Everquest. Played a Barbarian Warrior until about 15 or 16. Tried to make it to Qeynos and got lost in Karana...Lost my corpse too!
Ended up re-rolling as a Human Wizard. Met some awesome players, which is probably why I played for so long (RIP Blood of the Phoenix, Torvonnilous Server)
Raquelis in various games Played: Everything Playing: Nioh 2, Civ6 Wants: The World Anticipating:Everquest NextCrowfall, Pantheon, Elden Ring
My first mmo was Everquest. I started in a city called Kelethin. What first caught my eye was the city (which was suspended in the trees) was surrounded by a misty forest. I really wanted to know what was in that forest. Also some spooky music was playing that added to the overall effect.
My first was EQ, too. I started as a barbarian in Halas. The first time I looked across the water from the Halas dock, I was hooked. I was both intimidated and intrigued by what lay beyond.
I can't say that it captured my imagination in the first hour. I would say the first few hours were actually awful. I'd not played an MMO before and most RPGs I'd played were really shallow (combat wise). So, suddenly having to select professions, have toolbars with skills, buffs and debuffs....na, couldn't cope.
Created a Zabrak (I wanted to be darth maul....) and picked Mos Eisley as my starter city. Wandered about a bit as it looked cool but there didn't seem to be anything to do there. Saw some creatures outside the city so decided to try killing them. With no levels or anything I had no idea if I could kill them or not, the colour coding scheme was awful at that.
I then spent ages getting my ass handed to me. Died loads to crappy starter creatures, literally the easiest things in the game. Kept on wracking up wounds which I had no clue how to get rid of. Stacked up fatigue. Wasted what little money I had training another profession.
Yeh, it sucked.
Luckily, my best mate IRL played the game as it was he who told me to play SWG. So, after my few hours of pain, he logged in and came and rescued me. Gave me a bit of money, showed me the ropes and took me to anchorhead to join leveling groups.
After my friend gave me a proper tutorial on how the game worked and how MMOs functioned, it was then a very rapid improvement in enjoyment and wonder. Playing with 19 other people in squill groups out of Anchorhead was great fun, lots of xp and money but also really social. I think finally getting pikeman profession unlocked and getting some great spinning moves was a big milestone for me. My first speeder was another one, that made me feel like i'd "made it". Another breakthrough moment was my first outing on Dathomir and fighting my first rancor. Those creatures have fascinated me since the first time I saw Return of the Jedi so to be able to see them and fight them in the game was awesome.
From there, the endgame really captured my imagination. Joining a guild, building a house in our own city, hanging out with the guild, going on our first raid, putting in crafting orders with our resident crafters, first pvp outing to take down another guilds base.....yeh. That social / endgame aspect was what hooked me and is still what keeps me interested.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
My first was Lineage the Bloodpledge it was in what we would now call 'extended open beta' in korea. It did eventually get an english version but we are talking like 1997 before they started charging etc.
To this day I remember I was looking for random games on some gaming list site, and this was on the list-- described so accurately "We can't understand anything, and have no idea what the point of the game is, but can't stop playing"
Played every one that came out I think for about 10 years.. Legend of Mir mentioned above was awesome pk game back in the day too, when you are hunting and got a 'pinata drop' it was the best feeling'
First MMO was probably Everquest. First serious one that I played the longest and put the most hours into was SWG. I remember signing up with Prodigy Service because they were the first to have graphic internet access but the only site was the White House. From dial-up modems to DSL to Cable, what a ride it has been.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
My first mmo was Everquest. I started in a city called Kelethin. What first caught my eye was the city (which was suspended in the trees) was surrounded by a misty forest. I really wanted to know what was in that forest. Also some spooky music was playing that added to the overall effect.
EQ had some really good MIDIs IMO. Growing up on console games with that type of sound allowed my imagination to run wild. Graphics were never a major issue for me in most games as I grew up playing with toys and having to pretend they were walking, shooting, talking, etc. Video games weren't available much on early PCs. I believe Atari was my first entrance into the video game world with parsec. I think this is part of the problem with games in general in the modern age. We are losing a lot of our imagination when it comes to fantasy. I remember walking around exploring all over the EQ world and getting lost numerous times.
Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast. It was the first time I ever played a game that was with other people, and it blew me away. You are from California? OMG that is across the US for me lol. From there I went to Ragnarok Online Alpha/beta before playing a real MMO back in 2001ish Dark Age of Camelot. Been addicted ever since =/
Started out with text muds which didn't really speak to me, then came some muds with a little more visual tools for navigation and inventory management which were slightly better. After that some UO and Lineage which never really caught my interest, probably because other multiplayer games took my focus at the time.
Everquest was the first one that captured me probably because so many things suddenly just clicked, the persistent virtual world feeling that I was a part of something. The fact that I knew nothing and had hardly researched anything, combined with a game that mostly just dropped me in the world and said "You are in our world now" figure it out, go adventure, talk to (n)pcs... really helped my imagination go beyond what the game offered as content, and that "mystic" open ended approach is the red line eq followed for a good bunch of years - Understatement is a very powerful thing. Other multiplayer games had offered a little hint of that freedom of imagination before, but always on a limited scale while Everquest(1999-2004) was a vast playground that allowed imaginative freedom on a scale never reached by any game since. Eq players may talk about all kinds of oldschool mechanics and group focused social games and community, but I bet it is actually that freedom of mind they really want and I also think a lot of players who did not play eq also want that kind of game, just not an outdated oldschool version of it - And the only way to make such a game again is to drop the story driven (narrative) approach (WoW/Eq2 formula which is used by every mmo to this day) and create virtual worlds instead (Eq formula...Lineage?EqNext?CU?CoE?).
My first contact with a MMORPG was Priston Tale and I got blown away by the concept of playing my favorite genre with another rpg lovers from all around the world. I made friends from all over the planet and learned about various places, cultures and so on. When I logged in I could not stop thinking about all those amazing people I met and how many more amazing gamers I could meet.
Now I log in, in any online game, and is a bunch of spoiled brats saying "this is booooriiing!", "the graphics suuuux" on map chats and so on... It kills me. The sense of community is almost dead.
I made friends in older mmorpgs that would see me in some map grinding xp and would stop to chat - ask how were the things. They would introduce me to their friends, people would get along.
Now... offensive language - when people bother to answer instead of ignoring the chat soloing anything regardless.
I'm trying to not be a bitter old man, but I can't help myself. I log in a "modern" mmo and read the chat or say Hi to anyone, instant regret.
Thank lord I can have a good time at Lotro. They make trivias about lore almost daily and everyone is so polite and cheerful. It's amazing.
Maybe I should try lotro because I miss that sense of community
my first mmorpg was ultima online at the time it was very expensive compared to other pc games as well as having a sub I believe it was £45 with the cloth map and other bits as well and on a 56k modem as well
SWG "PRE NGE" so much fun, still remember the first time I saw a Jedi (I was flabbergasted) went on to become a Master Ranger, and helped my Bounty Hunter guildy track down targets...
City of Heroes. Played on a friend's open beta account, and knew I'd have to finally give in. Character creator fun, then first flight through the city. I was hooked.
I'd watched friends play EQ and UO. Hell, some of my friends worked on them. But the flaws were too egregious for me, and kept me away from MMOs for years.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
SWG "PRE NGE" so much fun, still remember the first time I saw a Jedi (I was flabbergasted) went on to become a Master Ranger, and helped my Bounty Hunter guildy track down targets...
SWG was my first MMO as well. I came in during the Aurilia phase, just before they released JTL.
My first few months, I was as noob as noob could be. I didn't know about buffs and I was poor as dirt. I was also oblivious to the OP rat race and explored on my own scale and schedule. I did take a break after around 6 months and tried EVE Online. Same experience. Super noob who had no grasp of the dick swinging aspects.
There was some fun to be had when I sold a CA in SWG for 7 mill and became more aware of the competition in the community. As there was with joining CVA in EVE and becoming a part of the larger scene but in both cases I lost something and I never got it back. I missed that illusion.
First MMO was probably Everquest. First serious one that I played the longest and put the most hours into was SWG. I remember signing up with Prodigy Service because they were the first to have graphic internet access but the only site was the White House. From dial-up modems to DSL to Cable, what a ride it has been.
Wow i had Prodigy dial up then switched to DSL. Man i really miss Prodigy as a service. They had the coolest internet portal. I loved all the newsgroups in Prodigy and made a lot of friends. Man those were the days.
Asheron's Call for me. Won the game from a microsoft online contest.
Made a character, logged into game, and ran around for awhile. Found a dungeon with these white catlike things called drudges. Then some guy runs past me and types run.....all Hell followed with him. He must have had every drudge in the place chasing him. They caught him and killed him...then they all came after me. Hooked from that moment on.
Comments
Ended up re-rolling as a Human Wizard. Met some awesome players, which is probably why I played for so long (RIP Blood of the Phoenix, Torvonnilous Server)
Raquelis in various games
Played: Everything
Playing: Nioh 2, Civ6
Wants: The World
Anticipating: Everquest Next Crowfall, Pantheon, Elden Ring
My first was EQ, too. I started as a barbarian in Halas. The first time I looked across the water from the Halas dock, I was hooked. I was both intimidated and intrigued by what lay beyond.
I can't say that it captured my imagination in the first hour. I would say the first few hours were actually awful. I'd not played an MMO before and most RPGs I'd played were really shallow (combat wise). So, suddenly having to select professions, have toolbars with skills, buffs and debuffs....na, couldn't cope.
Created a Zabrak (I wanted to be darth maul....) and picked Mos Eisley as my starter city. Wandered about a bit as it looked cool but there didn't seem to be anything to do there. Saw some creatures outside the city so decided to try killing them. With no levels or anything I had no idea if I could kill them or not, the colour coding scheme was awful at that.
I then spent ages getting my ass handed to me. Died loads to crappy starter creatures, literally the easiest things in the game. Kept on wracking up wounds which I had no clue how to get rid of. Stacked up fatigue. Wasted what little money I had training another profession.
Yeh, it sucked.
Luckily, my best mate IRL played the game as it was he who told me to play SWG. So, after my few hours of pain, he logged in and came and rescued me. Gave me a bit of money, showed me the ropes and took me to anchorhead to join leveling groups.
After my friend gave me a proper tutorial on how the game worked and how MMOs functioned, it was then a very rapid improvement in enjoyment and wonder. Playing with 19 other people in squill groups out of Anchorhead was great fun, lots of xp and money but also really social. I think finally getting pikeman profession unlocked and getting some great spinning moves was a big milestone for me. My first speeder was another one, that made me feel like i'd "made it". Another breakthrough moment was my first outing on Dathomir and fighting my first rancor. Those creatures have fascinated me since the first time I saw Return of the Jedi so to be able to see them and fight them in the game was awesome.
From there, the endgame really captured my imagination. Joining a guild, building a house in our own city, hanging out with the guild, going on our first raid, putting in crafting orders with our resident crafters, first pvp outing to take down another guilds base.....yeh. That social / endgame aspect was what hooked me and is still what keeps me interested.
To this day I remember I was looking for random games on some gaming list site, and this was on the list-- described so accurately
"We can't understand anything, and have no idea what the point of the game is, but can't stop playing"
Played every one that came out I think for about 10 years.. Legend of Mir mentioned above was awesome pk game back in the day too, when you are hunting and got a 'pinata drop' it was the best feeling'
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Everquest was the first one that captured me probably because so many things suddenly just clicked, the persistent virtual world feeling that I was a part of something. The fact that I knew nothing and had hardly researched anything, combined with a game that mostly just dropped me in the world and said "You are in our world now" figure it out, go adventure, talk to (n)pcs... really helped my imagination go beyond what the game offered as content, and that "mystic" open ended approach is the red line eq followed for a good bunch of years - Understatement is a very powerful thing.
Other multiplayer games had offered a little hint of that freedom of imagination before, but always on a limited scale while Everquest(1999-2004) was a vast playground that allowed imaginative freedom on a scale never reached by any game since.
Eq players may talk about all kinds of oldschool mechanics and group focused social games and community, but I bet it is actually that freedom of mind they really want and I also think a lot of players who did not play eq also want that kind of game, just not an outdated oldschool version of it - And the only way to make such a game again is to drop the story driven (narrative) approach (WoW/Eq2 formula which is used by every mmo to this day) and create virtual worlds instead (Eq formula...Lineage?EqNext?CU?CoE?).
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
I figured out how to make pizza.
I got beta for EQ played for a few hour and hated it, swore I would never play it.
...Played EQ for the next 3-4 years after release.
I'd watched friends play EQ and UO. Hell, some of my friends worked on them. But the flaws were too egregious for me, and kept me away from MMOs for years.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
My first few months, I was as noob as noob could be. I didn't know about buffs and I was poor as dirt. I was also oblivious to the OP rat race and explored on my own scale and schedule. I did take a break after around 6 months and tried EVE Online. Same experience. Super noob who had no grasp of the dick swinging aspects.
There was some fun to be had when I sold a CA in SWG for 7 mill and became more aware of the competition in the community. As there was with joining CVA in EVE and becoming a part of the larger scene but in both cases I lost something and I never got it back. I missed that illusion.
Made a character, logged into game, and ran around for awhile. Found a dungeon with these white catlike things called drudges. Then some guy runs past me and types run.....all Hell followed with him. He must have had every drudge in the place chasing him. They caught him and killed him...then they all came after me. Hooked from that moment on.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
WOW was my first official playthrough. Playing a Tauren was so fun and the music in WOW was great.
That being said, it was tedious getting to mobs before others in order to finish the quests.