Sounds like we have similar experience, so I hope this helps.

I've tried most of the MMOs out there.  I quit WoW at the end of '06, and have been bouncing around with anything I can get my hands on.

I'll list my opinion of the top options so far:

EQ2 - I played it near launch, and did the trial a couple weeks ago.  Completely different game than I remember.  Good graphics, lots of quests, decent class selection and customization.  I'm not too familiar with the community, but the station forums seem active.  Downside for me was the Level 10 limit on the trial and the $30-40 cost to actually purchase the game.

Vanguard - Yea the game of doom.  While it has major performance issues and I don't think I'd ever pay to play, it has some good points.  Huge class selection, pretty graphics, poor implementation.  If they ever improve the performance issues that plague this game and if the dust ever settles from the game's implosion...it could have potential.  Depends what SOE really wants to do with the game.  Again, this isn't really a recommendation, but some people love it, despite its issues.  If you have a super computer with a crapload of patience, it might be for you.  You may be able to bribe someone for a trial key if you really want to check it out...but its a HUGE download since the game takes like 17-20GB of hard drive space.

SWG - Played this game from beta for around 2 years, left right before the JTL expansion.  Came back in Feb. and played for about 1.5 months.  While resource gathering and crafting is still great..so much more has changed.  The main reasons I quit were lack of population, the uselessness of crafted armor & weapons, and the recent changes to PvE make grouping necessary for the high end content in the game (what little there is).

DAoC - Another oldie that I played from launch up until I became immersed with SWG.  I'm currently on a 14-day trial, I wanted to see the changes since I left (around ToA, before Cats).  Yes, the graphics are dated a bit and Mythic continues to "nerf" classes frequently.  The servers still seem fairly active (at least on the Classic servers) and the small community seems fairly friendly.  The biggest complaint I've seen from people is the class imbalancing...but it seems that Mythic dev team is actually changing things, which means they are somewhat active with updating the game.  Many MMOs seem to have devs that could care less about game balancing, so I see this as a plus...even if my favorite class gets "nerfed" next patch.

I'm on a slim budget.  I tried the "froob" MMOs...even still play my free AO account sometimes.  There are a ton of F2P games out there, but none really seem worth the time.

Currently, I'm in closed beta for a decent MMO, but server uptime has been pretty much nonexistent for the past 3 weeks or so.

If I was to Subscribe to an MMO right now, it would probably be EQ2 (if I had the extra $50 or so to buy the game).  Since I already have an old DAoC account with a bunch of characters on it, I may play that for a bit instead.

Hope this helps

The download takes a while :(

I didn't know that the trial limited characters to level 10.  Was kind of a bummer reaching the cap a couple hours after playing.  Yes, I played other classes and its a good game.  For me, I'm not sure its worth the $30-40 to buy the game, then the $15 monthly fee.

For most people looking for something to hold them over until other games come out, I would definitely recommend EQ2.  Its so much more polished than most other games out there.

Mine! 

Been a member since '04, applied to many many contests here and never won a thing.  Not that any of us should expect to win anything.

Plus my PC is running on fumes.

I quit the game right after ToA came out.  I have all the disks somewhere

One last question...My old mains used to be a Wizard and Bonedancer, with some dabbling in other various classes.

Any recommendations on classes I should try...or avoid?  Seems archers and stealthers are overplayed and somewhat hated by the community, from what I've read.

Thanks in advance.

I used to play DAoC way way back.  I thought I'd try the game again, and installed the trial version from Fileplanet.

Mythic Updater is downloading a bunch of stuff right now, but there is a link to download the "Catacombs", which sends me to a page full of patches for Shrouded Isles, Trials of Atlantis, etc etc.

Should I download any of these patches, or are they already included in the 2GB trial download which I've already installed?

I posted this in another thread about two weeks ago:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/1404009#1404009


I'd love to see a Japanese Martial Arts style MMO, a la the James Clavell novels (Shogun, etc).  One thing that would be crucial would be swordplay and crafting.  It wouldn't even have to take place on Earth.  Some mix of Sci-Fi/Samurai/Ninja would work just as well.

As far as the combat goes, I think that the devs at Funcom have a great idea with the combat for AoC.  I could see some really intense sword fights with a similar system.  We've had enough of the button mashing and skill queueing in MMOs.  Bring some skill back to the genre, while adding a fun factor of some of the old fighting games.  Some possible classes or fighting styles would include:
Judo       "the gentle way"
Karate    "the way of the empty hand"
Kendo     "the way of the sword"
Kyudo     "the way of the bow"
Aikido     "the way of harmony of the spirit"
Sumo      Sumo wrestling
Samurai    Japanese warrior

The crafting and resource gathering system would need to be fairly extensive.  I think one of the things SWG did right was the resource surveying/harvesting.  Using a similar system to build and hire resource camps or structures would be ideal.  Crafting would take the art of Japanese Swordsmiths for an example.  Skill, customization and appearance is crucial.  Crafting in other games is too simple (WoW) or tedious (Vanguard).  Striking some middleground while allowing players to add their own personal touch to every item.  In other words...making crafting fun is key.

I think a game like this would be a great MMO.  It would be a big attraction, since most people have a great interest in Martial Arts and Japanese culture/history.  The potential playerbase worldwide could be huge.

So you can't register for the trial and use the KR client?  If they want new subs, they need to change this ASAP.

Servers are down till tomorrow night anyway, 6PM Eastern US.

If the file won't unzip, redownload the file.  Use the Fileplanet Download Manager if you have to.

While I agree that SWG has great social and merchant features, other areas are lacking.  Most servers are completely empty, PvE content is seriously lacking, and PvP is a trash talking fest of 12 year olds.

Regarding the population issues, if  you are not on Bria or Ahazi, you can go days without seeing another player.

I resubbed back in February and tried really hard to get back into the game.  I spent a couple months re-learning the changes made during my 2 year absence, started my weapon business back up, and tried all aspects of the game.  With the latest patch, most PvE now requires a group...so again, if you are not in a large guild or are not on Bria or Ahazi, you're SOL.

SWG has a great crafting system, however crafted Weapons and Armor suffer from stat caps which make them fairly useless.  I had a huge Weaponsmith business years ago and left the game.  I resubbed in February and cancelled last month.  While fun for a while, there is simply not enough players or PvE content.  With the latest patch, they also made soloing impossible.

If you haven't tried EQ2 (in the 6months or so), I would give that a shot since there's a free trial.  The download takes roughly 24 hours, which is a pain.  I recently did the trial, since there has been a buzz about the game.  If I had the extra time and cash, I would definitely be playing it.

Note that this is coming from a mature 30+ player who played WoW for 2 years, Vanguard beta, and practically every other MMO out there.

AO is still a great game in my opinion.  You can play for free, but without the expansions.  The graphics are dated and the learning curve is steep.  However once you get the hang of it, there's quite a bit to do.

Originally posted by hercules  

well one very important fact you fail to mention.

When EQ2 adds content they add for casuals and harcore at same ratio.If anything EQ2 adds more single dungeon runs then raid ones.

WoW long ago lost its focus and made things all about raiding and gear.EQ2 took its focus more on its spells (read how EQ2 spells upgrade) which play a more significant role then gear and best of all is easily attainable for casuals.

WoW adds content slower and maybe yes their dungeons are more in depth(debateable but ok) but most of the time its some new tier zillion raid dungeon which only the super hardcores can enter anyhow!

Look at the new expansion for instance in wow.You have most of the casuals even struggling to do karazhan run which is the first most basic level 70 raid zone.Like previously most will casuals will never ever ever see further then this pretty much as it was before with most never even been to naxx.

Sorry i rather take a game with possible single group dungeons and raid zones which everyone can participate if they are co ordinated and yes that includes freshly dinged level 70.I know i had taken a newly dinged 70 dirge  to hall of fate(at that time one of the hardest raid zones) and i managed ok in my average gear.

And best part of all i did not have to grind 10000 hours to get access as you do in WoW.

Now about depth i think its actually funny to even compare wow to eq2.Why?because EQ2 has more depth in general.The crafting ,housing,collections and heritages alone says a lot for the game.Compare WoW crafting to EQ2 and see what i mean.

Raiding is not the only thing to consider in a mmorpg!

Great post.  I played Wow from closed beta and cancelled in Feb.  I played EQ2 for a bit after release, then did the trial recently.  What an improvement!!  I would recommend EQ2 to anyone that hasn't tried it.  Yes, it has its downsides, but what game doesn't?

I have a funny story.

About 3 years ago, I was having a blast playing SWG on the Sunrunner server.  An online friend/guildie of mine...lets call him Bill...told us  over Teamspeak that he had a new "friend" ingame.  I met her ingame...lets call her Amy...an Entertainer of course...and she was very flirtatious and "girly".  Eventually Bill and Amy got married ingame, it was a big event, I was in the wedding party and everything.  As I mentioned before, my guild used Teamspeak, and it was an important tool for all of us.  We had a policy of mandatory Teamspeak for guild "hunts" and gatherings.  For some reason, Amy never joined us on Teamspeak.

One day, Amy mentioned in guild chat that she had a microphone and needed help setting up Teamspeak.  After a while, she connected, and spoke....
It sounded like a really bad voice pitch changer thing, and actually had some kind of feedback at times.  Those of us that were on Teamspeak were sending tells to each other ingame, wondering what the hell he/she was doing.

A few minutes later a good friend of mine logged on Teamspeak.  He was known to be very vocal and definitely not shy.  We all said hello, and after Amy said hello in her wierd robotic manly girl voice.  My buddy then said "What the hell is that...are you a dude trying to change your voice?"

Amy then logged off Teamspeak and quit the guild.  I didn't see her ingame ever agian.  Bill was sad in a wierd demented sort of way, and we kidded him about the whole incedent for quite some time after.

The end

I read somewhere recently that there is either a plugin or new feature for Teamspeak that allows you to modify your voice.  Good for guys like Amy, but creepy for the rest of us.

Would love to see some more ideas

Yep, lots of info, great preview.

I just went through and read all the posts in this thread.

Regarding the Western MMO, I think a Dark Tower inspired MMO would be a great idea.  A bit of Western with a mix of Scifi/Fantasy.

I'd love to see a Japanese Martial Arts style MMO, a la the James Clavell novels (Shogun, etc).  One thing that would be crucial would be swordplay and crafting.  It wouldn't even have to take place on Earth.  Some mix of Sci-Fi/Samurai/Ninja would work just as well.

As far as the combat goes, I think that the devs at Funcom have a great idea with the combat for AoC.  I could see some really intense sword fights with a similar system.  We've had enough of the button mashing and skill queueing in MMOs.  Bring some skill back to the genre, while adding a fun factor of some of the old fighting games.  Some possible classes or fighting styles would include:
Judo       "the gentle way"
Karate    "the way of the empty hand"
Kendo     "the way of the sword"
Kyudo     "the way of the bow"
Aikido     "the way of harmony of the spirit"
Sumo      Sumo wrestling
Samurai    Japanese warrior

The crafting and resource gathering system would need to be fairly extensive.  I think one of the things SWG did right was the resource surveying/harvesting.  Using a similar system to build and hire resource camps or structures would be ideal.  Crafting would take the art of Japanese Swordsmiths for an example.  Skill, customization and appearance is crucial.  Crafting in other games is too simple (WoW) or tedious (Vanguard).  Striking some middleground while allowing players to add their own personal touch to every item.  In other words...making crafting fun is key.

I think a game like this would be a great MMO.  It would be a big attraction, since most people have a great interest in Martial Arts and Japanese culture/history.  The potential playerbase worldwide could be huge.

Good to hear invites are going out.  Being a former tester of Lineage 1+2, CoH, Guild Wars and Dungeon Runners...hopefully I'll have a good chance at getting into TR.  I signed up for the beta months ago when it was first announced.

Not much else to do but keep my fingers crossed.

I looked all over regarding a trial for MXO.  I played the game from very early beta to just before launch, and would like to see how the game has changed since then.

I didn't find any info regarding free trials, except that current subscribers were given friend/buddy keys at some point.

If anyone has a spare key they are not using, I would really appreciate it.  You can contact me here via PM or email at qtuimod@gmail.com

Thanks

Has anyone thought of the idea that the Sigil acquisition was already in the works over a year ago, when Microsoft dumped Vanguard and SOE came to the rescue?  Brad is pretty tight with SOE's upper management, and it makes perfect sense.

Smed - Get the game released and we'll take over a couple months after release.
Brad - But its not done yet, and needs at least 2 more years of development
Smed - You've got 1 year, don't get too comfy in your office.

Anyway, I hope PE can see their dream come to life without much of SOE's help.