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I'm actually excited about this game
MIchael-333
Member Posts: 26
For the past several months I have been reading a lot of really bad feedback on the development of this game. It was becoming increasingly disappointing because what I read of the developers' vision led me to believe that MO was the game I was waiting for. I was expecting the open beta to confirm what everyone was saying, and to some extent it did. However, I don't think this game is nearly as doomed as the buzz would have us believe.
Regardless of how it ultimately turns out, I finally got the beta to run on my PC and I am having a blast playing it. Yes, it's still buggy as hell and it needs a lot of polish all-around (the GUI, the AI, the character models, etc), so I totally understand why a lot of people feel the way they do about this game. However, the world looks fantastic and the game itself has massive depth in terms of exploration, crafting, and purpose-drivin pvp. I don't really like to invoke the dichotomy of sandbox/themepark, but for the sake of simplicity, this is the most extreme sandbox MMO I have played in terms of possibility. I feel confident that even if MO has a terrible launch, it will eventually become a very popular game because of the uniquely vast magnitude of possibility and freedom it offers in relation to its competitors.
Comments
Good to see people having fun speak out. Despite its flaws Mo is a fun game and just needs time.
My sig is just as logical as your posts are
It needs more time than they have, unfortunately. Oh yes, and it needs a competent database engineer, more than one artist/animator, cummunity relations people that do not attack the customers, and, in case I missed it, more time than they have before launch.
wiihuu at last!now please enlighten us with your wisdom and tell us how much time do they have?
Generation P
wiihuu at last!now please enlighten us with your wisdom and tell us how much time do they have?
I don't know exactly how much time they have, but they have stated more than once they are close to launch.
I am yet to see a MMORPG to be released 100% or even 90% complete.
Even AAA titles with budgets in the hundreds of millions USD.
An indie team getting the game to this stage deserves admirtion.
Huge studios with huge resources that keep cloning the same game over and over again are the ones that need to be flamed and bashed.
But then again we live in a world where a fool with 50IQ became a president of the first world potency 9 years ago and got reelected 5 years ago...
This game is not close to 90% complete though. I'd be generous if I gave it 50%. And why do they deserve admiration? They are a business like any other. It is their job to make a product people will buy, not our job to support them until they do. So far, they have made an UT engine mod that allows you to run around an almost empty world. Hardly a great accomplishment. I have seen total conversions using Morrowind or Oblivion done by volunteers that had more content and worked better.
And the big studios were small independents at one time. Turbine finished most of Asheron's Call using the insurance money from one of the dev's motorcycle accident, and they had no pre-made tools to work with. They didn't get Microsoft involved until near the end.
Even though this beta is a steaming pile of dung, I'm very exited about this game as well.
Theres no doubt that with enough time, It'll be a Gem amongst mmos.
This game has real potential, if they dont go bankrupt that is.
Maybe they will get lucky and SOE will swoop in and try to save it after they nearly go bankrupt.
Aside from the network and database code, there is not a huge difference in the skillset needed to make MMO vs single player, from a purely technical aspect. Now I understand that game rules and balance are a different challenge, but that isn't relevant to what I was talking about. SV took an already established engine that already had online capabilities. And now they have a game that allows you to wander around online. Not a major accomplishment there because the engine was already capable of that. So it runs smooth when you are alone? Big deal. In making a total conversion for a game like Oblivion, you are making your own map, modelling and texturing your own mob and armour, etc. That is the same as what SV had to do here, but I have seen it done much better by a small team of volunteers. 6 or 7 animals modelled and animated in the time this game has been in developement is not a major accomplishment. At that rate, it would be years before there was an interestingly large beastiary. None of the above is any harder because it is an MMO.
Now the parts they had to modify to make a MMO, like the database to keep track of large amounts of players, their gear and skills do not work particularly well. So the stuff that was already there as part of the engine works fine and the stuff they had to add doesn't. Should tell you something. It looks as if a few UT modders said "Hey, we know how to mod the Unreal engine. Lets make a MMO." without having any understanding of the underline net code or how to manage a database.
My own experience is ilrelevant. I don't need to be an artitect to tell you a house that is leaning over, threatening to collapse anfter it was built was built poorly.
Well, LotRO released with relatively no bugs. Arguably, one of the best launches of any AAA MMO.
On Topic:
I think with enough time this could be a gem of a game. Darkfall released a bug ridden mess, but has since started to shine with its constant updates. There's no reason MO can't do the same thing.
I am yet to see a MMORPG to be released 100% or even 90% complete.
Even AAA titles with budgets in the hundreds of millions USD.
An indie team getting the game to this stage deserves admirtion.
Huge studios with huge resources that keep cloning the same game over and over again are the ones that need to be flamed and bashed.
But then again we live in a world where a fool with 50IQ became a president of the first world potency 9 years ago and got reelected 5 years ago...
This game is not close to 90% complete though. I'd be generous if I gave it 50%. And why do they deserve admiration? They are a business like any other. It is their job to make a product people will buy, not our job to support them until they do. So far, they have made an UT engine mod that allows you to run around an almost empty world. Hardly a great accomplishment. I have seen total conversions using Morrowind or Oblivion done by volunteers that had more content and worked better.
And the big studios were small independents at one time. Turbine finished most of Asheron's Call using the insurance money from one of the dev's motorcycle accident, and they had no pre-made tools to work with. They didn't get Microsoft involved until near the end.
yea it is actully at least with what the promised for launch. not saying its going to be bugfree or 100% polish but interms of content there fairly close. will Be really close with the upcoming patches
you guessing on stuff oyu have no proof of except unreal engine is what there using.. the rest you have no idea on. This game ISNt a mod
I am yet to see a MMORPG to be released 100% or even 90% complete.
Even AAA titles with budgets in the hundreds of millions USD.
An indie team getting the game to this stage deserves admirtion.
Huge studios with huge resources that keep cloning the same game over and over again are the ones that need to be flamed and bashed.
But then again we live in a world where a fool with 50IQ became a president of the first world potency 9 years ago and got reelected 5 years ago...
If you want to talk indie game success in recent years, Wizard101 is King of the Hill. KingsIsle is an indie startup run by industry veterans and they built a unique and insanely popular kids game that has enough strategic elements to appeal to a lot of adults. The company began in 2005, launched their game in 2008 and has been wildly successful. Their other MMO is in development and is slated to be revealed this year.
What was the key to their success VS. issues with Aventurine and Star Vault? Experience. Indie doesn't mean "amateur" - it means they are developing a game independent of a publisher who might otherwise be funding said development. Aventurine seems to have succeeded (depending on your definition of success) in spite of themselves, mostly. Hopefully Star Vault can do the same. They're already significantly behind schedule (per their "about" page, the game was supposed to be released in Summary 2009*) and there have been money issues. Half a year after the game was supposed to launch, they're talking about changing core mechanics during open beta. That doesn't inspire confidence. I really hope they can pull it off.
~Ripper
* Screenshot of About page in the event that history mysteriously changes:
So you can prove that it isn't just a mod in a shiny wrapper? because that is what you are implying by saying that the other user is just guessing.
Any chance we could see some of the proof you have to backup your claim that it is more than just a mod? If you cannot provide any then all you are really doing is guessing too.
@OP: I'm going to wait this one out, way too many red flags going up with the game in its current state.
So you can prove that it isn't just a mod in a shiny wrapper? because that is what you are implying by saying that the other user is just guessing.
Any chance we could see some of the proof you have to backup your claim that it is more than just a mod? If you cannot provide any then all you are really doing is guessing too.
@OP: I'm going to wait this one out, way too many red flags going up with the game in its current state.
As to whether or not the game is a mod, the question is a bit silly. Being a mod would imply they took an existing game and modified it or built an add-on to an existing game. I don' t think that's the case. Instead, Star Vault licensed the underlying engine - just like lots of game companies do - and built the game with the engine at it's core. Bioshock and Bioshock 2 were built with Unreal. Are they mods? What about the Chronicles of Spellborn or Vanguard? Batman: Arkham Asylum? Aion uses CryEngine, but nobody would call it a Crysis mod. If MO wasn't played in 1st person mode, it wouldn't even be a question.
~Ripper
I am yet to see a MMORPG to be released 100% or even 90% complete.
Even AAA titles with budgets in the hundreds of millions USD.
An indie team getting the game to this stage deserves admirtion.
Huge studios with huge resources that keep cloning the same game over and over again are the ones that need to be flamed and bashed.
But then again we live in a world where a fool with 50IQ became a president of the first world potency 9 years ago and got reelected 5 years ago...
If you want to talk indie game success in recent years, Wizard101 is King of the Hill. KingsIsle is an indie startup run by industry veterans and they built a unique and insanely popular kids game that has enough strategic elements to appeal to a lot of adults. The company began in 2005, launched their game in 2008 and has been wildly successful. Their other MMO is in development and is slated to be revealed this year.
What was the key to their success VS. issues with Aventurine and Star Vault? Experience. Indie doesn't mean "amateur" - it means they are developing a game independent of a publisher who might otherwise be funding said development. Aventurine seems to have succeeded (depending on your definition of success) in spite of themselves, mostly. Hopefully Star Vault can do the same. They're already significantly behind schedule (per their "about" page, the game was supposed to be released in Summary 2009*) and there have been money issues. Half a year after the game was supposed to launch, they're talking about changing core mechanics during open beta. That doesn't inspire confidence. I really hope they can pull it off.
~Ripper
* Screenshot of About page in the event that history mysteriously changes:
i think most of these mechanics where planned
I think you're wrong. In professional software development projects, changes to core functionality don't happen at the last minute. If they do, it's generally because something's either missing or broken so badly that it threatens the success of the project. Are you saying they planned to be at least 6 months late in delivering their product to market?
~Ripper
So you can prove that it isn't just a mod in a shiny wrapper? because that is what you are implying by saying that the other user is just guessing.
Any chance we could see some of the proof you have to backup your claim that it is more than just a mod? If you cannot provide any then all you are really doing is guessing too.
@OP: I'm going to wait this one out, way too many red flags going up with the game in its current state.
As to whether or not the game is a mod, the question is a bit silly. Being a mod would imply they took an existing game and modified it or built an add-on to an existing game. I don' t think that's the case. Instead, Star Vault licensed the underlying engine - just like lots of game companies do - and built the game with the engine at it's core. Bioshock and Bioshock 2 were built with Unreal. Are they mods? What about the Chronicles of Spellborn or Vanguard? Batman: Arkham Asylum? Aion uses CryEngine, but nobody would call it a Crysis mod. If MO wasn't played in 1st person mode, it wouldn't even be a question.
~Ripper
Oh I agree entirely, don't mistake me. I don't consider the game to be a mod at all.
I simply was interested in what the other poster had to say on the subject, as he was claiming that another user was guessing, so I was curious as to whether he was simply guessing as well (judging from his lack of facts, coupled with a heavy helping of rhetoric, hyperbole, etc...).
No worries.
How much of your excitement is based on potential and hope?
hiya,
came to agree with OP. me, i am having also a great time with this game and also think the potencial of this world is awesome; no potential because devs will add lots of stuff , or because has a lot to improve (things that we all hope) but because of the minimum grind and natural character progression that i think give su the oportunity to focus in other aspects of game like exploring, create conflicts, alliances, no artificial but more like irl; in few words to make up ur own role in the world; no need to follow a pre-determined path to be competitive etc, . no sure if i made my point.
Thi aint a piece of cake and i bet putting on march such project is much harder than to copy-paste conventional MMO mechanic, that is what we have been provided by MMO market in last years imo, and im happy i can play something different for once
/even if its not a market succes like Aion/
The mechanics of this game are great
The game itself?
is not so good.
this is like pre alpha and from what I saw, its got a LOOOOOONG way to go
I'm going to guess most of it since what's been delivered so far doesn't really warrant such optimism
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I never once said the game was just a mod. I likened it to one of those total conversions where some fans take a game and pretty much build a new game using it. Technically, they are still mods, in a way, but they have at least as much new stuff created as MO does at this point. Making a nearly empty map and turning it into a gathering simulator is not much to show for almost 3 years work when the hard part, the engine and net code, were already done.
Some of it, but let's be clear. Excitement about future events is always based on potential and hope. Some of my excitement is based on the hope that the game doesn't change in ways that will make it less enjoyable to me than it is right now. However, the majority of my excitement is based on the current state of the game which is not a future event at all, and not based on potential or hope.
Currently, the game offers content that I have been seeking for a long time in a sword and sorcery MMO (ie. FPS combat, skill-based progression, player-built structures, a deeply involved crafting system). While it would be nice if they could throw on some polish and work out some bugs before it launches, I am able to enjoy playing the game in its current form. When the time comes, I will pay for the priveledge to do so.
Maybe they will get lucky and SOE will swoop in and try to save it after they nearly go bankrupt.
And then promptly ruin it.
Maybe they will get lucky and SOE will swoop in and try to save it after they nearly go bankrupt.
And then promptly ruin it.
With lots of new players every day I doubt they would go to bankrupt anytime soon.