All Posts by jesad

I agree with you on many points.  MMORPG is like a cesspool of trolls and propaganda artists.  I still don't think that you should leave though.  Even though you have probably run into your share of crap from the employee's of different companies, developers of different games, and general lemmings of negativity that permeate this forum, I'll bet that you have also helped let those of us smart enough not to just believe everything we read be able to make an informed decision about whether or not to try some games.

That's important, especially here.

So, in the name of the forum we are currently posting in, to hell with the critics, nothing that they can possibly say to keep someone from trying out what they want to play is going to work anyway.  In my experience, people who have to come to sites like this to make a decision whether they are going to play a game or not are most likely the same lemmings that will come back to post negative stuff about the game anyway.  Most people just come to see the circus.  To find out if there is anything they should know and/or to compare notes about things they already know to others who already know them too.

As far as AOC goes, my notes go like this.

1. They were incredibly egotistical in beta.  This, not the beta testers, is the reason that every bug they have run into upon release is applauded.  They jerked around their tech testers pretty badly, had them show up for testing as though it was a real job and then forced them to go back and stand in line among the unwashed in order to enter open beta.  They then, only after most of the tech testers went out and paid for open beta, allowed them to participate in general beta where they were still expected to test the game.

AOC was a 30 gig download.  Each time a tester had to change their account status, unless they had 60 to 90 gigs of hard drive space just laying around empty, they were forced to go through the download process again which, when it came to general or tech beta was extremely slow.  In this situation they shouldn't have been surprised at the negative feedback that jerking these people around was going to inspire.  They knew that they had a good game though and so they used this in their favor.  Nothing that we can do about it now except to pay or not pay.  I'm paying because it is a good game.  I still, however, harbor my resentments and will probably not beta test another game made by these same folks.

2. AOC kicks ass.  There is plenty of content, plenty of action, and I have not stopped playing it since release.  I play on a PVP server and so I am sorry, I will not divulge any spoilers.  You want to get hard like me then you get smart like me.  I will say though that the opportunity is there, just like it has been in so many games before where people swear that it is not.

3. The game is not as buggy as the processes set up outside of it.  Account setups, customer service, all the things that have to do with dealing with those people can only be called one step above primitive.  I have, however, experienced very few bugs since release but I think that this is in part because I have not been trying to hack at the game.  I had a friend that complained on day one.  His graphics were all messed up and it couldn't be his fault because he had an 8800 gtx video card.  As soon as I convinced him to get his head out of his own ass and update his drivers, his problems were solved and I have not heard a word out of him since.

There are still some graphical bugs that need to be sorted out, but nothing that is so detrimental to gameplay that it ranks as an A or even B class bug.

4. The inteface rocks.  I can solve everyones problem with one single command.  "Shift - L" locks those pesky icons to the hotbar.  After that I was happier than a pig in shite.

5. I run a hyperthreaded 3gig intel with 3 gigs of ram and a 8500 GT.  It runs fine in groups, solo, and pvp.  I run on low settings but really can't see the difference between that and normal other than the clip plaining.  Again, to all of you superusers who think that just because you paid an arm and a leg to brag about your rigs that it gives you the right to call any game that you can't run all out a lemon, get yer heads out of your asses and realize that these guys aren't programming for you, they are programming for you tomorrow and you are part of that problem not part of that solution.

I see all of the blood, all of the gore, the nipples are intact, and my green and blue gear looks pimp.  I even set up a version to run on my girls machine that is the same as mine only with a gig less of ram and a 256meg hyper memory card in it and it looks just the same.  Her's runs it a little bit choppier but still not at all unplayable.  This is the first time in the last three MMO's that I have played where I can say that we will not have to upgrade to play it.  Thank god for Vanguard after all huh?  At least it turned out ot be good for something.

In summary I think that AOC is a winner.  It is something new in a market full of clones of the last thing.  And although I don't care much for the decision makers that are in charge of public relations, I still give it a thumbs up for anyone experienced enough and smart enough to know how to do more than zerg and bitch.  The gameplay is linear only long enough to teach the stupid how to focus, after that it opens up like any good MMO should.  The secrets are there and properly buried so that not just any idiot can get on the game and powerlevel into greatness (although this hasn't stopped a slew of them from trying).

If you play the game right you will always be better than the next guy no matter which class you play.  That is as it should be and I pray that they do not change it.

Finally, to the op, if you can't handle the hatespeak on this site, just do what I do and wait for someone to say something reasonable before you post.  In cases where you have something to say, just say it, damn communication beyond the point of what you have to say hehehehe.  Someone will read it and appreciate you for you effort.  And if they don't?  To hell with them too!

Sorry for the vulgar language, playing that game all week has gotten me back in touch with the manimal inside :P

I found a football MMO beta that looks pretty cool.  You don't get to actually twitch but everything else there is to do with a career in football is there.  You can manage individual players or entire teams depending on how much time and effort you want to put into each and already there is a pretty fair amount of people playing. 

It's not going to take anyone away from anything else they are playing of course, but if you like football, fantasy football, or anything to do with football, it's a pretty nice real time simulation. 

Follow this link to check it out.

http://goallineblitz.com/

Peace

Jesad

<modedit>

Wow, I went about 3 pages deep into this string before I had to log in and post. 

Are you guys crazy?

Ok, I have to admit first that I did come here to say something positive about the game.  I've been playing it for about two weeks now and it is, in my opinion, pretty good fun.  I have no idea what it was like before nor do I care as whatever that was must not have been cutting it and led to the game becoming what it is today, which I like.

About the email post though, I read it and didn't feel offended at all.  It started out by saying that CHANCES ARE you are a loser but then promptly followed that up with an explanation that if you are it is most likely due to their game being screwed up based on their database findings.  They go on to explain how they have attempted to remedy the problem and invite you back to play for free for life as part of the solution.  I don't know, but it seems like a pretty fair deal to me.  I mean unless you are hypersensitive to being called a loser and lack the patience or reading comprehension to know the difference between an actual insult and an unfortunate (and costly) fact generated by a database.

See, now that last little bit there, that was an insult.

Wow, what's up with the gold seller banner on the MMORPG homepage?  I thought that gold selling was generally frowned upon.

I have ran into this more than once.  My path is to move from reading the blogs to checking my mail.  Of course most of what is in the mailbox is spam and since I do not need information on how to enhance my male prowess and become the envy of my friends I delete this junk.  I then go to the home page to check on the info there and attempt to enter the forums using the forums button at the top menu bar.  This however, sends me back into my mail box and the only way to get into the forums after this point is to click on one of the recent posts and then work backwards from there.

Not earthshaking but I thought you would want to know.

I think that grouping became evil when the line between anything and everything became blurred.  No one game is to blame for this as people were soloing The Vindicator (a raid mob) as far back as EQ 1.

Development has done as much as it can over the years to combat this kind of thing but since it is nearly impossible to stop a level 50 whatever from soloing a level 20 named epic superbad go get your mamma mob the problem can only be truly addressed at the higher levels of the game.  Even at the higher levels you are still going to have that 6 boxer scripter robot superhero sitting behind a wall of PC's "soloing".

The thing is, soloing, as we see it and read it isn't really the issue anyway.  Being able to trump the game is what most of these so-called soloists are complaining that they can not do and when you read what they are saying for what it truly means the request becomes absurd anyway.  Thus, the answer to the question that the OP asked us is that grouping became evil when players realized that they could do anything AND everything and anywhere that is exists where they can not (which is the way it should be, the way of the world) is something to complain about.

Forget about it and play your game.  Solving this problem is a financial move that no company is going to make, more or less, stick to.

I think that the problem is that the OP, like myself, wishes that the MMO community could be more like the traditional table-top groups still in use in a lot of places.  You know, where people are happy to be there, happy to challenge the game (and not the game master) and eager to work together to get through their quests.

The problem is that even in the most closed game among the closest friends there is always the possibility of a jerk slipping through.  This is the guy/girl who is always going to try and manipulate the rules in their favor, who is always going to challenge the DM on every call that they don't agree with and who is going to try and stack their characters in the best configuration possible to overcome the need for team play.  At home in a table top game if this person really gets on your nerves enough, you can just not invite this guy back.  On the internet however, if you have a credit card, game card, buddy key, etc... your in, and you are in until YOU decide that you don't want to be in anymore good or bad.

With the exponential increase of genuine explorers, adventurers, warriors, and ect.. that is good for the gaming community must come the exponential increase jerks as well.  And worse, the jerks are the vocal majority because while the people that are good for the community are busy PLAYING the games, the jerks are anxiously searching the net for the walk-through's and hacks that will allow them to play the games the way they want to play them while in the meantime making sure to stop by their local mesage board and post what they like and do not like about this and that.  A lot of jerks don't even play a specific title but play several at once just to be able appear knowledgable while complaining.

You can't change them and you can't make them go away.  Best thing then is to just ignore them and try and have the best experience YOU can have before cancelling your account.  Odds are, you are having a better day anyway.

Posted simply to quell some of the "community" issues that some new players are having, I invite you all to come and play on the "Shidreth" server where you will find a knowledgable and friendly community eager to see some new people.

Simple words of advice on how to have a good time on this server.

If you want to be in a guild, join one for a while before attempting to creating one.  Guild leadership here and anywhere else should not be attempted unless you already have a strong knowledge of the content and how the game works and would be a disservice to the community as a whole.

Speak up!  Don't be shy and don't try to go it alone or even with one partner.  There are fantastic opportunities for fun and some good ole fashioned socializing but the solo or duo team that does not attempt to take part in them will grow bored quickly.  Communication is the key and there are a lot of people eager to answer your questions or call you bad names if you so desire so get in on the fun and try to enjoy the WHOLE game.

Talk to people about any technical issues you may be having.  Weaker PC's can still run the game (often with less issues) in performance mode and even in this mode the game still looks good enough to enjoy.

If you are a tradeskiller, join the craft channel, it is always hopping.

Finally, don't get discouraged.  Depending on the paths you take there may be slow times, times where it is difficult to find a group that is doing what you are doing and times where there may not be people to talk to.  Steps 1 and 2 do a lot to allieviate this symptom but nothing can combat a new game with challengingly long quests on such an expansive scale.  In cases where the quest area you have decided to work in is poorly populated, take your time, do the solo and small group quests and talk to every person you see.  Shout about it, tell people where you are and what you are working on.  A lot of this game is still very undiscovered to a lot of people.  You can help by alerting them via linking quest rewards in your LFG requests and being willing to work with the people you meet to get on the same page.  When all else fails, take a break.  During the times when things are hot you will probably be putting in a lot of time so allow yourself to enjoy the downtime when you can.

Remember, the game is wider than it is tall, therefore there is no reason to rush through levels but more of a reason to explore the content.  There are many areas of the game that have still not been fully explored and more content to be added as the time passes so....

Settle in, get acquainted, and have some fun.

Shidreth is a PvE server with dualing rules (just for the record).

D3 (Dark/Dark Defender) from City of Heroes was my hands down favorite in any MMO ever.  Character was all powerful (on a cosmic Silver Surfer type scale) both solo and in a group but people were afraid to play it because it had a "miss" factor to all it's powers.

Originally posted by Zeknichov

PvPr C

*The player wishes for PvP and PvE to work in symbiosis.  Therefore item loot and destruction in PvP play central roles.  PvP is the fuel for PvE and PvE is the fuel for PvP.

*Killing mobs, doings quests, or completing environmental challenges to progress character.  If progression is necessary to the player.  Otherwise killing mobs, doing quests or completing environmental challenges is purely for financial gain.

That's me.  I can play FPS's (and I do) for constant non-stop action.  I like my pvp to have a little bit more to do with my character and the world he lives in though.

Originally posted by CharslesT

If you play VG, you do respect and appreciate the fact its potential is underdeveloped.

 

 

Is potential good enough to subscribe? hells no.

 

Is it good enough to remain subscribed? NO.

 

Is it good enough to keep an eye on the game for a bit? I think so.  Yes. Why not?  It has vast potential, not fulfilled, which can be fulfilled with resources and creativity.  So, I am remaining subscribed, I do not suggest you do unless you want to.

 

I should be clear:  I remain subscribed because I have fun in the game.  I just actually logged off where a group of friends of mine and I, mostly guildmates, owned several named targets.  yes. SOME raid content is in the game, btw.  Anyway, I like the game. It is fun.  IT is not the best on the market, but it has the most potential of all the games on the market.

Yup, you put my thoughts into perspective perfectly!

Originally posted by Zooomg

 

Originally posted by jesad

 

All things considered sure, the game has some heafty system requirements.  That doesn't however make it a bad game for those people who meet or are willing to meet those requirements. 

 

As far as the complicated level that you say is not there, how about you show me how you have mastered the game before I take your word for it.  Anyone can log into a game, play until they become frustrated with a set of rules and then log into a message board and spout a bunch of crap.  I would much rather take my advice, however, from someone who can back their words up with something a bit much substantial than cliched wise cracks and inflamitory insults.

I'm not mad at you.  I just don't think that your opinion counts as much as mine is all.

 

Let's ignore smart-ass comments for now.  My apologies.

I have played the game till level 40+ in crafting and 34+ in adventuring.  Let me describe an incident during the start of my gaming in Vanguard.

edited for space..... 

Going on that theory it would then stand to reason that maybe the game was "too complicated" for you and not "too easy" as you say.  It also supports what I said earlier about the investment it asked of you and your response to it which in your own words said it was too much to ask.

As for the bugs, no one is going to argue with you on that.  No one.  If you quit on that and that alone I support you 100%.  Someone has to do something about that and it is your responsibility to not pay into the beast (even though I do LOL). 

I don't know dude.  If you didn't like it I am sure you had your reasons just as I have my reasons for liking it.  But then I don't play these games to win, I play them to socialize, face and overcome challenges either alone or with others, and to simply have fun.  The things that used to annoy me the most, buggy releases, not understanding the vision, they don't bother me so much anymore as much as not having a good game to play.  VG is a good game in spite of being more of the same that we have come to expect from the industry.  It, to me, make the best attempt at bringing all the finer parts of all the other titles together that I have seen to date.

In EQ2 tradeskilling for me was a matter of picking ingredients and then druming three keys with my fingers while I looked at TV.  The tradeskilling in this game is a lot more complicated than that for sure.  And I would like to add that we all have to keep in mind when we play these games that everyone is not as smart or prepared as some of us are and to make the games too complicated is just as big a shot in the foot as making them too easy.

There are people I know to this day who have maxed out characters and still don't know their arse from a hole in the ground and they all pay their monthly too.  The thing about VG though is that you at least have a choice to play the game in a more challenging way than the basic new player is going to play it.  I can respect that.

Originally posted by Zooomg

 

Originally posted by jesad

 

The game has plenty of soul.  It is just wider than it is tall.

 

The addiction doesn't start until you realize that levels 1-30 were only the free hits that it took to get you hooked.  On a subconcious level people are leaving because that is pretty scary.  For those of us who stayed though, the buzz is as good as gold.

As for it being a basic game only trying to be complicated.  I submit that it is a complicated game only attempting to be understood in a very basic kind of way.

Go see for your self.  Talk to people.  Find a good guild.  Join the crafting channel.  And have fun.  I play on Shidreth.  We welcome you to come.

 

 

People left and are leaving because there is no compelling reasons to do so.  There are many better games out there.  People are also leaving because graphics/RAM requirements are way above the norm among other reasons.  Suggesting that it is some sort of a 'scare' is just ... lol ... ignorant and sprouting nonsense.

As for "As for it being a basic game only trying to be complicated.  I submit that it is a complicated game only attempting to be understood in a very basic kind of way."    What kind of crack are you on?  You mean like Auto Assault  ... ?

Just maybe people have played it and have declared it a piece of junk. 

 

 

As far as the complicated level that you say is not there, how about you show me how you have mastered the game before I take your word for it.  Anyone can log into a game, play until they become frustrated with a set of rules and then log into a message board and spout a bunch of crap.  I would much rather take my advice, however, from someone who can back their words up with something a bit much substantial than cliched wise cracks and inflamitory insults.

I'm not mad at you.  I just don't think that your opinion counts as much as mine is all.

Originally posted by mcast123

So yeah you've read all the posts about the failure, bad performance and impending doom and asking yourself "what's it really like?". It's a fun game, most will enjoy it and there's plenty to do. Yes, it has performance issues and crashes but while annoying they are not game breaking. Crafting, adventuring and diplomacy will give you enjoyment, some aspects are better and some worse than other comparable mmos. Yes, it has population issues which should be addressed by the mergers.

Now here's why people are quitting...

When you get past the mid 30s you realise it's very very samey. The higher level quests are a cut &paste of the lower ones. Also, the world has some amazing cities and graphics but you can't help feeling that cut&paste again. The boats are fun for about 5 minutes, then you realise there's nothing to really do with them, same applies to housing. Mounts are fun for a bit longer but ultimately they get old fast. Diplomacy, again becomes very samey. Crafting will give you more RSI than any other MMO (it will wear your mouse out).

The game lacks soul, no real lore, no real reason for completing a quest or traveling to a location. Same old quests dressed up with slightly different themes. The NPCs are the same with different clothes. You can argue that it's the similar for every mmo, but it's moreso for VG. If you look at the feature list, the videos and other material it just fails to live up to what it says on the cover.

It's not a bad game it's just not that great either. On the whole I would say EQ2 is slightly better for that more "in depth" fantasy mmo. Some argue that LotR and WoW are more "basic" but ultimately VSoH is a basic game trying to be complicated.  Try it before buying it.

 

 

 

The addiction doesn't start until you realize that levels 1-30 were only the free hits that it took to get you hooked.  On a subconcious level people are leaving because that is pretty scary.  For those of us who stayed though, the buzz is as good as gold.

As for it being a basic game only trying to be complicated.  I submit that it is a complicated game only attempting to be understood in a very basic kind of way.

Go see for your self.  Talk to people.  Find a good guild.  Join the crafting channel.  And have fun.  I play on Shidreth.  We welcome you to come.