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i like GW2 but...it's so hard to play temeparks after playing sandboxes...
Jakdstripper
Member RarePosts: 2,410
Been playing GW2 for a few weeks and i'd say my honeymoon period is coming to an end. Nothing wrong with the game, it's very good and i'm sure it will only get better with patches and all.
Still, i simply cannot get very excited about anything. i log in, que for WvW, do some pvp, follow the zerg, do my own thing, go back to questing.....but at the end of the day nothing is lost or gained but a few tokens. it's so.....pointless.....
let me give you an example of meaningful pvp for me.
I've been playing Mortal Online (yes i know, big pos, but still a sandbox) mostly for the past year and half with a bit of DF and Eve to brake things up, and man i've had some awesome times.
one example would be when Territy Control came out in MO. i remember our guild trying to build a control tower and fighting off waves of enemy guilds for 10 hours at a time. we knew, and hated, every single person of each guild and we did not want them to destroy our shit. i then had to go to work and was checking the mortal online map for updates every hour, hoping that my guild would able to mentain the defence, only to rush home and get right back into defending the same tower for one other 10 hours.
after our tower was secured it was our turn to go and try take down their towers, and on and on like that for weeks. the trash talke between guilds was ferocious, and every tower that went up/down was a a big friken deal for the whole serve. People would rage quit over losing battles/towers/keeps. even the smallest skirmishes were important for guild morale. (all bugs aside) it was fantastic. i seriously cannot remember last time i was so engrossed by an mmo.
perhaps you haven't played MO but i'm sure you've had the same intense experiences in EvE or DF sieges.
i guess what i'm trying to say is that it's so hard to go back to theme parks after playing sandboxes. it all seems so repetitive and useless...so pointless...i wander if i will every be able to enjoy theme parks anymore like i used to before ever playing a sanbox. anyoen else feels the same?
Comments
you're tower story in MO sounded really fun!
sz
I wouldn't call GW2 a themepark, a themepark is where you get put on a fixed path to level up (well, there's the class storyline in GW2), but you can go to any zone and still gain xp regardless of what level you get downscaled to and discover things you otherwise won't see on the map. I don't think that's defined as a themepark.
but that is exactly the point, for me it didn't feel like a job at all. it was insanely fun and hours would just fly by.
we didn't do it for gold, or tokens, or points or anythign actually (since the TC was pretty broken and din't work at all like it should have) , we just did it just for pride. OUR territory was ours, and damn if any other guild was going to build their towers there....that was the only reason, and that was enough.
PS: to QuicklyScott, no, i am the first to say that MO is a piece of crap coding shit. however it did have everything i ever wanted in a sandbox mmo, and i absolutely loved the fps combat in that game....it's just that nothing ever worked right, and sitll doesnt.
Boy do I feel what your saying Jak. I´ve kept on trying these different themepark MMOs. I did TERA, liked the combat in it, but after a while grew tired of the same ol themepark fantasy BS. I went on to test TSW. Loved the concept, and the settings. The skill wheel was also a nice touch. But still. The PVP lacked big time, and I grew tired. Preordered GW2 and tested the shit outa that game. Cancelled my preorder cause it was just another themepark MMO in new cloths. Nothing new there.
And I keep coming back to the broken sandbox that is MO and have a blast. Even though the bugs can be more dangerous then players in that game, it´s way more immersive then any themepark MMO out there. It rly hurts to die in MO.
But I keep on looking for that perfect, none buggy sandbox. MO might get there one day. They at least are doing a fine job patching things up after Awakening. But I also have my eyes set on The Repopulation and Archeage. But the TAB-target in AA sucks. But next I´m gonna try Age of Wushu. Seems to have a big ass open world. With some sandbox elements in it. But also TAB-target... Damn these freaking TAB-target games. But they seem to do it rather good in AoW, just as they´ve done in GW2. I give em that. But I pick broken sandboxes any day over polished themeparked MMOs.
My problem is that I instead cant stand b adly programmed low budget game after playing games like this. If there was a sandbox out there now with as much work and details as GW2 I would love to play it but MO and DF is just annoying to me, good ideas but when you cant do the code right all good ideas in the world cant get me playing.
Maybe we see eachother in WoDO?
Oh god, what have you done?
Now we get another thread where GW2 fans will tell us that GW2, in fact, is a sandbox, and even the best sandbox ever made. *sighs*
As to your question, I haven't played a themepark MMORPG since quite some time, and the last one I played was Vanguard, arguably the most "old-school" of the themepark generation.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
Amen to that. 4 got about that one. But that game is years away...
Thank God they made GW2 for us who play less then 10 hours a day.
I think alot of people actually is the other way around as well, they grew up and realize they don't have 8+ hours to put into a game every day, they need something more "casual" and found the perfect thing in GW2.
Good thing there is games satiesfying both groups.
Still seems worth waiting for. Right now all sandboxes seems rather old or really bad made (Eve is 9 years now).
WodO is the one in development that seems really good, there is also AA but for some reasons do I hear warning clocks about that one.
I feel your pain dude. Fighting for artificial reasons like points, tokens or world-buffs is soo pointless compared to fight over ressources and territory. Not talking about all the political metagaming and the player driven economy behind.
I still hope we will see a AAA-sandbox with persistent territorial player-driven pvp soon. Today we have just indie-games and EVE. But EVE is SciFi.
Perhaps ArchAge will be that style, but i doubt, how much sandbox it really is.
played: Everquest I (6 years), EVE (3 years)
months: EQII, Vanguard, Siedler Online, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2
weeks: WoW, Shaiya, Darkfall, Florensia, Entropia, Aion, Lotro, Fallen Earth, Uncharted Waters
days: DDO, RoM, FFXIV, STO, Atlantica, PotBS, Maestia, WAR, AoC, Gods&Heroes, Cultures, RIFT, Forsaken World, Allodds
Still having a bit of fun running sPvP and wPvP and the odd DE in GW2 but I know exactly what you mean OP. For me an mmo without the sandbox persistency and longer term social conflict just doesn't really do it for me.
Having said that, given I usually loathe themepark games it is a testament to how good GW2 is at what it does that I enjoy it at all.
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
Especially there won´t be any orcs and fairies in WoDO. I´m really tired of the fantasy setting. Also agree that AA seems alittle fishy, but I still keep my eyes on it. The things that bother me most with it is the said TAB-targeting and also that seiges etc will be instanced. Not 100% sure about the last statement but I read it before. But Age of Wushu is next to be tested. I´m a big fan of asian kung fu movies, and the settings there I love. And thankfully no orcs there either. :P And you can kidnapp people and sell them as slaves when they log off, since they turn into NPCs when they log off.
Do you even understand what the word "Themepark" means? Because it fits 100% to GW2, more than to any other game.
Themepark is a park with attractions and long queues. In GW2 you open a map and you see hearts, circles and vistas as attractions and you've got long queues for PvP. There is no other MMORPG with greater ThemePark feeling than GW2 and the word literally fits for it.
REALITY CHECK
When I go to themepark I know where to find ferris wheel at, then I go and que for that and wait in line for 15 minutes, then I ride the ride I planned.
When I go to that lvl15-25 Norn mountain area whatever it was called, I roam around freely and bump into all kinds of events that I did not expect and get instantly involved in them. Often I pick up these "attractions" along the way while looking for a hidden jumping puzzle or something.
In other themepark games I usually get told exactly where to go, what to do, and how much to do it. I experienced that in personal story if that's what you are looking for. Personal ferris wheel
I think PlanetSide 2 is moving towards that. Smedley mentioned in one of his interviews he was trying to make PS2 more of Sandbox and that continents filled with player bases were coming in the future. I've been playing the beta for a while and I gotta the say the mechanics are solid and truly skill based. Definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Whereas I'm the opposite. I treated games like games when I was a kid. Now I fancy something a bit more deep and challenging.
I'm in the same boat as the OP.
Yes, YES GW2 is in fact a "Themepark". However it is more an "optional" themepark now, but the rides are all there waiting for you to ride them....and every other thousand people as well.
You have locked in classes...
You have zones that are linear in design (lower level section leads into a higher level section), and then is connected to the NEXT higher level area for you to go in a linear fashion....
Most classes are only viable with one or two different builds, but are overall pigeon-holed into one VERY specific role...
Trinity still exists, except instead of "Healer" it is "Control", and does a worse job at it in my opinion...
Crafting, like in all themeparks, is worthless & dropped gear is infinitely better...
Zero item decay, so that one green that drops will be there forever until someone equips it and soulbinds it to themselves, however the item is still there to be used. Higher level gear eventually loses its meaning as you never need to upgrade or replace it until they put in "Nicer" gear for you to go grind for.
You're being disingenuous at best, but in the most blunt terms you are lieing.
Etc, etc, etc...just because it isn't like where where you are literally hand-held from points A -> B -> C -> D doesn't mean it isn't JUST like WoW in the fact it is a themepark.
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
Just because you think of it like a job doesn't mean other people do. In fact, online gaming is the LEAST expensive hobby that you could do.
I know people whom spend thousands upon thousands of dollars a year doing hobbies like wood carving, boat making, miniature model making, remote controlled planes, paintballing, airsofting, etc etc.
Do they treat those hobbies they probably spend hours upon hours doing? Nope, and just because you do means you were looking at it wrong.
Also your condescending demeaner makes you look like you're 18 or younger.
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
In a themepark you can check the map at the entrance to see the main attractions (like in GW2), but the less significant attractions are usually not shown. In a themepark, you have to "discover" the popcorn stand by yourself as well, just because there is one jumping spot on every map in GW2 which is NOT labelled on the map, whereas 95% of other things are (trainers, vendors, vistas, hearts, circles) does not really mean there is a significant exploration element, or that it wouldn't be a themepark.
In fact, no other game has got so close to the literal meaning of a themepark as GW2 did.
REALITY CHECK
Pwnd your self there sir. Vistas, points of interest, etc are minor things, they are not rides, just collectables. Hearts are rides though and mostly show on map, though being optional and not neccessary to level like in every other themepark that you make sound less themepark lol. Events are perhaps the most major things and does not show on map, also are not always the same "ride" or could totally be locked for the time being if not occupied by some other event on that area
Edit: Oh and, I never said GW2 is not a themepark, it definately is! Just trying to correct your misinformation here about the details.
Rest is just preference. I played eve for years. At times it was mentally exhausting and I just asked myself...why am I working a second job? Why am I working to have fun? I have my career for that. Once I had that answer, I quit and never looked back.
I'm sorry to break it to you, but if you're hardcore into sandbox, you may never get your game. A AAA sandbox is extremely difficult to develop and it's hard to make it work
So you're saying that if something is optional that it is a less of a themepark? Your idea of a non-themepark is if you have 2 areas or 2 different activities and you may choose one to level up? What has "optional" got to do in a sandbox vs themepark discussion? And you're saying that I "pwnd" myself ?
What else are you saying? That Vistas are the popcorn stand markers on the map while the "big rides" like jumping spots are not marked. Your post didn't make much sense.
REALITY CHECK