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What's an older gamer to do?
Amathe
Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
I'm old and I'm a gamer. At least I think I'm still a gamer, being between games at the moment. The old part is for sure.
Over the years I have played a lot of mmos, beginning with original Everquest. At least 9 of them, not including a great many betas.
At times like these, when I'm between games, I come here to research new ones. And I'm seeing a trend. Game after game after game is touting its fast paced, twitchy, "you control every blow" FPS qualities. While this would have sounded great to me a decade ago, I'm slow now and I won't be competitive at that.
But it's worse lol. These new games also promote their free-for-all, oh yes you are going to be ganked so deal with it PvP features. That means not only am I slow, I get to fight people 20-30 years younger who are fast. Oh boy. That will be hot death on a skillet.
Is the type of combat found in more traditional mmos like EQ and even WoW going the way of MUDs and pen and paper games? Is my gaming future Select Quest, Princess Aria wants you .... BOOM HEADSHOT ROFLOLOLOLOL?
I'm thinking it may be time to join AARP, stock up on geritol and call it a day. I'm not seeing very many new games being made that are not FFA FPS?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Comments
If your reflexes are slow but your brain still works, try EVE. While some parts of it are FFA PvP (which means joining a corporation is a good way to survive), you never really have to PvP if you don't want to. Combat in EVE is very strategical - it's based mostly on numbers and how you outfit your ship rather than your hand-eye coordination. Plus, it's a great sandbox overall. Most of the people who play it are older.
LotRO seems to be a pretty mature crowd if you haven't played that out yet.
I don't think you have anything to worry about. I for one hate that kind of gameplay, and I'm not old.
There's still a market for slower strategy PVP in my opinion.
I suggest holding out for FF14.. Fairly sure thats going to be slower paced.
www.facebook.com/themarksmovierules
Currently playing:
FFXIV on Behemoth, FFXI on Eden, and Gloria Victis on NA.
I am only 21 but I understand where you are coming from. I started MMO with original EQ and haven't found a solid replacement for it since then... The bestbet for you s probably Vanguard which is on life-support...Don't know much about LOTR
"I'm not seeing very many new games being made that are not FFA FPS?"
Er...Darkfall is one game. And while it's true we're set to see many more FPS-aiming RPGs, there's always going to be a huge market for twitch-skill-lite games.
Basically your concerns are unfounded, and games will always be produced for players who favor mental (strategy/tactics) skill over physical (twitch).
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
slow for sure,PvP...not that sure. I heard FF14 is carebear PvErs' garden of Eden...
This is why they need to add more non combat classes to mmo's. I remember in swg there were many paths for non combat.
Some people play to work the economy or craft goods to sell and or equip guildy's.
I prefer pvp with a mix of twitch and brain but in 20 years i might not, plain and simple. In 20 years these games are liable to be in 3d and all kinds of crazy shit (better be!).
I've probably got a one-up on you when it comes to age
... and I totally understand where you're coming from. I have noticed this trend myself. A couple suggestions for you (or recomendations for games)
A little warning about EVE unless you stay in station or in High Sec Space...you'll need to PvP. Most of the Corps (Guilds in EVE) will require some participation in PvP, if at no other time than when you get War Dec'd. I played from 2006 untill recently, and in my opinion (NOTICE the My Opinion before ya'll start FLAMING ME) it was much more fun in the '06-'08 years.
1. Fallen Earth is a recent addition to mmo's. I have been playing that and like it. It can be as fast/slow paced as you want it, though PvP can be a big part of the game, it is not required and not forced on you.
2. Star Trek Online (I just finished the Open Beta and loved it) looks real interesting...enough so for me to pre order (though I'm gonna wait to become a lifer
) Again there's a lot to do, missions are tiered so if you group on missions the mobs become increasingly difficult so they remain a challenge. I got to Lt Cmdr 9 (Level 19) durring OB and I could go back to some of my old L12 missions and still get popped if I wasnt careful...Plus...if you're close to my age, you probably have some fond memories of Kirk and Crew 
3. Someone above also mentioned Lord of the Rings...That is also a good suggestion and I had great fun with that. My only problem with LotRo was that many of the quests REQUIRED grouping...but if you find a good guild, that usually isn't a problem.
Anyway...just a few suggestions...hope this helped.
GL Brother
... and dont give up (Heck...this is what keeps me young LOL)
Mik
I've seen things, you...people, wouldn't believe... . Attack ships on fire, off the shoulder of Orion... . I watched C-Beams, glitter in the darkness near the Tannhauser Gate... . All those...moments will be lost in time... . Like...tears...in the rain...
Time to die.....
Roy Batty
Blade Runner
ya a lot of MMO's are incorporating PvP almost as a "must have" feature. I dont see too many FFA MMO's though, there are some but in the grand scheme of things the few I can think of dont compare to the games that offer some sort of consentual pvp or at least seperate servers for PvP
As for twitchy games, ya that is a new trend that Im seeing also. Gamers have been asking for more challenging gameplay and the developers answer to this is "they must be talking about twitch combat". They seem to have forgotton about incorporating intelligent AI, reagent gathering for spells, fatigue etc.
My big dream for MMO's has always been more intelligent AI.
nobody seems to care about AI much any more.
I remember when RPG's were evolving from top down games to 3d games how companies would boast about their advanced AI (and never really panning out in the early stages). This was in part to challenge the NPC AI in games like Ultima and Ultima Online and give RPG gamers their fix for a living world.
One of the first 3d MMO's I remember to attempt to focus strongly on smart AI was Horizons. Of course, this never really happened. Overall the AI in the game was no more intelligent than every other MMO. "Wish" was a game that was very NPC AI focused, much like Ultima Online. The mobs, not so much but the NPC's were very intelligent even at its early phases of development (speaking from an alpha testers perspective). Sadly, the game was never released.
Single player games made some strong advances, like Gothic and the Elder Scrolls series. Lately however, MMO's it seems have sort of given up on the idea of intellegent AI. Its as if as long as the mobs track properly and spawn properly.. done deal. Nobody cares if an NPC or mob has a day/night cycle. Nobody cares if mobs react to players intelligently so long as they drop loot when they die.
MMO's have really lost a lot of this dynamic and virtual world feeling that we hoped they would have had when UO first came out. Now we're just being given games that are really nothing more than loot piniata's where the best gamers are the ones who have made it to end game and have the flaming swords and glowing gear.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
What can I say? Twitchyness is all the rage these days. But that might change again sometime. Who knows?
It's just pixles and not a true athletic event... unless your hands are drawn up into arthritic claws and your chair is lined with Depends
*Now it's time for my DFO pitch*
Try Darkfall, you may be suprised!
There are lots of us "Older" gamers in it... Older meaning 30+ of course =p
its a FFA PvP game, did you read his post?
I know, this is the part where you say "people police themselves".. right?
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
I'm not a young lad like I once was either but I'm still competitive. I played my first MMO is 1996 (The Realm Online) and have been playing them ever since. I also play alot of non MMO FPS which prime your brain for games like DF. I also swim 3-4 times per week and can't stress enough on how good excercise is for the mind and reflexes. I win my fair share in Darkfall against all age groups.
The free-for-all-PvP features are only in some games. Most don't have them. Also, the average gamer will get older and older (aging societies beeing one reason), so the games will adapt. I guess what you can do depends on how important PvP is for you. I'm personally more into PvE, so I'd just join a guild with an average age around mine, and the problems would be solved.
Just be careful. I heard that some guilds with an average age around 80 had heavy losses on their membercount when said members received their first legendary super-duper-items and -mounts, and were a tad too excited for their old hearts.
Let's play Fallen Earth (blind, 300 episodes)
Let's play Guild Wars 2 (blind, 45 episodes)
will be interesting to see what happens in 5 years when all these twitchy youths have arthrisis and can't be twitchy anymore. "Grab the ASPERCREME!!! They are making another WWII game!"
war has a pretty tight system as pvp goes!in my view its one of the best at the moment!
wow is ridiculous 3 hit your dead .lol ita twitchy nightmare.
aion as a good balance but the fact it miss war grief system really hurt aion since its ganker paradise.
Like someone has said Id wait for FFXIV, from the looks of some videos the combat is slow like in FFXI. It will be more solo friendly but im still guessing the bulk of the content will be grouped. I hope they still have skill chains and magic busts it was one of the things to set it apart from every other mmo. It makes you think because different mobs are weak against a certain element so you'd have to do the right skill chain and magic burst to do the max damage. SC and MB had to be timed right for them to work and you could even do a counter attack and stun the mobs so they wouldn't wipe the whole party or most of it with a AoE.
Personally Id rather have slower more tactical combat than fast mindless button mashing.
its a FFA PvP game, did you read his post?
I know, this is the part where you say "people police themselves".. right?
No, this is the part where I say that he CAN be competitive in DFO, he will find like aged and minded people in DFO, and to not sell himself short because of his age.
That in essence, is what I meant.
If that were true, I wouldn't have quit a long time ago, along with several other people I played it with. Ganking anything that moves at jump gates is a trend that never dies on that game.
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. - Galileo Galilei
I suggest checking out Final Fantasy XIV when it is released - it is sure to have slower combat. I enjoy FPS combat, just not in MMORPGs. After all, they're role-playing games and I expect them to have much greater depth than the FPS type seem to be able to pull off.
I agree with the other poster about Lord of the Rings Online, give it a try! I am also an older gamer (compared to many of the people on here) and LoTRO is one of the best MMO's out there with a mature community, good graphics, and great gameplay. You do not have to group to have fun and level in the game, I admit my high was only level 50, but I did mostly all solo content. It is slower paced and has a very immersive world beyond just killing stuff. Eve Online is also a good way to go. Just find a good corporation with similar interests as you and it can be alot of fun! With all that being said, I have docked my Eve ships and saddled my elf champion to play Star Trek Online. It is also not as bad as many posts make it out to be. It is more "twitchy" than some some games, but still it is a another decent game to try.
If that were true, I wouldn't have quit a long time ago, along with several other people I played it with. Ganking anything that moves at jump gates is a trend that never dies on that game.
There's this funny thing called "High Sec" space...
I am a 28 year "old" gamer but I still prefer to play games like cod and dragon age than eve. Paying $15 a month to play eve offline is worse than buying a movie ticket to sleep in a theater. I don't know maybe when I get much older like 75 I will play mmorpg offline but then I probably will just play fantasy sport games at least they are free.
Hey! Dont knock sleeping in theatres, some of them have really comfy seats.
If you stand VERY still, and close your eyes, after a minute you can actually FEEL the universe revolving around PvP.
Games like DAoC, EQ2, Warhammer Online have autofacing so you don't need any hand-eye coordination.
DAoC even had /follow and /stick so that it glued you to your enemy and all you had to do was smash buttons.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren