I think I'm going to have to jump back into Fallen Earth as a scavenger. Plenty for me to do under their F2P model.

Originally posted by erictlewis

Originally posted by warmaster670

Considering any item in the lotro store can be obtained purely by playing the game, how is it pay to anything?

 LoL any item.  What about the special power pots, and special foods.  The cooks don't make them neither do the scholars.  Now the tomes to drop if your lucky.  And what about all the cosmetic items.

Sorry there are lots of things in the store you can not obtain in game.

Did you actually mention cosmectic items as something that helps you win? Win what? The Miss Moria competition?

There are items you can purchase that give decent buffs. It's part of how a F2P model works. It generates cash to fund development. Surprisingly, all those coders, artists, etc. don't seem to want to work for free...

Originally posted by hiphopreigns

Am I missing something, or is it indeed Pay-To-Win?

You're definately missing something. The store items hardly let you win anything. If you're on a free account and want additional quest areas, you can get them. If you want that cool cloak or hat, you can get them. If you don't want to buy points, you can earn them in game. Your assumption just doesn't fit.

I have to say that this is an excellent article! MMO's do need a shot in the arm (or kick in the a$$ depending on your point of view). There is nothing on the horizon that is even remotely hints at innovation, evolution, or anything else we haven't seen before. I only hold out hope for a couple titles that I haven't heard many details about. I don't expect much however. WoW has diligently dug a mass grave for anything different.

AoC is definately worth a try. It's a fun game with nice graphics. Take a fair amount of what's been posted with a grain of salt. I'm recognizing names from the official forums as banned malcontents or self-made laughing stocks.

Originally posted by Lobotomist

Here is brand new E3 2010 hands on with SWTOR by Massively

http://www.massively.com/2010/06/18/e3-2010-hands-on-with-the-old-republics-smuggler-class/

 

They are not overly impressed.

This would pretty much sum the whole article :

So, in short, don't get yourself super hyped about this game. It's not amazingly innovative or a complete genre changer. It's not re-inventing the wheel, but it is taking that wheel and giving it the gold plating it needs.

Finally! A dose of realism! I think TOR has the potential to be a fun game and I'll probably be trying it out, but to read some of the fan posts really makes me think that some people are setting themselves up for serious disappointment. I hope TOR does well after the initial release and we see what the actual population will be after the 90 day rollercoaster of subscriptions stabilizes.

I can't say that I'm disappointed in TOR. I'm kind of watching the hypemonster go insane among the star wars fanbase and am thinking that no game will ever be able to deliver on the expectations. One thing that does concern me is that it seems heavily oriented towards a single player experience. I know that single player games are bioware's forte, but I'm not sure how well that will play with the MMORPG crowd.

Originally posted by Halandir

I will just sit by and watch.

I might give the game a shot 2-3 months after launch given a free open demo.

I think a good number of MMO players should probably do this with every new MMO. Someone playing an MMO at launch should expect issues to arise.

Under the current dev team I'm not worried at all. The previous AoC guys promised everyone the moon and did all they could to raise hype to a level no game could ever satisfy (side note: they say history repeats itself and I see TOR tip toeing along this same ledge).  I'd imagine TSW will go through the normal MMO release and growing pains, but has to the potential to be a lot of fun. I'll check it out.

Originally posted by Shastra

I enjoyed playing AOC but its been 4 months now since i quit. My biggest issue was lack of variety in armor, weapons etc. Almost everyone looked the same regardless of their levels. Thats the same reason why my Fiance quit too. We both would like to come back and give AOC a second try. I would just like to know if there has been any new additions to armor sets? i was lvl 40 when i quit and customization was really boring.

Other then that i have no issues or complaints with AOC

There are some different looking items that are drops or quest rewards, but many of the items with better stats tend to look pretty basic around level 40. One thing I wanted to mention is that they are working on an appearance tab and hope to have it in the 1.06 patch. That will go a long way to being able to customize appearance.

Captain's Log, stardate 2579.6:

I have assumed command of the fleet's newest cruiser, the U.S.S. Furry. My crew is to be an experimental departure from normal Starfleet protocol in that it will consist entirely of Caitians. As we prepare for departure from space dock, I have most of my senior staff either en route or already in place. The cargo holds are being filled with clumping litter and jingly balls. I can barely contain my excitement for this maiden voyage.

Commander Yiff has been assigned as my tactical officer and will serve as first officer due to her extensive experience and our close, personal relationship.

Lt. Cmdr. Bigglesworth has been convinced to leave his prestigious post at the Caitian Nepeta Science Academy and brings with him the expertise gained in a lifetime of studying flora.

Lt. Snugglebunny will be our security chief. He is well on the road to recovery after his capture by the Klingons. I am confident he will overcome the self-doubt he now suffers as a result of the Klingon's having him declawed.

Lt. Twinketoes has been assigned as chief helmsman

Ensign Scrappy is my first choice for navigator.

and last but not least, my personal assistant:

Yeoman PuddyPuddy

Regards,

Captain Phineas T. Whiskers

Originally posted by grandpagamer

I have hopes for this game as ive been following the series' and movies since the the  origianl series launched, yes im really that old. :) But i will not play a F2P game as i feel cash shops are a scam and certainly will not pay to play a game with cash shops.

What has been said about the cash shop, is that they will be for cosmetic items only and the items be things you can earn in game as well.

I wish I knew more about the pvp as well. All I've heard so far sounds like it'll be in the neutral zone.

I think STO has a ton of potential. Hope to see you there.

Originally posted by GrumpyMel2

In entertainment venues, the words "You Can't" are not a good recipie for success. This is the core of why I think STO is going to be a huge dissappointment for many fans. Because of the genre we are dealing with, people are going to come into the game with  expectations to be able to do certain things.... when they find out this is not supported, there is going to be a huge let down factor.

To illustrate, imagine this hypothetical conversation between Cryptic and a potential fan.

Fan - "I'm so stoked, I'm finaly going to be able to play an MMO where I can be the Chief Engineer aboard a starship in the Trek universe".

Cyptic - "I'm sorry but you can't play the Chief Engineer, you MUST be the Captain of your ship."

Fan - "What about my freind Bob, we played the FASA rpg...and he liked to play the Captain and I liked playing the Engineer. If I have to be Captain what does he play aboard our ship?"

Cryptic - "You can't play aboard the same ship with Bob, every ship is crewed by only a single player who MUST be Captain...all other positions MUST be filled by NPC's".

Fan - "That stinks. Well can I at least invite Bob aboard to show him all the tinkering I've done with the engines down in Engineering?"

Cryptic - "Sorry but you can't. Players can't beam over to other players ships. The only Player that can be aboard your ship is. You."

Fan - " So I can't be the Chief Engineer and I can't invite anyone aboard my ship. So what do I do when I tinker with stuff down in Engineering. Do I have to take screenshots to send them to other players to show off Engineering aboard my ship."

Cryptic - "I'm sorry but there IS no Engineering aboard your ship....or rather I should say it's not represented in game.... none of the interior areas aboard your ship are represented....so you can't go there, show them to anyone or tinker with any of the equipment there."

FAN - "So what happens in a fight when my front shield goes down and I do a half-loop to put my aft shields to the enemy. If cant goto Engineering, how do I get my front shield-back online? Does my NPC Engineer do it for me automaticaly?"

Cryptic - "Uhm...you can't do a half-loop in this game... we only support WASD movement and an elevator function.... there is no pitch or roll control"

FAN - "So what happens when I loose my front shield facing? How can I quickly manuver my ship so that I'm not exposing a weakend shield."

Cryptic - "Oh Don't worry about that.... shield facings are irrelevant... you can instantly transfer power to any shield facing you want by pressing a button on your hot-bar."

FAN - "Shield facings are irrelevant....and I'm limited in the control of movement and positioning of my ship. So what determines victory in Space Combat?"

Cryptic - "Ah well, if you do more damage to your opponent then they have hit points...er, I mean shield energy and structural points. Then you win!"

FAN - "Uhm.....so where do tactics come into play?"

Cryptic - "Oh that's easy... Depending upon your class... and upon the Pets...er I mean Bridge Crew you have equiped during the fight....you have certain specials on your hot-bar that buff you or debuff your enemies or let you do more powerfull attacks.... just like in WOW.... for instance there is a Photon Torpedoes of Doom special attack you can get that lets you fire 40 torpedoes all at once!"

FAN - "Photon Torpedos of Doom.... specials....this is SCIENCE Fiction we are talking about, not Magic right??? Don't torpedo tubes have a certain built in rate of fire.... how can you explain how stuff like that is supposed to work?? "

Cryptic - "Oh....easy.... we don't"
 

As far as ship interiors go, Cryptic's actual answer is "Not at launch"

I like the way this game is more sandbox style in it's character development. True, there is no bright glowing line for your character to follow, but that's kind of the whole point.

I've played many MMO's over the years. I've yet to see one that was finished.

Originally posted by Alandora

Originally posted by Zlayer77

Originally posted by law573

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Maybe if you guys (OP) actually tried to read the background behind this game, then you won't keep creating these FAIL topics.

 

That would be like asking a blind man to see. The OP is an idiot.

 

You realy got me with that one.... Dosent change the fact that Failcom should stay away from MMOs period, think it might get realy Ugly for them when they mess up a third time... Whats the saying now? yes  "three strikes and your are OUT!"

 

Yeah, but they missed so bad on AOC it should almost count as 2 strikes.   How can you sell a million boxes the first 3 months,and 6 months later have 100k subscribers?

Ya gotta love mmorpg.com. Home of the rebel without a clue

Originally posted by Benjen

after the NA release of Aion will AoC close its doors?

Lawlz

So Benjen, what color of fairy do you plan on playing?

Originally posted by Lobbyboy69

Cant really argue with Badboybill on this one im afraid. The endgame pve and pvp sucked so bad after release most credible guilds just left. The problem is I found out nothing had actually improved much after resubbing.

Avery you keep posting stuff all the time on here which is upcomming soon etc......When it does eventually arrive its just as lame, broken and boring as the rest of the content.

AoC tries to be the jack of all trades, but ends up being the master of none. Its PvE, PvP, Crafting & Enonomy are some of the worst aspects I have played in any game. In my opinion they can never be rectified in a game which core is broken. 

But as Ive always said, If you like the game good on you.....personally i tend to set my sights a little higher. 

Actually, I can argue with badboybill, and you as well. Badboybill argues there is no endgame. He asserts that the game should really start after max level since everyone would have the same tools so it would be "skill" somehow. Games don't work that way. No one ever has the same tools. He seems to be looking for endgame pvp. Pvp is what you make it. Want a huge battle? Organize one. Or I suppose you could stroll through forums and bitch that no one held your hand and created events for you. Badboy describes himself as a "hardcore" player.... they're alll video games buddy, playing them makes you the absolute antithesis of hardcore

As for Lobbyboy69, the pve and pvp are fine. Crafting has been improving but was never intended to be a focus in the game so I'm not entirely sure where you get the idea it was ever meant to be a big part of AoC. The economy really has more to with the players than anything else. He claims the game is broken at it's core. That's just a baseless assertion. The game is fine.

If you don't like the game, fine.... go elsewhere. I prefer a little better class of player.

I've played beta, EA, live, and not this "on and off" crap. I'm talking REAL experience.