Good review, George! I agree with almost all of your points. Too bad you didn't get to experience siege warfare, though. I hear it's fantastic.

I support this move. The pace of new content has dramatically slowed down and by all reports the population was dropping, probably as a result of being one of the last "old guard" of the subscription model. This will, without doubt, ensure I go back to the game and finish leveling and probably even spend a few dollars to support one of the best MMOs out there today. And with any luck, lots of other players will come to that same conclusion about RIFT's quality.

That said, I'm concerned about them selling "great items" for credits. You can earn them in-game, so that's good, but it runs the risk of devaluing people's efforts in actually playing.Selling rep boosters also incentives designing towards longer grinds you have to visit the cash shop. 

That's the fundamental problem with F2P -- and I don't mind the model. Instead of focusing on creating great content, you get an attention split between great design and manipulating players into spending money. Do it even slightly wrong and people get angry, ala LotRO.

Originally posted by Thenextbigthing
Why have you used a screen shot from lotro for an article about mmo death? This site really is the pits in slipshod writing and reporting.

Because it headed a section on emotional connection. Perhaps it's a game Victor enjoyed and signifies his point.

Originally posted by Atrocitus

Hey Chris, too bad you aren't a 'hot chick', then with your writing skills and hotness you would have tens of thousands of followers.......

 

But sadly, all you have is good writing skills..............

 

 

 

 

 

Uh, wait a minute, what?

 

 

 

Good article mate.........Vanguard makes my heart ache a bit. Its sad the likelihood of a game of this size and caliber being made again is small. That whole genre will be considered the "Golden Era" of MMOs one day.............

 

Thanks for the comment! Honestly, Vanguard wasn't there by year, but by design I definitely think Vanguard is part of the Golden Era. It's closer to EQ1, Ultima, DAoC, and the rest than anything released recently.

And I can be a hot chick. All it takes is a quick image search since you all know me by my avatar anyways ;-)

Originally posted by SavageHorizon

I'm a Vanguard vet with 5 level 55s and numerous other classes of all levels. 

EQN will be on par with Vanguard, hell we already know it's a totally open world for one.We also know that the classes are going to be more akin to EQ and Vanguard rather than EQ2. Don't be surprised to see an updated copy of Vanguards diplomacy system as well.

I think you will find that EQN will be along the same lines as Vanguard and EQ, let be honest Vanguard is more of a hybrid mmo rather than an out and out themepark.

As for chunking, well mine is instant, SSD is the key.

I wonder about EQN being so close to Vanguard. It would be great for it to be closer to that mark, sure, but the market has advanced so far since 2007 that being too similar to Vanguard would ensure it stays niche. That said, the big open world is a plus, but have they confirmed that it will be open in the same way VG is -- open dungeons and such?

What has me excited for EQN is the integration of Storybricks. That could be huge. The best thing would be if they blended Diplomacy with Storybricks and had truly interactable and influenceable NPCs.

Hi everyone,

This is Chris from the show. I just wanted to update everyone that the giveaway has been extended until 5/19 at 3PM EST so that everyone has a chance to enter that would like to. Good luck!

@Quizzical: Chris here, and yeah, it is a bit of hyperbole. I really don't think the game is that impressive, though, even on its highest settings (which I ran). It's colorful, I'll give it that, but even for 2009 it wasn't that impressive. They're very low detail in a lot of cases. Maybe that's because they were going for the painterly comic book effect, but it was still hit or miss for me.

In fairness, the game can look quite good. Like I said, it was hit or miss.

Hey Yuberek!

Thanks for the support. I'm glad you guys are liking the articles. FE is definitely a game that takes some getting used to but, right off the bat, you can tell it's got depth. I really like that there's so much unknown. It gives the game mystery and makes you want to explore.  Everything is no new and fresh compared to other MMOs out there, it's exciting to be a part of it.

I definitely plan to continue writing about it. The blog is my outlet for all things MMO, so I write about multiple games, but whatever game I'm playing tends to get the most attention :-)

Thanks for reading, I hope to see you all in the comments section!

Chris

Game by Night

Quit complaining. If you could play in China, continue to play there until the game is made available in your location. It's unfortunate that you're unable to login but the fact that you're putting yourself up as a comparison to African Americans in pre-affirmative action American is reprehensible at best.

And by the way, I found it a little weird that you made a point to specify "my gfs a**".

It only makes a difference for RvR. Your performance will be the same for any of the servers since they're in the same location. What matters though is when fortresses become vulnerable. Since most people will be RvR'ing during peak hours, that's when fortresses will be vulnerable and some of the best playtime will be had.

My suggestion is to play on an East Coast server.