Originally posted by Latronus

Originally posted by sanshi44
Wonder if he will have some influence on Everquest next. hmmmm

God I hope not.  Did everyone forget Vanguard?  If he's on the team, it had better no higher than a consultant.  Don't let that dude lead. Vanguard was proof that he couldn't lead ants to a pic-nic if he put the basket on top of the ant mound.

There's a lot more to the story. It's so easy to blame the "leader", the scape goat, the "guy in charge". I don't know the guy, personally, so I shouldn't be defending him. But basically, from what I understand, Verant ran into some major funding issues. Microsoft let Verant go because they weren't satisfied with the game's progress. Sony signed on to publish the game and we all know the story from there.

Sure, Vanguard was a miserable failure, but when bashing Brad Mcquaid, remember..this is the same guy who designed Everquest from the ground up with a few other guys, in some basement. So, by bashing him..keep in mind, we're talking about the same guy who paved the way for WoW's success. An initial founder of the MMORPG. I know I sound like a total fan boy, but hell yes I think he should have some influence on Everquest Next. I'm hoping the move back to EQ from Vanguard is some sort of test to see how he does working with a more active dev team again. The next stop (hopefully) being EQ Next.

Originally posted by jtcgs

Originally posted by ace80k
Superficial gamers rejoice! Another grind wheel and your reward is shiny gear that has the exact same stats as every other same tier piece of gear. Problem is, many gamers, like myself, prefer more...meaningful rewards. Maybe something that helps set them apart from others rather than just more of the same.

 Actually, superficial would be those that need something to set themselves apart from others in the game...

Not superficial would be doing it for fun, not a reward lol..

Taken from merrian-webster.com, an emphasis should be given to the underlined portion.

Definition of SUPERFICIAL

1a (1) : of, relating to, or located near a surface (2) : lying on, not penetrating below, or affecting only the surface <superficial wounds>

2a : concerned only with the obvious or apparent : shallow

"Blizzard and Sony have entered into a strategic partnership, through which we will take over the world."

Interesting quote from Blizzard Senior VP Chris Metzen regarding Blizzard's intention of releasing D3 on the PS4. Full article can be found here http://massively.joystiq.com/. D3 on the PS4 obviously won't be enough to "take over the world", but Titan? WoW? SC2? Who knows what else is planned. Either way, Blizzard will be extending it's games to a MUCH larger crowd of people. Given it's success solely on the PC, thus far, you have to wonder what sort of influence Blizzard will have with the added platform and revenue generated from it..

Originally posted by Eir_S

Originally posted by ace80k

As far as the trinity goes, the majority of MMO players actually enjoy playing some sort of group role. The GW2 experiment is proof of this. Customization is fine, give people the option to switch from healer to tank to dps, etc, but make the roles themselves actually mean something in the game world. Gear rewards are great, but people feel more rewarded by working successfully as a team. Without the holy trinity, you feel no real sense of this.

No, YOU feel no real sense of this.  I don't need a decade old mechanic to enjoy a game, a friend and I took turns getting within range of a champion mob and though it took 10 minutes, by doing so we were able to successfully manipulate the unique hate system in the game and take it down without having some kind of artificial taunt or mass heal. 

Sounds like an awfully epic encounter. Bravo. Try duoing Xegony from EQ1, scaled to an appropriate level, then get back to me. Sure the trinity is a dated mechanic, but I can assure you and anyone else bashing it..you are the minority. 

Originally posted by jtcgs

1. lolz at the HOLY part.

2. I have been anti trinity since I played Asherons Call and saw that the need for it is just plain not there and is nothing more than a crutch meant to make every character some minor aspect of a larger group instead of it being a group of HEROES. An adventurer is supposed to be able to survive out in the wild, not be reliant on so many others.

More than past time to end the crutch the MMORPG industry has been on since the mid 90s.

Make everyone feel like Heroes, that's the trick. Lets make everyone feel special in their own perky personalized world. Sure worked with Swtor, GW2, AoC, etc. People become so englufed by the "me me me" surrounding their personal storylines that they forget how to interact as a community. When close friends quit, many are left alone in shallow game worlds. Those who start from level 1 solo, play the whole game solo, stuck in solo quest line instances for most of their journey to max level. Upon reaching max level many, like me, feel no need to continue. You reached the end by yourself. You, the Hero, have overcame whatever huge obstacle you needed to overcome..by yourself. What more could really be out there? is it even really worth it?

The "90s" MMORPGs you mention were mostly successful because they knew how to utilize the "M" in MASSIVELY.  You felt like a HERO because you were able to overcome epic circumstances in an epic surrounding with an epic group of friends.

As far as the trinity goes, the majority of MMO players actually enjoy playing some sort of group role. The GW2 experiment is proof of this. Customization is fine, give people the option to switch from healer to tank to dps, etc, but make the roles themselves actually mean something in the game world. Gear rewards are great, but people feel more rewarded by working successfully as a team. Without the holy trinity, you feel no real sense of this.

You kind of have to wonder whether or not dungeons are just a ploy to encourage people to buy gold, lol. I mean, with all the money spent on repairs and using waypoints just to get to the dungeons, it all adds up, especially if your group isn't successful. Smart design for a business model I guess, a bit sneaky if you ask me though.

Back on topic though, I miss the trinity tbh. Some find the old system boring and archaic, but trinity roles are what made mmorpg's rpg's.

Originally posted by Aori

Originally posted by ace80k
Immersion in MMOs is a good thing. WoW does not have that imo, the engine is just too out dated sadly.

how does the engine affect immersion?

Simple. Engine controls graphics, graphics control immersion. Swaying trees, water, resolution, animation, spell particles, etc etc.