I miss DAoC.  It was great.  It would be great to see a comeback.  

Massive MULTIplayer online games - should be just that.  MULTI -player.  I played WoW for about 6 months.  There is no incentive to group.  There is no incentive to interact with other players in a communal like faction.  It's quite sterile as a community.

DAoC had that community feel.  

Though, it was far from perfect.  As a casual player, I was generally incapable of keeping up with the hardcore.

Good article.

I dug out my CD's!  And spent a good portion of the weekend reinstalling, downloading, and patching... 

Origins sounds like it will be fun, I hope... 

Coming back again!  Woot! 

The reason PotBS is somewhat disappointing is that unlike Eve there is not the free for all PvP.

PotBS is supposed to be historically accurate.  I don't think historically, pirates attacked passing ships in a nearby port only if there was a red circle emanating from the port.

Make it fully PvP.  Create 'safe' shipping lanes that are guarded by NPC naval officers, or something.

But this 'selective' PvP does a great disservice to the spirit of the game.

The spirit being that Pirates simply did not follow rules, only a code.  They attacked and plundered where they wanted and when they wanted.

i've been gone for a year now...

thinking of coming back - yet again!

maybe i'll fire up that mana eld again!

Vetarnias - you pretty much nailed it.  You pointed out the PvP flaws quite clearly

I really want this game to be successful.  Potentially - it can be so good.

However, the constant instances are a drag.  .  And the economy in theory is good, but it doesn't seem to be functioning well in reality.

There does seem to be an imbalance of nations.  The french are obviously severely outnumbered.

I agree with your point that FLS simply can't have it both ways.  I think the best bet is to make it a fully PvP game.

The game hasn't achieved it's potential yet.  It might, and it could...

I might give it another month or two.  If there aren't legitimate improvements to gameplay or population increase, I think I might reluctantly abandon it.

If people like the game, and keep coming back then the rumors of DAoC's soon to be death seem greatly exaggerated. 

If you like the game, than play it.  Eventually more peeps will come back to it.

I still think it is the best MMORPG ever made.  Let's see if Mythic can duplicate their effort with WH.

I for one played after TOA was released.

The only reason I stopped playing was because of RL.  But I can tell you this - I disliked TOA alot.

I am thinking of coming back since I have more time.  The classic servers were a great idea.

Though I am looking at a couple of others like Tabula Rasa, WarHammer (of course), PotBS...

Too many choices these days.

I am very excited for the release of this game.

The fact that EA seems to be allowing all creative and programming leeway to the Mythic team bodes well for the gameplay itself.  With EA's marketing muscle there might be a huge subscriber base, which I think is truly necessary for the full impact and enjoyment of what it sounds like they are trying to do with RvR.

My question is concerning the hardcore vs. the casual aspect that seems to be a problem with MMORPGs. 

How else is WAR gonna be more balance for someone like me - A guy that works 40-60 hours a week with a wife and and 3 month old son and is a gamer.  It is a problem trying to 'keep up' with hardcore gamers that seem to have no jobs/school.  And I speak from experience, it can get frustrating for someone trying to enjoy the game.

Another question is - Cost.  What is the monthly fee?  And the cost of the initial release?

And finally - is WAR gonna be a true MMORPG?   Or is it gonna be instanced hell? 

Instances sparingly is fine, but when it's something like Guild Wars - it really takes out the Massive and Multiplayer aspect of online games which I think is the initial attraction to them.

Thank you for a good article, keep 'em coming.

Looking at these screenshots, I am wondering about the hardware necessary to play the game...

Are we gonna need a $5500 rig with some $1200 video card to play this game to have it look like it does in these screenshots?

There is a problem in society these days.  This problem is that most people are woeful pathetic when it comes to making decisions for themselves.

They are susceptible to advertising, marketing, and to a lemming herd mentality. 

This is the only explanation I can come up with for the reason that WoW has 6 million subscribers.

Wake up! WoW isn't good.  Just because you are told to like it, doesn't mean you should.  Just because you are told that a war is righteous, you shouldn't believe it.  Just because you are told that 2+2=5, you shouldn't follow the masses.

DAoC is a far superior game in all and every aspects, except for the fact that there is about 5.9 million less dunderheads playing.

DAoC provides better customer service, has better PvP, and the PvE is comparable.  Graphicswise - which doesn't mean as much when it comes to gameplay - WoW is better.

So, choose wisely young one.  Choose with your own mind and thoughts and what you think is best for yourself.

---

Originally posted by ram3o

I very happy with DaL. DaL has like sea people and after I killed like thosands of them, they made me ruler over them. I was like, Yes!!! I am the ruler of the sea people!!! You hear that?! I am the ruler of the sea people!!! I am master of their great sunken empire!!! Mo-o-om! I'm ruler of the sea people!

I even made a song about the sea people.

Look at me, living free
Free and clean amongst the Sea People
We look for pirates and search for gold.
Life is an adventure with the Sea People
They don't ever conplain, they don't call me fat.
They don't make me do homework or nothin' like that.
This is the way life was meant to be. Laughing and singing,
Sea people and me.
Sea people and me, you guys.

LoL, GG to those who think im waste my money, lol.

---

omfg!  u r a genius...  you made me laugh so hard...

this is awesome.

this is the funniest post i have seen on mmorpg.com ever.

thank you for making me smile! 

---

Originally posted by Herkmeck

Oh this looks too good to be true....

But I am looking forward to this game.

And the best part  they are not going to ONLY offer it via download!

June 2007 heh  yeah I can wait that long...wish it would come out sooner though.

---

I am so with you on that...  but let them develop fully.  I'd rather wait a couple of extra months for something relatively bug free than a complete mess that is released too early.

Man - this game is gonna be great!

Warhammer:  Age of Reckoning will certainly rawk

Pirates of the Burning Sea - It's got pirates MAN!

But I believe both those games will probably be ready in 2007.

For the rest of 2006 I am not sure if I am very excited about any upcoming releases.

Filling the void until the above two get release with Dark Age of Camelot.

---

Originally posted by Blurr

Well..

1- No free trial
2- The graphics look poor
3- Nothing really new/innovative/unique

Now granted I havent tried the game (see number 1), but like I said, it doesn't appear that they're doing anything particularly new or innovative. This means i"m not willing to shell out the money for an account key having never played the game.

It's not like it's hard to do, Guild Wars has free trials, and they have no monthly fee either.

I wish I could say it's a good game, but they want you to hand over the cash before you even play it, so no go for me.

---

If you haven't tried it - why are you even posting on whether or not it's good?

That's lilke - a doctor giving a prescription to someone without even giving him a check up.  Why should your opinion be valued?  

You are basing your opinion on whether or not it's a free trial?  So what you're saying is when you go to a restaurant you demand your first meal there to be free, otherwise you will never go back no matter how good the food is. 

---

Originally posted by Gorukha
15000 people isn't exactly a healthy population considering DaoC used to sport alot more. Oh and DaoC's replacement exists and it's called woW.

---

I have a distinct feeling that the subscriber base is slightly larger than just 15,000. 

Also, WoW - while it is a rather good game -  just does not stack up when it comes to PvP and RvR.  It definitely is no way a replacement to DAoC.

As for WAR - that's at least 12 to 18 months away.  In this industry, that seems to be a lifetime.  If they didn't add content to DAoC and make it interesting to the subscriber base it wouldn't be a slow dignified death.

It would be a quick bloody death. 

I have a feeling that when WAR comes out DAoC will take yet another hit, and if WAR is everything that it's supposed to be with PvP and RvR which Mythic has done the best in MMORPG's - then you might see DAoC go to the wayside. 

Until then, you should enjoy this game.  It's still the best PvP/RvR out there. 

It's pretty though...

I can't wait for this game.

Can anyone even hint at a possible release date?

---

Originally posted by JulianDracos

2. Crafting is horrible in DAOC. For me, it is the #1 thing that needs to be changed. I am crossing my fingers that crafting changes will be in 1.83.

---

So - did they fix crafting?  And would you mind providing a good link for crafting in DAoC?

Very good FAQ! 

What a great marketing idea!

I bet you Blizzard, Mythic, SoE, etc. are kicking themselves for not thinking of this first.

---

Originally posted by baff

---

What unjustified invasion of Lebanon? No such invasion has occoured.

---

---

What unjustified invasion of Lebanon? No such invasion has occoured.

---

Semi-Invasion you may call it, the Murderous campeign to massively slaughter the Lebanese people with Savage and coward tactics.

---

Call it what you like it's still justified.

---

i don't get it - state sponsored terrorism is justified because....???  it's done by a state rather than a couple of militants? 

how can you justify violating U.N. and Geneva conventions as a government that is responsible for its own people?

how can you justify years and years of pre-emptive strikes and military occupation?

the only two nations that consistently ignore and violate global terrorist policy as defined by United Nations Doctrine are the U.S. and the state of Israel.

Hizbollah and Hamas indeed violate these policies as well - however they are not a state - they are a group - and generally radical and mislead individuals carry out their violence.  It's deplorable and sad what they do.

However, as a state, with a government elected by it's own people, Israel actions are morally reprehensible and not justified logically when civil and human rights laws and thinking are applied.

---

Originally posted by ghoul31

---

Originally posted by arvainis
I knew this game was going to end up just like Shadowbane did so I did not put any effort into it or grow attached.  The technology for the type of world they want to create wasn't there for Shadowbane and it's not here for this game now.  Well the technology is there, it's just that nothing can keep up to the amount of changes the server goes through per second in the world.  Have fun with a broken game, I know the 15 people left playing Shadowbane have a blast I'm sure of it.

---

Actually , there are like 10,000 people playing Shadowbane.  And its still the best pvp game out there.

---

Dark Age of Camelot I think is the best PVP.  My 2 $.    And EVE...

Also - This game I think appeals to an older and well educated gamer demographic.  If they fix what appears to be some technological issues, this will be a truly successful niche MMORPG.

It is rather exhaustive to read through everything on the website of what they are trying to do, but if you get through even half of it you begin to realize that they are making a great alternative to fantasy based MMORPG's. 

I was reading some of the complaints on this forum - and they were completely baseless for one main reason - the complainer was basing their experience on games like EQ, WoW, and such.

This game doesn't seem to cater to the instant gratification crowd.  It's gonna attract a more established and older type of base, and for this reason I am actually excited for it.

I hope that they will work out whatever technical issues there may be, and I for one will definitely try it out in a month or two.