I would say the OP didn't get a chance to experience much that EQ had to offer because of their lack of focus. Imagine if you had the focus to actually experience all that EQ had to offer Amathe? Based on my experience, your enjoyment would have been many multiple times greater.
EQ, more than any other game I have ever played, truly did begin once you were max level and in an active raiding guild, raiding everyday for multiple hours. Leveling was basically the tutorial.
I hear from so many people who say they "played" EQ but, in actuality, they barely scratched the surface. Then they wonder why we have a different perspective...
If Pantheon turns out to be like EQ, having a greater focus will open up the game to more options and greater enjoyment.
I disagree.
After being in a top-tier raiding guild for nearly ten years, I realized I was having much more fun playing on low level alts, randomly exploring the world, and generally wandering around randomly.
If you played EQ for 10 years from release you definitely saw the degradation of the game. I'm surprised you stuck around that long.
I think most people consider PoP the drop off that started the decline and that was only 3-4 years after EQ came out.
When I, and others, talk about the highlights of raiding in EQ it's usually in reference to the Kunark through Luclin expansions (with velious being the primary focus that is often referenced). The game changed so much over the years. I'm sure you understand how it needs to be discussed differently based on what time frame we are talking about.
I was in a top-tier raid guild for 10 years.
I still have two active EQ subscriptions, and still play with my wife and kids. I just don't do "end game" these days.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin
However, I remember sitting in a movie theater in 1977 being BLOWN AWAY by Star Wars. At the time I had read and watched quite a lot of science fiction, but Star Wars took it to another level.
That has not kept me from having many OMG moments while enjoying subsequent works such as Blade Runner, Alien, The Matrix, etc.
So I guess I am hoping that, even if I have seen and read a ton of fantasy themed works before, there might still be room for some surprise, amazement and awe. *crosses fingers*
But truthfully, when you watch a new Star Wars movie are you really all that amazed by it?
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
However, I remember sitting in a movie theater in 1977 being BLOWN AWAY by Star Wars. At the time I had read and watched quite a lot of science fiction, but Star Wars took it to another level.
That has not kept me from having many OMG moments while enjoying subsequent works such as Blade Runner, Alien, The Matrix, etc.
So I guess I am hoping that, even if I have seen and read a ton of fantasy themed works before, there might still be room for some surprise, amazement and awe. *crosses fingers*
But truthfully, when you watch a new Star Wars movie are you really all that amazed by it?
Rogue one was one of the best Star Wars movies I think to have come out. Even better than Episode VIII.
Seriously though, I think 8 and 9 will probably be a step up from 7. Abrams makes fun movies, but they always feel shallow for much of the same reasons MMOs do today. They're formulaic. Which is what Kyleran was probably driving at, even if I don't feel Star Wars as a whole should be stigmatized as such.
I would say the OP didn't get a chance to experience much that EQ had to offer because of their lack of focus. Imagine if you had the focus to actually experience all that EQ had to offer Amathe? Based on my experience, your enjoyment would have been many multiple times greater.
EQ, more than any other game I have ever played, truly did begin once you were max level and in an active raiding guild, raiding everyday for multiple hours. Leveling was basically the tutorial.
I hear from so many people who say they "played" EQ but, in actuality, they barely scratched the surface. Then they wonder why we have a different perspective...
If Pantheon turns out to be like EQ, having a greater focus will open up the game to more options and greater enjoyment.
I did enjoy raiding in EQ, but it was never originally about raiding. A tiny fraction of the playerbase raiding in early EQ. On a day to day basis having been a member of "raiding guilds" on two different servers (simultaneously), we usually scanned for targets and ended up doing group content in various spots throughout the world.
It wasn't until much later that this end game focus became a thing in EQ.
Right at first it was not about leveling, it was about adventure
Seriously though, I think 8 and 9 will probably be a step up from 7. Abrams makes fun movies, but they always feel shallow for much of the same reasons MMOs do today. They're formulaic. Which is what Kyleran was probably driving at, even if I don't feel Star Wars as a whole should be stigmatized as such.
Sorry for the slight derail, but do you think that Abrams will ever make an original movie in these franchises? I suppose Star Trek 1 wasn't all that derivative, but Star Trek 2 (The Wrath of Khan) and Star Wars (mashup of episodes 4 and 5) were not very original.
Seriously though, I think 8 and 9 will probably be a step up from 7. Abrams makes fun movies, but they always feel shallow for much of the same reasons MMOs do today. They're formulaic. Which is what Kyleran was probably driving at, even if I don't feel Star Wars as a whole should be stigmatized as such.
Sorry for the slight derail, but do you think that Abrams will ever make an original movie in these franchises? I suppose Star Trek 1 wasn't all that derivative, but Star Trek 2 (The Wrath of Khan) and Star Wars (mashup of episodes 4 and 5) were not very original.
Seriously though, I think 8 and 9 will probably be a step up from 7. Abrams makes fun movies, but they always feel shallow for much of the same reasons MMOs do today. They're formulaic. Which is what Kyleran was probably driving at, even if I don't feel Star Wars as a whole should be stigmatized as such.
Sorry for the slight derail, but do you think that Abrams will ever make an original movie in these franchises? I suppose Star Trek 1 wasn't all that derivative, but Star Trek 2 (The Wrath of Khan) and Star Wars (mashup of episodes 4 and 5) were not very original.
I don't know if it was just because levelling was slow or what. I started a couple days after launch in march 1999. I played for maybe 3-4 months. My total playtime was 13 days on that level 13 character. I played on Rallos Zek. I remember a lot of exploring. I enjoyed it. On the PvP servers, it's even more important for protection ofc.
(I played Everquest off/on for over 10 years on live.)
Frankly, I think some of us are explorers more than others. In all the years I played Everquest and other MMORPGs, one thing I've noticed is I never get too focused on levelling. It just isn't fun to grind levels. I routinely will see other players complain. What I notice is hte players who complain most are the ones trying to grind levels. They don't enjoy the journey because they're looking at the destination. Now we all look at the destination. We have to when making goals. But some players almost never look away.
I don't know what percentage of players are so destination-focused, but I imagine it's a large number, based on my experience.
I've played a lot of Wurm Online and I see the same stuff there. Players will grind and grind and grind, and complain. I've never understood it. I go out ofmy way to not grind. I do different things. I like to go on my own, so I have more reason to do different things. If I'm doing the same thing over and over, I find a way to break the pattern. Destination-oriented players don't. They will grind hour after hour for days and weeks. They still complain. I always get mad at them, so mad I'll shut off chat if they're whining.
I think they're the same types who compain about slow travel or lack of hand holding. Everything is about speed for them. They can't enjoy the small things. We're all forced to live with them because how common they're. It makes it hard to find a good MMO. I get angry.
However, I remember sitting in a movie theater in 1977 being BLOWN AWAY by Star Wars. At the time I had read and watched quite a lot of science fiction, but Star Wars took it to another level.
That has not kept me from having many OMG moments while enjoying subsequent works such as Blade Runner, Alien, The Matrix, etc.
So I guess I am hoping that, even if I have seen and read a ton of fantasy themed works before, there might still be room for some surprise, amazement and awe. *crosses fingers*
There is believe me. I started playing Wurm Online in 2012. I had many moments of awe. In fact, no prior MMO could compare. I'm not exaggerating. It destroyed Everquest and Ultima Online and everyting else I'd played up to that point. The primary reason was the sandbox. It was more expansive than anything I'd ever seen. I had so many of those moments. The first I can remember happened after I met a recruiter from a village. He picked me up and we sailed to the site. When the moon came up, one of them setup a campfire. They were cooking meat. BAM. I had a moment. Beautiful.
But really the best moments in MMO's are the emergent ones. MMO's with enough flexibility will always cause this.
EDIT: God. The feelings ache. I wish I was a better writer to convey. I've had so many special moments in Wurm Online.
Comments
I was in a top-tier raid guild for 10 years.
I still have two active EQ subscriptions, and still play with my wife and kids. I just don't do "end game" these days.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Seriously though, I think 8 and 9 will probably be a step up from 7. Abrams makes fun movies, but they always feel shallow for much of the same reasons MMOs do today. They're formulaic. Which is what Kyleran was probably driving at, even if I don't feel Star Wars as a whole should be stigmatized as such.
Sorry for the slight derail, but do you think that Abrams will ever make an original movie in these franchises? I suppose Star Trek 1 wasn't all that derivative, but Star Trek 2 (The Wrath of Khan) and Star Wars (mashup of episodes 4 and 5) were not very original.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/?ref_=nv_sr_2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527338/?ref_=nv_sr_1
See? that is how much I pay attention between releases
(I played Everquest off/on for over 10 years on live.)
Frankly, I think some of us are explorers more than others. In all the years I played Everquest and other MMORPGs, one thing I've noticed is I never get too focused on levelling. It just isn't fun to grind levels. I routinely will see other players complain. What I notice is hte players who complain most are the ones trying to grind levels. They don't enjoy the journey because they're looking at the destination. Now we all look at the destination. We have to when making goals. But some players almost never look away.
I don't know what percentage of players are so destination-focused, but I imagine it's a large number, based on my experience.
I've played a lot of Wurm Online and I see the same stuff there. Players will grind and grind and grind, and complain. I've never understood it. I go out ofmy way to not grind. I do different things. I like to go on my own, so I have more reason to do different things. If I'm doing the same thing over and over, I find a way to break the pattern. Destination-oriented players don't. They will grind hour after hour for days and weeks. They still complain. I always get mad at them, so mad I'll shut off chat if they're whining.
I think they're the same types who compain about slow travel or lack of hand holding. Everything is about speed for them. They can't enjoy the small things. We're all forced to live with them because how common they're. It makes it hard to find a good MMO. I get angry.
But really the best moments in MMO's are the emergent ones. MMO's with enough flexibility will always cause this.
EDIT: God. The feelings ache. I wish I was a better writer to convey. I've had so many special moments in Wurm Online.