well the matrix online is closing down tonight

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Aug 1, 2009 0:14:38 GMT -5 pks said:

Aug 1, 2009 0:09:13 GMT -5 Koda, Master Crunchyroller said:

Yeah, but the former sucks balls and the latter is a shell of what the first one was.

..Have you even played EQ2?

Yes, and it wasn't as good as EQ1. No where NEAR as good in my eyes.

Hell, I still play EQ1 every now and then to this day! EQ2? Man I've uninstalled that a few years ago.

[benten]

I can't believe anyone would pay monthly for a video game.

Like buying GTA and paying monthly

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Aug 1, 2009 10:54:00 GMT -5 benten said:

I can't believe anyone would pay monthly for a video game.

Like buying GTA and paying monthly

That's why the MMOs I mostly play are FreeRealms and Maple Story, both are free to play.

Hell, soon I'll add Dungeons & Dragons Online to that list, because this fall it is becoming free to play.

[AriadosMan]

Can D&D afford to that? I know its an older design...

[Welfare Willis]

Aug 1, 2009 10:54:00 GMT -5 benten said:

I can't believe anyone would pay monthly for a video game.

Like buying GTA and paying monthly

But you got to remember that money goes into keeping the servers running, help support teams, developers who create new content, etc.

[Jay Peas 42]

Plus, it's the Matrix. There is a universal appeal in playing with Fantasy Worlds, it's been going on before writting was invented, with green tinted black leather worlds that were popular a brief time back in 2001? Eh, not so much.

[AriadosMan]

Yeah, esp. since a good amount of the MMORPG makret is global nowadays. I could see Koreans getting into a "non-culture specific" thing like WoW more easily than the Matrix, which I think was mostly US-based.

[Dean-o]

So what happened at midnight anyways?

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

I do agree that this ending was kind of anti-climatic. At least Tabula Rasa closed its servers with a bang. The last day of the game was an all out war between humans and aliens.

[thwak is T.hawk]

Aug 1, 2009 12:56:48 GMT -5 Dean-o said:

So what happened at midnight anyways?

a message came up saying "wake up" and then everyone in the world got squished.

but for some reason giant bomb was able to walk around a bit after it happened.

[sunwukong]

Aug 1, 2009 10:54:00 GMT -5 benten said:

I can't believe anyone would pay monthly for a video game.

Like buying GTA and paying monthly

Not really. The way content patches are now, it's almost like getting mini-expansions every so often. If it's a good game, the price can be worth it.

[AriadosMan]

Aug 1, 2009 20:21:32 GMT -5 @sunwukong said:

Aug 1, 2009 10:54:00 GMT -5 benten said:

I can't believe anyone would pay monthly for a video game.

Like buying GTA and paying monthly

Not really. The way content patches are now, it's almost like getting mini-expansions every so often. If it's a good game, the price can be worth it.

Unfortunately, that's because many a game is rush-released in a crappy unpatched state

[ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul]

Aug 1, 2009 9:35:03 GMT -5 Welfare Willis said:

Aug 1, 2009 0:05:38 GMT -5 thwak is T.hawk said:

star wars galaxies and everquest 2 are still around though.

True Thwak, but they don't nearly the subscribers that WoW does. Feel free to call me a WoW fanboy, but having played other MMOs I think Blizzard just did things better then most MMOs were doing at the time of it's release.

The point I was trying to make was there seems to be a rush to get into the MMO market without looking at the history of these types of games. IMO some game companies think, "WoW makes a ton of money...these MMOs are moneymakers!" They don't considered the other factors into Blizzard's success: a incredibly talented team at blizzard, a universe with deep lore, an art style while looking "cartoony" allows for a wide varity of computers to play, a ton of money invested into the project, and that famous polish Blizzard does to make sure a game is great before they even think about releasing it.

Arguments against:

1) The people. Everyone WoW player I know that's quit is because of the people, generally this is true with ANY MMO. But WoW has a larger subscriber base and therefor the sheer number of jerks will be higher.

2) Art Design... ooooh. Okay, it is highly stylized, and mockable (I see Blizzard loved their shoulder pads in the '80s.) It isn't inherently good or inherently bad in and of itself, and while not a detractor, it really isn't a bonus. Still I think they emphasize "more is better" and the character and equipment models can be too cartoony for some people.

3) The Backstory isn't that great, sure they have a lot of material, but just because some hack writer puts out a lot doesn't mean that the amount he does makes up for the crap it is. That is kind of the downside to a MMO world, if you constrict the SL too much then people wont feel a part of it, but rather they'll be apart from it. However simply building a world, such as they did isn't really the difficult part, even their large scale narrative is largely stories we've seen before.

Now, I am not saying it's a bad game. But then I am not a WoW/Blizzard fanboy, and really am not so enthralled with most MMO experiences.

Heck, EVE has been doing well, enough for it's Parent company to purchase White Wolf Games outright, rather than simply contract them to make the Card Game version of their game. So clearly they're doing something right.

And last but not least: Consensus doesn't make something right, or better. That WoW is so popular doesn't mean it is the best, it just means it's popular. Blizzard did that beyond belief. And are making hand over fist with it, so no matter my or anyone else's opinion, it is a success.

[Brother Coyote]

The only reason WoW has done so well is Blizz was willing to pony up the cash on the front end to make their product amazing if wow had crashed and burned it would have been DIRE for Blizzard. Most companies don't put enough into the games and so we get clunky shitty engines (AoC) or just boring unintuitive gameplay (Warhammer).

Now Blizz has a self sustaining behemoth of addictive gameplay. Plus I'm conviced someone at blizzard is in charge of wacky obscure weirdness because its FULL of interesting locations with little explanation of why they exist.

[@TenaciousBe]

................

[Chainsaw]

It's a shame, I had high hopes for it. Then it came out and...yup.

This is an issue that MMO players, as well as any multiplayer system, are going to have to deal with in the coming years. Unlike most standalone videogames, MMO's really have no singlular gameplay outside of the multiplayer arena. Thus, if they get attached to a game, and the majority of people don't, companies are not going to keep servers running and burn money just for them.

Anyhow, so long, MO. It still has one of the best beta ends ever.

[Welfare Willis]

Aug 1, 2009 20:50:06 GMT -5 ThereIsNoAbsurdistOnlyZuul said:

Aug 1, 2009 9:35:03 GMT -5 Welfare Willis said:

True Thwak, but they don't nearly the subscribers that WoW does. Feel free to call me a WoW fanboy, but having played other MMOs I think Blizzard just did things better then most MMOs were doing at the time of it's release.

The point I was trying to make was there seems to be a rush to get into the MMO market without looking at the history of these types of games. IMO some game companies think, "WoW makes a ton of money...these MMOs are moneymakers!" They don't considered the other factors into Blizzard's success: a incredibly talented team at blizzard, a universe with deep lore, an art style while looking "cartoony" allows for a wide varity of computers to play, a ton of money invested into the project, and that famous polish Blizzard does to make sure a game is great before they even think about releasing it.

Arguments against:

1) The people. Everyone WoW player I know that's quit is because of the people, generally this is true with ANY MMO. But WoW has a larger subscriber base and therefor the sheer number of jerks will be higher.

2) Art Design... ooooh. Okay, it is highly stylized, and mockable (I see Blizzard loved their shoulder pads in the '80s.) It isn't inherently good or inherently bad in and of itself, and while not a detractor, it really isn't a bonus. Still I think they emphasize "more is better" and the character and equipment models can be too cartoony for some people.

3) The Backstory isn't that great, sure they have a lot of material, but just because some hack writer puts out a lot doesn't mean that the amount he does makes up for the crap it is. That is kind of the downside to a MMO world, if you constrict the SL too much then people wont feel a part of it, but rather they'll be apart from it. However simply building a world, such as they did isn't really the difficult part, even their large scale narrative is largely stories we've seen before.

Now, I am not saying it's a bad game. But then I am not a WoW/Blizzard fanboy, and really am not so enthralled with most MMO experiences.

Heck, EVE has been doing well, enough for it's Parent company to purchase White Wolf Games outright, rather than simply contract them to make the Card Game version of their game. So clearly they're doing something right.

And last but not least: Consensus doesn't make something right, or better. That WoW is so popular doesn't mean it is the best, it just means it's popular. Blizzard did that beyond belief. And are making hand over fist with it, so no matter my or anyone else's opinion, it is a success.

1) The people. People you've talked to said they quit because of the people. Have any of your friends ever tried playing Halo or gears of war online? Anyone who quits because people are jerks are either oversensitive or are really just looking for an excuse. I've met some good people and jerks in WoW ...just like in the real world.

2) Granted the art style is a turn off to some. However, I should state you weren't around when Blizzard tried to decrease the shoulders. The outcry from fanboys was huge. Most players enjoy their giant shoulders. Remember this is a four year old game and this art style allows lower end pc specs to play. Allowing for more subscribers to enjoy the game.

3) Most of your argument here is just your opinion. In your opinion the backstory isn't great. That and three dollars will buy you a cup of coffee. Just because you don't like a story doesn't mean other people can't relate to it. Hell I hate high school musical, but that didn't stop it from becoming popular.

And I never said it was the best MMO. The fact is it makes a helluva lot more money then any other mmo on the market right now. I think they're are lot of factors that are the reason for this.