All Posts by theguru22

The grind, if anything is a MASSIVE deterrant for games to me, especially MMORPGs. Please, don't make a game that I may as well write a macro to play. The idea that grinding is a sign of worthy acheivement is the idea that because you've flipped burgers for 10 years, you deserve to be a regional manager of your burger chain. NOT everyone who can flip burgers should be promoted, in fact, most of them are incompitant.

This makes just as much sense when applied to MMORPGs; not everyone who can spam "attack 1, attack 6, attack 2" should reach maximum level. This does not create a dignified, skill based system. MMORPGs should reward creativity, inginuity, and adaptability well before long hours in front of the monitor.

Having a grind to get to max level deters me because it means that no matter how well I understand gameplay and strategy, someone with 5 more hours a week to devote to playing will be my superior. We see it in WoW with the grind for gear, which is the primary determining factor in the arena and in raids (why else would all the LFMs be looking for "geared *insert class here*s" and all people seeking arena partners to have a resilience minimum?).

Games should not be about how long you play for, they should be about how well you understand how to play them, potentially as a result of playing them for some time. Some people learn faster than others, and they should be rewarded for it. Being good at chess doesn't require that you play a million games. Similarly, people who play a million games of chess can still be terrible chess players.

Well at least it finished downloading on time, but now I'm in game and it asks me if I want to preload resources for smoother gameplay. I guess after 15.5 hours of waiting for the game 10 mins or so of waiting for it to run smoothly isn't so bad... Anyway, didn't know about the rebooting thing, or downloading any files like off the internet or anything. I even spoke to a support representative and was just following his instructions.

Alright, I've heard a lot about how this game has improved so I'm willing to give it another shot. My first gripe right out of the box may seem juvenile but it isn't without merrit, and here it is:

To install the game through station took 6 hours. Ok, not terrible for an 11 gig game.

As soon as the installation finishes I'm thinking "sweet, I've been waiting all day to play this." To my dismay the game starts patching, and I am then alerted that the patching process will take 9.5 HOURS!

...

So total time waiting for Vanguard to be playable from scratch = 15.5 hours. That is rediculous... I've never seen a game take longer than 3 hours to patch, and that was when I was patching from pre-CU SWG to post-NGE SWG. I'm breathless. What it seems has happened is that SOE has capped their patch download rate at something like 15kb/s, witnessed by the fact that I can play CS:S while it's download with little effect on the rate. Mind you, I'm on a 12Mb/s cable line, and frequently speed test at 15Mb/s download rate. As I'm typing this there are 7 hours and 37 minutes left in my update. Here's my simple question: Why couldn't I have just installed a PATCHED version of vanguard, rather than download a completely unpatched version and spend 9.5 hours updating it? This is aggravating, and there's a good chance my computer will update and automatically restart overnight, boching the patching process. AGH!

Originally posted by Maggotscream

Personally I don't think WAR will live up to the Hype, and i'm hoping Aion will come out ontop. If Aion fails as bad as AoC I think i'll either quit MMO's or go back to EVE. I'm getting really sick and tired of having to wait 5 years for a "chance" at playing something decent. The developers need to open their eyes and actually look at why certain games are popular, and why some fail. Can't expect to win a sword fight blindfolded.

Oh they look. Where do you suppose all the WoW clones come from? It really is epically sad how popular WoW is. All the content in it is *grind* *grind* *grind*. For once I'm hoping to see an mmo that relies on skill, adaptability, and creativity, rather than "uber lootz" + "right spec" = win. I hope Aion delivers this, but it's unlikely. The change of scenery will certainly be nice though. I don't think  it will stop me from missing SWG...

Here's my big problem with ALL mmorpgs that are out of being released:

There's a general lack of consequence of action. Basically, everything you do in WoW is completely meaningless to anyone but you. Here's what I want, and I am well aware that it's rediculously difficult to implement; Meaningful PvP as well as meaningful PvE. Have my actions actually effect the game world and how it operates. I want to have quests that actually effect the state of the virtual world and provide my race/personal character with some sort of advantage. Have world PvP effect more than having a small combat or experience bonus.

Anyway, it may be a long way off, but it's something to shoot for. This is what sepparates good games from great games.

I hate planetside. It took me 3 hours to get through tutorials due to horrendus bugs which eventually left me unable to complete most of the tutorials. Once out in actual gameplay, going solo I was instantly sniped and killed in 1 shot by high level players whenever I got close to the fight. I eventually got into a squad and jumped in a tank with a high level player, but we seemed to randomly explode without explanation half of the time, and the other half just be driving to our destination. Granted, this is based on trying the game out about a year ago, but I don't think that it was terribly new then. The bugs were really awful, extraordinarily frustrating, and more than enough to make me quit. Then, when I finally got into combat, I couldn't ever see getting enough kills or experience or whatever to rank up once, since apparently lowbies just get slaughtered.

Originally posted by paladinum

When you buy a car..do you go back to the store 2 times a week to buy the rest of the components missing? weel, tyres, seats, stereo etc? no...

You might go to the store 1 time a month to buy better components, better tyres, seat coverts, better stereo, put new headlights etc..

 

Age of conan is so early beta that needs 2 patches a week..and still is missing promissed features..., god...in the day i bought the game i had to install a 800 mega patch...

Without talking of game size and instancing, and huge amount of linear play...the game is not ready to be sold to the public...but still people spend money on a early beta game?

You are saying to all mmo devs in the world..release beta games into the market..because we pay you to test them for a whole year..

This is a horrible comparison. First of all, I don't need to pay for any of the updates Funcom puts out, as I would have to pay for missing components of a car. Furthermore, the components you listed prevent you from operating the car at all. Conan was quite playable upon release, and did not require any patches to play the majority of the game.

If you expect an MMO to come out and not require a large patch on release day then you must have never played an MMO at release. The game is not in a "beta" state as far as I'm concerned because 99% of gamebreaking bugs have been removed. I personally have never had the game crash, or even drop me from the server.

The people who are still playing are likely people who anticipated that the game would come to full fruition after a couple of months and are pleased with the way Funcom is addressing the missing/incomplete aspects. Plenty of people love this game and consider it a fantastic alternative to other MMOs. Please think before you post.

You actually played the game?

And yes, the devs post on the forums via the public relations guy (and in person sometimes) all the time. People who complain about the lack of response from Funcom devs are really trolling. Either that, or they expect the devs to pay complete and utter attention to every single utterance in the game and on the forums. They expect way too much. Funcom is doing a great job rolling out patches which respond to known issues and improve the game.

Sooner or later nearly all of the bugs will be fixed. If we didn't expect the game to be buggy at launch, we should at least be understanding.

I just finished the level 30 destiny quest on my main and decided to post on here with my thoughts so far on the game.

AoC is by no means perfect, but funcom clearly acknowledges this. Problems for me so far are incredibly minor and include some poor collision detection with terrain, charge flat not working, a combo system that's yet to be fleshed out, a complete lack of tradeskills and crafting, and some small PvP issues. Funcom has proposed to fix the PvP, crafting, and continue adding bug fixes at least twice weekly. And how are they doing? Some people on the forums criticize the hell out of funcom for "releasing an incomplete game" or "not fixing ____ right and right away." I tend to ignore these posts, and personally feel that funcom has done a phenomenal job combing the suggestion forum and knowing exactly what problems players have with the game, as well as fixing them post haste. Considering that there are still bugged mobs and instances in WoW (which is about 5 years old), I think that funcom's responses so far have been incredible.

AoC recently had it's first in-game trial of siege warfare, which is apparently riddled with bugs. funcom quickly posted on the forums that is a priori and will be fixed as such.

More to the point, AoC is by far the most engaging, immersive, and fun MMORPG that I've played in some time. Combat, while not spectacular, keeps you on your toes while fighting, quests are fun and fair, loot is good, graphics are great, music and atmosphere is incredible, the community is mostly good (again, compared to WoW it's more than a fair contender).

I can't stress enough the amount of dedication to the players that I've seen from the Funcom staff. For once I feel like the devs really want to make the game good, and are willing to listen to those who post reasonable suggestions which gain support in the forums from reasonable people.

My only major gripe is that there's a post in suggestions (on AoC's forums) about an alternate combo system that would really enhance the game that has gone all but unseen by the devs from the look of it. It has over 500 posts and still hasn't been stickied. Hopefully the devs aren't ignoring it and they will retain their commitment to making the game greater than it already is.

Originally posted by DJXeon

 

Yes i have played eve, but didn't get past the 14 day trial, the main reason was that i found transporting goods around the universe was like watching paint dry.

 

Quote: Rusty FLS CEO.

Moving forward, Williams is excited to continue fleshing out the game and growing it organically over time. "I think the model that has really shown itself to be really successful is what they did with EVE, that they basically kept working on it," he said and added that FLS plans to do exactly the same thing.

My advice to anyone is to try Potbs before making any conclusions about the game based on press comments. (Rumor has it that there will be a 14 day trial offered soon exactly like eve)

Some will love it others will hate it, personally i find an mmo based on 1720's wooden ship combat to be a refreshing change.

Neither Eve or Potbs are likely to be the next great MMORPG of the decade as they both have tiny subscriber bases compared to some bigger mmos.

L2P. Eve is what you make it; if you wasted your time shipping goods lightyears across the galaxy within the first 14 days, your fault. The only fault I see with EVE is that you really have to play for a couple of months before you really get things going. However, even before then you can at least run missions, rat, mine, produce, ship, whatever in high sec until you get a corporation that shows you the ropes on 0 sec. Until you do it, don't talk. Plus, EVE is one of the longest running MMOs in existance, and the population has only grown over the years without the playerbase degrading into... well... naked gnomes named "squiggly" dancing on mailboxes for hours, which says something all on it's own. Off topic again, I know, but being a SWG refugee, I must say that EVE is the closest thing to an in depth, immersive MMO since.

Originally posted by DJXeon

Potbs does not have to be like eve, it could still be a lot better!
Living real world sea & some limited land based scenarios have much more potential than empty outer space.

Have you played EVE? Outer space is not empty lately. Nearly all of 0 sec is sovereign and more people play than ever... now why is that...?

I don't know much about PotBS, but I was following the press on it and from what I understand no one plays it and all the aspects of it that were supposed to be "revolutionary" are broken. I guess I haven't heard much about the economy except things like "gold is too difficult to come by, and prices are still going up." Anyway, watch your game references, especially with EVE which is the most promising MMO to date in that it's only ever improved, and for no cost to subscribers. The devs really listen and really care about the structure of their game, which is the most dynamic available since SWG's hayday (which still makes me and ). There will be a great MMORPG of the next decade, but I don't see it in PotBS if people are already having problems and numbers are declining.

sorry for the , but it had to be done...

ps. to all posters, please watch your grammer and punctuation. It's alright until it's unreadable.