People have rose-colored glasses on when it comes to the Pre-WoW era. GW1 IS NOT an MMO and the others were just MEH.
Translation, if their opinion doesn't line up with mine, they must be wrong.... LOL
Anyway, it was a tough call but SWG and DAOC win out for me, while I liked AOC, SWTOR and ESO. None have matched SWG's options and community involvement (which is most important for that MMO part..).
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
What's considered a "WoW era"? I know what's pre WoW(AC, EQ 1 etc), but it's difficult to delineate post WoW without the knowledge of that crucial fact.
Anything released between 2005-2011 as far as this poll goes.
1998-2004 The idea of playing in a massive 3D world with hundreds of other players was still new to most people. All these virtual worlds had the potential to amaze; now I feel we all take the idea for granted.
Gotta say WoW-Era (even though I loathe what WoW brought to the MMO-scene) for the only reason that my 1st MMO played was Lineage II and it kinda spoiled me and 2 1/2 years later Lord of the Rings online kinda impressed me (to be let down after F2P transition) Also need to make the note that not everything was okay between 2005-2011. There's been a lot of garbage released in that time as well...
Can't really talk about the post-WoW era, other than the old BBS online games I used to play and those are not really MMOs ;-)
About current... Much like the other 2 eras, there are some very good titles and some utter garbage titles. Sadly though, there's a clear shift (coming from Asia) where portable devices are becoming more and more important for MMO gameplay, rather than the PC *still wondering why the PC-Masterrace is ditched*
The early ones had their charm and they predate mass social media. When I think of them a big part of it was socializing with people around the world in a way we hardly ever did in any other form. I don't miss their rough graphics and too-slow game play much though.
The WOW era was all about the genre mushrooming. It was exciting because there were so many and all the big studios were producing them. It was good times and exciting.
Right now there aren't nearly as many being produced (in the West anyways) but the good ones we have, IMO, are better than MMORPGs have ever been. I'm going to go with right now. I like the faster pace, better graphics and more refined systems.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
SWTOR released december 2011. I wouldn't really consider it a 2011 game because it did take them at least 6 months to clean it up.
In either case it belongs more with Wow then ESO, GW2, BDO and similar newer game. Besides the really overuse of VO it is mechanics wise in the same place.
To be fair all those WoW fans are too hooked into playing WoW right now to bother coming to these forums to vote on a poll like this. The people who voted are probably people who visit these forums somewhat frequently and most of those who do seem to vote for anything close to anti-WoW.
To me they moved away from innovative concepts to more straight forward concepts, instead of continuing on the path they were going they went the other way changing direction thats part of why I voted Pre-WoW.
The acronym MMORPG use to mean Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
But the acronym MMMORPG now currently means Microscopic Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Kappa.
Wow era i guess...but really the premise/naming is wrong here.
Sub era vs FTP era...that is where a lot of people break when you talk the "best" era i think.
I think that should be one of two polls.
The pre-wow era (1999? Really?) really just means pre forced carebear and pre super theme park. The poll used technically defined eras of game types.
What you suggested should be a poll that is included with this poll, sitting side by side, showing the sub era (1997 for UO or EARLIER FOR MERIDIAN (1999 lol wth) through wow's early years) and free-to-play(cash shop/micro purchase) era from then until now, that is also a great poll.
Currently Playing:
Fallout 4 (Xbox One)
Puzzle Pirates (PC) Dreadtooth on Emerald Ocean
"Dying's the easy way out. You won't catch me dying. They'll have to kill me before I die!"
Wow era i guess...but really the premise/naming is wrong here.
Sub era vs FTP era...that is where a lot of people break when you talk the "best" era i think.
I think that should be one of two polls.
The pre-wow era (1999? Really?) really just means pre forced carebear and pre super theme park. The poll used technically defined eras of game types.
What you suggested should be a poll that is included with this poll, sitting side by side, showing the sub era (1997 for UO or EARLIER FOR MERIDIAN (1999 lol wth) through wow's early years) and free-to-play(cash shop/micro purchase) era from then until now, that is also a great poll.
You don't like it start your own poll to do it Dreadtooth way. Oh, I mean "The correct way".
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
Right now there aren't nearly as many being produced (in the West anyways) but the good ones we have, IMO, are better than MMORPGs have ever been. I'm going to go with right now. I like the faster pace, better graphics and more refined systems.
I'm right there with you.
Every year I get one of those "come back to UO (or DAoC) with 14 days free and I do. Usually I play for a day, maybe two, and then stop thinking, "How did I ever put up with this shit for over a decade?"
1.) Pre-Wow, simply because games like (T4C), and old RPG titles were actually great...
2.) And original wow Era, simply because the original WOW was great, I don't know why Blizzard had to go and ruin the game with all the expansions killed the game for me...
Being 2016 We need new MMO's with developers who can think which seems to be the problem with every game that has potential its being ruined by the slightest of things that effect game-play and make people quit, or Pay 2 Win / Pay 2 enjoy aspects.
Arche Age, Game had potential, but the developers as usual did not listen to the Feed-Back that was given to them instead they added the ability to PK your own faction and grief without a penalty, no wardrobe, or materials storage drove me away from the game even though people argue its pay 2 win it really wasn't was more pay 2 advance faster, and Pay 2 Enjoy but Trion got too greedy with the stuff they sold in packs instead of putting it in cash shop for everyone to buy that is the final thing that threw me over the edge made me drop all my accounts a month before the subscription of $400+ was due.
Since WOW failed in my eyes, ruining what the game was to begin with, I would say around the time the Original Guild Wars game was released, and Line Age 2 game, I have not seen another MMO worth playing for a very long time instead every game I see being developed turns into garbage with either a "Pay 2 Enjoy Cash Shop, not offering enough customization options to paying subscribers, RNG Boxes, and Developers who just flat out don't listen to what people say and don't use their brain...
Games like Arche Age, Aion, StarTrek Online, Never Winter, Blade & Soul, (Nexon In General) all ruined by developers because they bundled their games with 3rd Party Anti Cheats without letting customers know before they purchase then infecting their PC with Root Kits "Game Guard" "XingCode3", but the worst part about Perfect World, and the development of a game like StarTrek Online...
STO, Could have been much more, the only thing I enjoy even a little in the game is the space combat, but the game should have the feeling of the old single - player game called (StarTrek Bridge Commander) with some new aspects when fighting...
When you go into Away Missions, or Land on the ground the game should be more like "Star Trek Elite Force" with 3rd person, and First Person combat, and animations, instead you get this boring tab targeting bs...
This is just an example of some of the Failures I have seen (Graphics WIse) Koreans make great games I love it, but I haven't seen a successful Korean MMO worth actually playing because they always ruin them just to release more people spend money, then ruin another one its a constant cycle Over, and Over again...
Yet the only games I find that don't do this have been LOL, Smite, DOTA 2 for example.
I never really played the Pre-WoW Era; I tired tests for SWG and Asheron's Call, but didn't understand them at the time so never got into them.
WoW was the only MMO I stayed with around it's time; some of the clones were ok (WAR, Rift, etc.) and did some things better but ultimately failed in other key areas. CoH/CoV was also cool, but I don't really miss them.
FFXIV:ARR 3.0+ is, IMO, better than WoW (and arguable even better than Vanilla WoW), so that alone beats the WoW Era for me. Add to that (depending on your likes / dislikes) the number of other good MMOs out, and it is easily a better time than when WoW was the 10 million pound gorrilla. 'Free' to Play and gaming boxes do bring it down a bit though.
If the option was there I would say the next 3-5 years will be the best (in the near future), simple because reasonably successful current MMOs probably aren't going anywhere, and, assuming nothing goes horribely wrong, we should see the release of promising upcoming MMOs like CU, Pantheon, Crowfall, etc. which appeal to other (generally more old school) tastes than most current MMOs do.
UO: 1997 *The Godfather of Real PvP* Lineage: 1998 *Which is still one of the highest pop mmos to date* Asherson's Call: 1999 EverQuest : 1999 *The Godfather of PvE* Anarchy Online: 2001 Runescape: 2001 Asherson's Call 2: 2002 *Ahead of it's time, but failed due to zero advisement* Final Fantasy XI: 2002 *First MMO ever to have cross platform* Ragnarok Online: 2002 Planet Side: 2003 Entropia Universe: 2003 EvE Online: 2003 *The Last MMO made with real PvP* Lineage 2: 2003 *C1-C4 was one of the best times ever for this MMO* MapleStory: 2003 *People loved this game, I didn't* Shadowbane: 2003 *My Favorite MMO of all time* StarWar Galaxies: 2003 *May have the biggest cult following of any MMO* MU Online: 2003 ========== MMO's worth noting in 2004 before WoW released which was Nov 23rd, 2004. ========== City of Heros: April 27, 2004 Knight on Online: August 17 2004 *KOR release was 2002* Ryzom: September 19 EverQuest 2: Nov 9 2004
2003 Was the Greatest Year of all time for MMO's, Period. 2003 on it own was better than any ERA of MMO's. May of even been the greatest Year of Gaming. After 2004 you had solid 1-2 years of MMO's trying something new, being different. But that slowly changed due to WoW massive success and the cost of making an MMO. Which started the WoW-Clone era and so on.
I remember thinking how great MMOs would/could be... MAKEMMOSGREATAGAIN!
I am sure the pre-Wow era started 1996 with Meridian 59 and the Realm... Even UO (1997) was out before EQ came in 1999.
I would place NWN on AOL as the first 1991, fond memories.
The problem is the term was created after NWN was released. So...
I don't think it matters that the term was coined after NWN on AOL was released. At its peak it was 115k accounts 2k concurrent during primetime. Seems like it fits the bill. Plus it was gold box...
I am sure the pre-Wow era started 1996 with Meridian 59 and the Realm... Even UO (1997) was out before EQ came in 1999.
I would place NWN on AOL as the first 1991, fond memories.
The problem is the term was created after NWN was released. So...
I don't think it matters that the term was coined after NWN on AOL was released. At its peak it was 115k accounts 2k concurrent during primetime. Seems like it fits the bill. Plus it was gold box...
Well tell us a word that won't exist for 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I feel the graphical muds are close to it but the problem is that mmorpg was a marketing term. Massively had to do with 500 or more connections. As a marketing term, it is difficult to really make the case of going back in time to call things before that the same thing. Especially considering the 500 connection issue.
If you remember, early graphical muds had limits of like 50 connections.
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
2003 also includes Horizons (now Istaria). Name another MMORPG that allows Dragons as a playable race; not as a pet or dragon-rider, but the ACTUAL dragon.
"If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it." -Luke McKinney, The 7 Biggest Dick Moves in the History of Online Gaming
"In the end, SWG may have been more potential and promise than fulfilled expectation. But I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity." -Raph Koster
I am sure the pre-Wow era started 1996 with Meridian 59 and the Realm... Even UO (1997) was out before EQ came in 1999.
I would place NWN on AOL as the first 1991, fond memories.
Well, SSI did publish some fun games (Stormfront though made NWN and Madden, I can't remember anything else they made), NWN was the grandfather of MMOs but I don't think it had large enough servers to be a true MMORPG, I kinda remember it having 50 players a server. I have to say that I did not play it myself, my buddy did but my old Amiga didn't support it but I did play the single player games it was based on a lot.
Also I more or less took a few years break from computers at the time, didn't really like the PC back then and didn't get one until late '95.
I think it would cal it a MORPG, but I guess you could consider it a MMORPG depending on your criteria. If Atlantica should be considered a MMORPG then NWN are not that different.
Comments
Anyway, it was a tough call but SWG and DAOC win out for me, while I liked AOC, SWTOR and ESO. None have matched SWG's options and community involvement (which is most important for that MMO part..).
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
The idea of playing in a massive 3D world with hundreds of other players was still new to most people. All these virtual worlds had the potential to amaze; now I feel we all take the idea for granted.
Also need to make the note that not everything was okay between 2005-2011. There's been a lot of garbage released in that time as well...
Can't really talk about the post-WoW era, other than the old BBS online games I used to play and those are not really MMOs ;-)
About current... Much like the other 2 eras, there are some very good titles and some utter garbage titles. Sadly though, there's a clear shift (coming from Asia) where portable devices are becoming more and more important for MMO gameplay, rather than the PC *still wondering why the PC-Masterrace is ditched*
The WOW era was all about the genre mushrooming. It was exciting because there were so many and all the big studios were producing them. It was good times and exciting.
Right now there aren't nearly as many being produced (in the West anyways) but the good ones we have, IMO, are better than MMORPGs have ever been. I'm going to go with right now. I like the faster pace, better graphics and more refined systems.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
To me they moved away from innovative concepts to more straight forward concepts, instead of continuing on the path they were going they went the other way changing direction thats part of why I voted Pre-WoW.
But the acronym MMMORPG now currently means Microscopic Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Kappa.
I think that should be one of two polls.
The pre-wow era (1999? Really?) really just means pre forced carebear and pre super theme park. The poll used technically defined eras of game types.
What you suggested should be a poll that is included with this poll, sitting side by side, showing the sub era (1997 for UO or EARLIER FOR MERIDIAN (1999 lol wth) through wow's early years) and free-to-play(cash shop/micro purchase) era from then until now, that is also a great poll.
Currently Playing:
Fallout 4 (Xbox One)
Puzzle Pirates (PC)
Dreadtooth on Emerald Ocean
"Dying's the easy way out. You won't catch me dying. They'll have to kill me before I die!"
You don't like it start your own poll to do it Dreadtooth way. Oh, I mean "The correct way".
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
The problem is the term was created after NWN was released. So...
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Every year I get one of those "come back to UO (or DAoC) with 14 days free and I do. Usually I play for a day, maybe two, and then stop thinking, "How did I ever put up with this shit for over a decade?"
~~ postlarval ~~
2.) And original wow Era, simply because the original WOW was great, I don't know why Blizzard had to go and ruin the game with all the expansions killed the game for me...
Being 2016 We need new MMO's with developers who can think which seems to be the problem with every game that has potential its being ruined by the slightest of things that effect game-play and make people quit, or Pay 2 Win / Pay 2 enjoy aspects.
Arche Age, Game had potential, but the developers as usual did not listen to the Feed-Back that was given to them instead they added the ability to PK your own faction and grief without a penalty, no wardrobe, or materials storage drove me away from the game even though people argue its pay 2 win it really wasn't was more pay 2 advance faster, and Pay 2 Enjoy but Trion got too greedy with the stuff they sold in packs instead of putting it in cash shop for everyone to buy that is the final thing that threw me over the edge made me drop all my accounts a month before the subscription of $400+ was due.
Since WOW failed in my eyes, ruining what the game was to begin with, I would say around the time the Original Guild Wars game was released, and Line Age 2 game, I have not seen another MMO worth playing for a very long time instead every game I see being developed turns into garbage with either a "Pay 2 Enjoy Cash Shop, not offering enough customization options to paying subscribers, RNG Boxes, and Developers who just flat out don't listen to what people say and don't use their brain...
Games like Arche Age, Aion, StarTrek Online, Never Winter, Blade & Soul, (Nexon In General) all ruined by developers because they bundled their games with 3rd Party Anti Cheats without letting customers know before they purchase then infecting their PC with Root Kits "Game Guard" "XingCode3", but the worst part about Perfect World, and the development of a game like StarTrek Online...
STO, Could have been much more, the only thing I enjoy even a little in the game is the space combat, but the game should have the feeling of the old single - player game called (StarTrek Bridge Commander) with some new aspects when fighting...
When you go into Away Missions, or Land on the ground the game should be more like "Star Trek Elite Force" with 3rd person, and First Person combat, and animations, instead you get this boring tab targeting bs...
This is just an example of some of the Failures I have seen (Graphics WIse) Koreans make great games I love it, but I haven't seen a successful Korean MMO worth actually playing because they always ruin them just to release more people spend money, then ruin another one its a constant cycle Over, and Over again...
Yet the only games I find that don't do this have been LOL, Smite, DOTA 2 for example.
WoW WotLK era
SWTOR right up until Hutt Cartel
am thinking some of these were more who i was playing with than anything else
I never really played the Pre-WoW Era; I tired tests for SWG and Asheron's Call, but didn't understand them at the time so never got into them.
WoW was the only MMO I stayed with around it's time; some of the clones were ok (WAR, Rift, etc.) and did some things better but ultimately failed in other key areas. CoH/CoV was also cool, but I don't really miss them.
FFXIV:ARR 3.0+ is, IMO, better than WoW (and arguable even better than Vanilla WoW), so that alone beats the WoW Era for me. Add to that (depending on your likes / dislikes) the number of other good MMOs out, and it is easily a better time than when WoW was the 10 million pound gorrilla. 'Free' to Play and gaming boxes do bring it down a bit though.
If the option was there I would say the next 3-5 years will be the best (in the near future), simple because reasonably successful current MMOs probably aren't going anywhere, and, assuming nothing goes horribely wrong, we should see the release of promising upcoming MMOs like CU, Pantheon, Crowfall, etc. which appeal to other (generally more old school) tastes than most current MMOs do.
UO: 1997 *The Godfather of Real PvP*
Lineage: 1998 *Which is still one of the highest pop mmos to date*
Asherson's Call: 1999
EverQuest : 1999 *The Godfather of PvE*
Anarchy Online: 2001
Runescape: 2001
Asherson's Call 2: 2002 *Ahead of it's time, but failed due to zero advisement*
Final Fantasy XI: 2002 *First MMO ever to have cross platform*
Ragnarok Online: 2002
Planet Side: 2003
Entropia Universe: 2003
EvE Online: 2003 *The Last MMO made with real PvP*
Lineage 2: 2003 *C1-C4 was one of the best times ever for this MMO*
MapleStory: 2003 *People loved this game, I didn't*
Shadowbane: 2003 *My Favorite MMO of all time*
StarWar Galaxies: 2003 *May have the biggest cult following of any MMO*
MU Online: 2003
==========
MMO's worth noting in 2004 before WoW released which was Nov 23rd, 2004.
==========
City of Heros: April 27, 2004
Knight on Online: August 17 2004 *KOR release was 2002*
Ryzom: September 19
EverQuest 2: Nov 9 2004
2003 Was the Greatest Year of all time for MMO's, Period. 2003 on it own was better than any ERA of MMO's. May of even been the greatest Year of Gaming. After 2004 you had solid 1-2 years of MMO's trying something new, being different. But that slowly changed due to WoW massive success and the cost of making an MMO. Which started the WoW-Clone era and so on.
I remember thinking how great MMOs would/could be... MAKEMMOSGREATAGAIN!
Well tell us a word that won't exist for 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I feel the graphical muds are close to it but the problem is that mmorpg was a marketing term. Massively had to do with 500 or more connections. As a marketing term, it is difficult to really make the case of going back in time to call things before that the same thing. Especially considering the 500 connection issue.
If you remember, early graphical muds had limits of like 50 connections.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
"If MMORPG players were around when God said, "Let their be light" they'd have called the light gay, and plunged the universe back into darkness by squatting their nutsacks over it."
-Luke McKinney, The 7 Biggest Dick Moves in the History of Online Gaming
"In the end, SWG may have been more potential and promise than fulfilled expectation. But I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
-Raph Koster
Well, SSI did publish some fun games (Stormfront though made NWN and Madden, I can't remember anything else they made), NWN was the grandfather of MMOs but I don't think it had large enough servers to be a true MMORPG, I kinda remember it having 50 players a server. I have to say that I did not play it myself, my buddy did but my old Amiga didn't support it but I did play the single player games it was based on a lot.
Also I more or less took a few years break from computers at the time, didn't really like the PC back then and didn't get one until late '95.
I think it would cal it a MORPG, but I guess you could consider it a MMORPG depending on your criteria. If Atlantica should be considered a MMORPG then NWN are not that different.