Originally posted by Nickraider
PS1 vet here, I NEVER got my email saying I was in the Beta but actually read somewhere that if you were a Vet than you need to go ahead and try to log in and play the game. If you haven't downloaded the client yet the link is http://www.planetside2.com/download and then log in with your vet account. Worked for me that way and still haven't gotten an email.

Thanks for the tip!

Never recieved the Beta invite, followed the link and after logging in it said I am invited. Downloading the client right now.

Too bad I have to go work in 20 minutes  :(

Aye, they are tied.

I actually woke up at 5:30 just to get my names (launch -3 hours was at 6:00 a.m. for me). None of them were avaliable at the last stress test, so was either wake up early or probably loose them.

I have been using some of them since 1999 on every mmorpg I have played  (using same sex, race and class when possible)  so I feel kinda attached to them.

Happy as a fat cat because I got them all.

Don't see the point of waiting other than a few days to avoid the initial crowd.

On a P2P mmorpg waiting six months can save you up 90$ in subs (if 15$/month) while a disaster launch is patched.

A B2P game  you either buy it or not once you see some reviews.

It is like waiting six month to buy the next no sub/single player big hit (like COD, Diablo3, FF, Metal gear etc... game), doesnt make much sense to me.

I have never been a fan of RMT (Like all of us, I have my reasons, believes and theories about RMT) by the company or third parties,  but I see it like something that instead of going away will become the next "standard" mmorpg feature.

You know, like a prostate exam: The finger goes with the pack.

Originally posted by elocke

Just curious, what if the game isn't that good?

Do the same I did with Oblivion. Shelf it until the mod community adresses the gameplay mechanics I despise.

A lot will disagree, but I found Oblivion quite mediocre (gameplay wise) until the modding community turned that thing on the gem I am still playing now.

Nope.

The problem for me with Call of Duty series is the enemy spawn point system.  You can be after a log,  kill 300 guys and they keep comming. Then you hit sprint until that building, fence or doorway and suddenly they are all gone. Rinse and repeat.

They are fantastic games (like being on an action movie as OP said), but I can't get over this feature (and their questionable lenght).

For multiplayer I prefer Battlefield series (PC).

Nope, but I cant avoid thinking "I would prefer that one over that other" feeling.

In the end, those are just the looks though. If Bioware did a good job with them  (like they used to do with Kotor, etc...companions) then maybe I will end up liking the ones I dislike (by the looks) and despising the ones I like now.

The only thing that sandbox sub-genre needs is a flagship title, backed up by players & subs, that shows the viability of it (exactly what WoW did for themparks).

Subgenres (not just in mmorpgs) exist because players like different playstyles within a same genre. Some like apples and others oranges, giving them an applorange will only result on all of them hating that fruit for different reasons.

On another note, one of the problems of Sandboxes is that not even the players agree on what formula would make a succesful one.

Don't think so.

If big-budget single player games do fine just with boxes sold income (GTA IV $100 million budget) why not MMORPGs, that rely on Box + Fee?

MMORPGs have another edge over single player  PC gaming, Piracy is not a problem here.

At the end (in my opinion) all comes down to this though:

-Potential costumers you are aiming for (Big-budget aiming at a niche genre/market is a recipe for short term bankrupcy even if the game is good, unless the company has the patiente and $ to hold until long term profit arrives).

-Quality of the final product matching the budget spent on it (an expensive fail is still a fail)

Originally posted by jondifool

btw among all the other great things to look forward to in GW2 here is a statement about housing

He mentioned that there will be no Guild Halls on release as we want to make Guild Halls a great experience and not just a "place". We will introduce player housing at some point after launch, and at that time we will also implement guild halls.

 Good to hear but, at one point or another, on every new mmorpg release last years the housing question poped up and the Devs answer is always the same: Planned down the road, after launch etc.. to never be implemented. Will be a nice surprise if this time is for real.

Back on topic I agree with the OP, endgame non combat activities would be nice. As others have said EQ2 housing is a good example of that, even if it is instanced, is as sandboxy you can get with housing (Check this link for examples http://eq2decorators.com/ideagallery.html.). I even know people who are still playing EQ2 since launch because they can't imagine playing a game without that housing freedom. For them housing is the endgame, and SoE knows it because every expansion/event expands housing options aswell.

Endgame being only based in combat just shows the lack of imagination, thinking out of the box and the high grade of sheeping, game companies show since 2004.

edit: grammar.

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Why is it, you have a problem self inflicting your penalty so only you will have this Rush you so enjoy, and not making everybody playing the game to share in your Rush?
 

 So you go to a dungeon, wipe and after hitting the respawn button the tanks says: "Sorry guys, I inflict myself a harsh penalty and after ...*insert harsh penalty here*.. will take me 30 minutes to come back".

Does not work. In group situations would penalize the rest of the group too and that guy would be blacklisted really fast.

Personalized penalties simply won't work on a multiplayer setting.

Keep in mind I am not a hardcore penalty fan, I no longer have the time for one-two hours corpse runs and things like that, but mmorpgs are moving to the easier side too much lately (in my opinion).

Way to overreact.

I am sure a lot would love: Black, Asian, Latin, Arabian, Oceanic, Native American etc... romance options but they are not  there either. Thanks god people have common sense and we don't call Bioware, LA or EA racists.

Keep in mind that homosexual content is still rated R (or 18+)  on a lot of first world countries, yes even something as innocent as a romance. Leaving aside permissions and distribution problems part of that population won't touch, or buy to their children, a product with homosexual content on it. After all the $ invested in SWTOR they want to grab audience, not limit themselves.

As long as people try to enter servers labeled as full there are gonna be queues.

As long as there are servers with high or medium load I don't see Trion's fault.

In another thread someone posted more servers are being added, would like to check it but only 4 minutes left in the queue for me : )

Heh, anyone knows if EU servers are full aswell?

I fear to leave the queue to check them, seeing the speed at which increases : p

I can see what you mean OP but I don't think it is a big problem long term as long as the developers have a clear idea what they want the soul system to be as the game grows in the next few years.

As expansions appear (if they do) this leaves space for more progresion instead of the usual "just let's add ten more levels" almost every game is going for, letting us go deep on the other two souls of our choice or letting us even choose to add another soul into the mix. Think of it like earning AAs on EQ.

Not everyone does, but some of us consider horizontal progression at level cap to be better than vertical one, or a mix of both. 

As far as the roles of the classes go this is a holy trinity style of game, true hybrids don't use to work. If a hybrid tank/mage can tank and cast like a pure one, why choose the pure one for a group? On the other side if they underperform in those roles, nobody would choose them and would grab a pure one for the group instead. They already will have enough problems with balanc eas the Soul system works to add Hybrids.

Trion decided to give as flavors and some differences on mechanics while keeping us on a role. It is not what everybody wants but for some of us it works.

Originally posted by mbd1968

I'm happy I've found another game where there are classes I like and I'm having fun. I don't expect it to keep me interested for long but if I can get a couple of months out of it that will be fine.

 This is one of the things that keeps me interested in rift even if it is "another thempark", and the one that kept me from enjoying Lotro.

It doesn't matter if a game it is the Holy Grial of mmorpgs, if there are no classes that fits my playstyle I can't keep playing. On the other side even the most generic of the games can keep me there for months if there is a single class which mechanincs I like, for example Vanguard's Disciple class. I kept playing that game from day one and  for a long time just because I enjoyed playing my Disciple. 

Originally posted by Khrymson

Originally posted by jonesing22

 I really just don't like when the newer mmo players, that have been ruined by !'s and ?'s, bash on a game that doesn't have the !'s and ?'s.  

Gamers bred from the likes of that one game from '04, will never understand we elders that enjoy the camp n' grind socialism and community style of gameplay. 

 The "Elders", just typed www.Allakhazam.com and looked for their own !'s and ?'s there. Do anyone really think people were checking all the NPCs everytime they levelled to see if any of them had a new quest? After doing that for a few levels as a newbie the first thing I (and a lot others) learned from "veterans" was which sites to look for info.

I started playing mmorpgs in 1999 (EQ ruins of kunark was my first mmorpg) and, for me, FFXIV is a game that deserves all the bashsing is getting and a lot more.

The only saving graces this game will have (If they can save this mess) are called FFXI and Square Enix, the chance this can be a good game is there. Fans have a lot patiente.

Had this game released under the banner of an unknown company with no past, by now FFXIV would be already sharing coffin with APB.

Edit: Some grammar and spelling (Bet I left a lot more).

Nice post OP.

They can survive fine,  if:

- It is a quality tittle from the start and it is fun to play.

-Devs (and everyone involved) have a realistic idea of the needed $ to run the project, and earn some profit,  from the start and they meet them.

Sadly, they always miss the quality factor or some high up involved turn greedy:  "Hey! we have 200.000 customers (I drive an Audi) when we could have millions! (I could use a Ferrari)" and break their own game with assissine patches or over hyped missing features to fish more customers.

Mmorpg companies, repeat like a mantra:

-Quality + fun = Happy customer.

-Customers want WoW alternatives, not face lifted clones (with  less features and content I must add).

-Instead of playing a bad clone players will stick to the original.

-12 million (or whatever numbers they are) incoming  fees/subs each month is not going to happen to my game, ever.

Funny thing, demanding beta keys or threatening to not buy the game.

Free trialers...