quote:
Zaza said:
Any idea what's going to happen to it? I've heard everything from a complete licensal revoke to some other studio taking over and running a few skeleton servers.
No idea yet, SOE have said they're never giving up on it but with server numbers in the triple digits at prime time it's flopping like a beached whale.
quote:
From the Book of Armaments, Mortious did read;
No idea yet, SOE have said they're never giving up on it but with server numbers in the triple digits at prime time it's flopping like a beached whale.
Interesting... where'd you find out/hear that?
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
quote:
Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael stumbled drunkenly to the keyboard and typed:
I'm tempted to play City of Villains.
You should. We have lab coats and blast goggles.
It is held in thought
only by the understanding
of the Wind.
quote:
So quoth Zaile Ghostmaker:
You should. We have lab coats and blast goggles.
Yeah and I'd want to be a villain anyway. It's tempting. I tried going back to SWG, but man...it hurts my brain.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
quote:
Ja'Deth Issar Ka'bael wrote their words upon the rocks;
Yeah and I'd want to be a villain anyway. It's tempting. I tried going back to SWG, but man...it hurts my brain.
I still have one 14-day City of Heroes trail key left. May not be villain side, but you can at least get used to the interface and the basics.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
quote:
A sleep deprived Mortious stammered:If only LucasArts hadn't picked SOE where managers who know nothing about MMORPG gameplay rule.
Yeah, it's really hard to keep an MMORPG going for 6 years knowing nothing about MMORPGs and not being a forerunner in bringing MMORPGs to the masses and vastly increasing their popularity
I'm not saying I don't agree with your points on SWG. But SoE DOES know MMORPG gameplay rule. That I will give them.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent Lyinar Ka`Bael said:
Yeah, it's really hard to keep an MMORPG going for 6 years knowing nothing about MMORPGs and not being a forerunner in bringing MMORPGs to the masses and vastly increasing their popularity
I don't think SOE increased the popularity of MMOs. It's more likely they stigmatized them.
quote:
Lyinar Ka`Bael impressed everyone with:
Yeah, it's really hard to keep an MMORPG going for 6 years knowing nothing about MMORPGs and not being a forerunner in bringing MMORPGs to the masses and vastly increasing their popularity
I'm not saying I don't agree with your points on SWG. But SoE DOES know MMORPG gameplay rule. That I will give them.
They kept one going for six years with a carrot on a stick and because there was no real competition.
People have tasted WoW, and they like it. They won't go back to EQ. Even for nostalgia's sake.
Verant and 989 Studios did.
quote:
The logic train ran off the tracks when Led said:
SoE did not develop EQ eitherVerant and 989 Studios did.
That's what I was going to say. SoE had it all handed to them by the guys that really figured it out.
Mind you, I hate the Verant crew for all the time sinks and such. Looking at that damned spellbook all the time was NOT fun, and I have NO idea why I put up with it for so long. 
quote:
Everyone wondered WTF when Led wrote:
SoE did not develop EQ either
Verant was a subset of SOE. Don't believe me? Go look at the copyright on the install screen and see where it says "Copyright Sony Online Entertainment" at the bottom. Or watch the Icons show about EQ. This has been Sony-financed and run since the beginning. They just had a masochist in charge before they officially took it over and made it 100x better than the crap Brad McQuaid had.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Lyinar Ka`Bael impressed everyone with:
Verant was a subset of SOE. Don't believe me? Go look at the copyright on the install screen and see where it says "Copyright Sony Online Entertainment" at the bottom. Or watch the Icons show about EQ. This has been Sony-financed and run since the beginning. They just had a masochist in charge before they officially took it over and made it 100x better than the crapBrad McQuaidMR STINKY had.
That's better.
And IIRC, SOE actually formed out of Sony's takeover of Verant/989...
quote:
Over the mountain, in between the ups and downs, I ran into Lyinar Ka`Bael who doth quote:
Yeah, it's really hard to keep an MMORPG going for 6 years knowing nothing about MMORPGs and not being a forerunner in bringing MMORPGs to the masses and vastly increasing their popularity
Actually it's really easy, you just have to be the only 3d MMORPG on the entire market for the first couple years.
quote:
Cavalier- obviously shouldn't have said:
That's better.
And IIRC, SOE actually formed out of Sony's takeover of Verant/989...
There was no takeover. Sony was the financial backing from the start. They just started running their project rather than letting Brad and the rest continue to have free reign.
And SoE I can verify has been around since 2000, probably earlier, but my first exposure to EQ was during Kunark and that's the earliest date I can confirm with my CDs having the copyright information at the bottom of the install screen. I just saw it there when I re-installed a few days ago.
Maybe someone with an original EQ disk can re-intall just to check that screen and see if it says the same for 1999?
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
How ever, both were companies that were under Sony, Sony disolved the two, creating SOE to focus on Computer entertainment, and another branch for consoles.
--You can check the Back of the Kunark Jewel case and see the Verant logo on it. and see verant is copyright to sony computer entertainment. Peter fucked around with this message on 12-17-2005 at 09:26 AM.
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ACES! Another post by Lyinar Ka`Bael:
They just started running their project rather than letting Brad and the rest continue to have free reign.
What part of this sentence do you not understand?
It was a good product when Brad 'and the rest' had free reign; SOE ruined it the moment they took creative control.
Sony Online Entertainment has not had a quality product since Everquest was handed to them on a silver platter.
It's not something people hear about.
quote:
Check out the big brain on Sean!
What part of this sentence do you not understand?It was a good product when Brad 'and the rest' had free reign; SOE ruined it the moment they took creative control.
Sony Online Entertainment has not had a quality product since Everquest was handed to them on a silver platter.
This is so obvious; I don't even know why there's an argument about it.
So, yea, it's been Sony financed and controlled from the get go. I believe the group didn't carry the Sony brand name at the start because it originally worked with games that would have been considered somewhat risky at the time (Verant's online only offerings and challenging EA with their 989 Sports games). It got renamed to SOE once consistant revenue streams were established.
As for SWG, I'm of the opinion that SOE decided to promote Raph Koster and move him to San Diego just to get him out of the way so they could rework SWG from basically being UO+ to something else.
Something to be clear about: The boys in San Diego that run SOE understand EverQuest. That doesn't mean they understand MMOG design in general. They want every game to basically have EQ level success instead of being content producing a handful of niche games the way that NCsoft does (speaking from an American market perspective). If they'd quit trying to chase Blizzard, they'd be in a lot better shape. But with the way their going, EverQuest is going to be the only franchise they'll be able to sustain.
-H
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Maradon!'s unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
Actually it's really easy, you just have to be the only 3d MMORPG on the entire market for the first couple years.
Pretty much. The only reason most people didn't go to DAoC when it came out, is because they already had high-level characters on EQ and it would be a waste to just quit.
Don't defend SOE, they're money-grabbing scum who care about you as much as an ant they'd accidently step on in pursuit of profit.
A bunch of those old guys broke off and are developing Vanguard, which is supposed to herald back to the ol' days of spending five hours running across Antonica and requiring a full group to kill an even con mob 
I like hard games!
quote:
Led spewed forth this undeniable truth:
A bunch of those old guys broke off and are developing Vanguard, which is supposed to herald back to the ol' days of spending five hours running across Antonica and requiring a full group to kill an even con mobI like hard games!
Vanguard is targetted for a more hardcore crowd than EQ in general. More or less, Brad's targetting the sadists who love to catass. That doesn't mean the game will be hard, just that it will involve tons of time spent grinding to level or gear up. Also, as I believe you're a casual player the game is definitely not for you. Actually, the game is being designed so that a casual player will hate it. I'd say stay away from Vanguard.
If you want a hard game that you can play casually, I'd honestly say you should look to DDO. It'll be casual friendly, provided you have a couple friends you can play with, and is a bit more harder than the standard MMO fare. Quite frankly I had no hopes for the game being decent, but the stress test surprised me. Considering how cynical and bitter I am about the genre that's... surprising. And that reminds me, I need to write up a review on it...
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x--LedO-('-'Q) :
I like hard games!
You're confusing tedium for challenge.
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This one time, at Maradon! camp:
You're confusing tedium for challenge.
It was only tedious after you mastered it. I remember breaking in Fear the first time... that was hard.
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Noxhil2 stopped beating up furries long enough to write:
It was only tedious after you mastered it. I remember breaking in Fear the first time... that was hard.
Staring at a spellbook to recover mana was tedious. It was beyond tedious, and I'm ashamed that I spent so long putting up with it.
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Palador ChibiDragon said:
Staring at a spellbook to recover mana was tedious. It was beyond tedious, and I'm ashamed that I spent so long putting up with it.
Don't worry, I feel the same way about grinding Jedi for months, only to have people get it now by pressing a button at character creation.
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Mortious got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
Don't worry, I feel the same way about grinding Jedi for months, only to have people get it now by pressing a button at character creation.
Listen Mortious Sony knows exactly what it's doing because it is an industry leader in MMOGS.
It's not something people hear about.
quote:
So quoth Palador ChibiDragon:
Staring at a spellbook to recover mana was tedious. It was beyond tedious, and I'm ashamed that I spent so long putting up with it.
They took away the med book in...Kunark? Velious? It didn't stay that long. EQ had it's mechanics problems, but if you're going to bash it, at least use something relevant.
Anyway, I never sat on my ass. Shaman dance for their mana.
-H
EQ was neat because it was pretty much revolutionary. WoW is neat because it's Warcraft.
Vanguard is...what
quote:
Zaza said:
SOE has run several previously popular MMORPGs into the ground. Industry leader or not, that is a really telling thing.
They now have giant billboards that say things like BANK and STARPORT near the respective buildings in a city. They're green and metal and look so bad on Tatooine, and I don't ever remember seeing one in the movies.. nor do I recall Obi Wan pointing at the big garish sign that says "CANTINA" for where they need to be going.
SOE just keeps getting worse. Did you know they removed faction pets? Yes, because those ineffectual AT-ST's and troopers used for roleplaying were so game breaking.
quote:
Mortious got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
They now have giant billboards that say things like BANK and STARPORT near the respective buildings in a city. They're green and metal and look so bad on Tatooine, and I don't ever remember seeing one in the movies.. nor do I recall Obi Wan pointing at the big garish sign that says "CANTINA" for where they need to be going.SOE just keeps getting worse. Did you know they removed faction pets? Yes, because those ineffectual AT-ST's and troopers used for roleplaying were so game breaking.
Hahahahahaha. That's just horrible.
I'd love to be put in charge of SWG and turn it back into a non-shitty game, really. It seemed like what it needed was improvements to some professions (Squad Leader lol, droids to actually do things for you?), a serious fixing of tradeskills, more use of player towns in the GCW, and a not-shitty Jedimaking system.
Instead it got... NGE.
On the note of AT-STs, is it true that they were easily killable with Flamethrowers? Zaza fucked around with this message on 12-18-2005 at 12:18 AM.
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Led Model 2000 was programmed to say:A bunch of those old guys broke off and are developing Vanguard, which is supposed to herald back to the ol' days of spending five hours running across Antonica and requiring a full group to kill an even con mob
Tedium is not challenging. All that does is make the game a niche game and considering Microsoft has their finger in the pie in regards to account management, I seriously doubt it's going to survive six months without some serious changes to make it more appealing in general. Microsoft would be idiots to continue helping something that's only going to appeal to a tiny portion of online gamers.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
How.... Hellbender.... uughhhhhh:
They took away the med book in...Kunark? Velious? It didn't stay that long. EQ had it's mechanics problems, but if you're going to bash it, at least use something relevant.Anyway, I never sat on my ass. Shaman dance for their mana.
-H
They didn't take it out till Brad was gone. I started in Kunark and I remember I had to put up with that thing all the way through Kunark at least and I'm fairly sure through Velious.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
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Lyinar Ka`Bael probably should have googled this:
Tedium is not challenging. All that does is make the game a niche game and considering Microsoft has their finger in the pie in regards to account management, I seriously doubt it's going to survive six months without some serious changes to make it more appealing in general. Microsoft would be idiots to continue helping something that's only going to appeal to a tiny portion of online gamers.
Original EQ had some really stupid ideas, but the fact that people romanticize about medding in their book doesn't mean that SOE aren't really really shitty game designers. They have middle managers deciding over the development of games they don't even understand.
quote:
Zaza had this to say about Cuba:
Original EQ had some really stupid ideas, but the fact that people romanticize about medding in their book doesn't mean that SOE aren't really really shitty game designers. They have middle managers deciding over the development of games they don't even understand.
They've done fine with EQ2. They made it an enjoyable game supporting a variety of playstyles that doesn't have to be tedious to be good.
Lyinar Ka`Bael, Piney Fresh Druidess - Luclin
quote:
Lyinar Ka`Bael had this to say about Robocop:
They've done fine with EQ2. They made it an enjoyable game supporting a variety of playstyles that doesn't have to be tedious to be good.
I don't play EQ2, and I really don't like that style of gaming, so I'm not going to comment there, but they have pretty much wrecked EQ (ruined economy, casual play, tradeskills, essentially EVERYTHING except raiding), PS (lol) and SWG (lol #2).
