I'd like to say first that the point of this thread is not to proclaim AA the king of anything nor is it to flame AA for shortfalls. I'm merely sharing my experience and some enjoyment AA beta has brought me. Your experience may differ.
If you note my "join date" for MMORPG.com it's obvious I might be a tad older than the average gamer. I beta tested both UO and EQ and was north of 30 years old when I did that. I have played probably every major title anyone can name and some off the beaten path titles. I'm not bragging, nothing to boast about that I play a lot of games, rather, I have just seen a lot... A LOT over the years so I may have a different perspective.
No game is perfect nor pleases everyone. For every game you will find the "fanbois" and "haters" although the truth is that those titles are only given out by the opposing side and really have no meaning. If you like a game and defend anything it does right, those who hate it all you fanboi... etc etc etc. But this all has little to do with my post.
If I have to narrow down, after almost 20 years of gaming (pre-UO... Meridian... Sierra, BBS games) the most fun I ever had were the sandbox that original UO was, the deep and compelling Evercrack... errrr.... Everquest, the first PvP thata ctually mattered in Dark Age of Camelot, the go-where-you-want-do-what-you-want of Eve... those were the models from which I view all games that come out now and compare them to those originals. It's not about perfect, it's about having fun.... isn't that the point of playing a game?
Lots of games have huge deficiencies yet still provide enjoyment. I think of Fallen Earth, The Secret World, Earth and Beyond, and many more. Some are graphical wonders some have unique stories and some are just bizarre.
So anyway, AA has reminded me of a number of my favorites and , for me at least, that's a good thing. I spent much of today trying to cross a dangerous sea in a rowboat with a pack and with a knot in my stomach as ships passed by. Maybe they noticed me, maybe they didn't. There was that rush knowing that I had stepped somewhere I probably didn't belong and there was a feel of actual danger. I remembered feeling the same way back in UO when there was only one land and you just never knew if you were going to get that freshly mined ore back to the safety of the bank. Kudos for making me feel that trepidation.
Persistent housing... thank you... also flashbacks to another time and place.
For those who stick around beyond the first 30 levels and get out of the questing loop, I hear the world opens up to focus more on you playing how you want to play and doing what you want to do. I have been assured by many that the initial questing is really just to be a tutorial on how the mechanics work and that there is immense freedom in blazing your own path as gatherer, crafter, trader, adventurer, hunter, pirate... whatever.
Is the game perfect? Not even a worthwhile question since no game is. How about the payment model? Every game has one in one form or another so again, why bother with the question?
What matters to me, is I had fun, enough for me to support the game financially for awhile, until I stop having fun. I'm subscribed to other games and haven't missed them while I've been doing AA beta. Of course that may just be the new car smell, but it is what it is.
I'm sure some people (or a lot) will disagree with me, but that's ok because there are lots of games out there so everyone has a chance to move on if they don't like the game and if you disagree, you can only disagree for yourself. I had fun, what more matters?
Just my 2 cents, your experience may differ. Whatever you play, have fun!
I am very similar to you (check my join date ) and feel the same. I am very close to buying a founder's pack...however:
Loot system currently really sucks. Just no variety whatsoever.
Labor point system currently sucks. Generation is too slow, especially if they want you opening quest rewards, chests, the crappy loot (see above), AND crafting, etc. Too much with too little labor= pain the butt
Mana regen is horrible post 1.2 patch. I can deal with the other stuff, but this is where I am holding back my Visa card....I don't have time to sit around for 5 minutes in between several fights to regen since food/flutes are worthless.
On a positive note, I LOVE the class system and many other things. I think the game has great potential, but it will not get to where it needs to be without addressing loot, labor and mana.
Its the only game that I have played that seems to come close to my initial experience in mmos which was Vanilla WoW . In many ways I prefer this because it appears to have more depth to it that Vanilla WoW ever had .
In recent years I've tended to play 3-4 mmos casually alongside each other . When this is released I suspect I wont be playing much else .
For me this is the best game since WoW all those years ago and I suspect it may be a lot better than that ever was . But I'm someone that played WoW on a pvp server back then when there was a lot of world pvp . I never did any raiding in WoW and very little in the way of dungeons . I'm not sure how PVErs will view this game . There does seem to be a lot of PVE options but lack of pvp servers may put them off . Which is a shame because its beautiful game and a lot of fun to play .
I'd like to say first that the point of this thread is not to proclaim AA the king of anything nor is it to flame AA for shortfalls. I'm merely sharing my experience and some enjoyment AA beta has brought me. Your experience may differ.
If you note my "join date" for MMORPG.com it's obvious I might be a tad older than the average gamer. I beta tested both UO and EQ and was north of 30 years old when I did that. I have played probably every major title anyone can name and some off the beaten path titles. I'm not bragging, nothing to boast about that I play a lot of games, rather, I have just seen a lot... A LOT over the years so I may have a different perspective.
No game is perfect nor pleases everyone. For every game you will find the "fanbois" and "haters" although the truth is that those titles are only given out by the opposing side and really have no meaning. If you like a game and defend anything it does right, those who hate it all you fanboi... etc etc etc. But this all has little to do with my post.
If I have to narrow down, after almost 20 years of gaming (pre-UO... Meridian... Sierra, BBS games) the most fun I ever had were the sandbox that original UO was, the deep and compelling Evercrack... errrr.... Everquest, the first PvP thata ctually mattered in Dark Age of Camelot, the go-where-you-want-do-what-you-want of Eve... those were the models from which I view all games that come out now and compare them to those originals. It's not about perfect, it's about having fun.... isn't that the point of playing a game?
Lots of games have huge deficiencies yet still provide enjoyment. I think of Fallen Earth, The Secret World, Earth and Beyond, and many more. Some are graphical wonders some have unique stories and some are just bizarre.
So anyway, AA has reminded me of a number of my favorites and , for me at least, that's a good thing. I spent much of today trying to cross a dangerous sea in a rowboat with a pack and with a knot in my stomach as ships passed by. Maybe they noticed me, maybe they didn't. There was that rush knowing that I had stepped somewhere I probably didn't belong and there was a feel of actual danger. I remembered feeling the same way back in UO when there was only one land and you just never knew if you were going to get that freshly mined ore back to the safety of the bank. Kudos for making me feel that trepidation.
Persistent housing... thank you... also flashbacks to another time and place.
For those who stick around beyond the first 30 levels and get out of the questing loop, I hear the world opens up to focus more on you playing how you want to play and doing what you want to do. I have been assured by many that the initial questing is really just to be a tutorial on how the mechanics work and that there is immense freedom in blazing your own path as gatherer, crafter, trader, adventurer, hunter, pirate... whatever.
Is the game perfect? Not even a worthwhile question since no game is. How about the payment model? Every game has one in one form or another so again, why bother with the question?
What matters to me, is I had fun, enough for me to support the game financially for awhile, until I stop having fun. I'm subscribed to other games and haven't missed them while I've been doing AA beta. Of course that may just be the new car smell, but it is what it is.
I'm sure some people (or a lot) will disagree with me, but that's ok because there are lots of games out there so everyone has a chance to move on if they don't like the game and if you disagree, you can only disagree for yourself. I had fun, what more matters?
Just my 2 cents, your experience may differ. Whatever you play, have fun!
Have to agree with your post...
I have just recently gotten an invite to CB4 and even though I am playing as a F2P account I am having an absolute blast.
The game kind of puts me in mind of a mix of UO and SWG....and THAT sort of experience is something I have realised has been sorely missing from mmorpgs in recent years.
I won't bother getting a Founders pack now as OB must be almost upon us but I will be subbing and playing for sure once the game releases
Comments
I am very similar to you (check my join date
) and feel the same. I am very close to buying a founder's pack...however:
Loot system currently really sucks. Just no variety whatsoever.
Labor point system currently sucks. Generation is too slow, especially if they want you opening quest rewards, chests, the crappy loot (see above), AND crafting, etc. Too much with too little labor= pain the butt
Mana regen is horrible post 1.2 patch. I can deal with the other stuff, but this is where I am holding back my Visa card....I don't have time to sit around for 5 minutes in between several fights to regen since food/flutes are worthless.
On a positive note, I LOVE the class system and many other things. I think the game has great potential, but it will not get to where it needs to be without addressing loot, labor and mana.
Its the only game that I have played that seems to come close to my initial experience in mmos which was Vanilla WoW . In many ways I prefer this because it appears to have more depth to it that Vanilla WoW ever had .
In recent years I've tended to play 3-4 mmos casually alongside each other . When this is released I suspect I wont be playing much else .
For me this is the best game since WoW all those years ago and I suspect it may be a lot better than that ever was . But I'm someone that played WoW on a pvp server back then when there was a lot of world pvp . I never did any raiding in WoW and very little in the way of dungeons . I'm not sure how PVErs will view this game . There does seem to be a lot of PVE options but lack of pvp servers may put them off . Which is a shame because its beautiful game and a lot of fun to play .
Have to agree with your post...
I have just recently gotten an invite to CB4 and even though I am playing as a F2P account I am having an absolute blast.
The game kind of puts me in mind of a mix of UO and SWG....and THAT sort of experience is something I have realised has been sorely missing from mmorpgs in recent years.
I won't bother getting a Founders pack now as OB must be almost upon us but I will be subbing and playing for sure once the game releases