Well folks, a lot of us have long had major doubts about how good Dust 514 might be, and the reviews in so far seem to suggest we were all right. The game just isn't an epic, in fact it is average at best, e.g.

http://www.destructoid.com/review-dust-514-253697.phtml

Now, as we all know it bolts onto the EVE game as a sort of PS3 shooter expansion. The choice in PS3 was questioned from the start as it is at odds with the EVE platform of PC only. People, why didn't CCP make a console port of EVE? Why not a PC version of Dust at launch.

Finally, it hits in the wake of Planetside 2, which is a good game.

As always everyone. feel free to post your thoughts on Dust. Is it actually a good game, or has the turkey finally landed for CCP.

Well, folks as I predicted some time ago the bubble after the Panda launch has burst now and WoW sub numbers are going down and are at 8 million and dropping fast. I think the business suits who run Blizzard must be worried and they will have to act as the WoW sub number could fall below 5 million by the end of the year. So what can they do? Two things I can think of. One is another large content expansion. They must have this in the pipeline, and could put bodies on the project from other teams to get a product out by  the end of this year or early next year, that could keep the cash cow floating for a while longer. The second option is F2P. This wouldn't be so hard for Blizz as some aspects of the game can be F2P, and they have a cosmetic item cash shop already. The full-on cash shop, such as found in GW2, and the F2P model with perhaps an expansion too could change the game for Blizzard and WoW and see it recapture its fading gaming glories.

I think the future for WoW is solo scenarios and group dungeons/small raids, and this sort of demonstrates that the business suits who run Blizzard are headed in that direction. What they have in WoW is a very large levelling game, that then heads into a kinda dull gear treadmill. Solo Scenarios and group dungeons is the way to avoid this and give people a reason to keep playing. WoW has a history of borrowing from other games, and with GW2 and TESO (which is still in beta) being small group and solo play orientated, it is likely that is the direction WoW is headed too now. All they need is another expansion and I will dip my toes into the game again, I played Panda from 1- 90 as a Gnome Mage and it was a blast, but at 90 I stopped as I don't want to play the WoW gear/raid treadmill again.

Originally posted by etlar
very interesting, also read that its a sandbox, so we might see a full scale triple A sandbox, and perhaps with a new kind of AI..color me excited...i don think ill ever get any wiser :)

Sandbox and themepark are two very general terms thrown arround. Maybe EQ Next will be themebox or sandpark. 

Originally posted by Ryowulf
Where did the devs say its going to be Sub based? 

I don't think they have actually made a final cast in stone move with regards the sub model. However, a lot of folks seem to think for one reason or another, maybe leaks, that it will start off with the full sub and then later on move to freemium.

Originally posted by TheJoda
Aint the model I like, I can afford to pay to play a game I enjoy!

Unfortunately having a long-term sub to a game like WoW is a bit like having a lunch pass for McDonalds. Yes, all those burgers may taste good initially, but do you really want to live off Big Macs for the rest of your entire life? The F2P MMO model allows players to have much more variety in their gaming diet easily, and that is for the good overall, I feel. 

Originally posted by SBFord

Keep in mind, I haven’t been able to dig deep enough into the expansion content just yet.

 

I think this must be a reviewer fail from Mike. How can you review a game that you aren't really interested in enough to play for say even an entire evening. I mean a first impression should be after, say, a weeks play of an mmo, with the full review coming after a significant amount of playing time. SWTOR is estimated in free-to-play form to have a million players, albeit with a range of active playtimes as one expects from F2P model mmos.

That all written, I, myself, find it hard to be enthusiastic about this expansion. It is more a DLC than a real-deal old school mmo expansion. Yes DLC-style expansions may be the way to go with F2P model mmos. It gives the game progression and generates revenues, but, it really isn't inter-galactic conflict between Republic and Sith on the epic Scale. Just Hutt gangster stuff. A pass for me as I wait for TESO and possibly XIV on console too, depending on my available play schedule.

Originally posted by Lideln

Originally posted by grimfall

The Repopulation was at Pax...

Wildstar does have a lot of innovation... showing a picture of "Hey, let's redo the World of Warcraft Barrens Zone" probably wasn't the best idea of showing the game's innovation.

Couldn't agree more...

Dying for Day Z and TESO btw!

I think TESO will be a blast as they are going in the right direction with an MMO with no raiding, 4 player PvE dungeons and 3 faction PvP. Result is a neat PvP-centric mmo, where the PvE doesn't demand large guilds.

I think building a game for RvR has a lot of potential. You just need to get the basics right. The first and most critical thing is to have an engrossing RvR PvE story to carry you along and get you into the spirit of it. The second is fun and balanced PvP mechanics. So many games have gotten this all wrong. add into that good sound/graphics and Mac and PC support and we are talking a promising new game here if funded.

Originally posted by tmr819
MMO or not, it may be now, but I still wish they had stayed on their original course of making Neverwinter a co-op online RPG. This game had a lot more appeal to me then than it does now.

I think it all comes down to whether you define Neverwinter as multi player coop game or an actual mmo. I think if the game is basically very instanced and you never group or need to group up beyond 5 players then you are really talking multi player. MMO implies the need for a large number of players to group in the game to play it at some time or another. 

Originally posted by Bladestrom

Problem you will have spock is that more than any other time in history of wow, the gear inflation has destroyed any fun you could have in secarios,heroics,lfr raids,normal. 

It is indeed the major problem with WoW the gear treadmll at endgame means that if you play on after getting to 90 then you are simply chasing gear upgrades till you get to the hardcore mode. 

Originally posted by Zekiah

It's not even in Alpha and already it's become PAY TO WIN.

NEW: Available only to backers, you will receive one Immortality Fruit seed. With the Farming Craft you can plant the Immortality Fruit seed, which will bear a single fruit. When eaten, this fruit will fully heal you, and leave you with a single seed which can be planted and harvested, over and over, for all eternity. The Immortality Fruit seed can be transferred between players.

That is just plain sad, I'll pass.

I have to admit at this stage we are talking some crazy stuff coming out of RIchard and the team. Yes, buy-to-win cash-shop is how that will probably have to go for the game to make money, but to come out with the ideas so early seems likely to put off players. I think we are talking the cash credit card being needed for housing options, crafting, and game customisations. Yep, we are talking a hard-on cash shop here again, but I can't see another way with a kickstarter mmo. Ultima Forever looks more promising as Mythic/EA are aiming now at somehting that we can all see and it looks like a promising iPad/PC mmorpg game. Shroud likely is 2015 game, so we will see, but I am thinking this one to fire and forget about untill actualy full betas come arround.

Originally posted by BillMurphy

Originally posted by Yaevindusk

 

Might've given this a chance if they just named Lady British Baron British instead.  Maybe Duke British or something.  Though the whole "Lady British" is almost offensive to fans of Ultima's lore continuity.  In that I don't mean anything sexist, but if Lara Croft was suddenly turned into a guy who throws empty bottles of beer at his enemies it would likely feel the same as it does with this.  Now, I know that Lord British is copy righted under Mr. Garriot, but there are stills that could be translated into a "Lord" such as the beforementioned "Baron" British.

It's a nitpick to be sure, but one that's nearly unforgivable and seems to be an affront on Richard himself and those who were fans of the games he was a part of.  Bad public relations move if they were trying to get the sights of old school Ultima fans, and they needed that kind've backup considering this just seems to be a mobile cash cow trying to pray on the the consumer market.

I think it's actually intended to be Lord B's daughter, and is representative of Kate Flack leading design, rather than Garriott.  Not a sex-change.

/sigh

No Bill, it isn't because of that. Ultima Forever builds on the Ultima IV world, and since Richard Garriot owns the rights to the Lord British identity Mythic/EA had to come up with Lady British as a way arround this.

I think it could be an iPad blast. At F2P pricepoint can certainly download and give it a whirl without fear. Certainly looks way more promising than Richard Garriots Facebook gaming stuff.

http://www.ultimaforever.com