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I don't think instancing will bother me in TSW.
D_TOX
Member UncommonPosts: 269
This isn't a fantasty setting where giant armies are supposed to clash with one another, where you are the soldier and epic battles are part of the daily grind. Yes, with Age of Conan, discovering the instanced world was a game-breaker. But with this dark, gritty, modern-era fantasy world, where factions are more like underground gangs as opposed to warring countries, i actually don't see 'instancing' as being such a huge problem. Instancing for me was always a problem because it countered the freedom a medi-eval fantasy world needed in order to thrive.
Can instancing really affect immersion in a mysterious, gritty, unique MMO like The Secret World?
Comments
Yes, because if we are to interact meaningfully with other players we must know that we can encounter them by chance and track them down or vice versa. Never mind the inevitable nonsense of "lol im at the fountain now i dont see u." Knowing that people are running around in a different copy of the same place - your friends and enemies, on the same server - makes the experience feel staged and pointless.
It hammers home the fact that we're awash in preordained single-player content as substitute for naturally occurring multiplayer surprises. Most of all it's embarrassing. We know it's a half-assed cost-cutting maneuver, B-list behavior heralding the downfall of the MMO form and a signature element of most recent failures & disappointments. CrimeCraft, Champions, STO, APB - pathetic, cynical games built on smoke & mirrors, drenched in excuses.
einexile the meek
Vacuos, Winterlong, Vaciante, Eicosapenta
Atlantean, Tyranny, Malton
Instancing the game to hell would adversely affect the gameplay to a staggering degree. Thakfully, this game is not instanced.
My bets are on WoD. I'm pretty sure it will have much better immersion and atmosphere, but I'm still looking forward to more info on both games.
I'm sort of onboard with the way FFXIV instanced. Instead of taking the player to the instance, you just take the mobs.
Drop the next-gen marketing and people will argue if the game itself has merit.
The best MMORPG is open world. Instanced will fail. If this game is instanced, it will fail even if it look cool, have great graphics and new gameplay etc.
Instanced = Bad.
Instancing is why I hated GW, it's why I hated AoC (which is a shame because Conan lore is brilliant), and is why I won't touch TSW. Instancing as applied in AoC, Champions Online, etc is a complete deal breaker for me because it completely ruins immersion.
Oh, you have 10,000 players in your city... but can only interact with 20 of at a time. Give me a freak'n break!
Fear not fanbois, we are not trolls, let's take off your tin foil hat and learn what VAPORWARE is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware
"Vaporware is a term used to describe a software or hardware product that is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge after having well exceeded the period of development time that was initially claimed or would normally be expected for the development cycle of a similar product."
Instancing works wel lenough in conan sure it would ahve been better having an open world game but in reality its a lot harder to pull off..
i wont mind if this game is instanced like conan is...
From what it looks like TSW won't be using the same instancing structure as AoC did.
From an interview in June:
Does the game feature one large playing field with smaller instances tacked on like WoW, or is it more like Guild Wars with small communal areas where players can meet up, but the majority of the world is instanced?
The majority of the world is not instanced, so in that sense it's more like WoW, with large open outdoor locations, smaller instances tied to missions, and, of course, dungeons. We want players to feel that they're in a big world together with thousands of other players, not playing a single-player game.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I agree I don't think that instancing would do this game too much harm. Personally I don't have a problem with instancing in general as long as I am able to see enough people around so that the game world looks alive.
Steam: Neph
I´ve been out of the TSW loop for a few months. Have they confirmed instancing? Or is this just a "what if" post?
To me that interview sounds more like an open world with dungeons type play.
All statements I make is from my point of view unless stated otherwise.
That's because it is.
I wont lie, this kind of thead bothers me. here's why:
TSW:
"Is this game going to be instanced?"
"i hear it is."
"maybe."
"who knows!"
"actually, according to 7 interviews and 4 press releases, there will only be instances used in the case of dungeons and script-heavy story missions."
"yeah, sure, that's what they say, but we all know it's going to be instanced."
"man, instancing is going to kill this game."
"i refuse to play this game because of how terrible the instance system will be!
GW2:
"hey guys, in an interview the designers said that the game will be almost as instance heavy as the original. what do you think of that?"
"Nah, it won't be too bad."
"I trust them to not instance the game too much."
"I'm sure it will just be for story missions."
"They would never do something like that."
It's a pet peeve of mine. ignoring the information that exists in order to make a point that is based 90% ignorance, then ignoring the information when it is presented to you. TSW will be open world with instanced dungeons. GW2 will be an open world/heavy instance hybrid. Both have been stated repeatedly. There is no longer an excuse for it.
And for this reason alone I will never buy an instanced MMO again, it's dreadful!
I used to be categorical when it comes to instancing, but not so much any more. Of course I don't want to stare at loading screens all the time and feel like I'm playng a single player, but then again I don't want to stand in line with X number of other toons waiting to take down a mini-boss.
It all comes down to a balance act, so by definition any solution won't please all.
"nerf rock, paper is working as intended."
- Scissors.
Head Chop
You obviously never played EQ1 back before Kunark (the first expansion). The two high end dungeons (sol b and lower guk) were so packed with players camping spawns that you could take a level 1 newbie and run it around down in those places without fear, because monsters were immediately attacked when they popped.
Instancing can be a VERY good thing.
I dont see why instanced areas in AoC bothered people so much it isnt like you are omnipresent and can be everywhere at once and you still ran into other people sometimes when you didnt want to as they were killing you.And even GW own personal maps would bother me less if there was a global chat that you could talk in while in them and lfg chat etc.