Originally posted by Talonsin

Honestly, the hackers can have my account.  No need to reset my password.  At least I'll know that the STO lifetime sub I bought would be getting some use.  I still kick myself for buying that one without playing it first.

Ouch, bud. I appreciate your honesty. If it makes you feel any better, at first, I was SORELY tempted to puchase the same for both STO and CO. Did not do either, because I figured I should at least see what happens when the game goes live. Wow, was I glad I did...

 

 

In my opinion, this is what every MMO in existence lacks. I think Matrix Online was the closest to realizing a similar system, and guess what, I LOVED that feature. I never felt locked into anything. It allows you to make ONE character and put everything behind it. It's the definition of immersion. It, to me, is the next evolution in MMO gaming.

It's almost like we've entered an alternate universe, where media reports random quantitative facts, and they in some miraculous way make the game suck less in reality... Perhaps our media outlets have learned to harness the Force! ;)

I tried, but I just couldn't get into it.  It's obvious that a lot of work went into the game, but it's just too shallow for me. I don't necessarily NEED endgame, but I need to know that it's there, and I need to have fun getting there. Sadly, getting there is pretty simple, from what I'm hearing, and I'm not enjoying it enough to feel that it's worth even that small time investment.

I've been burned by bad releases, also, but what I CAN say is that I have high hopes from what I've seen of SWTOR (yes, actually seen, not just read about).  I haven't totally decided on when I want to get started with this game, but right now I'm excited about a real release where my characters aren't in any danger of being deleted in a few weeks. ;)

Sorry, Funcom, but Facebook is BS, and by association, so are you. For as long as you maintain this connection to the most popular (and broken) social network, I ban you and your products from my life. Keep your secrets, they're obviously not worth knowing.

Originally posted by c4_Garuda

...a bunch of stuff before and this: are that blunt??

Just so you know, the word you are looking for is obtuse.

As for the article, I agree with the premise of it. I don't buy hype anymore, either. That being said, I trust Bioware to make something at least worth my initial attention while I see how people respond to it. No, I won't be foaming at the mouth or anything to find out, but I'll be curious.

 

Originally posted by Xondar123

I bought City of Heroes, Cty of Villains and Going Rogue all seperately. But it looks like if I chosde to return to the game and play for free I would lose a huge amount of the stuff I had paid for when I bought Going Rogue.

I, personally, don't like this road CoH has been going down for the past year. I'm glad I quit when I did.

 

+1 to that. They had me all the way up to the alpha slot for incarnate powers. After that, I suddenly had no incentive to work toward anything greater. The incarnate trials that they added for working on rest of the slots they opened ended up being not that fun, even with a great team, and tbh, the majority of the incarnate teams that you join randomly are just not that great. I can only assume that this new model will make it that much more difficult to find decent players to team with, and the solo game has become a huge grindy bore that leaves you feeling ripped off because you're not willing to be herded down their noob-chute Incarnate content.  Sorry, Paragon Studios, but you've lost your vision, and in my opinion, F2P is the final nail in your coffin.  To your credit, if you were shooting for "Superhero WoW," then I think you're doing a bang-up job!

I would agree with what I've seen so far, that I20 appears to be a step backward for CoX, which, to me, was beginning to look up with the unlocking of the alpha slot. Apparently someone decided that the existing method was too easy or fast, and introduced a mechanic that forces teaming. I don't mind this, generally speaking, but the community itself does range in quality across a very wide range, and while I've met a good number of awesome people, I haven't joined an SG that's managed to corner the market on them, nor have I found a large enough group that I team with regularly to make this turn of events anything remotely pleasant for me. If I want to work on my Incarnate powers, I'm going to be forced to randomly team with people, having perhaps 2 others that I'm familiar with and know to be good players, tops. This might increase over time, but I'm not holding my breath. Still, I will give this new direction a try and see how it goes. If we have enough people who practice good teamwork skills on the new leagues we're forming, I'm sure it could be an incredibly enjoyable experience, and could take players to the next level in terms of their ability to work together toward the achievement of a common goal.

However, right now, all it looks like to me is a LOT of work on random teams for rewards that, while they look nice, I have absolutely no interest in grinding out over any large span of time. We'll see, there's a few months left before my subscription expires, I might get to see a few tweaks and even I21 before then...

Okay, I get it, you want us to feel that you're an honest person, and I respect that, Bill, so I'll tell you exactly how you go about achieving the trust you seek. First of all, you assess the key elements of the game in an unbiased fashion.  Most reviewers can do this, and I'm sure you won' t have any problems with that, either. Visuals, sound effects, music, cutscenes, core gameplay mechanics, etc.  Just let us know what you like and don't like about them and you've got a good start. Where it gets tricky is what you decide to omit.  It's easy to tell us what you feel comfortable being honest about, quite something else to deceive through omission. No, you didn't outright lie, you just failed to mention those things that perhaps fell in the "conflict of interest" category.

So, fine, be honest, don't do that, tell us what you really think, and you WILL be seen as honest, because, frankly, you let us know everything you thought of the game that you felt we should know, both good and bad. Then put a number on it based on your perceived bang for the buck and Viola!, you've gained some solid rep! Personally, I think opinion pieces are easy to write, reviews or otherwise, because it just involves saying what you mean and standing behind what you say. If someone points out a flaw or oversight in my opinion, I'm open to revising it. Again, that builds trust and respect between parties. Honest opinions are the ones we're willing to change if presented with a valid argument. Dishonest ones are those we will not, because the foundation of them is riddled with the decay of half-truths, omissions, and blind loyalty.

While 2010 was disappointing to be sure, from an MMO standpoint, I would have to agree that STO could have taken the award had the blanket choice not been an option. It just wasn't all that, and for those who had already had a taste of Champions Online, it really felt a lot less polished, at least from my perspective. I felt like they were forcing STO into an engine that wasn't really designed with that game in mind, and that definitely ruined things for me. I am still holding out for DCO or SW:TOR to do something amazing with the genre, because quite honestly, City of Heroes has gotten pretty old for me, and I was never a WoW fan.

I continue to return to CoH, and am fondly anticipating the joy you seem to be having with DCUO, Bill. For me, being a superhero is a childhood dream come true.  I didn't collect comics, but I loved the idea of superheroes, from the weekend cartoons to the occasional foray into the life of Peter Parker and his heroic exploits as Spider-Man. CoH is most definitely an escape for me, and I bring to that game the joy of childhood tempered with maturity, generosity and kindness that I did not possess in my youth. Still, I find that you CAN have too much of a good thing, in almost every respect, and that having something exquisite in small, semi-frequent doses adds another layer to the wonderful experiences in life. So, yes, I immerse, and yes, I take a breather.  Right now I'm going to immerse in Issue 19 for a few months, and by the time I need a break, the weather will be nice and I'll start getting active.  Balance is the key!  Thanks for the great article. :)

I used to avoid voice chat, but now I see the benefit.  I don't mind not having to type, even though I'm very good at it. What matters most is that I am comfortable with everyone on the mic, so as long as the people I am teamed with are friends or at least close acquaintences, I'm happy to voice chat whenever possible. I'm not really looking for the level of immersion that comes from RP typing or envisioning a girl toon as an actual girl.

I think CoX went in the right direction when they gave us morality and the ability to choose our own side or a shade of grey in between (vigilante/rogue). It's not a complete innovation, but it certainly is a step in the right direction, and they continue to make great strides in scripting to create dramatic effect. In seeing what CoX is able to "tack on" to the original model, it gives me great hope for a game that incorporates the best storytelling elements as well as the ability to "branch" a bit. Eventually, there will be choices within instances that can create multiple outcomes and rewards.  It could be a "very good thing."  I'm willing to wait and see...

@EricDanie: I agree, it's a little far-fetched that we find full suits of armor on monsters that could never wear (or in many cases feasibly carry) such items.  There has to be a bit of suspension of disbelief, though, as we ARE playing a game to escape reality, not fully emulate it.  However, I do think it's a good idea to have crafted items eventually exceed those items that simply drop from mobs.  If we're going to invest our time in sitting in just one spot, or bringing up our "crafting interface" if they let us do it on the go, we should see some tangible benefit from it over just running around killing things. 

In my opinion, I like a game that has high production values, sells a "box" for initial release, sells expansions that add sizeable and fun content, and gives regular updates funded with my monthly subscription fees.  On top of that, I expect my loyalty (months paid) to be rewarded with other perks, much like City of Heroes has done.  I would also like the option to pay (at a reduced rate) for the loyalty I might not have been able to afford due to time or money constraints at one point or another.  This is the model that works for me, and while it might not indicate change, or less money spent over time, it's what I feel provides the VALUE I expect for what I pay. I don't expect much from F2P, so I'm normally not disappointed.  However, I don't GET much if I just play for free, so pretty soon I'm weighing just how much certain store perks are worth to me to get more out of the game, and that's too much of a headache.  I'd rather keep it to in-game currency alone, and if I need more of it, I'd like the option to buy THAT from the company at reasonable rates (rates that reflect the economy and the going price for what I might want to spend my money on). I doubt I'll ever be much of a F2P fan. Eventually, if there isn't a subscription model I can move to when I really get into the game, I'll feel cheated by the stores that are charging me each time I want to increase my enjoyment instead of making such things intrinsic to playing the game and plunking down my $15 bucks a month to adventure and find my own rewards.

It felt both sad and nostalgic reading this article.  Thanks, I enjoyed it, and the perspective it will hopefully give some of the people out there who seem to think developers are simply people who want to tick off their playerbase.

What is with people saying Cryptic games lack story?  I find the story arcs in CoX to be pretty interesting, overall, and some of them are quite good, with in-mission scripting and cinematic events taking it to a new level.  The same can be said of some of the architect missions that are available. No, the story is not one that follows you from beginning to end, unless you take into consideration the epic archetypes and the special missions they have available, but the story arcs and task forces have a fairly meaningful plot that helps to give your character a sense of purpose as you are going through the game. For me, it definitely detracts from the eventual repetitiveness that all MMOG gameplay eventually devolves into.

I'd go with what others have said, but picking one, it would be SWG back when it was fun (I don't remember exactly when that was, but I DO remember really loving that game...). As others have said, it was the most naturally social game I've ever played, and I truly miss that, even though I still love playing MMOGs solo.

I've made a fair number of friends online. I almost put that in quotes, because I don't really feel as though you truly "know" someone or can befriend them until you actually meet them and get the full measure of who you both are. However, with the advent of Teamspeak, it HAS become much easier to get to know people and get a better idea of who you are dealing with. It's not perfect, of course, but it's a far cry better than just typing as a means to get to know someone. I feel for Jaime, and anyone who loses a friend to a tragedy like cancer. I also know that if certain people were to pass away in some of the games I've played in my life, I would miss them dearly and the game would be forever altered by their loss.