Seems the discussion about my posting on Rift and why I am let down by the MMO community is making the rounds. My favorite remark in one post has been used several times, and I think we need some rebuttal here...
Rift: No, it’s not the “Jesus” game
If I may...myself, I have never noted Rift as the "Jesus" game. First, the remark makes no sense.
Jesus died....MMO's have not died (at least not yet)...Jesus was resurrected...uh, doesn't something have to die to be resurrected. Jesus is our savior (according to the Christians!)...
So, is it the savior part? Is Rift here to SAVE us?
It could be. But, only for those who are willing to help this market grow.
But, I digress on this point...maybe on another post? Lets get to the nitty gritty of this debate though.
Some of the commentary on this particular posting has a few concerns that I think we should look into. (Check out this link to Massively Multiverse for more on this story).
"Apparently, if I have loved WoW at any point in WoW’s history but haven’t fallen head-over-heels in love with Rift in the same fashion, then I should leave the MMO genre entirely because I am nothing more than a burnt out, jaded gamer who has simply played far too many MMOs in his day. Come to think of it, I am a burnt out and jaded gamer during these, my MMO twilight years….*snickers*…but that’s beside the point!"
Not entirely true. But, to instead look upon Rift as just "copying" WoW is where the main issue lies. If you cannot look at Rift with an open mind and either like it or leave it alone, is where it causes concern.
Again, I must refer to the infamous Metacritic rating by a standard user who felt the need to give Rift a ZERO ...and why?
"There is really nothing NEW here that hasn't been done before."
Fair enough. I have no issue with this. People will find a lot to not like in other MMO's. I can clearly point out EVERY issue with Lord of the Rings Online and why I feel this is an inadequately made game. But, I would never give it a ZERO, because it still has some things going for it, like a company who cares, a community who rocks. This would be a FAIR rating.
A lot of what I read about Rift is NOT fair. Again at Multiverse...
"There are only two things in Rift that are somewhat unique. The Invasions and the Soul system are the two features that should be touted by Rift fans everywhere."
So, the AOE looting, map transparencies, instant change loadouts for class skills between specs, hover over healing,...all the background workings that advance the way we play don't count because you can't see them?
This I think is the main issue in that Rift has advanced a lot of game mechanics that we normally do not think about (like the invasion mechanic...though not entirely new, used a different way here makes even quest hubs a danger zone... or how about the quick change soul specs, though mainly seen in Guild Wars, has the added option of being able to use it ANYWHERE).
Lets talk about the off-healing mechanic. What game has a smart heal system that looks at all players in a group and decides who needs the most healing when group heals take effect?
No, these are not innovative, because they are not TANGIBLE to the player. These are not NEW.
Multiverse goes on to say...
"As for the Soul System, it was probably the key ingredient that I enjoyed the most while playing Rift. It is a step in the right direction for MMOs, and I am more than happy to applaud Trion for its creation. But at the end of the day, it has two things working against it. First of all, that many souls will prove to be horribly difficult to balance over time, especially for PvP. I’m not sure if Trion will ever be able to get the balance right. Secondly, just like the talent system in WoW or EQ 2, certain flavor of the month builds will emerge and dominate as they always do, proving once and for all that we don’t really need a better class based system."
Good point. Yet, no one has done it yet. What MMO is 100% balanced and ready to play? What MMO does not get some type of balance change on a regular basis?
WoW is still not balanced to this day. Why should this be a strike? Instead it should be noted as ongoing development...because isn't that really what MMO's are about? A never-ending cycle of patching and balancing, content addition, etc.
What about a "better class based system"? As I discussed in my *Futura* post yesterday, only one of many MMO's releasing will have it. How will it work? And will the current MMO player of course find a way to ruin it?
Moving on...
"The bar has been raised and developers need to adjust their ambitions accordingly."
This one says it all. Who raised that bar? Who said that the genre MUST be 100% different to be a GOOD game? This is where the "jaded" gamer comes in.
My constant example is the "Halo/CoD" argument. Even though in different settings, they are basically the same play style, same gameplay...gun, run, don't get killed or be killed. THAT's IT. These games continue to thrive...yet, the MMO genre must make a whole new change.
Better yet, lets use our current market. LOTRO, EQ2, WAR, AoC (lets even go ahead and leave WoW out of this). What unique features does each of these games offer that the other does not? Out of all these, WAR is the most different of the lot. Tiered gameplay, Realm vs Realm....actual crafting that requires the player to really be involved...
Yet, it is one of the lowest populated games on that list. Can we blame the bugs? Maybe. But, DEDICATED players will look beyond this and wait for development to take place. Instead everyone gave up as the game was not READY yet.
Rift is ready though. Trion is committed to listening to their customer base. Talk about your concerns with the devs and support a growing game. But the outright slamming it for trying to appease a large audience who wants similarities to begin with (heck, look at all the posts on the forums for those who WANT the LFD tool...you know, what another game has), seems out of hand.
That has been my main issue all along. The growing need of a "jaded" MMO community who want things to be different from WoW, but cannot see it if it hit them in the face leads to bickering about a game that should be able to let itself grow.
Finally...and in line with what has been said...
"Rift offers little in the way of true advancement. And just because it does its job well, does not mean we should all conform to hailing it as the greatest MMO on the planet."
Again, as I have said before. The background technology, the emergent gameplay (even though it is something YOU do not like, does not mean it is not an advancement), the willingness to ask the player what they want and ADD it (that alone is the single most advanced feature, thanks to so many devs of other MMO's ignoring their playerbase), already is a step up.
Rift is NOT the greatest MMO. But, it is what other MMO developers and games should aspire to be. Great at launch, fully fleshed out and ready to play.
The bar has been raised...by Trion actually. It is not JUST about the gameplay and features, but about the company. If we as a playerbase decide that because the game has similarities to another game, it should not be supported, then maybe we need to accept that all future games will be like WAR and AoC.
As well, until proven to me otherwise, I do not believe players want a NEW experience anyways. Otherwise they would support titles who are trying to make changes to the genre (Age of Conan was a perfect example of a game that had skill be the single most important requirement...yet players cried until it was revamped 6 months later to be a standard MMO).
So, is this market the way it is because of WoW? Sure is. Is the playerbase largely responsible? Yes...
But, is Rift "Jesus"? No. But, it sure is a damn fine game, well made..and if you can just let go of your preconceived notions of WoW and the "been there, done that", you could enjoy it more.
Psalm 69!
Showing posts with label World of Warcraft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World of Warcraft. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Rift: This is where the MMO community let me down...
As I log in to my server now, though still quite busy, I can feel it.
It is somewhat emptier than it usually is.
The city still bustles with people during prime time hours. The guild fills up a bit late Saturday and mostly Sunday. But, the feeling that the game is emptier than it has been, is palpable.
I started to really think about this after reading the article...5 Reasons Rift is the New WoW.
His points are precise and spot on. Rift, though familiar, is as well, a very good game. Why it now is emptying out is beyond me...besides the fact that probably most who are leaving are MMO burn outs.
Lets look at each point and see why I think the MMO community is starting to disappoint me and why there are those who just need to stop playing MMO's altogether.
1. Rift is a finished product.
"Unlike just about every MMO released in the last five years, Rift isn't half-assed or half-finished. The game has PvP, PvE, and a large diverse world for questing."
Which is true. Just most people wish to see it as EXACTLY like WoW. And to a degree it is. YET, there is so much that could make the game different if a player put in the effort. This I think is the main reason people leave.
WoW did not launch to such a glorious lead off. It took time to get there. The patience of todays player is ludicrous though. If it was a year into Rift's game and they had hit a roadblock of no new content, no fixes, no balancing...then I could see the players point. But, it's not...it is barely two months in.
Effort, people...effort.
I will talk about this more later...
2. There's an endgame.
"Taking a page from WoW, there's a lot of loot to work for in Rift."
Loot. We love it, but then we sneer at it, thanks to so many factors.
Grind...Gear Scores...repeated dailies...just a few of the reasons people look at this factor as a letdown in most MMO's.
But, I try to figure out this elusive "endgame" nirvana that most MMO's supposedly do not offer that some players continue to ask for...and wonder "WTF do you want then?". I see the term "meaningful" endgame mentioned, but never explained. Do YOU want to tell me what you expect? What does that mean? Yet, I never see anyone flesh this out. Some throw out expectations of huge sieges and what not...but, really, expectations are set too high for what our current technology can do. It has been proven time and again.
This is why I think what players REALLY want....they can't have for another 10 or 15 years. So, for my own benefit, just quit playing MMO's for that amount of time and leave the forum punditry to those who still enjoy this genre.
Oh, and that effort thing I mentioned? Applies here as well....more soon.
3. The game isn't buggy.
"Bugs have killed off more than a few MMOs. Age of Conan and Warhammer were both decent MMOs and both of them were so fraught with bugs they brought about their own too early demise."
This is the one that kills me. Every time I see another "I'm right forumite" spout off verbal diarrhea stating "Rift will be just like WAR, and fail over" "I expect Rift to fall to as many subs as Age of Conan", I want to slap someone (and my Wife is STILL pissed about that to this day...sorry Hon, did it sting a little?).
"Rift has something for everyone."
This one is important...and true. So much exists in Rift to keep you occupied. The problem is ...a lot of it existed in other games, thus this makes Rift an instant bore for those who have played MMO's to death.
This is why I think a lot of MMO players need to just leave this genre behind and go do something else for a while. Anyone crying they have nothing to do in Rift is either not looking, has no friends, or is done with MMO's in general.
Every time I log in, I instantly have plans, or at least can look at my roster of alts and decide...today is a good day for..."____" (you fill in the blank, as I already decided...and I can't make that decision for you.)
Now, if you will excuse me...I need to go take a break as I already thought of something else I want to do in Rift.
/AFK
Rift doesn't suck. Rift rocks. It's addictive and fun. It's what an MMO should be. There's nothing fancy about, but what it does it does well. Rift is the excuse players have been waiting for, the excuse they needed to leave the comfort of WoW for something new."
Yes it does rock. But, the issue continues to be WoW. It is like saying Crack can be replaced with crocheting.
Whats funny is, that is what WoW is. Just like Crack. The problem is most MMO players have been "users" for so long, they cannot understand what it would mean to leave that behind. This is where that EFFORT really pays off. Put an effort into not thinking about WoW. Put an effort into not playing Rift like WoW. Make a concerted effort to try and work through the soul system, find what you have not found, play the game like you have not played before.
Laziness is my only assumption here.
EFFORT is what Trion put into Rift. Why not do the same?
The one way it shows the most effort is the lore.
For the first time in quite a while, we have a unique IP. A new story, a new world ...something that is NOT WoW's warcraftian world. Something not based on a released novel, movie, comic book, etc.
Yet, no one puts in the effort to look upon this aspect...and instead are banking all their chips on... you guessed it... another non-original IP (Star Wars: ToR will be our Saviour...blah, blah).
This is why movies like "Scream 4" (though still not "too bad", is still regurgitated material) are made, and sell quite well...while critical and well written movies like "Source Code" fall over.
The McDonald's consumptive world ruins our MMO's.
And for the first time, I want to just hang up my hat for my fellow players. I want to leave them behind because they let me down. They want pre-existing IP crapola on a stick, and want it to be unique and interesting.
It won't be though.
I guarantee we will be in the same boat come launch of SW:ToR. Players will complain about features that Star Wars has that are unique. Yet, the base will be full of players who will pry open the gem that is SW:ToR and note how "It is just like WoW".
And it will be.
No matter how good the story, no matter what unique aspects they add to the game...there will be that contingent that state.."It's like WoW".
Well, I will continue to log into another brilliant game, that will most likely be watered down in the hopes the masses will return. It has happened to so many good games who had great ideas, but due to the buggy nature of their release and the need to balance based on desk jockey programmers who want THEIR class and playstyle to be "meaningful", plummeted in subs and could never get back up.
Rift is a damn fine game...just no one will know it because WoW has already ruined their perception of what a good game is.
I feel let down by my fellow gamers.
It is somewhat emptier than it usually is.
The city still bustles with people during prime time hours. The guild fills up a bit late Saturday and mostly Sunday. But, the feeling that the game is emptier than it has been, is palpable.
I started to really think about this after reading the article...5 Reasons Rift is the New WoW.
His points are precise and spot on. Rift, though familiar, is as well, a very good game. Why it now is emptying out is beyond me...besides the fact that probably most who are leaving are MMO burn outs.
Lets look at each point and see why I think the MMO community is starting to disappoint me and why there are those who just need to stop playing MMO's altogether.
1. Rift is a finished product.
"Unlike just about every MMO released in the last five years, Rift isn't half-assed or half-finished. The game has PvP, PvE, and a large diverse world for questing."
Which is true. Just most people wish to see it as EXACTLY like WoW. And to a degree it is. YET, there is so much that could make the game different if a player put in the effort. This I think is the main reason people leave.
WoW did not launch to such a glorious lead off. It took time to get there. The patience of todays player is ludicrous though. If it was a year into Rift's game and they had hit a roadblock of no new content, no fixes, no balancing...then I could see the players point. But, it's not...it is barely two months in.
Effort, people...effort.
I will talk about this more later...
2. There's an endgame.
"Taking a page from WoW, there's a lot of loot to work for in Rift."
Loot. We love it, but then we sneer at it, thanks to so many factors.
Grind...Gear Scores...repeated dailies...just a few of the reasons people look at this factor as a letdown in most MMO's.
But, I try to figure out this elusive "endgame" nirvana that most MMO's supposedly do not offer that some players continue to ask for...and wonder "WTF do you want then?". I see the term "meaningful" endgame mentioned, but never explained. Do YOU want to tell me what you expect? What does that mean? Yet, I never see anyone flesh this out. Some throw out expectations of huge sieges and what not...but, really, expectations are set too high for what our current technology can do. It has been proven time and again.
This is why I think what players REALLY want....they can't have for another 10 or 15 years. So, for my own benefit, just quit playing MMO's for that amount of time and leave the forum punditry to those who still enjoy this genre.
Oh, and that effort thing I mentioned? Applies here as well....more soon.
3. The game isn't buggy.
"Bugs have killed off more than a few MMOs. Age of Conan and Warhammer were both decent MMOs and both of them were so fraught with bugs they brought about their own too early demise."
This is the one that kills me. Every time I see another "I'm right forumite" spout off verbal diarrhea stating "Rift will be just like WAR, and fail over" "I expect Rift to fall to as many subs as Age of Conan", I want to slap someone (and my Wife is STILL pissed about that to this day...sorry Hon, did it sting a little?).
I have yet to have ANYTHING in this game stop me from completing a quest or asking a GM for help. I expect they may be there...but, the consensus has been through my guild and a lot of people writing about Rift, that we have been playing a well made game. PERIOD.
This is huge. To this day, Age of Conan, Warhammer, heck...even EQ2, all have existing issues that I am FORCED to communicate with their tech support to help me out of a jam. This is ridiculous.
Rift is just a well made game, that will progress...if people would just shut up and play.
4. There's a lot to do."Rift has something for everyone."
This one is important...and true. So much exists in Rift to keep you occupied. The problem is ...a lot of it existed in other games, thus this makes Rift an instant bore for those who have played MMO's to death.
This is why I think a lot of MMO players need to just leave this genre behind and go do something else for a while. Anyone crying they have nothing to do in Rift is either not looking, has no friends, or is done with MMO's in general.
Every time I log in, I instantly have plans, or at least can look at my roster of alts and decide...today is a good day for..."____" (you fill in the blank, as I already decided...and I can't make that decision for you.)
Now, if you will excuse me...I need to go take a break as I already thought of something else I want to do in Rift.
/AFK
5. Rift is the cure for your WoW ennui
Rift doesn't suck. Rift rocks. It's addictive and fun. It's what an MMO should be. There's nothing fancy about, but what it does it does well. Rift is the excuse players have been waiting for, the excuse they needed to leave the comfort of WoW for something new."
Yes it does rock. But, the issue continues to be WoW. It is like saying Crack can be replaced with crocheting.
Whats funny is, that is what WoW is. Just like Crack. The problem is most MMO players have been "users" for so long, they cannot understand what it would mean to leave that behind. This is where that EFFORT really pays off. Put an effort into not thinking about WoW. Put an effort into not playing Rift like WoW. Make a concerted effort to try and work through the soul system, find what you have not found, play the game like you have not played before.
Laziness is my only assumption here.
EFFORT is what Trion put into Rift. Why not do the same?
The one way it shows the most effort is the lore.
For the first time in quite a while, we have a unique IP. A new story, a new world ...something that is NOT WoW's warcraftian world. Something not based on a released novel, movie, comic book, etc.
Yet, no one puts in the effort to look upon this aspect...and instead are banking all their chips on... you guessed it... another non-original IP (Star Wars: ToR will be our Saviour...blah, blah).
This is why movies like "Scream 4" (though still not "too bad", is still regurgitated material) are made, and sell quite well...while critical and well written movies like "Source Code" fall over.
The McDonald's consumptive world ruins our MMO's.
And for the first time, I want to just hang up my hat for my fellow players. I want to leave them behind because they let me down. They want pre-existing IP crapola on a stick, and want it to be unique and interesting.
It won't be though.
I guarantee we will be in the same boat come launch of SW:ToR. Players will complain about features that Star Wars has that are unique. Yet, the base will be full of players who will pry open the gem that is SW:ToR and note how "It is just like WoW".
And it will be.
No matter how good the story, no matter what unique aspects they add to the game...there will be that contingent that state.."It's like WoW".
Well, I will continue to log into another brilliant game, that will most likely be watered down in the hopes the masses will return. It has happened to so many good games who had great ideas, but due to the buggy nature of their release and the need to balance based on desk jockey programmers who want THEIR class and playstyle to be "meaningful", plummeted in subs and could never get back up.
Rift is a damn fine game...just no one will know it because WoW has already ruined their perception of what a good game is.
I feel let down by my fellow gamers.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The rise and fall of western MMO civilization as we know It...
In a previous post, I had taken note of how the market for the MMO has changed. We cannot look back at how MMO launches use to be, and compare the genre today to that happier, simpler time.
Luckily, a comment from that post goes so far as to prove my point even further. (Props to Carson 63000 of Eldergoth, who had this to say...)
"Successful monthly sub games, like EverQuest, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve and WoW, do not steadily increase over the first month and then drop off as a proportion of players decide not to pay more to continue.
Successful monthly sub games have more new players coming in than they have players deciding not to continue. Successful monthly sub games have more players after a year than they did after a month.
I agree that Rift seems to be following the predictable curve set by virtually every MMO in the last five years. But this really isn't the only direction a game can go, and it's not one to aspire to, even if a bunch of box sales and a one month "churn and burn" is enough to pay for your development"
I think we can look upon his comment and really note the issue with this comment...
Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve Online and WoW
1997, 1999, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004
What do we see here? Mainly, these are the launch dates for each of these games. Each MMO listed is 7 years of age or older. Why use games that were in a market dominated by RTS's, Diablo style RPG's or turn based roleplay (Final Fantasy) as a comparison of todays MMO market? If we look at these titles, each was a unique in the field; heck, console games were not even the norm at that time. If an MMO launched, it was something of interest.
Now, we have a world dominated by million sellers being straight console, FPS styled shooters and World of Warcraft or the "churn and burn" MMO, as he calls them.
All MMO's since WoW have not garnered any success beyond several hundred thousand subs, with EvE being the last on that list (besides WoW) to hold on and bring in more subs since launch (that we have any real data for).
No matter the situation, this genre is toasted thanks to WoW. Every MMO from this point on will be compared to WoW. Every game (MMO, I should say) that launches without as much product content as WoW has will be criticized and ostracized for not having WoW's gameplay...period.
Comparing this market now to the market of 7 years ago does not help any argument that "This MMO is fail" due to retention not being WoW sized. Name one MMO since WoW that has continued to grow and is bigger now, than it was at launch (without going free to play...*cough* LOTRO who did NOT expand further until they changed *cough*) and THEN we can talk.
Please note, we never touch on discussions of Asian grinders or Free to Plays, as we cannot get a real data read out of how many are true revenue generators, etc. We are strictly talking the western market and the syndrome of the launch of a AAA title.
For now, just like the console FPS shooters, the PC is flooded with so many MMO's still running or in development...I mean, head to MMORPG.com and just look at their game list. So many to choose from AND many more to come.
Personally, I think any developer that launches an MMO now has several objectives.
First, lets sell the box. We make back our development costs and can continue to develop. Next, retain a good number of subs (as keeps being proven to us by low end games like Age of Conan, Warhammer Online or any other title in the last 5 years). 100k sounds good, but if you have more, why ....thats just peachy keen. Now, work your sales mojo, offer free trials, return trials, develop, fix, stabilize, add content....and hope that as players leave, others come in to replace the slack. If you get lucky, you could get out an expansion and then start the whole cycle again.
Now, as the player, you can, as I keep seeing on every blog, twitter or forum post...try to enjoy the market and games as they are and pray to whatever God, Gods or Spirit you follow that Star Wars: The Old Republic is that savior you hope it is.
Well, why shouldn't it be...so many other IP based MMO's have been major successes in the last 5 years (/snark).
Truly, we need to understand that the words "WoW Killer" is just not a reality, and until something unique and awe inspiring happens in this genre, shaking the very foundation the MMO stands on, we need to look at each MMO release critically without the added..."Is it like WoW?".
If Halo, Gears of War, Crysis, Call of Duty...and...(damn, don't have enough fingers or toes to count the FPS's available) can all co-exist, why can't the MMO market live the same way.
Luckily, a comment from that post goes so far as to prove my point even further. (Props to Carson 63000 of Eldergoth, who had this to say...)
"Successful monthly sub games, like EverQuest, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve and WoW, do not steadily increase over the first month and then drop off as a proportion of players decide not to pay more to continue.
Successful monthly sub games have more new players coming in than they have players deciding not to continue. Successful monthly sub games have more players after a year than they did after a month.
I agree that Rift seems to be following the predictable curve set by virtually every MMO in the last five years. But this really isn't the only direction a game can go, and it's not one to aspire to, even if a bunch of box sales and a one month "churn and burn" is enough to pay for your development"
I think we can look upon his comment and really note the issue with this comment...
Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Final Fantasy XI, Eve Online and WoW
1997, 1999, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004
What do we see here? Mainly, these are the launch dates for each of these games. Each MMO listed is 7 years of age or older. Why use games that were in a market dominated by RTS's, Diablo style RPG's or turn based roleplay (Final Fantasy) as a comparison of todays MMO market? If we look at these titles, each was a unique in the field; heck, console games were not even the norm at that time. If an MMO launched, it was something of interest.
Now, we have a world dominated by million sellers being straight console, FPS styled shooters and World of Warcraft or the "churn and burn" MMO, as he calls them.
All MMO's since WoW have not garnered any success beyond several hundred thousand subs, with EvE being the last on that list (besides WoW) to hold on and bring in more subs since launch (that we have any real data for).
No matter the situation, this genre is toasted thanks to WoW. Every MMO from this point on will be compared to WoW. Every game (MMO, I should say) that launches without as much product content as WoW has will be criticized and ostracized for not having WoW's gameplay...period.
Comparing this market now to the market of 7 years ago does not help any argument that "This MMO is fail" due to retention not being WoW sized. Name one MMO since WoW that has continued to grow and is bigger now, than it was at launch (without going free to play...*cough* LOTRO who did NOT expand further until they changed *cough*) and THEN we can talk.
Please note, we never touch on discussions of Asian grinders or Free to Plays, as we cannot get a real data read out of how many are true revenue generators, etc. We are strictly talking the western market and the syndrome of the launch of a AAA title.
For now, just like the console FPS shooters, the PC is flooded with so many MMO's still running or in development...I mean, head to MMORPG.com and just look at their game list. So many to choose from AND many more to come.
Personally, I think any developer that launches an MMO now has several objectives.
First, lets sell the box. We make back our development costs and can continue to develop. Next, retain a good number of subs (as keeps being proven to us by low end games like Age of Conan, Warhammer Online or any other title in the last 5 years). 100k sounds good, but if you have more, why ....thats just peachy keen. Now, work your sales mojo, offer free trials, return trials, develop, fix, stabilize, add content....and hope that as players leave, others come in to replace the slack. If you get lucky, you could get out an expansion and then start the whole cycle again.
Now, as the player, you can, as I keep seeing on every blog, twitter or forum post...try to enjoy the market and games as they are and pray to whatever God, Gods or Spirit you follow that Star Wars: The Old Republic is that savior you hope it is.
Well, why shouldn't it be...so many other IP based MMO's have been major successes in the last 5 years (/snark).
Truly, we need to understand that the words "WoW Killer" is just not a reality, and until something unique and awe inspiring happens in this genre, shaking the very foundation the MMO stands on, we need to look at each MMO release critically without the added..."Is it like WoW?".
If Halo, Gears of War, Crysis, Call of Duty...and...(damn, don't have enough fingers or toes to count the FPS's available) can all co-exist, why can't the MMO market live the same way.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Spectating Rift:Is that a decline in your pocket or...
So, reading a post on the MMORPG forum turned up this little ditty...
"XFire shows a 20% drop of played hours [on Rift] compared to the peak one month ago. So as predicted this latest "great" game is starting to lose ground.
How much you wanna bet that by next month it will be at 50% of peak?"
Why would you believe that? Unless you want it to be so.
It is almost like the players are ready to pounce at ANY bad news and turn it into the ultimate doom. Using any tool at their disposal, they can predict the closure of Rift within a years time. Sales? You bet (look at VGChartz...OH NOES, Rift only has sold less than 200k copies), X-Fire? Shard lists? You name it.
I would prefer to look at it differently.
Right now, the MMO market is flooded with good titles (and yes, some pretty bad ones), but the fact remains; you want to play an MMO, you have some choice now. Throw that stick, don't poke your eye out, and there...hit another MMO.
Of course, the overall "sales" or "success" situation is not helped by the elephant in the room (World of Warcraft) that has this horrible addiction issue for most players. When I hear that a person cannot leave WoW due to how much money and time they have invested into it, then yes...it will be hard to get this type of player to move on to a new title.
Why is it that a game is not allowed time to prosper and grow, and must be a huge success out of the gate. The market was never this way to begin with. Again, back to VGChartz and their WoW numbers. Note the steady decline of sales. Yet, it WAS persistent sales, but fell by volume week after week for it's 10 week first run.
But, then it happened. Word of mouth took the game to the next level. People wondered what the hubbub was about. What was this whole MMO "thang". The growth of WoW could be noted as the growth of the genre and not so much this one game.
Right now, Rift or ANY launch MMO will immediately be given to the WoW bear to eat, and players expect as much content, stability and playability as a six year old game. And we cannot change that mentality.
Really, is a 20% decline from a single gaming service like X-Fire indicative of the overall market share? The fact it is just one piece of the pie tells me no. Look at the Raptr numbers, which show a less than 10% loss. Look at the shard listings and see how a majority of servers are still at high...and even some queues.
Decline will really not be noted until we see merges or closure of servers.
But, can even servers being shut down announce the end of Rift? All we need to do is look at the anecdotal evidence to the contrary to see that Rift can stick around and have great success...if they just persist.
Lord of the Rings Online is our perfect example of a major success story. Indie style developer, went big time with LOTRO. But, if we would note LOTRO success, it was not hopping to begin with. When it launched in 2007, it did not get further than #24 on the X-Fire charts. By near the end of 2008 it was laying off staff and free to play was but a whispered secret that no one wanted their game to be. On launch, LOTRO only sold 172,000 copies in it's first quarter...THATS IT.
Yet, 4 years later, Turbine is lauded as a major progenitor of the Free to Play for Triple AAA products.
Now, if Rift was a major "wreck" of a game, then yes, I could clearly see them falling and tumbling. For that example, look to Age of Conan. This was the game everyone required to fail. Predictions were pasted all over the blogs, various websites, forums...aw, heck, Kotaku actually SHUT THEM DOWN due to posting a fluff piece by a hater.
"Suckered in by the newbie zone, 700,000 souls subscribed. Faced with the rest of the game after level 20, they unsubscribed. It all lasted a bit over two months."
Using this criteria, AoC should have been long gone in Year One. Three years later, and still moving along with another MMO in development.
Aion is another "hated" MMO. Many a player wrote the game off as the biggest failure of it's year. YET, the game still pops into our top 5 of listed MMO's, and even has times where it spikes higher on X-Fire and Raptr, due to returning players. NCSoft financials list the game as stable...and if anything, was the game that gave them help in moving Guild Wars 2 forward and money for NCSofts next development title, Blade and Soul.
The MMO market, if anything, has become like the music market. More artists, more songs, equal more players vying for the kids dollars. Why can't all MMO's co-exist?
Play the game you like, but if anything, if you feel Rift is on the downward spiral, maybe it is you the player that is actually done with the genre?
Let me tell you about Dragon Age and Consoles...
"XFire shows a 20% drop of played hours [on Rift] compared to the peak one month ago. So as predicted this latest "great" game is starting to lose ground.
How much you wanna bet that by next month it will be at 50% of peak?"
Why would you believe that? Unless you want it to be so.
It is almost like the players are ready to pounce at ANY bad news and turn it into the ultimate doom. Using any tool at their disposal, they can predict the closure of Rift within a years time. Sales? You bet (look at VGChartz...OH NOES, Rift only has sold less than 200k copies), X-Fire? Shard lists? You name it.
I would prefer to look at it differently.
Right now, the MMO market is flooded with good titles (and yes, some pretty bad ones), but the fact remains; you want to play an MMO, you have some choice now. Throw that stick, don't poke your eye out, and there...hit another MMO.
Of course, the overall "sales" or "success" situation is not helped by the elephant in the room (World of Warcraft) that has this horrible addiction issue for most players. When I hear that a person cannot leave WoW due to how much money and time they have invested into it, then yes...it will be hard to get this type of player to move on to a new title.
Why is it that a game is not allowed time to prosper and grow, and must be a huge success out of the gate. The market was never this way to begin with. Again, back to VGChartz and their WoW numbers. Note the steady decline of sales. Yet, it WAS persistent sales, but fell by volume week after week for it's 10 week first run.
But, then it happened. Word of mouth took the game to the next level. People wondered what the hubbub was about. What was this whole MMO "thang". The growth of WoW could be noted as the growth of the genre and not so much this one game.
Right now, Rift or ANY launch MMO will immediately be given to the WoW bear to eat, and players expect as much content, stability and playability as a six year old game. And we cannot change that mentality.
Really, is a 20% decline from a single gaming service like X-Fire indicative of the overall market share? The fact it is just one piece of the pie tells me no. Look at the Raptr numbers, which show a less than 10% loss. Look at the shard listings and see how a majority of servers are still at high...and even some queues.
Decline will really not be noted until we see merges or closure of servers.
But, can even servers being shut down announce the end of Rift? All we need to do is look at the anecdotal evidence to the contrary to see that Rift can stick around and have great success...if they just persist.
Lord of the Rings Online is our perfect example of a major success story. Indie style developer, went big time with LOTRO. But, if we would note LOTRO success, it was not hopping to begin with. When it launched in 2007, it did not get further than #24 on the X-Fire charts. By near the end of 2008 it was laying off staff and free to play was but a whispered secret that no one wanted their game to be. On launch, LOTRO only sold 172,000 copies in it's first quarter...THATS IT.
Yet, 4 years later, Turbine is lauded as a major progenitor of the Free to Play for Triple AAA products.
Now, if Rift was a major "wreck" of a game, then yes, I could clearly see them falling and tumbling. For that example, look to Age of Conan. This was the game everyone required to fail. Predictions were pasted all over the blogs, various websites, forums...aw, heck, Kotaku actually SHUT THEM DOWN due to posting a fluff piece by a hater.
"Suckered in by the newbie zone, 700,000 souls subscribed. Faced with the rest of the game after level 20, they unsubscribed. It all lasted a bit over two months."
Using this criteria, AoC should have been long gone in Year One. Three years later, and still moving along with another MMO in development.
Aion is another "hated" MMO. Many a player wrote the game off as the biggest failure of it's year. YET, the game still pops into our top 5 of listed MMO's, and even has times where it spikes higher on X-Fire and Raptr, due to returning players. NCSoft financials list the game as stable...and if anything, was the game that gave them help in moving Guild Wars 2 forward and money for NCSofts next development title, Blade and Soul.
The MMO market, if anything, has become like the music market. More artists, more songs, equal more players vying for the kids dollars. Why can't all MMO's co-exist?
Play the game you like, but if anything, if you feel Rift is on the downward spiral, maybe it is you the player that is actually done with the genre?
Let me tell you about Dragon Age and Consoles...
Monday, March 28, 2011
X-Fire Game: Solo Edition - Rift
With this past weekend being the crucial last weekend for the "30 day window" in Rift, I am dedicating this post to a very fun MMO.
Does everyone else think it is as fun?
First up, lets go ahead and preview the X-Fire and Raptr stats for Rift and do some comparisons to launch
week.
Launched in September of 2008, note the trend of the game as time progressed. The downward spiral was quite extreme. This is what we do NOT want to see in Rift. If you do, then we can add Rift to the pile of games that includes Age of Conan, WAR, and other non-starters that WoW eats for breakfast. (As another note on this little chart. See how many players there are? This gives an idea of how many people USE to use X-Fire in the past. Launch numbers had WAR at 12,000+ players per day back in 2008. So, not only did WAR fall, X-Fire has also lost a lot of users).
****
Moving on, I wanted to show how trends have been looking in Rift. Here are several views of the X-Fire and Raptr data.
This is the chart for Raptr. You can see the overall Metacritic score and how many hours have been played. But, what we want to see is the 7 day outlook scaling for time played. Big spikes are of course the weekend. But, note how there is a drop off. To be expected. The next 7 days will fix that...unless this falls even more, as players leave after the 30 days. What we WANT to see is this even out, and not drop massively.
This first chart is Sunday March 27th at 8PM in Germany. We have six servers with queues. But, we also have two at low. This is interesting, as we NEVER see low on the weekends on the US servers. So, this is an oddity.
Lets compare the first image I had for Germany and Shardwatch.
This was taken on March 13th. 7PM German time. Notice a difference? Right off the bat, no lows. Twelve queued servers also. Dang it was busy. Drop off of course IS to be expected, so, overall it was not massive. But, I see EU servers being the first to merge here.
Moving on to the US of A.
Does everyone else think it is as fun?
First up, lets go ahead and preview the X-Fire and Raptr stats for Rift and do some comparisons to launch
week.
- Rift - 4730 ( 4968 - LAUNCH )
The X-Fire data is actually from one week past launch...but, due to the broken stats reading, we missed the first day. How accurate this may be, I am unsure. But, I at least wanted some good comparison data.
****
- Rift - 3430 ( 3856 - LAUNCH )
The Raptr numbers are from the first Sunday of launch. This was to be it's 2nd busiest day, as the following week hit upward of 4000 players.
****
So, what do we see so far? The basic trend for most MMO's. The slow drop off from the players who found either Rift was not their game, or other concerns which have popped up (from security issues to the infamous "nerf after pay" patch).
But, when we look at this, we do note a VERY good retention rate as well. These numbers look pretty good, and if it can hold this spot after the 30 days are reached, then we will have a successful MMO.
Just to give a reference point, I looked back to find a previous top 5 X-Fire game and see how their numbers were...Warhammer Online.
2008
Launched in September of 2008, note the trend of the game as time progressed. The downward spiral was quite extreme. This is what we do NOT want to see in Rift. If you do, then we can add Rift to the pile of games that includes Age of Conan, WAR, and other non-starters that WoW eats for breakfast. (As another note on this little chart. See how many players there are? This gives an idea of how many people USE to use X-Fire in the past. Launch numbers had WAR at 12,000+ players per day back in 2008. So, not only did WAR fall, X-Fire has also lost a lot of users).
****
Moving on, I wanted to show how trends have been looking in Rift. Here are several views of the X-Fire and Raptr data.
This is the chart for Raptr. You can see the overall Metacritic score and how many hours have been played. But, what we want to see is the 7 day outlook scaling for time played. Big spikes are of course the weekend. But, note how there is a drop off. To be expected. The next 7 days will fix that...unless this falls even more, as players leave after the 30 days. What we WANT to see is this even out, and not drop massively.
Since we did not have complete data for Rift for X-Fire, there was a mass upsweep when they fixed how the X-Fire client read the games played hours. At that point though, we do see a steady view. I have noted in the past that Raptr seems weird to me at times, and can fluctuate freely, while X-Fire seems to hold steadier (unless there is an outage of the game or of course, players leave the game noted).
Both of these will be good reference come next weekend.
Moving on...if you remember, we also were tracking a new site that had images of shard status. The chart gave us a single eyes view of how all servers were doing in specific time periods. Here are the final reports from Riftideas/Shardwatch.
This first chart is Sunday March 27th at 8PM in Germany. We have six servers with queues. But, we also have two at low. This is interesting, as we NEVER see low on the weekends on the US servers. So, this is an oddity.
Lets compare the first image I had for Germany and Shardwatch.
This was taken on March 13th. 7PM German time. Notice a difference? Right off the bat, no lows. Twelve queued servers also. Dang it was busy. Drop off of course IS to be expected, so, overall it was not massive. But, I see EU servers being the first to merge here.
Moving on to the US of A.
So, right off the bat, we see two things. Only one queued server. March 27th at 8:30 EST. I worry about this, as I had noted my own issues on Twitter this morning. Massive lag spikes leading to either DC's or being stuck not moving or anything...yet everything else around you was moving normally (characters, quest updates, etc.). Very Bizarre. That could lead to lowered servers.....maybe. Next, if we look at the EU servers, the number of low servers is quite large still.
What the heck, lets look at the older chart and see just how bad it makes this past weekend look.
Need I say more? Six queued servers down to one? This could be changes to queue sizes or population sizes...we do not know which. Again.....drop off is to be expected, but there is no way Rift can compete with World of Warcraft when we see charts like this. I would prefer they hold on to the number two position at least...
****
We have a lot of data here. Most of it shows the common trend in most launched MMO's in the Age of WoW.
Hard to keep players when a polished, long running title still exists.
Eventually most of these MMO's will syphon off players from WoW, but at what cost? This is not a cheap business...and I can only hope the box sales held up for Trion. With the normal issues that surround MMO's from security and gold sellers, lag and engine issues, broken quests and what not...Trion is a bit ahead in getting it fixed. Just is it good enough to keep them afloat?
BTW, here is your final Moment of Zen to help you understand what is happening with Rift.
World of Warcraft X-Fire chart March 27th - 34,976 players (36,248 ↓)
Yea....that feels good to see.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sparkle Ponies are just like Cigs and Alcohol
Please read the fine print:
Riding a Sparkle Pony may cause lung cancer. As well, Sparkle Ponies may harm unborn fetuses.
But, most of all, Sparkle Ponies DEFINITELY impair better judgement.
You have been warned....
(DISCLAIMER: World of Warcraft and Activision have been know to cause nausea when taken literally. At times a rare ailment may occur, and people may actually continue to subscribe to said game if not taken properly.)
Riding a Sparkle Pony may cause lung cancer. As well, Sparkle Ponies may harm unborn fetuses.
But, most of all, Sparkle Ponies DEFINITELY impair better judgement.
You have been warned....
(DISCLAIMER: World of Warcraft and Activision have been know to cause nausea when taken literally. At times a rare ailment may occur, and people may actually continue to subscribe to said game if not taken properly.)
Friday, April 16, 2010
Do NOT Support Capitalist Greed
This is real simple today. Make today a day YOU donate to a worthy cause, and let Activision / Blizzard NOT get your $25.00 buckos.
All I ask is that if you feel the urge to take $25 bucks of your hard earned money and throw it away on a "Virtual" pet in World of Warcraft that is owned by another company that you will have zero claim to, but the company who DOES own it will allow you to ride on it, as long as you continue to pay them another $15 bucks a month of course...
Please instead, click on one of these links, and take that 25 bucks and put it to greater use.
American Cancer Society
Aids Healthcare Foundation
Muscular Dystrophy
Children International
Ford Foundation
Or any other foundation or cause that you feel deserves it.
The total charge for this horse being offered by Blizzard costs maybe a weeks worth of wages of one to two developers. The overall costs to Activision/Blizzard after it is launched...minimal. Yet, the amount of money being charged is over $10 more than a monthly fee to the game. The money they earn on this could feed one nation for a YEAR. And, as I have stated, ownership of that product is ZERO. You must pay to continue to own the product. If you stop paying, you have lost that $25 until you pay another $15 again to regain ownership.
Lets put our money to a better use shall we?
Thank you
All I ask is that if you feel the urge to take $25 bucks of your hard earned money and throw it away on a "Virtual" pet in World of Warcraft that is owned by another company that you will have zero claim to, but the company who DOES own it will allow you to ride on it, as long as you continue to pay them another $15 bucks a month of course...
Please instead, click on one of these links, and take that 25 bucks and put it to greater use.
American Cancer Society
Aids Healthcare Foundation
Muscular Dystrophy
Children International
Ford Foundation
Or any other foundation or cause that you feel deserves it.
The total charge for this horse being offered by Blizzard costs maybe a weeks worth of wages of one to two developers. The overall costs to Activision/Blizzard after it is launched...minimal. Yet, the amount of money being charged is over $10 more than a monthly fee to the game. The money they earn on this could feed one nation for a YEAR. And, as I have stated, ownership of that product is ZERO. You must pay to continue to own the product. If you stop paying, you have lost that $25 until you pay another $15 again to regain ownership.
Lets put our money to a better use shall we?
Thank you
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Gamestop corroborates their top 8
I love the email flyers from various companies. It has sparked many a debate thanks to the games being listed in "Top 10" lists.
Here comes a new mailer from Gamestop. They note their Top 8 (why 8?) PC games for 2008.
An interesting list indeed.
Out of that list, 4 are MMO's. The one that has been a surprise all along still makes an appearance here,
Age of Conan.
But, we also have Mines of Moria and Warhammer Online (c'mon, we ALL knew WoW would be there.) being noted as their top sellers.
It was a bumper year for sales of these games, just not a great year of quality.
Makes me wonder...
What if....
An interesting list indeed.
Out of that list, 4 are MMO's. The one that has been a surprise all along still makes an appearance here,
Age of Conan.
But, we also have Mines of Moria and Warhammer Online (c'mon, we ALL knew WoW would be there.) being noted as their top sellers.
It was a bumper year for sales of these games, just not a great year of quality.
Makes me wonder...
What if....
Monday, December 8, 2008
X-Fire review - trending popularity
If we were to take the scales from the X-Fire charts, we can get a pretty good idea of popularity of the various Western based MMO's, and actually create a chart.
Like, for example, we all know WoW is #1 in sales and players. But, can we guesstimate how popular the other games are using this methodolgy?
Lets take a look.
#2 - WAR - Easily the second most popular MMO.
We have heard rumors of customers leaving, yet the latest patch added in two of the missing classes, and the times being played correspond to it's place in our chart. It's popularity still places high on the list, and makes WAR the #2 most popular MMO.
#3 - LOTRO - No matter how much I do not want to admit it, based on the X-Fire chart, and thanks to a new expansion, LOTRO gets in at #3 for popularity. The return of customers who originally bought the game, and lifetimers overall add to time played.
Well done Turbine.
#4 - Age of Conan - Still charting, and being consistent, this is pretty good. There have been new issues with the merges, and some slow response on the next patch. But, there is no doubt that there is a group of people who want their game to be a little different. I still have confidence in them. Now, if they would just speed things up ..
#5 - Everquest 2 - Well, thanks to some brisk sales of their latest expansion, they have made some huge leaps on the X-Fire charts...actually up 20 spots from when I last looked upon them..
This easily drops them into the top 5 Western MMO's
Note, we did not include Guild Wars here, due to one issue. They are not subscriber based, and that is what we are looking at. If we were to include them, they are by far the second largest MMO. But, we also question the MMO connotation, so for our purposes, we will note that WoW and GW are the two most popular fantasy online games. Here is hoping Guild Wars 2 proves to be a powerhouse like it's predecessor.
Now, this makes for our top 5. I do want to include a couple here that I have discussed in the past, and wanted to follow up on.
Dungeons and Dragons Online - The game has seen an upswing, which may be due to the new module that was released. I also have noted in the past that new technologies drive players to some games. With the addition of DX10, I think this also drives new players in.
So, with the upcoming henchmen system (hirelings) and the continued support of the DX system, who knows...maybe this game could do a turnabout (I also want to note that since release, all new content and updates have been FREE, with no expansions or costs associated with this...nice move to help drive new business)
Tabula Rasa - So, what happens when you announce the closure of your game? Bye Bye customers (even though the game is not scheduled to end for another 3 months...OUCH!)
Thats it for now. I am hoping to see a couple of more titles here soon. I may look at the Asian Market and check on games like Cabal, Shin Megami and later Spellborn.
Cheers
Like, for example, we all know WoW is #1 in sales and players. But, can we guesstimate how popular the other games are using this methodolgy?
Lets take a look.
#2 - WAR - Easily the second most popular MMO.
We have heard rumors of customers leaving, yet the latest patch added in two of the missing classes, and the times being played correspond to it's place in our chart. It's popularity still places high on the list, and makes WAR the #2 most popular MMO.
#3 - LOTRO - No matter how much I do not want to admit it, based on the X-Fire chart, and thanks to a new expansion, LOTRO gets in at #3 for popularity. The return of customers who originally bought the game, and lifetimers overall add to time played.
Well done Turbine.
#4 - Age of Conan - Still charting, and being consistent, this is pretty good. There have been new issues with the merges, and some slow response on the next patch. But, there is no doubt that there is a group of people who want their game to be a little different. I still have confidence in them. Now, if they would just speed things up ..
#5 - Everquest 2 - Well, thanks to some brisk sales of their latest expansion, they have made some huge leaps on the X-Fire charts...actually up 20 spots from when I last looked upon them..
This easily drops them into the top 5 Western MMO's
Note, we did not include Guild Wars here, due to one issue. They are not subscriber based, and that is what we are looking at. If we were to include them, they are by far the second largest MMO. But, we also question the MMO connotation, so for our purposes, we will note that WoW and GW are the two most popular fantasy online games. Here is hoping Guild Wars 2 proves to be a powerhouse like it's predecessor.
Now, this makes for our top 5. I do want to include a couple here that I have discussed in the past, and wanted to follow up on.
Dungeons and Dragons Online - The game has seen an upswing, which may be due to the new module that was released. I also have noted in the past that new technologies drive players to some games. With the addition of DX10, I think this also drives new players in.
So, with the upcoming henchmen system (hirelings) and the continued support of the DX system, who knows...maybe this game could do a turnabout (I also want to note that since release, all new content and updates have been FREE, with no expansions or costs associated with this...nice move to help drive new business)
Tabula Rasa - So, what happens when you announce the closure of your game? Bye Bye customers (even though the game is not scheduled to end for another 3 months...OUCH!)
Thats it for now. I am hoping to see a couple of more titles here soon. I may look at the Asian Market and check on games like Cabal, Shin Megami and later Spellborn.
Cheers
Thursday, November 20, 2008
World of Warcraft - Maybe I do have a reason..
To go back....
So I can team up with this guy, and chat on vent...ya know?
Nice clean vocal stylings and all that.
So I can team up with this guy, and chat on vent...ya know?
Nice clean vocal stylings and all that.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Playing with Xfire
Well, that title really screamed to be made....
Anyways, this weekend and today I decided to review some of the games I have kept an eye on, and specifically those with changes this past week or two (or upcoming).
The charts allows us to note trends in the popular and maybe some less popular games, and come away with basic conclusions of playtimes.
A LOT of updates, expansions, content updates, etc. have been made to a majority of MMO's which are in the spotlight.
Please keep in mind, the reason we even look at these charts is they do show trends, not REAL numbers.
Make sure to keep that caveat in mind as we look at the scales.
I looked at a LOT of games, but at this point I want to note some I did not include.
Everquest 2, who DOES have an expansion coming soon (like tomorrow...lol). YET, I see no major spikes except for a huge dip last month which must have been a GU.
Due to it's niche, it seems to hold it's own in the scales and is about in the 90th-100th spot.
I will go back to them real soon as I would like to see if the new expansion causes any interest, or if the game has it's dedicated audience and is on cruise control.
Vanguard had a huge update a little while back. But, the game continues to nosedive (example from previous days it has dropped from #195 to #218...yea...pretty bad.)
I think we should probably just let it rest in peace.
Tabula Rasa. I really wanted to include this due to NCSoft's current issues, and having a minor interest in the game. As well, I could have included CoH/CoV. But, the games are low on my radar, and there has been nothing major as of this point on their games for updates.
I will note that Tabula Rasa ranks higher than Vanguard and CoH ranks higher than EQ2.
And as a side note, Lineage 2 is their best averaging subscription based MMO, resting in the 40's.
Finally, I did not include any Free to play's or Asian grinders. Our scales would look bizarre indeed. (For example, Guild Wars ranks #9, which if people accepted it as an MMO, would make it the 2nd most popular North American MMO.)
I mainly looked at current subscriber based games on the markets mind or having a real recent update and is popular. (I guess we could define this as "hyped")
WoW, WAR, LOTRO, AoC, DDO.
Most of these make sense...but, let me explain DDO being here before I continue.
Drastic changes were made to the game recently with Module 8, with the hirelings system (still kicking in) and DX10.
I am of the mind that people who are on the cutting edge of gaming are always looking at ways to see more horsepower.
DX10 games fill that bill.
The game has been a real major group focused system. Seeing the hirelings makes me wonder if this will also bring in more players who want to try and solo (/waves).
Finally the complete change to the tutorial area screams for a retrial as well.
Dungeons and Dragons (like Lord of the Rings) was a major IP boon for Turbine. Somehow the ball was dropped. If anything I would like to see a better game here. Turbine continues to disappoint me also, as LOTRO is one of the worst high profile games I have played (and note this is my opinion, so not a reflection on those who love LOTRO.)
DDO also did nothing for me, but I enjoyed it more due to better looking models and a better looking world feel to me.
But playing gave me no underlying theme. Like, no story or reason for me to be here in this big city
But, who knows what these changes hold. May just be the ticket to keep me and others around longer.
________________________________
Recently, Xfire has switched to a new display for their data. All charts now go on a weekly listing of numbers. This really helps us get a full overview of the changes depending on updates, expansions, etc.
Lets begin shall we?
World of Warcraft
The launch of Wrath of the Lich King really showed it's muscle.
As we look at the chart we can see the infamous dip for Tuesdays, and then how it scales back up for the weekend.
But, our newest chart, shows a MAJOR jump after the 13th. That is easy to guess.
WAR
The second best listing on Xfire of our titles to review.
But, we can see the major downfall from the 30 day turnover. The game had been noted to have quite a huge population...but...
Makes me wonder how much more this will continue to fall, or if this is finally reaching its set base. A lot of bloggers have corroborated this data of servers feeling empty...
The chart does state no change for 5 days though. So, this may be the spot WAR sticks to. Keeping a close eye on this.
My guess is that WAR is the #2 NA MMO right now.
Age of Conan
The chart speaks for itself. It has found a niche. I thought the change in the content from this past week would have brought it up more. But, it looks like Funcom took too long, and now has to live with the consequences.
This could change if they start to offer the free comebacks or trials. This will be interesting to watch as this and DDO are probably the most different MMO's on this list. Do people want something different if it is working well and offers a good game? Or are we stuck in an MMO rut, and all future releases will rely on WoW mechanics to make their game.
DDO
As I mentioned, quite a few changes. And we can see an upswing of time near the end of the scale...
It may take some time for their chart to grow, but the numbers are holding out ok and a little increase is a good sign.
LOTRO
This will be the one to watch. I feel their release of the expansion (just like EQ2) is a misinformed judgement. Why release it a week after WoTLK?
But we do see some upswing here as well. LOTRO does ok on the charts as we can see, and keeps a good set of subscribers...all die hard Tolkien fans for sure.
But, as an MMO, could it have had what it takes to attract players disgruntled with WoW?
I will keep an eye on this to see if Mines of Moria makes this game spike or not.
They have only ever reached number 14 on the Xfire charts, so unlike WAR or AoC who topped up at #5 and have had major sales, LOTRO never quite grabbed the players the same way.
Yet, the "dedicated" player seems to be more prominent in the LOTRO universe. Says something at least for the quality of the game for those players.
_________________________________
Like I said, I plan to review these once in a while as the Holidays close in. Will any game catch someones fancy?
Could Spellborn end up here? Will watch for that as well.
Should be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out.
Cheers
Anyways, this weekend and today I decided to review some of the games I have kept an eye on, and specifically those with changes this past week or two (or upcoming).
The charts allows us to note trends in the popular and maybe some less popular games, and come away with basic conclusions of playtimes.
A LOT of updates, expansions, content updates, etc. have been made to a majority of MMO's which are in the spotlight.
Please keep in mind, the reason we even look at these charts is they do show trends, not REAL numbers.
Make sure to keep that caveat in mind as we look at the scales.
I looked at a LOT of games, but at this point I want to note some I did not include.
Everquest 2, who DOES have an expansion coming soon (like tomorrow...lol). YET, I see no major spikes except for a huge dip last month which must have been a GU.
Due to it's niche, it seems to hold it's own in the scales and is about in the 90th-100th spot.
I will go back to them real soon as I would like to see if the new expansion causes any interest, or if the game has it's dedicated audience and is on cruise control.
Vanguard had a huge update a little while back. But, the game continues to nosedive (example from previous days it has dropped from #195 to #218...yea...pretty bad.)
I think we should probably just let it rest in peace.
Tabula Rasa. I really wanted to include this due to NCSoft's current issues, and having a minor interest in the game. As well, I could have included CoH/CoV. But, the games are low on my radar, and there has been nothing major as of this point on their games for updates.
I will note that Tabula Rasa ranks higher than Vanguard and CoH ranks higher than EQ2.
And as a side note, Lineage 2 is their best averaging subscription based MMO, resting in the 40's.
Finally, I did not include any Free to play's or Asian grinders. Our scales would look bizarre indeed. (For example, Guild Wars ranks #9, which if people accepted it as an MMO, would make it the 2nd most popular North American MMO.)
I mainly looked at current subscriber based games on the markets mind or having a real recent update and is popular. (I guess we could define this as "hyped")
WoW, WAR, LOTRO, AoC, DDO.
Most of these make sense...but, let me explain DDO being here before I continue.
Drastic changes were made to the game recently with Module 8, with the hirelings system (still kicking in) and DX10.
I am of the mind that people who are on the cutting edge of gaming are always looking at ways to see more horsepower.
DX10 games fill that bill.
The game has been a real major group focused system. Seeing the hirelings makes me wonder if this will also bring in more players who want to try and solo (/waves).
Finally the complete change to the tutorial area screams for a retrial as well.
Dungeons and Dragons (like Lord of the Rings) was a major IP boon for Turbine. Somehow the ball was dropped. If anything I would like to see a better game here. Turbine continues to disappoint me also, as LOTRO is one of the worst high profile games I have played (and note this is my opinion, so not a reflection on those who love LOTRO.)
DDO also did nothing for me, but I enjoyed it more due to better looking models and a better looking world feel to me.
But playing gave me no underlying theme. Like, no story or reason for me to be here in this big city
But, who knows what these changes hold. May just be the ticket to keep me and others around longer.
________________________________
Recently, Xfire has switched to a new display for their data. All charts now go on a weekly listing of numbers. This really helps us get a full overview of the changes depending on updates, expansions, etc.
Lets begin shall we?
World of Warcraft
The launch of Wrath of the Lich King really showed it's muscle.
As we look at the chart we can see the infamous dip for Tuesdays, and then how it scales back up for the weekend.
But, our newest chart, shows a MAJOR jump after the 13th. That is easy to guess.
WAR
The second best listing on Xfire of our titles to review.
But, we can see the major downfall from the 30 day turnover. The game had been noted to have quite a huge population...but...
Makes me wonder how much more this will continue to fall, or if this is finally reaching its set base. A lot of bloggers have corroborated this data of servers feeling empty...
The chart does state no change for 5 days though. So, this may be the spot WAR sticks to. Keeping a close eye on this.
My guess is that WAR is the #2 NA MMO right now.
Age of Conan
The chart speaks for itself. It has found a niche. I thought the change in the content from this past week would have brought it up more. But, it looks like Funcom took too long, and now has to live with the consequences.
This could change if they start to offer the free comebacks or trials. This will be interesting to watch as this and DDO are probably the most different MMO's on this list. Do people want something different if it is working well and offers a good game? Or are we stuck in an MMO rut, and all future releases will rely on WoW mechanics to make their game.
DDO
As I mentioned, quite a few changes. And we can see an upswing of time near the end of the scale...
It may take some time for their chart to grow, but the numbers are holding out ok and a little increase is a good sign.
LOTRO
This will be the one to watch. I feel their release of the expansion (just like EQ2) is a misinformed judgement. Why release it a week after WoTLK?
But we do see some upswing here as well. LOTRO does ok on the charts as we can see, and keeps a good set of subscribers...all die hard Tolkien fans for sure.
But, as an MMO, could it have had what it takes to attract players disgruntled with WoW?
I will keep an eye on this to see if Mines of Moria makes this game spike or not.
They have only ever reached number 14 on the Xfire charts, so unlike WAR or AoC who topped up at #5 and have had major sales, LOTRO never quite grabbed the players the same way.
Yet, the "dedicated" player seems to be more prominent in the LOTRO universe. Says something at least for the quality of the game for those players.
_________________________________
Like I said, I plan to review these once in a while as the Holidays close in. Will any game catch someones fancy?
Could Spellborn end up here? Will watch for that as well.
Should be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out.
Cheers
Thursday, October 30, 2008
MMO downfall...AoC and WAR
XFire time again kids...
"What does Xfire show us little ones?"
"It shows trends."
"That's right."
"And what trends do we see?"
"These two games are major downers...WTF!"
The downward spiral of AoC and WAR continue. It seems no matter what is done, people still go back to the best crack on the streets...
WoW!
Look at the same chart for WoW and we see an upward trend...
Whaddya know.
My challenge is this. Can any MMO make a worthwhile competitor that can garner just 1 million scrips.
That is all I ask.
I will pay for 6 months time upfront for any game that can reach that milestone. If 1 million players stick it out, then it MUST be good.
And we are discussing Western MMO's here (no Lineage 2...sorry...been there, done it, did not like it)
I wonder what MMO can be up to that challenge?
Now, back to Fable 2. I just had a BABY@!...uh, my wife did that is...
"What does Xfire show us little ones?"
"It shows trends."
"That's right."
"And what trends do we see?"
"These two games are major downers...WTF!"
Age of Conan
Warhammer Online
WoW!
Look at the same chart for WoW and we see an upward trend...
World of Warcraft
Whaddya know.
My challenge is this. Can any MMO make a worthwhile competitor that can garner just 1 million scrips.
That is all I ask.
I will pay for 6 months time upfront for any game that can reach that milestone. If 1 million players stick it out, then it MUST be good.
And we are discussing Western MMO's here (no Lineage 2...sorry...been there, done it, did not like it)
I wonder what MMO can be up to that challenge?
Now, back to Fable 2. I just had a BABY@!...uh, my wife did that is...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
MMORPG - Are Lifetime scrips good?
As we know, recently news arrived that Hellgate London is going to shut it's doors for good.
Pumping Irony had a post about this and I noted how Hellgate has who knows how many players burned with their "Lifetime" deal.
No refunds there.
Right now, only two games have offered these lifetime deals (that were commercially viable titles that is...not discussing any freebie or Korean MMO's).
Hellgate London and LOTRO.
Hellgate as we know is a failure.
But, is LOTRO any better in regards to quality? 200+k players think so.
In regards to this conundrum..Scott had this to say in comments...
I absolutely think Lifetime Memberships are valuable, though not without inherent risk.
How would someone even know if they liked the game as no trial was available yet.
Then they did not offer it again until they started the lowering of the price for the game and scrips and must have seen sales diminishing.
I am sure the influx of cash helped Turbine immensely.
But, what happens to a company that does not continue to have a flow of cash?
These players instead prove to be a burden, as they continue to play with no income being offered to Turbine.
The lifetime is meant for that impulse player who feels that they may be getting a good deal paying forever for that game with just one price...
Yet, it did not do much for Hellgate...
We may never know how many players did this offer there and then got burned.
I still think trials are key. Then reduced pricing, but not lifetime.
I think lifetime scrips lead to less "quality" of content.
Turbine is forced to release content on a regular basis or upset customers..especially those who paid lifetime.
Book 14 (their last patch before MoM) proved to be quite buggy, and took quite a few months to release compared to previous patches and content updates.
Turbine discussed making UI changes and model updates for MoM when the expansion was first announced...yet all screenshots show the same middling UI and very skinny non-fed males and vapid females...
Imagine if people payed lifetimes for AoC, and the content output is what it is now? YUCK!
I think it hurts the company and the player in the end.
Think of it this way. You did not have to buy AoC, or WAR and could have waited for reviews or a trial.
The LOTRO deal was meant to be a one time offer for those willing to take the leap at launch.
Look how many of those people they spit on with that deal...by offering it again after 6 or so months.
But, this still begs the question. Can "lifetime" scrips be a good thing for an MMO?
Yes, we would pay for one if WoW offered one, or EQ2...i.e: established games.
But, how would this affect the game after the fact?
Weigh in folks..
Pumping Irony had a post about this and I noted how Hellgate has who knows how many players burned with their "Lifetime" deal.
No refunds there.
Right now, only two games have offered these lifetime deals (that were commercially viable titles that is...not discussing any freebie or Korean MMO's).
Hellgate London and LOTRO.
Hellgate as we know is a failure.
But, is LOTRO any better in regards to quality? 200+k players think so.
In regards to this conundrum..Scott had this to say in comments...
I absolutely think Lifetime Memberships are valuable, though not without inherent risk.
For me, LOTRO ended up being my main game and the lifetime membership has already paid for itself. Mines of Moria has a feature list (on paper) that is more exciting to me than the lists of any other expansion or full game coming out in the near future as well, so now the personal value of that lifetime has increased.
But if people jumped on the Lifetime for LOTRO or Hellgate without trying the games, just on hype alone, then they were burned. Doubly so for Hellgate since it’s being canceled.
From a players point of view...what about the company?
How would someone even know if they liked the game as no trial was available yet.
Then they did not offer it again until they started the lowering of the price for the game and scrips and must have seen sales diminishing.
I am sure the influx of cash helped Turbine immensely.
But, what happens to a company that does not continue to have a flow of cash?
These players instead prove to be a burden, as they continue to play with no income being offered to Turbine.
The lifetime is meant for that impulse player who feels that they may be getting a good deal paying forever for that game with just one price...
Yet, it did not do much for Hellgate...
We may never know how many players did this offer there and then got burned.
I still think trials are key. Then reduced pricing, but not lifetime.
I think lifetime scrips lead to less "quality" of content.
Turbine is forced to release content on a regular basis or upset customers..especially those who paid lifetime.
Book 14 (their last patch before MoM) proved to be quite buggy, and took quite a few months to release compared to previous patches and content updates.
Turbine discussed making UI changes and model updates for MoM when the expansion was first announced...yet all screenshots show the same middling UI and very skinny non-fed males and vapid females...
Imagine if people payed lifetimes for AoC, and the content output is what it is now? YUCK!
I think it hurts the company and the player in the end.
Think of it this way. You did not have to buy AoC, or WAR and could have waited for reviews or a trial.
The LOTRO deal was meant to be a one time offer for those willing to take the leap at launch.
Look how many of those people they spit on with that deal...by offering it again after 6 or so months.
But, this still begs the question. Can "lifetime" scrips be a good thing for an MMO?
Yes, we would pay for one if WoW offered one, or EQ2...i.e: established games.
But, how would this affect the game after the fact?
Weigh in folks..
Thursday, October 16, 2008
World of Warcraft - We giveth and taketh away
If anyone remembers...a couple of months or so ago, my account for WoW had been reactivated.
I blogged about this little issue...(gone in a Nuclear Explosion of Russian Proportions now...)
Unbeknownst to me, someone had logged into my account, and activated it with some credit card that did not exist in my list of cards.
I notified Blizzard of this, closed down the subscription and changed passwords, the whole 9 yards.
Blizzard never gave notice of the subscriber issues, but credited my characters gold (as one upper level had been stripped).
Today, I received this email after almost 2 months?.
"Greetings,
Access to the World of Warcraft account ****(my account)***, has been temporarily disabled due to a dispute filed against the account's past payments. This dispute was filed by the bank, credit card company, or financial institution associated with the payment on the account.
As a result of this dispute, funds paid on the account were withdrawn from Blizzard Entertainment in direct violation of the account's terms. This is known as a "chargeback."
Now, nothing is accesible on this account, as it has been terminated.
This is what I consider the best way to NEVER go back to WoW.
Thanks mysterious account hacker, I appreciate it.
Thanks Blizzard for being stupid about this, and not handling the situation as I asked for.
WoW-free and clean for 1 year and counting...WooT!
I blogged about this little issue...(gone in a Nuclear Explosion of Russian Proportions now...)
Unbeknownst to me, someone had logged into my account, and activated it with some credit card that did not exist in my list of cards.
I notified Blizzard of this, closed down the subscription and changed passwords, the whole 9 yards.
Blizzard never gave notice of the subscriber issues, but credited my characters gold (as one upper level had been stripped).
Today, I received this email after almost 2 months?.
"Greetings,
Access to the World of Warcraft account ****(my account)***, has been temporarily disabled due to a dispute filed against the account's past payments. This dispute was filed by the bank, credit card company, or financial institution associated with the payment on the account.
As a result of this dispute, funds paid on the account were withdrawn from Blizzard Entertainment in direct violation of the account's terms. This is known as a "chargeback."
Now, nothing is accesible on this account, as it has been terminated.
This is what I consider the best way to NEVER go back to WoW.
Thanks mysterious account hacker, I appreciate it.
Thanks Blizzard for being stupid about this, and not handling the situation as I asked for.
WoW-free and clean for 1 year and counting...WooT!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Blizzard needs your cash...
Seems a discussion on Ardwulfs blog yesterday (In Defense of Blizzard) led to some much heated debate over why anyone believes a company is "greedy" if they want to make money.
(EDIT: Looks like Blizzard is being VERY safe about this discussion. They made it QUITE clear now that Battle.net will at least not be a monthly...Good for them. I rest easier now...)
One commenter, Rao, from Gestalt Mind, had this to say
@Rao
May I ask this? Does Burger King offer anything free? And then decide to charge you for it?
Lets say you buy a Burger, and the fries were free.
Then they decide one day that they must charge you for those fries.
How would you react?
Would you think "Oh poor Burger King must be hurting for money, and they must charge for those fries now...good for them"
or
"Burger King is declining in business, and they need our money..."
Yea...that is what it is like.
All I am saying is if they decide to "charge" for Battle.net, then they better offer a reason.
Look at HG:L. They had the game as a free service. Yet, if you paid for a monthly they added a ton of features to your game.
Now, back to the Burger King deal. Lets say they decide to charge for the fries...but originally they were a medium, and they switch it to a large, THEN charge.
This is how it is done.
Look at the ways Guild Wars monetized.
Extra Character slot - Charge
Unlock skills for PvP - Charge
Services are the way to monetize. Maybe THIS should have been the route. People want to feel they are getting something for their money.
If Battle.net is still a glorified chat room lobby to meet others or sell stuff...you can manage this through some other way (say X-Fire).
Now, Blizzard has mentioned charging for "customization" of your look.
THIS is the way to monetize.
As long as the only way to get that look is by fees and not something that is already offered in character creation...cool.
Also, the item you buy cannot be a drop either.
It sounds like everyone believes I think Blizzard should not be making money...far from it.
But, they need to be careful HOW they make it is all.
@Tipa
"Games companies are in the business to make money, and maybe monetizing b.net will finally drive all the b.net kiddies off to Xbox Live where they will be safely away from real gamers."
Ouch (we won't go into a study done that showed the average age of the Xbox 360 user is 35-44)..
But, to honestly think that "monetizing" gets rid of kids...uh, have you played WoW? I have found 14 and 15 year old kids in EQ2 with bad attitudes many a time.
This is far from the purpose of the monetizing, and to think such a thing is foolish.
This was just a silly attack on Xbox live users. And I agree that there are a ton of mouthy brats (my son included) on the service.
But, it sure will not drive away that kid that needs everything, which happen to be the ones who are the mouthiest.
It will just cement a more "elitist" attitude if anything.
The monetizing will just engender attitudes across the board. Blizzard is seen as a powerhouse right now, and so far is STILL not slowing down (this seems to be the argument of WHY Blizzard needs to charge) and if sales are any indication, WoW is still topping the charts even though WAR has taken the top spot for several weeks.
This is just greed at this point.
Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will both sell like madness. They will earn funds which should help with Blizzards continued development of their next big MMO.
And believe me, THAT MMO will sell also. THIS will be their next cash cow.
Battle.net is just a slap in the face to the fans of these games. And fans are fickle.
Guess we will have to wait and see how this progresses. To me, Blizzard can have my cash for Diablo 3.
Battle.net will be off the table for me....
But of course, I see the removal of LAN play as the slap on the other cheek. And guess what...blind fanboys will also turn that cheek, no question asked...
Sorry...maybe I should feel sorry for poor Blizzard....
Whatever!
(EDIT: Looks like Blizzard is being VERY safe about this discussion. They made it QUITE clear now that Battle.net will at least not be a monthly...Good for them. I rest easier now...)
One commenter, Rao, from Gestalt Mind, had this to say
"I have never understood the gamer attitude of, “Oh my god! They want to charge us for that? Money-grubbing evil bastards!”
Gaming companies are just that… companies. They are there to make money. That is their reason for being, but gamers seem to take it so personally that the game companies want to make a living.
You don’t see Burger King adding a new sandwich to their menu and then fast food junkies all over the planet start getting all up in arms because Burger King charges for them, but yet gamers do this."
I started another long winded comment, and decided to bring it here...@Rao
May I ask this? Does Burger King offer anything free? And then decide to charge you for it?
Lets say you buy a Burger, and the fries were free.
Then they decide one day that they must charge you for those fries.
How would you react?
Would you think "Oh poor Burger King must be hurting for money, and they must charge for those fries now...good for them"
or
"Burger King is declining in business, and they need our money..."
Yea...that is what it is like.
All I am saying is if they decide to "charge" for Battle.net, then they better offer a reason.
Look at HG:L. They had the game as a free service. Yet, if you paid for a monthly they added a ton of features to your game.
Now, back to the Burger King deal. Lets say they decide to charge for the fries...but originally they were a medium, and they switch it to a large, THEN charge.
This is how it is done.
Look at the ways Guild Wars monetized.
Extra Character slot - Charge
Unlock skills for PvP - Charge
Services are the way to monetize. Maybe THIS should have been the route. People want to feel they are getting something for their money.
If Battle.net is still a glorified chat room lobby to meet others or sell stuff...you can manage this through some other way (say X-Fire).
Now, Blizzard has mentioned charging for "customization" of your look.
THIS is the way to monetize.
As long as the only way to get that look is by fees and not something that is already offered in character creation...cool.
Also, the item you buy cannot be a drop either.
It sounds like everyone believes I think Blizzard should not be making money...far from it.
But, they need to be careful HOW they make it is all.
@Tipa
"Games companies are in the business to make money, and maybe monetizing b.net will finally drive all the b.net kiddies off to Xbox Live where they will be safely away from real gamers."
Ouch (we won't go into a study done that showed the average age of the Xbox 360 user is 35-44)..
But, to honestly think that "monetizing" gets rid of kids...uh, have you played WoW? I have found 14 and 15 year old kids in EQ2 with bad attitudes many a time.
This is far from the purpose of the monetizing, and to think such a thing is foolish.
This was just a silly attack on Xbox live users. And I agree that there are a ton of mouthy brats (my son included) on the service.
But, it sure will not drive away that kid that needs everything, which happen to be the ones who are the mouthiest.
It will just cement a more "elitist" attitude if anything.
The monetizing will just engender attitudes across the board. Blizzard is seen as a powerhouse right now, and so far is STILL not slowing down (this seems to be the argument of WHY Blizzard needs to charge) and if sales are any indication, WoW is still topping the charts even though WAR has taken the top spot for several weeks.
This is just greed at this point.
Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will both sell like madness. They will earn funds which should help with Blizzards continued development of their next big MMO.
And believe me, THAT MMO will sell also. THIS will be their next cash cow.
Battle.net is just a slap in the face to the fans of these games. And fans are fickle.
Guess we will have to wait and see how this progresses. To me, Blizzard can have my cash for Diablo 3.
Battle.net will be off the table for me....
But of course, I see the removal of LAN play as the slap on the other cheek. And guess what...blind fanboys will also turn that cheek, no question asked...
Sorry...maybe I should feel sorry for poor Blizzard....
Whatever!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Age of Conan vs. WAR - All in the mentality
I was cruising some blogs this morning and ran into one which was originally an Age of Conan blog.
But, like so many of us, the frustrations of Funcom brought the blogger to the conclusion that they could not go on.
He left his guides intact for the classes he had worked with, and started to stray...
But, as time went on, this blogger stepped into WAR, and came back with this decision...
"I’m not having fun…"
So, I started to wonder how someone would NOT have fun in WAR. What type of mentality is it that compels us to play one style over another of MMO.
As the blogger says later in his post...
"I’m seriously considering rerolling one of my favorite classes on one of the popular servers in Age of Conan"
Which happened to me as well.
Some of his issues with WAR are..
"I agree. I was unfairly critical of play on Age of Conan, however the game (Warhammer) is boring… and ugly. When I play Conan, (or) even LOTRO, the(se) games (are) is fun, the music pulses and it is good. Have a good party and things rock. Warhammer just is bland."
"I was getting a little frustrated with the lack of content in AoC, and went back to LOTRO because I heard they finally got some population again. I used to love that game but our server became deserted and I wasn’t about to pay for a toon transfer.
Despite the beautiful landscapes, after AoC my toons (in LOTRO) just felt retarded in combat and I used to think they looked cool, now their bodies just seemed awkward looking to me. I came back to AoC at least till I see where the new management takes it"
But, some alternate comments as well
"AoC was rather bland at the lower levels and then it just seem to dump you with no direction. I’m having a blast so far in WAR you should get it another try after a couple weeks after launch!"
"Maybe try a different class if you aren’t having fun?
The scenarios change dramatically at Tier 2. In Tier 2, I’ve played CTF, Smear the Queer, and this weird King of the Hill/CTF Hybrid scenario."
And then one who does not know which way to go..
"I was getting a little bored with WAR until I tried a Marauder, which I enjoy immensely.
That said, I just re-activated my AoC account. Not sure if I will go back to my HoX, the ToS or roll up that Bear Shaman I always wanted to "
So, what is it that compels these alternating attitudes. And why do those that try AoC, eventually end up back there.
And what is it about WAR's game mechanics that some enjoy, and others are "Leery" about.
Combat, visual quality, and the grind mentality seems to be key here.
Maybe some are not for the level grind anymore.
As an example, the wife and myself have been less worried about our levels, and having more fun just killing mobs, and getting loot. We did the same thing in Guild Wars.
I think we are of the Diablo "mentality".
And the WAR mentality is the "grind" aspect to level and gain reknown...I call it the "WoW" effect.
Do you have an idea of what it is that compels you to play your game of choice?
Can you figure out which mentality you are?
But, like so many of us, the frustrations of Funcom brought the blogger to the conclusion that they could not go on.
He left his guides intact for the classes he had worked with, and started to stray...
But, as time went on, this blogger stepped into WAR, and came back with this decision...
"I’m not having fun…"
So, I started to wonder how someone would NOT have fun in WAR. What type of mentality is it that compels us to play one style over another of MMO.
As the blogger says later in his post...
"I’m seriously considering rerolling one of my favorite classes on one of the popular servers in Age of Conan"
Which happened to me as well.
Some of his issues with WAR are..
- ‘Old School’ one monster at a time PvE - Basically like we have grown use to in past MMO's, you face one monster, maybe two, as otherwise, you WILL die. As well, these one off battles can take minutes to complete. Placement and movement, and massive battles are the norm in AoC and another favorite...Guild Wars. Four or more mobs is not uncommon in either game. You need to make split decisions on who to attack, and keeping yourself out of AoE effects, etc.
- Public Quests are just another grind - Well, this is another way to give you a quest, but you still do the exact same thing...so, this really changes nothing of the game atmosphere or mechanics.
"I agree. I was unfairly critical of play on Age of Conan, however the game (Warhammer) is boring… and ugly. When I play Conan, (or) even LOTRO, the(se) games (are) is fun, the music pulses and it is good. Have a good party and things rock. Warhammer just is bland."
"I was getting a little frustrated with the lack of content in AoC, and went back to LOTRO because I heard they finally got some population again. I used to love that game but our server became deserted and I wasn’t about to pay for a toon transfer.
Despite the beautiful landscapes, after AoC my toons (in LOTRO) just felt retarded in combat and I used to think they looked cool, now their bodies just seemed awkward looking to me. I came back to AoC at least till I see where the new management takes it"
But, some alternate comments as well
"AoC was rather bland at the lower levels and then it just seem to dump you with no direction. I’m having a blast so far in WAR you should get it another try after a couple weeks after launch!"
"Maybe try a different class if you aren’t having fun?
The scenarios change dramatically at Tier 2. In Tier 2, I’ve played CTF, Smear the Queer, and this weird King of the Hill/CTF Hybrid scenario."
And then one who does not know which way to go..
"I was getting a little bored with WAR until I tried a Marauder, which I enjoy immensely.
That said, I just re-activated my AoC account. Not sure if I will go back to my HoX, the ToS or roll up that Bear Shaman I always wanted to "
So, what is it that compels these alternating attitudes. And why do those that try AoC, eventually end up back there.
And what is it about WAR's game mechanics that some enjoy, and others are "Leery" about.
Combat, visual quality, and the grind mentality seems to be key here.
Maybe some are not for the level grind anymore.
As an example, the wife and myself have been less worried about our levels, and having more fun just killing mobs, and getting loot. We did the same thing in Guild Wars.
I think we are of the Diablo "mentality".
And the WAR mentality is the "grind" aspect to level and gain reknown...I call it the "WoW" effect.
Do you have an idea of what it is that compels you to play your game of choice?
Can you figure out which mentality you are?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King
So, who expects this to sell 4 times as many copies or even more than Burning Crusade?
What does the expansion really offer? New Class? New Zone? Update Graphics? Is there more?
How come I have to buy Burning Crusade to play this expansion?
Will there be an All-in-One package for all 3 titles for one 49 or 59 buck price point?
Speculate below.
What does the expansion really offer? New Class? New Zone? Update Graphics? Is there more?
How come I have to buy Burning Crusade to play this expansion?
Will there be an All-in-One package for all 3 titles for one 49 or 59 buck price point?
Speculate below.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Advertising...coming to an MMO near you
Listening to NPR this morning, a discussion of the Emmy's came up (surprise).
With listings of various winners of last nights awards.
One big winner was Mad Men on AMC.
Basically the show talks about big business and advertisers during the 60's.
This then segued into a piece on the new ways of product placement or called "Product Injection.
Advertising is finding it's way into the actual story of the show. "Organically" was the proper terminology they used.
The product is integrated into the story in some way, and actually mentioned or is part of the sets, etc.
For example: Mad Men had an episode where they were finding a way to advertise Heineken beer for women. Heineken paid for this spot, and the product was used profusely during the episode.
This takes me to the awesome show "Eureka" on Sci-Fi network where I felt it was quite "fun".
The story is that in this small town of Eureka, a large company, Global Dynamics, was losing money according to the DoD (Dept of Defense).
So now all projects are sponsored by "Degree" under arm deodorant to help finance their research.
Adding to this fun, regular commercials have been created and are playing on the station (and on the website if you click through above. you can see a banner). These commercials use a "AI" styled robot who is slightly goofy (like the Sherrif, the main character of Eureka) who is AMAZED over how well the deodorant works. All within futuristic settings.
Hilarious.
Ok, so this is a long post and so far, I have yet to discuss the main topic.
How does this involve MMO's?
As of late we have seen the playfulness of our MMO's of choice using funny names or things that represent real world objects.
WoW now even has the Harley in game! (woot?).
But, we can see the execs, their brains trying to wrap around this audience who is NOT watching TV, and how they can sell their products NOW! within the MMO universe.
So, I got a hold of a memo from the "We do it betterz" advertising agency on how they plan to approach these MMO's of choice.
Look at some of these great idea's.
World of Warcraft - They will now have it so each food vendor will be advertised on the main map with a large "Golden Arch". People will eat Big Mac's to renew health, and drink "Coca Cola" to gain mana.
Their motto is "Over10 11 million served in Azeroth"
Warhammer Online - Trying to play catchup, all dwarven females will be given red pig tails, and all male dwarves will be bearded (whats new) but will all have crowns.
Their motto is "But we grill ours, or if you wish we can get you a frosty"
Age of Conan - Now all clothing that you cannot seem to find in game will be sold at one store...Victorias Secret.
Their motto? "Told you we were mature...no really.."
LOTRO - Lately people have noticed strange new markings on their maps in game, but not too many know about them yet. They look mysteriously like Golden Arches.
Their motto is "We are going to be almost as big as those other guys. Call us No. 2"
I am still investigating, and will report when I have found more of these mysterious ways that advertising will be integrated in our MMO's down the road.
With listings of various winners of last nights awards.
One big winner was Mad Men on AMC.
Basically the show talks about big business and advertisers during the 60's.
This then segued into a piece on the new ways of product placement or called "Product Injection.
Advertising is finding it's way into the actual story of the show. "Organically" was the proper terminology they used.
The product is integrated into the story in some way, and actually mentioned or is part of the sets, etc.
For example: Mad Men had an episode where they were finding a way to advertise Heineken beer for women. Heineken paid for this spot, and the product was used profusely during the episode.
This takes me to the awesome show "Eureka" on Sci-Fi network where I felt it was quite "fun".
The story is that in this small town of Eureka, a large company, Global Dynamics, was losing money according to the DoD (Dept of Defense).
So now all projects are sponsored by "Degree" under arm deodorant to help finance their research.
Adding to this fun, regular commercials have been created and are playing on the station (and on the website if you click through above. you can see a banner). These commercials use a "AI" styled robot who is slightly goofy (like the Sherrif, the main character of Eureka) who is AMAZED over how well the deodorant works. All within futuristic settings.
Hilarious.
Ok, so this is a long post and so far, I have yet to discuss the main topic.
How does this involve MMO's?
As of late we have seen the playfulness of our MMO's of choice using funny names or things that represent real world objects.
WoW now even has the Harley in game! (woot?).
But, we can see the execs, their brains trying to wrap around this audience who is NOT watching TV, and how they can sell their products NOW! within the MMO universe.
So, I got a hold of a memo from the "We do it betterz" advertising agency on how they plan to approach these MMO's of choice.
Look at some of these great idea's.
World of Warcraft - They will now have it so each food vendor will be advertised on the main map with a large "Golden Arch". People will eat Big Mac's to renew health, and drink "Coca Cola" to gain mana.
Their motto is "Over
Warhammer Online - Trying to play catchup, all dwarven females will be given red pig tails, and all male dwarves will be bearded (whats new) but will all have crowns.
Their motto is "But we grill ours, or if you wish we can get you a frosty"
Age of Conan - Now all clothing that you cannot seem to find in game will be sold at one store...Victorias Secret.
Their motto? "Told you we were mature...no really.."
LOTRO - Lately people have noticed strange new markings on their maps in game, but not too many know about them yet. They look mysteriously like Golden Arches.
Their motto is "We are going to be almost as big as those other guys. Call us No. 2"
I am still investigating, and will report when I have found more of these mysterious ways that advertising will be integrated in our MMO's down the road.
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