Agree with Mustapha also.  The devs have said they are looking at adding housing into the game which may come with some new store options.  It would be nice if they added something to say who bought what from you and gave more ways to feel like you are running a market.  The whole reason I played Mabinogi was to run a ninja suit store and I made a ton of money.  I did the same in SWG. 

We have discussed in here that the core of the game is solid so now hopefully the devs continue to expand all systems of the game to make it a deeper experience. 

I will be playing the first 30 days but until they add European charcter modles, western looking clothes and armor, better gathering and crafting skills i will not resub. Game is ok but run of the mill mmo.

Also ProfRed , regarding the Character Development and Building , Stigmas are not the only thing. Manastones play a huge role. In order to actually get the most out of Manastones you need good gear. Walking around in White Gear gets you an avrg of 7 slots which is nothing but still something. Green Gear doubles that , Blue triples and so on.

Those help you focus on a certain type of gameplay and playstyle.

For example on C-Aion I played a Elyos Gladiator and had full Green Gear top to bottom. All my Slots were filled with HP+40 and 2 were HP +55 Stones which meant that comparad to other Galdiators that had +atk/+crit I wasnt doing as much dmg but while they had around 1.9k-2k HP I had 2.5k+. So my bonus was that I could fight 3 mobs at once without even worring about my hp , though it took me longer to kill them and I could tank the 17-19 Elites In Tursin.

On all the rest of the points I fully agree with you.  :)

Originally posted by Elsabolts

I will be playing the first 30 days but until they add European charcter modles, western looking clothes and armor, better gathering and crafting skills i will not resub. Game is ok but run of the mill mmo.

I doubt they would ever do this.  Maybe avoid it altogether if those things bother you?  If I had high priorities in Crafting/Gathering and not so much in what they are focusing on in the Abyss I would probably pass it up.  The question is: Can you get 50$ worth of entertainment out of it?  I enjoy the lore and quests and story, but I can't go through it many times.  I will definitely get my 50$ and more i'm sure, but I am hoping it will hold my interest all the way until FFXIV.

I bought the Collectors edition and will like i said play for the 1st 30 days but in my opion there gonna lose alot of subs if they do not put in some things to keep us Western gameing folks around. Im just speaking for myself but think i may not be alone.

The game style definitely targets and appeals to fans of Anime and eastern culture.  Many players are trying to find ways already to replace the english voice acting with the japanese version voice acting.  I think a great deal of the playerbase will be attracted to the style, and they would lose a lot of players if they forcefully westernized it.  At least you can make characters that don't look all that anime like.  Character creation is great.  There are armor types as well that don't particularly look like they belong to any nation on Earth.  The sound effects the characters make are from a made up language also.  So you can kind of avoid a lot of the stuff that makes it a more eastern game, but you can't control the other players.  Who knows maybe you will enjoy it for one more month, and then one more.  Hope you enjoy the launch.  MMO launches are something I never want to miss.

The problem with player shops everywhere you can see in Silkroad.
Important NPCs like Blacksmith or quest-NPC are blocked by them.

Another phenomenom there is: people stay logged in and open a player shop (or bot), when they go to bed, school, work, whatever. So the servers are crowded.
Because they´re crowded, even less people logged out and it was mostly impossible to log into a server, when I played this game.

It is nice to read, when the servers in a game are busy. But not able to log in, because most people afk opened a player shop or run bots...

It is fine, if Aion has 3.5mill subs. But if most people will stand around afk or botting around...well, that would be bad.

 If they want player shops to be more used, they need to increase the fee on the Broker (so shops are able to actually provide prices smaller than the Broker), and determine specific areas for the shops to be run, like in the capital cities that have show in a different color the areas for crafting, NPC sales there should be one for "PC Shopping".

Still, the thrill of going shopping is fun, but really, finding a good deal better than the Broker is pretty hard because of the unified offer it has. There are times it happens though, especially when someone has purchased all the material X at good prices in the Broker.

About skills, customization will be improved in the Stigma system, but I don't see how the classes aren't really stuck out, they actually feel quite unique between each other, especially as each ascended class branches out from their generic 1-10 level skills.

I thought I read that if you go afk with shop up it will still d/c you for inactivity in Aion?  Anyone tested this?  I will check it out tonight since i've only actively ran a shop trying to peddle my goodies.

Originally posted by ProfRed

I thought I read that if you go afk with shop up it will still d/c you for inactivity in Aion?  Anyone tested this?  I will check it out tonight since i've only actively ran a shop trying to peddle my goodies.

no it doesn't dc you on chinese anyway, but once we get it i doubt alot of people will use shops much since there is already an auction house. i don't see them much in the chinese retail but then again they buy hours to play and who wiould waste money being afk selling junk when you can just use the AH?

Originally posted by Elsabolts

I will be playing the first 30 days but until they add European charcter modles, western looking clothes and armor, better gathering and crafting skills i will not resub. Game is ok but run of the mill mmo.

good.  One less person to camp my mobs and try to KS me.

Originally posted by abyss610

Originally posted by ProfRed

I thought I read that if you go afk with shop up it will still d/c you for inactivity in Aion?  Anyone tested this?  I will check it out tonight since i've only actively ran a shop trying to peddle my goodies.

 

no it doesn't dc you on chinese anyway, but once we get it i doubt alot of people will use shops much since there is already an auction house. i don't see them much in the chinese retail but then again they buy hours to play and who wiould waste money being afk selling junk when you can just use the AH?

Not so sure about that.  From what I've read/heard, a lot of FFXI players (and/or former players) are migrating to Aion or planning on playing both/taking a break from FFXI/etc.  Those players alone will set up and buy from player shops, as player shops in FFXI (bazaars) were frequently a source of goods at prices CHEAPER than the AH.  Plus, player stores were how you moved excess inventory without severely undercutting AH prices (at least for high volume consumables).

Of course, there are many scammers and people who overprice for no other reason than to hope n00bs will make an idiotic purchase, I guess.  But, if you take a little time in game to browse stores for the standard food/pots that you'll be using over and over again, I bet you'll discover some stores that are slightly cheaper than AH and consistently stocked.  Over time, that little bit of extra work will probably save you a ton of kinah (unless you are planning on DIY'ing all of your stuff or having legion members scratch your back while you scratch theirs...).

I will admit, though, that the private store/bazaar tends towards inflated prices when it comes to HQ Synths + extremely Rare Drops for stuff like Armor, Jewelry and Weapons.  Those items tend to be much more expensive in private shops as those players normally sell an item like that at a premium because none are available on AH and the mats to produce the item are frequently much more difficult to gather/synth than your standard consumable recipes.  Yeah, it's highway robbery sometimes (but more power to 'em if others are willing to pay).... it's just that sellers know that some players have to have the best right away!, right now! at any cost!!!.... so somebody gladly meets that demand, making a tidy profit in return.

I'm only posting so much about this topic because I feel like they are misunderstood and the general reaction to those unfamiliar is negative (or maybe people are familiar, but it was from a game that did not have a sensible community of vendors).  Plus, I understand people's complaints about the eyesore of it all, or lag issues.... but, complaining about overpriced goods doesn't look at the whole picture of the value player stores bring to a game.  They allow for greater flexibility in how you sell your stuff and can play your character.

Plus, in my experience it seems to make the game world's economy more healthy and keeps prices down/competitive..... but that's possibly suspect because I'm coming from a game where it was fairly successfully implemented.  I'm sure there are plenty of examples, some already mentioned, that support those who oppose it.  Still, I'm glad it's in Aion and would be sad to see it go if it were ever removed from the game.

When it's all said and done, I want my toon to be able to sell what he makes as well as listing stuff on AH.  AH = the buyer sees nothing but a name, while with my toon's personal store it puts a face and PC behind those goods.  For example, if I'm buying something it creates a much greater impression on me if I always buy pots from "Jane", and then I actually see her out gathering mats to make whatever I buy from her.  It's just a "oh, cool!... so that stuff is going to be my Item X one day...." type of a thing.

Now, if I always buy pots on AH and see the name "Jane" come up, it's a very different feeling than "oh, I have to go to Jane's player store and buy some pots off of her."  I don't care about who I buy from on AH, unless they are ripping me off, or people who are selling way below value.  Things change in AH, but as long as somebody is selling, it's just the feeling of a price change, little more.

On the other hand, when a player store that you go to frequently disappears or the PC isn't there at their normal time, you really notice.  And it tends to matter more than an "oh, look, the price went up a lot on AH... bummer" moment...  When player stores change their prices, it is a personal buyer/seller transaction and maybe you stay or go with that vendor.  With AH, it's faceless and impersonal.

Finally, AH = more efficient and easier to find a fair deal *quickly*, but a bit of an immersion killer.  Nowhere in the lore has it explained to me how the Asmodians or Elyos developed an Ebay.  Maybe I haven't talked to the correct Shugo yet though to explain that to me, but by and large player stores = much more "realistic" and meaningful feeling than AH transactions (though one mustn't ever ignore the many arbitrage opportunities on AH, either... heheh).

Mustapha, you seem to believe, what you write.

Normally it is not "Jane" you buy something from, more like "Britney666" or "IkillU" and a shop name like "CHEAPEST HERE", mostly some little chick in a plate slip.

There is not much immersion left, except of... well...

FFXI worked so well for so long because Jeuno served as a central city from level 25-30 to max level players.  This made player run markets outside of different zones very popular.  I am definitely the type that will find a good spot that is frequented and put up a store with my goods over every using the AH and I know there are others like me.  Like Mustapha said a lot of players from FFXI are jumping over to Aion at least until FFXIV comes out so there will be some that use the personal stores in a very creative and useful manner.

I plan on maxing out my cooking skills and selling food at affordable prices along with loot from regular play, and I look forward to advertising and running my shop. 

I liked player shops in Lineage II because it seemed to reward someone who spent their time looking for a good deal. You wouldn't believe how much adena I made by just buying stuff from shops, moving to a more convenient location and marking it up higher. Of course I like that this game has an AH as well, and it seems like both will be used a lot.

I think one of the things that has shocked me about Aion has to be the Stigmas. While we don't really get to mess around with them on Open Beta (I'm a lvl 15 Chanter right now) I looked them up on http://www.aionarmory.com/ and it's insane how much customability it gives you. Being able to load yourself out with totally new skills is awesome, and it gives you more freedom on what you want to do as a character. Like I could load out my Chanter with some DPS move stigmas and probably be more desirable as a DPS. Or I could load out with healing stuff and have some extra healing support. Or even better a melee player could get some ranged moves for runners.... the possibilities are pretty endless.

The only real thing that bugs me is I would like the camera control to be like more western MMOs, where you control it with the left mouse instead of the middle mouse. I think a more standard camera control would help a lot -- even though it's not a huge issue to me (I'll play either way) I'd certainly much rather it like this.

Also I have to ask, what is up with these "Combo Result" craft items? It seems interesting.

@Nadril

If you hit a Crit while crafting you`ll make that item instead.

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Originally posted by alextodo
@Nadril
If you hit a Crit while crafting you`ll make that item instead.

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Ah ok, I gotcha.

There is something really satisfying about crafting/gathering crits with the sound effect and everything. 

Originally posted by ProfRed

There is something really satisfying about crafting/gathering crits with the sound effect and everything. 

If I`m not mistaken there is a chance to double crit. When that happens fireworks and such fly off. Its very funny.  :)

Originally posted by alextodo

Originally posted by ProfRed

There is something really satisfying about crafting/gathering crits with the sound effect and everything. 

 

If I`m not mistaken there is a chance to double crit. When that happens fireworks and such fly off. Its very funny.  :)

These things make me happy.  It's funny how little things can be so satisfying.