Some recent video game thoughts.

Orpheus · Post by **Orpheus** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:32 pm

angelius wrote:
I liked DDO as well (beta-tested it). But it did lack some of the more flambouyant aspects of WoW.

As boring as WoW can be, it had polish which DDO failed to deliver imho.

I'm far more looking forward to Conan: MMORPG.

I do agree with you on the "polish" aspect, and I do think that the game was released too early to have a nice catalog of quests to keep the "pot-bellied-cheeto-eaters" happy for at least two months. Actually, a lot of the polish has been added with the updates and now Turbine is putting new content in every month so if you don't "live" in Ebberon then the content is there. I know the reasons for WoW's success (simplicity, accessiblity, etc.) and I'm not knocking it for that. People who wouldn't otherwise be into "fantasy rpg's" are playing it and so that might be a nice gateway drug for more meaningful content ("You guy's play Castles & Crusades? Is that kind of like Warcraft?"). For me personally, I don't like that style of game. I like Zelda, but I've never gotten all of the items. I don't care if I finished the game with all 3 freakin' bottles. I beat the game and had a fun challenging quest with a great story. It's just that the WoW-style of play (Dark Age of Camelot has the same style of play so they can be lumped in there too, but I do like the setting a lot more...oh and the players ) is to me akin to playing C&C and just making the game one big combat session. Conan does sound cool (and I've never been one for Conan), as does Warhammer. I've never been one for MMO's before DDO and was with JG in my opinion of them. That's probably why I like DDO and anyone I know who never PnP'ed, but played a lot of MMO's, doesn't like it. It's not the same type of advancement and play. It'll probably die unless they find a nice balance for everyone and increase their subscription numbers, but I'll enjoy that puppy while it's around!

Orpheus · Post by **Orpheus** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:36 pm

serleran wrote:
I agree completely. Once I've paid for a game, I want to be able to play it, whenever I want, for as long as I want. Paying to play on a continual basis is a skewed business... where the consumer gets AOLed.

Well the general idea is that new content is given to the customer for their subscription fee. So it's not just a matter of paying for the game and then playing the exact same game. It's kind of like buying the PHB, DMG and MM in a bundle, then buying a Dungeon subscription to go along with it. You've got the core and then they give you more.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:24 pm

Except new stuff doesn't come out every month, and you're only getting to play the same thing. Expansions, have to be bought separately, and then, paid for again, every month.

Its not at all like buying a RPG. In fact, its almost the exact opposite.

I can use the tabletop equivalents anywhere I want, with as many people as I want, in whatever way I want.

A PC game, typically, has specific limits, such as "this server only" or particular regions. They also restrict how many people can be involved at once. And then, there is the most obvious component, which is not its fault really... a real RPG can cross over. I can use my books with people at my house, and across the world at the same time. Its bi-platform... real-world and cyberspace.

Anyway... if PC games are your thing, great for you. I don't think they offer anything. The last one that was any fun, to me, was Arcanum. Even NWN wasn't that fun, really.

Oh, and the Morrowind things are ok. Nice ideas, overall, but I think the execution is lacking. Besides, for me, the Might and Magic series kicks their ass everyday.

Orpheus · Post by **Orpheus** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:37 pm

It's all what you like. Actually, I'm not a big PC guy and have never really played that many for more than a few minutes with friends until a few months ago when I started trying out the MMO's. In fact, any of my friends who are PC/MMO junkies laugh incessantly when I tell them that I really like DDO. DDO does give new stuff every month, and they update that way as new content for subscribers without paid expansions. Most of the MMO games work on the "subscription-and-expansion" model, but DDO doesn't really do that (yet anyway) since it doesn't really have a large explorable world. The "explorable" part of it is in the dungeons. Gary does a voice-over for one of the dungeons, I wonder what he thinks of the game (despite the fact that it does use 3.5 rules; which work GREAT when it's a computer running them ). So for DDO in particular, it is kind of like having the core books and the modules arrive on your doorstep every month in a magazine form. The format of the other MMO's is what I did not like about them. I do think that Turbine has done a good job of translating D&D to a computer format as best as possible.