I hated Vampire: The masqurade...  I much preferred Mage:  The Ascension as a story type. 

But then, I'm not a vampire fan at all.

Ah well, I'll wait until they come up with something that doesn't involve vamps.

To me a sandbox game is a game where I am not guided by the hand on where I should and should not go.  Where I do not have to worry about what quest someone is on when I go to form a group.  Where I do not have to worry about messing up someone's faction because I killed mobs out of order for them.

It is a place where I can decide what goals are worthy and what goals aren't and I can take my character in that direction.  It may or may not have classes, but if it does, those classes will be really generic and allow for alot of internal customization.

Originally posted by Wickedjelly

Originally posted by Raston

That being said, I'm not a real fan of the so called F2P models.  I tolerate it on EQ2, but I did leave the game for over a year over it as well (where I went to LotRO...).

 Wow, EQ2 is f2p?  Really?  May actually give that game another go if this is true.

Is it or have I just been bamboozled?

 No, this is why people shouldn't post on 4 hours of sleep :)

I meant to say...

I'm not a real fan of the so called F2P models and their cash shops.  I tolerate the cash shop on EQ2, because they only offer fluff items on it, but I did leave the game for over a year over it as well.

Kinda glad I canceled this a couple of months ago, seperates me some from the decision.

That being said, I'm not a real fan of the so called F2P models.  I tolerate it on EQ2, but I did leave the game for over a year over it as well (where I went to LotRO...).

I prefer to know exactly how much I need to spend to enjoy the game how i want to enjoy it, whether I play 5 hours that week or 80.

I know, I know, F2P model is the way of the future.  I for one, hope the future is rewritten and they get off of this mistake of a path before they destroy the entire genre.

As for the constantly pushing buttons, that isn't the best of ideas unless you want to encourage hand problems.  I did like the vangard way of bards with custom compositions though, that was fun.

I'd like to see a class system reduced to the original archtypes.  No more defiler and mystic, only shaman with an AA class/skill tree setup that would let you customize how you wanted your shaman to operate.  Sorta like a cross between what was originally in SWG, where you advanced up trees for the class development and what EQ2 has now with the teired class abilities (I,II,III,etc).  Remove 'spell books' from the game and let people 'train' up the lines they want based on a point system given based upon level (while I prefer a classless/skillless sytem, that isn't really an option with the EQ series).  This would give people flexibility to not be 'clones' of everyone else who is their class and forces people to make choices in advancement.

When you look at EQ2, they already have the ability to do this in place, simply move skills over to an AA style system based upon the class type, can even put limits on it like you can't get consecrate until you have a faith skill of 55 (for example).

Another thing I'd like to see is raids that function fundamentally different.  One example I've used of this in the past is a raid on a desacrated temple, where you'd need to split up and be doing different things at the same time for the raid to be successful (like scouts breaking in and opening the door and silencing the initial alarms, before the the priests have to go and cleanse (and keep cleansed) the sanctuary, the soliders would have to deal with the gard barraks and another group would be responsible for destroying the main demon, all having to be done simulatiously or the demon would be unbeatable (because he would either get reinforcements or would gain strength, health and power from the desacrated sanctuary).  I think something like that would certainly beat the 'spank and tank' senarios or the 'cure within 2 seconds' senarios they use today and would require teamwork but not necessarily split second timing or 0 latency for success.

I can go on and on, but I've probably bored you enough with my opinions :p

Well...

As far as top 10 lists would go.

1.  Asheron's Call - What can I say.  First ever MMO and noone has touched it yet.

2.  Everquest 2 - The only game that has kept me over 2 years (and I'm back for my 4th go around in it)

3.  Shadowbane - Play to Crush and I'm a carebear!

4.  Anarchy Online - I still go back to play this from time to time.

5.  Dark Age of Camelot - Didn't like the grouping rules, but back at release it was a solid game

6.  Pre CU Star Wars - We all know where this went...  I only left this game because of guild collapsing and I play games to be with friends.

7.  Lineage 2 - Fun game, horrible community.  Playing the market in this game was a blast, I used to spend hours wandering from town to town to buy and sell things.

8.  LotRO - very solid game, was fun for the year I played it.

9.  Anything but WoW...

10.  Anything but WoW... (you can repeat this to darn near the bottom of the list and still not find WoW listed.  There is nothing GOOD about WoW, it has single handedly brought the genre to a standstill in development)

My list.

1)  Asheron's Call:  Pretty much new graphics, more skills that are useful and reign in the levels a bit more.  That is one of the reasons I don't go back to AC, my highest (even if I could remember the password) was only in his late 30s/early 40s back when I left, high level now is like 162 (or higher).  Who wants to start at the bottom when most of the people playing are well past that point?

2)  Anarchy Online (The first MMO where I was the guild leader).  Needs some better animations, lose the expansions and get back to the core of the game, Omni v Clan.  Open up some new skill lines (like diplomacy for bureaucrats) and instead of completely dynamic missions, make the missions dynamic, but leave the buildings static.  It was a real immersion kill when I walked into a building in OT to find that it was the inside of a dead snake...  Or some random hole in the wilderness that is a subway station.  Also, where are all the people who were supposed to be working in those facilities?  Those are some areas they could really improve upon.  Last thing here is levels, make leveling slower, but make fewer levels.  It is really easy to lose scale (especially in a PvP world) where you have 100+ level spreads.

3)  Shadowbane:  Fix the hacks, fix the UI (probably the worst thing in that game), open up the ability to cross 'shards' as they had originally planned (which would allow for more...  interesting expansions where new shards are found), I'd like to see some serious upgrades in city building (ability to build larger cities, multi guild cities, roads, the ability to expand 'laws' to surrounding territories, etc).  And for a finally, they had the best lore I've EVER seen for a custom IP MMO, incorporate that into the system better.

What we almost have to wonder though, is this the groundwork for an AO 2?

Think about it, they will have the entire world rebuilt into a top line engine, the core of the game is already there.  Build new character models (and animations), update the mission system and return to Rubi-Ka in High End graphics is very viable as a new release game.

Some nice updates in those graphicss.  Would love to see some of Rome.

I agree.  The faces were a big impact on me visually, these (even without the engine update) would help out alot.

Originally posted by AgtSmith

Just to be fair here, I am not saying this is a malicious program - it is just a question of the method it uses to accomplish its assigned task being inappropriate at best and illicit, even harmful, at worst.  understand that illicit and harmful doesn't have to mean the program is farming data and CC numbers and shipping them to Kenya, it can simply mean a program is operating in a way that causes issues or interferes with the normal operation of the operating system or other programs.  If you are on the fence, or if you are of the thinking that this is a reason to avoid a game that uses it there is an alternative to just skipping the game (though that is the only way programs like GG will be forced to legitimate methods).  You can setup a dual boot and use that second boot of your operating system to run the game - I would recommend that you remove the drive letters form the main install on the dual booted operating system just to make access to that file system harder, and there are ways to hide it completely if you so choose.

 

The best way to do this is to not install your other operating system to the same disk rather to install it to a second disk, internal or external and to do it while the main disk is disconnected so that the entirety of the operating system, boot files and all, are on this alternate disk.  Otherwise, if you are just partitioning and installing to a second partition then the main operating system will be a system disk to the alternate operating system requiring it to be available and visible to the alternate operating system.  This is particularly easy if you have remotely modern hardware as all motherboards these days have a simple list in the BIOS that lets you define the main boot disk and they will also let you change that by hitting a key during post and selecting a disk to boot to (typically esc or f12).  Programs like EasyBCD also make this very manageable allowing you a graphical interface for BCD (vista and win 7 boot manager) that will allow you to easily create boot menus but keep in mind if you use something like EasyBCD or VistaBootPro your main operating system will remain a system disk to the alternate system as you would be using the boot files of that main system to load the alternate, even if they are on different physical disks.  That is why I think it is best to maintain the separate installs on separate disks and for this type of purpose (a dedicated gaming machine or other system with which you will use some DRM infected software) use the bios level boot disk selection to keep things very segmented.

Yah, I don't think their intent is malicious either.  It would be better if they provided a way to uninstall the program (in its entirety) as well as allowing it to be appropriately shut down when you aren't playing a GG game.  But neither of those features are available, thus I won't use it.

I will not be playing Aion due to this (I was on the fence about it before, but GG pushes me to the WNP side firmly).  I have experienced this pos program before and it did nothing good for me forcing to spend the better part of 2 evening rebuilding my computer to get it off of it.

I will never run another game (even if all of them use it) that uses that program again.

That, my friend, I do not know.

I'm just waiting for them to do this upgrade to come back.

I loved the game back in the day, but my guild fell apart due to all the bugs at launch :(

Heck, I'd almost rather see them to an AO 2 without all this crap they added and go back to the original story arc.  Improve the skill system a bit and let it fly!

I installed GG once for some FtP game (Mamboniji or something like that), had to do a complete system restore to get my computer to run correctly afterwards.

Maybe they've improved it since then, but I will never play another game that does that, I simply do not have the personal time to rebuild my computer that often.  It isn't a root kit and the security issues are vague and may or may not be true, but it is a very poorly written piece of software that I will not install again, ever.

I don't think SoE has learned that lesson yet actually...  They are still making core changes to their older titles...

That being said, if they are talking on a conceptional level, then Bioware may have a point, I prefer the free form character system from the original SWG, but many don't.  They simply do not have the desire to play something this isn't the classic EQ model.

That being said, I came originally from AC and the free form school and it is what I prefer, though I doubt I'll ever really see it again.

For me it was the game controls for combat.  My hand hurt from all the clicking this game had for months after I quit.  I tried other methods of control, but I was never able to get them to work as well as clicking and using the mouse was for me.  Beyond that was the pathetic class balance in a PvP game, it would of been a fine balance concept for a PvE game, but in PvP, tanks were pretty much useless (unless they were of a certain level/spec'd a certain way), especially after a number of the nerfs.

I think I left 3 months in, I really tried to like the game.  I loved Tortage the first 3 times through, after that it got REALLY old.  I really wanted to like the guardian, but what good is the best armor in the game when players can ignore you and go after the squishy DPSer?  Then once you got to the 50's the combos required so much clicking that it was ridiculous.

I love PvP, but there is a reason I avoid FFA PvP games/servers and you need to look no further than the OP to find the reason.

Griefers, cheaters and whiners...

Originally posted by Egamst3k

Originally posted by jaxsundane

 

This is a very true statement that the overall financial outlook has had a great effect on developers but I do have to add that the way they try to use the economy as an excuse doesn't sit well.These kind of statements to me are akin to a person commiting murder and then blaming a song that they heard on the radio.

 

That's an incredibly poor analogy, no offense.

A company's ability to raise capital is heavily metered by the Fed and surrounding entities. Since most up-start companies rely almost exclusively on debt (hence the incredibly high volatility) through Bonds, IPOs, and general lending through major banks (whose interest rates are heavily influenced by the Fed), funding availability in a Recession -as we're in - is slim.

This basically ends up to there being nobody to borrow money from, and no one willing to give loans. When was the last time you heard of an MMO built without debt? Tabula Rasa was some $7.5 Million (or was it more?) in debt by the end. Funcom was also multiple million dollars in debt at the launch of AoC. I can't think of a single 3D MMO that has launched without massive debt.

Now, however, without anyone lending money and available credit shrinking, you have to finish up games with less money. This means cut features, fewer employees, and other cost-reducing measures to ensure that you still have a viable product. Whether or not Stargate Worlds is a viable product or not doesn't matter if they can't get the money to fund production costs.

So it may seem like a Cop-out, but they get their money from investors and banks. As an investor myself, I have to say - these are not fun times to start a company.

Obviously you don't work in banking...  banks aren't lending because of the fed or the recession, banks (who aren't lending, some are) are doing so due to a crunch in liquidity due to toxic assets (NPL and NPAs) which are eating up their capital due to write downs and write offs and provisions for loan losses due to the idiotic decisions of our government (starting back in 1999 when Clinton pushed for lower standards at FNMA and FHMLC) and the banks and mortgage companies (which are out of the game before the crap hit the fan I might add) that saw dollar signs due to that poor governmental policy who made too many loans to people who shouldn't of had them.  Add to that the charge of racism any time someone tried to fix the problem before it became the mess we have now and you wind up with this situation of the housing market crashing.

There is only one way that the fed controls lending activity and that is with the reserve rate (or how much in deposits a bank must keep based upon their deposits).  The interest rate doesn't change the amount a bank has to lend, just how many are willing to borrow, it is a demand side mechanic.

I really hope HJ gets going, it is quite honestly the only game on the horizon that I was really even remotely interested in...