Yes you can. I think you should have the same options as US area. There is only one European server - Antonious Bayle.

Originally posted by Tatum

How linear is the world?  How many different play styles do the game mechanics allow for?  Can players build/create within the game world?  Can players change or affect the game world?

I don't think a quest based game could ever be a sandbox because you're either required to quest or strongly encouraged to do so.  A class/level based game is unlikely to be a sandbox because there are so many restrictions on what the player can do to advance in the game.

That is a good explanation, and to me what every MMO should strive for.

Originally posted by DoktorTeufel

And WoW doesn't have "gatherer guilds." It's a much simpler system in that game, you load up an add-on and go from node to node collecting stuff. There's far more logistics, exploration and specific equipment involved in EVE gathering, and also a sense of risk. And EVE "crafting" is worlds more complex than anything in WoW.

Also in WoW, you can't make a living doing PvP. You have to support it with other PvE activities, at least last I checked you did (like getting epics from raids and gathering/crafting). In EVE, you can make your ENTIRE LIVING being a pirate. Your fun, your money, new people you meet, everything can literally come from piracy. On a PvP server, you can sort of be like an EVE pirate... but not really. All you do is kill people. You can't score an awesome ship or a load of precious cargo, or hurt your enemy by podding them. That kind of takes away from the experience.

Honestly, comparing the different roles people can play in EVE to the "roles" available in WoW is ridiculous. Your role in WoW is to be a combat character, and gather and craft on the side, if you want. Everything is raid-centric. Don't try to tell me it isn't.

How many threads are there on the WoW server forums recruiting for anything other than a raiding guild, unless it's an RP guild? That's right: None.

Like I said, bro, different games. You sandbox humpers are the ones who are constantly hating with this sandbox and themepark label that no one has been able to define. I'm sick to death of this argument. They are just different games with different focuses. I see past the labels, and I challenge other people to do so, as well. I certainly don't get all bent out of shape, because someone compares "my game" to WoW(which you started, so don't act like I brought WoW up).

Originally posted by Sanguinelust

So now instead of 2 buttons you'll have to press 4. More of the same it sounds like to me. In the end it will still just be a matter of gear, spec and rotations just like it's always been.

I'm not saying I won't be playing it, but it really doesn't matter how you polish it this game will still be all about a basic play style and gear in the end.

Well, I think what they are trying to do is give new players some kind of chance. For instance, tanking is hard to get into, because you need all that sweet purple gear. Now, maybe a fresh 80 can tank a bit.

As for as PvP, I don't see how you're not right. So the guy with the 265 DPS weapon still wtfpwns the guy who doesn't arena or raid. Just takes 4 seconds(wishful thinking) instead of an instakill.

Are they boosting mobs health, also?

Originally posted by DoktorTeufel

A classic blow-by-blow comparison of "sandbox versus theme park" can be made between EVE Online and World of Warcraft.

In EVE Online, you can get into any old ship as a brand-new player and explore the entire universe. Nothing arbitrary is going to stop you from going anywhere in the universe. Granted, much of it is open space — but there actually are rewarding landmarks to see, completely random space battles between players to watch (including gigantic fleet operations), a cadre of space stations built by a player organization and patrolled to keep out their enemies, rare (incredibly rare, but there) hidden resources or abandoned ships to discover, and you never know who you'll run into. You can find potential friends or enemies everywhere.

In World of Warcraft, if you're not high enough level to enter an area, NPC monsters will aggro you from halfway across the map. That's Blizzard's way of telling you: No, you're not at the arbitrary point where you're allowed to access this area. You must be X level to fight the monsters here. And you're never going to see anything random or surprising in these areas — players in a specific level range doing specific quest lines, higher-level gankers (on a PvP server only), and five different types of monsters all around the same level range.

If you think a pure newbie can go to 0.0 space, and not die you're flat out lying to yourself. What would a newbie do in 0.0? Nothing, because their SP is not high enough to do anything. I take that back what he would do is get slaughtered by rats or players.

You think skill points and levels are different. They aren't.

Crafting between both games is similar. In World of Warcraft, your character has to be a certain overall level to gather and create given materials/products. They even need a certain level of gear to survive the creatures there. There's no way to just be a crafter, and that's all you do; every character can have crafting right off the bat (a certain amount), and it levels up with them.

In EVE, you can just be a crafter, just be a gatherer, or both at once. And while better materials and production/selling opportunities (been a long time since I played, not sure how production works anymore) are almost always found in more dangerous areas of the game, NPC enemies won't aggro you from halfway across the universe if you sneak in to mine a lucrative minefield. You'll have a chance to at least escape, or even protect yourself. There will still be players out to get you, but that is true no matter how long you've been playing EVE. And you don't have to do combat at all, though you can if you want to.

How does one mine the expensive ore? With high tech ships and lasers, and whatnot. How does one get this? By getting higher skillpoints aka levels. The higher skillpoints you have, the better equipment you have, and your chances for survival are greater. Sounds familar? Do you not think you can get friends in WoW? I know the community sucks, but I have heard of guilds and the like in WoW.

And the obvious thing is, in EVE, you (and/or your corporation) can build your own space stations, your own empire, that is actually tangible in the world and truly affects the game itself. You can fly into your space station, park your ship, get into another of your ships (you can own as many ships of as many types as you can afford/train for), and fly off to do whatever. Different types of corporations really ARE different, unlike World of Warcraft, which mostly just has different-sized guilds that raid, and different-sized guilds that don't raid (yet; they will). In EVE, you can be miners, pirates, mercenaries, crafters, mission runners, traders, an all-around, or an entire empire that everyone fears and respects.

In WoW you can be a raider, non-raider, PvPer, ganker, mission runner, crafter, gatherer, or whatever. Tons of stuff. Sounds sandbox, doesn't it?

And speaking of trading, EVE Online's economy is far more complex, dynamic, and far less artificial than that in World of Warcraft. If you're a real-life financial genius, you can start a brand-new EVE character and turn yourself into a multi-billionaire with enough hard work and perseverance. Hell, even non-geniuses have done it. In World of Warcraft, your level WILL determine how much money you're able to make.

One point we can agree on. WoW's economy is basically from level 1-79. There is no need of an economy at end game, because everything is no drop. Now, maybe sandbox has to do with economy instead of all that other crap you think is different, but is really just the same with a different word.

--------------------------------

There are many other comparisons able to be drawn between these games to show the differences between a sandbox and a theme park game.

I really hate cliches. Do you guys get medals for saying sandbox and theme park? How is mission running not theme park?

Here is my point. EvE is a game whose greatest strength is the economy. WoW is a game whose greatest strength is getting everyone involved. That's it. No made up cliches. Just different type games.

It amuses me when people call a dead game not "dead". I'd hate to see what they thought when the servers were booming with activity. Were you stunned by all the people running around? You log on and stare at the screen stupified by all activity. If you only see one person every 3 minutes or more that is dead.

I can go for days on EQ without seeing a living being(in fact, I've been fighitng in MPG for 3 days, and I saw one other person in the zone the entire time). Get on the forums there, and you'd think it was like the old days of 3K+ users per server. People hollering how they find groups all the time at any level. Why lie? Same thing with EQ2. People swear up and down that the game is bustling. Really? Why are they lying? Last time I was there it was 30 levels before I saw someone, and in my 40-50s I can count on two hands how many people I ran across. Tha,t my friends, is dead. AO is dead. Yes, you can log on, but the activity is dead.

Originally posted by chrisel

What is the definition of a "Sanbox" MMO? I keep seeing this term, but I honestly doesnt know what it means.

Sand box is a game that you think is "elite", and has a "niche". How can EVE and AC both be considered sandbox? One is a deep crafting/economy pvp game, the other is pure hack n slash with no crafting or economy.

How can a game that requires you to get skillpoints over time to use certain items be considered a true sand box? Skill requirements = level requirements no matter how you try to spin it.

I thought the meaning of sandbox meant you jump in the game, and you can participate with the big boys on even ground. Maybe it means you can do whatever you want, as long as you're willing to put in a grind. Or maybe it means you can do whatever you want as long as you're willing to grind it out, then you can play with the veterans. Wait, that sounds like all MMOs. Actually, I think its as simple as this; there are no levels. Of course, for some reason skill points aren't considered levels by this elite niche.

The people who use the terrm sand box have no clue what it means, and they certainly don't hold their picks to any sort of criteria(well, other than it not having warcraft in its name).

If you have EVE and AC(really????) you must add DAoC. As it had crafting, economy, skills, and pvp. Its far more "sandbox" than AC and others on the list.

Originally posted by sam9roket3

well, you guys seemed to know what you`re doin

so, i had the same problem, but i did have the turbine account setup earlier,

and i had the lotro free trial in it, though i can`t cancel it, but diff. matter,

i requested the free key from DDO, but they never replied to me, and i can`t find it anywhere else,

so, if someone can point me in the right direction for getting the key, i`d appreciate it,

i feel so nubbish for asking help like this, i`m a veteran online player,

but, everyone gets stuck somtimes huh???

thnx in advance, and have a good gaming...

Not sure what you're talking about. There is no free key anymore. The game is free to play. You download the game, and log in.

https://trial.turbine.com/ddo.php?utm_source=LAUNCHER This site will allow you to create an account. You can't go through Turbine for some reason. As you are right it as for a product key. They may want to correct that.

That's too bad. This is a fantastic game. The cash shop is the best I've ever seen. The items are very affordable unlike any cash shop I've come across. Not only that they give you free points to buy stuff by completing quest. Turbine is leading they way in payment model.

This is coming from someone that despised DDO in its early and later days. The move to ftp is nothing short of genius. 

Does Planetside have XP or SP?

I'm gonna say about 6-12 months. I know the development cost, and the cost to maintain it have to be the lowest in the industry. I'd say they are aiming for a minimum of 10k subs. That's 100K a month in fees. They may even be able to get by with a lot less than that.

What is there to discuss? Everyone knows what is going to happen. I think everyone is agreed on this game being a total failure, right?

I'm not aware of an opposing viewpoint.

Originally posted by Ceridith

The truth is that Blizzard probably doesn't even have a clue why WoW is so popular.

It has more to do with marketing, franchise, brand, and a legion of B.net kiddies who all jump when a Blizzard employee says jump.

Very intelligent post. Most companies who have sustained multi-hundred million dollar businesses are just perpetually lucky.

I'm sure WoW has no idea, and its the Mr T commercials that has led to millions ot subscribe. Chevorlet should make a commercial with Mr T in it. Its all about marketing. Product means nothing.

Other than being a fantasy game that you can group and raid in WoW is nothing like EQ. I can't say much about UO as I played it for about 10 minutes before I immediately uninstalled it.

In EQ pure melee don't have spells or skills. There are no talents as you level up. Stats mean almost nothing in EQ. At the time WoW released quest grinding  was not a way to level up, nor was there much soloing. MMOs didn't allow almost instant recovery of mana/hp after fights. The death system for WoW was more like DAoC-lite.

Look, I admit WoW has its faults. I've subscribed for a total of about 6 months to WoW in the 5 years its been online. I'm not a fan. However, to go around blindly hating on WoW, because its popular is immature, and emo.

Blizzard's next MMO will not be a WoW clone. Blizzard has proved time and again they make games that gamers want. For some of you younglings out there, WoW is not Blizzard's first, second or even third game.

MMOs have declined in fun factor for me, because they try to be too many things. So many games try to do the solo/group/raid thing. Jack of all trades master of none. WAR was like this. Everything ended up being bland. EQ2 is like this. So many group things to do, but there are no groups.

What is the point in having group content when not enough people play the game? It ends up creating animosity for the poor guy trying to level. He sees so much he could be doing, but instead his only option is to grind out on mobs.

Games need to pick a playstyle, and master it. They shouldn't be delving into all types. Not to say that games shouldn't have options. Just use most of your resources for what makes your game fun. You can't point to a game nowadays, and say "This game really excels in this area." Why? Too much emphasis on being everything.

Its not that AOC is a AAA title, so no one is giving it a second chance. Only communist and Hugo Chavez think like that. Its the fact that AoC is a poor game that will keep people from subscribing. Its not about AAA vs. Indie. Its about fun vs. boring.

The thing that drove me away from WoW was the elitism. Everyone thought the other person was slacking. Even on good runs(lets be honest most runs are good) people would find something to whine about. Pointing out other people's gear, dps, or whatever they could find to bully someone about.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

I could not watch DS9, as I found Sisko repellent. Something in his voice sounded like he was always about to break down crying. My father was like that the last 20 years or so he was alive, and it was mental anguish having any serious conversation with him.

I think I watched about three episodes all the way through. I HAD to watch the tribbles episode, of course.

I didn't like DS9, either. Its the only Star Trek series that I haven't watched in full. 

My favorite was Voyager. I actually thought I would not like it, but I loved it. I also liked Enterprise. The last episode was heart wrenching.

Of course, I love the new Star Trek. I can't stop watching it.

I think you need quest to be a theme park. EQ barely had any quest, and you certianly didn't do them to level up. There were a few you had to do, but I'm talking less than 5 in 60 levels.

Was it linear? Of course, but far less linear than what we have today.

The arguemnt back in 2001-2002 was how EQ was losing touch with its customers, because they started to focus in on the top 10% hardcore players who wanted insane gear. For some reason, every expansion they would cater to these raiders, and give the rest of the community the bird.

This is how DAoC attracted EQ players. There was no raiding in DAoC, and it was completely awesome. Everyone was on an even playing field. Well, all good things must come to an end, and DAoC went the route of EQ. Adding raids, and overpowered abilities and gear.

Then came WoW, and crushed DAoC and EQ. Personally, I blame EQ for not listening to their player base. WoW took what many players back then asked for, and made a game to cater to them. If EQ had listened to all the disgruntled fans, instead of ignoring them and calling them whiners I truly believe WoW would not be where it is today. Too bad, because WoW is nothing compared to what EQ was before they went raid crazy.

Not until WoW and EVE came out did you start to hear things like sandbox and theme park.

The more socioeconomic disparity we have the more problems we will have as a society. There is more violence committed due to this reason in one day than all "video game" influenced violence combined. Of course, the rich don't want us to see this. They'd rather us blame video games, religion, and whatever else. The poorer our neighbors get the richer the rich will get.

Its sad that every year our poverty rate gets higher and higher, and its completely ignored as banks, oil companies and every other industry are reaping in record profits. I feel this has more to do with our society's ills, than a video game.