Which MMO era was best? The pre-WoW era? WoW era? Post-WoW era*? Vote and tell us why in the comments below!
*Yes, I realize post-WoW era is subjective. For me, it was clear things were changing away from MMOs trying to copy WoW after the launch of SWTOR, along with the rise of MMOs with more action centric gameplay.
Comments
Sub era vs FTP era...that is where a lot of people break when you talk the "best" era i think.
Shame really.
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?"
But the acronym MMMORPG now currently means Microscopic Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Kappa.
IMO, it wasn't that great. I started playing MMOs in 1997. If I based my fun off those games of yesteryear, I would have left this genre long ago. Games are much better now. Finally they are being made for adults with lives instead of kids and social misfits with too much wasted time on their hands.
~~ postlarval ~~
You compare UO, EQ, DAOC, SB, Horizons and Eve from a mechanical standpoint and they are all very distinctive and had their own way of handling each individual game system. Even things as simple as inventory management were wildly different.
Then you look at WoW, Rift, WAR, Archeage, SWTOR and almost any other post WoW MMO and their core game mechanics are the same such that there's no learning curve jumping from one game to the next.
Also good to see some old people! I'm not alone, long live Pre-WoW Era!
It will be at least one more generation of VR gear before it is worth to make a MMO for it, maybe more.
I think that is what many of us who are older than 25 miss the most about older MMOs. It's why we honestly can't back to those old outdated things, but still remember them as being better.
The Pre-WoW *Era* was far better. Post is terrible. Everything is all about PvP and soloing. It wouldn't be problem if there were at least a few MMOs that required players to team up virtually all the time. Instead we just have a ton of games that are carbon copies and have the attitude of "you can pop in and out as if you were playing a single player game".
That's what MMOs are now days. Single Player MMOs. The mechanics are better, the combat is better, the visuals are better, the philosophy and communities are garbage.
2005-2008 era EVE Online was the best time for me. Sure the graphics sucked. Sure there weren't nearly as many ships, no wormhole space, no citadels, but what there was during this time period was the best PVP that the game ever had. Now that people have had more than a decade to train dozens of characters, the game is mostly capital ships online.
2008-2011 era Age of Conan is easily the best themepark I've ever engaged in. Great PVP, engaging and difficult raids, great combat system... and generally just overall a lot of fun.
Since 2012, there hasn't been much I liked. I tried to get into many other games and they were all pretty bad. SWTOR is a pile of crap, WildStar is a pile of crap, BDO is like walking through walls of crap.
All that being said, I'm actually excited for the future. Camelot Unchained, Crowfall and Chronicles are all on my radar and all look like they could be the resurgence that the genre needs.
A time before every title had quest icons and zone design based on quest loops was the best IMO. The shark was jumped right about the time auto-pathing to quest givers was introduced. I am excited foe the future though. Lots of titles with real exploration on the horizon.