Global Agenda is and has been my favorite MMO since it came out.  They just announced it will be a Guild Wars style game with no monthly fees and periodic expansions, PLUS it's on sale from Steam right now for $27.  This is a perfect time to get into the game for anyone interested, the combat is top notch and pure fun.  Highly recommended *****

The people who care about the game enough to make these types of posts--the ones who can't stop thinking about the game but still try to convince themselves they don't want to play anymore...  they are the ones most likely to come back.

Lets be honest its not possible to have a real talk about SC2 on these forums due to the hate for blizzard.  Still it's fun to try.

Been playing SC2 for about 4 days now and it's just as addicting as SC1.  It's even more amazing than I though it would be.

I've been playing Blizzard games since Diablo 1 and no matter how high my expectations are when they release a new game, somehow they always manage to surpass them.  (I knew WoW was gonna be really cool, but had no idea that it would draw in so many non-gamers and bring MMOs out of the basements and into the public eye.)  Starcraft 2 has been no different so far, and half of the new battle.net features are not even enabled yet.  This game is incredible.

Originally posted by Garvon3

Originally posted by royalewit

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

This is what I've come to discover.  There really isn't any lasting sense of excitement or discovery for me once I try a new MMO because each and every one of them has so many similar systems that it's like playing the same game just with different skins.

I think it also has something to do with the fact that 2-6 years ago there were not so many MMOs.  When a new one was coming out it was a pretty big deal.  I remember how excited I was anticipating the release of SWG, cause at that time there were only a handful of massive online games around to choose from.  Nowadays, the genre is just totally watered down.  On top of that, the triple-A titles of the last couple years haven't been able to live up to the enormous amount of hype they were given, and now we are left with a very boring and stagnant genre of lackluster games.

Don't forget, when SWG came out, there weren't any other games like it, at all. 

MMOs back then all innovated and did something new.

Sure there are TONS more MMOs around now, but they're all exactly the same, so they cancel eachother out. New MMos coming out just feel like.. more of the same, cause they are. 

I agree.  MMOs are incredibly formulaic nowadays, with only a few relatively minor differences between each game's systems.  I wish someone could come up with some game systems that are unique and different and get away from the whole "x + y + z = profit" method of development that has been going on lately.

to clarify:  I know they have to make a profit, but I wish they would get creative again instead of just filling in the blanks of "predictable MMO design 101" and calling it a day.

Originally posted by Xianthos

Ok then im waiting for my DaOC / UO graphicaly updated copy :) and i would be happy panda!

I do have awesome memories of DAoC and the early years of MMOs.  But part of the fun was that everyone was new to the genre so people were learning how to play them at the same time.  That's the kind of thing that just can't be reproduced in a new release because everyone has "been there, done that" before even with the brand new shiney MMOs.

Originally posted by nikoliath

The problem isn't the industry. MMO's are not "crappy" today across the board. The issue is after playing a couple mmo's they all start to feel similar ~ because they are.

 

Long term players expect to be wow'd with each release, only they know what to expect, hence the disappointment when they realize game x players just like game y. 

This is what I've come to discover.  There really isn't any lasting sense of excitement or discovery for me once I try a new MMO because each and every one of them has so many similar systems that it's like playing the same game just with different skins.

I think it also has something to do with the fact that 2-6 years ago there were not so many MMOs.  When a new one was coming out it was a pretty big deal.  I remember how excited I was anticipating the release of SWG, cause at that time there were only a handful of massive online games around to choose from.  Nowadays, the genre is just totally watered down.  On top of that, the triple-A titles of the last couple years haven't been able to live up to the enormous amount of hype they were given, and now we are left with a very boring and stagnant genre of lackluster games.

Listened to some podcasts and watched some videos with Lee during my time in FE.  He's a really cool guy, best of luck to him.  FE will surely miss him.

Have they announced who will be taking his place yet?  Seemed to me he was pretty much the final word on the game's design, and there are still a lot of ideas and big decisions up in the air like S4, PvP patch, Respecs etc.  The game's next 6 months are going to be critical in determining its long-term success or failures.

Originally posted by describable

I stand by the expansion ... just 2 new races; probably bretonnian and skaven. (which means they can add to the land of the dead as we all know Nagash's minions are now no longer friends of the skaven after what they did to him).

Two new races are not going to help when nobody wants to play the 5 or 6 that are already available.  Same deal with the classes--Did anyone actually think that adding 4 new classes would somehow fix the game when people were getting bored with the 20 that were already available.
 

If the core game isn't any fun, making it bigger isn't going to help.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by describable

The game desperately needs an expansion... something for the subscribers to look forward too, something for the Mythic staff to ge their butts into action and fix everything with the core game before then.

With an expansion they can do what was promised in 2008, and redo some of the game engine... they already have a better one developed (or did when talk of an expansion was first talked about).

I agree. Look at the expansion for AoC.

It has reinvigorated the idea of playing AoC. Will it succeed in cementing AoC as a game to play for years to come? Don't know.

but given the changes that people (and themselves) have said that they made and this upcomign expansion, suddenly AoC feels like it has forward motion.

Warhammer needs this and they need to announce it with all good speed.

I have to disagree with this.  One of the main problems the game has is that they have continued to add stuff on top of an unfufilling core game.  The new content only keeps people interested for short time periods.  A paint job isn't going to fix a car that is broken down on the side of the road.

Originally posted by Jpizzle

The improvements mentioned as ‘coming’ are things that have been requested or demanded to be addressed for one and a half years now.

Client and server stability are a must. It’s almost patronizing to list that as an addition to any game. I play AoC and anytime people list ‘stability’ as an ‘improvement’ I cringe. It should be a gol’damn standard!

But, for all its neat ideas and potential (which I think WAR has/had) it falls way way way short of being worth $15 a month. Other then large scale PvP encounters, which by the reviewers own accounts are viewed as counterproductive, the game is essentially as shallow and empty as a Cryptic game.

Having the ‘most fun’ PvP would be something to boast, if players could log on and experience it 24/7 (outside of the freebie area). But it’s not the case. WAR forces a mind-numbingly long wait-and-see type experience in RvR and players just don’t participate. Or, you have to be on at specific times. Further, it ostracizes casual players by not regulating “pre-mades” where the chance for random scenario groups to have a chance at winning (or having fun. Or not being farmed for RP) is zero. Being able to enjoy the core of the game is a gamble, and I don’t want to waste $15 a month HOPING I’m on at the right time, w/ the right people.

There’s just too many issues w/ WAR, and frankly the “band-aid” development that the game has gone through over the last 1.5 years shows in their patch notes and their populations (another factor that contributes to being able to have fun).

You covered my main issues with the game in your post.  I reallly wish this game could have lived up to its promise.  Even today when I log in I see how much potential the game has, but there are so many little things that needed to be addressed in this time that they've been adding new scenarios and classes and zones.  I would have loved to see a few months time where they did absolutely nothing but polish and bugfix things, unfortunately all they've given us is additional content piled on top of a mess of a core game.

I wonder if any big-name but failing MMOs like WAR have considered dropping their sub price below $15.  Right now there are just too many other games available for someone like me to justify spending more money on a game that might bore me after a couple weeks.  I think WAR would be a perfect test subject for a lower price point subscription MMO, say $5-$7 a month.  Do you think they could pull 2x the subscribers they have right now by offering a more realistic price point?  I think they could.  I think they could.  It's not a terrible game, but for the money there are a half dozen other MMOs that I'd rather spend $15 on.  $5 a month is something I would consider hopping in now and again to kill some time and check out new patches.  But it just isn't polished and engrossing enough for me to fork over $15 a month.  And I say all this as an ex-fanboy who was planning to be involved in this game for the long  haul--a CE owner who didn't subscribe past the first 30 days.

Two things MIGHT make me want to pay $15 to check it out again:

A 3rd Faction, which is not likely to happen when you consider all the extra animations and artwork or classes and skills and quests and crap that would need to be added to the game.  That would be only likely to happen in a full-size, boxed expansion update.  GLWT.

Alternately, consolidation of the 4 tiers into 2 tiers.  Tiers 1 and 2 become the lower tier, and tiers 3 and 4 become the upper tier.  This would help keep the players together, making the game seem more populated.  People always say that the game needs lots of players to reach its full potential, and if you divide the populace into two segments instead of four it could instantly help things out.  As it stands currently, it seems like the only people sticking with the game are either free trials or max level.  Tiers 2 and 3 suck so hard and are so underpopulated that 90% of the people who make it past level 11 are going to quit before reaching tier 4.

Tier one was some of the most fun I've ever had in an MMO.  Tier two started to slow down for me.  Tier 3 made me unsubscribe.  Even though what I propose would be a massive reworking of the game, I think that combined with some tweaking and polish of the different game systems (public quests, open groups and fortress/city sieges are 3 things that immediately come to mind as incredibly promising and exciting that never quite got there) it could really make this game as entertaining as it should be.  It really is a shame to have such a full and beautiful world be so empty and boring.

Originally posted by Murashu

I havent followed this game closely, but what I have seen of it, does look interesting. If they can pull off the crafting system similar to what SWG had as well as open world PvP, open world raiding and player housing, I would definitly try it out.

I was thinking about it today, and one of the biggest successes of SWG's crafting system is the dynamic spawns of unique resources.  No game that I know of has come close to enabling this extreme amount of differential and customization between different players' crafted products.

One of my favorite things to do in SWG when I logged on would be to send out my survey droids, just to see what kind of new valuable stuff might have spawned since I last played.  Then of course, hunting it down, sampling it and either trashing it or spending the next couple hours finding a good spot to plant some heavies on.  Or hiring a ranger to start raking in the creature resources for me which he could offer to my vendor at a reasonable price.

The fact that dewback hides (or any other resource in the game) could be worth 10cpu one week and then 40cpu the next week made for a very dynamic and vibrant economy.  And incredibly interesting gameplay, as everyone fought to keep up with the latest and greatest spawns while negotiating the best price they could get.

It blows my mind every time I think back to how cool it was.  I remember the excitement it would create on the forums when a new spawn of really good materials were discovered and everyone's prices started to adjust for it.

I can't figure out--how come every single aspect of MMOs seem to get copied by the next game in line, yet nobody has ever bothered to copy off of what is widely considered the best crafting system ever?

Rollback, SOE.  I'll resubscribe tomorrow. 

Originally posted by bobby_14

Earthrise is a new MMO which is alot about PVP and the crafting system sounds alot like the resource quality based one SWG once had. And you can fight about and control the resource locations. I think that might really be my next game. Just thought you might be interested, as the new Star Wars game will probably be the next WOW clone...

It's the next big thing for me.  I hope it lives up to it, I'm really bored of everything else I've been playing.

Originally posted by Nicoo

Lol, are you guys serious? Have you even checked Fallenearth.com?
They have had free trials for Fallen Earth for mooooonths and months.. Lmao... Just get there and sign up lol..... Unlimited keys... lol..

They are talking about the retail keys that give a full 30 days and let you avoid having to pay $40ish for the client.

This isn't entirely related, because the games are entirely different as far as skills and economy goes, but I also like how Global Agenda has all your alts named the exact same thing as your main.  Granted, that wouldn't do any good to solve the problems I anticipate in Earthrise, but it works well for that game and could do good in other games, too.

But the main reason I would like Earthrise to have Single Char Per Server is because of the skill system and player-run economy.  I don't like when everyone can do everything.  I think an MMO should force players to interact with one another as much as possible.

For example, in WoW if you want to get good gear you have to group.  In EVE if you want to prosper you need a Corp.  Hell, back in the days of DAoC if you even wanted to level efficiently you needed to group.  These have been successful MMOs.

If you look at games like WAR or STO that can be soloed from start to endgame, those types of games are the ones that fail over time.  (I know WAR is all about RvR and teamplay, but honestly you can join a warband and go zerg the battlefields without even talking to anyone.  It's all fairly anonymous and alternate characters do not help the matter.)

A good MMO needs inter-dependency between its players.  A player-driven economy is an great way to enforce this, but my fear is that a true player-driven economy can't exist if you allow each person to roll several alts.  What could happen is that people no longer need each other because everyone provides for themselves.

I would prefer an MMO that only allows one character per server.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by parrotpholk

http://pc.ign.com/articles/106/1069985p3.html

6.8 so a little better score than gamespot. They played for more than 50 hours and found it lacking as well. The common theme seems to be shallowness and boredom in the official reviews which is what many of the folks here had been saying. 

I may personally agree with the score,however i cannot accept any review,unless i know it is done by a very knowledgeable person.That person has to understand what a game is capable of doing,they have to understand mechanics and graphics,just merely playing a game for whatever amount of hours means nothing.The reason it means nothing is because you are not using unbiased judgement you are just going to give a game a review based on your likes and dislikes.A person that actually understands game design would know more about a game in 5 minutes than a dummy would know in 150 hours of game play,so this often phrased comment on players needing so many hours to form a judgment is ridiculous.No it does not matter if that same person has reviewed 100 games either,if they don't have a clue as to what they are looking at ,it still does not matter.

So if someone wants to post a review done by John Carmack i might actually read it and accept it as a knowledgeable review.

 

So you need to be a game designer in order to judge whether a game is fun or not?  Do I also need to be be a movie producer to give a valid opinion on whether or not I liked a movie?  Should I become a best-selling author before recommending a book to my friend?  Right...  And I need to sell a multi-platinum record in order to really know if I like a CD.

Sorry, no.  A player with no preconceptions about game design is the best person to review a game, provided they can get their points across clearly.  This is because they hold no bias or opinions about what the game is TRYING to do and can instead focus on the real heart of the matter, which is "Am I having fun playing this game or not?"

All the underlying technical details of a game are meaningless when compared to the actual enjoyment you get out of playing it.

Nice accurate review.  It's not your typical, full-out MMO game.  It's a team-based shoot-em-up with cool classes, skills and graphics.  Great game with FUN combat.  Considering you get most of the basic stuff for only the price of the box and no subscription costs, it's well worth it.  Perfect for dropping in and out of whenever you are bored and have some time to kill.  (pun intended.)

Originally posted by cerebrix

its glaringly obvious, you arent a writer.....

 

Right, he's a game designer.  I read his articles not because he's a good writer but because he has lots of objective insight into what is good about games and what is bad.

Edit to clarify: It's not that I think he's not a good writer, I do find his articles entertaining and the EVE Online link made me laugh because it's true.  It's just that I believe the best thing about his articles are the fact that he has so much experience in the industry.  He has insight to draw from that other writers do not.

Originally posted by pojung

Originally posted by royalewit

Originally posted by storm-dragon

Here is a link to the email  and thier reply to Blizzard. 

Such Classy guys.....

 

Rofl at the nerdrage.  I always love the: "I PLAYED THIS GAME SINCE DAY ONE BUT THAT'S IT BLIZZARD! YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME!!"  response.

/sarcasm That guy really got blizzard good, I'm sure they are really kicking themselves in regret now. /sarcasmoff

I'd love to see a Blizzard rep come back and post something like, "Man, those words really sting hard, maybe I"ll just have to plug my ears with all the money you've given us over the years!" LOL

 

And yet, despite the questionableness of the authenticity of his words, you seemingly missed all the very valid points he makes.

I must've been laughing too hard.

THAT'S IT!  I'VE LOVED THIS GAME SINCE BETA AND HAVE SPENT ENTIRE DAYS LOGGED INTO IT BUT NO MORE, BLIZZARD!!!

Originally posted by storm-dragon

Here is a link to the email  and thier reply to Blizzard. 

Such Classy guys.....

Rofl at the nerdrage.  I always love the: "I PLAYED THIS GAME SINCE DAY ONE BUT THAT'S IT BLIZZARD! YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME!!"  response.

/sarcasm That guy really got blizzard good, I'm sure they are really kicking themselves in regret now. /sarcasmoff

I'd love to see a Blizzard rep come back and post something like, "Man, those words really sting hard, maybe I"ll just have to plug my ears with all the money you've given us over the years!" LOL