Originally posted by drivendawn

Originally posted by GoldenArrow
FFXIV ARR is something every MMO gamer should be excited about, along with TESO.

 

Agreed sir  ^ ^

 

It will indeed be the real deal this time. XIV was very PvE hardcore in its approach and had some technical issues. ARR is easier for Joe and Jane casual GW2 gamer to get into, and given that GW2 is aging you will get players hoping onto newer games. Similar thing with WoW, people get fed up with the lack of content at 90 and want to move on from a gear treadmill end-game onto something new.

The tricky thing about classes such as Wizard, mage, or sorcerer is that they live or die as a class by their ability to cast flashy magic graphics. Weaponry doesn't really matter at all. There isn't really anywhere new ESO can go with magic classes. If they don't produce huge explosions then nobody wants to know about them as a class.

I played XIV at launch, and it had a few technical issues, though less than Sim City Always Online strangely enough, and I thought it was just way too hardcore a PvE sandbox for most gamers to take. Tremendous freedom, but way to little to guide most peeps. XIV reborn I am thinking of playing on PS3 at release. Will be a blast on console. While many like Bill and the guys here seem to be looking to jump on the Champions online rework in Neverwinter from there GW2 casual heaven, I am thinking XIV is the fantasy mmo to play untill Elder Scrolls Online eventually goes live some way off from this present point in time.

Originally posted by Thane

[mod edit]

Does the 9 million still count the time cards in China?

Anyway, I think it is interesting that Greg is telling us that they are preparing for a new expansion to WoW. I am guessing for 2014. My approach to Panda was to simply play a class I liked from level 1 till level 90 then quit. A lot of game, but I didn't like the Panda art so much. A future and darker kinda expansion might make me dip into the end game. But, having done the WoW raid gear treadmill in both hardcore and casual guilds I feel I don't need to go there just yet.

Originally posted by SBFord

 

If you go based on the Heavy and Light Armor models in the Elder Scrolls games, how much protection will these afford players? 

 

I wouldn't worry too much here. MMO players have been wearing the Steel Bikini for one reason or another in so many high fantasy MMOs that it should be expected that you will encounter someone tanking powerful foes in their undies. Another reality of MMOs is unfathomably large swords, so big that to wield them in combat would cause the player to fall over, assuming they could lift the mighty blade from the ground, if they ever tried to swing it. A sense of realism has never held back MMO developers in the past, and I am expecting high fantasy armor excess with ESO too.

Originally posted by azarhal

 

Unless the "soft-target" is a fancy name for magnetic/sticky aim like in Neverwinter Online.

Just think WoW combat...you tab target around and even if technically a NPC or PC in the way the game mechanics allow the hit.

You can, everyone, see where the combat system has a problem...

Dragonknight see mouse hides behind Huge Elephant. Dragonknight attacks soft locked mouse with long and mighty sword. Dragonknight misses Elephant with sword swing, but biggie sword slices mouse hiding behind it impacting a critical hit and leading to death. Elephant says to all around him. Thank goodness ESO isn't lifelike combat or that huge sword would have sliced off my trunk. 

This type of stuff is normal for MMOs, but no way does it go for combat realism.

Originally posted by stefanakisgr
Smedley is a master at manipulating crowd responce . Permadeath my ass , this is only to make people interested in the game . Next you will hear about how this world will be like nothing you have ever seen , how this is the next generation mmo , and more bs . I will not believe anything until I actually see it ..... 

Posting prema-bull on Twitter accounts is a great way for SOE to drum up internet interest in the game. First, we get Smedley saying the P word, and then we get a rebuttal from someone else in the company saying no P. Double social networking whammy for the game. Guys, until we see a working playable demo we have no idea what EQN will actually play like, so may as well just wait before forming an opinion.

But, we do know that EQN is due to use the Planetside 2 engine. That's a pretty cool game so if Smedley and the boys mess up EQN they only have their selves to blame as the P2 engine is top notch. EQ2 was sort of killed by SOE due to using a bad game engine. Oh and a bunch of  other things like in-game pizza advertising.

Originally posted by SBFord

I’m going to try to keep this short and to the point this week. It’s no secret that three-faction PvP is on a bit of a comeback in recent years. With the failure of Mythic’s Warhammer Online to gain traction, a lot of players blamed the two-faction system. After all, it was a far cry from the RvR system of Dark Age of Camelot that so many love and cherish to this day. Now, with the success of Guild Wars 2 

 

If WAR had a F2P model with a cash shop it might still be a contender today. As for DAoC nobody actually has played it during its glory days, heck it only ever had a few hundred K subs when it was at its peak years ago, so gawd alone knows how legit people are now claiming they played this game when it was a growing MMORPG. As for Elder Scrolls, I think this could be the next big one to land, though it still is early days. GW2 will fade over next few years, so hail to the new king I think here.

Originally posted by expresso

Originally posted by Purutzil

The damage is already done. Changes really aren't likely to be enough to warrent a real spike in 'enjoyment' for the game. The only 'fix' really would be to take away the AH or make it far less viable and practically redo the entire item system... which won't happen since it would screw up the few players actually playing still.

I have never understood this whole "you have to use the RMH/AH to progress" - all the items on the RMAH/AH are found and put on there by players so if these players can do it with out all this AH gear why cant everyone else? no one wants to face a challenge it seems and just wants to buy their way through the content... yet complain because they cannot be bothered to farm the items, ARPG are all about the farming buying the top end gear gets you what? 

D3 has this gear treadmill quality to it that pressures some to the Blizz D3 AH. In a way it is the player base cash shop. Myself I just play without it, but if you get really obsessed with having an item on a character then the temptation is there for players.

Originally posted by BillMurphy
Rob and I both are thinking Blizzard All-Stars.

It's a no brainer that we may be talking this from the business suits who run Blizzard…

More precisely, we are likely talking the Blizz MOBA. Now I am thinking they may go free-to-play minus a box pack here, and pack in a state-of-the-art cash shop to make their money by a microtransactions model somehow. There may be a small download charge for the game client code, though if we are lucky Blizz may show their full embrace of love for the F2P model and actually make it F2P to get that game client code. However, a cash shop is where Blizz are looking to get credit card love for the MOBA from.

Likely also fits into the Blizz/activision push into eSports as MOBA works perfectly there, imho, and will netowrk into Battlenet and facebook, and possibly even push into mobile phone apps so you can coordinate with your online buddies anytime.

http://us.media.blizzard.com/all-stars/index.html

Originally posted by LongLivePvP
D3 expansion for sure

Possibly something on WoW and a whole lot on eSports from the business suits who run Blizzard I am guessing.

Originally posted by itgrowls

Actually PW is in charge of the monetization. I love it I play a little each week and get loads of currency to use for whatever I want in STO. Do it across two toons and you'll have all of what you need for one in no time. It's a great system. If you want it all right this second sure spend the money, but you don't have to, the game isn't designed to force you to do the hardest stuff and have to have the best ever gear in order to do said questing, nor is it designed to cutoff people from seeing content if you aren't geared like the elephant in the room, AHEM WoW and others like WoW.

Really baffled about why people are having a problem with this unless they're really just haters on anything F2P vs Sub.

The Cryptic/PW concept is simply that you can use the credit card to obviate the grind or time sink present somewhere or other in the game. Heaven forbid we could have F2P games minus a cash shop, though unless a F2P game actively patches in content fast then they are effectively generating sub level revenue from their gamer base minus the new content. Usually F2P cash shop games simply try to make money two ways, box or download purchase and then they nickel and dime you over convenience, say by cash shop purchase of fast access to extra inventory slots or by instant access to in-game item currency, or xp pots...t'is a dirty way to fleece thy gamer and ye game maste's of old with their 20-sided dices surely didn't do the same in D&D games..or did they?

Just what' the hell's an Astral Diamond?

A type of currency used in-game to purchase gear and to bid in the auction house, Astral Diamonds 'are what we've dubbed a "time currency" (similar to Dilithium in Star Trek Online or Questionite inChampions Online). Typically, a player can earn Astral Diamonds by doing certain types of quests and missions. And, usually, this content is time limited so a player can only repeat this type of gameplay so often. In our Starter Packs, we provide players a treasure chest full of Astral Diamonds so their own epic tales can begin at a sprint.

This is just so Cryptic. Yes, you can pull out your two-handed sword with your Guardian and hack your way over many hours to a bounty of Astral Diamonds, or, you simply pull out your two-sided credit card  and you can plunder the Astral Diamonds in seconds from their epic cash shop. 

Blizz developed WoW originally over 10 years ago in about early 1999 in the era of the PS2 and Xbox, and using an engine from Warcraft III, which was their point-and-click mousey online RTS game. Likely back in 1999 none though they could do an mmo like WoW on and Xbox or PS2, so they didn't make the attempt. Since then what is now Activision Blizz has merely polished their code a little and pushed out game updates and expansions, but have never announced WoW2, so again likely development for consoles has never been considered, Blizz are kinda lazy with the WoW cash cow.

Destiny by going for PS3 and Xbox360 will have up to 140 million people to aim for, but 10 million or so copies will do nicely for them, and the MMO FPS market will do well for them. I certainly will be playing this one. Will be a blast.

Originally posted by MightyChasm

Originally posted by BillMurphy
It was only hinted at with a Storm Legion clip, but Rift has a? decent system, marred only by the fact that you still must learn a new way to play with each "build". I'm looking for a system that allows you to play the way you know how but with different functions.

DCUO?  In so far as you switch between dps and heals/ tank/ control depending upon build.  It is not quite what you are after, but part way there. 

I think Bill has missed the point there. Neverwinter is D&D so you want your wizard to be a wizard and your cleric to be a cleric. If you can have a wizard tanking then it just isn't D&D my friend.

I think Neverwinters could be a casual blast, and there is nothing wrong with good honest casual gaming fun, but...remember folks Cryptic isn't the same game company that made CoH, nope they are perfect world subsidiary now, so expect a hard core cash shop

The Founder's pack looks a bit like it shows the in game purchasing that can be unlocked by using ones 2-sided credit card and being within ones credit card limit

http://nw.perfectworld.com/founderspack

GW2 didn't really get rid of class roles, ArenaNet just simplified them, and for that matter most of the game was similarly streamlined. Problem with that is it only really works for very casual gameplay in mmos. What people want is more complexity, but ease of grouping in mmos. Yes, that means stuff like dungeon finders  which does lower the immersion, and complexity in class roles, but it is a sacrifice that I for one will accept in gaming. What I think we are seeing now is some of the casual GW2 crowd getting a bit bored and are now looking for other games and newer gaming experiences. Neverwinter's will fill that gap for some as it is a casual high fantasy mmo, though we haven't seen the finished gold master product so it is a little hard to evaluate yet…it might be a tad shallow, much like Champions Online. Elder Scrolls looks more promising as a high fantasy mmo and seems to offer greater complexity and challenge for the mom player, but is further out on the horizon. So, we are really witnessing in Bill the migration from a very casual game to new fields...that's for the good as part of the problem with mmos has been the concept of gear or grind treadmills that eat up your time. Playing a game for a few months and moving on is a healthy way for the mmo industry to go as it gets away from the cash cow mmos of the past that are really just huge time sinks after you beat the levelling game, WoW anyone.