Automated slow travel is the way they should go.

Something like a steam powered train,that people can get on that takes them to different towns,but at a pace eqaul to current vehicle travel,plus  time lost for stops along the way.

Add in events to experience while traveling on said train

- mini games like poker games(dice games),shooting contests,etc..

-events like robberies,breakdowns (in which a player with the appropriate tradeskills can reppair the train, getting it moving again) ,special npcs who have limited window specialty quests for the stops,etc..

Make is so the player can get from point a to point b, with someone else doing the driving and them able to pursue other activities during the trip.This also means travel while offline.So a player whos facing a hour long trip, can put his character on said transport, and log off  ,with his character making the trip and getting off at the appropriate stop.

Many people have already pointed out the really relevant reasons why mmos are so buggy and poor quality.

Im going to only focus on a key one here:Ease of reporting and exploring the bug.

This like most mmo issues,this comes down to truly piss poor design.Devs fault entirely.

To report a bug, i should be able to just use the games chat system.I should enter the bug channel, and be instantly fed a series of questions,one at a time, asking for specifics about said bug.

Example:

Kieran enters bug channel

Bug collector: hello Kieran,what type of bug are you reporting ?

Quest bug ?

Character bug?

Skill bug ?

Map bug ?

etc...

Kieran: quest bug

Bug collector;What is the name of the quest ?

Kieran: "Beat the mmo dev with a big stick "quest.

Bug collector: which npc awarded the quest?

Kieran:The blue orc named giggles in generic orc town 1

etc....

At the end of the chat issued questionaire,the player should be asked.

Bug collector: Would you like to repeat the quest,so as to further explore the bug,and supply further information about it?

Kieran:Yes

Instantly the quest is re-added to the characters quest list,with added details of how no exp ,faction, item ,etc... rewards will be given for this quest.

The quest will be automatically instanced upon the entering,even if it wasnt meant as one originally, and the player will have certain GM like powers while inside the quest instance that allow him to pause npc and environmental action,see the structure of the terrian,travel in any direction in a flight like glide mode,etc...

The player should at no time have to level another  character to experience a quest again,simply because hes trying to do work that should have already been accomplished by paid employees.

The player should never have to enter a new window seperate from the game, or relog in,in his attempt to help the game get fixed.

Anything a player does,within the rules of play,thats goals is too help discover and fix probelms,while exploring a bug in the game should be as easy as humanly possible for him to do, and praised to the high hills.Hes paying money to help the devs fix something ,they should not be putting insanely bad design issues in his way.

And yet they do.Piss poor design after piss poor design.Its just insane.The devs have got people willing to pay them money to help fix the devs game, and yet the devs thru lack of skill to design a reasonable sytem to allow this,or simply not caring enough to do so, waste that incredibale tool.

I must say, the most interesting and troubling thing i see about this, is that people give any relevance or importance to a MMORPG.com "review" to begin with ......

I mean come on.Even looking beyond that most of the reviews seem myoptic,amateurish, and nonsensical...You have that each reviewer uses his own personal scoring method...What the heck is the point of keeping score,if the scores are decided by different rules based on an individuals personal feelings...

Grain of salt ? A whole salt mine wont fix or cover this.

And yes, if you dont know it yet...IF for some reason its escaped you...mmorpg is just a site for advertising mmos,where the developers can get things said thru a proxy.Do the "news" articles read like PR releases ? Of course they do.Its just advertising.

If it wasnt for the forums where the customers can actually put up what they think, this site would be absolutely useless for the customer base.

I only got a char to level 14, and i already have two powers with cooldowns.

Two things they got right,or close enough.

Block- An active defense is something MMOs need, and while this is an extremely "light" version of one, its one.

Custom power pick- That i can mix powers from sets is nice.Its a bit more restrictive than id like, but at least its there.

As for the rest,it has that "been there done that feeling" to it.Even more so than other games as alot  the costume options and powers are almost direct ports from CoX.Add to that ,im only level 14, and already i find myself unexcited about logging in.

This game is NOT as bad as alot of others than came down the crapper recently.That said, its really got no lasting appeal for anyone not rabid or desperate.Too much feels the same,not only from start to finish in the game itself,but from this game to others as well.

Some things it got right(or close enough):

*exploration- Sectors are HUGE,with very possible but risky travel.I found myself remembering times in Asherons Call when i was cross country traveling and pointing out things i found to others who hadnt seen them.

*instance and dungeon entrances-these really make sense alot of the time.From the cave entrances that your character can litterally walk into explore without instancing,to the large dungeons where instancing takes place,its done well.

*Crafting-The real time with offline progress is excellent.And considering how screwed up the economy was,this really shined as you could que up some money makers, and when you logged back on the next day have enough after production and or sales to support your adventuring for that day.

Its got nothing to do with "bitterness",its got everything to do with an honest appraisal of the current condition of the MMO industry.

Dont forget what a stillborn joke Exanimus turned out to be.And thats not even as bad as it could get, just look at some of the proposed designs....

A PvP oriented class based wow clone with zombies skins ?Yea that will work ..../sarcasm

There isnt a MMO dev team out there that has shown it can move beyond the same old crap in a new wrapper designs they think of as creative.And such an MMO would need to move past almost all of that old dinosaur crap they call design.Dont believe me, just stay tuned.Secret World is gonna be the next example of how beyond the current MMO dev teams "skills" such a game is.And Secret World will be about as survival oriented as a daycare camp.

The "Why not" asked is a very simple thing to answer.

Becuase:

There isnt a current MMO dev team out there that has the skill to make such a game work.Just look at the failures theyve turned out with the simple "any monkey can win" design.It would be like asking someone who cant add 2 and 2 and get the correct answer, to do trig.

This isnt a mainstream design.Though it is by far a better design that would likely turn the player retention failure  we currently see on its head,if made right.Meaning it would likely start out small and grow,unlike the current crop of MMO "any monkey can win" games that start out with large sales and then bleed customers like a hemophiliac in an iron maiden.BUT again thats if it was made right, and again,thats not a good bet with current teams.You'd be better off betting on an Enron rebirth.

AND theres the many of the current MMO players who would be a negative to such a game.If the game was truly made right, it would really be about survival for the characters, and that small percentage of complete asshats out there would screw this up for the other players.Now again, this could be countered by a proper design,but again we arent likely to see such a thing done right.

Its almost a blessing that such a game isnt being made now,after all, why piss away yet another  opportunity by giving it to those who have such a huge record of failure...Better to wait for a team that can show its not just another reformed band of hacks.

Maybe they got confused, and he's really delivering the pizza for the event ?

That WOULD make alot more sense :P

Im not sure which this article says more about,MMORPG.coms role as advertiser rather than consumer advocate, or the type of player in darkfall.

I do know this is a prime example of why games like this should exist.Remember without this game, these players would probably be playing in other games right now, Possibly with you.So,think of DF as the reform school of mmos....

Originally posted by Murais

  I'm alright with character transfers and name changes being paid services.

 

  Other than that, if I'm paying my monthly fee, you better allow me access to ALL the game's features. When you buy a steak dinner in a restaurant, they don't hand you a plate with steak and green beans, and demand that you pay extra for mashed potatoes. They certainly might charge you extra for items *outside* of the order, but when you order that steak dinner, you get the whole meat and two side-orders she-bang, as advertised. They don't micro-transaction you until you give in.

 

  I see MMORPGs (and video games in general) going down a DARK road with this RMT bullshit. I've already boycotted most EA products for featuring, and all the Fallout 3 DLCs, despite loving Fallout 3. Give me an official expansion. Give me actual content. Don't give me half a game, or 3/4 of a game, and charge me for the rest of it later. That is plain old underhanded business, and I won't be a part of it. The gaming industry needs a slap in the face before this RMT tactic gets out of hand.

Id also be okay with a real life food ordering arrangement,where i can order the nights meal and have it delivered as i play.

This would have the added benefit of giving devs another career route, for when their most recent "new" game same as the old game fails also,and theyve run out of ways to try and convince people to play it.

And make NO mistake,RMT is just that.They realized they cant sell their games openly on the games merits,so they are trying anything they can to get people to play and give them money.Its ALL about them realizing they cant sell their product (the monthly service) after people see what the game has (or in most cases doesnt have).

Successful Games have to be fun.

Successful Games have to bring something new to the table thats fun,that makes up for all the copy and paste the rest of the game comprises of.

Succesful Games are products, and qaulity counts.Games have to be stable and hassle free,while bringing something new thats fun to the table.

Currently these simple things are beyond the dev teams of present.They think any monkey can win,no monkey ever pays a price for failure,and new suits for the monkeys are core rules of MMO design.

Its not hard to understand why they think and act this way,dinosaurs will after all be dinosaurs.

And so we get new game X, which has the same core mechanics of old game Y,is even easier to "win", and has a new skin.And thats the core of the new game X.

To this core they will add a new idea or two,but spend more energy and effort on hyping the new feature,than making it work in a fun and hassle free manner.

MMOs need a full rewrite, the industry needs a full purge, and the money needs to be directed at talented people putting forth a fun , challenging and hassle free product.

But as it stands now, we have the smeds,brads,gautes,troops,kosters,garriots,etc... Who's only real claims to fame are being able to talk people into giving them money, and being among the first in the industry they have slowly maimed....

Theres little room for new blood, til the old blood gives way.

After they have gone, then their doctrines can be cast aside.Til then, expect the same game youve played before, with new skins and new screwups .Because its all they know.

And as such, each "new" MMO they put out, will have even less ability to hold a customer base than the ones before them,becuase the players have already been there and done that so many times before ,theres too little appeal to hold a players interest.

The best thing that could happen to the MMO industry, is for almost everyone to follow the OPs example, and walk away.

The genre has been killing itself with piss poor games for far too long now.Games that hang on by the skin of your teeth, and hence allow the same devs to turn out the same crap time after time.

The industry and genre needs a rebirth.And that wont happen til the industry gets the purging it needs.

Its an interesting concept, and done right should fly well.Of course, when was the last time something was done right ...... :P

Ive never understood consoles,and havent bought one since circa the 70's.I mean think about them...Basically they are small medium powered computers with self-imposed use limits.They are usually sold at a lose per unit, with the plan to make money on software sales-software that they then limit to only be usable by a particular system.

The games themselves are more often than not, basically quality wise ,just pc games given a partial lobotomy.As if the average PC game needed to be even simpler or dumbed down even more :(

It seems to me,that consoles were their own worst enemies up til now.

This OnLive system,could easily eat up a large share of console dollars* and take that top enemy slot for itself.In addition it could capture a medium share of PC dollars* (*money spent by customers on said products and software).

Again, it will have to be done right though.The laggy,"this game is not available","because you dont own the game but only really rent it,and thus can only play it when we are functioning" system of services like steam are NOT gonna cut it.

This "new" system,whatever it is,is gonna have to do much better than we are used too.

If it does, it will be successful and consoles will become an even harder sell ,with even less profit available to be made from them .

So console death ? Unlikely.Another nail ? if done right, yes.

Classes dont even need to exist.

The only real reason they still do, is becuase the MMO industry is full of dinosaur dev programers who give themselves the title of "game designer".

Darth Klink

Or maybe...

Darthous Dinosaurous

Well, the art seems to be coming along nicely...

BUT id much rather see a detailed example of the story

What does this conversation remind me of ?

Oh wait, the same converations that took place for AoC...

Oh, and TR

Oh.... and Vanguard.......

Oh... and etc......

The whole stance thing is a good idea.

BUT how many times has a MMO dev team taken what should have been a game defining feature and screwed it all to hell....

So although this article has me interested more in DC than before,i stay realistic on just how bad the current dev teams are, and what that means for good ideas that they touch.....

i wonder how combat works in this. do you spend 12 pages describing how your character's dressed, and then the other person counters by taking a 4 hour bath?
 

should make for a very long lasting MMO seeing as it takes three books to describe a guy riding his horse into a town...

I loved the series, still do, and am patiently waiting for the last book....BUT these two responses are VERY funny.

As for the MMO,it will be a disaster.

The wheel of time series is ALMOST all about character.Theres more internal conflict  and exploration within the characters of the books, than external conflict in the wars that take place.

No way in heck a bunch of MMO dinosaur devs will ever capture that.AND that means all your left with for the player to embrace,that the devs can create,is small conflicts which will be pointless in the games world except for the "neato" "new powers" that will come thru leveling as players run back and forth from pointless combat to pointless combat.....

Run here kill that.Over and over.In a world condensed down and made far too small.

Let me guess..... there was no "none of the above" choice in this poll ...right ?