Hunchback
01-19-2007, 08:39 AM
Ok, this game caught my attention recently, and i've been looking over the net for more info, but it's kind of... scarce or messed up.
I read a lot of game-site reviews and some dev posts, but it's kind of hard to extract the -real- info from all the media-style writing of "being too afraid to diss the game but also too afraid to praise it cause it ain't final", and the dev style of writing like "we don't say our game is the best out there, but you know... it will be the best" :P
So i decided to ask a couple of questions that are very important to me when determining which MMO to play, but the original forums are closed, so i ended up here. I want to excuse myself if i ask questions asked many times before. I know how forums and searches work etc, but i just want to have my specific questions answered for me in one place.
So to put up some background first: I am a life-long fan of UO. That said, i simply love everything about UO, the lack of levels, the extreme level of freedom, the house building, the community ran towns, economy and everything... For sure it had a load of problems aswell, but still i consider it the best MMO to date. Otherwise i've spent long time playing a MUD, Medievia, but at some point i just got bored. I've played quite a bit of WoW(yeah, i know) and in the beginning i liked it a lot even though it had obviously stolen almost everything from other games, including Medievia, i accepted it cause it's what Blizz do best after all. Anyway, i recently got really pissed at WoW, just couldn't stand all the grinding and bullshit, and that together with the incredible limitations it puts down made me quit. Now i've been playing EVE for a while, and i really love how EXTREMELY free it is, but there is something wrong with it. Dunno, just feels maybe a bit too distant for me. Haven't played EQ though, so don't use it as a reference or make sure you explain well.
Oh, i am 22. Just a note.
So in short what i hope for - e beefed up UO, in sorts.
What are the most important features of a game:
1) Freedom. As in, no limitations in WoW style "you can't attack those people because they are on your side, you can't speak with those people because they are enemy, you can't change the world cause it's static and we want it that way...". I want freedom of choice to whatever and then take the consequences. Take UO white/gray/red system for example.
2) Ballance - Not much to be said. Don't want "omglolwtfpiwnedyounaked rogues" and shit like that.
3) Maturity - that's another very important perk, and i am not talking about blood, gore, rape etc(ofcourse that's a plus), i am talking about the community. For example EVE somehow manages to attract mainly mature players. Maybe it's because of it's complicated mechanics etc, dunno. Still, i just hate idiot kids running around talking 1337, asking of shit and then crying when they get "wtfpwned" or whatever. No bubbleboys plsktnxbye :P. *shrug* call it snobbishness or whatever, atleast i am honest.
4)Meaningful PvP - guess this is part of the freedom section, but still i am mostly PvP player and i consider PvE a mean to collect the means to PvP well. That means i hope there are no "PvE builds" and "PvP builds" or even worse - "PvE classes" and "PvP classes". I'd love to see flexibility and multy-use of skills, tallents, perks, feats, whetever means you have in possession.
5) Meaningful craft system - Sorry to take WoW for example again, but there crafting skills were really almost useless. You could get much better items from grinding dungeons etc, so in short crafting was just to maybe help you level up a bit because it sometimes provided better things than the ones that drop from monsters your range. Where in OU 90% of the stuff wore were player made.
6) Deterioration of items - That is almost a 100% MUST imho. If you get indestructible stuff or there is no mean to lose an item you have, the game turns into an endless grindfest where you get powerful stuff just so you can get even more powerful stuff and throw away the previous. Thanks but no thanks.
7) Penalty of death - the best scenario for me would be the EVE/UO one, where when you die you risk having all your shit looted, and the matter if or not is left to the player who killed you. That method also kind of presumes that there are no OMGEPIX that change the game GENERALLY once you have or not have them.
In short, i want hardcore game where you have a lot of freedom to do whatever you feel like without artificial limits(as much as possible ofcourse), items are not the MAIN game-changing content and community play is encouraged.
Reading all the advertisments and stuff, Vanguard is supposed to give all that, but is that really the case?
I read a lot of game-site reviews and some dev posts, but it's kind of hard to extract the -real- info from all the media-style writing of "being too afraid to diss the game but also too afraid to praise it cause it ain't final", and the dev style of writing like "we don't say our game is the best out there, but you know... it will be the best" :P
So i decided to ask a couple of questions that are very important to me when determining which MMO to play, but the original forums are closed, so i ended up here. I want to excuse myself if i ask questions asked many times before. I know how forums and searches work etc, but i just want to have my specific questions answered for me in one place.
So to put up some background first: I am a life-long fan of UO. That said, i simply love everything about UO, the lack of levels, the extreme level of freedom, the house building, the community ran towns, economy and everything... For sure it had a load of problems aswell, but still i consider it the best MMO to date. Otherwise i've spent long time playing a MUD, Medievia, but at some point i just got bored. I've played quite a bit of WoW(yeah, i know) and in the beginning i liked it a lot even though it had obviously stolen almost everything from other games, including Medievia, i accepted it cause it's what Blizz do best after all. Anyway, i recently got really pissed at WoW, just couldn't stand all the grinding and bullshit, and that together with the incredible limitations it puts down made me quit. Now i've been playing EVE for a while, and i really love how EXTREMELY free it is, but there is something wrong with it. Dunno, just feels maybe a bit too distant for me. Haven't played EQ though, so don't use it as a reference or make sure you explain well.
Oh, i am 22. Just a note.
So in short what i hope for - e beefed up UO, in sorts.
What are the most important features of a game:
1) Freedom. As in, no limitations in WoW style "you can't attack those people because they are on your side, you can't speak with those people because they are enemy, you can't change the world cause it's static and we want it that way...". I want freedom of choice to whatever and then take the consequences. Take UO white/gray/red system for example.
2) Ballance - Not much to be said. Don't want "omglolwtfpiwnedyounaked rogues" and shit like that.
3) Maturity - that's another very important perk, and i am not talking about blood, gore, rape etc(ofcourse that's a plus), i am talking about the community. For example EVE somehow manages to attract mainly mature players. Maybe it's because of it's complicated mechanics etc, dunno. Still, i just hate idiot kids running around talking 1337, asking of shit and then crying when they get "wtfpwned" or whatever. No bubbleboys plsktnxbye :P. *shrug* call it snobbishness or whatever, atleast i am honest.
4)Meaningful PvP - guess this is part of the freedom section, but still i am mostly PvP player and i consider PvE a mean to collect the means to PvP well. That means i hope there are no "PvE builds" and "PvP builds" or even worse - "PvE classes" and "PvP classes". I'd love to see flexibility and multy-use of skills, tallents, perks, feats, whetever means you have in possession.
5) Meaningful craft system - Sorry to take WoW for example again, but there crafting skills were really almost useless. You could get much better items from grinding dungeons etc, so in short crafting was just to maybe help you level up a bit because it sometimes provided better things than the ones that drop from monsters your range. Where in OU 90% of the stuff wore were player made.
6) Deterioration of items - That is almost a 100% MUST imho. If you get indestructible stuff or there is no mean to lose an item you have, the game turns into an endless grindfest where you get powerful stuff just so you can get even more powerful stuff and throw away the previous. Thanks but no thanks.
7) Penalty of death - the best scenario for me would be the EVE/UO one, where when you die you risk having all your shit looted, and the matter if or not is left to the player who killed you. That method also kind of presumes that there are no OMGEPIX that change the game GENERALLY once you have or not have them.
In short, i want hardcore game where you have a lot of freedom to do whatever you feel like without artificial limits(as much as possible ofcourse), items are not the MAIN game-changing content and community play is encouraged.
Reading all the advertisments and stuff, Vanguard is supposed to give all that, but is that really the case?