I think the core of the issue here is the older gamers and the newer gamers. I consider myself an older gamer, I'm 31, I've played D&D for 20 years, and I started MMO with Velious Everquest in 2001. I found myself just too tired of the grinding and stuff in this genre now without really adding anything innovative. First thing I noticed about Aion is it was hard to block gold spammers. That immediately got on my nerves as I tried to figure out how to block someone and eventually just turned channel chat off. MMO games today should be a bit more intuitive about chat functions. After I get that set up I notice its just the same "click the npc with the arrow over its head, go kill these mobs, turn in". Nothing new here, same boring and mindless quest method since WOW. So I kill some stuff with my gladiator and its ok, but nothing special. The world is very linear, I am moved from one area to another at set times, exploring isnt that fun of a feeling. Finally I get my wings and I notice that flying is a big dissapointment. I expected flying to be like Perfect World, unlimited flying time and open(anywhere just about). Flying in Aion is so short term and restricted its not even fun, it's just aggravating to me. So then I mindlessly grind(with the help of kill X mob quests of course) to level 20+ and it doesn't change any. I'm still being forced into certain areas at certain times, the combat is bland, flying is dissappointing, leveling is tedious, the camera angles are not up to par, the females aren't sexy enough, roleplaying is nonexistent, the music is a joke(sounds like Mario Kart or something idk), the gear refining upgrading is boring and too simplistic, and DP takes way too long to build up. Basically it's a JAAG(Just Another Asian Grinder). It's polished and has hype so it will get some subs, but it's not what I am looking for. I joined this board because most of the people here feel the same way that I do about MMO now, so the fans can hype it as much as they want, but at the end of the day it is what it is...a JAAG.
Originally posted by ZhauricAn "older" gamer and yet a narrow and limited view. I'm 32 myself and I have no sort of view as yourself. Especially the JAAG label you place upon because quite honestly it's a bit ridiculous to state it as such. There is no grind unless you count the quests as such. And if that is the case then that has nothing to do with the usual "Korean Grinder" aspect. The whole notion of the Korean grind wasn't questing but the fact the quests were so limited and at times even undervalued that you gained more xp grinding mobs and not quests. That is not Aion. The quests give you plenty of XP and plenty of quests to obtain as such. So no...that goes against the entire logic of your JAAG.
As for roleplaying...as a roleplayer myself I have no expectation of roleplaying in a beta. Folks are trying a new game that hasn't, seeing the classes they like, taking in the surroundings/mechanics, etc. No way do I think I'll get roleplaying right now. Who wants to stop during a beta? Plenty of roleplayers on www.aionroleplayers.com for me to know it will be there when the time is right. A beta is not it.
You seem to think that because you click a quest on an npc with an arrow over its head, and go *kill* so many mobs that its questing and not grinding. Well, I disagree; that is not questing to me, it is nothing but a grind. The day I have to walk around and explore and actually talk(meaning I need to actually read what they say and understand it and type a response) to people to find out stuff and actually adventure(non-linear map) it will be fun. Going to an NPC, clicking a couple times, killing 20 mobs, then clicking an NPC again is no less a grind to me than just straight killing. In fact I would argue it's even *more* of a grind and detrimental to grouping(community). I'd rather just group with people in one spot for a few hours and kill everything in sight. Makes for a fun party and lively conversation(that's me).
I mean how many people even read the quests anymore? Honestly? Most of us don't we just click away. I very much enjoyed Everquest's quest dialogues with the words in [brackets] that you needed to say to talk with them. It's like the old Final Fantasy games, where you never knew who you needed to talk to. That's questing to me. Not having an arrow over someones head, and not knowing what I need to say to them to get the response I want. I have to listen to them, and I have talk with them.
About roleplaying. Perhaps thats a poor choice of a word, perhaps "lore" is better. I'm not expecting people to be saying "/me chugs down a pint of ale". I guess I'm trying to say the lore of the game and the roleplaying aspect of it doesn't appeal to me. I mean WOW, EQ, other games have like humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, stuff like that and appropriate music. Running around like the incredible hulk(asmodians) with white hair down my back, killing mobs to Mario Kart music or whatever just didn't pull me into the world and the lore of it(if there is any?).
I may very well be narrow-minded. Then again maybe it's just that I've seen and played this before and know what I like?
Originally posted by 1977 Originally posted by ZhauricAn "older" gamer and yet a narrow and limited view. I'm 32 myself and I have no sort of view as yourself. Especially the JAAG label you place upon because quite honestly it's a bit ridiculous to state it as such. There is no grind unless you count the quests as such. And if that is the case then that has nothing to do with the usual "Korean Grinder" aspect. The whole notion of the Korean grind wasn't questing but the fact the quests were so limited and at times even undervalued that you gained more xp grinding mobs and not quests. That is not Aion. The quests give you plenty of XP and plenty of quests to obtain as such. So no...that goes against the entire logic of your JAAG. As for roleplaying...as a roleplayer myself I have no expectation of roleplaying in a beta. Folks are trying a new game that hasn't, seeing the classes they like, taking in the surroundings/mechanics, etc. No way do I think I'll get roleplaying right now. Who wants to stop during a beta? Plenty of roleplayers on www.aionroleplayers.com for me to know it will be there when the time is right. A beta is not it.
You seem to think that because you click a quest on an npc with an arrow over its head, and go *kill* so many mobs that its questing and not grinding. Well, I disagree; that is not questing to me, it is nothing but a grind. The day I have to walk around and explore and actually talk(meaning I need to actually read what they say and understand it and type a response) to people to find out stuff and actually adventure(non-linear map) it will be fun. Going to an NPC, clicking a couple times, killing 20 mobs, then clicking an NPC again is no less a grind to me than just straight killing. In fact I would argue it's even *more* of a grind and detrimental to grouping(community). I'd rather just group with people in one spot for a few hours and kill everything in sight. Makes for a fun party and lively conversation(that's me). I mean how many people even read the quests anymore? Honestly? Most of us don't we just click away. I very much enjoyed Everquest's quest dialogues with the words in [brackets] that you needed to say to talk with them. It's like the old Final Fantasy games, where you never knew who you needed to talk to. That's questing to me. Not having an arrow over someones head, and not knowing what I need to say to them to get the response I want. I have to listen to them, and I have talk with them. About roleplaying. Perhaps thats a poor choice of a word, perhaps "lore" is better. I'm not expecting people to be saying "/me chugs down a pint of ale". I guess I'm trying to say the lore of the game and the roleplaying aspect of it doesn't appeal to me. I mean WOW, EQ, other games have like humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, stuff like that and appropriate music. Running around like the incredible hulk(asmodians) with white hair down my back, killing mobs to Mario Kart music or whatever just didn't pull me into the world and the lore of it(if there is any?). I may very well be narrow-minded. Then again maybe it's just that I've seen and played this before and know what I like?
Really though, it's no wonder you don't like Aion because it really is not your kind of game. I personally would not want to have to try and figure out which NPC out of all of them there wanted me to go do something, it would be a real pain in the ass.
Trying to also put interesting conversations for every NPC (or every quest NPC) is a difficult task in its self. If you make it too long than normal (casual) players aren't going to go very far in the game. I've read some of the quest text in Aion, it is written well in my opinon. However I don't read the quest text often, like you said, it's just my mindset and the way I play the game. I'm more interested in the PvP aspect then roleplaying or really giving a rats ass about the lore.
I don't understand how you can compare the music to mario kart though. I mean,
Unless you're deaf those certainly don't sound anything alike nor share any real common musical traits.
Also you would be hard pressed to see any modern game where people who are important don't have some sort of noticeable feature about them. It's progression, because most people don't want to spend half an hour just talking to NPC's figuring out what they have to do. There was a reason why people just grinded back in the day, because it was a pain in the ass to do some of those quests.
Sure, developers could try to work in more "epic" quests, but that in its self is a difficult task. Afterall you really can't replicate the idea of something being epic if everyone is doing it. Still the quests in Aion do seem to have a reason, and some of them actually have some pretty interesting surprises storywise.
Anyways I think that if a game wants to tell a story it should do more to tell it than just have a person read it. In Braid you did read a bit, but the real meat of the story came from the gameplay its self. I think that if developers want to move forward with games as an art form they need to start showing the story in a unique way that isn't possible by just reading a book. Like I said, in Braid it would be impossible to have a book that gave the same impact that the game did. I realize I did go off tangent, but I think if you're asking for a more interesting experience than less text is the best way to go.
Of course I'm not trying to say Aion is high art, it isn't. However it sure is a hell of a lot of fun for the guys like me who just want to get up in levels, advance our character, chill with our guildmates and get involved in some of the best current PvP an MMO can offer.
I gave it another go but it got that boring I found myself falling asleep. I know this is just beta, but you get a good idea of where the game is going. Luckily I was able to cancel my pre-order. Lovely game and very polished but boring as hell to play -for me-.
fixed.
Qualify your statements of opinion or else they sound like fact.
Post itself was still pretty much a complete waste of time as it offered nothing for someone to digest. Articulate moar.
I dont know why but this game just got utterly boring all of a sudden. Starting to feel forced into groups now otherwise soloing is just too painful. CB4 I got into a group healing and it was alright, the loot was not bad.. but I seriously cant stand this asian garbage no more. Which is starting to feel very much like a heavy grinder.. Combat is so slow and boring I can't stand it.. As a cleric I have 2 main offensive abilities that chain into special attacks every 15-30 seconds or so... I mean seriously im 20 levels in and Im attacking with the exact same crap as level 5.. There is other spells and a few buffs that have been given over 20 levels I just dont see why theres all this hype around this game anymore to anyone post lvl 20.
Im actually only posting this now because I read a few posts on here that said the game opens up at level 20.. Im not sure what they meant but the game feels just like the the first 20 levels just with some new scenery..
I have never read here.. beta.. kor.. china that the game opens up at 20. It gerts more grind.. more have to group (mobs). I too dont like this. But I think alot are going for end game.. PVP.. and that is fun...
You're a healing class though. Did you really expect to get a ton of attacks? You're role in the game is to heal, not DPS.
Yes, but the game should provide quests where you heal, rather than kill stuff. That's the point - tanks and healers need content where THEIR class abilities are foremost.
This not a criticism of Aion in particular, just MMORPGs in general.
The worse the leveling experience for tanks and healer is, the fewer tanks and healers there will be for the DPS classes to group with when the serious challenges start.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I am so with you bro. People do need to realize that games are games and meant to be played to enjoy, relax, have good times in spare times before having to go back to real life...to work, school etc. There's so much to do and read up and explore in any MMOs but ppl just seem to wanna max out and say.."I'm bored..that's it?! wat's next?" I mean.. Com'on.. take it easy and play.
When you have lots of people telling you the fun starts at 20 or 25 or whatever, it's tough to be content when grinding out level 13.
The PvP is said to be quite good in this game - BUT - you can't do it until you get into the 20s?
Eight (mirrored) classes in the game - BUT - only two starting areas (with the same quest grind for each class) means that your second or third alt is going to be very boring to level.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
People really place unrealistic expectations on these games. You can't just play every beta event and say "games boring now, it fails." I think it's asking a little too much for a game to provide constant entertainment for the first 20 levels if you want to re-roll 20 times. Unrealistic.
Not when you can PvP from L1 and level with PvP. One thing WAR did right. I have dozens of Tier 2 (L12-21) alts in that game because early game PvP is FUN.
Leveling alts in Aion sounds worse than WoW, because WoW had several different starting areas with their own quests.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Seems to me like you folks are playing this game for all the wrong reasons. Aion is advertised as PvPvE (and the E is there because of the NPCs in the PvP zones), I have no idea why anyone would expect a meaningful storyline/PvE experience out of this game. There are a million MMOs out there who already excel at that. Most of them have one thing in common though, their PvP sucks. Aion will deliver where Warhammer and AoC failed. Hell, the fact that you can actually PLAY Aion during beta and the classes have a resemblance of balance speaks volumes compared to the latest rip-offs. Why they make you wait until level 25 to get your hands on some PvP I'll never know.
This is a PvP game with some PvE slapped on top of it folks. If you enjoy PvP don't give up on it until you've at least tried it. If you like fighting AI and are collecting retirement this is probably not the game for you.
No, it isn't a PVP game.
Not when you have to "pay your dues" to get to the PvP. Not when you have to stop PvPing and go PvE to level. WoW made me do that, and I hated it.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I have never read here.. beta.. kor.. china that the game opens up at 20. It gerts more grind.. more have to group (mobs). I too dont like this. But I think alot are going for end game.. PVP.. and that is fun...
Then I'll start paying when I get there.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
So time sinking and no fun from lvl1 in MMO is unremovable reason i think. If you want every fun stuffs from lvl 1 and don't want to pay your due, go play FPS/RTS or WAR it give you quick fun, and quick ends. Or wait until your dreams come true mmo comes out (you've got to make one, its pretty hard^^)
1 - I don't play FPS because I hate the tunnel vision it forces on you. I prefer swords and spells to guns and grenades. I prefer fighting dragons and giants to fighting tanks and robots or even aliens.
2 - I like the IDEA of MMORPGs because of the advancement. The gradual process of gaining new skills and meeting bigger challenges. For me, though, PvE is now BORING. Fighting some predictable AI mob is dull compared to fighting other players who can learn, strategize, and surprise you.
3 - If WAR had delivered the fun end game it promised, without horrific performance issues, tons of bugs, and that sick (and insulting) WARD grind, I'd be VERY happy with it.
WAR has shown that a game CAN offer good PvP right from the start. Hell, if the game only lasted to L20 (and had a working end game), it would be great.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I am also level 20, and bored. They really did this whole promo weekend thing wrong. They should've given everyone pre-made 20's or 25's and let everyone see what the game has to offer. As it stands now, I've been standing around LFG @ level 20 for about an hour. This sucked about the last two weekends too. Give everyone level 25 toons so there are people to PLAY WITH / PVP with. It's a damn preview weekend, not live... Stop making people invest time in grinding. I already had 5 people in a long-time guild get sick of this game already because of this crap on these past two weekends, and they aren't even playing this weekend.
I remember that 'regular' beta testers didn't get to see Warhammer's end game content. The Elder testers (who were subject to their own NDA which lasted past release) got to see it, but weren't allowed to talk about it. Now we know why.
My point is that if the beta is set up to prevent some content from being seen - there is usually a good reason for it. It is likely garbage.
Less time in PvP means less chance to find flaws. Beta testers are guinea pigs - being tested, rather than doing testing.
Fact is, Korea only let players get to 30 in the beta. After release, the game sold like hotcakes, then went to china and sold like hotcakes. The reviews, previews, and impressions/gameplaystreams, AND westerners who have played the eastern client say that PVP rocks.
Bias aside, Most people who found the PVP aspect to their taste have liked it. Enough of a like for it to be over 3 million subs. So I don't think they are hiding anything when just about every aspect of it is common knowlege except for "First hand experience"
Gameplay in this game has it's ups and down's like every other on the market. But it is safe to say the game doesn't have enough negatives aspects to half to "Hide certain features", just to keep people interested. Have you ever thought that maybe a majority of the text based content is located in the earlier levels where they want to make absolutely sure it is as polished as possible so they do make a good first impression?
The game is already polished and all that is being done in the west is translation. I would try to concentrate all of my last minute corrections and polishing to be for the low end content because that is where everyone starts!
Would you prefer it if players tested the translaions that players will be LAST to get to after launch? Or make sure the "Begginning" is perfect so you still have time to nit pick at the end because it will still take people weeks to get there.
And how unpolished and buggy will all those new quests that are being added be?
What is Aion's end game anyway? Have you personally played it? How is it?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I have been playing MMO games since MUDs back in 1995. I have literally played every mainstream MMO game to come out since then (and a lot of non-mainstream ones). UO is still my favorite MMO game ever to be released.
...
Aion is possibly the most fun I have had playing an MMO game since 2001.
I have been playing the NA version since the first beta event and just got my first character to 25 last night. I have leveled one of all eight classes past 10 to see which one I wanted to play when the game goes retail.
Here's the thing. I didn't play these beta events like a free preview for the game, my one and only goal was deciding which class I wanted to play. Now that I know I won't be logging in again until the game is released.
And even though I have leveled all of these characters through the starting areas, I still cannot wait to play the game when it is released. That's the nice thing about the game being fun from level 1, I don't mind doing it again.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
1 - I don't play FPS because I hate the tunnel vision it forces on you. I prefer swords and spells to guns and grenades. I prefer fighting dragons and giants to fighting tanks and robots or even aliens. 2 - I like the IDEA of MMORPGs because of the advancement. The gradual process of gaining new skills and meetign bigger challenges. For me, though, PvE is now BORING fighting some predictable AI mob is dull compared to fighting other players who can learn, strategize, and surprise you. 3 - If WAR had delivered the fun end game it promised, without horrific performance issues, tons of bugs, and that sick (and insulting) WARD grind, I'd be VERY happy with it. WAR has shown that a game CAN offer good PvP right from the start. Hell, if the game only lasted to L20 (and had a working end game), it would be great.
I didn't played WAR yet, but i thought what made WAR failed is
cause of that it's strong side. WAR cater for PvP mania since lvl1
and i heard it was fun for early times, it gave quick fun and quick tired.
Getting bored and losing real purpose to fight and win or lose then respawn
then go again, win or lose respawn..Way to losing thrill and achievement in a game.
Then started to pvp grind for Realm Points from easy quick PvP encounter.
If they could provide endgame contents..? Well i'd say "That was their best"
It was made by Mythic who very known to Master of RvRgame.
Since you started to engage PvP from lvl1, until 50lvl what you've got to do in game is just PvP.
It supposed to be tired even you are real hardcore PvP lovers.
PvP can be most fun sauce of Game cause of its variety.
But repetitive quick PvP encounter never hold thrill of PvP tightly and its bloodpumping excitement i think.
Everything should be catered properly without abusing of it since human going to be tired by anything soon.
I thought Aion was tried to cater for everyone who like to play a game in diverse way.
PvE, PvP,Craft,Eye candy,Grind,Group,Quest,Explorer(you'll not belive, but its big part of Aion
atm i'm lazy to describe it, but you guys'll see what is it after 1-2month later launched)
Everything have their value and worth to do in Aion, nothing is pathetic and abandoned.
Maybe can just say easily "It's polished"
So some of the sub main part of game can be feel bored because it's not that innovative
but you may try it if you really want to be in big economy/community of Aion,
it's not that only horrible and boring stuffs to do but have their meaning and fun.
Except PvP part, Aion having some weak point about other features compared to WoW or some other games.
But one thing Aion have really many contents that cater for all side of game.
Some people will joy Aion's PvP and hate PvE, some will love to Craft and become rich
some will harvest stuffs some will explore and find special spot for something(about cool place for Kisk matter on PvP :P)
Aion made to be joyed very diverse way not only PvP while PvP is main fun sauce of this game..
Really though, it's no wonder you don't like Aion because it really is not your kind of game. I personally would not want to have to try and figure out which NPC out of all of them there wanted me to go do something, it would be a real pain in the ass. Trying to also put interesting conversations for every NPC (or every quest NPC) is a difficult task in its self. If you make it too long than normal (casual) players aren't going to go very far in the game. I've read some of the quest text in Aion, it is written well in my opinon. However I don't read the quest text often, like you said, it's just my mindset and the way I play the game. I'm more interested in the PvP aspect then roleplaying or really giving a rats ass about the lore. Well that's part of my major complaint of MMO's today is they are catered(balanced) to pvp and casual gaming. It seems to me that the days of permadeath, console commands, and open worlds among other things are drawing to an end. I want world immersion, danger, excitement, challenge, and adventure, and I want to come out the other side a real hero, but the situation is your average 10 year old can complete current MMO content. There is no fear of character death, there are less and less open dungeons and more instances, there is less groups and more soloing, the quests are mostly kill x mob. I understand the game companies for wanting a piece of the pie, and going with the proven method to draw subscriptions, but not at the cost of the games I and others have come to love and enjoy. I want classic Everquest back, I want Wizardry back, I want Baldur's Gate back, but unfortunately the masses are driving the development, and the games I have come to love are just no longer being developed. I'm just about at the point of retirement from this genre, because I'm starting to doubt if the industry can meet our desires anymore(and I'm not alone. If there is one thing I've learned in life, it's that I am not alone). So, basically, I'm not trashing AION, its a polished decent game. My beef is not just with AION it's the current state of this genre pushing out the same old tired stuff I've seen and played for years now, with very little innovation and never really managing to recapture what I and others enjoyed so much and loved in other MMOs. I don't understand how you can compare the music to mario kart though. I mean, Aion'sDarkness in your heart
Mario Kart'sMario Circuit theme Unless you're deaf those certainly don't sound anything alike nor share any real common musical traits. Whatever music is playing for combat for the Asmodians. Thats the music I'm talking about.
Also you would be hard pressed to see any modern game where people who are important don't have some sort of noticeable feature about them. It's progression, because most people don't want to spend half an hour just talking to NPC's figuring out what they have to do. There was a reason why people just grinded back in the day, because it was a pain in the ass to do some of those quests. Have you ever considered that people enjoy grinding together and having a fun time, and they don't do it because it gives more experience than quests, they do it because that's what they enjoy? Sure, developers could try to work in more "epic" quests, but that in its self is a difficult task. Afterall you really can't replicate the idea of something being epic if everyone is doing it. Still the quests in Aion do seem to have a reason, and some of them actually have some pretty interesting surprises storywise. It doesn't matter how many wizards had epic staff in EQ, when I finally got mine, man I felt like I beat the game! I mean the sense of accomplishment was unreal. Anyways I think that if a game wants to tell a story it should do more to tell it than just have a person read it. In Braid you did read a bit, but the real meat of the story came from the gameplay its self. I think that if developers want to move forward with games as an art form they need to start showing the story in a unique way that isn't possible by just reading a book. Like I said, in Braid it would be impossible to have a book that gave the same impact that the game did. I realize I did go off tangent, but I think if you're asking for a more interesting experience than less text is the best way to go. The problem with it is they highlight quest npcs, and the dialogue is linear. The dialogue needs to have branching, right answers, wrong answers, and informative answers. Walk to highlighted NPC, "Click, Click, Click, Click" is a spoon-fed, linear quest method and is really quite boring to me.
BTW, there is no swimming in AION, just taking damage in water and dying, which was disappointing as well. I expected a bit more with all the hype this game is getting.
Oh wait, you were serious? (of course I was serious, but you were drunk?)
Nah, I haven't touched a drink since my college days, try again champ.
The paying your dues bit has already been effectively torpedoed earlier in the thread, so I won't rehash that. (Good thing, as I won that argument) As for the learning to play your character bit, that gave me a chuckle.
You did? That's pretty subjective, as I saw several posts laughing at your equation of paying real life dues to playing a game for fun. /shrug
I suppose it applies if Aion is your first MMORPG. (It is for some folks you know) However, those of us who have been playing for awhile (sigh, I've been gaming longer than you are old) knew how to play our characters effectively before we ever logged in to the beta because the game does absolutely nothing unique in terms of mechanics. (does it have to?) Sure it may take you half an hour to get used to the names of the spells, but learning to play your character? (nonsense, you learn new spells ever few levels, and each changes your combat tactics slightly. pretty standard MMO fare I'll grant, but still sort of fun for a while)
Ah, ignorance. If you'd like, we can compare ages and gaming histories. I'm 49, and started MMOs with Ultima and Meridian 59, in addition to D&D since 1980. You've been gaming for 50 years? I thought not. This is what happens when you assume things.
Lol, give me a break, I've been playing versions of this game for ten years. I got to 20 without dying once, hell I probably never even got below half health, (well, if you take no chances sure, you won't, but thats not how I roll) and I also never talked to another player character. (not my fault if you lack communication skills, as evidenced by your reply here, but I had a priest buff me today and we chatted a short bit) Class-based MMORPGs do not require any skill to play, monkeys can be trained to press buttons in sequence and keep an eye on a health bar. (WOW player for sure, its shows) PVP of course changes that dynamic a bit, but again, why doesn't it start from level 1 instead of making people rehash the same tired bullshit for 20 levels? (hey, if you don't like it, don't play)
Lol, wow, you are totally whiffing on this post. I played a trial of WoW in 2006, never returned, as I prefer sandbox games. As for the personal attacks on communication skills and lack of taking chances, those are typical last resorts of getting owned.
In any event, I'm not bashing Aion lovers, I was merely agreeing with the OP, and at this point, if Aion is the best that the industry can do, I really think I've had my fill of MMORPGs. (sounds like that might be true in your case, maybe you should be playing Darkfall?)
Of course its true, I just said as much, lol. I did play Darkfall for about six weeks. Loved the freedom, didn't like the polish or the player base so much. Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll take it under advisement along with the rest of your astute observations.
This is a game that starts at level 20, not at max level. If you pick a healing class, expect to be healing and not DPSing or Tanking, that's just how it is.
This is my problem with Aion, and with mmo's in general to be honest. Why does it 'start at level 20?' This implies that levels 1 - 19 are not fun, only existing as some kind of gating procedure that must be slogged through in order to get to the real game.
Why not make the game start at level 1, and god forbid, make the fun start there as well? I know the answer, its called dangling the subscription carrot, and its tiresome.
I'm in the same boat as the OP, only I'm not a cleric. This game is more of the same, and it will hold my attention for the free month, if that.
Its called paying your dues, and almost everything in life requires you to do it, not just games.
You could also look at it as the time you spend learning how to play your character effectively.
20 levels isn't much of a price to pay if the game really picks up from there, and you are supposed to actually enjoy learning to play your character, learning the lore, and questing a bit.
Bwahahahahaha!
Oh wait, you were serious? (of course I was serious, but you were drunk?)
The paying your dues bit has already been effectively torpedoed earlier in the thread, so I won't rehash that. (Good thing, as I won that argument)
If you think you "won" the argument then you also think masterbating is equivalent to sex. You basically ignored every argument that completely obliterated your imbecilic points and then proceeded to pat yourself on the back.
I dont know why but this game just got utterly boring all of a sudden. Starting to feel forced into groups now otherwise soloing is just too painful. CB4 I got into a group healing and it was alright, the loot was not bad.. but I seriously cant stand this asian garbage no more. Which is starting to feel very much like a heavy grinder.. Combat is so slow and boring I can't stand it.. As a cleric I have 2 main offensive abilities that chain into special attacks every 15-30 seconds or so... I mean seriously im 20 levels in and Im attacking with the exact same crap as level 5.. There is other spells and a few buffs that have been given over 20 levels I just dont see why theres all this hype around this game anymore to anyone post lvl 20.
Im actually only posting this now because I read a few posts on here that said the game opens up at level 20.. Im not sure what they meant but the game feels just like the the first 20 levels just with some new scenery..
Yea i agree with the OP playing since cb2 lvl 21 i havent bothered to play this closed beta logged in to see what the new english voice's are like (fairly bad by the way) I am a lvl 21 chanter i have been using the same attack since lvl 3 or so which branches off into a combo which i use by pressing the same button ! so basicly my attacking in this game has been me pressing the same key for 21 levels. I have some buff's and 2 heals, which i generaly use the same 2 combo attacks at lvl 21 so instead of pressing 1 key from 1 to 19 , from 19 to 21 i press 2 keys ! zomg challenge ! Lack of skills in this game.
REPEATABLE QUESTS AT LVL 20 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAD MOVE.
I am also level 20, and bored. They really did this whole promo weekend thing wrong. They should've given everyone pre-made 20's or 25's and let everyone see what the game has to offer. As it stands now, I've been standing around LFG @ level 20 for about an hour. This sucked about the last two weekends too. Give everyone level 25 toons so there are people to PLAY WITH / PVP with. It's a damn preview weekend, not live... Stop making people invest time in grinding. I already had 5 people in a long-time guild get sick of this game already because of this crap on these past two weekends, and they aren't even playing this weekend.
I remember that 'regular' beta testers didn't get to see Warhammer's end game content. The Elder testers (who were subject to their own NDA which lasted past release) got to see it, but weren't allowed to talk about it. Now we know why.
My point is that if the beta is set up to prevent some content from being seen - there is usually a good reason for it. It is likely garbage.
Less time in PvP means less chance to find flaws. Beta testers are guinea pigs - being tested, rather than doing testing.
Fact is, Korea only let players get to 30 in the beta. After release, the game sold like hotcakes, then went to china and sold like hotcakes. The reviews, previews, and impressions/gameplaystreams, AND westerners who have played the eastern client say that PVP rocks.
Bias aside, Most people who found the PVP aspect to their taste have liked it. Enough of a like for it to be over 3 million subs. So I don't think they are hiding anything when just about every aspect of it is common knowlege except for "First hand experience"
Gameplay in this game has it's ups and down's like every other on the market. But it is safe to say the game doesn't have enough negatives aspects to half to "Hide certain features", just to keep people interested. Have you ever thought that maybe a majority of the text based content is located in the earlier levels where they want to make absolutely sure it is as polished as possible so they do make a good first impression?
The game is already polished and all that is being done in the west is translation. I would try to concentrate all of my last minute corrections and polishing to be for the low end content because that is where everyone starts!
Would you prefer it if players tested the translaions that players will be LAST to get to after launch? Or make sure the "Begginning" is perfect so you still have time to nit pick at the end because it will still take people weeks to get there.
And how unpolished and buggy will all those new quests that are being added be?
What is Aion's end game anyway? Have you personally played it? How is it?
Don't throw out words like "unpoloshed and buggy" in Aion forum. As I saw you are coming from WAR and maybe those words are "perfect" over there, but not here.
The last Aion patch which is 1.5 last in the test server from Korea around 1 and a half month for testing so everything they add will be MUCH better and polished then WAR or other games.
What is Aion's end game you ask? Yes, maybe Denshing didn't go so far, but we have many.. MANY videos, interviews, disscusion and so on, from Korea and China gamers about how the end game in Aion is.
So try looking harder if you want to know the end game, or just play the game when it comes live and see by yourself.
You stated several times that WAR did this, did that and that it has alot of fun from the 1'st lvl. From my point of view, Aion offer me FUN, from mid to end game with small flaus ( if I can say that ), in the early lvls which I don't mind it at all since early lvl's are there to know your character, story and so on.
To each their own i suppos , but I find it HARD to believe that some players may find Aion borning in the first lvls. If we would disscus about normal RPG's, yes .. this was a good thread about the starting area for the game, but we are talking about MMOPRG's people, which they are all the same in some ways. The dev's didn't risk implementing some "NEW" features and they did go with the old formula but much polished and better beside other games, and I give them credits for this, since "NEW" features sometimes may fail in the long run.
Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy? Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!
Levels 1-20 were a lot of fun in War and were a lot of fun in AOC as well. Anyone remember how great those games were after 20?
Well, in contrast, I did not find levels 1-20 that much fun in Aion or WAR. AoC was ok first time through, a bore after. However, if the end-game does dissapoint me, I just quit. There should be at least few months worth of entertainment in this package.
The good thing is that Dragon Age: Origins comes out soon after as well.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
Yeah we pretty much have a different idea on what we want in an MMO. Games such as Baldur's Gate are wonderful though, easily my favorite RPG of all time (number II). Of course the issue is that you can't easily translate quests like BG2 had into an MMO field.
But yeah, for a gamer like me I just wanted you to realize is this is the kind of game we have been waiting on for a while now. Heavy roleplayers will probably have to wait for an MMO with more immersion to come out.
I suspect others will soon follow suit after the whole "sparkly shiney new MMO" syndrome wears off.
Four preview weekends so far and still loving it. Just because it isn't your kind of game doesn't mean others don't like it.
Comments
I feel much the same way.
You seem to think that because you click a quest on an npc with an arrow over its head, and go *kill* so many mobs that its questing and not grinding. Well, I disagree; that is not questing to me, it is nothing but a grind. The day I have to walk around and explore and actually talk(meaning I need to actually read what they say and understand it and type a response) to people to find out stuff and actually adventure(non-linear map) it will be fun. Going to an NPC, clicking a couple times, killing 20 mobs, then clicking an NPC again is no less a grind to me than just straight killing. In fact I would argue it's even *more* of a grind and detrimental to grouping(community). I'd rather just group with people in one spot for a few hours and kill everything in sight. Makes for a fun party and lively conversation(that's me).
I mean how many people even read the quests anymore? Honestly? Most of us don't we just click away. I very much enjoyed Everquest's quest dialogues with the words in [brackets] that you needed to say to talk with them. It's like the old Final Fantasy games, where you never knew who you needed to talk to. That's questing to me. Not having an arrow over someones head, and not knowing what I need to say to them to get the response I want. I have to listen to them, and I have talk with them.
About roleplaying. Perhaps thats a poor choice of a word, perhaps "lore" is better. I'm not expecting people to be saying "/me chugs down a pint of ale". I guess I'm trying to say the lore of the game and the roleplaying aspect of it doesn't appeal to me. I mean WOW, EQ, other games have like humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, stuff like that and appropriate music. Running around like the incredible hulk(asmodians) with white hair down my back, killing mobs to Mario Kart music or whatever just didn't pull me into the world and the lore of it(if there is any?).
I may very well be narrow-minded. Then again maybe it's just that I've seen and played this before and know what I like?
You seem to think that because you click a quest on an npc with an arrow over its head, and go *kill* so many mobs that its questing and not grinding. Well, I disagree; that is not questing to me, it is nothing but a grind. The day I have to walk around and explore and actually talk(meaning I need to actually read what they say and understand it and type a response) to people to find out stuff and actually adventure(non-linear map) it will be fun. Going to an NPC, clicking a couple times, killing 20 mobs, then clicking an NPC again is no less a grind to me than just straight killing. In fact I would argue it's even *more* of a grind and detrimental to grouping(community). I'd rather just group with people in one spot for a few hours and kill everything in sight. Makes for a fun party and lively conversation(that's me).
I mean how many people even read the quests anymore? Honestly? Most of us don't we just click away. I very much enjoyed Everquest's quest dialogues with the words in [brackets] that you needed to say to talk with them. It's like the old Final Fantasy games, where you never knew who you needed to talk to. That's questing to me. Not having an arrow over someones head, and not knowing what I need to say to them to get the response I want. I have to listen to them, and I have talk with them.
About roleplaying. Perhaps thats a poor choice of a word, perhaps "lore" is better. I'm not expecting people to be saying "/me chugs down a pint of ale". I guess I'm trying to say the lore of the game and the roleplaying aspect of it doesn't appeal to me. I mean WOW, EQ, other games have like humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, stuff like that and appropriate music. Running around like the incredible hulk(asmodians) with white hair down my back, killing mobs to Mario Kart music or whatever just didn't pull me into the world and the lore of it(if there is any?).
I may very well be narrow-minded. Then again maybe it's just that I've seen and played this before and know what I like?
Really though, it's no wonder you don't like Aion because it really is not your kind of game. I personally would not want to have to try and figure out which NPC out of all of them there wanted me to go do something, it would be a real pain in the ass.
Trying to also put interesting conversations for every NPC (or every quest NPC) is a difficult task in its self. If you make it too long than normal (casual) players aren't going to go very far in the game. I've read some of the quest text in Aion, it is written well in my opinon. However I don't read the quest text often, like you said, it's just my mindset and the way I play the game. I'm more interested in the PvP aspect then roleplaying or really giving a rats ass about the lore.
I don't understand how you can compare the music to mario kart though. I mean,
Aion's Darkness in your heart
Mario Kart's Mario Circuit theme
Unless you're deaf those certainly don't sound anything alike nor share any real common musical traits.
Also you would be hard pressed to see any modern game where people who are important don't have some sort of noticeable feature about them. It's progression, because most people don't want to spend half an hour just talking to NPC's figuring out what they have to do. There was a reason why people just grinded back in the day, because it was a pain in the ass to do some of those quests.
Sure, developers could try to work in more "epic" quests, but that in its self is a difficult task. Afterall you really can't replicate the idea of something being epic if everyone is doing it. Still the quests in Aion do seem to have a reason, and some of them actually have some pretty interesting surprises storywise.
Anyways I think that if a game wants to tell a story it should do more to tell it than just have a person read it. In Braid you did read a bit, but the real meat of the story came from the gameplay its self. I think that if developers want to move forward with games as an art form they need to start showing the story in a unique way that isn't possible by just reading a book. Like I said, in Braid it would be impossible to have a book that gave the same impact that the game did. I realize I did go off tangent, but I think if you're asking for a more interesting experience than less text is the best way to go.
Of course I'm not trying to say Aion is high art, it isn't. However it sure is a hell of a lot of fun for the guys like me who just want to get up in levels, advance our character, chill with our guildmates and get involved in some of the best current PvP an MMO can offer.
fixed.
Qualify your statements of opinion or else they sound like fact.
Post itself was still pretty much a complete waste of time as it offered nothing for someone to digest. Articulate moar.
Ditto.
I have never read here.. beta.. kor.. china that the game opens up at 20. It gerts more grind.. more have to group (mobs). I too dont like this. But I think alot are going for end game.. PVP.. and that is fun...
You're a healing class though. Did you really expect to get a ton of attacks? You're role in the game is to heal, not DPS.
Yes, but the game should provide quests where you heal, rather than kill stuff. That's the point - tanks and healers need content where THEIR class abilities are foremost.
This not a criticism of Aion in particular, just MMORPGs in general.
The worse the leveling experience for tanks and healer is, the fewer tanks and healers there will be for the DPS classes to group with when the serious challenges start.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
When you have lots of people telling you the fun starts at 20 or 25 or whatever, it's tough to be content when grinding out level 13.
The PvP is said to be quite good in this game - BUT - you can't do it until you get into the 20s?
Eight (mirrored) classes in the game - BUT - only two starting areas (with the same quest grind for each class) means that your second or third alt is going to be very boring to level.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Not when you can PvP from L1 and level with PvP. One thing WAR did right. I have dozens of Tier 2 (L12-21) alts in that game because early game PvP is FUN.
Leveling alts in Aion sounds worse than WoW, because WoW had several different starting areas with their own quests.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
No, it isn't a PVP game.
Not when you have to "pay your dues" to get to the PvP. Not when you have to stop PvPing and go PvE to level. WoW made me do that, and I hated it.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Then I'll start paying when I get there.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Ive been purposefully avoiding all talk on this game for the most part. Im really hoping it doesnt turn out to be an eastern influenced WoW.
1 - I don't play FPS because I hate the tunnel vision it forces on you. I prefer swords and spells to guns and grenades. I prefer fighting dragons and giants to fighting tanks and robots or even aliens.
2 - I like the IDEA of MMORPGs because of the advancement. The gradual process of gaining new skills and meeting bigger challenges. For me, though, PvE is now BORING. Fighting some predictable AI mob is dull compared to fighting other players who can learn, strategize, and surprise you.
3 - If WAR had delivered the fun end game it promised, without horrific performance issues, tons of bugs, and that sick (and insulting) WARD grind, I'd be VERY happy with it.
WAR has shown that a game CAN offer good PvP right from the start. Hell, if the game only lasted to L20 (and had a working end game), it would be great.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I remember that 'regular' beta testers didn't get to see Warhammer's end game content. The Elder testers (who were subject to their own NDA which lasted past release) got to see it, but weren't allowed to talk about it. Now we know why.
My point is that if the beta is set up to prevent some content from being seen - there is usually a good reason for it. It is likely garbage.
Less time in PvP means less chance to find flaws. Beta testers are guinea pigs - being tested, rather than doing testing.
Fact is, Korea only let players get to 30 in the beta. After release, the game sold like hotcakes, then went to china and sold like hotcakes. The reviews, previews, and impressions/gameplaystreams, AND westerners who have played the eastern client say that PVP rocks.
Bias aside, Most people who found the PVP aspect to their taste have liked it. Enough of a like for it to be over 3 million subs. So I don't think they are hiding anything when just about every aspect of it is common knowlege except for "First hand experience"
Gameplay in this game has it's ups and down's like every other on the market. But it is safe to say the game doesn't have enough negatives aspects to half to "Hide certain features", just to keep people interested. Have you ever thought that maybe a majority of the text based content is located in the earlier levels where they want to make absolutely sure it is as polished as possible so they do make a good first impression?
The game is already polished and all that is being done in the west is translation. I would try to concentrate all of my last minute corrections and polishing to be for the low end content because that is where everyone starts!
Would you prefer it if players tested the translaions that players will be LAST to get to after launch? Or make sure the "Begginning" is perfect so you still have time to nit pick at the end because it will still take people weeks to get there.
And how unpolished and buggy will all those new quests that are being added be?
What is Aion's end game anyway? Have you personally played it? How is it?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
I have been playing MMO games since MUDs back in 1995. I have literally played every mainstream MMO game to come out since then (and a lot of non-mainstream ones). UO is still my favorite MMO game ever to be released.
...
Aion is possibly the most fun I have had playing an MMO game since 2001.
I have been playing the NA version since the first beta event and just got my first character to 25 last night. I have leveled one of all eight classes past 10 to see which one I wanted to play when the game goes retail.
Here's the thing. I didn't play these beta events like a free preview for the game, my one and only goal was deciding which class I wanted to play. Now that I know I won't be logging in again until the game is released.
And even though I have leveled all of these characters through the starting areas, I still cannot wait to play the game when it is released. That's the nice thing about the game being fun from level 1, I don't mind doing it again.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
I didn't played WAR yet, but i thought what made WAR failed is
cause of that it's strong side. WAR cater for PvP mania since lvl1
and i heard it was fun for early times, it gave quick fun and quick tired.
Getting bored and losing real purpose to fight and win or lose then respawn
then go again, win or lose respawn..Way to losing thrill and achievement in a game.
Then started to pvp grind for Realm Points from easy quick PvP encounter.
If they could provide endgame contents..? Well i'd say "That was their best"
It was made by Mythic who very known to Master of RvRgame.
Since you started to engage PvP from lvl1, until 50lvl what you've got to do in game is just PvP.
It supposed to be tired even you are real hardcore PvP lovers.
PvP can be most fun sauce of Game cause of its variety.
But repetitive quick PvP encounter never hold thrill of PvP tightly and its bloodpumping excitement i think.
Everything should be catered properly without abusing of it since human going to be tired by anything soon.
I thought Aion was tried to cater for everyone who like to play a game in diverse way.
PvE, PvP,Craft,Eye candy,Grind,Group,Quest,Explorer(you'll not belive, but its big part of Aion
atm i'm lazy to describe it, but you guys'll see what is it after 1-2month later launched)
Everything have their value and worth to do in Aion, nothing is pathetic and abandoned.
Maybe can just say easily "It's polished"
So some of the sub main part of game can be feel bored because it's not that innovative
but you may try it if you really want to be in big economy/community of Aion,
it's not that only horrible and boring stuffs to do but have their meaning and fun.
Except PvP part, Aion having some weak point about other features compared to WoW or some other games.
But one thing Aion have really many contents that cater for all side of game.
Some people will joy Aion's PvP and hate PvE, some will love to Craft and become rich
some will harvest stuffs some will explore and find special spot for something(about cool place for Kisk matter on PvP :P)
Aion made to be joyed very diverse way not only PvP while PvP is main fun sauce of this game..
Thanks for reading wandering dumb post lol
BTW, there is no swimming in AION, just taking damage in water and dying, which was disappointing as well. I expected a bit more with all the hype this game is getting.
Bwahahahahaha!
Oh wait, you were serious? (of course I was serious, but you were drunk?)
Nah, I haven't touched a drink since my college days, try again champ.
The paying your dues bit has already been effectively torpedoed earlier in the thread, so I won't rehash that. (Good thing, as I won that argument) As for the learning to play your character bit, that gave me a chuckle.
You did? That's pretty subjective, as I saw several posts laughing at your equation of paying real life dues to playing a game for fun. /shrug
I suppose it applies if Aion is your first MMORPG. (It is for some folks you know) However, those of us who have been playing for awhile (sigh, I've been gaming longer than you are old) knew how to play our characters effectively before we ever logged in to the beta because the game does absolutely nothing unique in terms of mechanics. (does it have to?) Sure it may take you half an hour to get used to the names of the spells, but learning to play your character? (nonsense, you learn new spells ever few levels, and each changes your combat tactics slightly. pretty standard MMO fare I'll grant, but still sort of fun for a while)
Ah, ignorance. If you'd like, we can compare ages and gaming histories. I'm 49, and started MMOs with Ultima and Meridian 59, in addition to D&D since 1980. You've been gaming for 50 years? I thought not. This is what happens when you assume things.
Lol, give me a break, I've been playing versions of this game for ten years. I got to 20 without dying once, hell I probably never even got below half health, (well, if you take no chances sure, you won't, but thats not how I roll) and I also never talked to another player character. (not my fault if you lack communication skills, as evidenced by your reply here, but I had a priest buff me today and we chatted a short bit) Class-based MMORPGs do not require any skill to play, monkeys can be trained to press buttons in sequence and keep an eye on a health bar. (WOW player for sure, its shows) PVP of course changes that dynamic a bit, but again, why doesn't it start from level 1 instead of making people rehash the same tired bullshit for 20 levels? (hey, if you don't like it, don't play)
Lol, wow, you are totally whiffing on this post. I played a trial of WoW in 2006, never returned, as I prefer sandbox games. As for the personal attacks on communication skills and lack of taking chances, those are typical last resorts of getting owned.
In any event, I'm not bashing Aion lovers, I was merely agreeing with the OP, and at this point, if Aion is the best that the industry can do, I really think I've had my fill of MMORPGs. (sounds like that might be true in your case, maybe you should be playing Darkfall?)
Of course its true, I just said as much, lol. I did play Darkfall for about six weeks. Loved the freedom, didn't like the polish or the player base so much. Thanks for the recommendation though, I'll take it under advisement along with the rest of your astute observations.
This is my problem with Aion, and with mmo's in general to be honest. Why does it 'start at level 20?' This implies that levels 1 - 19 are not fun, only existing as some kind of gating procedure that must be slogged through in order to get to the real game.
Why not make the game start at level 1, and god forbid, make the fun start there as well? I know the answer, its called dangling the subscription carrot, and its tiresome.
I'm in the same boat as the OP, only I'm not a cleric. This game is more of the same, and it will hold my attention for the free month, if that.
Its called paying your dues, and almost everything in life requires you to do it, not just games.
You could also look at it as the time you spend learning how to play your character effectively.
20 levels isn't much of a price to pay if the game really picks up from there, and you are supposed to actually enjoy learning to play your character, learning the lore, and questing a bit.
Bwahahahahaha!
Oh wait, you were serious? (of course I was serious, but you were drunk?)
The paying your dues bit has already been effectively torpedoed earlier in the thread, so I won't rehash that. (Good thing, as I won that argument)
If you think you "won" the argument then you also think masterbating is equivalent to sex. You basically ignored every argument that completely obliterated your imbecilic points and then proceeded to pat yourself on the back.
Lol, case in point Kyleran.
Good job 'winning.'
/salute
Yea i agree with the OP playing since cb2 lvl 21 i havent bothered to play this closed beta logged in to see what the new english voice's are like (fairly bad by the way) I am a lvl 21 chanter i have been using the same attack since lvl 3 or so which branches off into a combo which i use by pressing the same button ! so basicly my attacking in this game has been me pressing the same key for 21 levels. I have some buff's and 2 heals, which i generaly use the same 2 combo attacks at lvl 21 so instead of pressing 1 key from 1 to 19 , from 19 to 21 i press 2 keys ! zomg challenge ! Lack of skills in this game.
REPEATABLE QUESTS AT LVL 20 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAD MOVE.
I remember that 'regular' beta testers didn't get to see Warhammer's end game content. The Elder testers (who were subject to their own NDA which lasted past release) got to see it, but weren't allowed to talk about it. Now we know why.
My point is that if the beta is set up to prevent some content from being seen - there is usually a good reason for it. It is likely garbage.
Less time in PvP means less chance to find flaws. Beta testers are guinea pigs - being tested, rather than doing testing.
Fact is, Korea only let players get to 30 in the beta. After release, the game sold like hotcakes, then went to china and sold like hotcakes. The reviews, previews, and impressions/gameplaystreams, AND westerners who have played the eastern client say that PVP rocks.
Bias aside, Most people who found the PVP aspect to their taste have liked it. Enough of a like for it to be over 3 million subs. So I don't think they are hiding anything when just about every aspect of it is common knowlege except for "First hand experience"
Gameplay in this game has it's ups and down's like every other on the market. But it is safe to say the game doesn't have enough negatives aspects to half to "Hide certain features", just to keep people interested. Have you ever thought that maybe a majority of the text based content is located in the earlier levels where they want to make absolutely sure it is as polished as possible so they do make a good first impression?
The game is already polished and all that is being done in the west is translation. I would try to concentrate all of my last minute corrections and polishing to be for the low end content because that is where everyone starts!
Would you prefer it if players tested the translaions that players will be LAST to get to after launch? Or make sure the "Begginning" is perfect so you still have time to nit pick at the end because it will still take people weeks to get there.
And how unpolished and buggy will all those new quests that are being added be?
What is Aion's end game anyway? Have you personally played it? How is it?
Don't throw out words like "unpoloshed and buggy" in Aion forum. As I saw you are coming from WAR and maybe those words are "perfect" over there, but not here.
The last Aion patch which is 1.5 last in the test server from Korea around 1 and a half month for testing so everything they add will be MUCH better and polished then WAR or other games.
What is Aion's end game you ask? Yes, maybe Denshing didn't go so far, but we have many.. MANY videos, interviews, disscusion and so on, from Korea and China gamers about how the end game in Aion is.
So try looking harder if you want to know the end game, or just play the game when it comes live and see by yourself.
You stated several times that WAR did this, did that and that it has alot of fun from the 1'st lvl. From my point of view, Aion offer me FUN, from mid to end game with small flaus ( if I can say that ), in the early lvls which I don't mind it at all since early lvl's are there to know your character, story and so on.
To each their own i suppos , but I find it HARD to believe that some players may find Aion borning in the first lvls. If we would disscus about normal RPG's, yes .. this was a good thread about the starting area for the game, but we are talking about MMOPRG's people, which they are all the same in some ways. The dev's didn't risk implementing some "NEW" features and they did go with the old formula but much polished and better beside other games, and I give them credits for this, since "NEW" features sometimes may fail in the long run.
Reporter: What's behind Blizzard success, and how do you make your gamers happy?
Blizzard Boss: Making gamers happy is not my concern, making money.. yes!
Levels 1-20 were a lot of fun in War and were a lot of fun in AOC as well. Anyone remember how great those games were after 20?
Well, in contrast, I did not find levels 1-20 that much fun in Aion or WAR. AoC was ok first time through, a bore after. However, if the end-game does dissapoint me, I just quit. There should be at least few months worth of entertainment in this package.
The good thing is that Dragon Age: Origins comes out soon after as well.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
Aion is exactly what it was supposed to be, a Lineage II expansion pack (honestly that was what it was supposed to be).
Too bad, I love me some MMOG adn there are not to play right now.
Yeah we pretty much have a different idea on what we want in an MMO. Games such as Baldur's Gate are wonderful though, easily my favorite RPG of all time (number II). Of course the issue is that you can't easily translate quests like BG2 had into an MMO field.
But yeah, for a gamer like me I just wanted you to realize is this is the kind of game we have been waiting on for a while now. Heavy roleplayers will probably have to wait for an MMO with more immersion to come out.
Four preview weekends so far and still loving it. Just because it isn't your kind of game doesn't mean others don't like it.