tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post4345615484008720130..comments2023-10-17T08:35:27.492-07:00Comments on Ixobelle (archived): Darkfall Final ImpressionsRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-47652700181878892452009-03-25T19:23:00.000-07:002009-03-25T19:23:00.000-07:00melf,yeah, the gambling analogy works, and so does...melf,<BR/><BR/>yeah, the gambling analogy works, and so does drugs, I suppose.<BR/><BR/>I did all kinds of horrible drugs when I was younger, and ended up coming out on the other end of some freaky shit just being a pothead eventually. I used to smoke a lot of weed, like everyday. I reached a point where I wasn't even getting really "high" in the sense that other people seem to think of it... I'd just smoke ridiculous amounts of weed and just be like... "fucking weird" for a few hours. Like sitting on the couch watching some random ass show on the spanish channel or just zoning out doing nothing at all. It wasn't really very 'fun', but it was so ingrained that that's what my friends and I 'just did'. We'd sometimes come up with an idea for the day (let's go to ___.) and then right before we went out the door we'd just blaze, and either totally lose inspiration to do anything at all, or go out and do "plan A" but in a situation where we totally could not function as cognizant human beings.<BR/><BR/>It was all very silly. Eventually I just stopped smoking weed, and this was shortly before I decided to come to japan-- where marijuana, or any drug, is all but nonexistant. They drink like fish, hoo boy, yeah... but they don't do drugs of any kind (at least not in my neck of the woods, or perhaps I just wasn't looking?). <BR/><BR/>of course, no one wants to compare their mmo addiction to a drug habit, but gambling and drugs are a relevant fit for some people. they log in, just out of habit, but then don't really have any goal, and just waste time standing around the mailbox doing "nothing". <BR/><BR/>At the end of BC, I botted my rogue to farm flask gold and respec moeny etc. Analogy-wise, I was over my head in the deep end of the gambling scene, borrowing money I didn't have? I don't know what the analogy would be... but I got "arrested" and thrown in the drunk tank (banned).<BR/><BR/>When I sobered up (stopped playing WoW for a period), I realized that I did enjoy playing wow, and there were parts I missed, but I don't take it so seriously anymore. <BR/><BR/>It's okay to have a beer with a steak dinner, but I don't need to drink a whole bottle of jack in one sitting. forcing yourself to walk the middle ground is hard, and is why many alcoholics can't have "just one beer". They choose instead to go completely cold turkey for the rest of their lives.<BR/><BR/>I like beer, though ;) I like trying the various flavors out there (of MMOs). It's my genre of choice, because there's so much to do in a well crafted one. Eventually, though, you hit the bottom of the bag, and you're going thru the ashtray rolling roaches back up into fresh blunts because you're out of fresh content. That's when people get cranky, as we're seeing right now in the WoW community. A general sense of apathy, or desire for Ulduar to hurry the fuck up and be released.<BR/><BR/>my analogies always get really far off tangent, but I think you see where I'm going with it.<BR/><BR/>any hobby can go too far. The guy who ignores his wife because the superbowl (omg!) is on, or that beats his wife/kids when the home team loses. football isn't addictive, though, right? This is a whole other conversation, though...<BR/><BR/>I've been to the dark side of wow, where I played way too much, way too seriously. It was ugly. The fun was totally gone.<BR/><BR/>now i take it in moderation, and can enjoy it for what it is, or what it's supposed to be, anyway: a game.<BR/><BR/>beer isn't meant to be some life ruining huge thing. It's a beverage. Some people just take it too far, and screw themselves up in the process.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-62548453173669178002009-03-25T15:48:00.000-07:002009-03-25T15:48:00.000-07:00Honestly, I don't see baseball as a good analogy. ...Honestly, I don't see baseball as a good analogy. If it's closest to a 'real world' game, it's gambling. Little skill required, addictive, and people keep playing even when it stops becoming fun.<BR/><BR/>Let me ask you this: why did you try Darkfall if you're happy with WoW? For that matter, why is it only MMO's that you want to try?Melf_Himselfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09989146159619414666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-49838009118510555252009-03-25T14:03:00.000-07:002009-03-25T14:03:00.000-07:00I got quoted.I still have yet to figure out if it ...I got quoted.<BR/><BR/>I still have yet to figure out if it was sarcasm or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-59027032490510929052009-03-25T06:18:00.000-07:002009-03-25T06:18:00.000-07:00Well, at least you got syncaine really, really ang...Well, at least you got syncaine <A HREF="http://syncaine.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/a-final-trip-into-the-mind-of-a-wow-tourist/" REL="nofollow">really, really angry</A>. :)Toboldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04354082945218389596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-24769517811856966642009-03-24T18:19:00.000-07:002009-03-24T18:19:00.000-07:00@rob:yeah. I actually know that, and was using an ...@rob:<BR/><BR/>yeah. I actually know that, and was using an overtly bad example so it didn't become some big side tangent. I could have (perhaps should have?) chosen the Feebleworfs and Dinglenuuzers as my fictitious religion and oppressive forces, but chose to go with a conflict people immediately pick up on (jews and nazis), while still throwing jesus around as another symbol that people could immediately associate with religion, etc etc etc. <BR/><BR/>I never try to step on toes, and was kinda trying to be so over the top that it was obviously "just an example". Joseph Smith and Buddah will be making guest appearances while reading from the Qur'an and snacking on Muslim beanpies to even everything out later.<BR/><BR/>Sumimasen deshitta.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-14025906584843504372009-03-24T17:57:00.000-07:002009-03-24T17:57:00.000-07:00@Khatib: I started five or six months after releas...@Khatib: I started five or six months after release, took me a long time to hit 60 though, and even longer to start doing anything. I've found people who are either extremely goal driven or extremely apathetic tend to stick by WoW, but I haven't figured out which I am yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-44655994020686777522009-03-24T13:22:00.000-07:002009-03-24T13:22:00.000-07:00Your comment about Jews was, well, pretty uninform...Your comment about Jews was, well, pretty uninformed. Being Jewish doesn't just mean having the religion of Judaism. Jewish is a culture and a race. The Nazis didn't ask what people believed: they knew people were Jews based on their names, their appearance, their jobs, and so on.<BR/><BR/>Even if a Jew were to say "no I'm not a Jew!" he would still be a Jew. The Nazis didn't commit the Holocaust because of what Jews believed, but because of they were.<BR/><BR/>Sidenote: Jews don't believe in Jesus, nor repentance, nor hell.Robert Standeferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00510465351708017292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-45346015526161746322009-03-24T05:35:00.000-07:002009-03-24T05:35:00.000-07:00^^^ Ever heard of Nihilum or SK Gaming? Nihilum ma...^^^ Ever heard of Nihilum or SK Gaming? Nihilum made a retarded sum of money for being the "world first" at all kills through Black Temple.<BR/><BR/>Not to mention the PVP tournaments that some people are godlike at, they make money.<BR/><BR/>Eventually bliz became sick of the nihilum/sk bullshit because it made them look like their game was too easy, which, it is.Tragedyxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09954995686471263165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-53605694673823681192009-03-23T10:00:00.000-07:002009-03-23T10:00:00.000-07:00Isn't the big difference between MLB and WoW that ...Isn't the big difference between MLB and WoW that we don't make millions of US$ killing dragons for "Dorks R Us".<BR/><BR/>The analogy might hold on a rec league level, but then, I don't play any rec league sport for **8 hours a night** like i did when i was "hard core" raiding MC/BWL/AQ back in the day'o.<BR/><BR/>The closest i've come is playing college rugby 4 times a night, but then practices lasted for 1-2 hours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-27433937927826171072009-03-23T00:34:00.000-07:002009-03-23T00:34:00.000-07:00I've never played any other MMO, well, barely any ...I've never played any other MMO, well, barely any other game, than WoW. So I didn't read this post to begin with. I don't know about Darkfall, I can't relate to it at all. But then I came around and read it anyway because it's Ixobelle. And I'm glad I did.<BR/>I just wanted to give you credit for being such an awesome writer. You've got passion, style, temper... Your blogposts sparkle. And that's rare. It's a pleasure to read. Just wanted to let you know.Larísahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05769822260333419777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-68937346523271589952009-03-21T22:11:00.000-07:002009-03-21T22:11:00.000-07:00Side note, I played an hour or so of AoC today... ...Side note, I played an hour or so of AoC today... I forgot how much I love getting fatalities and all the quality blood/gore/grit that game has over something cartoony. Really nice change of pace. WoW's style is a fun style too, but I especially got sick of the overly "anime" item, how they kept getting bigger and bigger and flashier and more and more ridiculous and less like real weapons/armor at every new tier.<BR/><BR/>The new 55-65 zone is also pretty cool and my assassin is still only level 57, so perfect timing for that new zone. But overall, I feel like I'm playing a mediocre console RPG. Like if it's Mass Effect, I might play through once on good and once on evil, or once as a few different classes. With AoC... it's more like "Well, I'll run through all the content, take a good look at it.... but then I'm probably done with it." So I'll probably play like 10 hours a week for this one month I resubbed, check out all the new non-raid content and enjoy it, but then be done with the game.Khatibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05307234341938156633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-42699213707382781882009-03-21T17:38:00.000-07:002009-03-21T17:38:00.000-07:00hardly everyone who plays baseball does it because...hardly everyone who plays baseball does it because they're in the major leagues.<BR/><BR/>so maybe 'an MLB game' isn't a fair comparison, but just baseball in general.<BR/><BR/>even baseball takes 22 people to play, so let's say three on three basketball to even slim it down further.<BR/><BR/>nobody in the middle of a pick up game is like 'god, bouncing this stupid ball over and over and throwing it in the hoop is so pointless'. generally, if you have the ball in your hand and you're standing on a basketball court, you're already on the same page as the other people there that 'I've come to the court today to play some ball and have a good time'.<BR/><BR/>there are those who need to feel the need that they're better than others, and they can play more competitively than the next guy, but it's a game.<BR/><BR/>when I log into an MMO with my hand on my Nostromo (regardless of which one), I effectively have the ball in my hand, and am stepping on to the court.<BR/><BR/>bringing it back to darkfall (which was what this post began as), I guess they play gritty ghetto ball. an elbow in the face is just part of the game, and nobody at Rucker Park in Manhattan is going to call a timeout for a foul, they just play differently.<BR/><BR/>I guess I'm a bitch, because I prefer the WoW ruleset. it's not *better*, just different... and the one I prefer. : /Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-66305811466201677472009-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:002009-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00"who cares indeed? I think a game of MLB baseball ..."who cares indeed? I think a game of MLB baseball is actually a pretty good analogy,"<BR/><BR/>Yeah, but baseball has consequence. If you suck, you'll make less money, and if you suck a lot, you'll get your ass kicked to the curb.<BR/><BR/>It also has pretty solid actual competition, culminating in win or go home playoff style situations. Not win or "keep trying forever and ever, losing doesn't really hurt you at all" situations.Khatibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05307234341938156633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-70019566431963979162009-03-21T02:34:00.000-07:002009-03-21T02:34:00.000-07:00Sure there is. Only, not so much magical, as happy...<I>Sure there is. Only, not so much magical, as happy feel-good hormones your brain releases because you're addicted to WoW. Unless it's the awesome gameplay that keeps you coming back...</I><BR/><BR/>yeah, but i can honestly say that I play it for enjoyment...<BR/><BR/>people hate it and quit, I can dig it, but at the same time I don't analyze my leisure time under a microscope.<BR/><BR/>How would you feel about a pitcher that, during the middle of the World Series was suddenly like:<BR/><BR/>HEY. FUCK! THIS IS TOTALLY STUPID! WE THROW THE BALL AT EACH OTHER, OVER AND OVER FOR NINE INNINGS AT A TIME... BUT AT THE END, IT IS EVENTUALLY OVER! NOTHING MATTERS! SO I STRUCK SOMEONE OUT, SO WHAT! BOBBY HIT A SACRIFICE FLY! WHO CARES!<BR/><BR/>aka:<BR/><BR/>SO I RAN NAXX AGAIN FOR THE 50th TIME. WHO CARES!! NONE OF IT *MATTERS*...<BR/><BR/>who cares indeed? I think a game of MLB baseball is actually a pretty good analogy, because at the end of the day, none of it MATTERS. yes, the Giants are one game closer to the 'trophy', and at the end of naxx I am one step closer to being 'fully geared'.. BUT ARE WE ANY CLOSER TOWARDS WORLD PEACE?<BR/><BR/>don't be ridiculous. of course we aren't. <BR/><BR/>IT'S A GAME. we play it to pass the time, and enjoy ourselves.<BR/><BR/>whether that "pass time" ("PAST TIME", ZOMG breakthrough! wink wink) is WoW, or Baseball, or "Age of Conan" doesn't matter.<BR/><BR/>my flavor for passing the time is WoW. It doesn't make me wrong. nor does you choosing anything else make you RIGHT.<BR/><BR/>that's my point, and perhaps one of the driving points of this entire blog, and you've only re-enforced it, if anything.<BR/><BR/><3Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-70773383086500079392009-03-20T19:47:00.000-07:002009-03-20T19:47:00.000-07:00"Every time I try a new MMO, I come into it with a..."Every time I try a new MMO, I come into it with an open mind. There's no magical force keeping me bound to WoW"<BR/><BR/>Sure there is. Only, not so much magical, as happy feel-good hormones your brain releases because you're addicted to WoW. Unless it's the awesome gameplay that keeps you coming back...Melf_Himselfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09989146159619414666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-74401192173881788992009-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:002009-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:00If you want people to be more afraid of death and ...<I>If you want people to be more afraid of death and make it mean something, why not implement it in such a way that you gain renown when you win fights and lose it when you die, or by some other risk/reward mechanic. Being completely disabled every time you rez means that players can no longer have meaningful, interesting challenge (they can't participate in any actual battles), and instead are dropped into a toiling mini-game of getting back to their corpse. Punish them for losses another way, while still letting them participate in the real game.</I><BR/><BR/>agh, hatch! nail. head. hit. pow.<BR/><BR/>THIS sums up why I prefer WoW, I think, more elegantly than my ramblings could have. The INSTANT you die in Darkfall you become worhtless. Imagine a city siege with 40 on 40.<BR/><BR/>5 minutes into the siege, half the people are going to be running around naked. They won't 'go home', they'll just continue to throw themselves on your sword over and over wearing underwear and weilding a level 1 grey sword.<BR/><BR/>how is that fun for ANYONE but the person that still has their armor on? and how does that persom still have their armor on, except by sheer luck that they weren't chosen by the zerg?<BR/><BR/>In the above example, you could argue 'well, I took up a defensive position on the ramparts, and blah blah blah', but nobody PLAYS these games like that. It's a zerg. period. If 20 naked people jump on you with underwear and level 1 swords, you will eventually die.<BR/><BR/>If you're going to argue that extreme, then make death be a 15 minute respawn timer. Why be able to rez instantly, but be totally useless? Then at least a 40 on 40 fight would be over in 3 minutes, with clear winners and losers.<BR/><BR/>honestly, my ideal combat system is slow and painful. With each swing taking considerable effort and running being some slow ordeal. That probably doesn't sound very 'fun', but I imagine it would be more along the lines of how combat in platemail would actually work out. Lots of just banging your sword against a helmet that does no real DAMAGE, other than to just tire you and your opponent out. Then, if you make a surgical strike at an exposed elbow joint and get a bleed going, you earned it.<BR/><BR/>see more here, from oct, 2008: http://www.ixobelle.com/2008/10/re-combat.html<BR/><BR/>the point though, is that WoW recognizes that this isn't how combat works (sadly), and adjusts accordingly. Darkfall uses the same combat system (zerg is the tactic), but the instant you die in the middle of a crowd, you feel singled out, even thought nobody was really AIMING at you, you just caught an unlucky whack.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01024497755617725448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-58110152385962154542009-03-20T15:12:00.000-07:002009-03-20T15:12:00.000-07:00Good points Khatib.My pet peeves of MMOs are- maki...Good points Khatib.<BR/><BR/>My pet peeves of MMOs are<BR/><BR/>- making traveling accessible and automatic ("flight points" everywhere)<BR/>- Making traveling instant (summon/hearth/portals/battlemasters)<BR/>- Near zero death penalties.<BR/>- "Everyone pays $15 a month and should have access to everything, and be powerful". It used to be reserved for a dedicated few to see the end-game content, or be restricted to upper tier crafting. But WoW clearly made the decision that EVERYONE should be able to get everything since they are paying customers.<BR/>- Lastly: No MULTIPLAYER in a multiplayer game. WoW after BC became a MSORPG; massively singleplayer online rpg. You don't really need to talk to anyone. You solo to level cap, you solo your crafting for your own purposes, then you solo your way through the battlegrounds for epix.<BR/><BR/>When death knights came out, I remember people saying "OH NO, THEN THEY'LL HIT 80 AND WON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY DUNJUNS". As if you learn ANYTHING except where the WASD keys are on your keyboard during leveling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-26504944196404930342009-03-20T12:52:00.000-07:002009-03-20T12:52:00.000-07:00You brought up a VERY important difference that ex...You brought up a VERY important difference that exists between what some people say is easy/hard/hardcore/etc and some things that get lost in translation with those words. BUT... I'm gonna have to disagree with a lot of the things you listed as "toil" being actually MEANINGLESS toil.<BR/><BR/><I>1) Having to walk everywhere (no hearthstone or mount)</I><BR/><BR/>Now, I think most games have a hearthstone system, and mounts, in general. Those are pretty standard.<BR/><BR/>But a lot of games make travel difficult, take a lot of time, etc. Some games on the other hand have fast travel spells, or flight points, carriage points, whatever all over the world.<BR/><BR/>Now in the kinds of games I prefer, you'd have a large world with no instances... you could have zones, I'd be OK with zones. Like AoC has (but not sub instanced) or like SWG had... (planets you fly to so they were zoned from each other but were seemless on their own). And of course the game would be FFA PvP.<BR/><BR/>Having fewer travel options gives you a better chance to run into people, and more random interactions. This is a good thing.<BR/><BR/>Also, in a game like Vanguard, which is decidedly PvE -- they have an INCREDIBLY explorable world with non instanced dungeons hidden all over the place. SWG also had some really cool stuff hidden in the middle of nowhere on their maps. Ancient temples, random caves full of mobs/chests/etc, old spaceship crash sites, Krayt Dragon skeletons. Stuff that made it FUN to randomly run all over in the middle of nowhere, even though you didn't have a quest telling you to go there.<BR/><BR/>That makes for a way cooler game imo than one that tells you exactly where to go, what to do there, and when to come back, and then makes it overly simplified to do nothing else but that.<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>2) No mail system</I><BR/><BR/>This is a tricky one. You can't get by without a mail system, and it would be tough for me to get used to a game with no item mail again after playing several with it... but SWG didn't have it, and while a hassle at times, it was cool, because you actually had to go meet your crafter, face to face, often at their player owned house (which were usually decorated so you got to see them) in their player built city, which again you got to check out their layout... But yeah, you got face to face and met people. You didn't need mules, you had a house that could hold like 250 items for you and a bank that could hold a ton as well.<BR/><BR/>I think item mail is one of those things that just undermines community in the long run. It's a nice convenience... and I liked it at first when I switched from SWG and L2 to WoW... but the more I realized what it does overall, the less I like it.<BR/><BR/><I>3) Having to use chat to do trading that could be done more conveniently on an AH</I><BR/><BR/>Again, the face to face thing is great. And in SWG, you could place vendor robots that were basically a privately owned AH. These were great. Again, forcing you to go out and travel. See the world, meet players, etc. Good stuff.<BR/><BR/><I>4) A shitty interface that gives no information and little flexibility</I><BR/><BR/>In general, I think non-flexible UIs will be a thing of the past. I do think WoW's allows you to let scripts and mods play too much of the game for you, but that's a whole other discussion. But shitty UI's suck, this is a universal, and modding is nice.<BR/><BR/><I>5) Overly harsh death penalties</I><BR/><BR/>Of course the key word there is overly, and that is subjective. I think complete lack of death penalties really bring a game down though. But then again, I'm one of the people who thinks if you lose you should lose, and the whole point of a game is not to lose it. Rather than most of the current MMOs which seem to have the viewpoint of "No one loses, and if you just keep banging your head against the wall, you'll win eventually." Meh.<BR/><BR/><I>Those are all things that don't add anything except busywork to the game.</I><BR/><BR/>My main point is that busywork that leads to people being social, is not just busy work and it's an integral part to making an MMO an MMO. <BR/><BR/>Anyone played Fable II multiplayer? You run around playing Fable II single player, and if another person is around, you get this glowing orb on your screen where they would be. If you choose to go over to it and interact, you can then play with them, and group with them. If you choose not, they're just a glowing orb that doesn't mean shit to you.<BR/><BR/>That's how most MMOs are getting to be these days. Single player theme park games with a very selective multiplayer element that is there by choice for you.<BR/><BR/>An MMO -- to me -- should be a huge collaborative world where you are thrown amongst, and into, random people whom you then have to figure how to exist with, and being forced to co exist with them, rather than choosing if they even exist in your world in the first place or not.<BR/><BR/>That make any sense?<BR/><BR/>People think most PK types and people who want FFA PvP games and the like are all a bunch of total griefers and dickheads. Truth is, some of the most mature gamers I know are the ones who want a PvP game. Not so they can be total dickheads, but so they are free to make ANY choice they want in interacting with other people, because you only get a true sense of someone if your interactions aren't limited by rules of protection. And that's what makes MMOs great. Tons of random interactions with random people.Khatibhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05307234341938156633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-65792726293995069932009-03-20T12:14:00.000-07:002009-03-20T12:14:00.000-07:00One thing I think is missing from this discussion ...One thing I think is missing from this discussion is an establishment of the difference between wanting things to be:<BR/><BR/>1) "Easy" (the opposite of "challenging") <BR/><BR/>and <BR/><BR/>2) "Not meaningless toil"<BR/><BR/>Those are two different things.<BR/><BR/>Examples of things that are "toil" rather than "challenging":<BR/><BR/>1) Having to walk everywhere (no hearthstone or mount)<BR/>2) No mail system<BR/>3) Having to use chat to do trading that could be done more conveniently on an AH<BR/>4) A shitty interface that gives no information and little flexibility<BR/>5) Overly harsh death penalties<BR/><BR/>Those are all things that don't add anything except busywork to the game. Sure, you can't teleport everywhere, because then your location becomes meaningless. But if you have to walk back to town bored through the areas you already cleared and explored every time you want to go there, and thus tack 1/2 hour of complete boredom onto the end of every play session, that's busy work. Sure it's *harder*, but it's not fun.<BR/><BR/>"Easy" is too broad a definition for what WoW did that UO/EQ/Vangaurd/Darkfall didn't. WoW is certainly easier, but that's not its main appeal or innovation. WoW's accomplishment is reducing the pointless and tedious inconveniences. If you die, you still lose some time and money, but not XP or gear. You still didn't achieve your goal if you are dead, it's not like you can just die over and over to get quest completes; you have to actually win.<BR/><BR/>If you want people to be more afraid of death and make it mean something, why not implement it in such a way that you gain renown when you win fights and lose it when you die, or by some other risk/reward mechanic. Being completely disabled every time you rez means that players can no longer have meaningful, interesting challenge (they can't participate in any actual battles), and instead are dropped into a toiling mini-game of getting back to their corpse. Punish them for losses another way, while still letting them participate in the real game.<BR/><BR/>If you are designing a game, the way to make it more difficult is to add *interesting challenge*, not drudgery for drudgery's sake. Don't ask a player to prove herself by demonstrating precisely how much manure she's willing to slog through. What I'm trying to say is that there is a difference between "challenging" (opposite of "easy") and "toil" (opposite of fun).<BR/><BR/><BR/>So dismissing the conveniences of WoW as "well some people are just lazy and like things that are easy instead of preferring everything to be miserable and tedious work" is disingenuous. <BR/><BR/>If you just don't like wow, that's another matter entirely. :)Hatchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03615033343005638291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-55377131279517776332009-03-20T11:48:00.000-07:002009-03-20T11:48:00.000-07:00In response to Ixo's original post:1) My stance is...In response to Ixo's original post:<BR/><BR/>1) My stance is: talking about religion or politics in your gaming blog is asking for trouble. Feel free to do it, I'm not going to try to stop you, but wow you are asking for a shitstorm. :)<BR/><BR/>2) "...you could probably sell a few hundred thousand copies of the box alone to the 'at least it's not WoW demographic'. You wouldn't even need to set up a billing department, since no one would actually SUBSCRIBE to your game, they'd just buy the box, spend a week with it, then move back to whatever they were playing before." QUOTED FOR TRUTH<BR/><BR/>3) Actually give City of Heroes/Villains a try. It's not THA BEST MMO EVAR, but I bet it will at least keep your attention longer than Warhammer, unless you have some aversion to superheroes. Or just wait for Champions to come out in the next few months.Hatchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03615033343005638291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-35122800806288551712009-03-20T10:52:00.000-07:002009-03-20T10:52:00.000-07:00Ixo, It's time you have given a LOTRO another try....Ixo, <BR/><BR/>It's time you have given a LOTRO another try. The game has greatly improved since its release. <BR/><BR/><BR/>http://www.lotro.com/trial/index.php<BR/><BR/>There is a 10 day free trial they are currently running.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-31144875519322799052009-03-20T10:48:00.000-07:002009-03-20T10:48:00.000-07:00@bonedead"What would happen if I went onto a WoW s...@bonedead<BR/><BR/>"What would happen if I went onto a WoW server and started saying this game needs player cities and full loot and close down the BGs because Darkfall does it? The same thing that syncaine is saying except probably at least 5 times more juvenile because we all know regional chat in WoW is pretty friggin stupid"<BR/><BR/>I think you would get a fair amount of agreement actually at least on the Player Housing. But yeah you'd get a lot of the same asshattedness Syn is spouting..it doesn't make it any better that he is doing it. The people who resort to that in WoW tend ot be ignored. When you are trying to make a point or have a discussion actually stating those points without devolving in to personal insults is much more effective.<BR/><BR/>It is his blog and he can post whatever he wants but as I said it's made me not like it all that much anymore. Does me not liking the style in anyway effect him, no but hey I can have my opinion to :P<BR/><BR/>As for what Melee class.<BR/><BR/>I started in beta and then at release with a Marauder got him to 20something. Then my guild went Order so we would have somebody to actually fight (population imbalance ftw) and I rolled a Witch Hunter. That was fun up until about level 18 but I kept playing him until I hit level 37 and went..fuck this it isn't fun. Class mechanics were changing on an almost weekly basis. Overall the Melee DPS was way too squishy with not enough damage output Rolled a tank and proceeded to steamroll people as now I had survivabilty and great DPS.<BR/><BR/>I also rolled up a Bright Wizard and a Shadow Warrior though neither got very high before I left WAR so it would get its shit together and I could give it another try at a later date.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-55678167603918028162009-03-20T10:31:00.000-07:002009-03-20T10:31:00.000-07:00Spot on about the whole "omg dis is so much better...Spot on about the whole "omg dis is so much better dan wow guysh" spam every new wannabe mmo is spammed with.<BR/><BR/>Its funny how one sided the mmo market truly is at the moment, are blizzard really the only ones who can make a decent mmo, or is nobody really trying ?<BR/><BR/>To the last poster, your analogy kind of fails, prices will go up ah regardless of rmt, as mains who can get 50g from a few dailys will then inflate the cost level 10 greens at ah by buying them for alts. The poor level 10 however can simply counter this by putting up stacks of copper for 5g.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-68010175469025029682009-03-20T09:58:00.000-07:002009-03-20T09:58:00.000-07:00@TeshRMT IS devil spawn! Haha. It can have negat...@Tesh<BR/><BR/>RMT IS devil spawn! Haha. It can have negative affects on new players though. Look at WoW. When people buy gold the prices on everything goes up because now everyone has a lot of gold or is expected to (by the majority who think RMT is a-okay). A new player coming into the game tries to buy a new weapon at level 12 or 15 and everything better than what his current weapon is twice the amount of money he has. Now you could say "Well he's level 15 he doesn't need to buy a new weapon."<BR/><BR/>I don't know exactly what that has to do with what you said (maybe I'm being a prime example of what you're talking about) but RMT does affect the games and could be classified as le devil spawn.<BR/><BR/>I'm sure you know this but not everyone in Darkfall is playing it to solely make people miserable. It is where those people are right now (some in EVE too I'm sure), but there are plenty of other people who enjoy being a part of a guild, using teamwork, competing against others, and of course winning.<BR/><BR/><3 BonedeadBonedeadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05160784265909561832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7563653272708826682.post-71638481881832674492009-03-20T09:37:00.000-07:002009-03-20T09:37:00.000-07:00@Random PosterYeah, you're right. I think they rea...@Random Poster<BR/><BR/>Yeah, you're right. I think they realised that money is better than love from your fans.<BR/><BR/>Also, just read Ixobelles review of Warhammer.<BR/><BR/>God damn that was spot on. The clunky combat and lying dev videocasts on youtube is what killed it for me.<BR/><BR/>Fuck, haha, I remember some twat dev talking all orgazmically about how AWESOME and GUT RIPPING the RvR was going to be YOURRE GOING TO TAKE TROPHIES OF PEOPLES HEADS AND STICK THEM ON YOUR BODY AND WARHAMMER IS AWESOME!<BR/><BR/>Little did i know he was NOT a dev. He's a SALES GUY.<BR/><BR/>and i fucking bought that collector's edition hook line and sinker.... I got into Guild beta, and never installed the released game. <BR/><BR/>I hate peopleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com