I admit ive never played a F2P MMO or really any "free" game for that matter so i *didnt* download this thinking i was getting something of the upmost quality...

I realize the game is free and it is not polite to complain since i paid nothing however i just wanted to express my concern for other gamers wondering if they should waste several hours downloading and patching this game like i have..

Lessons learned?

Ive learned that just because somebody says "hey its free" doesnt mean i should run to it expecting something. I can go lay in the middle of the highway outside my house, and it doesnt cost anything; doesnt mean i should do it.

My complaints of this game;

- Extremely confusing and clunky. This is not 1982 and didnt expect to log into a game that felt as such. I admit im not the sharpest knife in the kitchen, but if i download a game and finally get it working to log into the game and sit there for 30 minutes feeling completely dumbfounded like im reading a foreign language. Ive played MMOs for years, hell im addicted to MMOs and admit it. This is my first "free" game but was expecting... i dont know something different i guess.

- Very, very limited options during character creation. Many, many posts i read today from various forums including this exact forum (while i was waiting all day on the download sigh) talked about how varied and customized the characters are...... does this come later in game?....or is that what you call customization????

- Another very sad thing; During the first few quests, this HUGE box pops up on screen and gives you directions and tells you to do this and that and target this and that. Thats all swell... maybe i could target and actually do what the box is telling me to if it left more than 2 inches around the outside of the box so i could actually see myself, my target, or anything for that matter at all. Basically, you have to memorize the controls and directions its telling you to do, then close out the box and hope like hell you understand whats going on because lemme tell ya, the next box that pops up isnt going to remind you, its going to be something totally different and you're still sitting here wondering how the hell am i supposed to follow directions when i cannot even see whats going on the because this message box (that cant be moved) is taking up my whole screen.....

- "Item Shop" or whatever you call this game where RL money = success ingame has me a bit paranoid. Do i have the money to spend? Of course. Would i rather just pay a monthly payment and be on par with everyone else.. i think so :( Im not complaining of this aspect, i just want to admit upfront the whole reason ive never tried games like this is because credit card = win and thats just not cool. I was trying to over look it though.

Thats all i have to say to the players.

I have something to say to the devs/employees of this game just incase they frequent this site;

- Improve the interface immediately. I dont mean to sound spoiled, but gamers are used to at least a modern interface when logging into a game. As a new player, i dont really need to see 850 different things i can select as soon as my character appears in game. It looks clunky and sloppy and even though im not pleased with the game its obvious you have spent a large amount of time on this. I wish you all the luck and will probably try it once more before i uninstall, however i just expected much, much, much more of an introduction when logging into a game that was voted number one by my peers on my favorite MMO site.

Good day and thanks for reading.

Well, not every MMO is for everyone, and it seems AO wasn't for you. :)  Just wanted to reply with a few possible clarifications for you.

Character Creation - What people are referring to is the development of the character and not the looks of the character. You'll find that character looks are not a big thing in most Asian games, whether they are F2P or subscription titles. IMO, most of the character looks options in most NA games are just silly - 30 sliders to control every last aspect of the character's face, which is about the least viewed part of a character by anyone ingame. ;) 

Item Mall - The item malls in most F2P games sometimes offer items that give a bit of an edge, but it is by no means an IWIN button in most of them. Some games (Voyage Century comes to mind) you almost need to buy items to compete, but that is really only if you're going to be in PvP. If you aren't diving into league play, you can pretty much ignore the item mall.

For me, Atlantica Online is an engaging game. The game is stable and combat actually requires me to think and try different tactics. That my avatar looks like almost every other one really doesn't bother in AO, but I can definitely see how that would be a detraction for many, specifically the NA MMO gamers who have come to expect extensive character customization.

Don't let this one experience disuade you from tryingother F2P games, or even from revisiting AO at a later date to check it out again.

Cheers!

May I ask how long did you play the game? I've been playing MMORPGs for 5 years now since the release of Ragnarok Online and based on my experience you can't really have fun playing a game if your not that familiar with it. Based on your post it sounds like you got irritated playing the game because you see lots of things that you don't know. That is the same thing I've felt playing Atlantica Online in the beginning but the quests will teach you how to play the game little by little. If you know all the concepts of the game then that is the time you will start enjoying it. It is not proper to judge a game that you have played in a small amount of time.

People also have different tastes, if you find Atlantica Online a bit more complicated then shift to much simplier game.

1982 is a bit hyperbolic. 1992, and I would probably agree with you. That was actually my first impresson of it, an old 90s BBS game or maybe some sort of shareware RPG.

And I gotta agree about the customization. I honestly never recall seeing praise for the customization, so I dunno. But then again, some free games often only 3 choices for most things, some basically have none. This isn't great, but it does offer at least 6-7 hair styles, 3 faces, and something like 8-9 classes. Perfect World has great customization. Try that if you want that.

Anyway, if you can get past the weird UI and tutorial, it's a pretty fun game. There's a very comprehensive in game help file. You can also hit a button and ask other players a question (they get rewarded if they are helpful).

There's certainly some truth that cash shop users have an advantage over non-users. But is the game still playable without using it? Yes, for the most part. 

And lets face it, that's even true in non-CS games.  Gold sellers exist in most popular guys, and people who buy gold from them have an advantage over those that don't (unless they get caught). Some games sell special perks. Like in LOTRO, lifetime founders got a free horse early (at level 25, not 35).

well i am sorry if wild got disappointed with the game. Though we really can't blame him. For you to like, to love the game, you must have the understanding that there is no perfect game that there exist. AO has its weaknesses yet other games also do. Ive been playing for almost 7 months now and i would be proud to say that this game has been a friend to me since day one. :D anyway, if ever you want to try the game again wild, im in mycenae, IGN: Ep, ;)

I must have been really grumpy last night when i posted that i feel i sounded like an asshole and that wasnt my intent. I will give the game another try.

Edit; i also edited the title from "....very dissapointed!..." to "Not so sure.." because i just didnt like how it sounded.

      I dont mean to be rude but it sounds like you need a modern easy mode MMO like WoW or AoC or LoTRO....... I found nothing clunky about the game at all......You want clunky go play Darkfall or TCoS, now those are clunky........I notice alot of people when they come into AO play it like it is WoW....They pay zero attention to the quests then wonder why they dont know how to do stuff.........I see players asking questions all the time about things they were taught in quests early in the game but they didnt pay attention.......The game looks fine for a free MMO.......YOu jsut arent used to this kind of game and it doesnt appeal to everyone.......Too many players come into AO and when they see it isnt a WoW clone they have a total meltdown....... Players complain about every MMO being like WoW but when one is different they cant handle it.

Try to find some good peers. You'll feel bored leveling up alone and also there are some quests where in you will really need party mates or else you'll be frustrated and quit the game.

I wasn't impressed with the game when i started. like what you've said, customization is limited. It is... for the first part. ive been playing this game for a month now and i've seen tremendous improvements on this game... give it a try, i think this game hasn't been on its peak...yet. there's a lot of flaws you can point out, but slowly it keeps on improving. play for a few days more and then you might come to a more reasonable decision. i mean, somehow, you judged the book by its cover. flip a few pages and then you'll know. i'm a fan of turn based games (esp. FF tactics) so i apologize if im a bit biased with AO.

:D