I recently resubbed to EQ2.  I played it at launch and for 2 1/2 years after before taking a break.  I was very curious about the expac so I just threw myself into it, bought the expac and resubbed.  My character is only 74 so I have about 6 levels before I can see the new content.  All I can say is the games a ghost town.  Nothing in chat, I dont see other players (Im exping in Fen and Moors) and the cities are abandoned.  Its depressing. 

Has SOE thought about another server merge?  I know there are guild halls and housing that people spend time in, but to not see ONE other player in 2 hours of playing ???  Its like being the only player in an MMO :(  Anyway I ended up unsubbing.  Seems you can't go back. 

Originally posted by akiira69

Originally posted by LIOKI

And just like in EQ2 you would watch every city and town become empty and lifeless.

Actually Player Housing in EQ2 is in the cities, SOE's Star Wars Galaxies allowed for player created cities, and no the cities in EQ2 are not empty and lifeless

 I beg to differ.  I just resubbed to EQ2 and the place is a ghost town.  I'm about to unsub.   I love player housing and guild halls as an idea, but on a practical level they make the major citiies lifeless.  Unless the housing is Non-instanced, I dont want it in WOW.  I love the fact that SW and other cities are teaming with life, it makes things interesting and fun. 

People hate on WOW not because of the game itself per se (game mechanics are always debatable) but the fact that due to it's success OTHER game developers tried to copy it making a sea of WOW clones in the process.  The non-WOW gamers have to sort through (and wasting their time and money in the process) this sea of bad replicas and hence become fustrated and inadvertently "blame" WOW for.   WOW is the scapegoat for the bad games that are released. 

The old Casual Vs. Hardcore (MMO Vets) again?

I'm not sure why some developer hasnt come up with the idea to please both.  Have a HC server with long travel times, harsh death penalties, etc etc. and have another server that serves more casual players with shorter travel times, easier raids, etc etc. 

Maybe if someone did this BS debate would stop. And we'd all be happy and stfu about this already. 

To the OP, I reactivated my EQ2 account and am regretting doing so.  The game is totally empty at lower levesl, a ghost town of its former self.  The spells and combat are still great and complicated however with no one to play/group with it gets tedious.  Playing an MMO completely solo and not even SEEING other players is a drag.  No region chat and when I asked in level chat for some help I was ridiculed. 

I played EQ2 from launch up to Faydwer and I guess you cant go back.  I spent 45 mins doing one quest tonight before logging out of sheer boredom.  Great housing, collections and crafting but I do not like being in an empty world. 

I've been thinking of returning to this game and dusting off my Defiler.   Just something extra to do till cataclysm comes out.  I played at launch and two years straight after that before getting tired of always needing a group to do anything combat related.  I really loved the crafting and housing however. 

On the fence about if I should come back.  Even on a parttime basis.  I remember the community was very conservative, right wing and at times racist.  Does this still appear to be the case?   Share your thoughts. 

In response to the OP:

if they come out with a F2P that learns how to balance the cash shop so as not to give the "appearance" of paying to win, has innovative content and the whole package, and it makes more money overtime than the P2P, then yes you can start worrying about the future of P2P games.   The only reason F2P is so hot right now imo is the glut of truly sucking P2P games that have come out over the past few years AND, the release of a couple of truly interesting F2P games (ie: Allods). 

Im sure all this has been said in the previous 7 pages :) 

EQOA, my first MMO, fond memories of friends, fun times and learning how to raid.  I will always love this game and my character of a Shaman Diviner.  But it was dead a looooong time ago. 

RIP

My first MMO was EQOA ("Time to kill the dragon!") and I have very fond memories of all the high jinx at Deathfist Citedal!!  LMAO!! Whooo those were the days!  But I realized long ago that those memories were idealized for the most part and I cannot use them as a standard to compare my experiences with today's MMOs.  I often wonder why so many other players do though. 

EQOA was way ahead of its time in terms of high-end content, it had more end content then alot of the new MMO's today.  But camping VOX for 10 days or waiting on a rare spawn for 3 days isn't, IMO, "functional".  Its retarded and I will never do that type of thing again in an MMO. 

Originally posted by Sovrath

 

This again?

Ok fine.

You are assuming that there is only one way to be social and that there is no other value in being surrounded by players. If you go into a game like morrowind or oblviion you feel that the world is essentially dead. Even with some mods that make the cities a bit livelier you feel that you are the only one around with free will. Sort of twilight zone.

But in an mmo, I am surrounded by life. I may interact with any of these people or just know that they are on their own quests. I see them fill up the world with purpose. This is important.

I might sometimes lend a hand or give some advice but the world, though not exactly changing does offer change to the inhabitants.

So no grouping is required only when desired.

 

edit: whenever anyone asks this question I wonder if they really ask it to themselves.

There are things that others do that puzzle me so what I do is to say "ok, they are doing it therefore it must have some value. What type of value 'might' it bring". In this way I can examine it and go beyond my usual preconceptions of what people are and what they do. And usually in the end I end up answering my own question.

But if you only come to the problem from your experience and make value judgements based on the idea that your experience is the quintessential definition of how something should be then of course you will be confused.

We are all different.

This topic is the ultimate Dead Horse beatdown next to the Hardcore VS. Casual argument and the above response is probably the BEST response to it that I have come across in all the years I have seen the OP's question come up.  A mod here needs to sticky this response somewhere and the next time the old "why solo in an MMO...bla bla bla" comes up just post it as the response and close the thread.

To add, MMOs are very much like living in NYC (which I do).  Millions of people that don't necessarily "hook up" to do anything, but we still feed off the energy of living here with all those people.    I love the energy in a vibrant MMO, I dont need to group or do anything with anyone UNLESS I choose to.  Again, very much like living in any highly populated city.  Many of us love it. 

"self ambulation" = Vaporware

I can completely agree with the OP.  I too stay with WOW due to the simple fact that if I want to play WOW...I'll just play WOW.  Not a cheesy, bad, unpolished knockoff.  But I will say one thing the OP neglected to state, altho she did infer it:  WOW didnt hurt the MMO Industry...WOW's SUCCESS did.  The lure of making the kind of money that Blizzard makes monthly/annually is simply too great for developers to pass up.  Couple this with shareholder pressure for profits, how can we expect any MMO to be free of the WOW grip?

MONEY MONEY MONEY....do we really beleive they can resist selling out?  Take 15 million subs (and lets not debate over the REAL number of subs...please???Its moot at this point)  and multiply that by $15.99 PER MONTH.  Who wouldnt like to see those numbers?  Until WOW declines significantly and the next BIG thing happens to come along, as WOW did, at the right place/time/Cosmic Alignment, they will continue to pursue the "WOW Strategy" and continue to fail miserably at it. 

Anyway, back to WOW.  My DK needs some new armour! 

This sounds nice, but have they fixed the lag in cities, the broken patcher, the poor tech support and the various assortment of bugs in the game?

Originally posted by jamigre

Originally posted by Broomy

The patcher is one of the main reasons I quit the game.  And with the poor tech support that could not answer my questions I finally gave up. 

A patcher is a pretty silly reason to quit a game imo.

Not when if effects whether or not you can play the game.  And with no assistance from the game tech support what does one do?  Continue to pay for a game that you can't play?    I am glad to hear that they are finally addressing tech questions and issues though.  Only wish they had done so before many of us quit :) 

The patcher is one of the main reasons I quit the game.  And with the poor tech support that could not answer my questions I finally gave up. 

TR was a game with so much potential....it was and will remain, for me, one of the biggest examples of wasted potential in the MMO market. 

A game cannot be successful WITH NO ENDGAME.  Period.  I recall having bitter debates over this idea with certain people in the TR community about this as MANY of them beleived that TR didnt need an endgame.  These people were the same one you find complaining in other games about "elite raiders" and suffering from "Purple Lootz" envy.   Because they dont have the time or talent to obtain higher end loot they don't want anyone else to get it.  They argued agaisnt implementation of raiding, higher end gear sets and even different payment models because they didnt want TR to become "gear based".  It was ridiculous, and I partly blame them for TRs failure.  Planet TR was home to many of those MMO slackers.  I keep my eye on them so I can see what's the next game they want to ruin.  I think they have their sights on SWTOR.  Watch out!

Originally posted by Esther-Chan

Originally posted by Gabby-air

Originally posted by acidworm

16 year olds shouldn't be playing MMOGs in the first place. Come back when you have a job and your own place.

 

Hmm, considering a big bunch of gamers are of the age of 12 and in general gaming is for kids your post makes no sense, no offense intended.

 

You're both wrong. The average gamer is age 35 with 40% of them being female. Source

^^This.  Its been said for several years now and people still insist that "games are for kids".  Im 46 and I game frequently.  I find it a relaxing diversion from the responsibilities of my ADULT life (mortgages, careers, relationships, etc.)   When I was 16 I sure as hell wasnt sitting in front of a computer for 15 hours a week.  I cant figure out why such young people game so much. 

Anyway to the OP: If you feel you are missing out on life...you are.  Thats all it takes.  So move on from this until you feel more balanced.  Good luck.

I still mourn the loss of TR...so much potential, gone forever.  If only it had some Endgame content.  :( 

I just downloaded and tried out the game.  Very impressed with it.  The graphics, the character movement, the Steampunk/Russian atmosphere of the main cities, its unusual in many ways.  I find the classes to be interesting as well.  Im not sure what the OP is talking about...I too played to level 7 and I can only speak on my first impressions (which is good), I am in no position to actually write a proper review.  I may get to level 40 and decide I dont like the game anymore but I could never make that conclusion at this time. 

I too was left totally unimpressed with FE, but I am more than happy to give Earthrise a chance. Based on the screen shots, it is in no way like FE.  True its post apoc but I beleive the world of Earthrise was/is far more advanced than the world of FE was at the time of apocolyspe, so it stands to reason they would still have remnants of the previous society remaining. 

I cant wait for the game to launch.  Could it possibly eand up being the scifi game I have been waiting for?  Hopefully.