Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

So reverse the trend, go and sign up to VG and hope that others do to, Dev's see how popular VG is and develop games along those lines....simple.

Originally posted by slowpoke68

Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

 

I agree with you and suggest trying Darkfall, as it offers open world non instanced play, distinct starter areas for each race, player housing, mounted combat, player ships, sea warfare, sieges. There's more but you get the idea.

Originally posted by Agricola1

Originally posted by slowpoke68

Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

 

 

I agree with you and suggest trying Darkfall, as it offers open world non instanced play, distinct starter areas for each race, player housing, mounted combat, player ships, sea warfare, sieges. There's more but you get the idea.

i'd buy darkfall if they gave their graphics engine a huge overhaul, because that game looks like it should be 8 years ago. 

Originally posted by slowpoke68

Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

 

HUH?  Highly instanced?  Did you play more than a day or two?  Sure the starting zones have channels (instances) to prevent over crowding but by the time you hit level 20 and head to Beluslan there are no extra channels.  As far as the starting areas, just stay in channel 1 where 90% of the players are and you would never even know there were additional channels.  They are only there to assist with things like quest mobs.  Who really wants to have 100 people camping the same spawn?

Other than the channels for newbie zones, Aion uses instancing just like WoW does.  It uses them for some (not all) dungeon type encounters.   Again.. this is to eliminate 100 people waiting for the same boss to spawn.  There are also open world non-instanced dungeons like Lava Caves if that is your thing.  Aion uses dungeon instancing much LESS than WoW which you list as the type of MMO experience you enjoy so I am quite confused...  have you even been to the Abyss? 

As far as multiple distinct starter areas... you spend so little time there that I don't see it as an issue.  Your first time through with a character it will all be new.  After that... you spend no more than 2 hours there.  I'd MUCH rather they spend development time on higher level things where I will be spending a much higher amount of my time playing than extra starter areas...

I hope this vocal minority would stop being so vocal. Just play your Eve / Fallen Earth / Darkfall / [enter title here] or wait for Mortal Online / [enter title here] and stop complaining about games that were not made for you.

Only thing you could be complaining is that there aren't enough games or enough variety in the specific sub-genre you love since you are a minority!

The majority of players want high-quality gameplay.  Instancing provides this.

Realize your tastes differ from the majority and you accept lower-quality gameplay in order to have a world with less fragmentation.  Then subscribe to the MMORPGs that offer the gameplay you want.

I mean it's entirely fair for you to want the industry to shift towards your personal tastes (because all of us want that,) but you should also consider a certain amount of realistic acceptance that games trend in the direction the majority finds fun.

(edit: said minority when I meant majority in 2nd paragraph)

Never make the mistake of thinking that what you think is good equals quality in general.

Ask for as many different games as possible, not that there should or shouldn't be any general trend and then be happy that people have the freedom of choice to play whatever they like.

Maybe the right game is out there for you and you just haven't tried or found it yet.

I, for one, prefer a more open world, but I'm not sure why this hatred for instances.  Do you really want another group to come in and kill your while you're fighting the big dragon?  I can't imagine winning that scenario.  Not only do you have enemy players to contend with, but you also have the boss ripping your group apart.  Open world, to me, just revolves around having more space to do things in.  Crowding the players into fewer zones, and making travel easier both serve to make the world seem smaller.

I also really like the instanced battlegrounds.  Objective based PvP is so much better than just mindless killing.  To some extent, the base controlling in the Abyss does this, but it's actually quite difficult to provide a good incentive to an open battle.  Especially when such battles usually just come down to which side has more people.  And such battles never end.  On the other side, an instanced battleground has a clear beginning and end, and one side or another will actually WIN the engagement.  Even if you lose the next one, you still have the victory and whatever spoils you have gleaned.

Oh, and it's a stupid argument to say that the OP's views are his own opinion and not everyone's.  Of course not everyone thinks the same way, but that doesn't make the OP wrong.  A good idea is still a good idea, no matter where it comes from.  Find a way to disprove his ideas with counter arguments.  Don't just fall back on idiotic cliches.

I am very much in favour of instancing. Both for PvE dungeon content (no, I don't want someone to come and ninja the boss we worked hard to get to) and PvP.

I played Warhammer Online for a year, and while open RvR was great when the numbers were relatively even - that was a very rare case, indeed. PvP needs to be fair and balanced to be fun over the long term. The biggest problem with Warhammer's instances is that most of them were pretty lousy. Not even ONE fort or keep attack scenario? Really? WTF? No Nordenwatch/Ekrund type scenario in Tier Two?

No low-level dungeons? I explored the terrain enough to see spots that looked like they were designed to be lowbie instances but weren't.

Originally posted by Athcear

I also really like the instanced battlegrounds.  Objective based PvP is so much better than just mindless killing.  To some extent, the base controlling in the Abyss does this, but it's actually quite difficult to provide a good incentive to an open battle.  Especially when such battles usually just come down to which side has more people.  And such battles never end.  On the other side, an instanced battleground has a clear beginning and end, and one side or another will actually WIN the engagement.  Even if you lose the next one, you still have the victory and whatever spoils you have gleaned.

Everyone has their own opinions, and many, MANY people feel the same way you do about instanced Battlegrounds.  For me though... it turns PvP into a sporting event.  Most even have scores and timers.  I can enjoy them on occassion, but it's a totally different feel than an open world objective based PvP such as capturing a Fortress in the Abyss.

I just prefer PvP that doesn't involve queing, arenas, scores, timers or God-Forbid... some damn Capture the Flag.  If I wanted to play CTF I would load up a Battlefield or Quake game...

I prefer roaming the open world and stumbling into a fight.  I don't know if they guy around the corner is 5 levels above me, or 5 below me.  I don't know if he is alone or has 5 buddies.  That "not knowing" and the unscripted nature of the encounter is what gets my heart beating faster and makes all the difference in the world.

As they say: Different strokes for different folks.

Agricola1 you forgot to add ffa full loot pvp to your list of Darkfall's features.  Perhaps because those features = epic fail?

I find that most MMOs released today are fine, purchasable products, Fallen Earth was the only one that seemed to bug me, probably because my Machine couldn't handle it for some reason, otherwise it seemed like a game I could get into.

I never did try Aion, it looks to much like the Korean ones, and while it may boast as much fun gameplay as it wants, I'm sick of the graphic style they used and will probably never play it.

Originally posted by Darter

Agricola1 you forgot to at ffa full loot pvp to your list of Darkfall's features.  Perhaps because those features = epic fail?

It's not epic fail at all.  Epic win more like it.

Originally posted by Quirhid

I hope this vocal minority would stop being so vocal. Just play your Eve / Fallen Earth / Darkfall / [enter title here] or wait for Mortal Online / [enter title here] and stop complaining about games that were not made for you.

Only thing you could be complaining is that there aren't enough games or enough variety in the specific sub-genre you love since you are a minority!

He is a majority in this forum. You are the minority here.

Originally posted by slowpoke68

Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

 

That is exactly what the majority of players are asking for. Oblivion with other people running around they can chat with.

I prefer open worlds like EQ and DAoC. The only time it's good to instance, IMO, is for boss mobs at the very bottom of the dungeon or the end of the quest chain.

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

That is exactly what the majority of players are asking for. Oblivion with other people running around they can chat with.

I prefer open worlds like EQ and DAoC. The only time it's good to instance, IMO, is for boss mobs at the very bottom of the dungeon or the end of the quest chain.

I really think you may have a misconception about "instancing" in Aion.   The vast majority of the content is open world and non-instanced.  As a matter of fact, to me AION is the spiritual successor to DAoC.   It seems much closer to what DAoC2 would have been versus what we got from WAR.

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

Originally posted by slowpoke68

Tried Aion, not a bad game, but suffers from what is becoming an all too common problem in a lot of mmos.  Highly instanced, linear game play, with limited options for starting areas.

With these games, AoC is another one that comes to mind, I feel like I'm playing Oblivion or some single player game with other people running around.

I really hope devs move back toward the open world, multiple distinct starter area, limited instance formula.

To me, Games like EQ1, Vanguard, and WoW feel more like mmos than the games that imitate single player rpgs.

 

 

That is exactly what the majority of players are asking for. Oblivion with other people running around they can chat with.

I prefer open worlds like EQ and DAoC. The only time it's good to instance, IMO, is for boss mobs at the very bottom of the dungeon or the end of the quest chain.

I'm with you on this one,  I miss the open world EQ and DAoC. The instancing in Aion I think the OP is referring to is if EQ would have taken the EC and made a second instance EC 2 because there were too many people in EC1 at the tunnel.  Same thing EQ2 did with the starting isles of Qeynos and Freeport when it launched.  I only played Aion to level 25 so I'm guessing here =)

Wow!  This generated a lot of activity while I was at the office today.   Lots of good insight in the replies.  It started with EQ2...the multiple instances of zones just bothers me for some reason.  That I'm not a big fan of, but its not my biggest concern.

My real complaint is how linear the games are.  There is only one zone for level 1 10, and one zone for level 11 20, and so on.  This combined with limited race selection just really hurts if you are an altoholic.

If I want bleeding edge graphics I will fire up an fps or a single player rpg.  In an mmo I want a living breathing world with lots of content, options, replayability, and room to explore.  I like good graphics as much as the next guy, but not at the sacrifice of good game play.

My opinion only, I know not everyone feels the same way.

Originally posted by altairzq

Originally posted by Quirhid

I hope this vocal minority would stop being so vocal. Just play your Eve / Fallen Earth / Darkfall / [enter title here] or wait for Mortal Online / [enter title here] and stop complaining about games that were not made for you.

Only thing you could be complaining is that there aren't enough games or enough variety in the specific sub-genre you love since you are a minority!

 

He is a majority in this forum. You are the minority here.

Actually we both belong to a minority in these forums. Usually the medium is the majority ...you know - the ones who read but don't post.