I am already keeping an eye out for this game.  The concept is really cool and seems really different (something that has been lacking for a while in MMOs).

But I've seen too many games with great concepts end up dying before they make it to release, i.e. Trials of Ascension.  I do hope this one makes it and it lives up to its description, but with so little information about the game so far, I'm not holding my breath.

I'm not really hoping any game will be a "WoW Killer" as much as a game coming out that is interesting to play and offers something new since most games out there now are either old or have nothing that interesting to offer.

So what does this mean?  Just that they are looking for money to invest in the business, new projects, current projects?  I'm by no means a business person type.

Oh, and I'm currently playing DDO -  Unlimited beta thingy.

I started checking their forums and Ragnar's blog back in March (I think) when I first heard about the game.  There's not been much activity since then really.  Ragnar rarely posts anything about the game on his blog, there's almost no information on their forums (which are nearly impossible to make sense of for a casual reader who's not been involved since it first started).

Supposedly 2009 is to be the year that they start releasing information about this game, but considering it's been nearly 5 months since they said that, and that there's only 4.5 months left in 2009, I'd doubt there will be any action on this game at all.

I was excited and interested when I first read about this game.  But it's hard to maintain that feeling when there's so little information available about the game.  I've seen a games that started forums and what-not way too early in their development that end up shutting down development or just fizzling away entirely.  It's entirely possible that will happen with this game.

For me, I think I'm just going to write it off.  If it actually goes to release, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I think I read earlier in this thread that someone said that they were going to do Fallout MMO rather than an Elder Scrolls mmo.  But after doing some research (albeit online and you can't believer everything you read of course), it looks like Interplay still holds the rights for Fallout in regards to an mmo based on Fallout.  Interplay has partnered with Masthead Studios recently to publish an un-disclosed mmo title that Interplay has been working on in-house since 2007.  So.....maybe Bethesda/Zenimax Studios can't work on a Fallout MMO.

Personally I would rather they work on an MMO based on Morrowind (rather than Oblivion) but with Oblivion/Fallout quality graphics.  I liked the wide-open game world feel in Morrowind much more than Oblivion.  So I'm hoping for a Morrowind/Elder Scrolls MMO since it's one of two favorite games that I'd like to see as an MMO, the other being Shadowrun (which has been attempted and was squelched my Micro$oft before they sold the rights).

Originally posted by xkingofallx

Not sure what AAA means but Mabinogi more or less fills those reqs.Except for graphcis which are a litte cartoonish but still a good game(at least i think so).

linky:http://mabinogi.nexon.net/

A Triple-A title or AAA is usually a big-budget, big studio, top of the line game.

Graphics quality is pretty important to me in a game since it greatly affects the immersion.

While I never played UO, the sandbox game that Dana described is the type of game I would enjoy and I think what I have been looking for.

I played Horizons (now it's called Istaria) when it was originally released, and although it is a level based game, it had a lot of the same feel that Dana described.  There were world-wide initiatives that were often going on and players of any level/skill could participate in.  In this game it was more the players and community really that created that atmosphere.

From the description Dana gives, there was a game that was in development that has stopped development that I think would have fostered the sandbox game he describes very well.  It was called Trials of Ascension.  But it ran out of funding a while back and nothing has happened with it since.

Since Bethesda (or whoever their parent company is) has a division Zenimax Studios that is working on an MMO, it's my fondest hope that they will create an MMO based on Morrowind.  Mechanically I think that would be a great stage setting for a sandbox MMO, provided the non-mechanical parts are there as well.  I prefer Morrowind over Oblivion due to the wide-open game world, where Oblivion was much smaller and more directed.

I'd love to find a game with the qualities he talks about.

Are there any AAA Title games out there that aren't based on classes and levels, but skill based instead?  Maybe something like Morrowind with current quality graphics.

Not really worried about the genre so much, prefer Fantasy, Sci-Fi (including post apocalyptic) or fusion of the above, but pretty open minded.  Also prefer to be able to solo much if not most of the time, grouping occasionally, but not forced to group.

I'd have to say my top choices would be:

1. Shadowrun Online
2. Morrowind Online
3. Trials of Ascension to be finished/released (production was suspended indefinately due to funding)
4. Cypberpunk

I put Morrowind Online instead of Oblivion since Morrowind was a more expansive game world and had less of the hand-holding features (like pointing you in the direction of your destination for quests).  If Shadowrun were to be developed for an online MMO (properly) I'd probably lose it entirely.

I'm interested in finding an MMO that you can play solo.

I know a lot of people think it's stupid to want to solo in an MMO, however the reason I prefer that is because the content is dynamic rather than static.  Stand alone PC games don't change, update and have content added regularly like MMOs.  That being said, the type of game I am looking for:

• Soloable
• Great Graphics
• Highly customizable characters/appearance
• Minimal Grinding
• Normal character advancement rate
• No PvP or Consentual Only
• Interesting items/gear
• Lots to explore

Games that I have played or tried extensively are:

• Wow
• LoTRO
• DDO
• EQ2
• Vanguard SoH
• CoH/V
• Horizons
• Shadowbane

Been trying to log into the game and it gives an error when getting data centers.  Can't get to the website either, never comes up.

Anyone else having this issue?

I hadn't thought of Thundar as an MMO, but I think it could work well as a game world/system.  Science and Sorcery was the core of the PnP game Shadowrun which would also make a perfect MMO.  Shadowrun has been attempted/pitched as an MMO from time to time, but until fairly recently Microsoft owned the IP rights and always squelched the attempts, although from what I understand they've sold the IP and whoever owns it now is just sitting on it.  There's a small development group that was working on a Shadowrun online that was squelched by Microsoft and they are now developing their own game, they're called Sixth World Games (or something like that).

Just started playing Lord of the Rings online, still in the 14 day trial (which I thought is a very generous trial period) but planning on buying when the trial is over (that's tomorrow).

Originally posted by blindside044

lorebook.lotro.com is probably your best bet. Its the official wiki site for the game and has a lot of good information. Just look through it and you will probably find what you need. (The community created guides on that site are really good pieces of info)

Thanks!  I'll check it out.  When I'm at work and it's slow and boring, I like to read stuff about the game I am playing.  Helps pass the time at work.  However, when I'm home, I too busy playing to waste all that time reading stuff. 

I'm playing on Firefoot.  I saw how to train skills when I level, been doing that.  Level 8 hunter and Level 8 Champion.  There's definately differences in the types of skills that character classes get.  Hunters can't wear heavy armor and Champions can for instance.

So I downloaded the game and played via the free trial over the weekend and had a lot of fun.  It's a beautiful game, although I think the character models could use some improvements. But still certainly a step up from WoW (I've cancelled my sub to it btw).

What I'd like to read up more on is character development, i.e. what kind of skills a class develops, where, when and how to gain new skills, etc.  I played a hunter and a champion the most over the weekend and had to ask in chat if hunters get medium armor, etc.  The wikipedia page has a chart, but no info on how to acquire these skills.

Once my free trial is over, I plan on buying the game and the expansion when it's released.

Originally posted by erandur

Hrm, I'd not only read the books , but read the lore! Magic is supposed to be only for gods and demi-gods (like Gandalf). The loremaster was already a minor violation of the lore, the rune-keeper is a major violation... Even Turbina said they were walking away from the lotr-lore. That together with the increased level cap, made me quit...

Where's the lore if not in the books?

I've read the series of books many times, except the Hobbit (which I read in 6th grade) and although there isn't any overt mage-type characters detailed in the novels, there is plenty of magic in Middle Earth.

Personally, I don't see an issue with introducing a more magic focused class as the books primarily follow the hobbits which are definately not magic users.  In this sense, there may well have been more overt magic use in Middle Earth but outside the realm of what is experienced in the novels.  I wouldn't describe myself as a LoTR scholar or anything close to that.  I've just read the novels, not including the Silmarillion (language was too stilted for me.)

Somebody lock this thread, it's turning into a Darkfall is vs. isn't thread.

From the information released about Fallout 3 (and I have been a fan of Bethesda) it looks like Oblivion with a different wrapper.  I loved Oblivion when first playing it, but grew to realize it didn't have the complexity of  Morrowind, and I missed that.  I'll probably check out Fallout 3, but an MMO based on the IP would be a welcome change from all the WoW clone fantasy mmo's that are being churned out.

I briefly tried out LoTR with a buddy key someone emailed me and it seemed to me that there's really not much in the way of magic in LoTR.  Was I just missing it?  The closest class to a mage seemed to be more of a support/healing type class.

I like mages and wizards.