Have I outgrown MMOs?

pierth

I have been playing since '97 and tried many of the p2p games, spending most of the time in EQ1, CoH, & WoW.  I'd been burned out on WoW for some time but kept paying as a way to keep in touch with RL friends across the country.  What I like about MMORPGs I've played or am looking for in a future game:

• Role-playing conducive environments
• A fun, semi-mature social atmosphere
• Character development beyond gear and levels
• Evolving worlds where players have an actual impact

What I'm concerned about is that it seems anything that games have as "end-game content" aren't fun for me.  I don't have the time every night to raid (maybe two hours most nights max), I don't want to grind for rep, don't care about achievements, and don't really like PvP aside from maybe a battleground/scenario every once in a while.  Another thing that really bothers me is the heavy use of instancing- while it's very convenient to do this for dungeons/bosses/etc it takes a lot of reliance out of the server community and IMO gives the average player more room to be a jackass.  I find games with less instancing tend to have more players that care about their reputation.

Just as an aside, I did try EvE about a year ago and found the ship avatar very impersonal and at the time the learning curve in the tutorial was beyond my grasp.  Perhaps I should have tried longer but after about two hours I just wasn't interested anymore.

I'm currently puttering around in DDO but haven't found a class I really like (and the clicking is sort of annoying), and have been thinking about LOTRO but have been dissuaded by all the comments about sluggish controls.

Are there MMORPGs out there for me, or have the games out there evolved to fit a playerbase I'm just not a part of anymore?  Right now it just seems like my only path would be trying new games, leveling 'til max, then moving on but that doesn't seem very fulfilling and would result in just losing the social ties I'd make in the games.

Arioc

Seconded.

(Although as a personal note I'd throw immursive environment on that list for myself. I don't need photo realism but I can't become engrossed in something too off-the-wall or too bland.)

Esther-Chan

Look at it this way. Maybe you haven't "outgrown" MMORPGs, they are just heading in a direction you aren't comfortable with. The MMORPG market evolves faster than you think.

I've been playing MMORPGs for 10 years, so I can relate, but I more or less try an adapt, which isn't always easy.

darkbladed

I felt the same way until I tried Fallen Earth.

I posted some guides here on MMORPG.com in the FE forums

 

But check it out.  Free trial Available on the main site so no risk.

Amathe

I am in the same boat. Actually, there are quite a lot of us nomads wandering the desert looking for the type of mmo you describe. There is some hope for the new Final Fantasy and Star Wars mmos, but their release is a ways off.

Esther-Chan

Originally posted by darkbladed


I felt the same way until I tried Fallen Earth.
I posted some guides here on MMORPG.com in the FE forums
 
But check it out.  Free trial Available on the main site so no risk.

Fallen Earth is AWESOME! The only thing I hated about it was I always felt I was going to "mess up" my build. I was so afraid of messing up I never put points into anything so every time I fought something, I would die horribly.

The community in Fallen Earth is just awesome. Everyone is really helpful.

zeowyrm

Probably get flamed for suggesting this, but Alganon may be up your alley.  In my opinion, the game was released far too early and is only just now starting to feel finished, but the design team seem to have very lofty goals, including having player actions affect the world at large.  I still don't think the game is there yet, but it wants to be, and so I keep an eye on it, dipping my toe in every now and again, waiting for the temp to get just right.

Esther-Chan

Originally posted by zeowyrm


Probably get flamed for suggesting this, but Alganon may be up your alley.  In my opinion, the game was released far too early and is only just now starting to feel finished, but the design team seem to have very lofty goals, including having player actions affect the world at large.  I still don't think the game is there yet, but it wants to be, and so I keep an eye on it, dipping my toe in every now and again, waiting for the temp to get just right.

If Alganon had more character customization and better character visuals, I'd actually like it. But I'm shallow and when I play MMORPGs I like to have some degree of customization. I want to be able to do my character's makeup, place tattoos or adjust muscle and I want my characters to be pretty. Seeing a muscular priest or a frail warrior just doesn't make sense. I think all MMORPGs should take a page from Champions online/CoX

drbaltazar

beats me !im thinking of replacing this:

massive multiplayer online game-MMO  with this instead to make sure the massive gets included next time around

GIGA-GAME

pierth

I'll give FE & Alg a try.  Thanks much for the suggestions.

pierth

Until I started crashing in depot 66 Fallen earth was a pretty good time.  Leveling feels really slow, molasses slow but that's probably because I'm just learning (not trying to race to ten but it just feels slower than other games).  Had to burn my first toon because I had him specced all wrong and wasted chips.

So far it seems far better than WAR was, although it heats up my 9800GT just like WAR did which concerns me.

Tideland

I am so in agreement with the OP! I'm an "older" female gamer, and I have no interest in any of the end-games that I've seen.  Usually I pair up and duo my games with my son, who lives a distance from me and we love the experience of sharing our gaming, although neither of us have time for long periods of playing.  However, I do have more time than he does and find myself playing solo with alt characters at times, but it's just not the same at all.  But when I do play, I love doing quests that are soloable, and when we're together, we love to do them all as a duo.  We really have no interest in grouping with more for various reasons, although we've made some friends in some games we enjoy spending a little time with, especially when we need more than just the two of us for some quest.  Grouping seems to be our biggest obstacle in most games, whether we're duoing or I'm soloing.   Mainly group quests tend to take up a lot more time, which we usually don't have.  We play in shorter spurts.  Anyway, I'd love to see more games that don't rely on end-game and have more options of solo, or small group.  LOTRO is that for the most part for us, and we did level a couple of characters prior to the Mirkwood expansion; but we have not been able to finish the book quests due to their larger group requirements.  Now my son has given up on LOTRO and I'm trying to solo what I can, but it's lonesome without him.  We're trying STO together and so far we're really enjoying it.

 

 

 

 

UnsungToo

I don't think your burned out, I think it's about how they're making games.

Now i know this isn't the type of game your looking for, and it wasn't the type of game I was looking for, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyways. Try Bloody Requiem. It's out of the norm. It's a horror MMO.

I just started playing it, and it's not to bad, it's different that's for sure. Don't let the cash shop put you off. i'm not gonna spend a single dime on the game.

If all goes well it might hold me over for a couple of months, then something else might have come out to try.

ULQQKED

You don't out grow them, you just have to adapt.  I was a 3 year vet of EQ when WoW came out.  EQ was great for the pencil and paper players but turned to raiding instead of grouping, socializing, and exploring so a lot tried WoW.  I played WoW for four years and spent a lot of the last two years bored to tears. I tried EVE, Lotro (a good game), CoH, Guild Wars, and Vanguard. Atlantica Online (good game until lvl 90.)  I always fall back to EQ as a fall back, but I tend to start new toons and explore Zones I haven't seen since the game is HUGE.  

For EQ players that initial wonder can't be recaptured, the closest I have come was the early days in WoW and Atlantica Online, but neither lasted as long at EQ did.

astrob0y

Originally posted by pierth


Until I started crashing in depot 66 Fallen earth was a pretty good time.  Leveling feels really slow, molasses slow but that's probably because I'm just learning (not trying to race to ten but it just feels slower than other games).  Had to burn my first toon because I had him specced all wrong and wasted chips.
So far it seems far better than WAR was, although it heats up my 9800GT just like WAR did which concerns me.

 

Do you have vsync turned off? If so I would suggest that you turn it on so your card wont get pushed to much

rensta

 Nha you just understood the concept of the mmorpg:

X=Player

y=Monster

Z=Items

X can kill y to get Z

X can kill X 

X lvls up to get Z

X lvls up skills (mining,fishing...) so he can get Z

4X kills Y To get epic Z (and the list keeps going................................................................)

As you can see for the game to be a game ther must be a X.

X can join other X and have more fun,so the more X are in the game (or your buddy list) 

The more fun you will have staying in that game.

 

iZakaroN

Originally posted by rensta


 Nha you just understood the concept of the mmorpg:
X=Player
y=Monster
Z=Items
X can kill y to get Z
X can kill X 
X lvls up to get Z
X lvls up skills (mining,fishing...) so he can get Z
4X kills Y To get epic Z (and the list keeps going................................................................)
As you can see for the game to be a game ther must be a X.
X can join other X and have more fun,so the more X are in the game (or your buddy list) 
The more fun you will have staying in that game.
 

 

This is the main concept of theme park MMOs, and it looks that is exactly what OP was outgrow.

While it is still valid mechanics for sandbox games, the main concept there is to find the best way to progress the char for you and find proper persons to cooperate with.

Hopscotch73

Originally posted by pierth


Until I started crashing in depot 66 Fallen earth was a pretty good time.  Leveling feels really slow, molasses slow but that's probably because I'm just learning (not trying to race to ten but it just feels slower than other games).  Had to burn my first toon because I had him specced all wrong and wasted chips.
So far it seems far better than WAR was, although it heats up my 9800GT just like WAR did which concerns me.

 

Yep, leveling is slow to start, but later on, when you only need the same amount of xp to get from (say) 24-25 as you did from 9-10 it's a lot nicer (someone correct me if they changed this!). I'd fix your vsynch if you haven't already and follow the tips on the FE forum (tech support if I remember correctly)  to increase framerates for places like Depot 66 (it's under increasing client memory, and made a difference for me).

Also, the occasional game file defrag (done from the launcher) really helps.

Should help make things a bit more enjoyable.

Elikal

Originally posted by pierth


I have been playing since '97 and tried many of the p2p games, spending most of the time in EQ1, CoH, & WoW.  I'd been burned out on WoW for some time but kept paying as a way to keep in touch with RL friends across the country.  What I like about MMORPGs I've played or am looking for in a future game:

Role-playing conducive environments
A fun, semi-mature social atmosphere
Character development beyond gear and levels
Evolving worlds where players have an actual impact

What I'm concerned about is that it seems anything that games have as "end-game content" aren't fun for me.  I don't have the time every night to raid (maybe two hours most nights max), I don't want to grind for rep, don't care about achievements, and don't really like PvP aside from maybe a battleground/scenario every once in a while.  Another thing that really bothers me is the heavy use of instancing- while it's very convenient to do this for dungeons/bosses/etc it takes a lot of reliance out of the server community and IMO gives the average player more room to be a jackass.  I find games with less instancing tend to have more players that care about their reputation.
Just as an aside, I did try EvE about a year ago and found the ship avatar very impersonal and at the time the learning curve in the tutorial was beyond my grasp.  Perhaps I should have tried longer but after about two hours I just wasn't interested anymore.
I'm currently puttering around in DDO but haven't found a class I really like (and the clicking is sort of annoying), and have been thinking about LOTRO but have been dissuaded by all the comments about sluggish controls.
Are there MMORPGs out there for me, or have the games out there evolved to fit a playerbase I'm just not a part of anymore?  Right now it just seems like my only path would be trying new games, leveling 'til max, then moving on but that doesn't seem very fulfilling and would result in just losing the social ties I'd make in the games.

 

You know, when Jolee Bindu was asked why he left the Jedi Order, he said, "I didn't leave the Order, IT left me", and thats the case IMO here. MMos changed, communities changed, they are just not what they used to be. For me mostly the loss of real communities as I knew them in SWG and EQ2 for many years is what gripes me. I did not outgrow, those games grew into a way I can't follow, so it's the other way around.