Originally posted by SaintViktor

I like Trion but once The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 come to town will Rift even survive ?  Rift has done well so far but I sense their will be some major shifting here soon.

Rift will survive but it will not hold many numbers and the development of the game will come to a virtual standstill. Unfourtunately this is what is expected for MMORPGs these days. Make a killing the first 6 months and then let the game slowly die.

Companies make a profit but the industry as a whole will suffer from tons of games with no depth and not designed to be played more than a few months.

I am really surprised that the game did not see a major decrease in subscribers number yet, but that may be due to fact, that it is still being considered the newest AAA title on the block and that they make promotions and sales few times a month....

Once games like Diablo III, GW2 and SWOTOR hit the market, they will probably have to reduce costs by merging servers, limit future development and will join the countless legion of generic wow clones, only occasionally mentioned by media or players on forums. In other words, they will share the fate of AoC, WAR, Aion etc...

I won't have time to keep playing Rift when GW2 (and TSW) get released, especially since GW2 is a surefire bet on being a winning MMO.  I know several in my guild will probably end up quitting when the big competitors hit at the end of this year and start of next, though most don't talk about that.

It will probably survive on the few subscribers it has left and likely change the payment plan (Free to Play Rift?) to compete.  I don't think it's original enough to retain subscribers with the competition on the horizon.  Most are playing it right now until something better comes out.  Right now I only log in for 3-4 hours a week to clear all the raid content (we could probably get it down to 2 and a half hours if it wasn't for the fact we've lost some many guildies lately due to boredom and we are forced to run these raid zones with 16-18 people instead of a full 20), but with Hammerknell and the new 10 man that time should get bumped to 10-12 hours a week again till the content is on farm.

If the Rifts were exciting, I'd probably still log in and play and it would have a better chance of keeping me subscribed when GW2 hits shelves, but aside from the occasional major invasion (even that feels a bit lackluster, especially when there aren't a lot of participants) which unfortunately isn't going on 24/7 the Rift content is pretty bland and lacks any sort of challenge. 

Dungeons being nerfed a while ago along with overall gear creep and a lack of new dungeons being added that aren't raid dungeons doesn't help the problem either.

Originally posted by Vallador

I am really surprised that the game did not see a major decrease in subscribers number yet, but that may be due to fact, that it is still being considered the newest AAA title on the block and that they make promotions and sales few times a month....

Once games like Diablo III, GW2 and SWOTOR hit the market, they will probably have to reduce costs by merging servers, limit future development and will join the countless legion of generic wow clones, only occasionally mentioned by media or players on forums. In other words, they will share the fate of AoC, WAR, Aion etc...

Depends on what you mean with major decrease but XFire had a peak of 30.000 hours played per day and now it is under 9000. That is major decrease enough for me too see that this game is going down the same path like WAR and AoC.

Problem is that, most likely, Trion made profit on the game which means the industry will continue to produce generic garbage with zero depth.

Originally posted by Yamota

Rift will survive but it will not hold many numbers and the development of the game will come to a virtual standstill. Unfourtunately this is what is expected for MMORPGs these days. Make a killing the first 6 months and then let the game slowly die.

Companies make a profit but the industry as a whole will suffer from tons of games with no depth and not designed to be played more than a few months.

Well, MMORPGs these days are released buggy and unplayable... except Rift. Now instead of spending their time fixing bugs, they generate content. Rift is doing fairly well, considering we're in Summer, aka the dead season. They should have made it slower to level though. And they should work on adding alternate leveling paths.

But we're starting to see SWTOR's impact already. The game is a sellout and there isn't even a release date out yet; a MMO launch of such scale is very attractive.

Originally posted by Yamota

Originally posted by Vallador

I am really surprised that the game did not see a major decrease in subscribers number yet, but that may be due to fact, that it is still being considered the newest AAA title on the block and that they make promotions and sales few times a month....

Once games like Diablo III, GW2 and SWOTOR hit the market, they will probably have to reduce costs by merging servers, limit future development and will join the countless legion of generic wow clones, only occasionally mentioned by media or players on forums. In other words, they will share the fate of AoC, WAR, Aion etc...

Depends on what you mean with major decrease but XFire had a peak of 30.000 hours played per day and now it is under 9000. That is major decrease enough for me too see that this game is going down the same path like WAR and AoC.

Problem is that, most likely, Trion made profit on the game which means the industry will continue to produce generic garbage with zero depth.

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

I find it funny that you guys all twist Xfire numbers to suit your arguments but god forbid its used against a game you like you pull the classic "Who uses Xfire"...

Whether you like it or not RIFT is extremely popular and in no way similar to what happened to WAR or AOC who by this time had virtually no subs left after starting with over 800k.

Honestly on Rifts NA servers alone atleast half of those servers are so jam packed that people are complaining about lagg... In AOC and WAR at this point everyone was migrating to two to three servers.

Originally posted by Z3R01

Originally posted by Yamota

Originally posted by Vallador

I am really surprised that the game did not see a major decrease in subscribers number yet, but that may be due to fact, that it is still being considered the newest AAA title on the block and that they make promotions and sales few times a month....

Once games like Diablo III, GW2 and SWOTOR hit the market, they will probably have to reduce costs by merging servers, limit future development and will join the countless legion of generic wow clones, only occasionally mentioned by media or players on forums. In other words, they will share the fate of AoC, WAR, Aion etc...

Depends on what you mean with major decrease but XFire had a peak of 30.000 hours played per day and now it is under 9000. That is major decrease enough for me too see that this game is going down the same path like WAR and AoC.

Problem is that, most likely, Trion made profit on the game which means the industry will continue to produce generic garbage with zero depth.

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

I find it funny that you guys all twist Xfire numbers to suit your arguments but god forbid its used against a game you like you pull the classic "Who uses Xfire"...

Whether you like it or not RIFT is extremely popular and in no way similar to what happened to WAR or AOC who by this time had virtually no subs left after starting with over 800k.

Honestly on Rifts NA servers alone atleast half of those servers are so jam packed that people are complaining about lagg... In AOC and WAR at this point everyone was migrating to two to three servers.

Thank you for not exaggerating and distorting the truth. Rift is a successful game with a steady 700k or so subscribers at the moment. Many of the servers are really packed. Yes, many people are using it as a filler game. Calling it a WoW clone is accurate, but boy is it a good one. I can safely say this since I have 1 level 50 character and another level 36. There are several things I am not liking about it but its a great, polished MMO to play while waiting for other MMOs to arrive especially. 

I am at the stage with this game where I don't think I will be renewing my subscription.  The main reason for this is because of the macro system which was implemented which simplifies the whole game down to one or two buttons for almost every build in the game.  Basically to get good at Rift all you have to do is google a build and copy / paste a macro or two and you are about done! Then just stay out of the fire and occassionally switch target if adds spawn and you will be doing close on the theoretical max damage for your build.   

Now this is certainly true to a degree in most MMOs however in most other games I have played there have not been mega macros where you can load almost every ability onto a single button, instead you have generally had to keep track of your cooldowns and skill procs yourself.  

This means it becomes difficult to maintain maximum theoretical dps in most games encounters whilst dealing with all of the other variables of combat and this allows game designers to allow player skill to make the difference by tailoring the encounters to an average skill level.  In Rift as everyone should be getting close to their theoretical maximum dps the whole success of end game encounters more or less seems to boil down to equipment level checks, barring making fundamental mistakes on the tactics.

This is a shame as the game content and ideas like the dynamic content and soul building have generally been successful.  I was hoping by now Trion would have changed the way the macros worked but having seen the 1.4 patch notes it still doesn't seem to be the case.

Originally posted by Tutu2

Originally posted by Z3R01

Originally posted by Yamota

Originally posted by Vallador

I am really surprised that the game did not see a major decrease in subscribers number yet, but that may be due to fact, that it is still being considered the newest AAA title on the block and that they make promotions and sales few times a month....

Once games like Diablo III, GW2 and SWOTOR hit the market, they will probably have to reduce costs by merging servers, limit future development and will join the countless legion of generic wow clones, only occasionally mentioned by media or players on forums. In other words, they will share the fate of AoC, WAR, Aion etc...

Depends on what you mean with major decrease but XFire had a peak of 30.000 hours played per day and now it is under 9000. That is major decrease enough for me too see that this game is going down the same path like WAR and AoC.

Problem is that, most likely, Trion made profit on the game which means the industry will continue to produce generic garbage with zero depth.

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

I find it funny that you guys all twist Xfire numbers to suit your arguments but god forbid its used against a game you like you pull the classic "Who uses Xfire"...

Whether you like it or not RIFT is extremely popular and in no way similar to what happened to WAR or AOC who by this time had virtually no subs left after starting with over 800k.

Honestly on Rifts NA servers alone atleast half of those servers are so jam packed that people are complaining about lagg... In AOC and WAR at this point everyone was migrating to two to three servers.

Thank you for not exaggerating and distorting the truth. Rift is a successful game with a steady 700k or so subscribers at the moment. Many of the servers are really packed. Yes, many people are using it as a filler game. Calling it a WoW clone is accurate, but boy is it a good one. I can safely say this since I have 1 level 50 character and another level 36. There are several things I am not liking about it but its a great, polished MMO to play while waiting for other MMOs to arrive especially. 

Exactly. Xfire has never been a reliable source of a games populations. People who use xfire are very similar to those that use steam. They jump from game to game constantly. When something new and shiny comes out they will jump ship. Rift has settled down since launch and if you have actually been playing you can see the pop as actually started to grow again. Its not gonna be the next WoW but it will fill the hole for people who want a more dynamic game that offers all the dungeon/raids that people have come to love. Its not for everyone. If you hate themeparks don't even bother. If you want a game that you can hop in and enjoy for 30 min and still feel like you did something this is for you.

Games okay but me, my wife, my daughter and my son all have our bags packed already waiting on GW2. Rift while it has some unique concepts that we find fun, still boils down to the same old song and dance. Quest heavy game that eventually devolves into Raids with the perpetual gear grind. 

Most I know are in the same boat. Some are waiting on GW2, others SW:TOR. Some are waiting on Archage, others Tera. 

Rift will survive I'm sure but it is just a pitstop for many waiting on the game of there choice. 

Problem I see in most actual MMorgs is that they want to reach all market targets: Questers, Grinders, RolePlayers, PVPers, ArenaPvPers,  Raiders and HardCore Players and its impossible.

I think they have to focus on chosing the target they want and enhance it . A good example is cars, I know ferraris are awesome cars but i want to go into mountain paths with my car, it does not fill my needs. And like cars, games can pick up 2 or 3 targets at a time, but not all.

Easy leveling games with a nice background adding some 1 week mastered raids is what now is selling more; RIFT, LOTRO, LINEAGE II, Vindictus, AION (before it's death), games which have a great impact in its launch but they can't keep on. I have put my Hopes in SW:TOR and GW2 like the most of you. I wish they dont crash our expectations.

I cant seem to get passed level 30 in this game..I have a Warrior,Rogue,and Mage.

I leveled up the Warrior and Mage,quit the game for about a month,then came back and leveled up the rogue..

Everytime Ive gotten burned out and bored right at 30.

I have leveled up 6 characters to 50 now and the gameplay is rather good. I wouldnt call it a bad game. But the game in itself have no soul, I cannot connect and immerse myself to either my characters or the game world, it all just feels so dead and boring.

In one moment we fight off an invasion and the world is on fire, the next its all back to normal just like nothing happened, not a trace of what just happened. And this happen over and over again.. .whats the point really? Well Im done now. Trion you did a great game! To bad its so boring. :( I cancelled my two accounts yesterday.

Originally posted by Vortex5oo

In one moment we fight off an invasion and the world is on fire, the next its all back to normal just like nothing happened, not a trace of what just happened. And this happen over and over again.. .whats the point really? Well Im done now. Trion you did a great game! To bad its so boring. :( I cancelled my two accounts yesterday.

What exactly are you expecting from a game?  You can't make a game where the content doesn't reset, every MMORPG there has ever been has to do this otherwise it would be like playing a single player RPG and for everyone except the first group to experience the content this would mean walking through an empty world filled with hacked up corpses.  If you are looking for a fully persistent world where everything has a permanent affect on the world you might want to look at single player games.

I'm leaving.

Well after 5 months. If someone is looking for a nic PvE game that is fun then Rift is a good choice. However if someone wants the game to have PvP at least as equal to PvE then based on how they were toying with it for past 5 months in each patch and after seeing what 1.4 is going to bring then it's better to avoid. Anyway I myself enjoy PvE part as for PvP my patience is over. And yeah, I am playing cleric, not complaining about class balance - rather how company is handling it and how they are handling overall PvP balance which to me looks like they are not even casualy playing their own game. At least PvP part.

My review of Rift follows:  Decent, not great.  Potential to be great, given a year of dev improvement.  I cancelled, playing another decent-not-great game, waiting for another AAA title.

The question is, how many people will look again next year?

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Originally posted by Z3R01

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

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Originally posted by Xiaoki

 

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Originally posted by Z3R01

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

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If Rift is such a "screaming success" then why did they move 20 servers to Trial? Practically shutting them down.

 

because they launched with way to many server and the trial servers now were all low pop even after launch. Wow had the same issue they had to do the whole server xfer and everything for hte first year then it slowly started to get more subs then it exploded pop wise.

Originally posted by Frostbite05

Originally posted by Xiaoki

 

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Originally posted by Z3R01

To the game industry Rift is a screaming success.

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If Rift is such a "screaming success" then why did they move 20 servers to Trial? Practically shutting them down.

 

because they launched with way to many server and the trial servers now were all low pop even after launch. Wow had the same issue they had to do the whole server xfer and everything for hte first year then it slowly started to get more subs then it exploded pop wise.

Also, remember Rift had a fairly low budget (less than 40 million I believe). Trion has more than made their money back on box sales alone. Themepark MMOs can be very profitable.