AC was good in that it didnt just add the odd dungeon every month, it's events could also effect how the diferent servers progressed. some of it's major events meant that one server was different from the next depending how things happened on individual servers.
these monthly updates kept many people playing the game (and paying for the game) despite the old fashioned graphics.
it goes to show what can be done, and what people will pay a sub for.
all the fancy graphics and animations dont mean a thing if the game dosnt progress and the devs dont do something to keep the players interested.
it was also a game with a load of classes, and characters that players could really decide on what skills they wanted to specialize and train. the crafting kept you cursing when you blew up a weapon on it's final imbue. and you could dye your gear as well way before other games started doing that.
and for a fantasy mmo, what was really good about it - not one bloody elf or halfling around
A MMO CAN do monthly updates... but it likely would involve multiple teams, with many updates being smaller then others. Having a team dedicated to the big updates and have 1 or 2 on smaller updates could allow it to work. It is a lot of manpower to have though, and in truth there might come up issues in development that might require things to be pushed back (unexpected stuff happens, even with a larger time window to do it).
Its really a tough thing to call but its something that can be done... I just don't think the resources required might be worth it... and even having a timer window from those extra resources doesn't mean all updates can be prepared each month.
I recently unsubbed from ESO for a few months as I am sick of the problems their updates introduce.
I love the game and will be back but I feel the quick update cycle causes more problems than enjoyment.
I am in the EU, I enjoy PvP. A few months ago it was totally unplayabe for about 2 weeks before they fixed it. Then great for a couple of weeks until the next update, then completely unplayable again.
Thread after thread on the OF about PvP lag etc.
From my pov I see it as follows.
I am looking forward to returning, the justice system, imperial city etc
If there's updates every 6 plus months and unforseen bugs cause say PvP to be unplayable for 2 to 3 weeks while they fix it, I can do other things in game, knowing that once sorted I have (hopefully) 5 months of solid play time.
With updates every 6 weeks it feels like an update comes along, problems causing my enjoyment to stop, takes a good 2 weeks if not more to fix. I just get into playing properly and another update is released causing another 2 weeks or more of problems.
And paying for this, my patience ran out.
So while 6 week updates seem like a good idea, and, depending on your play style, might not cause problems, for many people it causes more grief than good
Pretty sure Trove is planning to release a new class with matching biome about once a month. I see them succeeding as they have a relatively smaller game compared to the beefier titles. It's an intriguing concept seeing a AAA developer make something you'd usually see from an indie developer.
I like the idea of "seasons" like Guild Wars 2 has. Plus it'd follow the television model, and on top of that give time for off kiltered activities like esport.
I'm going to blame production style rather than tech or anything in this dept. I think if tools were well crafted for storytellers to tell stories in the medium then the scale of 'updates' and content could be daily one offs to monthly server wide epics.
I don't think many MMO companies want to invest in that medium tho'. Storytelling seems to be their big mark at launch but then the game reduced to number crunching and macro creation. There's more incentive leveling than living in the artifical world.
That's where MMOs lose their RPG roots in my opinion. I mean a lot of people can argue that STR stats and HP pile bosses are RPG, but there's more to it than that.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
FFXIV: ARR tries to get out their meaty content updates out every three months or so, but in between that time they're rolling out new minor game systems and QoL changes every 4 to 6 weeks, not to mention sometimes weekly or bi-weekly hotfixes.
I've personally always preferred subscription games because if the game is good enough to retain its playerbase it's going to continue to siphon in money to continue development on content. F2P or games with cash shops/microtransactions are sketchy at best because their income source is wildly unpredictable.
Monthly additions certainly aren't necessary. What is needed is regular, interesting, non-broken updates. At the appropriate speed for the dev crew working on it.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
Well, the GW2 reasoning behind their pacing wasn't because people asked for it. And it wasn't so much that they honestly thought they could do it.
I'd say it was 20% gimmick and 80% "because metrics". They openly stated, the reasoning behind the 2 week schedule was because people tended not to log on as often after about 1 and a half weeks-2 weeks.
So it wasn't in interest of players at all to keep up to date with content (because that content in question was selectively only storybased, and with the main story being pretty weak, I'm not sure who they were tying to market it to)...it was in the interest of keeping players jumping back in, mainly to get them to check out the Gem Store. More players in game, more often = more likely to spend money on gems.
Comments
AC was good in that it didnt just add the odd dungeon every month, it's events could also effect how the diferent servers progressed. some of it's major events meant that one server was different from the next depending how things happened on individual servers.
these monthly updates kept many people playing the game (and paying for the game) despite the old fashioned graphics.
it goes to show what can be done, and what people will pay a sub for.
all the fancy graphics and animations dont mean a thing if the game dosnt progress and the devs dont do something to keep the players interested.
it was also a game with a load of classes, and characters that players could really decide on what skills they wanted to specialize and train. the crafting kept you cursing when you blew up a weapon on it's final imbue. and you could dye your gear as well way before other games started doing that.
and for a fantasy mmo, what was really good about it - not one bloody elf or halfling around
i look this wrecked because i've got GIST.
Whats your excuse?
http://deadmanrambling.com/
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
A MMO CAN do monthly updates... but it likely would involve multiple teams, with many updates being smaller then others. Having a team dedicated to the big updates and have 1 or 2 on smaller updates could allow it to work. It is a lot of manpower to have though, and in truth there might come up issues in development that might require things to be pushed back (unexpected stuff happens, even with a larger time window to do it).
Its really a tough thing to call but its something that can be done... I just don't think the resources required might be worth it... and even having a timer window from those extra resources doesn't mean all updates can be prepared each month.
I love the game and will be back but I feel the quick update cycle causes more problems than enjoyment.
I am in the EU, I enjoy PvP. A few months ago it was totally unplayabe for about 2 weeks before they fixed it. Then great for a couple of weeks until the next update, then completely unplayable again.
Thread after thread on the OF about PvP lag etc.
From my pov I see it as follows.
I am looking forward to returning, the justice system, imperial city etc
If there's updates every 6 plus months and unforseen bugs cause say PvP to be unplayable for 2 to 3 weeks while they fix it, I can do other things in game, knowing that once sorted I have (hopefully) 5 months of solid play time.
With updates every 6 weeks it feels like an update comes along, problems causing my enjoyment to stop, takes a good 2 weeks if not more to fix. I just get into playing properly and another update is released causing another 2 weeks or more of problems.
And paying for this, my patience ran out.
So while 6 week updates seem like a good idea, and, depending on your play style, might not cause problems, for many people it causes more grief than good
I like the idea of "seasons" like Guild Wars 2 has. Plus it'd follow the television model, and on top of that give time for off kiltered activities like esport.
I'm going to blame production style rather than tech or anything in this dept. I think if tools were well crafted for storytellers to tell stories in the medium then the scale of 'updates' and content could be daily one offs to monthly server wide epics.
I don't think many MMO companies want to invest in that medium tho'. Storytelling seems to be their big mark at launch but then the game reduced to number crunching and macro creation. There's more incentive leveling than living in the artifical world.
That's where MMOs lose their RPG roots in my opinion. I mean a lot of people can argue that STR stats and HP pile bosses are RPG, but there's more to it than that.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
FFXIV: ARR tries to get out their meaty content updates out every three months or so, but in between that time they're rolling out new minor game systems and QoL changes every 4 to 6 weeks, not to mention sometimes weekly or bi-weekly hotfixes.
I've personally always preferred subscription games because if the game is good enough to retain its playerbase it's going to continue to siphon in money to continue development on content. F2P or games with cash shops/microtransactions are sketchy at best because their income source is wildly unpredictable.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. - Mark Twain
Well, the GW2 reasoning behind their pacing wasn't because people asked for it. And it wasn't so much that they honestly thought they could do it.
I'd say it was 20% gimmick and 80% "because metrics". They openly stated, the reasoning behind the 2 week schedule was because people tended not to log on as often after about 1 and a half weeks-2 weeks.
So it wasn't in interest of players at all to keep up to date with content (because that content in question was selectively only storybased, and with the main story being pretty weak, I'm not sure who they were tying to market it to)...it was in the interest of keeping players jumping back in, mainly to get them to check out the Gem Store. More players in game, more often = more likely to spend money on gems.