Im going to agree with Brostyn, we have some really slow learners on this board(which isnt surprising at all). In the first few levels you will experience the MMO at it's most basic. The core foundation on which the entire game is built on. The graphics and sound, the UI, the movement system, the questing system and the combat system. For most MMOs you can experience all of that in the first 10 minutes. If none of that is interesting to you at level 1 then it is a very good bet that it still wont interest you at the maximum level. I try to get to at least level 10 in all MMOs I play but some have been such a chore to play even before level 10. Now some of you can play an MMO for a month or so that you despise in some lame attempt to find it's "depth" but go ahead and waste your time.
Taking your time to fully understand an mmorpg has nothing to do with being a slow learner. you can't fully understand what a game like Lineage 2 or EVE online is like in a month or so. Lineage 2 has some deep clan politics, and it is really the reason to play the game, because the whole world is build around that concept. You won't get involved in the clan politics if you only play for a few days. it doesn't even always tell you everything there is to know about the combat. Take Ragnarok Online for example. At first, in the lower levels, Ragnarok Online seems like a very slow-combat paced game. Only people who actually play the full game know that Ragnarok Online turns into one of the most fast paced-combat mmorpg's currently avaible on the market at higher levels.
2 Weeks. I almost quit ultima online after a few days. Thankfully I toughed it out and was rewarded with best gaming experience I've had. Mind you this was back in 1998 when it was rough. After the 2 weeks I adapted and learned how to survive the player killers. I also found a group of friends to help my newbie ass. but from now on i'll give it 2 weeks. I gave WOW 2 weeks, it sucked for me and I left. Just wasnt fun.
For me i login and if within the first 5-10 mins i'm not having fun then i figure it's not worth me wasting my time to decide if i hate it or not. I know all my friends are like this too, they'll login to a game and think straight away that it sucks or not without giving it much of a chance. Though you can't blame sumone because if a game hasn't made the effort from the start then why bother?
Depends on how bad it sucks. Lineage 2 only sucked after I wasn't willing to put up with grief/bot/farmers. Up until then it rocked.
I've liked almost every mmorpg I've ever played, if in only some small way. They are just the raddest video games ever obviously, but with console games, you know if they suck in a few hours.
With an MMORPG, you might not find out a game sucks till a year later.
For me i login and if within the first 5-10 mins i'm not having fun then i figure it's not worth me wasting my time to decide if i hate it or not. I know all my friends are like this too, they'll login to a game and think straight away that it sucks or not without giving it much of a chance. Though you can't blame sumone because if a game hasn't made the effort from the start then why bother?
Wow, thats well sad that you only give 5 - 10 minutes for a game peeps have worked 3 - 5 years on. Yes one gets first impressions, but I do test mmorpg's for about 3 month until I come to a real conclusion. Often I would have missed out on a lot of good stuff if I did not carry on a little longer.
------------------------------------------------------ Do I ever sleep?
2 weeks, if within two weeks I get bored the game wasnt my type or I didnt like it or it sucked...if I play more than 2 weeks I'll play for 3+ months, there is no in between, its either within 2 weeks or I play for 3 or more months.
Yeah I am about the same, I havn't found an mmo that has kept me for +4 months but I try to test out all the features, sometimes a game is just unbearable from the start though, I felt this way about Vanguard. The absoulute first quest giver I came across when I started as a Half Elf Diciple teleported into the ocean lol, what a fantastic way to start!
Currently Playing: Everything but MMORPGs Cancelled: L2, FFXI, VSoH, LotRO, WAR, WoW Looking Forward To: SW:TOR
For me i login and if within the first 5-10 mins i'm not having fun then i figure it's not worth me wasting my time to decide if i hate it or not. I know all my friends are like this too, they'll login to a game and think straight away that it sucks or not without giving it much of a chance. Though you can't blame sumone because if a game hasn't made the effort from the start then why bother?
Depends on how bad it sucks. Lineage 2 only sucked after I wasn't willing to put up with grief/bot/farmers. Up until then it rocked.
I've liked almost every mmorpg I've ever played, if in only some small way. They are just the raddest video games ever obviously, but with console games, you know if they suck in a few hours.
With an MMORPG, you might not find out a game sucks till a year later.
You are talking about getting sick of a game after playing it for a fairly long time, not deciding whether you like the game in the first place. You like Lineage 2 as a game, but later you found that due to the actions of other players they spoiled it for you? If you play for more than a month you must like the game, because who in their right mind is gonna put a year of playing time into a game they don't like.
1. If you know what you're looking for, you can probably read up about the game and decide before you even try it.
2. There's the first impression. You can probably tell within maybe half an hour of playing with the interface and walking around and maybe talking to one or two people if the basics are something you find attractive and are comfortable playing with.
3, Once it passes the other two, then for an MMO it takes quite a long time to really get a feel and understanding of the world. Sometimes skills systems only come into their own at higher levels. It would probably be a few weeks before you begin get to grips with the politics of the world. If there's a PvP system, you might not really see it at its best until you're a high enough level.
Probably about a month or so (playing several times a week) is a decent amount of time to really start to get the feel of the game and make a decision if it's something you might want to play longer term. I guess that's maybe around 50-100 hours of game play. I'm not sure you can have much more than a superficial understanding of the game before that time.
Heh, it really does sound like dating, doesn't it?
Here is one example of a game that I installed and uninstalled in about 3 minutes. Shadowbane. As soon as I logged in, and tried to access the clunky interface I know it was a terrible game. I've had that experience with a couple games. I gave Dark Messiah about 2 hours before I never played again. I guess some of you are just slow learners. I know what I like, and what I don't like. I'm also not easily amused.
I was almost the same conserning shadowbane, m8 told me to try it so i did, logged into the world and went bah.. this looks like crap, 3yrs later and im still enjoying it from time to time.. Shadowbane still got the best open pvp, character specialisation and maybe politics of any mmorpg out there, once you get past the crap gfx your hooked !
that said, you shouldnt judge a book by its covers
Well, I generally decide if I'm sure that I don't like a game within the first hour of experiencing it (this may include installing, downloading, patching, websitereading, character creation, aroundpoking of graphics and sound settings and about 5-10 minutes of actually playing... :P
If I don't like it, I'll log in the day after and give it a second chance to like it, but generally if I don't like it I don't waste any more time on it :P
If I think I might like it I continue playing, perhaps making a few more characters to try out various shapes to find the one I prefer, and if I eventually manage to start playing the game I usually have half a dozen alts to log on for when my mood isn't for the main one :P
this is mainly with MMORPGs and suchlike though, other games I'll take some more time with and give a real go, and usually end up liking them or being so annoyed that I either throw them out the window or finish them just to prove myself >_>
*hugs from lil me* ^^
*Brain down for upgrade, don't try to understand my logic, I don't...*
Varies. Often it becomes apparent within the first couple of hours. WoW for example had me hooked almost immediately with it's very clear and concise art direction. I can remember actually feeling cold the first time I stood in Dun Morogh, with foot prints in the snow, sun glinting across white plains, little misty breath clouds, etc.
SWG was my first 'main' MMO, and I think it took over my life about a month or so in, after I found a guild.
MxO had me immediately as I entered the game to see some guys flipping out at each other with dual-wielded submachineguns.
So yeh, varies I guess, but usually doesn't take too long to know.
In a way, it reminds me of reading a good novel. Often, if I'm feeling restless, by the end of the first page or two, I'm thinking that I just don't care what's going on. but, if I keep reading, by the end of the first chapter or two, it sucks me in. The more I read, the more I do care what happens next.
Problem is, that' a big if. I've probably put down a lot of good books, too, because I felt like I had better things to do. The books and RPGs that I really enjoyed did take patience. Not like an FPS, where I just had fun blasting the crap out of everything, right from the start.
The question, in my mind, is whether MMOs need to start off slow, like that. Or can devs work on making them more basic visceral fun, right from the start? I think there are a few that grab players right away, and it is possible, and a good idea. Just not common.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Out of all the MMOs I have played, only once have I bailed on one within a few hours. Just the sheer "newness" of a game usually keeps me entertained for at least a few weeks. (Horizons was the one game I gave up on after only a few hours.)
For me, I need to wait until the newness of a game wears off before I know if that particular game can keep the fun factor going. I often play a MMO for 2 or 3 months before I truly realize if I like the game or not. I have been playing Vanguard for about a month now and feel that I am just getting to that point where the newness is fading. Within another month, I will know if Vanguard is going to be my "next EQ1" or if I will move on and look elsewhere.
I usually try to get any info about MMO's before i try it.. making sure it will suits me.. i skip pretty much any MMO "PVE only" cuz i dont like the idea to fight AI forever even if i do it with friends.
I consider a MMO differently than a usal game, its something i m gona play for several monthes/years. so i dont jump witohut some info about it.. like the main features, classes, storyline, skills, gameplay.. once i have that done the only thing that can keep me from playing/trying it for at least one month is if its jsut not playable...stuff you cant reallly know before you play it. like bugs, lags, disconnections etc etc
understanding how one know if they ll like the mmo or not within the first minutes is beyond me ^^
I try to give games a fair shake before I dismiss them. The thing is that 'fair shake' is entirely subjective. Sometimes I'll play an MMORPG up to Level 10 (did this with Horizons, EQ2, City of Heroes) before calling it quits. Other times, something in particular frustrates me and I give up far sooner than that (did this with the original Everquest - I had no idea that there was a 3rd person mode and autoattack, so I was stuck swinging my sword like a moron in the vein of The Elder Scrolls: Arena. My first MMO was Asheron's Call, so EQ confused me all to hell).
Lately, though, I've found that at first glance the game looks appealing, but quickly loses its luster. This happened to me with AC2, LotRO, Guild Wars, and a few others. At first, it's all shiny and fun but by the time I hit level 10 or 12 I'm entirely bored and/or frustrated.
Of course, it really helps if I have RL friends playing. That's the only reason I played FFXI for a year.
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"Give a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life."
Bollox you know if you like it or not from the moment you figure out how the controls are and from looking at in game graphics, if you dont like either of these at the get go i dont care about anything else
I usually play for the first free month on a regular basis, trying out everything I can, and at the end of the free month, I look back and compare pros vs cons. If there are more cons than pros, then I look to see if its a con that CAN be improved, or the way the game is. Some games take me literally 30 minutes. WoW was one of them. At first I didnt wanna try it cause of the community, cartoony grpahics etc. Then I heard 8 mil subs. I then tried the trial, and I WANTED like the game, I mean I REALLY tried, but afte rjust 30 minutes, I knew this wasn't for me. It gave me the same feeling as d2.(didnt say its like D2 just saying it FELT like it).
So yeah one month of the free time is usually enough time to see and hear what the game gives.
For me i login and if within the first 5-10 mins i'm not having fun then i figure it's not worth me wasting my time to decide if i hate it or not. I know all my friends are like this too, they'll login to a game and think straight away that it sucks or not without giving it much of a chance. Though you can't blame sumone because if a game hasn't made the effort from the start then why bother?
It all depends on the game really. Some it took a little longer than others for me to enjoy. But, yes.... sometimes you just know that a game isnt for you the first step you take into the gameworld.
I usually know with in about a week of gamming if i like the game or nto even if i start off my first couple of daqys bored out of my wits it might be because i am learning the game menacins and I am trying to figure out what to do the encomeny and where can i use that sword wiht out a one hit ko
Usually i need to learn all the concepts and the battle system.This time can vary depending on how elite it is.The only reason i ever quit a game in the first day is if the UI is just horrible.No matter how good a game is,The UI will be there forever,so it can really ruin the game.These point an click games are the biggest joke IMO.Ever try to rotate behind your player in a click and move,when hes standing against a wall?The camera dissappears and you totally lose sight as to where you are going.Once you have clicked hes headed there no matter what,and you have no clue where you clicked because you lost the camera.Your trying to click a particular spot but you cant because there is 200 players all grouped in the main square on there auction/stalls.Everytime you try to click you keep clicking a player.
This is just one example.If i have to type /whisper "player name " everytime that gets dam annoying and time consuming,especially if you are a lousy typer like myself.There are several little things in a games UI that can totally turn a player off.Un moveable windows,no key re mapping.If a game was just too lazy to have a UI that caters to all players,then i have no time for them either.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Originally posted by Veiled_light For me i login and if within the first 5-10 mins i'm not having fun then i figure it's not worth me wasting my time to decide if i hate it or not. I know all my friends are like this too, they'll login to a game and think straight away that it sucks or not without giving it much of a chance. Though you can't blame sumone because if a game hasn't made the effort from the start then why bother?
An MMOg?
Well you buy into 30 or more days, so that would be my basis. I'd use my 30 days and get what I could from my investment.
Usually if I'm buying a game I already have an idea of what to expect, or... "expectations". So in that 30 day timeframe I'l base my overall opinion. If the UI or ruleset is such that playing the 30 day is no fun, then it leaves little guesswork as to if I continue another 30 days.
Interesting question because I was hyped to the max and excited as hell to get into Vanguard beta, and that feeling lasted more than 30 days, even though it was buggy, lacked content, and had a lot of "unfinished" content (at that time). I soon came to the conclusion that this game was not for me, but not at all for those reasons. It was beta, i knew that, and understood these things would be "corrected".
No, my feeling on what makes an MMOg fun was not what I saw in this game, I had just quit WoW, and it took me longer in "that game" to see why this game (Vanguard) would also be short term.
So to make a story short and answer your question... 30 days If in 30 i see what my expectations led me to believe? I'l most likely stay, because my expectations led me to the decision to purchase the game in the first place.
Hype is bad... don't hype a game if you can't deliver, just makes you look stupid.
No more Trivial MMO's, let's get serious "again". Make a world, not a game What I listen to
Comments
Level 10?
Ever play a real MMOG world where you can go anywhere you want and do anything you like? No levels in them.
2 Weeks. I almost quit ultima online after a few days. Thankfully I toughed it out and was rewarded with best gaming experience I've had. Mind you this was back in 1998 when it was rough. After the 2 weeks I adapted and learned how to survive the player killers. I also found a group of friends to help my newbie ass. but from now on i'll give it 2 weeks. I gave WOW 2 weeks, it sucked for me and I left. Just wasnt fun.
Depends on how bad it sucks. Lineage 2 only sucked after I wasn't willing to put up with grief/bot/farmers. Up until then it rocked.
I've liked almost every mmorpg I've ever played, if in only some small way. They are just the raddest video games ever obviously, but with console games, you know if they suck in a few hours.
With an MMORPG, you might not find out a game sucks till a year later.
Wow, thats well sad that you only give 5 - 10 minutes for a game peeps have worked 3 - 5 years on. Yes one gets first impressions, but I do test mmorpg's for about 3 month until I come to a real conclusion. Often I would have missed out on a lot of good stuff if I did not carry on a little longer.
------------------------------------------------------
Do I ever sleep?
Currently Playing: Everything but MMORPGs
Cancelled: L2, FFXI, VSoH, LotRO, WAR, WoW
Looking Forward To: SW:TOR
Depends on how bad it sucks. Lineage 2 only sucked after I wasn't willing to put up with grief/bot/farmers. Up until then it rocked.
I've liked almost every mmorpg I've ever played, if in only some small way. They are just the raddest video games ever obviously, but with console games, you know if they suck in a few hours.
With an MMORPG, you might not find out a game sucks till a year later.
You are talking about getting sick of a game after playing it for a fairly long time, not deciding whether you like the game in the first place. You like Lineage 2 as a game, but later you found that due to the actions of other players they spoiled it for you? If you play for more than a month you must like the game, because who in their right mind is gonna put a year of playing time into a game they don't like.
I think there are three different answers.
1. If you know what you're looking for, you can probably read up about the game and decide before you even try it.
2. There's the first impression. You can probably tell within maybe half an hour of playing with the interface and walking around and maybe talking to one or two people if the basics are something you find attractive and are comfortable playing with.
3, Once it passes the other two, then for an MMO it takes quite a long time to really get a feel and understanding of the world. Sometimes skills systems only come into their own at higher levels. It would probably be a few weeks before you begin get to grips with the politics of the world. If there's a PvP system, you might not really see it at its best until you're a high enough level.
Probably about a month or so (playing several times a week) is a decent amount of time to really start to get the feel of the game and make a decision if it's something you might want to play longer term. I guess that's maybe around 50-100 hours of game play. I'm not sure you can have much more than a superficial understanding of the game before that time.
Heh, it really does sound like dating, doesn't it?
I was almost the same conserning shadowbane, m8 told me to try it so i did, logged into the world and went bah.. this looks like crap, 3yrs later and im still enjoying it from time to time.. Shadowbane still got the best open pvp, character specialisation and maybe politics of any mmorpg out there, once you get past the crap gfx your hooked !
that said, you shouldnt judge a book by its covers
Tugril Weiland of Weiland Inc
If I don't like it, I'll log in the day after and give it a second chance to like it, but generally if I don't like it I don't waste any more time on it :P
If I think I might like it I continue playing, perhaps making a few more characters to try out various shapes to find the one I prefer, and if I eventually manage to start playing the game I usually have half a dozen alts to log on for when my mood isn't for the main one :P
this is mainly with MMORPGs and suchlike though, other games I'll take some more time with and give a real go, and usually end up liking them or being so annoyed that I either throw them out the window or finish them just to prove myself >_>
*hugs from lil me* ^^
*Brain down for upgrade, don't try to understand my logic, I don't...*
SWG was my first 'main' MMO, and I think it took over my life about a month or so in, after I found a guild.
MxO had me immediately as I entered the game to see some guys flipping out at each other with dual-wielded submachineguns.
So yeh, varies I guess, but usually doesn't take too long to know.
Problem is, that' a big if. I've probably put down a lot of good books, too, because I felt like I had better things to do. The books and RPGs that I really enjoyed did take patience. Not like an FPS, where I just had fun blasting the crap out of everything, right from the start.
The question, in my mind, is whether MMOs need to start off slow, like that. Or can devs work on making them more basic visceral fun, right from the start? I think there are a few that grab players right away, and it is possible, and a good idea. Just not common.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
For me, I need to wait until the newness of a game wears off before I know if that particular game can keep the fun factor going. I often play a MMO for 2 or 3 months before I truly realize if I like the game or not. I have been playing Vanguard for about a month now and feel that I am just getting to that point where the newness is fading. Within another month, I will know if Vanguard is going to be my "next EQ1" or if I will move on and look elsewhere.
~Synexis
I consider a MMO differently than a usal game, its something i m gona play for several monthes/years. so i dont jump witohut some info about it.. like the main features, classes, storyline, skills, gameplay.. once i have that done the only thing that can keep me from playing/trying it for at least one month is if its jsut not playable...stuff you cant reallly know before you play it. like bugs, lags, disconnections etc etc
understanding how one know if they ll like the mmo or not within the first minutes is beyond me ^^
I try to give games a fair shake before I dismiss them. The thing is that 'fair shake' is entirely subjective. Sometimes I'll play an MMORPG up to Level 10 (did this with Horizons, EQ2, City of Heroes) before calling it quits. Other times, something in particular frustrates me and I give up far sooner than that (did this with the original Everquest - I had no idea that there was a 3rd person mode and autoattack, so I was stuck swinging my sword like a moron in the vein of The Elder Scrolls: Arena. My first MMO was Asheron's Call, so EQ confused me all to hell).
Lately, though, I've found that at first glance the game looks appealing, but quickly loses its luster. This happened to me with AC2, LotRO, Guild Wars, and a few others. At first, it's all shiny and fun but by the time I hit level 10 or 12 I'm entirely bored and/or frustrated.
Of course, it really helps if I have RL friends playing. That's the only reason I played FFXI for a year.
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"Give a man a fire, and he is warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he is warm for the rest of his life."
With that stated
EQ 2 lasted till 20 something then couldn't bear log in
Swg stayed with till NGE
DAOC longest one 2 years
Final fantasy lasted 3 days hated the graphics / combat
D &D online 3 days
Horizons 10 days
First time i tried wow just stayed the first month after nge tried again got to high 50's and just had enough
at this point begining to think i have out grown this market or console gaming speaks to me more at this time
It depends on the game.
Essentially I know in the first few days.
Quite often I know in the first few minutes.
There are some games however that last a few hours before it becomes apparent that they don't have a lot to offer.
I'll know within the first 30 minutes to an hour or so if I am going to continue playing it. Generally, the questions I ask myself subconsciously:
Does the UI work? Is it cumbersome, or does it flow naturally?
How are the graphics?
How is the gameplay?
What other aspects besides whacking 10 tens does it offer to combat in terms of leveling up?
What other aspects besides combat are there to entertain me?
I usually play for the first free month on a regular basis, trying out everything I can, and at the end of the free month, I look back and compare pros vs cons. If there are more cons than pros, then I look to see if its a con that CAN be improved, or the way the game is. Some games take me literally 30 minutes. WoW was one of them. At first I didnt wanna try it cause of the community, cartoony grpahics etc. Then I heard 8 mil subs. I then tried the trial, and I WANTED like the game, I mean I REALLY tried, but afte rjust 30 minutes, I knew this wasn't for me. It gave me the same feeling as d2.(didnt say its like D2 just saying it FELT like it).
So yeah one month of the free time is usually enough time to see and hear what the game gives.
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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http://www.speedtest.net/result/7300033012
Usually i need to learn all the concepts and the battle system.This time can vary depending on how elite it is.The only reason i ever quit a game in the first day is if the UI is just horrible.No matter how good a game is,The UI will be there forever,so it can really ruin the game.These point an click games are the biggest joke IMO.Ever try to rotate behind your player in a click and move,when hes standing against a wall?The camera dissappears and you totally lose sight as to where you are going.Once you have clicked hes headed there no matter what,and you have no clue where you clicked because you lost the camera.Your trying to click a particular spot but you cant because there is 200 players all grouped in the main square on there auction/stalls.Everytime you try to click you keep clicking a player.
This is just one example.If i have to type /whisper "player name " everytime that gets dam annoying and time consuming,especially if you are a lousy typer like myself.There are several little things in a games UI that can totally turn a player off.Un moveable windows,no key re mapping.If a game was just too lazy to have a UI that caters to all players,then i have no time for them either.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
An MMOg?
Well you buy into 30 or more days, so that would be my basis. I'd use my 30 days and get what I could from my investment.
Usually if I'm buying a game I already have an idea of what to expect, or... "expectations". So in that 30 day timeframe I'l base my overall opinion. If the UI or ruleset is such that playing the 30 day is no fun, then it leaves little guesswork as to if I continue another 30 days.
Interesting question because I was hyped to the max and excited as hell to get into Vanguard beta, and that feeling lasted more than 30 days, even though it was buggy, lacked content, and had a lot of "unfinished" content (at that time). I soon came to the conclusion that this game was not for me, but not at all for those reasons. It was beta, i knew that, and understood these things would be "corrected".
No, my feeling on what makes an MMOg fun was not what I saw in this game, I had just quit WoW, and it took me longer in "that game" to see why this game (Vanguard) would also be short term.
So to make a story short and answer your question... 30 days
If in 30 i see what my expectations led me to believe? I'l most likely stay, because my expectations led me to the decision to purchase the game in the first place.
Hype is bad... don't hype a game if you can't deliver, just makes you look stupid.
No more Trivial MMO's, let's get serious "again". Make a world, not a game
What I listen to