MMO's and time commitment - Game|Gravity

punchbunny · 12-14-2008, 03:29 PM

I've been thinking alot about MMO's and time commitment lately. I started back in the early days of EQ(and loved it), and though it's infamous for being the king of grinding and hard death penalties, i can't help but feel as though even though most modern mmo's tout themselves as being more accessibly, more casual friendly, and overall have much more hand-holding, etc, they seem to ask for alot more time commitment before you access any valuable content.

Now, i was never a raider in EQ, so i can't comment on that enormous commitment, but as far as the basic gameplay went- i feel that the direct result of the sloooow leveling and harsh death penalties was an absolute necessity for interesting content throughout the low/middle/end game (at least in the early days of EQ this also increased the likelihood of other players in yoru level range for casual players- instead of your friends outleveling you in a week). when i played it, because leveling to max was such an unlikely short-term goal, i never really worried about it. in tern, i could always log on and enjoy what i was doing then and there,and place a lot of value on the world and mobs i was exploring as well as the far less frequent gear upgrade. it actually made me feel more in touch with my character. i couldnt care less these days when i get a new item, seeing as i'm grinding quests so much and receiving gear every level- that each accomplisment seems pointless. for this and many other reason, there seems to be a pull to max out as quick as possible to access the "real content". I dunno, i'm rambling at this point. Maybe i'm just feeling nostolgic, haha.

U guys think i'm crazy? Or if you agree what do you think thats all about?

ghost · 12-15-2008, 12:59 AM

i found everquest quite the opposite. Becuase leveling was such a monumental task and i was unable to keep up with the regular players i played with i found i had to 1. quit EQ 2. Quit work or 3. Solo in EQ finding random party members whenever my currebt group outleveled me. I truly enjoyed EQ but could not maintain any group I was with for more than a week. (Each weekend I'd spend a day to catch up on sleep and fall behind if not in level in whatever 'thing' they were doing) New MMO's aren't much better since they each add new caps to the vlling whenever a serious number reach capped.
WoW, Warhammer and other p2p MMO's aside.

I think the problem with content now is that games are developed on the fly. The go live at abour 20% conetnet lvl. Each cap is added with more content. But after that first 'Eye candy' section they dont put the work in. They;ve got you by the ballz already. They add bland area's re skinned enemies and ussually extend on existing game mechanics.

I've never enjoyed wow, and I've not played warhammer to it's level cap yet so i can't say for these. but f2p MMO's seem to become very bland very quick after the second or third lvl cap raise. It's all about profit.

Sain · 12-19-2008, 12:40 PM

i agree with ghost, most games after the second or third level cap lose tehir appeal. I mean, i TOTALLY HATE when tehre is an expansion of anygame, you go to the new areas and most of the monsters are just recolored version of previous monsters, some look cool though. Also when they add new things to enchance weapons or armor as if it was not annoying enough to enchance with other methodes, they add more -.-

And I also hate so much with a passion, that if the game is f2p, the new areas are accessible only if you buy an item from the cash shop . Or when tehy add most of the customization options to the cash shop,and....etc.

That's why I lose interest in many games, too fast, the only ones I won;t leave are Lineage II, cause I already invested a lot of time :P and GE , cause I just like it, even though it sufers from most of the points above :/

And most of the time, if you miss one week of playing, your trusty party is already higher , and it sucks :/

ghost · 12-19-2008, 04:55 PM

I find when my missus plays a mog as well, it makes it heaps more fun. We always try to stay around the same level so no matter what theres always someone to party with. Got a few mates trying to pik a game now.

12-14-2008, 03:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
punchbunny Electrolyte Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 65	MMO's and time commitment I've been thinking alot about MMO's and time commitment lately. I started back in the early days of EQ(and loved it), and though it's infamous for being the king of grinding and hard death penalties, i can't help but feel as though even though most modern mmo's tout themselves as being more accessibly, more casual friendly, and overall have much more hand-holding, etc, they seem to ask for alot more time commitment before you access any valuable content. Now, i was never a raider in EQ, so i can't comment on that enormous commitment, but as far as the basic gameplay went- i feel that the direct result of the sloooow leveling and harsh death penalties was an absolute necessity for interesting content throughout the low/middle/end game (at least in the early days of EQ this also increased the likelihood of other players in yoru level range for casual players- instead of your friends outleveling you in a week). when i played it, because leveling to max was such an unlikely short-term goal, i never really worried about it. in tern, i could always log on and enjoy what i was doing then and there,and place a lot of value on the world and mobs i was exploring as well as the far less frequent gear upgrade. it actually made me feel more in touch with my character. i couldnt care less these days when i get a new item, seeing as i'm grinding quests so much and receiving gear every level- that each accomplisment seems pointless. for this and many other reason, there seems to be a pull to max out as quick as possible to access the "real content". I dunno, i'm rambling at this point. Maybe i'm just feeling nostolgic, haha. U guys think i'm crazy? Or if you agree what do you think thats all about?

12-19-2008, 12:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
Sain Action Boy Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 58	i agree with ghost, most games after the second or third level cap lose tehir appeal. I mean, i TOTALLY HATE when tehre is an expansion of anygame, you go to the new areas and most of the monsters are just recolored version of previous monsters, some look cool though. Also when they add new things to enchance weapons or armor as if it was not annoying enough to enchance with other methodes, they add more -.- And I also hate so much with a passion, that if the game is f2p, the new areas are accessible only if you buy an item from the cash shop . Or when tehy add most of the customization options to the cash shop,and....etc. That's why I lose interest in many games, too fast, the only ones I won;t leave are Lineage II, cause I already invested a lot of time :P and GE , cause I just like it, even though it sufers from most of the points above :/ And most of the time, if you miss one week of playing, your trusty party is already higher , and it sucks :/ Last edited by Sain; 12-19-2008 at 12:45 PM.

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12-15-2008, 12:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
ghost revenant Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 454	i found everquest quite the opposite. Becuase leveling was such a monumental task and i was unable to keep up with the regular players i played with i found i had to 1. quit EQ 2. Quit work or 3. Solo in EQ finding random party members whenever my currebt group outleveled me. I truly enjoyed EQ but could not maintain any group I was with for more than a week. (Each weekend I'd spend a day to catch up on sleep and fall behind if not in level in whatever 'thing' they were doing) New MMO's aren't much better since they each add new caps to the vlling whenever a serious number reach capped. WoW, Warhammer and other p2p MMO's aside. I think the problem with content now is that games are developed on the fly. The go live at abour 20% conetnet lvl. Each cap is added with more content. But after that first 'Eye candy' section they dont put the work in. They;ve got you by the ballz already. They add bland area's re skinned enemies and ussually extend on existing game mechanics. I've never enjoyed wow, and I've not played warhammer to it's level cap yet so i can't say for these. but f2p MMO's seem to become very bland very quick after the second or third lvl cap raise. It's all about profit.

12-19-2008, 04:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
ghost revenant Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 454	I find when my missus plays a mog as well, it makes it heaps more fun. We always try to stay around the same level so no matter what theres always someone to party with. Got a few mates trying to pik a game now.