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Aion Similarities to World of Warcraft - No Flaming, Please.
So, after getting my pre-order, and brimming with excitement, I hop on Aion this after noon (EST) for the beta try-out for what seemed to me to be a game unlike any other.
"It's a lot like Lineage 2," a good friend told me.
My prior history, as I'm sure you can tell by my tag, is as an Ultima Online player; however, I have played in many other MMOs. I played World of Warcraft as a Rogue up until level 21. I know many of you can scoff at the amount of gameplay hours I've spent in both games, but I was hoping to light up some issues concerning some similarities.
While playing Aion, I couldn't help but to feel as if I were playing a game from some bizarro world where, instead of the Americans coming out first with World of Warcraft, the Koreans created it first.
Here are my primary issues, and this is entirely open for discussions amongst forum members here (please keep it intelligent and non-flaming):
Texturing - WoW has a unique texturing idea. Why have all the extra edges on a mountain which costs gamers FPS when one can have a smooth slope, but instead, draw on, via the texture (or wallpaper), what looks like edges. What do we get? A game that runs on low end PCs without looking pixelated. Wait. But as I run over to the mountains of Aion in the opening area, I spot the same texture design. I quickly ran down the path to ignore them and go to my next quest objective, until I look down at the "paved road" and realize it's built the same way. Everywhere I look I see the pastel colors and texture techniques of World of Warcraft, NOT Lineage 2.
Screen Layout - Many WoW players could probably agree that the game is a comfortable switch coming from Blizzard's flagship title to NCSofts possibly counterpart. From the map to the hotkeys to the experience bar, I began to realize I was playing a game very similar to something I had experienced before.
Gameplay: From the jumping over fences, random forward flips, I felt right at WoW home when running over the landscape. Even trying to locate a quest objective, it pulls open a map and gives me an arrow that looks, well, a lot like WoW's. Even when I select on a quest, I get the same little mutter in a language I don't understand quickly followed by an old-page colored quest window with a selection of awards from said quest that looks... Well, you know where I'm going with this.
I'm not attempting to bash Aion. I am not calling WoW a good or bad game (personally, WoW never did it for me, but for those it does, more power to them!). I am simply bringing up the issue of similarities between the two games and looking forward to other peoples' responses concerning them.
So, without further delay, discussion begin!:
- Ryan/Tryken
Comments
Well said.... can't avoid flamers here i'm afraid. I myself played wow for nearly 5 years and did the beta of Aion, Aion simply dissapointed me, plus im not really into that asian type MMO. wow is getting, old and boring, ( as if i'm married to it, LOL >.<) hoping for THE OLD REPUBLIC TO RELEASE :P
I have heard multiple times that Aion resembles Wow very closely. (Hate Wow with a vengance).
I would have gave aion a shot but the gamestop(s) near me ran out of beta keys. If I see some gameplay that I like I might consider buying it.
-Core 3 "Its the Pwn!"
So, graphics and texture have similarities. I'll take your word on it on these two points, since I was too busy checking out all the changes made to the gameplay in version 1.5
Gameplay: I did not include gameplay because your gameplay revolve around jumping over a fence and quest menu, I can't consider that gameplay. Playing the game feels more fitting. Gameplay is a pretty broad area, so you probably might need more supporting evidence such as in-depth analysis of the combat, craft, collection system, movement bonus systems, flight, glide, or maybe even explain quest types will do.
Screen layout: Most MMORPG use very smilar layout with very little changes even before, after, and including WoW. I mean some might make it an orb, cylinder, or whatever, but the basic stuff are still there. This apply to so many mmorpg, so I don't even know why this qualify as a topic. All of them looked the same to me since the early days of 3D rendered MMORPG, and even some non-3D had similar interfaces and layouts.
I think I've kept it civil, it is just to question the part of your post that have weird method of judgement. If you felt flamed then I apologize since it was not my intention.
I will not flame you but... Here is how they compare..
Graphics yes basic texturing world wise. They are close to WOW.. which is actually one of the better points of WOW.. Why because the Artist can use their artistic creation to make a very detailed rich enviroment. However thats where it ends. The shadowing, lighting. Plant particle effects. Bloom Effects, water effects, Plant and enviroment animations, ARE WAY off the scope when compared to WOW. Also 3d texturing on characters completely blow WOW out of the water.
Gameplay wise.. Both are MMOs some some simularities will exist.. However Aion is very much more complex. THe combo system in place is more involved the reactive abilities which there are more of are more involved.
Also high end gameplay in Aion will be more intense than anything WOW has anymore. IE open world contested bosses... Portal drop areas. Keep Sieges...
I could list off a bunch of ways that WOW is like EQ1 so they must have copied it.. Guess what When starwars comes out. It is an MMO... You are going to see simularities there as well.
Get over it though with these types of posts.
I have played both as well, and in my personal opinion Aion is the better of these 2 compared games. It leaves WOW in the dust in every way. Immersion. Graphics. Gameplay, PVE and PVP...
When starwars comes out hope you enjoy it for a month, I am sure then you will be back in WOW complaining about being in WOW and complaining about what was wrong with Starwars.
People mention high end game play...I thought the max level was limited for beta purposes?
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To the OP. They are trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. People like things that feel familiar but new. Fundamental systems in most MMOs should have a similar feel.
I fear 2 or 3 years down the road Aion will get the same complaints WoW does now. People don't like the art style. People don't like how it caters to the masses. People won't like it because people do like it.
Lolwut?
EVERY GAME USES THIS TECHNIQUE. EVER. Its called "diffuse texturing" and it basically reduces the need for polygons. Additional techniques such as normal mapping and bump mapping are now used to provide even better illusions.
Textures are abstractions of real world surfaces.
Seriously, think about it.. the original EQ armor had chainlinks "painted on" a flat surface. The result? Drastically reduce polygon counts while give the impression of actual chain lnks. Thats how texturing works.
thats a beautiful sentance
So when it comes down to it, the less you know about how games work and the technology behind them the more likely you will find them similar with others. But if you educate yourself about the ins and outs of games you can see how different they really are.
I think the similarities are minor in the long term (excepting it being faction based).
Most of the things WoW did/copied are now standard of the MMORPG genre, you can just check out betaboards to see how people complain every time something is not like in WoW, Aion copied those things indeed, but minor details such as where your HP/MP is displayed don't make a game, core features do, and that's where Aion and wow differ.
Granted, like in any MMO, I feel as if in the long run, Aion will end up seperating itself. Secondly, to the poster who stated that I would go back to WoW and complain about Star Wars, I even noted that I don't play World of Warcraft?
Anyway, I suppose it's more of a similarity to starting areas. As I've gotten further in the game, I've noticed that more and more areas become unique within the game.
And to the player who hoped he had not flamed me upon his critique: No flame taken. =P
- Tryken/Ryan