No, most definitely no 'forced' to make a zone based game and it does not require something like spacial to work... I'll just leave you to your delusions.
You'll see
See what?! Are you mental or something? Keep blaming the engine, fool.
I would also like to counter the claim "Even Worlds Adrift which uses Unity 5 and SpatialOS runs terrible."
I do not have that experience at all, are you basing your opinion on personal observations? What 6 games have you shipped using Unity? What was the last MMO you developed? Surely you must have several under your belt to have such knowledgeable opinions? Right?
It means with my two brief play tests with the game (the last one with Jim Lee off stream) it played about how I figured it would play based on the engine they were using.
So you have played it! Awesome. That is what caught my eye.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
I think it's a bad idea to stick to old ways that have a lot to do with the demise of the games they were featured in. Idk, I guess a lot of EQ1 players that still don't have a life, or shit, maybe even retired, will probably find a new home. Can't really call myself an EQ1 player... I mean I've played it for probably a total of 30ish hours.
Can't see a lot of the people who didn't grow up with EQ1 actually being interested in playing Pantheon.
You respond to this, disagreeing, while admitting to not really being an actual EQ1 player.... sheesh, people these days. Everyone needs to put their 2 cents in.
I will comment on this thread for the OP.
As a EQ player from 1999, I can say that it definitely made you have a deeper connection with the game and community. You had to learn things and remember them. If you used a map, it was from an external source. This also forced players closer, because it made you rely on each other for help at times.
You had to respect the game, because there was always the fear of getting lost, or killed, from venturing too far in the unknown.
Everything, that a modern MMORPG player would tell you, that was wrong about these old games, are everything, that made these so memorial and special.
The truth is, people are ever more egotistical and self centered today and are afraid of any social interaction, confrontation, reading, or any form of actual achievement.
We live in the, "Give it to me and give it to me now!" Impatient and instant gratification generation.
Its a choice between the two.
An on-rails, low risk-low reward, less rewarding and less fulfilling slot machine like gameplay.
or
An open world, with risk and danger, so much, that you need to rely on each other. A game your character actually lives in. Were you aren't expected to log in and feel like you're a hero, that has conquered the game within a month or two. Instead, you as the term states, "Eat the Elephant" and slowly, bit by bit, learn more every time you log in and you make actual memories, with real friends.
Debate me if you want, but the proof is there. If you think creating WoW clones will be the next big things, you have a right to your own opinion, but history hasn't painted a very good picture of that.
[EDIT]: As for, "Can't see a lot of the people who didn't grow up with EQ1 actually being interested in playing Pantheon."
All it takes is someones interest to be peaked, from years of mindlessly trying other slot machine, low effort experiences, to give a different designed MMORPG a chance.
Perhaps, that newer gen player values reading more into things and slowly sees themselves being engaged on a deeper level. So they keep logging in, until over time, the few people they've added to friends list, becomes guild mates, that they enjoy playing with for years.
No real game, since EQ, has put the pieces together right so far. They've all be clones that look like a "new EQ" but play like WoW, or a poorly done EQ, like the rushed Vanguard was.
This is ridiculous. How can you guys even form an opinion of everquest if you didn't play it in its heyday? The game had so many successful community building aspects to it that it promoted a healthy game environment in an mmo. It's success was how it forced people to interact in a positive manner to advance. In original everquest you could not solo. I cannot emphasize enough that the sheer difficulty of the game and not catering to the 'solo' player in an mmo is why it was a success.
Examples of positive community aspects:
Fast travel was only available through 2 classes. Druids and Wizards. Otherwise you would travel for what could literally be hours on foot with the chance of death and respawn at your bind point. This created taxi services and player interaction.
Trade and barter was nearly face to face. There was no market mechanic at all. People would literally shout in chat channels to come view their wares where they would show you backpacks full of loot and you could haggle with them in prices. The players themselves on many servers set up a trade tunnel in a neutral area so all races could come and barter.
Fighting almost anything. If you were one of the weaker classes at the beginning of the game then a level 1 rat or a snake (that could kick) would kill your character. From the very start of the game to the end you were almost required to have a partner. This promoted the most heavily co-op and group centric mmorpg that I have ever experienced.
These are just a few of the many examples of what everquest got right that every single other mmorpg has failed at. Yeah it's not always convenient to find a partner but that's why there are things like tradeskills, bartering, and god forbid roleplaying at the dark elf tavern with the elf and troll strippers. (Look it up)
I'm not sure you are remembering EQ correctly. Soloing was always done in the game. Asheron's Call and Ultima Online got more right than EQ did. EQ was the WOW of it's day. Nothing wrong with that but let's be honest about what it was and was not.
Someone else commenting about EQ, that didn't even play it. Soloing in EQ was very limited, monks, shaman, nec, etc could solo, with Enchanters being able to do the most, in the classic era of the game. This does not imply that Everquest was not a group based game. The vast majority of content that you did, you needed a group for, that is just fact.
Calling EQ the "WoW of its day" has to win the award for the dumbest, un-informed comment, that I've ever read on this website, and I've been here since 2003. Congrats dude...
This is ridiculous. How can you guys even form an opinion of everquest if you didn't play it in its heyday? The game had so many successful community building aspects to it that it promoted a healthy game environment in an mmo. It's success was how it forced people to interact in a positive manner to advance. In original everquest you could not solo. I cannot emphasize enough that the sheer difficulty of the game and not catering to the 'solo' player in an mmo is why it was a success.
Examples of positive community aspects:
Fast travel was only available through 2 classes. Druids and Wizards. Otherwise you would travel for what could literally be hours on foot with the chance of death and respawn at your bind point. This created taxi services and player interaction.
Trade and barter was nearly face to face. There was no market mechanic at all. People would literally shout in chat channels to come view their wares where they would show you backpacks full of loot and you could haggle with them in prices. The players themselves on many servers set up a trade tunnel in a neutral area so all races could come and barter.
Fighting almost anything. If you were one of the weaker classes at the beginning of the game then a level 1 rat or a snake (that could kick) would kill your character. From the very start of the game to the end you were almost required to have a partner. This promoted the most heavily co-op and group centric mmorpg that I have ever experienced.
These are just a few of the many examples of what everquest got right that every single other mmorpg has failed at. Yeah it's not always convenient to find a partner but that's why there are things like tradeskills, bartering, and god forbid roleplaying at the dark elf tavern with the elf and troll strippers. (Look it up)
My opinion as a person that never played as hardcore as this, I'm very looking forward to it, but at the same time it's scary (this is making me sound like a snowflake). Best way to explain it is like getting on a bad ass roller coaster. Yet I'll make it work NO MATTER WHAT, just like insisting on getting on the roller coaster.
I think it was Amathe plans on playing slow and logging in to basking at the beautiful environment. Maybe not them words, but it's something I would like to do. No rush I could be playing for years, and finding my crowed of people. This I miss in my second generation games.
What was so 'hardcore' about Everquest? There were far more hardcore games at the time. Everquest was WOW back then. The mainstream mmorpg for a more casual mmorpg player, not the hardcore mmorpg player. That's cool people like it just as it is cool people like WOW after it, but EQ is NOT nor ever was 'hardcore'
Reading these comments from players to young to even play EQ in 1999, is hilarious.
I'll take it you don't even know what a CR means, much less losing a corpse with gear and spending a hours, upon hours, getting lost exp back.
I bet you never did original epic 1.0.
Please, people like this, stop commenting, trying to pretend to be "special" because you end up looking dumb and having people totally discredit, anything else you have to say, like I have for this poster.
Great points Ridelynn and you nailed the real challenge these games face. The gaming landscape is not the same. Times have changed, gamers have changed and expectations have changed.
Pantheon is facing a real uphill battle to find success. I can understand EQ1 players salivating over the possibility to play EQ 2020 but the reality may be tougher than many realize. The game could not even raise enough interest or money for it's funding. More than once.
CU raised millions. Crowfall raised millions. Chronicles of Elyria raised millions. Ashes of Creation raised millions.
Pantheon raised.....$460,000 of an $800k asking failed Kickstarter.
I think how all this plays out will be interesting because I am curious about those who claim to want this kind of game and those who actually stay and pay for it long term. Plus they chose Unity. Unity for pete's sake! That shows how broke they really are. Didn't Brad learn from Vanguard not to use an off the shelf engine?
As long as fans understand what they are getting they should be able to enjoy it. Yet threads that go on and on about Pantheon bring back.....whatever it is they want back, should pump the brakes a bit. Even the developers know this is a small game with limited appeal. It is a 20 year old game with new paint. That's it.
I hope enough people stick around long term to keep the fans of the project entertained. Because an mmorpg with no players is not one.
People like you, are the ones that the first thing they look at and care about, are graphics.
I am not going to even dig deeper into anything you're saying in this post, because its laughable.
Many games have raised millions in kickstarter and have been clones, that failed.
Not many, actually very very few, have tried to actually focus on game dynamics and build design that focuses on things that matter, within the game.
Can we talk about the amount of money that SWTOR spent on voice acting.
This is ridiculous. How can you guys even form an opinion of everquest if you didn't play it in its heyday? The game had so many successful community building aspects to it that it promoted a healthy game environment in an mmo. It's success was how it forced people to interact in a positive manner to advance. In original everquest you could not solo. I cannot emphasize enough that the sheer difficulty of the game and not catering to the 'solo' player in an mmo is why it was a success.
Examples of positive community aspects:
Fast travel was only available through 2 classes. Druids and Wizards. Otherwise you would travel for what could literally be hours on foot with the chance of death and respawn at your bind point. This created taxi services and player interaction.
Trade and barter was nearly face to face. There was no market mechanic at all. People would literally shout in chat channels to come view their wares where they would show you backpacks full of loot and you could haggle with them in prices. The players themselves on many servers set up a trade tunnel in a neutral area so all races could come and barter.
Fighting almost anything. If you were one of the weaker classes at the beginning of the game then a level 1 rat or a snake (that could kick) would kill your character. From the very start of the game to the end you were almost required to have a partner. This promoted the most heavily co-op and group centric mmorpg that I have ever experienced.
These are just a few of the many examples of what everquest got right that every single other mmorpg has failed at. Yeah it's not always convenient to find a partner but that's why there are things like tradeskills, bartering, and god forbid roleplaying at the dark elf tavern with the elf and troll strippers. (Look it up)
My opinion as a person that never played as hardcore as this, I'm very looking forward to it, but at the same time it's scary (this is making me sound like a snowflake). Best way to explain it is like getting on a bad ass roller coaster. Yet I'll make it work NO MATTER WHAT, just like insisting on getting on the roller coaster.
I think it was Amathe plans on playing slow and logging in to basking at the beautiful environment. Maybe not them words, but it's something I would like to do. No rush I could be playing for years, and finding my crowed of people. This I miss in my second generation games.
What was so 'hardcore' about Everquest? There were far more hardcore games at the time. Everquest was WOW back then. The mainstream mmorpg for a more casual mmorpg player, not the hardcore mmorpg player. That's cool people like it just as it is cool people like WOW after it, but EQ is NOT nor ever was 'hardcore'
lol I think you're just trolling tio troll...EQ was hard...You died often...It was not easy to solo for most classes...You had to be very careful both traveling and when you were fighting not to get adds....To say it was WoW is ridiculous.
Agree to disagree. Just because I don't agree with you does not mean I am trolling. It means I have a different point of view
Yeah, because being factually wrong (compared to any other mmorpg at the time) is a "point of view"
Since Pantheon was first announced, fans of EQ were claiming it as a spiritual successor to EQ, which EQ2 kind of failed to do. Some claim EQ was the WoW of it's era, but WoW and it's horribly simple game design weren't introduced for another 4-5 years. If any EQ game was like WoW, it would be EQ2.
All games back then were a bit more hardcore versus games today. To say UO or AC were hard but EQ was not is just biased nonsense and coming from a certain few, it doesn't surprise me you continue down that path.
We get it. Some of you love the new easy mode MMO's that focus more on youthful twitch combat and pretty graphics. Well, there are some of us who prefer story, content and choice.
Pantheon is very much like EQ and while Brad did point out it's NOT EQ's spiritual successor, is simply because he wants Pantheon to have it's own identity, which it does.
Today's MMOs focus solely on action combat and flashy graphics for entertainment. I'm not talking about WoW either obviously, nor SWTOR, ESO, FFXIV, GW2 or EQ2. All of those games use traditional combat and the trinity system, except of course GW2. They are all however heavily focused on dungeon raids, crafting and story content. The games I'm referring to are the Asian F2P MMOs who have time and time again published the exact same crap over the past 5 years. From ArcheAge, Black Desert Online, Blade and Soul, Revelation Online and Bless Online. To me, those games are more like fantasy FPS, then an actual adventure focused, story driven type games.
It's obvious we have plenty of mainstream and recent MMOs to suit any millennial gamer's palette. Pantheon is suited more towards veteran gamers who played D&D or table top games. Players who know what role-playing is. Players who play just as much for the social and grouping aspects as the individual tasks like crafting or exploration.
WOW at launch did not have horribly simple game design. why do you take it as an insult? It isn't No one said EQ was not hard. No one said anything at all about twitch combat but you. What story do you think Pantheon will have? Like EQs?
What content are you talking about? Statically placed mobs standing around waiting to get murdered? All while running on a terrible Unity engine? I'm not sure once you actually get your hands on the game you will feel the same
Also, why the shade on 30+ year old gamers? What do people younger than you have to do with Pantheon? So if they are in their 30's they are not veteran gamers who do not know how to roleplay? Wow friend, kind of a douche thing to think and say. I hope you are not the target audience for a game like Pantheon if that is how you really think and feel.
"No one said EQ was not hard"
Your direct quote:
What was so 'hardcore' about Everquest? There were far more hardcore games at the time. Everquest was WOW back then. The mainstream mmorpg for a more casual mmorpg player, not the hardcore mmorpg player. That's cool people like it just as it is cool people like WOW after it, but EQ is NOT nor ever was 'hardcore' [mod edit]
This is ridiculous. How can you guys even form an opinion of everquest if you didn't play it in its heyday? The game had so many successful community building aspects to it that it promoted a healthy game environment in an mmo. It's success was how it forced people to interact in a positive manner to advance. In original everquest you could not solo. I cannot emphasize enough that the sheer difficulty of the game and not catering to the 'solo' player in an mmo is why it was a success.
Examples of positive community aspects:
Fast travel was only available through 2 classes. Druids and Wizards. Otherwise you would travel for what could literally be hours on foot with the chance of death and respawn at your bind point. This created taxi services and player interaction.
Trade and barter was nearly face to face. There was no market mechanic at all. People would literally shout in chat channels to come view their wares where they would show you backpacks full of loot and you could haggle with them in prices. The players themselves on many servers set up a trade tunnel in a neutral area so all races could come and barter.
Fighting almost anything. If you were one of the weaker classes at the beginning of the game then a level 1 rat or a snake (that could kick) would kill your character. From the very start of the game to the end you were almost required to have a partner. This promoted the most heavily co-op and group centric mmorpg that I have ever experienced.
These are just a few of the many examples of what everquest got right that every single other mmorpg has failed at. Yeah it's not always convenient to find a partner but that's why there are things like tradeskills, bartering, and god forbid roleplaying at the dark elf tavern with the elf and troll strippers. (Look it up)
I'm not sure you are remembering EQ correctly. Soloing was always done in the game. Asheron's Call and Ultima Online got more right than EQ did. EQ was the WOW of it's day. Nothing wrong with that but let's be honest about what it was and was not.
I actually remember it very well and if you read my post you would see that I didn't say there was absolutely no soloing. Yes soloing was done to a very minimal extent and it was not nearly as effective as a team. The early days of everquest didn't have nearly the same abilities or gear that came with the first expansion in Kunark. Your super rare items and gear for max level characters were literally replaced by low end gear with expansions. In today's everquest a level 10 has better gear than a level 50 had back then. The power jumps with each expansion from gear inflation, skills, and spells made soloing a much more viable option.
"In original everquest you could not solo."
is actually what you said
Of course you could solo wizards and druids were quad kiting and levelling solo. A necro can solo even a whole room in Guk and this was before Ruins of Kunark was out. I mean saying you could not solo isn't an accurate recollection of my own experience in EQ and I played from April 1999.
Great points Ridelynn and you nailed the real challenge these games face. The gaming landscape is not the same. Times have changed, gamers have changed and expectations have changed.
Pantheon is facing a real uphill battle to find success. I can understand EQ1 players salivating over the possibility to play EQ 2020 but the reality may be tougher than many realize. The game could not even raise enough interest or money for it's funding. More than once.
CU raised millions. Crowfall raised millions. Chronicles of Elyria raised millions. Ashes of Creation raised millions.
Pantheon raised.....$460,000 of an $800k asking failed Kickstarter.
I think how all this plays out will be interesting because I am curious about those who claim to want this kind of game and those who actually stay and pay for it long term. Plus they chose Unity. Unity for pete's sake! That shows how broke they really are. Didn't Brad learn from Vanguard not to use an off the shelf engine?
As long as fans understand what they are getting they should be able to enjoy it. Yet threads that go on and on about Pantheon bring back.....whatever it is they want back, should pump the brakes a bit. Even the developers know this is a small game with limited appeal. It is a 20 year old game with new paint. That's it.
I hope enough people stick around long term to keep the fans of the project entertained. Because an mmorpg with no players is not one.
People like you, are the ones that the first thing they look at and care about, are graphics.
I am not going to even dig deeper into anything you're saying in this post, because its laughable.
Many games have raised millions in kickstarter and have been clones, that failed.
Not many, actually very very few, have tried to actually focus on game dynamics and build design that focuses on things that matter, within the game.
Can we talk about the amount of money that SWTOR spent on voice acting.
Voice acting.....
LOOOOOL
Please educate us, then. Exactly where did you come to the conclusion that @Bluetutrle13 is all about graphics. Or how the 1999 mindset is still alive and kicking somewhere in the marketplace. Or that Pantheon is attempting anything that wasn't in EQ1. Or how Unity is a good choice for a robust MMORPG experience.
To your statement that 'very very few have tried to focus on game dynamics', I'd contend that this is almost completely opposite of the truth. My opinion is that every game developed since EQ1 has focused on game dynamics. Things that matter in any game are the decisions that the player has to make, and the interface used to input these decisions. EQ1's original user interface was derided by many, both players and designers.
I suspect that you are merely trolling anyone who questions anything about Pantheon. I'd encourage you to stick around and prove me that you're capable of more than "nuh uh, you're wrong". We know what your opinion is; tell us why you've come to that opinion.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Always a risk, but i think that is why while each class has a defined role, they all bring some utility. Even in EQ smart play meant you did not have to have an enchanter, admittedly in later lvls it was nearly a must to have a slower, but even then you had the choice of bard and shaman. In Pantheon, with all the ghetto cc around, the only risk is again how essential slow becomes (and in EQ it was a few years before it was too vital...PoP i think)
Mid level and later you could group in non traditional groups and be successful and have fun. One of the most fun groups I ever had was in Dreadlands where we had a group with 3 Chanters, one Mage and me as a Shaman for Slows and Healing (that no one needed). Pantheon must succeed in creating something where you are more successful in a group but the groups can be different.
I think pantheon will soften a lot of the 1999 type mechanics. Death penalties will likely be much more bearable, maps will be available, chat channels most likely.
The things that made those things enjoyable for me were support classes, downtime, non-instanced content, camps for loot/xp.
It is hard for me to articulate what I want from Pantheon or any other mmo for that matter. On one hand, I enjoy the hardcore grind that punishes me for stupid mistakes and forces me to group with other players because those are the things that make you feel passionate about your character and friends. On the other hand, I have no desire to grind for 4 weeks straight just to make 1 out of 100 levels, or schedule a raid time at 7pm and finally roll out at 8:30 because 3 of the 40 people necessary couldn't be bothered to show up on time. I want old school hardcore with today's creature comforts... if that is even possible.
What > I < personally want for sure: - A large, diversified class system. The more classes, the better. No talent trees. - Holy trinity mechanics. Tank, healer, puller, dps, support. - Auto attack combat! None of that dynamic action combat that has flooded the market. - Less meaningless quests. I don't want to collect 20 snake eggs or hundreds of Deathfist Slashed Belts. I want to grind mobs or work on life time quests that have a meaningful result. - Clear, definable progression for my chosen class and the feeling of becoming stronger with each level. Waiting 4 levels to get a new spell or only getting 5 more points in 1HB when I level up that doesn't equate to more damage is meaningless. - Built for first person view with option to scroll out to 3rd person. - Lots of large, over stated, complex looking weapons and armor. I don't care about the slider that allows me to turn my nose up or down, or make my ears bigger or smaller. That is not customization to me. - A complex guild system. I loved the guild quest and level system in EQ2! - I would love to have a real purpose for gods and deities. Being able to rank up with my chosen god and receive benefits would be fantastic! - And I guess if I am to be honest, I'd prefer to not have a subscription.
Challenge, Consequence and Freedom (not a quest hub based game) this breeds satisfaction in achievement and social interaction. Thats essentially what i want from Pantheon. People can argue the specifics of various mechanics, but i personally dont care - it doesn't need to be an EQ1 clone or something totally different. How they achieve CCF is not important to me. People always use EQ1 mechanics as examples because no game has really offered the above since EQ1. Even the most pro EQ clone people are really just looking for CCF and aren't sure how to get it without replicating EQ due to a lack of other examples rather than necessarily wanting a remake (well, that is what i think anyway)
When EQ originally launched (before the first expansions) the key factor of the game was the fact that the players were outclassed by the game itself. There was a real struggle to fight, survive, and progress. Every player personally felt the threat of the death of their characters, and knew that the only way to reduce that threat was to play both cautiously, as well as with others. Everyone would pitch in for a corpse run, because we all understood that tomorrow, that could easily be us. Community and reputation were all important, as a bad standing in the community meant that you could not progress in the game, as you needed community support for most things.
The way that the classes were interdependent. The way that the community was interdependent. The way that the game provided mandatory down time for socialization. These all made playing on a server a common experience for all, and helped create strong communities that newer games did not.
When EQ originally launched (before the first expansions) the key factor of the game was the fact that the players were outclassed by the game itself. There was a real struggle to fight, survive, and progress. Every player personally felt the threat of the death of their characters, and knew that the only way to reduce that threat was to play both cautiously, as well as with others. Everyone would pitch in for a corpse run, because we all understood that tomorrow, that could easily be us. Community and reputation were all important, as a bad standing in the community meant that you could not progress in the game, as you needed community support for most things.
The way that the classes were interdependent. The way that the community was interdependent. The way that the game provided mandatory down time for socialization. These all made playing on a server a common experience for all, and helped create strong communities that newer games did not.
This is only true for players who:
4. Didn't fully understand the underlying game mechanics
Well, what he said was accurate though. He specifically said "when EQ launched(before expansions...)"etc.
At that time, nobody understood the mechanics very well. EQ was so vague with actual mechanical information, that it took some years before people fully understood a lot of things in the game. Well, that, and we didn't have all these min-max napkin mathers and data-miners at that time.
So, really, everyone fell into category 4 in the early days.
I still get a kick thinking about all the old silly rumors and superstitions the community spread in EQ. There were more fish tales amongst EQ players than the ancient sailors.
But, that just supports the point of your post, DMKano -- it's simply impossible to recapture that stuff again. The same way no one will ever discover another new continent sailing the world.
There's just not much left to discover, which makes everything much more routine and forces people to focus on efficiency.
When EQ originally launched (before the first expansions) the key factor of the game was the fact that the players were outclassed by the game itself. There was a real struggle to fight, survive, and progress. Every player personally felt the threat of the death of their characters, and knew that the only way to reduce that threat was to play both cautiously, as well as with others. Everyone would pitch in for a corpse run, because we all understood that tomorrow, that could easily be us. Community and reputation were all important, as a bad standing in the community meant that you could not progress in the game, as you needed community support for most things.
The way that the classes were interdependent. The way that the community was interdependent. The way that the game provided mandatory down time for socialization. These all made playing on a server a common experience for all, and helped create strong communities that newer games did not.
This is only true for players who:
4. Didn't fully understand the underlying game mechanics
Well, what he said was accurate though. He specifically said "when EQ launched(before expansions...)"etc.
At that time, nobody understood the mechanics very well. EQ was so vague with actual mechanical information, that it took some years before people fully understood a lot of things in the game. Well, that, and we didn't have all these min-max napkin mathers and data-miners at that time.
So, really, everyone fell into category 4 in the early days.
I still get a kick thinking about all the old silly rumors and superstitions the community spread in EQ. There were more fish tales amongst EQ players than the ancient sailors.
But, that just supports the point of your post, DMKano -- it's simply impossible to recapture that stuff again. The same way no one will ever discover another new continent sailing the world.
There's just not much left to discover, which makes everything much more routine and forces people to focus on efficiency.
LOL Not only did people not understand the mechanics early one. They were in a state of flux at least on the class I played and constantly changing. Heck when my bard first got to 50 almost half his skills did nothing. At a mid-level I remember him going from being a super crowd controller better than a chanter one week to a few weeks later poof most of that gone. They were not ready for how fast people were going to level in the game. When we got to level 50, what did we have to do, kill two dragons that if I remember correctly spawned something like once a week or whenever the server crashed. So I certainly don't expect to recapture that aspect of early EQ as surely most games now will have the higher level stuff more developed at release.
I did fear death and corpse loss some I guess at lower level and I certainly was not going to run into a dungeon and see how far I could get before I died and stuff like that. At max level, I really only feared losing my corpse due to game bugs. Like one time I zone into a dungeon in velious and apparently I was on the dragon at the bottom of the dungeon shit list as it immediately summoned me to the bottom and killed me. Unfortunately after this most of the mobs in the zone got bugged at the entrance and would kill you before you finished zoning in. That was not fun and of course the GMs would do nothing.
When EQ originally launched (before the first expansions) the key factor of the game was the fact that the players were outclassed by the game itself. There was a real struggle to fight, survive, and progress. Every player personally felt the threat of the death of their characters, and knew that the only way to reduce that threat was to play both cautiously, as well as with others. Everyone would pitch in for a corpse run, because we all understood that tomorrow, that could easily be us. Community and reputation were all important, as a bad standing in the community meant that you could not progress in the game, as you needed community support for most things.
The way that the classes were interdependent. The way that the community was interdependent. The way that the game provided mandatory down time for socialization. These all made playing on a server a common experience for all, and helped create strong communities that newer games did not.
I hate to say this, and believe me because THIS is front and center in my presence here and I'll be there when it releases, BUT I believe ultimately commercial MMORPGs are always in the process of transitioning to single player workings. This is why soloing is so effective. Time and time again interdependancies in MMORPGs are removed or reduced from original state. The demand is too high in the player population for self-reliance. This is why the MMO mechanics are gimmicks to create the illusion of playing with others, whilst being sold as the real deal. It's a distortion of the truth. Thus, it's very difficult to a trully player interdependent MMO to survive financially.
I feel like being donation supported may be the only way. The objective isn't making money, but a work of love by the developers and players. Like Project 1999. Beleive it or not, but many of those players aren't there just because ti's EQ, but because of the interdependance. I'm not sure the market can support something that extreme anymore, except in special circumstances. We all can find examples in various MMO's, but it's next to impossible to find examples in AAA quality MMO's as extensive as it was in original EQ.
Yes I want Pantheon to have this interdependance, I just don't think it'll stay. Pantheon will water down and soloing will increase in its effectiveness over time. Many years of observing MMORPGs has led me to these conclusions. Only free MMO's, and only commercial MMO's in their initial creation.
This is not to say interedependancies are impossible. Shooter games like fortnite or the older Tribes are well known for players almost exclusively working together with specialized skillsets. However, this is not in an MMORPG environment. These games are fast paced and only mildly progression-based, and usually not persistent. If all these things are to be together, there has to be tremendous compromises somewhere.
Bottom line, most players in the commercial market demand accessible, fast gaming. It has to be easy to pick up and play. This is at the root of almost every change in these games. If interdependency exists, it has to be the kind which presents minimal obstacles.
The reason indie commercial MMORPGs can't be relied on longterm to focus on niche audiences searching for these interdependencis is because almost all MMO's universially eventually seek a common denominator to bolster their profitability. This usually means axing the more niche features. First to go are any strong interdependencies or obstacles sitting in the way.
I hate to paint a pessimistic picture. In reality I'm fairly optimistic. My attitude is the glass is half full.
To be honest, i would settle for Vanguard's standard of interdepence. There was plenty that could be done when in a short time alone, but everything was more efficient with others and far more fun - all the real exciting content was designed for team play but there was adventure to be found alone, it was just slower and more mundane meaning it was never preferable if you were going to be on for an extended period.
I think in content where there is high population it's easy to have interdependence, and when an mmo ages and expands with new content then it becomes more and more difficult to find other players willing to do that old content. At that point interdependence fails, and is replaced with ways for the new player to survive without that interdependence. It is just natural growth in an mmo. People will complain "but we had to do it the hard way". No. You did it the easy way - when it was easy to find people wanting to do that content.
Comments
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
I do not have that experience at all, are you basing your opinion on personal observations? What 6 games have you shipped using Unity? What was the last MMO you developed? Surely you must have several under your belt to have such knowledgeable opinions? Right?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
I will comment on this thread for the OP.
As a EQ player from 1999, I can say that it definitely made you have a deeper connection with the game and community. You had to learn things and remember them. If you used a map, it was from an external source. This also forced players closer, because it made you rely on each other for help at times.
You had to respect the game, because there was always the fear of getting lost, or killed, from venturing too far in the unknown.
Everything, that a modern MMORPG player would tell you, that was wrong about these old games, are everything, that made these so memorial and special.
The truth is, people are ever more egotistical and self centered today and are afraid of any social interaction, confrontation, reading, or any form of actual achievement.
We live in the, "Give it to me and give it to me now!" Impatient and instant gratification generation.
Its a choice between the two.
An on-rails, low risk-low reward, less rewarding and less fulfilling slot machine like gameplay.
or
An open world, with risk and danger, so much, that you need to rely on each other. A game your character actually lives in. Were you aren't expected to log in and feel like you're a hero, that has conquered the game within a month or two. Instead, you as the term states, "Eat the Elephant" and slowly, bit by bit, learn more every time you log in and you make actual memories, with real friends.
Debate me if you want, but the proof is there. If you think creating WoW clones will be the next big things, you have a right to your own opinion, but history hasn't painted a very good picture of that.
[EDIT]: As for, "Can't see a lot of the people who didn't grow up with EQ1 actually being interested in playing Pantheon."
All it takes is someones interest to be peaked, from years of mindlessly trying other slot machine, low effort experiences, to give a different designed MMORPG a chance.
Perhaps, that newer gen player values reading more into things and slowly sees themselves being engaged on a deeper level. So they keep logging in, until over time, the few people they've added to friends list, becomes guild mates, that they enjoy playing with for years.
No real game, since EQ, has put the pieces together right so far. They've all be clones that look like a "new EQ" but play like WoW, or a poorly done EQ, like the rushed Vanguard was.
(Akiraosc)
Calling EQ the "WoW of its day" has to win the award for the dumbest, un-informed comment, that I've ever read on this website, and I've been here since 2003. Congrats dude...
(Akiraosc)
I'll take it you don't even know what a CR means, much less losing a corpse with gear and spending a hours, upon hours, getting lost exp back.
I bet you never did original epic 1.0.
Please, people like this, stop commenting, trying to pretend to be "special" because you end up looking dumb and having people totally discredit, anything else you have to say, like I have for this poster.
(Akiraosc)
I am not going to even dig deeper into anything you're saying in this post, because its laughable.
Many games have raised millions in kickstarter and have been clones, that failed.
Not many, actually very very few, have tried to actually focus on game dynamics and build design that focuses on things that matter, within the game.
Can we talk about the amount of money that SWTOR spent on voice acting.
Voice acting.....
LOOOOOL
(Akiraosc)
That isn't a PoV man, that is bad logic.
(Akiraosc)
Your direct quote:
What was so 'hardcore' about Everquest? There were far more hardcore games at the time. Everquest was WOW back then. The mainstream mmorpg for a more casual mmorpg player, not the hardcore mmorpg player.
That's cool people like it just as it is cool people like WOW after it, but EQ is NOT nor ever was 'hardcore'
[mod edit]
(Akiraosc)
(Akiraosc)
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
Chi puo dir com'egli arde é in picciol fuoco.
He who can describe the flame does not burn.
Petrarch
The things that made those things enjoyable for me were support classes, downtime, non-instanced content, camps for loot/xp.
What > I < personally want for sure:
- A large, diversified class system. The more classes, the better. No talent trees.
- Holy trinity mechanics. Tank, healer, puller, dps, support.
- Auto attack combat! None of that dynamic action combat that has flooded the market.
- Less meaningless quests. I don't want to collect 20 snake eggs or hundreds of Deathfist Slashed Belts. I want to grind mobs or work on life time quests that have a meaningful result.
- Clear, definable progression for my chosen class and the feeling of becoming stronger with each level. Waiting 4 levels to get a new spell or only getting 5 more points in 1HB when I level up that doesn't equate to more damage is meaningless.
- Built for first person view with option to scroll out to 3rd person.
- Lots of large, over stated, complex looking weapons and armor. I don't care about the slider that allows me to turn my nose up or down, or make my ears bigger or smaller. That is not customization to me.
- A complex guild system. I loved the guild quest and level system in EQ2!
- I would love to have a real purpose for gods and deities. Being able to rank up with my chosen god and receive benefits would be fantastic!
- And I guess if I am to be honest, I'd prefer to not have a subscription.
But that is just me.
The way that the classes were interdependent. The way that the community was interdependent. The way that the game provided mandatory down time for socialization. These all made playing on a server a common experience for all, and helped create strong communities that newer games did not.
So I certainly don't expect to recapture that aspect of early EQ as surely most games now will have the higher level stuff more developed at release.
I did fear death and corpse loss some I guess at lower level and I certainly was not going to run into a dungeon and see how far I could get before I died and stuff like that. At max level, I really only feared losing my corpse due to game bugs. Like one time I zone into a dungeon in velious and apparently I was on the dragon at the bottom of the dungeon shit list as it immediately summoned me to the bottom and killed me. Unfortunately after this most of the mobs in the zone got bugged at the entrance and would kill you before you finished zoning in. That was not fun and of course the GMs would do nothing.