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Forthcoming MMORPGs 102

Posted by Zonk from the more-pre-e3-whistle-wetting dept.
-pms-mistletoe writes "Just in time for E3, Joystiq is taking a look at all the MMORPGs currently in development, giving a rundown of each one and an overview. From the article: 'Massively multiplayer online games, known by a series of acronyms beginning with MMO, are a rising trend among developers. With monthly fees meaning regular income, and a player base too addicted to stop, developers trip over themselves to enter this lucrative market."
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Forthcoming MMORPGs More

Forthcoming MMORPGs

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  • Bring back Wasteland! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by losman ( 840619 ) *
    I'm glad that Fallen Earth is on the list with its post-apoc world. But I wish someone would do a Wasteland off-shoot, that still ranks as one of the king turn-based RPGs.
    • I second that. I still play Wasteland every so often.

      I'm still dubious about "snake squeezin's", but it's probably better to not think about it.
    • There was just something special about shooting the religious nuts in their hideout, and having them fire back with meson cannons and rockets.

      But they need to have the 2nd FDD hack, so that you can start over, but with the same characters and all their gear. This way you're using the meson cannons against the rabbits.

    • Or how about Fallout Online?
    • Auto Assault is one of the best MMO games I have ever played. The combat is fun, the story lines are well written, and there really isn't any grind (unless you count running over a bunch of screaming scavs who are trying to flee from your spiked car from hell).

      It is pure post-apocalyptic-voilent-mutant-biomek goodness.

      Anyway, I'm not sure why more people aren't playing it - but I honestly sort of like the low population level - it adds to the "empty burning nuclear wasteland" effect.
      • I got into the late beta stage, played it for about 15 minutes, then uninstalled it. Just not my cup-o-tea.

        I currently play CoV/CoH, but am only doing so untill the DDO client is less than $50 (MUCH less.. Like around $20 or so..)

        I LOATH paying $50+ for a game I also have to pay $12 or more per month to play. Pisses me off.

        I actually hate paying for the client PERIOD, but am far more willing to do so at around $20 than $50+.

        • I bought DDO and played it for a couple weeks, but I don't like being forced to team up in order to play, and in DDO you *can not* solo.

          Also, I can't put my finger on it exactly, but DDO lacks something. The graphics are great, the combat is decent, the rules are very true to classic D&D, but for some reason I just don't have a whole lot of fun.

          Right now CoV and Auto Assault are the only games I have an active account on, and I really only play Auto Assault. Going to cancel my CoV account tonight I thin
          • I think what DDO is missing is the DM. During the beta, they tried to address some of this by having the "flavor" text narrated, which was an improvement.

            I don't mind being forced to team up, for this particular instance, because that IS what D&D is all about.

            Look at it this way -- how much fun do you have while ploding through an adventure by yourself?

  • Hello Kitty (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Hello Kitty RPG?
    All i have to say is:
    What the flippin fuc&?!?!

  • Why would I try most of these? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jandrese ( 485 ) <kensama@vt.edu> on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:47PM (#15263448) Homepage Journal
    How many Swords and Sorcery MMOs are on that list? Does the term "also ran" not mean anything to these people?

    I was also hoping to see more MMOs that deviate from the "beat up critters for loot, turn that loot into equiptment, chat if you like, it's your money" model. Sadly, that doesn't appear to be the case for most of the ones listed. It's like the RTS genre and FPS genres all over again. One or two companies make a really good game in the mold and suddenly dozens of copycats pop up in the hopes of cashing in, usually with inferior games.
    • Two words:

      Battletech [wikipedia.org] MMORPG.

      Not the MMO team combat game that never came to be (Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 [wikipedia.org]), but an RPG. Become a mechwarrior, a mechtech, powered infantry, combat vehicle crew... any of the roles in the paper-n-pencil RPG. Form or join a merc company, undergo a trial of position to join a clan, become a fabulously wealthy trader or pirate...

      That would be too cool.

      • Oh, good god yes.

        That is an MMO I would want above all others. The universe is so well-developed and so well documented that it would match just about any kind of interest one might have. I can see meaningful paths for crafting, skills, player-run economy, player advancement in terms of command or hereditary title.

        The scope and scale could run from individual infantry and battle armor fights up to mechs and to deep space battles with aerospace units and dropships.

        That would be just be awesome.
      • yeahyeahyeahMechwarriorRPGwhatever

        Bring back MPBT3025 !!!

        MPBT3025 was a brilliant tactical fps. They made no compromises with the canon mech and weapon stats in the game, and it worked out as a perfect recreation. Good, if simple meta game and very intense 4 on 4 matches. Gameplay was terrific. The best of it was getting in a group of good pilots in Javelin 10Ts (iirc, been a while, the 4 ML 25 tonner) and swarming an opposing squad. That was so much fun, the 10T is fast, heavily armed and has jump jets. An
    • How many Swords and Sorcery MMOs are on that list? Does the term "also ran" not mean anything to these people?

      My problem with most MMORPGs is that they haven't come up anything more innovative than the "kill things, level up, kill more things" formula.

      With the success of EQ, everyone went with their model. Personally, I found Ultima Online in 1998 to be extremely fun and interactive.

      I always thought it was technical limiations of 3d egines that no one tried to copy them with PvP, housing, and skill systems
      • Many of us gamers have been leveling up sinc MUDs, then Diablo, then EQ, then WoW and then any other game that uses the same system... Sure its fun, but after 20 games with the same formula it gets old.

        And yet you continue to pay for the same old crap, thereby eradicating the motivation for game developers to try something "risky" to warrant your attention. Why should game companies try something risky that *might* make them rich when they can try something tried and true that will make them profitable?

        • I think of it as "something is better than nothing."

          After EQ I realized that I wanted more from my MMORPGs. However, the only reason I don't play WoW or anything else is because I don't have the time.

          If I did have time I'd be playing WoW I'm sure. That doesn't mean an innovative company couldn't come along and gain market share.

          In fact if someone manages to change the way magic works so that it's so stale and change the camp/loot or instances issues then I'd probably play and just get less sleep
    • My guess is that only RPGs appeal to gamers as MMOs. Or maybe its the only type of game they can successfully scale on tens of thousands of players at the same time ?

      Personally, I'd love to see

      Hockey MMOs,
      Driving MMOs (actually, EA tried that one, I remember buying the game, playing it, it was fun but it never picked up as a whole - LOL cant remember the name either)

      I'd also love to see games like Ages of Empires on a MMO level. I mean... *really* conquer the world this time :) but the problem with games li
      • Nope, you're giving them too much credit.

        I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a MMO junkie, but I've been playing 'em forever. There is only one reason for them to focus on RPG above all other things: Profit.

        Think about it...What other genre rewards you based on time played? Levels, new equipment, new spells, new skills, new crafting abilities. Planetside, in all other respects one of the few games to break from the pack, still had a strong leveling element. Even there, in the expansion content, they adde
    • I think really what it boils down to is that fantasy games are a total no-brainer to design for, from the developer's perspective.

      Classes are known and easy to do artwork and abilities for (mages cast stuff and wear cloaks, fighters wear armor and swing swords, etc.). The good vs evil thing makes it easy to come up with a basic plot. There's a ton of other games out there that have been successful and unsuccessful, so you've got a great big pool of ideas to either be inspired by or avoid.

      All of this is in

    • Re:Why would I try most of these? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by east coast ( 590680 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @01:57PM (#15264117)
      I was also hoping to see more MMOs that deviate from the "beat up critters for loot, turn that loot into equiptment, chat if you like, it's your money" model. Sadly, that doesn't appear to be the case for most of the ones listed.

      OK. So what DO you want to see? Don't tell us what you don't want, tell us what you do want. Aside from that it's pointless.
      • Not a single MMO has ever been developed for the Xbox or Xbox 360. With extensive online presence, built-in teamspeak, and a hard drive; the 360 seems born to play MMO's and yet none has ever come out (with only a few lame-ass ones even in development). Think about an MMORPG with no need for worrying about configuring Teamspeak servers or dealing with the one loser in the group who can't hear you.

        -Eric

        • Yup, there's no MMORPGs for the XBox360.

          Oh. Wait. You seem to be forgetting THIS ONE [playonline.com]

          Now, if you mean that none have been developed -specifically- for the XBOX360, you're absolutely correct. But there IS an MMO on the XBox. And yes, there's bunches of people playing it.
          • Sorry, I don't count ancient half-assed port-overs that don't even utilize the Xbox's built-in teamspeak and run at STANDARD DEFINITION. I'm talking about a *REAL* MMO that is actually built for the Xbox or 360, not just ported over from other systems as an afterthought.

            -Eric

      • stuff I'd like to see (Score:4, Insightful)

        by snuf23 ( 182335 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @06:01PM (#15266278)
        I could go on and on about game mechanics I'd like to see implemented in MMOs - some realistic, some pie in the sky but that would ramble on forever.
        Some areas I would like to see improvement:

        More meaningful PVP. Definately a hard one. Turbine looks like they might pull it off with Warhammer (building on DAOC's realm vs realm).

        Improved Guilds. I think EQ2 has made some strides with guild leveling and status rewards as well as the recently released (and still somewhat broken) guild recruitment screen. If guilds need systems like DKP, there should be methods in game to easily track it.

        Less need to repeat dungeons/instances. Sure I enjoy running a dungeon zone 2 or 3 times maybe even 5, but 20+? Hell no! WoW's run this zone 20 times to get an item so I can run the next zone 20 times to get an item ad infinitum approach to the end game leaves a lot to be desired.

        Someone please get NPC faction right. I haven't played a game that does it well. Kill 900 million Furbolgs to get faction so I can buy a recipe. No thanks.

        Rethink the combat. A lot of MMOs use a very conventional breakdown of class roles in combat. Fantasy, sci-fi and superheroes all implementing the standard class rolls of tank, melee dps, ranged dps, healer, buff and crowd control. I actually enjoy this structure (well hell I must or else I wouldn't play MMOs) but I'm sure there are other takes on MMO combat that could work well.

        Better quests or at least more variety. EQ2 has a few quests that involve puzzle solving that are pretty neat. There has to be more than just kill X number, fedex, find the clicky item or kill X to get a drop. I realize these are done so often because they are easy to implement. Obviously puzzle quests or quests with scripted encounters take more time to develop.

        In terms of straight up genres here's some stuff I'd like to see:

        A Sci-fi MMO done right. Oddly enough SWG is probably the best mix of space ships and ground action except for the fact that it is so broken. Eve is great but I want to be able to land on planets and walk through alien cities.

        I'll second the call for a Fall out style post-apocalyptic MMO. Auto Assault is neat, but once again I want to be able to get in and out of my vehicle in the main world. I'm looking for something that evokes the sense of loss of civilization in the same way as Charleton Heston screaming at the Statue of Liberty in the end of Planet of the Apes. I really believe a setting can be emotionally moving and still involve weird mutants that eat only human flesh.

        A genre mashup like Shadowrun or the old roleplaying game Torg would be cool. Even something like the Chronicles of Amber.

        An MMO where exploration and colonization are the focus. It would be cool to do a "new world" type of MMO where you could actually carve player cities out of the wilderness. Doing colonial imperialism in the historical sense might not be politically correct, but sci-fi colonization of a new planet could be. And if they added in methods to contact and cooperate with natives rather than just slaughter them that could be cool. The colony could start out in the least hostile part of the planet and as it "leveled" could expand to the more hostile reaches. Implementing things like terraforming would be difficult, but if someone could pull it off it would add a whole new dimension to the game.

        A non-kiddie non-Disney cartoon MMO. Something like the pen and paper game Toon. Wild flexibility in character creation ala City of Heroes. Bizarro cartoon physics. Not anime, but more Warner Brothers meets Cool World with all of that over the top cartoon violence. Quests could involve vignettes playing on the recurring themes in cartoon shorts.

        Just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

        It's nice to see that we'll be getting Pirates based MMOs and Africa as well. I don't know how successful they will be but at least it's something different.
      • I want Privateer, online. Not a lame turn-based/dice-roll, level and XP based World of Warcraft set in space, but actual dogfighting like the original game. There would be no artificial restrictions like levels or experience for ships and equipment. What is required is cooperative play. PVP would be faction based, between a neutral commerce guild (for most players), and then military and pirate factions for PVP. Pirates can raid other player's cargo ships at will, so players will need to hire escorts. Guild
    • Planetside.

      It's the ONLY MMOFPS out there. And despite what one of your respondents said, while there is leveling available, it is NOT required to play anywhere in the game. You can start out as a new recruit, and using the (very well setup) default character loadouts, go and kick some butt right off.

      Now, I would recommend spending some time in the VR training facilities to familiarize yourself with the weapons, how they fire, how quickly they reload, thier damage capabilities, etc. And the VR driving ra
    • Hello Kitty, here I come...
    • I give you two "classic" scenes from two different movies. One a sword and sorcerer, the other a "sci-fi" movie.

      First, The Princess Bride, the battle ontop the cliffs of insanity. Ten minutes of "believable" action. Attack, defend, counter attack. It works.

      Next, Star Wars A New Hope, the "battle" in the Mos Eisley cantina. Either one will do. Notice something? Yup that is right, over in a flash.

      So now we take say a fantasy MMO like ooh say Everquest and the endless fights make sorta sense. You can deflec

      • Very insightful post. Obvious when you think about it, but the kind of thing that doesn't occur to you to think through when you're looking at the box in the store. But that has got to be a big factor in the let-down of multiplayer games in modern settings.
        • > It was one of the things people complained about when Star Wars
          > Galaxies first launched. That Storm Troopers did not go down
          > with 1 hit. You did but not the troopers.

          And then there's the lovely fun wherein 8 people surround a dog, and 7 shoot advanced laser blasters at it, the 8th dousing it with a flamethrower continuously for 30 seconds, and the thing keeps fighting, much less running away in absolute agony, much less instantly dying.

          Woo hoo! What a wonderful, Star Warsy feel!
      • How about anime where gunfights can take hours with people blasting each other with rockets, plasma and antimatter cannons while they walk out of explosions unharmed and even a direct hit only scratches the paint on the armor a bit? Okay, not all anime but some shows do that. Of course they often involve robots or power armor so maybe that's justified...
    • I would like to see a MMORPG based on ALIENS, but humans vs. aliens only. The controls and vision would be like Aliens vs. Predator games. There also should be multiple places, classes, etc. Maybe something like Natural Selection [unknownworlds.com] mod, but in a bigger place. Add more elements from the Aliens franchise as well. Each mission would be like instance/quests.

      I think it would be neat if players can customize the missions as well, and of course has to be approved by the game company.

  • Not much variety. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:50PM (#15263466)
    "Many of the games in development look similar at a first glance, and developers will have to make their product unique and appealing."

    Well said. It still looks like the world of MMORPG is still 90% dungeons, dragons, and monsters. I will at least be looking forward to the new Phantasy Star and Star Trek offerings though. I'm also interested in Fallen Earth. Maybe some of these competing MMOs can price war each other down to a reasonable monthly fee.
    • Well said. It still looks like the world of MMORPG is still 90% dungeons, dragons, and monsters

      Fantasy MMOGs are a subgenre that seems to work well. There were many casualties in the non fantasy setting MMOGs. And even craptastic fantasy MMOs like Lineage II seem to do extremely well vs some innovating none fantasy game like Eve Online.

      - Anarchy Online: while it had some innovative features like instances it failed, mostly because of Funcom's botched launch.
      - Star Wars Galaxies: butchered by SOE.
      - Earth and
      • WoW has 1/3 of the market. Lineage 1&2 combined has 1/3rd of the market. Everything else in an also-ran. The 4th biggest MMORPG right now is, amazingly, Runescape. The various Sony properties, such as EQ1&2, aren't doing so well these days.

        Eve Online is doing pretty well, actually, compared to everything except WoW and Lineage.

  • Damn costs (Score:5, Insightful)

    by thebdj ( 768618 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:50PM (#15263467) Journal
    I currently am debating whether or not to renew my WoW account. If this weren't bad enough, I am waiting for ST: Online and the LotR game doesn't sound too bad either. But monthly costs are going to hurt if I wind up playing 3 MMOs (assuming I could find the time after work). I really think it wouldn't be too crazy to ask for a time based payment system for MMOs.

    Seriously, give me like $5-$10 fee a month for a set number of hours. If the model is setup reasonably well you can get people who are willing to play enough to warrant the smaller fee to pay while still having your die-hard full-time, unlimited subscribers.

    This could even help draw more money to companies running multiple MMOs. In the end, I guess I will just have to decide which one or two MMOs to go with. It will probably wind up being WoW and ST:Online, unless of course the ST universe is screwed up as much as the SW one was with Galaxies.
    • Agreed 100% dude. I would happily be charged per second to play a MMORPG. maybe 0.000001c or whatever. Why not? its crazy for people playing 6 hours a day to pay the same as those playing 1 hour a week, and actively discourages the casual gamer. If I was pitching an MMO I'd make it a free download, with a graduated scale of fees, easily switchable between rates. Maybe you wouldnt be able to push beyond the current level for unlimited play, but charging someone maybe $4 a month for up to 20 hours a month, wi
      • Most people, myself included, are the other way. Set fee? Ok, how much do I enjoy playing this, is it worth it? Now charge me per minute- I'm going to feel like I'm wasting money every minute I'm traveling in game, every time I die, etc. I hate being nickled and dimed. I'd take a monthly fee over a use charge any day, even if the use charge would save me money.
        • The travel time becomes minor when you're in a raiding guild. I'm usually present at our guild's "early arrival/bonus DKP" time. I then sit on my ass for an hour watching mages conjure water while everybody else gets their ass in gear and the warlocks burn half their shards summoning lazy people. My warlock just hit 60, too. I'm the only lock in the guild with a Core Felcloth Soulbag and a bottomless bag, and I come with both of those filled with shards. So I get put on summoning duty. The only fun thing in
          • "looking at porn until first pull"

            You stop looking at porn after the first pull??? I usually wait until the last pull before turning it off.

  • hello kitty... (Score:3, Funny)

    by pxuongl ( 758399 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:51PM (#15263469)
    hello kitty online and naughty america.... where does the line start?

  • Please, No More... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TooMuchEspressoGuy ( 763203 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:51PM (#15263470)
    Is anyone else fed up with all of the MMO-hype?

    I recently came off of a year-and-a-half-long WoW-kick and bought a PS2. Since then, I've rediscovered exactly how fun that games with actual gameplay, storylines, and dynamic worlds can be. No MMO to date has had even two out of these three things (the gameplay is usually "push certain keys at certain times, and then wait for your enemy to die"; the storylines are non-existant; and the few MMO's with dynamic worlds, like Shadowbane, have been buggy commercial failures.) Yet they keep coming out, and gamers keep buying them. Why?

    But what's even sadder is that all of the trends in gaming point to MMO's being the future. Maybe I'll be one of the few dinosaurs many years from now bemoaning the "good old days" when the majority of games were tailored to be fun, rather than "massive" and "multiplayer."

    • Re:Please, No More... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Eideewt ( 603267 )
      I'm also fed up with it. I can't get into the "treadmill" style RPGs in the first place, and I've never seen how adding more people makes them more fun. The last RPG I enjoyed was Fallout, which I hear is a common story. Maybe I'll get around to Fallout 2 sometime.

      I still like the idea of a MMOG though. I just wish there were some that weren't dull RPGs, and that didn't require such a huge time investment. I'd like to see a Privateer style MMOG, for example. I've been wanting that ever since I first played
    • Amen brother. That and "realistic" FPS games.

      Don't get me wrong, I like some of the ideas and I play Battlefield 2 every once in a while but come on, give us a break already. I mostly play 80's arcade games because the current games suck.

      I miss Quake3. I don't have time to make a monthly fee game worth playing. And fantasy worlds... ugh, come on, some variety please.
    • I am currently playing Animal Crossing Wild World on my shiny DS Light and it is fun. It is also a grind.

      If you ever played Everquest 2 you might feel a bit of similarity between EQ2 collections and AC:WW museum.

      Hell, last time I went fishing was in Star Wars Galaxies.

      Considering how popular AC:WW is and how it was welcomed as a breath of fresh air I think there sure enough is a market for mindless grinds.

      Hell at least in MMO grinds you are only dependend on time. AC:WW simply tells me that I am not goi

  • Grrl gamer (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I should point out that the author of the Joystiq article is a grrl gamer. It's about time we saw more girls getting into gaming, and even getting good at it. I applaud this effort!
    • Yeah more power to anyone who wants to game.

      In the MMO world it seems female players are much more common than anyone realises. (outside of WoW from what I hear) in CoH O have meet many vetran MMO players who happen to be women (not guys who make only female charecters) and are not there just to play with there significant other.

      I see less women playing games that have very little or zero socal interaction (real or simulated) maybe there is something to that.
      • *raises hand*

        I'm female, and I play MMOs for the MM part. I also prefer PvE to PvP, as I prefer challenges where I go up against something hard with my friends, rather than listen to guys swear at each other during PvP. Ditto for non-online gaming; I vastly prefer co-op to head-to-head gaming.

        Ah, the good old days of arcade cabinets. X-Men, how I miss thee.

        • Re:Grrl gamer (Score:3, Funny)

          by hal2814 ( 725639 )
          Thinking of PvE and X-Men arcade cabinets, I remember one night in the late 90's when one my friends and I went out to look for a game to rent for his N64. The only criteria was that we wanted a game where we could both at the same time beat the crap out of something that wasn't each other (using X-Men as our example in case you were wondering the connection). Not one single game at any of the 3 rental stores in our area had any such game for the N64. Utterly disappointing. I'll never understand why co-
      • It's true - to broadly generalise, women love the social stuff. At least, that's one of the key points made at the Women's Games Conference last year! I know loads of women playing MMOs -- even my FPS clan has started a MMO division -- though I have to acknowledge that many of them were introduced to the genre by a (usually male) friend.

        Still, the future's bright.

  • When you find something that works... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RumGunner ( 457733 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @12:56PM (#15263512) Homepage
    You can usually count on people beating it into the ground.
  • I've always wanted to sit around an pay money to run diagnostics on a Federation vessel!!! It would be just like work if my coworkers and I played.

    Although I'm sure Star Trek Online will likely offer more than just that, I thought of that first and laughed.
    • I've always wanted to sit around an pay money to run diagnostics on a Federation vessel!!! It would be just like work if my coworkers and I played.


      That, and saying things like "It's the neuroplasma temporal injector coil assembly Captain, it's 2 microns out of alignment, I can hear it."
      • ***** Ding! Congratulations! You have reached Level 2.

        ***** You have been given permission by the Academy to set your phaser on "2 hits to kill a rat", up from "5 hits to kill a rat".

        You click on Bartender Demoto

        Bartender Demoto says, "I've been having problems with tribbles in the store rooms at the back of the station. Can you help?"

        (you click "yes")

        **** loading....

        ** A tribble hits YOU for 3 points of damage!

        ** You shoot at a tribble. You miss!

        ** A tribble hits YOU for 4 points of damage!

        ** You shoot
  • > Hello Kitty Online World [sanriotown.com]
    >
    > MMO History: Neither a Hello Kitty MMO nor a Sanrio-based MMO have been seen before...

    What the fuck? What the figgety-fucking fuck??

    (Obligatory bash.org: that's [bash.org] what the fuck.)

    > Naughty America: The Game [naughtyame...hegame.com]
    >A cross between online dating and an MMO, Naughty America: The Game is primarily a social space with added sex. Cartoon sex, that is.

    Because after I put on my robe and wizard hat, what could possibly go wrong?

  • Which ones only charge you the price of the game and nothing to play? Or only charge you to play (minus those micropayment ones--which I don't think I'll ever get into). I only want to pay for one thing, not both. Or if they do charge for both, they better not charge more than $60/year (as I am willing to do that--as it's only about the cost of a new game--as opposed to three new games...) I don't have time to play games heavily, so I don't want to sink $200 to play one game for 1 year... This whole double

    • Re:Price... (Score:3, Informative)

      by Miraba ( 846588 )
      Roma Victor is a one-time charge with the option of paying for gold. BOTS and Space Cowboy Online are free, but with micropayments that aren't described in the article.
    • You simply are not the target market for MMORPGs if you are unwilling to pay $200 a year to play a game in an online persistent world. The price for MMORPGs is very low compared to most forms of entertainment. It is cheaper than a Netflix account, or even the price of going to one movie a month in the theatres.

      It all comes down to "do you play it"? If you only play an hour a week, then probably no. But if you actually play it a few hours a week then it is definetly a cheap form of entertainment. After
      • I don't subscribe to Netflix, although I did subscribe to one of their competitors for awhile--$10/month for 2 or 3 games or DVDs at a time. Cheaper than a start up cost of $50 and $15/month. A movie is only $10 (at higher ticket prices--it's actually $7.50 by me), unless you include snacks, which aren't necessary and can easily be snuck into the theater. So while I agree that maybe I'm not the target market of traditional MMORPGs, I disagree that they are a cheap form of entertainment. Gaming is a cheap fo
        • I just choose to vote with my wallet and not support a business plan that I think is unfair to the consumer.
          but I still think it's a terrible policy

          That is the idea that I do not understand. While MMORPGs are more expensive than other forms of gaming, they are definetly not unfair to the consumer. How is $15 a month unfair for any hobby? I spend more money than that with one meal at a decent restaurant, and like I said before I spend far more than $15 every time I go to a movie (bring a date next time).

  • /drool (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Joe the Lesser ( 533425 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @01:02PM (#15263582) Homepage Journal
    must...level to max...on all possible mmorpgs....can not resist....the wonderful grind....cause i hate the real world....

  • SWG will leave an open space (Score:3, Informative)

    by mabu ( 178417 ) on Thursday May 04, 2006 @01:06PM (#15263627)
    For the first time in awhile I logged into SWG to see what's been going on. Although at first I couldn't because, apparently there's a conflict with Star Wars Galaxies and people running Logitech camera software that won't let the game run. SWG gives a misleading error message and barfs. After checking the online knowledge base, I couldn't find anything so I tried live chat and then I found out they knew about this issue... I guess you just needed to waste a few hours of your time before Sony would be kind enough to let you know their software suddenly doesn't run on a whole slew of PCs. Nice going Sony.

    After finally checking out SWG, it's still the huge mess it was left in from the plethora of redesigns and patches. There seems to be players hanging out at major starports and bars, but interestingly enough, most of them are either AFK or auto-barfing some promotional message. A cursory glance of the entire galaxy-wide marketplace reveals just how barren the game now is. I respect'd to a crafter and could not get a lot of the basic resources I needed to continue. SWG is finally on its deathbed. On the bright side, after almost 3 years of subscribing I'm rewarded with a holographic model of an Ewok. Yippie! Better luck next time Verant/SOE.
  • I am looking forward to Stargate Worlds and Star Trek Online. Two very good shows, IMO at least, and endless possibilities. And WTF is up with Hello Kitty Online!? Man, talk about creepy. Next you will see a Pokemon MMO. Anywho, unless Blizzard does something stupid, I will stick with World of Warcraft and may only try Stargate Worlds and Star Trek Online for a month or so.
  • I thought that everyone was too busy playing WoW to care about any other mmorpgs? Don't they have like millions of subscribers while other mmorpgs are struggling to keep thousands of even hundreds?
    • Eventually, the WoW bubble will pop. People are reaching end-game and running out of things to do. They stay for their community or guild, and create new characters and eventually get them to endgame too. I think you'll be seeing a lot of WoW people begin to search for greener pastures. Maybe not anytime soon, but in the next year or two the numbers will begin to drop.
      • I recently quit WoW after playing non stop since it's opening day in the US. I had changed servers (PvE only, not interested in dealing with gankers and griefers) a couple of times and then finally found one I liked and got to 60, joined a raiding guild and tried my hand at end game raiding, then came to the conclusion that it was nothing more than glorified grinding, and I hate grinding. I'm looking for an MMO that doesn't follow the EQ model of grinding/time sinks, unfourtunately I haven't found any yet
    • "I thought that everyone was too busy playing WoW to care about any other mmorpgs?"

      You would think that from the press. However there are a lot of relatively sane people who left the game (and more every month). I know some friends who still play who have 3 or more level 60 characters. Others play but only at scheduled raid times.
      I loved WoW, but now I'm glad not to have to deal with the bs (instability, needs for ui mods, repetitive end game) any more.
  • I haven't seen anyone mention Warhammer Online yet, but it's the one on the list I am most looking forward to. It's made by the same people who made Dark Age of Camelot, which featured such things as Realm vs. Realm combat, and Warhammer Online will be heavily focused on player versus player action.

    One of the best ways to keep an MMOG interesting is to utilize the best AI you can for the game, another human opponent. I play WoW, and while there is limited PvP through their Battlegrounds system, most of
    • I'm gonna second your comments here. I've played just about every single MMORPG out there. My all time favorite is DAoC. Nothing has come close to it's PvP. Three sides, with semi-permanent objectives. If there was one flaw, it would have to be the out of control damage. It can be fun to kill someone with two nukes. But it sucks to be on the receiving end.

      I'm really looking to Warhammer. Mythic will be able to use their years of MMORPG and PvP/RvR experience to make a great game.
      • /agree entirely

        I love DAoC but it needs some serious changes in pvp so that it's not about who gets the first mez off or who has the higher mastery of concentration. Basically everyone does too much damage too quickly. And stupid hib casters that can quickcast a stun which lasts long enough for them to nuke you to death before it wears off.... (anyway I digress :P)

        I quit daoc for WoW (and then went back for classic servers and then quit again). I'm going slowly in WoW, I'm finding the EQ style PvE enc
  • I'll re-up with Everquest when they get the new 'progressive' server up. It'll start with just the original EQ world, and (hopefully slowly) add in the expansions over time. I'd rather bash moss snakes in cloth armor than go through the twinkfest that EQ has become now.
    • I'd rather bash moss snakes in cloth armor than go through the twinkfest that EQ has become now.

      I'm not sure I understand... what prevents you from bashing moss snakes in cloth armor in EQ now? G'head, g'head... It's not like the newbie garden outside Freeport is over-crowded and laggy or something. Play your game, there's no stopping you. Or tradeskill up and sell what you make, hiring out a small party of mercenaries to watch your cloth-covered back as you farm those rare furs or fish those rare catche
      • Not overcrowded at all:) That's pretty much my reasoning; the existing servers are weighted overwhelmingly towards the 65+ side, and starting out a new character means a solo existence for most of the time. Since I would rather play as part of a well populated world, this new server sounds pretty nice. I dropped the game about 2 years ago and only recently started to look into going back. As for being "threatened or intimidated" , nope, I'm not....but thanks for the free psychoanalysis of my post :)

  • Pirates of the Burning Sea

    * Developer: Flying Lab Software
    * Platform: PC
    * MMO History: There's only one other pirate-themed MMO (Puzzle Pirates) out at the moment, so the way is clear for more; this is Flying Lab's first MMO release.
    * About the Game: Set amid the high seas, Pirates of the Burning Sea lets players partake in naval combat against other players and NPCs. Players can side with one

  • You start out in a small bedroom with only a few pairs of ripped jeans and t-shirts. Early missions involve looting mom's purse for money to go to the local hotspot to see your friend's crummy band.

    As you go up in levels, you are given the skills needed to talk mom and dad into letting you move into the basement, and eventually at higher levels you'll reach the elusive status of 'Van Ownership'.

    Challenges you might face include losing your skanky girlfriend, getting busted for pot, or discovering that preppy button down dude down the street is smarter then you after all.

    I dunno. Too close to home?
  • I found out about Tabula Rasa a while back when i was looking for a non-fantasy, non-ship based sci-fi MMO. Of course Galaxies fits the bill for what i want, but it still sucks. I read a little bit about it and i've been eagerly awaiting it, but the new stargate MMO sounds intriguing.
  • This is SO early, it scarcely merits a mention, save for the developer: Bioware is opening a studio in Austin to develop an MMORPG [gamespot.com]. This is amazing on two fronts: one, they've invaded the US. Two: they're making an MMO. Fans of games such as Baldur's Gate [2], NWN, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire know that Bioware has the chops. Basically, since BG, these people have not missed a beat. Probably the least well-received game was in NWN, and it sold well over a million copies and still
  • http://www.atriarch.com/ [atriarch.com]

    Looks very promising and the background information isnt the usual, orcs/dragons. Its a few different planets and such, with exotic creatures.
  • 9/10ths of the entries into the MMO market are there because they like the MMO business model. The developers don't stop to think "does making this game massively-multiplayer actually improve gameplay?" They don't want to consider that the game they have created might be more appropriate in a traditional, no-monthly-fee, non-massive online setup.
    I'm sure Maxis would have had higher net profits if they'd skipped the entire Sims Online venture and simply added the ability to create and run your own multiplaye

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