Yay for the Westfall love! I always thought I was totally alone in my nostalgic appreciation of that place (at least according to my guildies). It has a wonderfully sad/melancholy feel to it with a slightly sinister undertone. The music is also absolutely fantastic at conveying that feeling. I remember the first time I stepped into the Deadmines alone with the music suddenly changing and mist enveloping the screen thinking "er... maybe this wasn't such a good idea..."

Stendel's pond always intrigued me, too. It's little details like that that Blizzard do so well and make WoW so memorable despite its flaws.

You're not the only one. I SO wanted to love DA:Origins. It all started out so promisingly; great characters, voice acting, story and environments, but underneath the shiny exterior its just the same old mechanics. It was the same with Mass Effect 2: brilliant RPG elements but the Horizon scenario had me pulling my hair out (I've come to conclusion I despise FPS') and I thought "do I really want to be playing a game that makes me this frustrated?"

After almost 20 years of gaming, I've experienced almost every gaming convention and genre in existance which is why when new games come out, I tend to be tired of them before I even start - unless they do something truly revolutionary. I think this is true of a lot of older gamers, and most evident where MMO's are concerned due to their nature of 'carrot-on-a-stick' gameplay which has been done to death.

We expect so much from games nowadays simply because the room for innovation has become so small. Everything seems to be either a re-hash of an existing theme or a mixture of several different ones. Thankfully, with the advent of the internet, the bedroom coder is making a comeback which can only be a good thing to keep the industry from stagnating and homogenizing in the hands of the... <cue sinister music> EVIL CORPORATIONS!!1

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

Basically I just don't see what all these people need CS for, I could of been fine if none of those issues were resolved by CS. What is it people are doing that they are all up in arms about needing more CS? A bugged quest? Ok do something else until they fix it. A lost item? Get a new one. Someone bothering you in chat? Squelch them. There are really only a couple issues CS really needs to be there for, like having a character stuck in the world and no auto tool to get you out of it. As time goes on programmers have worked in more and more little tools for players to help themselves.

These are the same people that ring up the emergency services because they don't know how to turn the oven on or they locked themselved out of their house. Unfortunately the world is full of some very stupid people who are unable to think for themselves.

Excellent article, though. I sometimes think people forget just what is involved with producing an MMO on even a small scale. People need to be realistic but so do the companies; If they propogate hype and are unable to deliver, they only have themselves to blame.

Champions Online was the absolute last time I'll buy a game on release. I got bored after two days - it was just awful. Luckily I managed to sell my account. Shame I didn't have my new found cynicism when I bought D&D Online and AoC. Oh, well, third times' a charm.

There's been a bit of an "end of term" feel to WoW since the announcement of Cataclysm. The whole game is currently geared towards the defeat of Arthas, and while this is fine for the hardcore raiders, everyone else is left with very little to motivate them. Since the whole game will be changed come the arrival of Cata, the game seems a little hollow at the moment unless you're into PvP or raiding.

---

Originally posted by Bael13
<Mod Edit>

---

The "WoW is too easy now" argument doesn't hold much water anymore. The high end raids are just as - if not harder - than they used to be.

As nice as it would be to down the Lich King, I can't bring myself to gear-up and go through endless runs and wipes again. WoW in its first incarnation is coming to an end, and I probably won't play seriously again until Cata lands as focusing on anything other than the Lich King feels a little futile.

I'm with tehikk on this. I'm in CB but would rather level up when it means something. This game is all kinds of awesome and hands-down the best F2P I've played. I'm just hoping they don't fall at the last hurdle and misjudge the cash shop.

Great read. I remember when I was making one of the most important decision of a young man's life: what is to be your first MMO, it was a toss up between EQ2 and WoW. From the evidence produced here it looked like I make the right decision. Bunch of polygons? 72 hours? Uh, nah...

On a side note: the 'Meh Factor' should become an internationally recognised rating system.

Hold out for Allods. Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Just had a look myself; definitely giving it a shot. Nothing to lose as it's F2P. Like the art style, too. It's a nice change to have a Western-looking F2P.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Thanks for posting this. I forget how good he is. Need to buy his stuff.

Amen to that.

I'd give anything to hear some kind of musical collaboration between Zimmer, Shore, Williams and Elfman. All have distinctly different styles but all are equally excellent.

The music from Braid is some of the best I've heard in a game for a long time. Many of the artists are on Spotify so they're keyed into a playist for my more relaxing gaming sessions. Enigma is another good choice if you like your ambient tunes a little more ethereal.

When playing WoW, its sacrilege to play anything but the OST such is its epicness, unless I'm PvP'ing.

** A Wall-of-text resistance of at least 10.0 is recommended before reading this post. You have been warned. **

As I'm sure many here will agree, the majority of fresh ideas in the game industry are borne not of the big companies (unproven ideas are risky, after all) but rather the indie coder with nothing to lose but time and daylight. With the current wealth of free information, tools and tutorials, coding a game has never been easier for those who wish to turn their dream game into reality (albeit a very basic approximation). Some of the best games since the birth of the industry have been the product of creative and talented individuals who have either re-imagined existing genres or created completely new ones. Publishing a game, too, has become infinitely easier with the advent of the internet, with an increasing number of commercial releases opting for, or migrating completely to, a digital download format.

But despite all this good news, one genre remains untouched by the pioneering bedroom coder... the mighty MMO. For every bright eyed and bushy tailed post from some eager young gamer wanting to "zomg make my own version of Warcraft!!1!" there will be an avalanche of responses politely (and not so politely) pointing out that he'd have a better chance selling snow to an Eskimo. Eventually, after several pages of cold, harsh reality, the poor wretch is never seen again.

But why is this? Why is the MMO genre such a punishing genre to dip your toe into as a coder? Trawl these forums on a regular basis and you'll see plenty of people passing judgment on existing games; offering up their own - sometimes questionable - suggestions, but all equally with the same zeal and enthusiasm. The problem lies, as any veteran gamer or coder who has looked into the unforgiving void that is MMO development will tell you, in the fact that undertaking such a project needs resources that your average hobby coder does not possess or is unable to acquire. The sheer amount of manpower, finances, knowledge and time needed to create even a small game can be simply overwhelming, even to experienced coders.
 

And this, ladies and gentleman, is why we need a radical change in the industry. We all know it's become stale, but that's not the fault of the companies; they're a business, not a charity. They take a look at what's popular in the market and replicate it. Ad infinitum. It's a sobering thought to consider that we're unlikely to see anything truly original for at least another 10-15 years... UNLESS there is a major shift in the way MMO's are both made and played. Consider this theoretical situation:
 

A game company creates an MMO development system. Something accessible, easy to code in, but with the capacity to be expanded greatly through mod’s and open-source add-ons. They provide the servers, the network code, security, all the back-end technical stuff, and you, the coder, get to create your game in a nice shiny interface. Sounds crazy? Read on...
 

Think about it. They could introduce a system whereby you pay outright for the software and are able to play your game with a certain number of people through their servers. If you wish to make the game widely available, you pay a nominal monthly fee dependant on player numbers, servers, tech support etc. Your game could be free to play up to a certain number of subscribers at which point you can continue to let people play for free (revenue through advertising perhaps, at the risk of annoying players) or introducing a monthly fee or shop system. The company providing the infrastructure takes a cut, and you get to keep the rest. It's a win-win situation. People would finally have the chance to develop their own games with intuitive, user-friendly software without having to worry about the nightmare of servers, networking and all the other horrors associated with developing an MMO. And that's not to mention the community: imagine millions of people swapping ideas, art packs, mods, music, sound effects, experience… the list is endless.
 

This is my dream for the future of MMO's. Putting the power back in the hands of the average gamer and letting them create the vision that they had always hoped for.

I’d love to hear the views from people with more knowledge that I about the MMO industry as to the feasibility of such an idea. I have no doubt that it would make a profit, the problem lies with the infrastructure and being able to police and maintain such a complex system.
 

In the meantime I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope some nice CEO of a major games company happens to be trawling these forums and likes what he sees…

(10% in shares will do me just fine).

Originally posted by uquipu

Originally posted by aleos

 hey allright good for you! you've realized why just about everyone hates wow. YEAH! 

 

The reason I hate WoW is the same reason I hate:

Microsoft

Wal Mart

Google

McDonalds

The United States

Yes, because they're all subscription-based virtual worlds, too....

These are the same people that end up actually trying to make an MMO themselves and make a post on some forum somewhere along the lines of: "I want to make a kick-ass MMO can any1 help pliz?"

After a few dozen replies suggesting that they take up a programming course, try their hand at some basic C++, network coding etc. they mysteriously disappear...

Originally posted by darkjoy

its all a wraith of the tasos flambouras king to me... even korean companies that publish games like rohan or runes of magic do better than you!

This occured to me the other day. There seems to be a new Korean grinder out every week, completely out of the blue, and yet western MMO's seem to take an absolute age and get released in a terrible state. Why can't someone license one of these existing games and just reverse-engineer it into something decent. Forget about building an engine from the ground up, take something existing and make it better. I don't need next-gen graphics in my MMO's, just something worth playing.

Originally posted by nikoliath

 might i suggest ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/146/7/925 

 

"Midazolam for aggressivity and violence in three mentally retarded patients

WS Bond, LA Mandos and MB Kurtz
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, PA 19104.

Midazolam was administered to three mentally retarded patients with acute and refractory aggressivity and violence. Midazolam was well tolerated without complications and provided dramatic control of the symptoms, suggesting an expanded role for it in the management of aggressive and violent behavior."

 

Wait until they put in your water system ~ welcome to carebears online  hehe

This should be issued with every copy of Darkfall.

Shame there aren't any copies ...

Originally posted by biplex

I do not understand a thing. Who is suing them and for what exactly?
The link does not explain anything.
There is nothing even remotely close to a detail.
This is one of the worst news i have ever seen on gaming sites, and you all know the competition in this is fierce!

I'm assuming it's because of the unpaid wages.

If this case wins then SGW will finished. If CME can't even afford to pay their staff, a legal settlement will be the final nail in the coffin.

If you take into consideration the abilities of the Rogue, you'll understand why. They suit certain personality types.