Seriously. If there is just one aspect of our lives that you would truly think people would learn from, it would be the MMO market. Considering how much time we all spend within it. Yet, every new MMO that comes down the pike is trumpeted to the tunes of the "WoW-killer" or the "best MMO evah!", or the like. Every. One. I would like to point the community to the dictionary and ask that you all look up the word "lemming". Then I would like to direct your attention to the axiom that a "fool and their money are soon parted".
Aion is apparently beginning to feel what other games have experienced in the recent past, if you believe what players are saying. Games such as WAR, LotRO, AOC, and Aion were marketed at a fanatical pace, and game sites and blogs galore spoke glowingly about each of them . Seldom was heard a disparaging word about any of these games in the months leading up to their release, and the people who frequent those game sites and blogs ate up the praise like it was mana from heaven.
Though the community at large bears a very healthy helping of responsibility for the mess that is now the MMO market, I think another healthy helping belongs to sites like Massively, MMORPG, Ten Ton Hammer, Eurogamer, and others. These sites quite often act as mouth pieces for the developers and hardly ever critique or offer critical analysis of a game during development or beta. True, many things often change during development, but the point is the community at large do not think critically and if you are going to take on the roll of a journalist, then you must also take on the responsibility of one as well. You have a responsibility to point out the downside while also pointing out the upside or else, in my view, you lose a level of credibility.
And that is something I strive very hard to maintain here at Iggeps Realm. Despite my love for the Star Wars franchise, I have been quite vocal about my concerns with the Old Republic. Likewise with Star Trek Online. And anyone can see my often scathing criticism of Blizzard for it's handling of various issues with WoW. I may not be as large, or command a following of loyal readers like many other blogs out there, but I can assure you that no level of notoriety will ever change my core beliefs. I will not sell glowing coverage of any game for a free beta pass or comp subscription.
Showing posts with label AION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AION. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Syncaine has one interpretation
I have another. He's said it before, though I think the situation is greatly more complicated than I've seen him allude to, and that is the whole debate surrounding hardcore vs. casual. Or more apropos, "sand-box" vs. "theme-park". The gaming market is but a microcosm of larger society, though in this case it's complicated by the international nature of it. Peoples in geographic regions so far apart often have very different views on things, because apparently grindy MMO's are all the rage in Asia. Not so here in the U.S. where we prefer a little more refinement from our entertainment.
And this portion of the international market has seemingly spoken as to the casual vs. hardcore debate. Games that Syncaine favor -- Darkfall for one, do not have the mass appeal that he would like them to have, and he's blaming all the wrong things for that. It's not that people run off to test out Aion that cause the problems in his type of games, rather it's the problems in his type of games that cause people to run off to test other games. Factor in that any number of people who say they are hard core players, aren't really hard core. Either they are fooling themselves, or fooling someone else. At least part of the time. Games that offer sand-box elements, but other more casual elements tend to do reasonably well in the U.S., though what that level is no one can really say. It's all hearsay and innuendo after all. Especially because no two developers definitions on what an account is, seem to match.
The raw hard reality of sand-box MMOs is that they strictly rely on a certain population level because its the population that creates the vast majority of the entertainment. Whereas in theme-park MMOs the majority of entertainment is provided, and usually only supplemented by sand-box elements. If the population falls below a level where you will be able to sustain a reasonable level of activity in the game, then boredom quickly sets in and people look elsewhere for entertainment. The less hardcore leave quickly, and the more hardcore tend to stick around for longer. Syncaine is in the habit of blaming other games, and WoW specifically, for the ills that befall other MMOs. Like WAR, and Darkfall.
That simply isn't the case. The market always speaks, though not in a single voice, and not all at once. And the market is never wrong.
And this portion of the international market has seemingly spoken as to the casual vs. hardcore debate. Games that Syncaine favor -- Darkfall for one, do not have the mass appeal that he would like them to have, and he's blaming all the wrong things for that. It's not that people run off to test out Aion that cause the problems in his type of games, rather it's the problems in his type of games that cause people to run off to test other games. Factor in that any number of people who say they are hard core players, aren't really hard core. Either they are fooling themselves, or fooling someone else. At least part of the time. Games that offer sand-box elements, but other more casual elements tend to do reasonably well in the U.S., though what that level is no one can really say. It's all hearsay and innuendo after all. Especially because no two developers definitions on what an account is, seem to match.
The raw hard reality of sand-box MMOs is that they strictly rely on a certain population level because its the population that creates the vast majority of the entertainment. Whereas in theme-park MMOs the majority of entertainment is provided, and usually only supplemented by sand-box elements. If the population falls below a level where you will be able to sustain a reasonable level of activity in the game, then boredom quickly sets in and people look elsewhere for entertainment. The less hardcore leave quickly, and the more hardcore tend to stick around for longer. Syncaine is in the habit of blaming other games, and WoW specifically, for the ills that befall other MMOs. Like WAR, and Darkfall.
That simply isn't the case. The market always speaks, though not in a single voice, and not all at once. And the market is never wrong.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Massively on Aion
Massively posted a critique of Aion after one month. Most of which I agree with, though I of course didn't get nearly as far along as author Brooke Pilley. I had exactly the same feeling in regard to the PVE content I had access to, which is to say it was utterly boring and senseless. The type of thing - kill 10 bugs and carry their entrails to Juan over there - that one wants to do if they suffer from insomnia. It certainly doesn't rise to the level of content available from most MMOs in 2009. As I said, it's utterly boring and I was completely unmotivated to do it, yet as Brooke's critique notes, even doing those missions, you still won't get very far level wise. Also know as the "grind", you are forced to mindlessly grind (kill creatures you come across) for longer and longer periods of time as you advance through the levels, and that kind of game design is nothing short of retarded in today's market. I wasn't taken enough by the game to get truly excited about it, but game design that requires me to wander the lands doing nothing with my time but whacking bugs for hours simply isn't for me.
The other big aspect, that I found out about only after I started playing, was that around level 25 you are more or less forced into aspects of the MMO that you don't want to participate in. I've said it often enough about WoW--that they were able to dominate in the market because they successfully catered to multiple playing styles. There are PVP and PVE servers, and on PVP servers you are obvious gank bait. But on PVE servers you aren't forced into PVP unless you want to participate. That isn't the case with MMOs like Darkfall, which pride themselves with being hardcore, all the time (how's that working out for ya btw?) and MMOs like Aion, which have very linear game play and play style assumptions. You're a round ball, and they're going to fit you in a square hole. I love to PVP in the MMOs I've played, but I generally like to PVP when skills and abilities make sense and work well. I don't necessarily think that is entirely the case in AION. I believe I've mentioned my inability to make sense of the movement based buff system.
In any event, I'm happy that some are finding enjoyment in AION. I'm simply not one of them and won't bad mouth it as an MMO. I just don't think the type of game-play that seems to be the rage in Asia translates to the American market all that well.
The other big aspect, that I found out about only after I started playing, was that around level 25 you are more or less forced into aspects of the MMO that you don't want to participate in. I've said it often enough about WoW--that they were able to dominate in the market because they successfully catered to multiple playing styles. There are PVP and PVE servers, and on PVP servers you are obvious gank bait. But on PVE servers you aren't forced into PVP unless you want to participate. That isn't the case with MMOs like Darkfall, which pride themselves with being hardcore, all the time (how's that working out for ya btw?) and MMOs like Aion, which have very linear game play and play style assumptions. You're a round ball, and they're going to fit you in a square hole. I love to PVP in the MMOs I've played, but I generally like to PVP when skills and abilities make sense and work well. I don't necessarily think that is entirely the case in AION. I believe I've mentioned my inability to make sense of the movement based buff system.
In any event, I'm happy that some are finding enjoyment in AION. I'm simply not one of them and won't bad mouth it as an MMO. I just don't think the type of game-play that seems to be the rage in Asia translates to the American market all that well.
Too many options
I have been thinking more and more lately that part of the problem with some MMO's flopping is that we have too many options to choose from. The market is flooded with MMOs, and there are many more currently on the way. Back in 2003, when WoW was released there were only a small number of MMOs on the market to choose from. None of them, singularly, might have been the end all and be all of an MMO to any one individual. But because options were limited, people played MMOs that were entertaining, and stayed longer generally than I think is the case today.
One big difference, that I think WoW showed us, is that the market is quite a bit larger than it was assumed to be in 2003. WoW, with it's behemoth 11.5 mil plus accounts has certainly stretched the market. But in real terms, has it? No other MMO even comes remotely close to that level. Most games still fall in the 300,000 or less account range, which was considered quite good in 2003. Would some of those in the 300,000 range today be in the 500,000 or million account range if there were less options to choose from? Would more money availabililty to fewer developers lead to more highly polished MMOs?
Many problems with a slate of the current MMOs (WAR, AOC, AION, LotR, etc) is that core mechanics, or game play require a high population in order to keep things rolling along. Once a population falls below a certain level there simply aren't enough players there to keep the play afloat. That is especially true of games that feature strong sand-box and PVP components. But it's largely the same with other MMOs that are more PVE oriented. MMOs are by definition "multi-player" and it is intended that players will group play to some degree. If the population level is at such a level where content becomes inaccessible because other players can't be found to assist, it becomes a grave problem. Typically players will hang on for a time, but there remains a tipping point where they will eventually move on to other games.
Every developer believes they are going to make a better mouse-trap, and that is itself part of the problem. For all the grandiose claims pre-beta, every one knows that a great many of them will simply never pan out. I think it would be far better if grizzled old developers were left in charge of things to slap some of the more idealistic and bombastic claims out of the park, instead of allowing them to mold community expectations like they currently are. Much is the case with SWTOR right now. Player expectations are extremely high, and I'm having trouble accepting that some of the ideals expressed by Bioware will work well on a grand scale. Those same old Grizzled developers should shut down efforts that clearly won't be worth the effort. like about half of the MMOs listed at MMORPG.com. Playboy Manager much?
Why would I, as an interested player, want to invest myself in a game that might not be around in two years? Why put myself through a year of hell and boredom looking for people to complete some quest or dungeon with if it's going to limp off into oblivion anyway? I've already skipped several other MMOs for exactly that reason, and likely to do so for many more in the coming years.
The question isn't whether I'm willing or able to play other MMOs. Rather, the question is if developers will see the forest for the trees. They're collectivly causing the problems they are experiencing individually. Competition is one thing, and understanding how you would (or should) be able to compete is another.
One big difference, that I think WoW showed us, is that the market is quite a bit larger than it was assumed to be in 2003. WoW, with it's behemoth 11.5 mil plus accounts has certainly stretched the market. But in real terms, has it? No other MMO even comes remotely close to that level. Most games still fall in the 300,000 or less account range, which was considered quite good in 2003. Would some of those in the 300,000 range today be in the 500,000 or million account range if there were less options to choose from? Would more money availabililty to fewer developers lead to more highly polished MMOs?
Many problems with a slate of the current MMOs (WAR, AOC, AION, LotR, etc) is that core mechanics, or game play require a high population in order to keep things rolling along. Once a population falls below a certain level there simply aren't enough players there to keep the play afloat. That is especially true of games that feature strong sand-box and PVP components. But it's largely the same with other MMOs that are more PVE oriented. MMOs are by definition "multi-player" and it is intended that players will group play to some degree. If the population level is at such a level where content becomes inaccessible because other players can't be found to assist, it becomes a grave problem. Typically players will hang on for a time, but there remains a tipping point where they will eventually move on to other games.
Every developer believes they are going to make a better mouse-trap, and that is itself part of the problem. For all the grandiose claims pre-beta, every one knows that a great many of them will simply never pan out. I think it would be far better if grizzled old developers were left in charge of things to slap some of the more idealistic and bombastic claims out of the park, instead of allowing them to mold community expectations like they currently are. Much is the case with SWTOR right now. Player expectations are extremely high, and I'm having trouble accepting that some of the ideals expressed by Bioware will work well on a grand scale. Those same old Grizzled developers should shut down efforts that clearly won't be worth the effort. like about half of the MMOs listed at MMORPG.com. Playboy Manager much?
Why would I, as an interested player, want to invest myself in a game that might not be around in two years? Why put myself through a year of hell and boredom looking for people to complete some quest or dungeon with if it's going to limp off into oblivion anyway? I've already skipped several other MMOs for exactly that reason, and likely to do so for many more in the coming years.
The question isn't whether I'm willing or able to play other MMOs. Rather, the question is if developers will see the forest for the trees. They're collectivly causing the problems they are experiencing individually. Competition is one thing, and understanding how you would (or should) be able to compete is another.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
How is it doing?
Tobold asks a good question. One in which I think I would normally be saying "just fine" about this time of year, considering the Summer is over. Yet it's not. At least not that I can see. My guild is still limping along and I have all but given up on ever getting into hard modes, let alone finishing content that is actually somewhat difficult. Perhaps that has to do more with the typical player in my guild, but there are still a handful of people that left back in May and haven't come back yet.
You might have noticed from my recent blogging that I've dipped back into EVE. I don't typically play more than one MMO at a time, and for years now that has been WoW. Doing so now has entirely to do with the lack of raid progress we've been able to attain and the fact that questing/achievement attainment and endless pvp gets kind of boring after a while. You simply need something else to do. And I'm not the only one in my guild that I know are playing other games. One friend is playing EVE, two more are playing Champions Online, and a few more are still playing AION. In years past people would be back from their Summer fun and would be raring to go.
I still like WoW, but I know I am personally looking for a little more than raiding one or two nights a week. Particularly when you can't even get past the first boss on Heroic mode. Makes for rather long nights of wiping. Makes baby Jesus cry. EVE is fun, but I've already been around that block a couple times now and I know over the long term I most likely won't stick to it. It's a game that almost requires large group participation, and if you either can't find that or can't handle the costs associated with the real content in EVE, then you aren't going to be able to do anything really.
The games I am really waiting for -- The Old Republic, and Star Trek Online -- are still many moons away from final release. Star Trek Online just announced the official beginning of their beta program, but since I didn't get an invite (yet) it's not something I have a great deal to either talk about, or learn about as of yet. Still so many questions unanswered about STO in any regard. Largely the same with TOR, which has either started early closed beta, or will soon. TOR is probably the game I am most looking forward to, but as with STO, there are still so many unanswered questions.
In the mean time I will probably bounce back and forth between WoW and EVE. Something I've never done before and probably says everything that needs to be said all by itself.
You might have noticed from my recent blogging that I've dipped back into EVE. I don't typically play more than one MMO at a time, and for years now that has been WoW. Doing so now has entirely to do with the lack of raid progress we've been able to attain and the fact that questing/achievement attainment and endless pvp gets kind of boring after a while. You simply need something else to do. And I'm not the only one in my guild that I know are playing other games. One friend is playing EVE, two more are playing Champions Online, and a few more are still playing AION. In years past people would be back from their Summer fun and would be raring to go.
I still like WoW, but I know I am personally looking for a little more than raiding one or two nights a week. Particularly when you can't even get past the first boss on Heroic mode. Makes for rather long nights of wiping. Makes baby Jesus cry. EVE is fun, but I've already been around that block a couple times now and I know over the long term I most likely won't stick to it. It's a game that almost requires large group participation, and if you either can't find that or can't handle the costs associated with the real content in EVE, then you aren't going to be able to do anything really.
The games I am really waiting for -- The Old Republic, and Star Trek Online -- are still many moons away from final release. Star Trek Online just announced the official beginning of their beta program, but since I didn't get an invite (yet) it's not something I have a great deal to either talk about, or learn about as of yet. Still so many questions unanswered about STO in any regard. Largely the same with TOR, which has either started early closed beta, or will soon. TOR is probably the game I am most looking forward to, but as with STO, there are still so many unanswered questions.
In the mean time I will probably bounce back and forth between WoW and EVE. Something I've never done before and probably says everything that needs to be said all by itself.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Do you invest yourself in your characters?
I saw an interesting article last week that tickled the synapses and had to do with personal investment in our characters and how that relates to the games we play. I have related many times that Sony’s Star Wars Galaxy (SWG) was my first MMO, and that I played it from July 2002 to March 2005. With many years of MMO play under my belt now I can look back and realize what a terribly developed game SWG was. It was a near complete sand-box, which relied almost exclusively on player created content to entertain. PVP was the corner stone of the game, yet the technology of the time would not support the “massive” battles that the game advertised, and players clearly wanted. Battles over bases were like slide shows—frustratingly so.
Prior to March 2005—before the “Combat Upgrade (CU)” was released SWG had 32 different classes; had no levels, as each character was allotted a set number of skill points to spend in any tree of any class they wished; and there was absolutely no PVE content beyond a number of horrifically boring missions that you could run repetitively for money. Class balance? Let us just say that class balance was something aspired to, but never achieved.
All of which begs the question “then why did you stay and play”? First, it was my first MMO so I really didn’t know better. But more importantly I loved my characters. In fact this blog and my tech website are named for my first character (Iggep) and I continue to use that name in WoW today. I’ve come to a curious conclusion about how people generally grow attached to a game, and then stay over the long term. For many, I believe the back story, or lore, is very important. It’s what turns a 2-d experience into a 3-d experience; creates the depth into which immersion happens. It’s what sets apart MMOs like WoW from other MMOs like AION, though obviously that is just the beginning. Afterall, Mythic’s WAR has as rich a lore as Blizzard’s WoW does yet the outcome of those games is very different. And if we want an even better example, Funcom’s Age of Conan should have been the blow out MMO if the decade if Lore was the only factor that mattered. Clearly it isn’t.
Lore is the beginning and sets the tone—draws us in and creates that rich keenness of anticipation for many, but not for all. If that is the beginning then what keeps us is the tone and activity of the game and allows the player to reach that attachment to their characters. MMOs that achieve the basic tenants of player desire do well, but don’t necessarily rise to the top. Not only do those MMOs have to deliver on those core principles, but they also need a level of level polish that impresses. Games like SWG pre-CU had the lore and the immersive qualities and polish that enabled players to create those character attachments, but it also ultimately failed because it didn’t deliver on those core player desires. If it had delivered that crucial element players like me would still be playing it. Yet I believe the only people playing it now are those that started playing it after NGE. It essentially became a completely new game yet I had already let go. I’d passed onto another MMO and eventually grew immersed in it.
WoW became what it is—something that was by no means expected back in 2002 and 2003—because it had a rich back story, and enough of the immersive qualities to keep its players beyond the free month of play. And enough of those players formed strong attachments to their characters, on which the rest of the community that we see today was built. Though I have grown somewhat weary of WoW lately I continue to play because of my “oldest” character -- My Druid. If I didn’t have a character that I was that attached to I am absolutely certain I would not be playing WoW right now. I probably wouldn’t be playing any current MMO because none of them seem to deliver on what I want, other than WoW.
Even Aion doesn’t attract me. I don’t know enough about the lore of the game to get that interested, and it doesn’t deliver on enough of the core player desires. And even more importantly it doesn’t learn from previous MMO mistakes in that it more or less forces players to PVP in order to advance beyond a certain point and doesn’t cater to a varied type of content. In short it’s just another in a long list of PVP centric MMOs that ultimately relies—absolutely relies—on a high population to keep that type of content active. Once the population starts to drop there won’t be enough “content” to keep a majority of players active and happy and the population will start to drop even more dramatically. Sorry Aion, but I’ve been there and done that already and have no desire to do it again. Little known lore; few of the core desires delivered upon; content contrary to my playing tastes—means I just wasn’t all that attached to my character and didn’t see the point of continuing with the game. I gave it a shot, but I’m one of many that already cancelled within the free month of play and a lesson to NCSoft.
Developers, if you want to create truly engrossing games then select an IP that has roots. Then create a bridge that enables players to attach to their characters.
Prior to March 2005—before the “Combat Upgrade (CU)” was released SWG had 32 different classes; had no levels, as each character was allotted a set number of skill points to spend in any tree of any class they wished; and there was absolutely no PVE content beyond a number of horrifically boring missions that you could run repetitively for money. Class balance? Let us just say that class balance was something aspired to, but never achieved.
All of which begs the question “then why did you stay and play”? First, it was my first MMO so I really didn’t know better. But more importantly I loved my characters. In fact this blog and my tech website are named for my first character (Iggep) and I continue to use that name in WoW today. I’ve come to a curious conclusion about how people generally grow attached to a game, and then stay over the long term. For many, I believe the back story, or lore, is very important. It’s what turns a 2-d experience into a 3-d experience; creates the depth into which immersion happens. It’s what sets apart MMOs like WoW from other MMOs like AION, though obviously that is just the beginning. Afterall, Mythic’s WAR has as rich a lore as Blizzard’s WoW does yet the outcome of those games is very different. And if we want an even better example, Funcom’s Age of Conan should have been the blow out MMO if the decade if Lore was the only factor that mattered. Clearly it isn’t.
Lore is the beginning and sets the tone—draws us in and creates that rich keenness of anticipation for many, but not for all. If that is the beginning then what keeps us is the tone and activity of the game and allows the player to reach that attachment to their characters. MMOs that achieve the basic tenants of player desire do well, but don’t necessarily rise to the top. Not only do those MMOs have to deliver on those core principles, but they also need a level of level polish that impresses. Games like SWG pre-CU had the lore and the immersive qualities and polish that enabled players to create those character attachments, but it also ultimately failed because it didn’t deliver on those core player desires. If it had delivered that crucial element players like me would still be playing it. Yet I believe the only people playing it now are those that started playing it after NGE. It essentially became a completely new game yet I had already let go. I’d passed onto another MMO and eventually grew immersed in it.
WoW became what it is—something that was by no means expected back in 2002 and 2003—because it had a rich back story, and enough of the immersive qualities to keep its players beyond the free month of play. And enough of those players formed strong attachments to their characters, on which the rest of the community that we see today was built. Though I have grown somewhat weary of WoW lately I continue to play because of my “oldest” character -- My Druid. If I didn’t have a character that I was that attached to I am absolutely certain I would not be playing WoW right now. I probably wouldn’t be playing any current MMO because none of them seem to deliver on what I want, other than WoW.
Even Aion doesn’t attract me. I don’t know enough about the lore of the game to get that interested, and it doesn’t deliver on enough of the core player desires. And even more importantly it doesn’t learn from previous MMO mistakes in that it more or less forces players to PVP in order to advance beyond a certain point and doesn’t cater to a varied type of content. In short it’s just another in a long list of PVP centric MMOs that ultimately relies—absolutely relies—on a high population to keep that type of content active. Once the population starts to drop there won’t be enough “content” to keep a majority of players active and happy and the population will start to drop even more dramatically. Sorry Aion, but I’ve been there and done that already and have no desire to do it again. Little known lore; few of the core desires delivered upon; content contrary to my playing tastes—means I just wasn’t all that attached to my character and didn’t see the point of continuing with the game. I gave it a shot, but I’m one of many that already cancelled within the free month of play and a lesson to NCSoft.
Developers, if you want to create truly engrossing games then select an IP that has roots. Then create a bridge that enables players to attach to their characters.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Aion initial thoughts
I bought Aion last week and spent a few hours creating characters and playing. Unfortunately the long queue times prohibited me from playing more, so I haven't gotten very far yet. In fact I'm not even level 10, so my thoughts all surround the starter zones which are visibly beautiful. However, they are also colored by my experiences in other MMOs. Massively believes every MMO should be judged on it's own merits, yet that simply isn't possible. The very act of judgment is learned, and it's based upon previous experiences. Hence our MMO desires, likes and dislikes are factors of our previous experiences.
As I said, AION is quite beautiful. Not only the landscapes, but the characters are quite nice but I wasn't able to access any content where I could judge what the lag would be like later on. One thing I did notice right away however, was in the relative difference between the low level WoW experience and Aion's. In WoW you start off relatively powerful against anything you experience. You basically walk through quests and kill everything without much effort. In Aion it's not much different in that all the initial quests are brain-numbingly simple. Collect 4 of this, kill 6 of that sort of thing. But there was a surprising difference in the amount of damage you take from creatures. I was very surprised to see myself at half life on my Scout after killing two creatures.
Perhaps I am not using the movement bonus system properly, yet when I would try to give myself defensive bonuses by moving backward I quickly found myself out of range of the creatures I was attacking because I could back up faster than they could close the distance with me. And strafing to the sides to give myself avoidance bonuses didn't seem to matter much either. In the end I found it more simple to just stand at a creature and bang away at it. I'll continue to try to make some sense of the system, but thus far I see no real benefit from the contextual bonus system what so ever.
Thus far Aion reminds me much more of Warhammer than it does WoW. In WoW the zones are generally large and the questing is more non-linear, than linear in nature. You gain access to several quests at any point and can do them in any order you desire. Completing a quest will often lead to another quest (chain) and so forth. But in Aion the questing is akin to what I experienced in Warhammer where you have quest chains that you are more or less ushered to and are meant to follow those along. The quests also move you geographically along linear paths in each zone. I don't mind that per se, because there were plenty of times in WoW where I wish something similar had been implemented. WoW players often miss many quests in a zone because they simply don't know they are there, hidden away in some nook.
I appreciate that NCSoft is being cautious about rolling out new servers, but I wonder how many people like me they are turning off because they can't log into the game to play?
[edit]
Remember how I said I hadn't experienced any lag yet? Well I just logged on to excruciating lag. And everyone in general chat was complaining about it. Happens to every game from time to time though, so I wonder how much of that was due to the many people in the zone, or whether it was a server issue non-related to my specific zone. In any regard, there goes my opportunity to play Aion for the afternoon.
As I said, AION is quite beautiful. Not only the landscapes, but the characters are quite nice but I wasn't able to access any content where I could judge what the lag would be like later on. One thing I did notice right away however, was in the relative difference between the low level WoW experience and Aion's. In WoW you start off relatively powerful against anything you experience. You basically walk through quests and kill everything without much effort. In Aion it's not much different in that all the initial quests are brain-numbingly simple. Collect 4 of this, kill 6 of that sort of thing. But there was a surprising difference in the amount of damage you take from creatures. I was very surprised to see myself at half life on my Scout after killing two creatures.
Perhaps I am not using the movement bonus system properly, yet when I would try to give myself defensive bonuses by moving backward I quickly found myself out of range of the creatures I was attacking because I could back up faster than they could close the distance with me. And strafing to the sides to give myself avoidance bonuses didn't seem to matter much either. In the end I found it more simple to just stand at a creature and bang away at it. I'll continue to try to make some sense of the system, but thus far I see no real benefit from the contextual bonus system what so ever.
Thus far Aion reminds me much more of Warhammer than it does WoW. In WoW the zones are generally large and the questing is more non-linear, than linear in nature. You gain access to several quests at any point and can do them in any order you desire. Completing a quest will often lead to another quest (chain) and so forth. But in Aion the questing is akin to what I experienced in Warhammer where you have quest chains that you are more or less ushered to and are meant to follow those along. The quests also move you geographically along linear paths in each zone. I don't mind that per se, because there were plenty of times in WoW where I wish something similar had been implemented. WoW players often miss many quests in a zone because they simply don't know they are there, hidden away in some nook.
I appreciate that NCSoft is being cautious about rolling out new servers, but I wonder how many people like me they are turning off because they can't log into the game to play?
[edit]
Remember how I said I hadn't experienced any lag yet? Well I just logged on to excruciating lag. And everyone in general chat was complaining about it. Happens to every game from time to time though, so I wonder how much of that was due to the many people in the zone, or whether it was a server issue non-related to my specific zone. In any regard, there goes my opportunity to play Aion for the afternoon.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What do players really want?
It's that time again in the MMO market place where restive players are looking for new vistas. As luck would have it AION has just launched and there have been many spirited exchanges on WoW's forum over the weekend and through Tuesday's troublesome patch rollout in WoW. All of it got me thinking what is it MMO players in general really want. Obviously the community is an amlgamation and probably no two players want exactly the same thing, but I think we can still take away some lessons.
First and foremost I believe most players want a bit of freedom, with an ability to play solo. Vanilla WoW was much more centered around group play than I think we see today. For the most part a player can quest, complete dailies, craft or play the economy, and PVP entirely solo. You really only need to group if you want to run a dungeon or raid.
Secondly I believe most players want an ability to have access to all content, and I think Blizzard has done a fairly remarkable job at enabling that in Wrath. Creation of hardmodes in raids and dungeons has enabled them to tailor raid and dungeon content so that newly minted level 80s can walk into the same content as the hardest hardcore players and have different experiences.
And thirdly I believe most players want personal progression in the form of gear and equipment upgrades. Again I think Blizzard has done a good job at enabling this, and there are multiple venues through which players can achieve upward progression for their characters. The recent emblem change instituted in patch 3.1 enables players earn 4 pieces or Tier 8/7 gear relatively quickly, while simultaneously enabling players to earn Tier 9 pieces to replace those through completion of the Daily Heroic. And all without ever having to step foot in a raid instance. There is also considerable upgrade potential through PVP for those who like to PVP and a plethora of craftable gear that players have access to at various levels as well.
The threads I read through yesterday on the WoW forum are mostly in the vein of "Aion rules" and "Aion is so much better than WoW" which all point to the primary differences in that player base. The dreaded "Hardcore" vs "Casual" depiction. Hardcore players seem to be more and more despondant with WoW as each successive patch rolls out, while casual players seem to be more satisfied. Aion seems to offer those harder core players an out from WoW because it offers what WoW does not currently, for the most part. And that is that it is more centered on group effort and also makes PVP a more central aspect of the game. In other words they can "pwn noobs" and can gain access to content and gear that other less deserving people can not.
It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks and months. A few friends have purchased Aion and of course my son has too. I might jump on myself this weekend to check it out, but there have been fairly harrowing tales of how long it's taking people to actually get in the game (hours). I'm hoping that NCsoft will have made some adjustments to that by the weekend otherwise I'll be skiping that party.
One of my friends told me NCSoft rolled out only 12 servers for AION initially, which is surprising considering the number of pre-orders alone. Yet I think they are being smart. How damaging was information to Mythic regarding their server consolidations? NCSoft appears to be on top of the situation, ensuring racial balance is enforced by locking some servers to new players entirely, and opening others to only a specific race. Again, it'll be interesting to see how that works out over the next few weeks or months because the last thing I think NCSoft would want is to open a bunch of servers now only to have to announce consolidations in 2-3 months.
First and foremost I believe most players want a bit of freedom, with an ability to play solo. Vanilla WoW was much more centered around group play than I think we see today. For the most part a player can quest, complete dailies, craft or play the economy, and PVP entirely solo. You really only need to group if you want to run a dungeon or raid.
Secondly I believe most players want an ability to have access to all content, and I think Blizzard has done a fairly remarkable job at enabling that in Wrath. Creation of hardmodes in raids and dungeons has enabled them to tailor raid and dungeon content so that newly minted level 80s can walk into the same content as the hardest hardcore players and have different experiences.
And thirdly I believe most players want personal progression in the form of gear and equipment upgrades. Again I think Blizzard has done a good job at enabling this, and there are multiple venues through which players can achieve upward progression for their characters. The recent emblem change instituted in patch 3.1 enables players earn 4 pieces or Tier 8/7 gear relatively quickly, while simultaneously enabling players to earn Tier 9 pieces to replace those through completion of the Daily Heroic. And all without ever having to step foot in a raid instance. There is also considerable upgrade potential through PVP for those who like to PVP and a plethora of craftable gear that players have access to at various levels as well.
The threads I read through yesterday on the WoW forum are mostly in the vein of "Aion rules" and "Aion is so much better than WoW" which all point to the primary differences in that player base. The dreaded "Hardcore" vs "Casual" depiction. Hardcore players seem to be more and more despondant with WoW as each successive patch rolls out, while casual players seem to be more satisfied. Aion seems to offer those harder core players an out from WoW because it offers what WoW does not currently, for the most part. And that is that it is more centered on group effort and also makes PVP a more central aspect of the game. In other words they can "pwn noobs" and can gain access to content and gear that other less deserving people can not.
It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks and months. A few friends have purchased Aion and of course my son has too. I might jump on myself this weekend to check it out, but there have been fairly harrowing tales of how long it's taking people to actually get in the game (hours). I'm hoping that NCsoft will have made some adjustments to that by the weekend otherwise I'll be skiping that party.
One of my friends told me NCSoft rolled out only 12 servers for AION initially, which is surprising considering the number of pre-orders alone. Yet I think they are being smart. How damaging was information to Mythic regarding their server consolidations? NCSoft appears to be on top of the situation, ensuring racial balance is enforced by locking some servers to new players entirely, and opening others to only a specific race. Again, it'll be interesting to see how that works out over the next few weeks or months because the last thing I think NCSoft would want is to open a bunch of servers now only to have to announce consolidations in 2-3 months.
Friday, September 18, 2009
NCSoft, meet Mythic
Do they not learn from one another? Mythic launched the "most anticipated" MMO of 2008 only to fall so low that all the pre-release trumpeting caused great embarrassment within a month after release. One would think that developers would be more wary about how the marketing babble they use to attract players can come back to haunt them after release when people figure out the latest MMO isn't the "WoW Killer" after all.
As with WAR, my son convinced me to check out AION. I am apparently one of the 400,000 people who have now pre-ordered it, but NCSoft would be greatly mistaken if they believe my pre-order means anything other than I am just going to be checking it out. I already hate the size of the client, which is even larger than WARs was. All the pretty graphics don't mean a damn thing if it leads to greater lag. And it will.
Though I have had my beta access for several weeks now, I haven't been all that interested to log in and try it out. From what I hear AION is a nice MMO, but will it be enough to drag me away from WoW? Perhaps this weekend I will see.
As with WAR, my son convinced me to check out AION. I am apparently one of the 400,000 people who have now pre-ordered it, but NCSoft would be greatly mistaken if they believe my pre-order means anything other than I am just going to be checking it out. I already hate the size of the client, which is even larger than WARs was. All the pretty graphics don't mean a damn thing if it leads to greater lag. And it will.
Though I have had my beta access for several weeks now, I haven't been all that interested to log in and try it out. From what I hear AION is a nice MMO, but will it be enough to drag me away from WoW? Perhaps this weekend I will see.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
AION and why players are silly
People are creatures of habit—even bad habits like predicting each new MMO that is getting ready for release will bury WoW. It’s a refrain we’ve all heard a dozen times or more by now, and such is the current refrain of AION admirers. One would think that after jumping ship and buying new MMOs only to quickly learn that the new MMO wasn’t as good as they had once believed, that they would be more skeptical about developer claims. One would think.
I can only look on amusingly as thousands of AION fans attack anyone that speaks ill, or even deigns to speak of AION in neutral terms. Death to those who are not rabid fans! Such has been the case recently on Tobold’s blog, but he’s hardly the only such example. Forums and Blogs everywhere that write about MMOs are feeling the same phenomenon and it really makes one wonder why people get so upset that someone they don’t know likes something somewhat less than they. I like the color green, and you like the color blue much better, how dare you!
I’ll admit I haven’t played AION yet. I didn’t even try to get a beta key and I’m certainly not well enough known to be sought out by NCSoft so my information comes only from those who have played. As Tobold found out some of that information may be wrong, but in my case even if select facts are wrong it still wouldn’t change my overall impression. AION sounds like a very polished game. Afterall, it’s not a new MMO. Its been in operation overseas for some time now and its just being ported to the U.S. By all accounts the character creation system sounds fantastic. I’d love to see something like that in WoW. I also like what I’ve read thus far about the profession system, which allows you to learn all of the professions but enables you to learn only one to maximum skill level. That is something I would also love to see in WoW.
AION sounds a lot like WoW in many respects, but also sounds like it has flavors of WAR thrown in as well. Like WAR, AION’s combat abilities are multi-tiered. Using tier one abilities enable you to then use tier two abilities. There are similarities in the class system as well, though the implementation is different. In AION you assume one of a handful of base classes, then at level 10 you specialize. Unlike WAR you can’t cherry pick talents from different “trees”, so you are locked in to whatever specialty you choose. Very linear.
Initial game play revolves around PVE questing but I haven’t read enough to get a sense of how many quests are available, or whether raw grinding is also required. The latter stages—otherwise known as the “end-game” revolve around PVP. What I’ve read gives me more of an impression of WAR than of WoW, and I already know I wasn’t impressed with the system in WAR which requires a stable, substantial character population to maintain indefinitely. My negative impression isn’t so much a result of AION itself, but more of that type of implementation. It only works so long as you maintain a high level of subscribers and the faction balance isn’t out of whack. How often do those things happen?
In any regard, I’m confident that AION will garner a few hundred thousand subscribers, but I’m also certain that it will not unseat WoW as the next best thing. If it follows the typical MMO pattern many people will jump ship from WoW when AION is released but will generally come back in a few months when the newness of AION wears off. I’m someone who invests a great deal in the characters I play, so it generally takes a lot to lure me away from my game of choice. In fact the state of my game of choice has more to do with whether I continue to play it, or leave it, than anything else. I’m happy with WoW, so any competing MMO would have to be truly great to lure me away. And would have to be better than great to keep me.
I may stop by and play AION when it’s released to see for myself, but as of right now I’m just not feeling an overwhelming desire to play it. And that probably isn’t the mindset NCSoft is really shooting for.
I can only look on amusingly as thousands of AION fans attack anyone that speaks ill, or even deigns to speak of AION in neutral terms. Death to those who are not rabid fans! Such has been the case recently on Tobold’s blog, but he’s hardly the only such example. Forums and Blogs everywhere that write about MMOs are feeling the same phenomenon and it really makes one wonder why people get so upset that someone they don’t know likes something somewhat less than they. I like the color green, and you like the color blue much better, how dare you!
I’ll admit I haven’t played AION yet. I didn’t even try to get a beta key and I’m certainly not well enough known to be sought out by NCSoft so my information comes only from those who have played. As Tobold found out some of that information may be wrong, but in my case even if select facts are wrong it still wouldn’t change my overall impression. AION sounds like a very polished game. Afterall, it’s not a new MMO. Its been in operation overseas for some time now and its just being ported to the U.S. By all accounts the character creation system sounds fantastic. I’d love to see something like that in WoW. I also like what I’ve read thus far about the profession system, which allows you to learn all of the professions but enables you to learn only one to maximum skill level. That is something I would also love to see in WoW.
AION sounds a lot like WoW in many respects, but also sounds like it has flavors of WAR thrown in as well. Like WAR, AION’s combat abilities are multi-tiered. Using tier one abilities enable you to then use tier two abilities. There are similarities in the class system as well, though the implementation is different. In AION you assume one of a handful of base classes, then at level 10 you specialize. Unlike WAR you can’t cherry pick talents from different “trees”, so you are locked in to whatever specialty you choose. Very linear.
Initial game play revolves around PVE questing but I haven’t read enough to get a sense of how many quests are available, or whether raw grinding is also required. The latter stages—otherwise known as the “end-game” revolve around PVP. What I’ve read gives me more of an impression of WAR than of WoW, and I already know I wasn’t impressed with the system in WAR which requires a stable, substantial character population to maintain indefinitely. My negative impression isn’t so much a result of AION itself, but more of that type of implementation. It only works so long as you maintain a high level of subscribers and the faction balance isn’t out of whack. How often do those things happen?
In any regard, I’m confident that AION will garner a few hundred thousand subscribers, but I’m also certain that it will not unseat WoW as the next best thing. If it follows the typical MMO pattern many people will jump ship from WoW when AION is released but will generally come back in a few months when the newness of AION wears off. I’m someone who invests a great deal in the characters I play, so it generally takes a lot to lure me away from my game of choice. In fact the state of my game of choice has more to do with whether I continue to play it, or leave it, than anything else. I’m happy with WoW, so any competing MMO would have to be truly great to lure me away. And would have to be better than great to keep me.
I may stop by and play AION when it’s released to see for myself, but as of right now I’m just not feeling an overwhelming desire to play it. And that probably isn’t the mindset NCSoft is really shooting for.
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