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Too little, too late. Game is dead.
dfens123
Member Posts: 4
I played this game since release, and still have an active account since i am not bothered about money. I applaud the efforts of the new Game Director and his team, but it is too little too late. He does not have the time and manpower to remedy the historical errors that make the game unsalvagable at this point.
1. Graphics Engine
It would be a running joke if i would not believe they actually work on it. The timeframe they promise this update is just hilarious. When it comes out it will be underwhelming. It has been made clear that they won't update the majority of textures but just integrate a new engine. This means that the majority of the game will still look very old and nowhere near "competitive" compared to newer games. It would be OK it if it was just an upgrade for a current playerbase that can sustain the game, but the expectation and necessity is new players which it can't provide. I followed the forums off and on during the years and all that i see is "new heads". I am fairly certain that the dev team knows that it cant meet expectations at this point, which is why they are so reluctant to provide real previews.
2. Mechanics
The mechanics and balance of the game is beyond repair. I think it was never really balanced and scetchy even in the classic mode, but the bad expansions and modification that were not really thought through caused damage beyond repair. The fact that you have level locks, "NODROP" and profession specific items in a game that is purely skill based by original design tells it all. They are trying to repair the damage by the "rebalancing" effort but i have my doubts about that, because it is rooted in all kinds of items, levels and perks now as well. The only way to solve it would be to scrap the entire system and let a mathematician work out formulas for a skill based design. The reason why a skill based design is very hard to do is because it is very hard to balance, which is why it needs a lot of care (notice most mmorpgs dont do a skill based design? -> thats why). Funcom never really cared.
3. Patchwork world
AO shows the patchwork that went into it. The classic AO was seemless (to some extend) but the upgrades to it never really built on its strength and in some cases made it worse. Now you have player cities that have a total shit design and ruin the landscape. SL doesn't really fit to classic AO and the storyline is FUBAR.
4. Playerbase
AO does not have any selling points even with the new engine. Heck, most new people probably even don't know about it. There are new games that promise much more "shiney", like that new star wars mmorpg. I logged on and off into the game over the years and i can confirm that the playerbase is in a steady decline. I assume that Funcom keeps it running, because they don't have to spend much on it.
That being said, AO is my first and most loved MMORPG. I just *loved* the skill based approach, because it was _I_ who defined my character, i wasn't T3 hunter no. 3134134. The classic AO was far from perfect concerning balance, but who the fuck cares about that if it is till 10 times more fun than some level based approach. Unfortunately Funcom moved away from this, i guess not because they wanted, but because they had to (they screwed up the system beyond repair).
I suppose if Means would have been game director for AO since start or sometime before notum wars and not this idiot gaute, AO would be in a very different place now. At this point it is my opinion that the game is beyond repair, should be scrapped and AO2 should be developed. Unfortunately Funcom does seem to go into the direction of copying other games instead of building on own strengths.
I find it telling that after AO, SWG (you know the game, not the joke that uses the title now) and EVE there is no mmorpg that caters to the "somewhat" adult gamer. I want a game with consequences, a game where i actually have to use my brain once in a while. The shit that gets released now is either some UT made MMORPG or some manga crap that makes me vomit. You know a game that isn't a constant insult to your intelligence. AO was that game for a while.
regards,
dfens
Comments
I always said they should make a classic AO server.
Regarding the new engine, I would be happy with just the performance gains but I suspect that it will instead turn out to be the final nail in the coffin once it is actually released and all of these people who have been holding on to the notion that it is going to be the one thing that saves AO all ragequit in disgust.
I agree with everything else that you said. AO is a broken mess that is probably beyond FC's abilities to repair, but it can still be fun in spite of the many problems.
The current player base thinks the game is going to revolutionise everything. Serveral times over the years I stopped playing AO becasue I was fustrated with the performance. I loved the game and tried to look passed it. Now I have a great computer and tweeked AO to a point with 80FPS I dont care if the engine ever comes out.
Now? I dont play... The game is no longer fun. Personally I think Means and the devs destroyed the direction and the mechanics of the game from where Gaute was heading in. They have destoyed leveling under 220.. There is no reason to level from 1-160 the old fashion way as we have mechanics available to power level all the way through. There is no long any significance in the game. Pre Le the game was fun but a grind... There was meaning, thinking, and you really had to know your toon. At that time the engine it was only lacking... Now you can get everything AFK.. The game is done in such a way that you dont really have to play...
The engine will come out, and with only two servers running... GUess what is going happen with the infux of people old and new?
OH SERVER LAUNCH....... crash crash., crash crash.. overload... yep back to start..
I could be wrong and I could be right... however FC will have there flux of people and instant cash wave and then the months to follow the game will slowly die. As the Op said there are too many rooted items to balance. The team added way to many overpowered items with out thinking what the outcome was going to be..
RIP AO...
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
What will do it is when any new players come in thinking they will have input. The old elitist trolls will give them an awesome welcome to ao. It will be fireworks on uranium.
Ao was my first MMO and the one I played the most but i wont play AO ever again for a simple reason: the gameplay doesn't fit me anymore. Can't play any game with auto-attack anymore.
"you are like the world revenge on sarcasm, you know that?"
One of those great lines from The Secret World
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Why would you leave auto attack on after level 1? The first thing we do when picking up new org members is get that turned off as it causes more problems for the player than any good.
~\_/~\_O
I think he means you press once your attack key and your character keeps attacking on target (while you only need to press different keys for your specials) until you press the key again to stop attacking. He would like to have more involved system for that like AoC's / Darkfall's for example.
Eh, I disagree with all of you.
The only valid point made here is that the game is dead. This is true the game is dieing a slow slow death...
In response to the mention of the unbalanced gameplay......lol.......The problem with other mmorpg games is the end-game content being lackluster. EVERY decent lvl 80 hunter in WoW is wearing or is striving to wear the same items. Anarchy Online has created a plethora of class specific items that in most cases End Game players decide to do without in lu of a more customized solution. AO is the polar opposite of cookie cutter MMORPG. The addition of "NoDrop" (souldbound) and Class specific items is to help steer the direction of a character not pinpoint its evolution. Saying this game is unbalanced is like calling Fox News fair and balanced.... baseless. The addition of more content has only enriched the end game experience as the new game director is focusing more on PVP. Im sure if you name the more nerfed unbalanced weak profession of the game (traders), that i know one that will rape even the most OP professions in their prime (solider...fuckin OP soldier)
In my opinion the game does not need a graphics update, yes i get it, other games are shiny and pretty and look amazing but with that they lack in almost every other way. There has yet to be another game where 20 End Game toons of the same profession (class) are nothing alike in terms of gear. You have Doctors (priest) wearing swords, energy weapons, pistols, etc all of which are working for them in their own ways.
Twinking is my biggest turn on to AO. Where else can you spend your time aquiring items to help you equip a shotgun 30 lvls lower then you would be able to naturally?
Another user mentioned that the game plays itself in way, that power leveling has ruined the 1-160 experience. Ditto i agree with that, but it was that way from day 1. Heal Pets, no aggro doc heals etc, power lvling is a part of every mmorpg and should remain that way. MMORPG games will not keep their veterans if they have to grind each toon to 220 endlessly. EVE is a good exception but the basis of EVE does not allow for powerlvling of such magnitude. AO powerlvling is a bit OP with the amount of mobs they clump in certain areas, and the Nanos (spells) they give to lower class toons. NanoTEch (mage) should only get an Aoe nuke after lvl 150.
New graphics aside ill ride out AO till it hits an Iceberg and sinks to the ocean floor. Ive tried Age of conan - lvl 80 Priest of Mitra, Ive tried WoW - lvl 80 undead mage, Ive tried rappelz - lvl 100 Sin, Ive tried Aion - lvl 46 Ranger. No game keeps me coming back like Anarchy Online. The complexity lvl is unsurpassed and the community is like no other (though the elite dick factor is uncanny on the omni side).
Thanks for listening.
Down with OT!
-Kalc
Its either auto attack, or i write a macro for any other game to click "1" every 4 seconds....eh Ill take an auto regular attack any day.
I mean fuck, the most successful mmorpg of all time (WoW) does the same thing....God i hate WoW
I have to agree. I tried the game out AGAIN after about a 6 year hiatus and found absolutely ZERO had been done with it. The game has, at least for the last few years, been basically abandoned. Same bugs and glitches, no fixes... anemic player base. I suppose it's still turning enough profit to pay the electric bill.....but I couldn't tell you why.
You answered your own question. They invest no money into the game and the addicts pay the modest server fees. since they changed to IPsoft with the downfall of AOC they are just using up aocs contract.
The skill, class, item and general progression system of Anarchy Online is far ahead of any other game on the market, at least in my opinion. It's complex and offers alot of room for your own personal touch, and being a control freak that's right up my alley. Even missions are mindlessly enjoyable.
Admittedly, the IPR bit was rather tiresome back when I played...
I do agree about SL though, it should've been aborted long before release, as it has absolutely no business being in a sci-fi game, which was what AO's selling point was.
I can't speak about current content, I quit when A.I was released quite awhile ago. But played from 2001 until then.
I agree. Let's pay our respects and move-on.
I miss this game, especially when I was playing it actively in 2002. Fantastic memories!
so do i. tried to come back few times, but i just cant get hooked up again. i still say it is the best mmorpg i played by far, and top 5 of all games i actually played and i played ALOT
So now they have an item shop selling tokens, armor, vp and whatever else and expect a monthly fee on top of it. lol
IF the new engine comes out, and IF the balance overhaul is finished before then, and IF they decide to either be F2P with the cash shop, or P2P without a cash shop, then MAYBE I'll give the game another look.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
I just spoke to someone ingame who told me that the GFX engine is in beta. Anyone who can verify this? Despite all the doomsayers here, I do belive the game still has alot to offer. Many of you might have 'outplayed' it's purpose, but today I had this excitement about this game that I havent felt for years, whatsoever game.
AO is still great. When the GFX is up to date, I can see this game getting back to top. What is all this noise about buyable gear really anyayway? Do it to old way, or do it the new way. What more to ask for? Is it really that hard to see someone paying for the goodies, while some must work for it? It is just like that in real life, and games are reflecting that. No big deal. No reason to become depressed by such a minor step? This is for the benefits of AO, right? I personally give a good day about spoiled brats in they ebayed gear. What is all this commotion in the end? I would tip jealousy, but please, prove me I am wrong. If people brag to me, I usually just use the /ignore button. Simple as that. Such people really doesn't ruin anything but giving me a good laugh.
Still, I think AO is back on track, but time will show. No need to call for the end of the world by these changes whatsoever. New MMO games are shallow and 'autoplayable'. AO is directly to the opposite to those. It was screaming for improvements, especially UI side, and now things are happening. If it is true that the GFX engine is in beta, well, that is mighty badass great news.
Make us care MORE about our faction & world pvp!
Game is far from dead. There are people all over Borealis doing stuff. Add to this all the people I do not see from Borealis, people who are god knows where. These false prophecies of this game must stop. It is 9.am EU time here, and the game is very much alive.
I am enjoying a good time, with plenty of other people around.
Make us care MORE about our faction & world pvp!
Auno character info / online
Character listing 447 people from lvl1-220 on RK 1
dual-logged ,triple logged ,froobs,banks ,org bots etc,so prolly 200 players abouts.
and more than 50% of those 200 players are complete losers,they are willing to buy gold,exp lvls items with real cash from funcom and call that playing hehee and still pay monthly fee ofcourse.
Generation P
wow, gaute has a fan after shadowlands?
well, there had to be one of you i guess.
Games i'm playing right now...
"In short, I thought NGE was a very bad idea" - Raph Koster talking about NGE on his blog at raphkoster.com
Link please. Would like to follow these statistics and see them my self.
Edit;
NM. Found it myself. Yes, that was few, I agree. I really thought it was more online. Well, Perpetuum, a brand new sandbox MMO holds 500 player online. So things are not at an end for AO. But the new GFX engine definately needs to hit the server, the sooner the better. Would be a disaster if AO would die. I fear that alot of good MMO game feature will die with it too. New games are just "autoplay". They are shallow and lacks depth. So unlike AO and other similar old school MMO's.
Edit 2:
At first I thought it looked bad, but then I counted the level 1's there, and there were no more than 15. Most of them was named something with "bot". Which was very encouraging. I do not think we need cut the game down to as few as 200, I would belive it is significantly higher. It is late now as well, but I still feel Borealis holds more life than f.ex Stormwind in WoW did just before Cata was released at this hr.
Due to this I have no big concerns as I belive AO will attract alot of players when new GFX engine is impleted. I will continue to play and hopefully I am well prepared & settled when the game is reborn Q1 next year
Make us care MORE about our faction & world pvp!
The auno listing only includes chars the site knows about - generally those chars who have joined orgs at one point or another, or whom the owner has specifically added into the auno db. The number of ppl it lists online vary from 150 to 450 at most times and is probably less than 1/2 the number of chars running around on that server at any given time. While it's useless for knowing how many people are logged on, it's a good measure of the -relative- volume over the course of a day.
~\_/~\_O