IMO, the problem lies with how most MMOs are layed out. There are too many quests and they're always spread out (too many starter areas, instances, etc...). Nobody is ever doing the same quests, nor do they need to, since most of them are so easy a 12 year old kid with ADD can complete them. Then of course, there's the fact that people don't like to be forced into grouping while they're trying to level. It just 'slows them down', since grouping doesn't usually offer any real benefit.

I could think of a few ways to fix these problems, which leads me to believe that the MMO devs are aware of them. Too bad game companies tend to stick with what's proven to make money instead of trying to be innovative.

So, killing mobs isn't fun for you? May I ask why you even play MMOs?

Personally, I don't care how long it takes to kill a mob, so long as the XP and rewards are scaled properly.

The main reason MMOs fail is fairly straight forward; they're designed for the masses. In order to make a profit, MMO devs have to make sure that a lot of people will play thier games. This automatically means that the game has to appeal to your average MMO player. This isn't a problem if you're an average Joe, but for people like me, it means every MMO is an instant FAIL.

I've said this before, but allow me to explain...

Game companies are just businesses trying to make money. They're going to make whatever they think video game players will like. The problem here is, most game players enjoy MMO's like WoW.

So, if you're going to sink millions of dollars into an MMO, you sure as heck aren't going to make it for a niche audience, because you'll go bankrupt and the game will just shut down. Even if the game is 'better' than WoW, if it's not enjoyable by people that like WoW, those people will not play it.

So, every time a new WoW clone or crappy console port pops up, people complain about it. It's going to continue until technology has advanced far enough for us to make better games without spending a fortune.

Originally posted by geldonyetich

 

The grind has definite breadth...

This game deliberately does not endeavor to make itself easy...

People who are only gamers by casual circumstance, and don't get this whole "quality gameplay experience is more important than ease-of-use" thing; who just want to have the thing do what it says on the box so they can get on with their lives; who boot up their games and scream, "entertain me without my having to lift a finger or get out," will likely not be able understand the appeal of Final Fantasy XIV.

You say the game is an unintuitive grind (which I completely agree with), yet you call it "quality". There are no quality games that frustrate you or waste large amounts of your time.

What you're really trying to say here is that "FFXIV is for people that enjoy slow-paced, simplistic MMORPG's and don't mind repetition or uneventful exploration".

Furthermore, FFXIV (the PC version anyway) has issues that a high-end PC will not fix. Console ports suck, that's just how it is. "Ease of use" is not an "easy button", it's something that makes the game more enjoyable. Someone with "ridiculous amounts of gaming experience" should know that.

IMO, if you love FF, then you're probably going to hate the PC version of FFXIV. It's a console port and, unless you have a shiny new high-end PC (with a widescreen monitor), you're going to have a ton of problems.


Heck, I have a decent PC and there were still things about the game that put me off. There are just some things that console developers don't get about the PC, which can be really irritating.

Oh, and the music isn't very good (compared to previous FF games).

"I"M BETTER THAN YOU CUZ I GOTZ THE COOL ARMOR"

This is exactly why MMO's don't have armor customization. You guys need to stop dreaming up all these 'cool ideas' because the gaming industry doesn't care about them. If an idea isn't going to make them money, they aren't going to implement it.

Originally posted by qazyman

And that will get real old in about 20 minutes. You can't build the greatness of the imagination on a small scale, only pretty it up long enough to steal a little money.

Apparently you've never played a PnP RPG before. You just have to make the game more linear and less open. 'Small scale' doesn't mean 'limited'.

It depends on whether or not you think the normal combat in an MMO is boring. People like me play MMO's for the boss fights and the PvP. Regular mobs are boring to fight, so the game becomes a 'grind' if there isn't enough 'good' content available.

Permadeath is just a bad idea. What's needed is a combat system that makes it difficult for anyone (or anything) to kill you. That way, you can justify a hefty death penalty and keep the game balanced.

I think the best flavor is vanilla.

There, I have said it.

It's done on purpose. The harder it is for people to figure out what 'build' works best for them, the more money the game company makes from their item shop (stat resets, etc...).

Remember, game companies are just trying to make money. If you're smart enough to notice issues like this one, you're probably better off not playing cheezy MMOs like Allods.

Crafting directly contradicts one of the main reasons for playing your character, which is gear acquisition. I've never played an MMO where crafting was anything more than a boring time sink. If the economy needs more (or less) gear, then the simplest solution is to make mobs drop more (or less) gear.

I know some people are hardcore role players and enjoy being seen as an 'important crafter', but filling a role that takes no skill is tedious at best. In other words: crafting should be a game in itself, otherwise it serves no real purpose.

My most cherished memory? After spending thousands of hours playing MMO after MMO, I finally realized that the minuscule amounts of fun I was having wasn't worth time and money I put into them.

I have far more fun playing single player games, where the storyline and content are much more enjoyable. I also don't have to put up with thousands of idiots and sociopaths.

Cheers!

Ya, I've noticed the increase myself. It seems the game devs have realized that people like to cheat, so they're not doing a lot to prevent it. Almost every game I've played in the past year has either been a homogenized POS or so full of hackers and exploiters I end up ragequitting.

/sigh

Originally posted by gjsfaun

 I agree with this. 

I'd add that when someone first starts playing an MMO (for me it was MUDs back in the 80's) there is a certain level of mystery and excitement.  Spending the time in the game to become respected, powerful, etc was a key concept for me. As the years went by, I could recapture part of this by learning new games that came out, but never to the same extent.

I still try new games, still hold out hope of finding one that recaptures my attention for more than a few months, but I've changed as much as the games have changed.  I need to spend time with the wife, kid, doing stuff around the house, etc. Thinking back about the time sinks and hundreds of hours a month spent playing an MMO?  Not possible anymore.

Some of the new games are better suited to my time constraints, some of the designs and features are certainly better than anything in the first generation MMO (and prior MUDs).  The magic of being the first MMO though that can keep you playing for years and years... doubt I'll ever find that again, but I don't think it's the game; it's me.

This isn't exactly true. The reason you're having trouble finding new MMOs to enjoy is because every new MMO is just a homogenized copy of the one's you've already played.

There are no new stories, no interesting lands to explore, no meaningful quests to fulfill, no unique encounters, no complex strategies... the list goes on and on.

The MMOs made these days aren't made for you and me, they're made for a 14 y/o with ADD.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Same *poop* Diffrent model. Guess what? The world did not end, and it never matterd to thoes that play games to have fun.

Please, tell me what is it about MMOs that I find fun.

I've always hated item shops. They're especially bad for pvp based games.

The only way an item shop can benefit an MMO is if the sale items don't give people an advantage over others (server transefers, stat resets, cosmetics, etc...).

It's all about game balance. If making a max-level character takes 300 hours of game play, it shouldn't take someone 10 seconds to destroy that character. In traditional MMOs, even someone that plays perfectly can still lose (for any number of reasons). Severely penalizing someone for something they have no control over is just plain stupid.

The very thing that makes sandbox games so interesting is also what makes them irritating. Games need balance. If you want something to be destructible, it has to be as difficult to destroy as it was to create.

You also have to bear in mind that the object's creator can't be around 24/7 to defend said object.