too bad it was not worthy of a 9 of 10 at release. I noticed it is flirting with going into the 100's over at XFire, not exactly the kind of population you would think a 9 of 10 game would have.
They should really take the time to make a good economy/crafting system, even it is only bcs AoC is the testing ground for TSW.
The traditional "Bar-Gazing" crafting type will not revive it!
Something modern, something that makes any crafter hook, that is as rewarding to a crafter as combat is to the adventurer, not only moneywise but also from the fun of gameplay could do AoC and also TSW wonders.
The new crafting system will be a huge addition to the game if it is done right. Like someone else said, crafting is one of the pillars of an MMO, it really isn't some optional feature that a good MMO may or may not have. Good crafting is essential to any MMO that wants a vibrant economy.
I agree so much on this. If crafting is gone. Basically much of the fundament for an active economy is also gone. This improvement they are doing now have an imense potential. That's the thing with crafting... It is recognized as something important, but there is always something more pressing on the todo list. Crafting is not there in your face as a obvious problem that need an overhaul. It's something that must be done...but not know. I am glad Craig finally got around to do the crafting overhaul. It can actually be the most important and mechanic changing thing done to the game.
I hope for a very positive impact as in, even more of an 9 out of 10 game.
I'd rate AoC an 8-8.5, and as it is now an 8.5, around the same range as MMO's like Aion, LotrO and Rift that I'd also rate in the low to mid 8's.
Personally I rate AoC higher than a LotrO, Aion and Rift because it has a number of things that sets it apart from those and other MMO's, like its gritty low fantasy setting, its combat system, its guild city system that is more interesting than LotrO's housing and guild housing system, overall it just has a somewhat different feel and flavor to it than a number of those other AAA MMO's that are around that sort of clicks. To me, that is. Aion and LotrO were polished too, but LotrO felt something lacking especially these last 2 years where it didn't exactly flourish and grow to become more like AoC did but instead sort of stagnated, while Aion has a fun siege warfare system but, I don't know, I guess it felt too typically Asian grindy after level 25 to me, the leveling not fun enough, not as other games like AoC's leveling was.
But that's my own subjective ranking.
A lot of what you write make so much sense. I do too think that AoC is unique in many ways.
This might also be the reason for why the game cause so much controversy. Some people look for something special and love it when they find it. Others again, can't get over that things are different from what they are used to. I am glad FunCom had the balls to make something out of the normal. Something that is not from the generic pile of WOW clones.
Having said that, it did actually cost FunCom arms and legs of money to be able to make MMO's with this slightly different feel. Thay had to create their entire own MMO engine (which is an immense amount of work by the way)... And now when they are finally gettin around to shake the last bugs out of it and improve on the short commings, this is only going one way. It just gets better and better. I have tried some MMO's now and I'll tell you that most other MMO's from SOE, Turbine, BioWare are generic in the feel because they all are made on the backbone of the same game engine. They baought that engine core from a third party developer that lives of the royalties, while the game developers live on the beutifull things they draw inside that engine. Do you get the differense.. Even though games are different they will always have that thing riding them, that deep down down in the game code they ride the same logic, same lighting system, etc etc... Perhaps you are not able to see it right away, but you will definitely feel it after a while and eventually you will put the game down because of that. With FunComs games you will never have that. You will perhaps be annoyd over other things, but you can never never say that it is not unique in the feel. Because it ctually is through and through all from the core to the top level shading of that guys clothing or that other girls titties.
I'm happy I got to try this. Gave me hope for an industry where it for a while just looked like everyone was going to recreate the same thing just over and over again.
I havent tried AoC in awhile but for me it lacked any sort of exploration. I know AoC is trying to stay realistic but the armor to me was bland and boring and the crafting was about as basic as you can find. I felt like there was no reason to explore because I was always guided to the next quest hub and rinse and repeat. Playing MMOs for 7+ years now I need a game thats unique to keep my interest...for me AoC was just another MMO with "different" combat.
I know my g/f wants to try AoC so I'll likely give it another try but from my past experience its no where near a 9. I'd give it a 8 at best.
They should really take the time to make a good economy/crafting system, even it is only bcs AoC is the testing ground for TSW.
The traditional "Bar-Gazing" crafting type will not revive it!
Something modern, something that makes any crafter hook, that is as rewarding to a crafter as combat is to the adventurer, not only moneywise but also from the fun of gameplay could do AoC and also TSW wonders.
The new crafting system will be a huge addition to the game if it is done right. Like someone else said, crafting is one of the pillars of an MMO, it really isn't some optional feature that a good MMO may or may not have. Good crafting is essential to any MMO that wants a vibrant economy.
Honestly, this is what is wrong with AOC to begin with. They brag about something, then deliver crap, then promise to fix it later. It is similar to pvp. They bragged about how great the PvP was going to be, then launched with nothing, then added garbage, then promised to fix it... and even in the new letter from the game director, they are still talking about trying to ´fix´ pvp seiges.
From how I rate MMO's, there hasn't been a 9.0 game created yet, all fall short of the mark, and firmly in the 8.x range.
Not sure why making it fremium would actually improve game play however, must be something else to make it a better title.
It does kinda beg the question: What are they actually scoring it on?
Given that the review (from what I read) seems to acknoweldge that a lot more content has been added and such... would it have gotten a 9/10 even if it hadn't gone freemium?
Or... are they basically saying "it would score lower if it still had a subscription. But because it's F2P, it's worth a 9"
I would hope it's something more like the former situation than the latter. If it's the latter, then that would be ridiculous... they'd be scoring it based on the payment model, not the game itself.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
too bad it was not worthy of a 9 of 10 at release. I noticed it is flirting with going into the 100's over at XFire, not exactly the kind of population you would think a 9 of 10 game would have.
I miss DAoC
I agree so much on this. If crafting is gone. Basically much of the fundament for an active economy is also gone. This improvement they are doing now have an imense potential. That's the thing with crafting... It is recognized as something important, but there is always something more pressing on the todo list. Crafting is not there in your face as a obvious problem that need an overhaul. It's something that must be done...but not know. I am glad Craig finally got around to do the crafting overhaul. It can actually be the most important and mechanic changing thing done to the game.
I hope for a very positive impact as in, even more of an 9 out of 10 game.
The Ultimate Breakdown
A lot of what you write make so much sense. I do too think that AoC is unique in many ways.
This might also be the reason for why the game cause so much controversy. Some people look for something special and love it when they find it. Others again, can't get over that things are different from what they are used to. I am glad FunCom had the balls to make something out of the normal. Something that is not from the generic pile of WOW clones.
Having said that, it did actually cost FunCom arms and legs of money to be able to make MMO's with this slightly different feel. Thay had to create their entire own MMO engine (which is an immense amount of work by the way)... And now when they are finally gettin around to shake the last bugs out of it and improve on the short commings, this is only going one way. It just gets better and better. I have tried some MMO's now and I'll tell you that most other MMO's from SOE, Turbine, BioWare are generic in the feel because they all are made on the backbone of the same game engine. They baought that engine core from a third party developer that lives of the royalties, while the game developers live on the beutifull things they draw inside that engine. Do you get the differense.. Even though games are different they will always have that thing riding them, that deep down down in the game code they ride the same logic, same lighting system, etc etc... Perhaps you are not able to see it right away, but you will definitely feel it after a while and eventually you will put the game down because of that. With FunComs games you will never have that. You will perhaps be annoyd over other things, but you can never never say that it is not unique in the feel. Because it ctually is through and through all from the core to the top level shading of that guys clothing or that other girls titties.
I'm happy I got to try this. Gave me hope for an industry where it for a while just looked like everyone was going to recreate the same thing just over and over again.
The Ultimate Breakdown
I havent tried AoC in awhile but for me it lacked any sort of exploration. I know AoC is trying to stay realistic but the armor to me was bland and boring and the crafting was about as basic as you can find. I felt like there was no reason to explore because I was always guided to the next quest hub and rinse and repeat. Playing MMOs for 7+ years now I need a game thats unique to keep my interest...for me AoC was just another MMO with "different" combat.
I know my g/f wants to try AoC so I'll likely give it another try but from my past experience its no where near a 9. I'd give it a 8 at best.
"I play Tera for the gameplay"
Honestly, this is what is wrong with AOC to begin with. They brag about something, then deliver crap, then promise to fix it later. It is similar to pvp. They bragged about how great the PvP was going to be, then launched with nothing, then added garbage, then promised to fix it... and even in the new letter from the game director, they are still talking about trying to ´fix´ pvp seiges.
It does kinda beg the question: What are they actually scoring it on?
Given that the review (from what I read) seems to acknoweldge that a lot more content has been added and such... would it have gotten a 9/10 even if it hadn't gone freemium?
Or... are they basically saying "it would score lower if it still had a subscription. But because it's F2P, it's worth a 9"
I would hope it's something more like the former situation than the latter. If it's the latter, then that would be ridiculous... they'd be scoring it based on the payment model, not the game itself.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops