What if they came out with a heavily advertised "Asheron's Call: The New Worlds" mmo that maybe had a little better designed game engine, and maybe just another small graphics upgrade. But mainly... WHAT IF it launched with 10 all new worlds and an all new PvP world called maybe "BloodTide" for example.
The experience chain was gone. A new subroutine inside the game code constantly checked every player online to make sure that it was being powered by actual keyboard feedback thus making the bots inactive or quickly automatically logged out of the world with a warning message to stay within the new user agreements to not use bots, etc. Players were constantly checked for auto-botting buffs all day long, and if they were obviously doing nothing but buffing all day, see the above to check for keyboard input vs auto input creating a buffbot.
So now players had to basically earn all their own experience by hand and only with buffs manually cast on them by friends or other players actually pressing keys to cast those spells.
An all new economy.
All new players.
And to further prevent maniacs from spending 18 hours a day doing nothing but trying to make levels as fast as possible, an all new "experience-tire" feature was implemented. Working pretty much the same as real life schooling for example. In our real world, we might go to college, but trying to take 60 college credits in one semester is just ridiculous and impossible. This all new "experience-tire" feature would mean that players essentially would have a limit on how much experience that could be gained in one day.. and one week. It could easily be explained as you start tiring as you learn more in a certain time frame and start learning less and less until you refresh your mind and rest (rest perhaps meaning log out of the game for at least 6,8 or maybe even 12 hours. This feature might help stop some of the more addictive mmo behavior as well associated with some mmos. Maybe each character each day could be given basically the same amount of maximum experience that could be gained, perhaps adjusted by a randomness of -10% to +10%. Obviously that would also have to be multiplied by another variable to reflect a characters level and ability to earn exp faster by killing higher level mobs etc.
Sounds complicated, but if they took some time, I'm sure they could come up with a formula that would allow players plenty of potential to level up quickly, but to stop the most ridiculous and the most obsessive of levelers and prevent players from buying the game after it had been released only a month and already seeing level 150's running around.
So...
What if?
Would you play such a new release of Asheron's Call with all new worlds, everyone starting from scratch, and new subroutines built in to stop bots and the most extreme and obsessive levelers?
AC was great. I hope someday we see something similar.
Originally posted by Sheista
That said, there were many things that -were- and still are wrong with the game. The fact that Turbine ignored macroing and XP chains for so long is what ruined the game. They never should have allowed the game to be that easy, or for people these days to be able to level so quickly. It created too much imbalance when it began, and it is the reason the game is suffering now. It's alive, but it is barely holding on. Had they addressed the macroing and XP chain problem as soon as it existed, I have a feeling this game would still be going strong. It was awesome when a high level was considered someone in their 70s or 80s, and if you saw anyone higher than that you were just in awe. Level 90s and people in their 100s were revered.
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
Originally posted by Sheista Originally posted by AnlaShok AC was great. I hope someday we see something similar.
Originally posted by Sheista That said, there were many things that -were- and still are wrong with the game. The fact that Turbine ignored macroing and XP chains for so long is what ruined the game. They never should have allowed the game to be that easy, or for people these days to be able to level so quickly. It created too much imbalance when it began, and it is the reason the game is suffering now. It's alive, but it is barely holding on. Had they addressed the macroing and XP chain problem as soon as it existed, I have a feeling this game would still be going strong. It was awesome when a high level was considered someone in their 70s or 80s, and if you saw anyone higher than that you were just in awe. Level 90s and people in their 100s were revered.
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
..Exactly the reason that Turbine should seriously consider launching Asheron's Call: New Worlds or something with like 10 all new worlds as I mentioned in my post just 2 posts above this one. I wouldn't think it would cost them too much, plus it would get the game out on store shelves which in itself is advertising. How do they expect to sell new copies these days will only digital downloads available and nobody ever seeing it on a Walmart, Target, or Bestbuy PC games shelf?
Meh AC sucked at release and didn't get better for eons. My entire guild tried to jump over to AC and every single one of us went back to EQ in disgust. Community tools in AC sucked ass compared to EQ (and let's face it, back then EQ's community tools weren't exactly stellar either).
TBFH I have never understood the crowd that's so in love with AC. It had some really neat ideas but the game never really gelled. Which is a large reason why it never really caught on. There's a reason it never went above 110k subs and dropped almost immediately back down below 50 and never climbed back up.
It was an ok game but I've never understood why so many on this site hype it so much. The only really cool feature it had was the darktide server, and even that wasn't all THAT great.
"A ship-of-war is the best ambassador." - Oliver Cromwell
Asheron's Call, launched on Nov 2, 1999 pushes forward with the extreme competition of huge fantasy mmos in todays age. Still one of the best mmos ever created in my opinion, one would have a very hard time finding an mmo with more depth and content then Asheron's Call. It's no surprise that a game where the developers continue to add new content almost every month still pushes on. Anyhow, my bow of respect to my favorite mmo of all time just for seeing 2008 with money still coming into it, regardless of how few players still play. Numbers of subscribers have little to do with quality anyhow, so the numbers fail in the worst to show the quality, the depth, the heart & soul that still beats in the world of Asheron Calls' Dereth. May this be just the beginning for what is to come for Asheron's Call and cheers!
- Zaxx
WOW! Really?! That awesome, gratz to the people that made Asheron's Call and good luck to them and the players, may the game continue for many more years to come.
Originally posted by Taram Meh AC sucked at release and didn't get better for eons. My entire guild tried to jump over to AC and every single one of us went back to EQ in disgust. Community tools in AC sucked ass compared to EQ (and let's face it, back then EQ's community tools weren't exactly stellar either).
TBFH I have never understood the crowd that's so in love with AC. It had some really neat ideas but the game never really gelled. Which is a large reason why it never really caught on. There's a reason it never went above 110k subs and dropped almost immediately back down below 50 and never climbed back up.
It was an ok game but I've never understood why so many on this site hype it so much. The only really cool feature it had was the darktide server, and even that wasn't all THAT great.
This is where you are wrong partner.
Asheron's Call had lots to offer over EQ1 when it launched. Far superior graphics to EQ for one. I've played both, and trust me AC has far better graphics then EQ1.
But the main reason that AC's populations went down from 125k and never came back up is not because it is such a bad game as you and many others want to act like. They stopped advertising, and since about 2002, AC has been almost abandoned from store shelves all over the country. When their 2nd and last expansion was released back in 2005 (Throne of Destiny), it still was not found at most stores. My local BestBuy, Walmarts, and Target stores didn't get it in. I had to drive 30+ miles to an EBGames store that only got like 3 copies in and agreed to hold a copy for me.
Compare that to seeing Everquest compilations and expansions all the time at almost any big retailer ever since it's launch and that is a HUGE difference. Again, just having space on store shelves at every Walmart, BestBuy, Target, CompUSA, and other stores nationwide is bigtime advertising in itself. People looking for a new PC game will see it. It's available to them, unlike AC which people have to know about for one thing, then know to go to a website like Direct2Drive.com to get it for another thing.
So you can think that AC's numbers pale in comparison to EQ because it is an inferior game all you like, but that just isn't the truth.
AC was great. I hope someday we see something similar.
Originally posted by Sheista
That said, there were many things that -were- and still are wrong with the game. The fact that Turbine ignored macroing and XP chains for so long is what ruined the game. They never should have allowed the game to be that easy, or for people these days to be able to level so quickly. It created too much imbalance when it began, and it is the reason the game is suffering now. It's alive, but it is barely holding on. Had they addressed the macroing and XP chain problem as soon as it existed, I have a feeling this game would still be going strong. It was awesome when a high level was considered someone in their 70s or 80s, and if you saw anyone higher than that you were just in awe. Level 90s and people in their 100s were revered.
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
..Exactly the reason that Turbine should seriously consider launching Asheron's Call: New Worlds or something with like 10 all new worlds as I mentioned in my post just 2 posts above this one. I wouldn't think it would cost them too much, plus it would get the game out on store shelves which in itself is advertising. How do they expect to sell new copies these days will only digital downloads available and nobody ever seeing it on a Walmart, Target, or Bestbuy PC games shelf?
- Zaxx
That would imply that Turbine still cared about the game though. They haven't cared about AC1 for quite some time now. It's an old game that they aren't losing money on.. that's about the extent of how much attention they pay to it. It's just bringing in a slow and steady amount of cash for them to use on their other horribly butchered games instead of the AC franchise.
Comments
What if they came out with a heavily advertised "Asheron's Call: The New Worlds" mmo that maybe had a little better designed game engine, and maybe just another small graphics upgrade. But mainly... WHAT IF it launched with 10 all new worlds and an all new PvP world called maybe "BloodTide" for example.
The experience chain was gone. A new subroutine inside the game code constantly checked every player online to make sure that it was being powered by actual keyboard feedback thus making the bots inactive or quickly automatically logged out of the world with a warning message to stay within the new user agreements to not use bots, etc. Players were constantly checked for auto-botting buffs all day long, and if they were obviously doing nothing but buffing all day, see the above to check for keyboard input vs auto input creating a buffbot.
So now players had to basically earn all their own experience by hand and only with buffs manually cast on them by friends or other players actually pressing keys to cast those spells.
An all new economy.
All new players.
And to further prevent maniacs from spending 18 hours a day doing nothing but trying to make levels as fast as possible, an all new "experience-tire" feature was implemented. Working pretty much the same as real life schooling for example. In our real world, we might go to college, but trying to take 60 college credits in one semester is just ridiculous and impossible. This all new "experience-tire" feature would mean that players essentially would have a limit on how much experience that could be gained in one day.. and one week. It could easily be explained as you start tiring as you learn more in a certain time frame and start learning less and less until you refresh your mind and rest (rest perhaps meaning log out of the game for at least 6,8 or maybe even 12 hours. This feature might help stop some of the more addictive mmo behavior as well associated with some mmos. Maybe each character each day could be given basically the same amount of maximum experience that could be gained, perhaps adjusted by a randomness of -10% to +10%. Obviously that would also have to be multiplied by another variable to reflect a characters level and ability to earn exp faster by killing higher level mobs etc.
Sounds complicated, but if they took some time, I'm sure they could come up with a formula that would allow players plenty of potential to level up quickly, but to stop the most ridiculous and the most obsessive of levelers and prevent players from buying the game after it had been released only a month and already seeing level 150's running around.
So...
What if?
Would you play such a new release of Asheron's Call with all new worlds, everyone starting from scratch, and new subroutines built in to stop bots and the most extreme and obsessive levelers?
- Zaxx
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
..Exactly the reason that Turbine should seriously consider launching Asheron's Call: New Worlds or something with like 10 all new worlds as I mentioned in my post just 2 posts above this one. I wouldn't think it would cost them too much, plus it would get the game out on store shelves which in itself is advertising. How do they expect to sell new copies these days will only digital downloads available and nobody ever seeing it on a Walmart, Target, or Bestbuy PC games shelf?
- Zaxx
Meh
AC sucked at release and didn't get better for eons. My entire guild tried to jump over to AC and every single one of us went back to EQ in disgust. Community tools in AC sucked ass compared to EQ (and let's face it, back then EQ's community tools weren't exactly stellar either).
TBFH I have never understood the crowd that's so in love with AC. It had some really neat ideas but the game never really gelled. Which is a large reason why it never really caught on. There's a reason it never went above 110k subs and dropped almost immediately back down below 50 and never climbed back up.
It was an ok game but I've never understood why so many on this site hype it so much. The only really cool feature it had was the darktide server, and even that wasn't all THAT great.
"A ship-of-war is the best ambassador." - Oliver Cromwell
Great Job and cheers, we bow down to you
This is where you are wrong partner.
Asheron's Call had lots to offer over EQ1 when it launched. Far superior graphics to EQ for one. I've played both, and trust me AC has far better graphics then EQ1.
But the main reason that AC's populations went down from 125k and never came back up is not because it is such a bad game as you and many others want to act like. They stopped advertising, and since about 2002, AC has been almost abandoned from store shelves all over the country. When their 2nd and last expansion was released back in 2005 (Throne of Destiny), it still was not found at most stores. My local BestBuy, Walmarts, and Target stores didn't get it in. I had to drive 30+ miles to an EBGames store that only got like 3 copies in and agreed to hold a copy for me.
Compare that to seeing Everquest compilations and expansions all the time at almost any big retailer ever since it's launch and that is a HUGE difference. Again, just having space on store shelves at every Walmart, BestBuy, Target, CompUSA, and other stores nationwide is bigtime advertising in itself. People looking for a new PC game will see it. It's available to them, unlike AC which people have to know about for one thing, then know to go to a website like Direct2Drive.com to get it for another thing.
So you can think that AC's numbers pale in comparison to EQ because it is an inferior game all you like, but that just isn't the truth.
- Zaxx
From what I read Turbine posts on forums, I got the impression that M$ forced them to ignore macroing and XP chains. I agree they were the biggest problems the game had. I was a member of a wonderful monarchy which didn't have XP chains and obviously didn't allow any macroing, IIRC not even buff- or portal-bots near the mansion. Damn it was wonderful time, even if we were a dying species.
The thing is, once MS was no longer a part of the picture, things didn't start to get better for quite some time after that. And by the time Turbine -did- do something about it, it was far too late and they didn't do nearly enough. People already had maxed out skills, XP chains were -still- viable regardless of the fact that they were simply harder to construct properly. The only thing that changed was that it wasn't as easy to UCM. People still did it in droves though.
..Exactly the reason that Turbine should seriously consider launching Asheron's Call: New Worlds or something with like 10 all new worlds as I mentioned in my post just 2 posts above this one. I wouldn't think it would cost them too much, plus it would get the game out on store shelves which in itself is advertising. How do they expect to sell new copies these days will only digital downloads available and nobody ever seeing it on a Walmart, Target, or Bestbuy PC games shelf?
- Zaxx
That would imply that Turbine still cared about the game though.
They haven't cared about AC1 for quite some time now. It's an old game that they aren't losing money on.. that's about the extent of how much attention they pay to it. It's just bringing in a slow and steady amount of cash for them to use on their other horribly butchered games instead of the AC franchise.
Unbelievable taht AC still is out there. ver impressive