This is the first MMORPG I ever played and might actually be the last.  After several failed attempts at liking the "new-age" more dumbed down version of games that people call "MMORPGs", I just can't take it anymore.  No thought needed, plug and play.  Although the graphics are dated quite a bit, the gameplay is still awesome and the skill building and implant building are awesome...It was probably inevitable that I'd come back cuz high fantasy settings now seem so generic and any game with a high fantasy setting has a very linear path, too much ease of use and not enough depth.

So after my ramble, yah, started again 3 days ago and have clocked more time on AO in 3 days then any game I've played in the past 3 years.  Joined RK1, Omni side (of course) and looking for an org to join.

Had a high level MA and Fixer, but decided to make a new account and start from scratch....Have to get used to the game again.

I actually envy you.

I played AO from the start and left when SL came out.  To me it gutted the game.

Anyway you have more tolerance for a screwed up game than I do.

I have tried several times to go back but it just isn't the same any more.

At least you picked Omni.  Remember "Omni Tech is your friend"

:)

AO was my first mmo ,too

thinking about back,cuse all old mmo's are better than any after 2005.

Originally posted by JosephJR

AO was my first mmo ,too

thinking about back,cuse all old mmo's are better than any after 2005.

 

agree 100%...no other game "feels" the way AO does...dont know how else to describe it

Originally posted by Grunty
"Pack of Noobs" org on Rubi Ka 2.

Awesome, perfect org name too!  would love to join...I'll create a toon on 2 then...won't actually be a paying customer til October 15th....on a tight budget atm cuz of my kids b-days and other things.  Then I might just bring back my old account with was Omni RK2 anyway. 

Ao is my first mmo too, i would probably return if this new engine will be release ( i can dream i know) or maibe i will try it again even so but for now i just return to my second mmo FFXI, and it's just awsome.

Good luck in you new journey :)

I played AO a ton "back in the day" and loved it. Sure it was rough and looks...dated...now but everytime I see a press release about it, it makes me consider going back. I guess I'm one of the weird people who preferred SL to RK (though I did all the RK stuff) but I didn't want to sub to the game without seeing if I'd like it. Since it looks like the new deal includes SL, I may be able to convince my boyfriend to try it with me.

And yes, Omni all the way.

Originally posted by TheOtter

I played AO a ton "back in the day" and loved it. Sure it was rough and looks...dated...now but everytime I see a press release about it, it makes me consider going back. I guess I'm one of the weird people who preferred SL to RK (though I did all the RK stuff) but I didn't want to sub to the game without seeing if I'd like it. Since it looks like the new deal includes SL, I may be able to convince my boyfriend to try it with me.

 

And yes, Omni all the way.

I didnt mind SL either....liked it quite a bit actually...it added another dimension to the game.  Although RK and SL were 2 different worlds, really didnt matter to me...having 2 different worlds in 1 game is an added bonus.

Yeah, the graphics are a bit rough, but I actually don't mind this time around.  Probably cuz Ive played enough bad games with good graphics...OMNI!

If they do ever update the graphics engine to their latest one ill be back like a shot :)

I'd probably give it a whirl, too.

SL kind of ruined it for me.

I wanted hard sci-fi, no fantasy dragon elf ghost mythical rockmonster bullshit.

I played until Alien Invasion though, my org dissolved and friends all disappeared, so I quit too...I still go back occasionally, hoping to get into it again or find a old friend I used to play a ton with, but it doesn't last long. So much has changed, the population is gone and it's so ugly it's almost offensive to look at that even though I enjoy the gameplay type and base setting of RK immensely it's too awkward.

AO was my first MMO. I started playing it July 2001, right around launch.

I have never really left! I still play when I have the time. I run an org called MC Labs, primarily on RK2 and also on test and RK1. Omni of course!

I'm getting ready for the server merge. 4 paid accounts. 2 of them that are over 11 years old! I play with both of my sons.

For those of you coming back you might want to get on AOSpeak: The unOfficial Anarchy Online Teamspeak server. For more information /tell speak help in game. This Teamspeak server is dedicated to the AO community and has been around almost two years now. You can only join the server if you play AO, there is tight integration in game with the Speak bots and most org bots also have AOSpeak options. Org leaders can create and manage their own channels. There are lot of great people in there that love and play AO regularly. /shameless plug

I am looking forward to the Engine upgrade but to be honest I would still play it even if they never upgrade it. It's about the game play, the mechanics and the community. I think that most people that say they will come back only when they upgrade the graphics are not going to stay for the graphics. They will either stay because the like the challenge of the game or leave because it too hard.

Anyway hope to see you all in game!

Some of my toons:

• Teknocrat - 220/70/28 Nanomage Crat
• Teknite - 220/65/26 Solitus Soldier
• Teknotron - 220/60/25 Nanomage Doctor

They've already updated some textures, UI and quests. I haven't played for number of years my self and I have to agree it feels different from other MMOs and it felt really strange when playing in the Shadowlands.

They are very close into updating the engine and they are beginning to move current players onto the new servers which have the dreamworld graphics, but with the way the world is atm they had to lay off some employees, infact there are talks about Funcom being sold. So its no wonder this update has been taking years. The graphics will be a huge improvement, but it wouldn't  be up to date with 2012 graphics, more like 2008/2010. But I'm still looking forward.

I remember being Clan... took a while to get used too, Neutral was just horrible but at least I was able to enter all 3 cities. And then we have Omni, best starter gear for level 10/11s (at least when I last played) it was easy to get then it was as being a Clan.

Any way I hope to see every one coming back to the game, I've decided to go back to it now and give it a whirl. Might end up playing on the German Server again as its the only EU server, if I'm wrong please correct me so I dont end up leveling a toon high level then find I could have played a EU English. Hehe

There is no German server anymore, hasn't been for a couple of years at least. The remaining two servers are being merged into one. When they are done with the merge there will be only one.

I think they are updating the servers to the same style as The Secret World. Which is really just one "server" and multiple instances. AO has always been an instanced game. Only the main playfields were not instanced. Almost allof the dungeions and even the stores are instanced. This would allow them to scale the number of available instances based on demand. So if there is ever an influx of players again for instance when the new engine goes live they would be able to handle it.

I'll ask the devs about it...

AS far as the graphics being up to date, The Dreamworld engine is still ahead of all of the other MMO's I have seen. Even the oldest version that is in AOC. The updated version for TSW is pretty amazing but the hardware requirements are higher. The version AO is getting is newer than the AOC one and behind the TSW version.

The biggest issue for AO is the playfields were not designed with that engine in mind. so what that means is the can't make it look as good as it could if the playfield was designed specifically for it. It will be a facelift. It will still look much better than it does now. All new textures, the characters, NPC's and most of the Mobs are begin redone for the new engine. For those of you that have played AO and then some other games you know AO is HUGE! as long as I have played every once in a while I discover a new place I haven't seen. Still Amazing!!

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread...

AO was my first MMO as well, and i still consider it the best one i ever played. It was buggy (still remember loosing my 100mio fixer gun >.<), harsh, unforgiving, and extremely complex, there was a ton of grinding, but i loved it, and i belive i still do, though i didn't play it for over 2 years now. SL was in my eyes the best expansion ever made, and though graphics is realy outdated i still find it stunning visualy.

But the best part were people playing it. People actualy talked to eachoder, not like in GW nowdays. And we could talk for hours without end, we didn't hide behind virtual avatar, but talked about our rl experiences and problems too. I found some good friends in that game :).

Hope that new engine arrives someday, and breathe some new life in to AO. I would return in a heart beat.

Originally posted by Teknologist

There is no German server anymore, hasn't been for a couple of years at least. The remaining two servers are being merged into one. When they are done with the merge there will be only one.

I think they are updating the servers to the same style as The Secret World. Which is really just one "server" and multiple instances. AO has always been an instanced game. Only the main playfields were not instanced. Almost allof the dungeions and even the stores are instanced. This would allow them to scale the number of available instances based on demand. So if there is ever an influx of players again for instance when the new engine goes live they would be able to handle it.

I'll ask the devs about it...

AS far as the graphics being up to date, The Dreamworld engine is still ahead of all of the other MMO's I have seen. Even the oldest version that is in AOC. The updated version for TSW is pretty amazing but the hardware requirements are higher. The version AO is getting is newer than the AOC one and behind the TSW version.

The biggest issue for AO is the playfields were not designed with that engine in mind. so what that means is the can't make it look as good as it could if the playfield was designed specifically for it. It will be a facelift. It will still look much better than it does now. All new textures, the characters, NPC's and most of the Mobs are begin redone for the new engine. For those of you that have played AO and then some other games you know AO is HUGE! as long as I have played every once in a while I discover a new place I haven't seen. Still Amazing!!

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread...

The oldest version of Dreamworld is Anarchy Online's current engine that has been running since 2000.