I think that ignoring what the other side of the world does is just not feasible anymore in today's MMO market. P2P games are increasingl popular simply because with so many MMOs already in and coming into the market and older gamers like myself finding that due to work and other life commitments, I don't have as much time to play mmos on a fixed regular basis, (think raiding guild time commitments) I now not longer look at subscription based MMOs as something I want to spend on especially if I only get to play in earnest only on my days off from work.

That game Prius online or Anima online looks interesting and is actually has done something refreshingly new in a game. Something that the "western" gaming companies seem to want to avoid. War Hammer online, Conan, and other "recent" western MMORPGs haven't exactly been all that good in terms of content either.

So thank you Richard,  for continuing to look at what the other side of the world are coming up with, one can only hope that the best of both can somehow merge and give us gamers that next great game.

I think the "free" part plays a huge role in why those of us who are tired of paying a subscription to games that aren't any better then then PWI. I mean, there's even an expansion coming soon, which i will assume will be free which in any other MMO of this scale would have charged us $40.00 (okies...$39.99) or more.

As I have said before in another post, PWI isn't the "best" game but its a darned good one. Throw in the "Free to play" factor and I really do wonder why the games I paid for and subscribe to, can't come up stuff that a free game like this gives away for free.

Originally posted by Raserei

1.) Does this game have a cool item system? (For example, Diablo 2, Archlord, ect... Where any mob can drop cool items.. Sets, uniques, rares, ect.. Or is this game boring items like Maple Story, where most stuff is store bought and very little customizatio on gear) 

Depends. Armor and weapons are more or less cookie cut depending on level, though there are variations to stats on armor if they are crafted. Throw in Legendary gear, which looks awesome but as the moniker suggests, aren't easy to get.

 

2.) Is this game solo friendly?

 At the lower levels yes. But like most MMOs, as you get into the higher levels, certain key quests which unlocks abilities and skillls require you to find a good group to complete. Aptly nicknamed "FBs" (for final boss_level) usually at lvl 19, 29, 39...and so on. Rewards for these quests however are pretty awesome if you complete the quest at around the level it was meant to be done.

Usually with an item with stats that are usually one tier up.

 

3.) Crafting? (If yes, what kind? Worth it?)

 Yes and its the only way to get Legendary items (as far as I know). Which require you to find a mold, (rare drop) and materials, (clickies on the ground).

As for what kind, you can be an armorer, smith (weapons), Chemist (potions and other stuff that essentially gives you buffs that no class has) and Jeweler. You can pick up all but might want to focus on just one. :)

 

4.) Other than leveling, what is there to do? (Early game , mid game, and end game)

 That depends on if you are on the PVE or PVP server. Both have Territory wars, though on the PVP server this can carry into “regular” play as members of opposing factions can and often attack each other out of “sanctioned” pvp. To be fair I don't know how to answer your question. Like every MMO out there, levels, equipment and the process of getting them counts for a good portion of the game. Take that out and what is left really depends on what you want to do in the game.

Technically, my first "mmos" were MUDs and I assume you guys mean the more recent grapchic "enchanced" multiplayer games, no?

That being the case, my first would be UO. I had a pretty much had a love hate relationship with it though. Loved and hated the pvp aspect, loved the excitement, hated the exploits. I still remember my guild "tenting" someone's keep door area then filling the "courtyard" with liches and dragons. The fact that we stooped so low, and was able to get away with it, till they "fixed" it (almost 3 weeks later) didn't inspire confidence in the game's powers who were. (gms, admins).

The game that gave me the best memories was EQ though. Regardles of my own distaste and hate of the Evercamp that EQ was, EQ hit on a nerve that very games today could do. It came at the right time, with the right technology and to be honest, I guess right mix of exploration and wonderment of discovery in a pve enviroment that gave people tired of UO. To me though, perhaps more importantly was EQ's player community. Somehow, people were different on EQ, more cooperative, much more cohesive as a community then what was found in UO. EQ has its faults, but for a game that gave me almost 8 years worth of memories, that's worth something.

Every MMO has "grinding" in one form or another but Everquest went from "fun" to downright silly. You know somethings smells when you people argue, fight and contest over a rare drop item off a once a once a day (24hours) mob that dies 15 secs the moment it spawns. Not to mention getting keys off a long quest chain that required you to kill a once a week mob with at least 30 to 40 people (at its introduction, later when people had better gear it got easier, but to get better gear...) but only drops at best 4 keys. Do the math on this one. :)

Everquest would have been better named, Evercamp N Grind.

I have to agree that this game is definitely one of the better MMOs available at this point even counting Warhammer online or WoW, and yes, I know Wrath of the Lich King is coming...

I will say though that I have been playing the game only for about a little more then a week, on my now limited play time due to family and work but I did get to lvl 27 so while I may not have experienced much of the game yet, its still a fair amount of time spent.
 

Is it the Best? That's debateable but I do feel that it seems that way too many people nitpick on certain aspects of the game that *exists* in other games just because its a "free Asian F2P game".
For example, graphics and character customization. Reading on the various posts, you get the general idea that both are rather outstanding and they are, the character customization especially, is definitely one of the best if not the best found in any MMO, free to play or otherwise. Though i wished for the fact that I could customise my hair, but that's a different matter anyways.

However, again, several posters claim that this isn't "new" technology. That the graphics are "older" then they should be, and character customization isn't all that important since you can't see all that much detail once you zoom out and playing the game. Well excuse me, but isn't that part of what game and character immersion is all about? The ability to create a character that looks quite like you in real life is pretty immersive I would say. Of course I did a little digital plastic surgery on myself (think the $500,000 kind...and no...not DDD cups ) and prettied myself a little but who wouldn't?
 

The fact that it is FREE, however does make you wonder about a few things. Why aren’t other games giving the same value when you have to pay to play?
 

I recently cancelled my EQ2, DAOC and WoW accounts, because let’s face it, maintaining several pay to play MMOs just doesn't make any more sense to me. Not only I don't have the time to play all these games as much as I would like any more, for the most part, they are hardly any more different then the "Asian grind mmos" that many here seem to dislike. Why should I pay to play any game that requires me to grind, and regardless of what many say, WoW *does* make you grind, when there are other games just as good out there that are free to play?
 

Lore you say? Well I don't buy that. Log in into ANY WoW (or any other MMO) server and you'll have a good amount of people who just click their way through the quest box and not even bother to READ quest text. The lore might be there, but to these people, it might as well be non-existent.
To be honest, Perfect World's Lore is there but sadly quite a bit I think is lost to translation. To the few who would bother to play, read and try to understand what's going on, there's quite a bit of lore and history in this game's world that makes it rather interesting to play.
 

That view might change when I hit lvl 60 or higher but that's quite a ways down the road.

Originally posted by Tyrgris 

BTW, DR isn't even an Item Mall game so I don't know why you add it to your Item Mall support list. DR is free to play, but if you want the better stuff you just have to pay 5 bucks a month. there is no IP4RLC like most other Asian based games have. So I don't see why you even mention it.

Originally posted by vajuras

Originally posted by Eridanix

Originally posted by Silvarianne

And speaking of skills, I won't be too happy about that just yet.
Any skill tree would require some form of grinding or as I see it, time investment put into the game.  So until the game comes out, I won't be too exuberant about what its "supposed" to do because it might just be too over-hyped and can't deliver what is expected from it.

The real difficulty in any MMO where open pvp is part of the game feature is the need to balance the predator / prey relationship. If its just slightly off,  the game won't work.
Or at least that is how I feel. You can't have an open pvp game without prey, and you don't have prey if enough of them feel victimised and leave the game.
Loosing in such a game needs to have the loosing player feel that they lost "fair and square" as well as while there is a sting, its not too hard or impossible to recover from his or her loss of items / money.
Think of it as kind of a PVP food chain.
If you don't have the bottom feeders, the predators will die out of boredom.  You just have to ensure that there is enough balance in the game that those at the bottom of the food chain don't leave altogether.

     I find an unavoidable logic in these words; when hardcore PvP'ers or UO's PK-likes rumbles down the hill and punch to death and somewhat starvation the other players is no need to say how fast subs will be cancelled. There must be an equation, an equilibrium - so difficult to achieve- that keeps PvP'ers and PvE'rs ~such as questers, scouts or crafters~ tied to common ambition and both getting fun. Old UO is almost the perfection. But is this, old. I think we'll be in the need to move into the PvE'rs scenario to find our prey, and it means, in nowadays terms, that maybe the RvR is the present and future for PvP, as DAoC showed and WAR is appealing to.

 

Hm, the prey relationship is not the thing we should be focused. nor skill progression. The pace of skills is determined by the developer. In the end, the more linear the skill development the better. the distance between noob and vet cannot be great. So vertical advancement we see in games like WoW, city of heroes, and countless others are thrown out the window

As long as the newbie can fight a vet there is no predator / prey. I propose basic fighting skills for all players. Whether dedicated crafters are weaker then the dedicated warrior well I do think the soldier specialization has the edge of course. but the harvester can have escape skills at the very least. ways to avoid confrontation. This sort of skill is also useful to Thieves and many other careers

That issue can also be resolved but it will be tough to design. It takes a designer serious about pvp balance

In Starport there is no skill progression for instance. That extreme works just fine. The Guild Wars approach giving everyone basic combat skills that are viable work as well

This is not a system that caters to veteran like current MMOs directly. Wer're talking player driven content fully and a system where player skill counts. The guild wars endgame pvp has all these traits. Noobs kill the vets just fine. there is no prey relationship per se. Crafters should be running this system- not victims of it. They will control the economy. Remember- for this to work it has to be 100% player created loot and no instances for farming. Crafters will have to be willing to make the risk. We cant let these guys get camped. respawning butt naked and being helpless is a no-no. Give them basic gear at the least- explain its what your 'Faction' allots to them. Or give them natural, martial skills to defend themselves while butt naked. Give them evasion and abilities to avoid combat like EvE at the very least if you gonna gimp their combat skills.

but that cant be victims. We need to empower the Crafters here. We need these guys for this model to work

Originally posted by ownedyou1

Originally posted by Silvarianne
Why do people do that? "xxxx is the BEST GAME EVER!" when there isn't even a game to play.
Reminds me of all the hype and things said  about Vanguard while its in development.... "Vanguard is the BEST GAME EVER!" ....
Right....

Darkfall 'the best mmo ever'


you forgot the marks around the best mmo ever.