 1000 remained), no new servers, no server queues of any kind on launch day, many bugs have returned (most notably memory leak), the game is actually less optimized than it was at launch, pvp is just dwindling, pve got a little better ... the expansion pretty much did nothing for the game.
Oh, and they had the balls to release 2 entirely bugged and inaccessible raid bosses and call this a tr00 pve expansion. I haven't seen a greater joke in gaming history since I saw AoC sieges with my own eyes.
Beta keys never ran out, those crocodile pet thingies never ran out (I think 1000 remained), no new servers, no server queues of any kind on launch day, many bugs have returned (most notably memory leak), the game is actually less optimized than it was at launch, pvp is just dwindling, pve got a little better ... the expansion pretty much did nothing for the game.
Oh, and they had the balls to release 2 entirely bugged and inaccessible raid bosses and call this a tr00 pve expansion. I haven't seen a greater joke in gaming history since I saw AoC sieges with my own eyes.
Beta keys never ran out, those crocodile pet thingies never ran out (I think 1000 remained), no new servers, no server queues of any kind on launch day, many bugs have returned (most notably memory leak), the game is actually less optimized than it was at launch, pvp is just dwindling, pve got a little better ... the expansion pretty much did nothing for the game.
Oh, and they had the balls to release 2 entirely bugged and inaccessible raid bosses and call this a tr00 pve expansion. I haven't seen a greater joke in gaming history since I saw AoC sieges with my own eyes.
I can't understand how anyone would call it a good expansion
1. No new players, no new servers, population levels remain completely unchanged
2. The only PVP content added to the game was exploited by pver's and now the non-exploiting pvpers will take a year to catch up. Seiges are still broken and remain mostly ignored
3. The majority of the pve content added (ie raid bosses) are bugged and not killable. Previous raid content remains bugged and is only killable using exploits. The remain 'raid' bosses are dumbed-down encounters that are face-roll puggable.
4. The only thing that is working correctly are incredibly simplistic faction grinds that involve only a handful of quests.
And again, where is the hope for the future? what is the next thing to look forward to? NOTHING. the most exciting thing fans get excited about are the monthly newsletters that are just words.
Comments
Going free to play is probably a good option for them. Although with the expansion just out it wouldn't be the best idea to piss off even more people. Not in this moment anyway. But given that Morrison said he wasn't averse to the idea of microtransactions in a recent interview with massively. It remains something that they will I am sure consider at some point.
Tranca [RUS corp]
Actually, AoC isn't doing that bad in that area, certainly better than before the launch of the RotGS. Ok, you will always have the people who will never stop hating AoC or Funcom feeling personally affronted and hurt by what happened at the launch 2 yrs ago and some people who've grown to hate AoC in the course of time, but looking around on the several sites and forums general opinion tends to go towards that AoC has certainly redeemed itself somewhat compared to how it was.
I myself would say that the RotGS expansion left a better impression than a SoM did for LotrO or WotLK did for WoW, but that's my opinion.
Not that the expansion boosted the subs that much, but we were talking about general reputation.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I would agree that the AoC is better than the LOTRO SoM. Where as the AoC community f apepars to be full of venom and bitterness the Lotro community is one fo the best I have ever been a part of, genuinely helpful and for the most part- nice! Of course that is about to all go to shit when it goes f2p....
Well... there's a lot of ruckus about the whole Real ID thing and real names on WoW forums, so I'm expecting a horde of WoW gamers to give LotrO another try
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
If you think there will be an exodus of players leaving WoW because some feature on the official forum, you are delusional or simply one of those "haters gonna hate" types that won't grasp the success of WoW.
Relax, don't get your pants stirred, you're starting to sound like a WoW fanboi
I'm merely commenting on the reactions of a number of WoW players in the gazillion threads that weren't happy or cancelled their sub, besides the smiley should have told you that I wasn't being that serious about it. If that missed your eye, then I'm telling you now.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
from what I have read in the FAQ's the LoTRO F2P is simply nothing more than generous free trial. To get all of the content it will still cost you 15 bucks a month or you buy quests by zones. The unlimited free quest content is the 1-20 zones and then just the epic quest line up to lvl 50. I would not worry too much. There are other restrictions also
I miss DAoC
LoTR sub numbers are also much higher and much more stable than AoC atm.
I hate the REAL ID change in wow. But two points to keep in mind. It only will prevent some people from posting on the forums, and only a very small majority of players ever posted on the forums to begin with.
1. Small percentage post
2. Only some percentage of them actually hate the change
3. Of those that post on the forums, AND hate the change, only a small percentage will quit playing WOW, most will just quit posting like me.
I do think it was bad timing on Blizzards part though. If people are going to quit WOW and try another game, it is almost alwayas in the 'dry' months leading up to an expansion. Things are pretty boring right now and there are at least 4 months til the expansion. Perfect time to try LOTRO.
As for AOC... there is very little chance a player would leave wow and be satisfied with AOC. Even the best and most polished part of AOC (tortage) isn't done as well as WOW zones.. and if any player did ever get to 80 in AOC, the repetition would crush them. WOW has a lot A LOT more options at endgame then AOC. Doing a handful of repeatable quests to grind faction rep is what WOW was 4 years ago in vanilla... and that is all AOC has at the moment
Nothing original? I may be misreading it but the combat/fatality system is surely more original than the typical AutoAttack MashHotkey combat we have now. Also, don't see how you think Funcom is some kind of follower, every company borrows ideas from other games in some way. Funcom was the 1st company to put out an M-rated mmo, so not sure who they "followed" to do that.
Anyways, the reason the trial on AoC is smaller than LOTRO is because AoC is still a subscription based game. LOTRO wants to bring you in with the hopes you'll buy points here and there for ingame perks.
First company to put out a AAA M rated MMO to be precise, pixel boobies! woo hoo!
the "fatality " system goes as far back as DaoC where you had to have one ability on a attack be sucessful to use a followup attack ability. Also saw it in EQII group attacks and in the original SWG game. LoTRO uses the same thing. I thinlk VGSoH does also but won't swear to it cause I did not play Vanguard long enough to be certain. All Funcom did in AoC is call it fatalities and add some neat animations. That and make it a paint by numbers system so you don't have to think too hard to use it.
AoC's comabt is really nothing special other than the flashy animations which are great. It is really easier than most MMORPG's when it comes right down to it because Funcom makes it a no brainer on which ability to click next because they light it up for you. And if you die no biggie since all it means is a trip to the rez pad.
Combat in AoC is like riding a bike with training wheels in sand, you have to work real hard to fall off and if you do it isn't very painful.
I miss DAoC
Speaking as a pvp'er I'm fairly sure that fatalities and the directional attacks were what kept AoC from losing even more subscribers. For my part I wouldn't have played nearly as long if it wasn't for that. But once you get over your combo addiction it's very easy to walk away.
Tranca [RUS corp]
Umm there were no fatalities in DAoC, I played it from launch til Catacombs. If you mean reactionary then that is possibly where Funcom got the idea for their combat. Although DAoC still had an auto attack and mob AI would not change depending on where you were attacking them.
LOTRO still uses an auto-attack spam hotkey system which is typical of most fantasy mmos out today.
Unfortunately I am beginning to think you haven't actually played AoC or just did a trial and played a caster for a week or so. The "flashy" animations are all motion capture. There is no auto-atttack and if I keep attacking one side the mob AI will start defending that side forcing me to change up my attacks and what combos I use. Combat is fun, fast paced and makes you pay attention. Dying can be a big deal if you die repeatedly as the rez sick debuff stacks, though they changed it to a max limit of 5 stacks now.
Replace "AoC" with "WoW' and your last sentence is 100% accurate.
I thinlk you are confusing auto target with auto attack. If you have a LoTRO account now try going into a area with green level aggro mobs and going afk. Be prepared to come back and find your toon taking a dirt nap or at the rez pad.
DAoC most certainly did have the precursor to AOC's fatalities. There were several classes where you had to successfull launch attack (A) before you could use attack (B) etc.
AoC's fatality system consists of hit button (A) then button (B) then button (C) in that order before you can hit button (D) for a fancy fatality graphic. Funcom even lights the next button up as you need to hit it to make it easier for you.
hey if you find it fun more power to you but with the paint by numbers key lighting and zero death penalty to me it is more like a beginner MMO
I miss DAoC
The fatality system in AoC is not the same as their combo system. A fatality can occur when you critically hit mob, and you by doing the fatality, you insta-kill the mob.
Combat systems or whether a company is original in its ideas, matters not - Lotro's expansions were much bigger failures fthan AoC's expansion, for me. Simply because Funcom gave me the option to ignore the expansion's content if I wanted to, while Turbine has an ugly tendency to force players through their new content.
so what you are saying is that the fality system in AoC is nothing except market speak for crits...newsflash crits have been around darn near as long as MMO's have
As far as failure of the expansion it is intreresting that 60 days from a expansion release adn a major comeback to AoC campaign that populations are back to pre expansion levels. What is Funcoms next step ? Another server merge perhaps? 2 servers for Europe and 2 for N America?
I miss DAoC
To be precise, you have a base of fatality chance (20%) and you can add some additional values through feats, skills etc. You can only do fatalities with combo finishers (noraml "white" hits do not count) and if the amount of HP on the target is equal or less then the total damage from your combo. If you do a fatality you and your group (if you have one) will get some mana and stamina boost and a damage multiplier buff for a short time. And on top of that, especially the melee ones are pretty awesome and fall under the category of blood and gore.
They'll merge the PvP servers for NA first
Tyranny into Cimmeria most likely since the pop on Tyranny has hit rock bottom,
they would probably keep two PvE servers though since for some reason the PvE population isn't doing that bad, I wonder why?
/sarcasm off
Not confusing anything sorry. DAoC did NOT have Fatalities of ANY kind. Now if you are talking combos I will grant that AoC's combo system could have been an evolved form of DAoC's reactionary combat. Although, again, DAoC had an auto-attack and it would be possible to beat a mob down just using that. In AoC, the game is designed around using combos so if you just do "white hits" it will take you 3X as long to kill a mob.
There is no button in AoC that is the "fatality button". The only way to get a fatality is to have the last attack of a combo be the killing blow. If it is, you have a base chance of 20% (modified by fatality rating) to execute a fatality. I am glad that the combos show what order the attack chain is, otherwise it would be impossible to memorize everything as the attack chains change when you get the next rank of the combo.
Finally, a zero death penalty is more akin to WoW. Though AoC's death penalty is surely not as bad as say EQ1's.
"The Pen Is Mightier Than The Demo"
That's true, it's the most awesome combat I've encountered in MMO's, the melee combat that is, and I've played quite a number of MMO's.
I think people will be hard pressed to find any top MMO that has the same combat in that form as AoC has, I think Funcom wass pretty innovative with it.
I like even more what they've done with the Ranger combos: you aren't restricted anymore to follow directions when executing your combo, but you can build your own combo: you can fire the skill blank, or you can add effects with the directional keys (more dmg, longer duration, fire or snare effect, etc) while at the same time aiming your directional hits at the weak spots of the mob, not where your combo directs you to.
It makes the combat even more dynamic than the melee combat, that I found already engrossing.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Beta keys never ran out, those crocodile pet thingies never ran out (I think 1000 remained), no new servers, no server queues of any kind on launch day, many bugs have returned (most notably memory leak), the game is actually less optimized than it was at launch, pvp is just dwindling, pve got a little better ... the expansion pretty much did nothing for the game.
Oh, and they had the balls to release 2 entirely bugged and inaccessible raid bosses and call this a tr00 pve expansion. I haven't seen a greater joke in gaming history since I saw AoC sieges with my own eyes.
Sadly John makes good points about the expac.
I can't understand how anyone would call it a good expansion
1. No new players, no new servers, population levels remain completely unchanged
2. The only PVP content added to the game was exploited by pver's and now the non-exploiting pvpers will take a year to catch up. Seiges are still broken and remain mostly ignored
3. The majority of the pve content added (ie raid bosses) are bugged and not killable. Previous raid content remains bugged and is only killable using exploits. The remain 'raid' bosses are dumbed-down encounters that are face-roll puggable.
4. The only thing that is working correctly are incredibly simplistic faction grinds that involve only a handful of quests.
And again, where is the hope for the future? what is the next thing to look forward to? NOTHING. the most exciting thing fans get excited about are the monthly newsletters that are just words.