IMPORTANT! The whole thing has been rbooted and reopened once again, so there still might be a place for you. Check out the forums (link) for more info.

We welcome all members, old and new alike, to join us at our guildsite.

I see a lot of people on these forums are disappointed by the community in modern games, in the lacking grouping and the fact, that most modern MMOs are shallow, while there is no one to play older ones with.

Why don't we use the forums creatively?

Let's make our own little clique, find an older or a less-popular game and explore it together? Come on, there are quite a few of us, we could make this work! Find common ground, and things like that. Who's with me?

We'll try to make this more organized. First of all, I'll be listing people, who agreed to try this out. After that, I'll be listing potential MMOs, with pros and cons, from our (meaning potential team) point of view.

I hope something will grow ut of this. Oh, and don't shy away from the debate, we want to make everyone at least happier.

So, people, who're already in - (people, who have already voted are marked)

1. Goronian

2. Scot +

3. simshady +

4. korpsce24 +

5. LynxJSA +

6. PaPsn

7. Aladyleyna +

8. Crispin +

9. rello +

10. Predator160

11. WSIMike +

12. altairzq +

13. dspeed12

14. garbonzo +

15. Patternizer +

16. girlgeek +

17. imjustbad +

18. Devour +

19. R4WkU5 +

20. wittenstein +

21. Alamor0 +

22. Ujirik +

23. Ohatro +

24. Buckles +

25. xiukwai +

26. enzyme +

27. zvr420 +

28. Jimmydean +

29. raystantz +

30. nate1980+

31. Thefivemagik +

32. Mannish +

33. Magnum2103 +

34. Ramones274 +

35. FriedToast

36. Gendail

37. different

38. johnmatthais

39. pungalo

40. DEATHRAMENT

41. FoeHammerJT

. Massy6969

43. VehX

44. Dethevan

45. maninacan

46. thobaw

47. Lctwo

48. garreth

49. chrisleko

 

The games are listed for reference only. Once we have our own place, we'll organize this much less messilly.

For now, only games with trials will be listed. WoW will not be listed, because everypne already knows what it is.

1. Age of Conan - +++++

+ Moderately Interesting combat system

+ Guild towns.

- High hardware demands.

- Somewhat clunky UI.

- The world itself is not very big.

 2. Anarchy Online (Thanks, Patternizer!)- +

+ Lots of endgame . (Raids, "farms", pvp(faction vs faction vs faction)

+ Most of the PvP is open in fields even for the unlimited trials (free accounts-"froobs")

+ Lots of parties socializing and a dedicated non profit radio for the game (GSP)

+ Different leveling systems that allow alot of content ( XP , SK , AXP , research)

+ The games raids (or most of them ) are as of Late instanced.

+(-) Hardcore twinking (Implants,Symbiants, Buffing gear, Buffs, Anything you can think of to wear a piece of armor perhaps 100-150 quality levels above your level)

- The community is less mature than it used to be and dwindling (PoV)

- The free account content is repetitive instanced missions (worse than CoX ones)

- The full account content is still repetitive through missions for each system (XP/SK/research, AXP)

- Lack of Auction House n variants ( There is a similar function- Global market for paid accounts- but emhmmm)

3. Asheron's Call - +

+ Sandbox-ish, with skill-based progression.

- My non-US debit card is not accepted.

Again, don't know much about it.

4. City of Heroes/Villians

+ Second-best character creation tool in the industry.

+ Lots of content, due to all the expansions.

+ Easy to find a group.

+ More dynamic combat system.

+ More freedom in choosing and upgrading your skills.

- Weird muted color palette.

- Not a lot of things to do, aside from killing.

5. Dungeons and Dragons Online - ++++

+ Free to play, with subscription plan basically turning it into a more traditional P2P.

+ Unique combat and exploration mechanics.

+ A lot of gameplay-wise character customization options.

- Cash shop.

- Heavily instanced, meaning the feel of a "world" is lessened.

- UI could use some work.

6. EvE Online - +++++++++++

+ Vast open sandbox, with mind-boggling freedom.

+ Lots of customization options.

+ Player-run economy.

- Cash shop (since so many people demanded it).

- Harsh learning curve.

- Unforgiving PvP.

- Lack of "personality", due to everyone being confined to their ships.

7. EverQuest - ++++

+ Can run on basically anything.

+ With all the expansions over the years, the world is really big.

+ The existing community is not big, but dedicated.

+ EQ grouping is a thing of legends.

- The graphics look QUITE outdated now,

- The population is really top-heavy.

- Controls and UI need some time to get used to.

8. EverQuest II - ++++++++++++++++

+ Again, like EQ, with all the updates the world is pretty big.

+ Player AND guild housing are implemented nicely.

+ Lots of bonuses for "taking things slow" and exploration, like AA.

+ AA is pretty interesting in itself.

+ Lots of races and classes, allowing for variety of playerstyles.

+ The best guildmanagment I've encountered in the genre.

- "Fluff" and pots cash shop.

- Top-heavy community, with low influx of new players.

- Can get stingy on the hardware part.

- The introduction of Guild Halls made almost every big city a "ghost town".

9. Final Fantasy XI - +++++++++++

+ Rewarding and interesting grouping.

+ JRPG-like combat mechanic, giving you time to think.

+ Probably the best character animations in the genre.

+ The ability to level every class in the game with only one character.

+ Has skill-based moments.

+ A lot of people on different levels, levelling other jobs, meaning the finding of a party is easier.

- Clunky UI, especially if you're using a keyboard.

- The game offers almost nothing to solo.

- Almost no PvP.

10. Lord of the Rings Online - ++++++

+ Rich and beautifull world, ripe for exploration.

+ Variety of non-combat things to do.

+ Good Roleplaying community.

- It's a Turbine game, so I don't know about my debit card. More of a nitpick.

- Top-heavy community.

- Almost no PvP.

- The game seems to shift it's focus from exploration and adventure, to a more raiding-based game.

11. Pirates of the Burning Sea -

+ Unique genre and setting - semi-realistic sea exploration.

+ The game seems to have formed quite a good niche for itself.

- Weird graphical glitches.

- The niche is quite small.

- As far as i'm aware, the grouping is not very good in this game.

12. Star Wars Galaxies

Not as familiar with this game, to tell the truth. Heard it was butchered heavily.

13. Vanguard - +++++++++++++++++

+ Huge, almost seamless world, ripe for exploration.

+ Lots of classes and races.

+ Good grouping ( in theory).

- Some of the ugliest animations on the market.

- Small, top-heavy community.

- Heavy on hardware.

- SOE-supported RMT.

14. WAR

+ Good PVP system.

+ Public Quests ae quite interesting.

- Strangely heavy on Hardware.

- Small, limited  world.

 Screw alphabetical order after that point.

15. DAoC Classic servers - ++++

+ They're awesome.

- I'm not sure, if they can accept my debit card.

16. Ultima Online - +

+ Wide-open sandbox

+ Low system specs

- Really hard to start in nowadays

- Point-and-click system of movement can get annoying.

17. Saga of Ryzom - (Thank you, metalhead!) ++++++++++++

+ Skill system

+ Group focusedlLevelling

+ Spell/Ability customization

+ Ryzom Ring (Create your own Rp events and quest hubs)

+ Group focused high end content

+ Game world feels alive

+ Consensual pvp

+ Game is 100% item crafted

+ Amazingly helpful community

+ Mounts, pack mules, apartments and guild halls.

+ Rp events that change game lore forever!

- Graphics are a bit dated and stylized like WoW/TCoS

- No jumping or diving

- Only four races

- Low population

- Missions only give fame or currency no skill xp.

- Could be a bit grindy if played solo.

18. Istaria ++

+ You can play as Dragons!

+ Lots of non-combat things to do.

+ I've heard the community is awesome.

- Dated graphics

- Low population

- Nearly no PvP (OrSoIveHeard)

I'd bite if I wasn't stone cold broke at the moment... lol my MMO money has been budgeted to my "please let me win the lotto" fund. I know how so many people feel about most F2P games so I wouldn't even suggest one of those.

There is some sprite MMO that I've seen mentioned before on a... different "forum" site. Where they flood into the game now and then and make villages to run PK missions out of enmass. However, I think that works mainly because they as a group are not as divisive in their stances on games. The videogame subforum on that same site I doubt could pull it off the way the crazy miscellenous forum does.

I certainly think this is an avenue that should be looked into.

Lets look at some AAA titles, I would only say that LotrO and AoC are possibilities, but that is because I have played them, there may be others out there.

Looking at older games, the ones with the most flexibility are probably UO and NWN. I have played neither but NWN has the sort of modding tools that allows user content to make the game into what the players want. But of the two NWN has an extremely low population.

The most important factor is the gaming community, some like the two AAA titles I mentioned have one, but is it one you would want to join? Others like the two older games have low populations. If you have to build your community from scratch there are going to be issues too.

But the idea of the disenfranchised of us looking into various options and seeing if there could be a game for us to join has merit. But you have to be realistic, you are either going to be joining a game whose community does not have to have your values or has such a low population that you will find it a lonely world.

Seeing how there are people already interested, I'll update the starting message with some things we could do.

Both LotRO and AoC are not out of the question. What we need to do is round people up and then discuss what games we, as a team, would prefer to play. I'd suggest we pick the games we have little to no experience in, to make discovering them more interesting.

UO is a good choice, but the game is a little hard to get in, as far as I know. We might want to debate it further. NWN, on the other hand, is awesome, but not really an MMO.

I'll make a list of people, we have (an I'll update it frequently) and games we might want to look in, with a short list of positives and negatives. Scot, you're in?

I;m certainly interested. :)

I'll jump in on this too. I haven't been able to find an MMO that I can really get into lately, and joining one with a group would give me a much better chance of staying with it. Plus, I have a lot of free time and a new MMO to play would be useful right about now. I'd be down for pretty much any MMO too.  I don't really have any suggestions to add though, as everything I've tried lately has bored me.
 

EDIT: I'd suggest that if we do this, we use a game that has a free trial, just because if we get a group of people to start playing together, it's very likely that a few of them won't like the game, and would have wasted money if we go for something that doesn't have a trial.

I'm interested, as well. :) 

Add me up to that list.

+1 from me!

Originally posted by korpsce24

EDIT: I'd suggest that if we do this, we use a game that has a free trial, just because if we get a group of people to start playing together, it's very likely that a few of them won't like the game, and would have wasted money if we go for something that doesn't have a trial.

My thoughts exactly. Luckily, most MMOs do have them, it's a matter of finding the good one. I'll start working on the list now.

What about EVE? it has a 14 day trial, and also seems you can get a month for just 5$ in steam now, or so I read in the EVE forum.

 I'd love to join in too, as long as the games in question have a pay by cash option. I'm perfectly all right with both free to play and pay to play games, though I highly doubt you guys would be willing to try a free to play, and I don't blame you. Plus, normally when I join games I end up joining alone without anyone with me, so this will be my first time joining a group of players.

Originally posted by Aladyleyna

 I'd love to join in too, as long as the games in question have a pay by cash option. I'm perfectly all right with both free to play and pay to play games, though I highly doubt you guys would be willing to try a free to play, and I don't blame you. Plus, normally when I join games I end up joining alone without anyone with me, so this will be my first time joining a group of players.

I wouldn't mind a F2P, not all of them are bad, the CS in them can be way overpowered at times, but most of the time you can manage without them.

Well I'm usually a solo player and played most of em......longest being wow for a year and a half,but got bored of it....been playing Lotro and enjoyed it....and Allods beta, which is good......

I'm willing to team up for stuff.

Originally posted by Aladyleyna

 I'd love to join in too, as long as the games in question have a pay by cash option. I'm perfectly all right with both free to play and pay to play games, though I highly doubt you guys would be willing to try a free to play, and I don't blame you. Plus, normally when I join games I end up joining alone without anyone with me, so this will be my first time joining a group of players.

What's Pay By Cash? I'm not familiar with it.

There are good F2P games, like DDO and, well, Allods Online. THe discussion is open, on what will we try.

What a great idea, I'm very much interested. 

Maybe Istaia could be a option?

Originally posted by Crispin

What a great idea, I'm very much interested. 

 

Maybe Istaia could be a option?

That's a great idea, I completely forgot about this game.

Also, Saga of Ryzom. I'll do a little research on them, then aded them to the list.

Originally posted by Goronian

That's a great idea, I completely forgot about this game.

Also, Saga of Ryzom. I'll do a little research on them, then aded them to the list.

I've heard many good thing about Ryzom, but never played it. I'm going to look into the games you have listed, then throw in votes on which ones I like the most.

EDIT: I'll throw votes in for EQ2, Vanguard, LoTRO, and DDO (I have really wanted to try DDO, but never really got around to it) I'll also vote for AoC I guess, been out a while now, so hopefully some of the issues that ailed it are gone.

Originally posted by korpsce24

Originally posted by Goronian

That's a great idea, I completely forgot about this game.

Also, Saga of Ryzom. I'll do a little research on them, then aded them to the list.

 

I've heard many good thing about Ryzom, but never played it. I'm going to look into the games you have listed, then throw in votes on which ones I like the most.

That's what I was aiming at.

I can give you a pros and cons of Ryzom since some of you might not know much about it.

Saga of Ryom (21 day Trial)

+ Skill system

+ Group focused Leveling (Even raising gathering skill can be done in team)

+ Spell/Ability customization (noone uses a spell the same way)

+ Ryzom Ring (Create your own Rp events and quest hubs)

+ Group focused high end content (raids, non-instance lairs and boss hunts)

+ Game world feels alive! (mobs react to eachother, the weather and seasons)

+ Consensual pvp (gvg, fvf, territorial pvp, arena, and full pvp zones with no full loot!!!!

+ Game is 100% item crafted

+ amazingly helpful community

+ mounts, pack mules, apartments and guild halls.

+ Rp events that change game lore forever!

- Graphics are a bit dated and stylized like WoW/TCoS

- No jumping or diving

- only four races

- Low population

- missions only give fame or currency no skill xp.

- could be a bit grindy if played solo.

Hope that helped you.

Sounds like an amazing game, I have hardly heard about it before, to bad I did not try it when it launched. I used to play horizons(istaria) before, and really liked it, feels very different from other mmorpgs, but it's een a few years so I don't remember much.

The games who interests me the most is Vanguard, Istaria, Everquest 2, Age of Conan and Ryzom. I used to play conan a lot at release, but it's been a while now.