Best city I can't put my finger on but best city atmosphere would have to go to any major port in Pirates of the burning sea, ...NPC fights breaking out....soldiers chasing criminals around the narrow streets....bands of drunk pirates walking down singing a yo hoho......street urchins thieving from shop sellers stalls...frisky drunken sea dogs propositioning passing maidens and getting a well earned slap across the face. Now that's city life
that sounds cool, definitely gotta do the trial someday
While Stormwind is, indeed, a cool city, anyone who says Ironforge has obviously never tried to go there on a computer that doesn't exceed the minimum requirements (which are a lie) by that much. Taking 20 minutes to go from the hunter trainer to the bank because a bad frame rate keeps throwing you into a massive ditch is not the mark of a well-designed city.
I have the fondest memories of Jeuno from FFXI. From lvl 30 on all characters gathered here to leave on their adventures. I can't ever remember a cooler city.
Kelethin in EQ1 was my favorite, something about a city in the trees was badass, but than again it was my first MMO city experience.
I always loved Kelethin also even though it took a little time to figure out where everything was......It put the fear into a drunken level 1 wood elf that is for sure!!
Neocron in Neocron was one of the more memorable ones for me too
i'd have to say the whole countryside NE of michael delving and all the little villages or whatever you'd call them stretching out to the east. in LOTRO
Tir Na Nog in DAOC
some others of note
Kelethin in the old days, most of the other EQ1 cities seemed too much like mazes, even back in the day i had a hard time appreciating them. Neriak and Erudin definitely had some larger cool sections
i have a ....hunch.... that Mirendil in Darkfall will rank up there 8)
I think my #1 spot will go to Tarantia from Age of Conan. The biggest City in any MMO i've played. This includes Old Tarantia, Noble District and the soon to be added Commons District.
Following closely I would say I liked Ironforge from WoW since it was just a big circle lol, but felt great. I have to say I liked Ogrimmar as well since I spent so much damn time in it!
On a side note, I liked some of the 'larger' hubs that belonged to Factions in Guild Wars. They werent too big but had some amazing art direction.
On the Horizon, both of Aion's main cities could possibly push in a 2nd/3rd on my list.
Currently waiting for the MMO industry to put out something good.
Walking into Stormwind for the first time was a really cool experience.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own. -- Herman Melville
For game experience, I agree that Stormwind and Ironforge were among the most memorable moments I've had in a MMORPG.
I participated in stress test with my friends, and we took some time to meet up at Menethil. My trip from Northshire to Menethil stopping by Stormwind and Ironforge on the way got me hooked to the environment.
For game design, I like the towns in FFXI where each section of the town has access to all the basics such as auction house, delivery, entrance to your house, etc. - you can avoid crowded maps.
When I was playing, Jeuno was where everyone level 30+ was. Jeuno was full of players and actually seemed kind of cosmopolitan because you got to see every class in their Artifact Armor. You also had white mages shouting prices for teleporting which gave the feeling that vendors are screaming out their wares. This is where players would go to find help for any quests also.
With all the player activity, this city just seemed so alive to me.
i think its safe to say that those that say WoW cities have never played any other MMOs. because I have seen the WoW cities and none of them are anything special.
for me i would definately say Neriak ... even the one in EQ2 was pretty well done (confusing as hell) but looked really cool.
From what I have seen from multiple Huxley Videos. I think Huxley will have the best city when it went into beta in Korea earlier this month. I also think that some of the cities in Chronicles of Spellborn have an interesting design to them. They definetly have eye-candy which I find hard to come by in mmos.
I'd have to say Ironforge, and yes, I haven't any other games long enough to experience any of their true cities. Stormwind is a cool city, but it has some design flaws. Although the seperation and labelling of each section would seem nice, it also forces players to traverse the entire length of the city in order to acquire different things. Sure, it sounds lazy, but it's also just time consuming and a waste of time when you have things to do. Ironforge, on the other hand, is a giant circle, so going through the middle can get you to any section of the city easily.
Purely by city design I always loved New Torgonor; it was really VAST, and built like some real, mediveal city. The only problem is, like all VG citites there is zero city life. I always thought VG with "soul" and really animated with details would be a blast.
(4) TORTAGE (AoC)
While being small, they really made it dense with atmosphere, its so wonderful exotic and full of stories.
(3) BREE (LOTRO)
Another really beautiful MMO city.
(2) CITY OF HEROES - city (COH)
To my shame I must confess I dont recall how the City of Heroes - city is called, but I loved it, especially since it was so much like a modern city with all the gangs, parks, cars and whatnot. Never got enough of it.
(1) MOS EISLEY (SWG)
Ok, being a Star Wars fan I am biased, haha, but my most favoured city is Mos Eisley. You could always meet a greet people there, there were buzzing droids and shady traders, seminude dancers (including myself, haha), angry Stormtroopers yelling at me... what more could one want?
SPECIAL NEGATIVE MENTION:
Always hated the EQ2 cities. They were so... dead. All people ever did was run in, buy/sell and run out. I played EQ2 a long time, but none of those cities ever really felt alive in any way.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
No single city area stands out in any of the games I have played.
Some cities I liked include:
In Everquest, when I played the most popular city was Plane of Knowledge because it was the transport hub to most places and also had bank and crafting areas.
The elven tree city in Greater Faydwark in Everquest is worth a mention.
In Istaria (aka Horizons), many towns were player built according to players' personal preferences.
Rivendell in Lord of the Rings Online has beautiful scenery.
The city areas in City of Heroes is consistent with the tone of the game.
Some of the things I did not like include:
Lag in popular city areas in most games is annoying.
Downloading zone information can take longer for player made cities where the zone information cannot be cached because it is unique to that server at that particular time.
Spread out cities that require lots of running around to do the essential basics for that world (banking, buying, selling, crafting, repairs etc).
Cities that you have to visit regularly which can only be visited after long and tedious travel.
i think its safe to say that those that say WoW cities have never played any other MMOs. because I have seen the WoW cities and none of them are anything special.
At 38, I have played a ton of MMOs through the years, going back to the day Ultima Online was released.
Nothing has ever been more spectacular then when I first walked into Stormwind with that epic music playing.
Although the layout was half cluster bleep. My favorite MMO city without a doubt was older SWG Coronet. When you went to the courtyard you found people. Go to the hospital you found medics and doctors, go to the cantina you found entertainers, and go to the market and you found crafters. I am not saying it was the best layed out or most beatiful city in SWG, but as a hub it was unequalled to anything I have seen since.
Also, not that I lasted very long in the game, I found the "capital" cities of WoW to be impressive in their scope and design. Running through them was frustrating, but I did enjoy the them nonetheless. I don't want to start a graphics "cartoon vs. realism" chain reaction here. I just remember my first impressions of them fondly. At the same time I also checked out Lineage 2 and EQ2, the cities did not leave the same lasting impression.
Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.
I'm going to go in a different direction then most and throw out Black Moon Chronicles. This is the only game that visually draws me back into playing now and then. Sadly not many people play it nor even heard of it but it looks like it been ripped out of a comic book. The detail within the cities are built around the plot/story so it all kinda adds up. Hopefully it becomes more popular and people appreciate the artistry that was put into it
CPU-HP Omen 17.3" Laptop i7 12 GB AMD Radeon RX580 1 TB Hard Drive
Comments
that sounds cool, definitely gotta do the trial someday
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Corpus Callosum
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While Stormwind is, indeed, a cool city, anyone who says Ironforge has obviously never tried to go there on a computer that doesn't exceed the minimum requirements (which are a lie) by that much. Taking 20 minutes to go from the hunter trainer to the bank because a bad frame rate keeps throwing you into a massive ditch is not the mark of a well-designed city.
I have the fondest memories of Jeuno from FFXI. From lvl 30 on all characters gathered here to leave on their adventures. I can't ever remember a cooler city.
I've always been partial to San d'Oria, myself. Even the music was cool.
I always loved Kelethin also even though it took a little time to figure out where everything was......It put the fear into a drunken level 1 wood elf that is for sure!!
....maybe Qeynos in EQ2....
Neocron in Neocron was one of the more memorable ones for me too
i'd have to say the whole countryside NE of michael delving and all the little villages or whatever you'd call them stretching out to the east. in LOTRO
Tir Na Nog in DAOC
some others of note
Kelethin in the old days, most of the other EQ1 cities seemed too much like mazes, even back in the day i had a hard time appreciating them. Neriak and Erudin definitely had some larger cool sections
i have a ....hunch.... that Mirendil in Darkfall will rank up there 8)
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Corpus Callosum
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I think my #1 spot will go to Tarantia from Age of Conan. The biggest City in any MMO i've played. This includes Old Tarantia, Noble District and the soon to be added Commons District.
Following closely I would say I liked Ironforge from WoW since it was just a big circle lol, but felt great. I have to say I liked Ogrimmar as well since I spent so much damn time in it!
On a side note, I liked some of the 'larger' hubs that belonged to Factions in Guild Wars. They werent too big but had some amazing art direction.
On the Horizon, both of Aion's main cities could possibly push in a 2nd/3rd on my list.
also liked that night elf city, Dolonaar or something like that in WOW
almost forgot Vanguard
New Targonor is pretty epic to fly over. too mazey in parts when you're down in it. Cai'al Brael or whatever. the tree city
and i forgot Ak'Anon from EQ
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Corpus Callosum
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Walking into Stormwind for the first time was a really cool experience.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville
For game experience, I agree that Stormwind and Ironforge were among the most memorable moments I've had in a MMORPG.
I participated in stress test with my friends, and we took some time to meet up at Menethil. My trip from Northshire to Menethil stopping by Stormwind and Ironforge on the way got me hooked to the environment.
For game design, I like the towns in FFXI where each section of the town has access to all the basics such as auction house, delivery, entrance to your house, etc. - you can avoid crowded maps.
For me it was Jeuno from FFXI.
When I was playing, Jeuno was where everyone level 30+ was. Jeuno was full of players and actually seemed kind of cosmopolitan because you got to see every class in their Artifact Armor. You also had white mages shouting prices for teleporting which gave the feeling that vendors are screaming out their wares. This is where players would go to find help for any quests also.
With all the player activity, this city just seemed so alive to me.
i think its safe to say that those that say WoW cities have never played any other MMOs. because I have seen the WoW cities and none of them are anything special.
for me i would definately say Neriak ... even the one in EQ2 was pretty well done (confusing as hell) but looked really cool.
From what I have seen from multiple Huxley Videos. I think Huxley will have the best city when it went into beta in Korea earlier this month. I also think that some of the cities in Chronicles of Spellborn have an interesting design to them. They definetly have eye-candy which I find hard to come by in mmos.
Tarantia - AOC
I had to search for awhile to find the name. I didn't play that game long enough to remember it, but it looked great.
The Official God FAQ
I'd have to say Ironforge, and yes, I haven't any other games long enough to experience any of their true cities. Stormwind is a cool city, but it has some design flaws. Although the seperation and labelling of each section would seem nice, it also forces players to traverse the entire length of the city in order to acquire different things. Sure, it sounds lazy, but it's also just time consuming and a waste of time when you have things to do. Ironforge, on the other hand, is a giant circle, so going through the middle can get you to any section of the city easily.
My Top 5:
(5) NEW TORGONOR (Vanguard)
Purely by city design I always loved New Torgonor; it was really VAST, and built like some real, mediveal city. The only problem is, like all VG citites there is zero city life. I always thought VG with "soul" and really animated with details would be a blast.
(4) TORTAGE (AoC)
While being small, they really made it dense with atmosphere, its so wonderful exotic and full of stories.
(3) BREE (LOTRO)
Another really beautiful MMO city.
(2) CITY OF HEROES - city (COH)
To my shame I must confess I dont recall how the City of Heroes - city is called, but I loved it, especially since it was so much like a modern city with all the gangs, parks, cars and whatnot. Never got enough of it.
(1) MOS EISLEY (SWG)
Ok, being a Star Wars fan I am biased, haha, but my most favoured city is Mos Eisley. You could always meet a greet people there, there were buzzing droids and shady traders, seminude dancers (including myself, haha), angry Stormtroopers yelling at me... what more could one want?
SPECIAL NEGATIVE MENTION:
Always hated the EQ2 cities. They were so... dead. All people ever did was run in, buy/sell and run out. I played EQ2 a long time, but none of those cities ever really felt alive in any way.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Elysium from Aion
and WoW cities don't have squat on L2's cities.
Neocron
No single city area stands out in any of the games I have played.
Some cities I liked include:
Some of the things I did not like include:
Stormwind
At 38, I have played a ton of MMOs through the years, going back to the day Ultima Online was released.
Nothing has ever been more spectacular then when I first walked into Stormwind with that epic music playing.
Your dislike for WoW is obvious.
This is a great idea for a thread OP.
Although the layout was half cluster bleep. My favorite MMO city without a doubt was older SWG Coronet. When you went to the courtyard you found people. Go to the hospital you found medics and doctors, go to the cantina you found entertainers, and go to the market and you found crafters. I am not saying it was the best layed out or most beatiful city in SWG, but as a hub it was unequalled to anything I have seen since.
Also, not that I lasted very long in the game, I found the "capital" cities of WoW to be impressive in their scope and design. Running through them was frustrating, but I did enjoy the them nonetheless. I don't want to start a graphics "cartoon vs. realism" chain reaction here. I just remember my first impressions of them fondly. At the same time I also checked out Lineage 2 and EQ2, the cities did not leave the same lasting impression.
Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.
Tried: WoW, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Everquest, WWII Online, Planetside
Beta: Lotro, Tabula Rasa, WAR.
I almost forgot about playing Neocron. Poorly managed...but the setting was amazing.
Played (more than a month): SWG, Second Life, Tabula Rasa, Lineage 2, Everquest 2, EvE, MxO, Ryzom.
Tried: WoW, Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Everquest, WWII Online, Planetside
Beta: Lotro, Tabula Rasa, WAR.
Bestine, SWG
Mos Eisley, SWG
Orgrimmar, WoW.
I'm going to go in a different direction then most and throw out Black Moon Chronicles. This is the only game that visually draws me back into playing now and then. Sadly not many people play it nor even heard of it but it looks like it been ripped out of a comic book. The detail within the cities are built around the plot/story so it all kinda adds up. Hopefully it becomes more popular and people appreciate the artistry that was put into it
CPU-HP Omen 17.3" Laptop i7 12 GB AMD Radeon RX580 1 TB Hard Drive