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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Soloing in Next Gen MMOGs |
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I'm sure this is a topic that has been beaten to death but I hope the MMO gurus that read this will take pity on me and bear with this hoary old topic.
I've dabbled with several MMOGs but none of them grabbed me for a variety of reasons. In particular, I have no interest in the social aspect. I like the idea of a huge changing world but I don't get lonely and I have limited time. I've belonged to some good guilds (briefly) but I always end up feeling obligated to play certain hours or in a certain way -- my limitation rather than theirs, I'm sure. I also appreciate that the social aspect is a key component of MMOGs...but I'd still prefer to go my own way.
So...what's the best next generation game to keep my eye on? Which games have the best chance of enough content and depth to keep a dedicated soloist interested?
I like crafting and I like "realistic" graphics, so no UXO or WoW, thank you. I *love* space sims, so SWG: JTL might be of interest but a fantasy setting might interest Kayla.
I'm probably asking too much but what do you think?
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Mon May 17, 2004 1:03 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
It's always hard to foretell which upcoming game will have enough content to please someone, but since you'll only play a few hours a week I'd venture to say that any of them is a good guess.
The currently existing MMOGs that I'd give a try if I were you would be SWG, or maybe DAoC, although the latter can't be soloed through very well... SWG is very soloable, and the crafting engine is one of the best on the market right now, if you're willing to invest some time into it. I hestitate to mention UO because I simply didn't play it recently enough to recommend it safely. Anarchy Online is also a safe solo experience, but I can't vouch for crafting.
Next gen? Well, I can tell you that from what I've played of it so far Lineage II is solo-friendly. In fact, it's every man/woman for himself there since it's a full-PvP game, so you might want to consider that carefully before you fork out some money for it...
Keep a close eye on Wish. From what I've dabbled with it in the early Beta, it reminded me of Darklands, if that rings a bell to you. Only it's 3D of course  Ryzom looks like it will have some nice content as well, only I don't know if you'd be turned off by the relitavely cartoonish characters. I think the game looks less so than WoW or UXO, but still.
And finally, Warhammer Online looks impressive too. Very real, gritty look, and I think that they'll have some decent crafting in there too.
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Mon May 17, 2004 6:58 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
Lineage II is full-PVP?
You have got my attention now... Care to elaborate?
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Mon May 17, 2004 7:23 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Chekote
Lineage II is full-PVP?
You have got my attention now... Care to elaborate?
I just wrote a quick First Impressions article about it last Friday which pretty much covers what kind of a feeling I have with the game right now.
Although I should point that the issue about the global chat I mention in there was resolved over the weekend when a friendly player informed me that it is referred to as "Shout" in Lineage 2... Once you turn off the Shout channel, the game becomes easier to enjoy. 
The PvP is pretty much open-ended to let anyone play the way they want, while still penalizing the players that choose to be of a more "chaotic" (evil) nature. When you kill a player that doesn't fight back, you gain some karma points, which is bad, and the name above your head turns red, which means you're a player killer. While you are tagged as a PK you can't approach cities or the guards will run after you on sight. If another player kills a red player they do not suffer Karma points because they rid the world of an evil guy, or somthing.
As soon as you attack a player your name turns purple. If your opponent doesn't fight back at all, and you kill him, your name turns red. If he fights back, then his name turns purple also, and the winner gets a PvP kill (instead of a PK kill) and suffers no karma points. His name remains purple for a little while (I think, haven't experimented a whole lot with that yet...). Karma points are lowered by fighting off monsters in the wild, so you're not forever stuck with your "Chaotic" status.
Problem right now is that the whole system is up for a whole lot of expoiting. Some more shady players will walk up to you and strike you just once, prompting you to fight back, which effectively turns YOUR name red when you finally kill him, and tags you as a PK! The player you just killed then calls his buddies and they zerg you without a penalty (and get some items from your steaming corpse while they're at it). NCSoft promised a fix in the next update (early June) although I'm not sure what form that'll take.
Hope that's enough info 
Overall it's a good game, although it doesn't bring anything new to the genre. I'm working on a review, so keep an eye on mmorpgdot.
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Mon May 17, 2004 8:01 pm |
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Chekote
Where’s my Banana?!?!
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Posts: 1540
Location: Dont know, looks kind of green |
Excellent!!!
It sounds like like Old UO! I have been waiting for a game that uses the old UO system for years!!!
Now I gotta pray that they dont screw it up like Origin did.
See ya, I'm off to buy it!!! 
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IMHO my opinion is humble |
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Tue May 18, 2004 1:58 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
If you get it, try and look me up in-game. I play on the #8 server called Hindemith - it's usually the one with the lowest ping anyway.
I play Ekym (level 11 Dark Elf mage) 
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Last edited by Ekim on Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:57 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tue May 18, 2004 6:41 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
quote:
Originally posted by Chekote
Excellent!!!
It sounds like like Old UO! I have been waiting for a game that uses the old UO system for years!!!
Now I gotta pray that they dont screw it up like Origin did.
See ya, I'm off to buy it!!!
Dude, wait for DARKFALL ONLINE. Lineage2 sucks, it has -bad- game mechanics. Lineage 2 might sound like UO but its NOT. Lineage 2 is level-based. Darkfall is SKILL-BASED. Darkfall Online is made to be JUST LIKE old school UO + tons of other neat stuff. Full Open PvP. Purely skill-based system (no levels at all). Hundreds of skills and hundreds more spells. Seamless world. Decent graphics. Racial wars. Land ownership. Seiges and castle battles. Town ownership and management. There is lots more, go see www.darkfallonline.com for the full details. Dont waste your time with Lineage2.
ON TOPIC: I solo most of the time. I rarely group unless it is with someone i trust. Grouping with strangers just gets you killed. I only group with competent smart people. The games i have chosen to play which have decent soloing capabilities are: Darkfall Online, Everquest 2 (believe it or not, you CAN solo quite alot), Dragon Empires, Trials of Ascension, Ultima X Odyssey, Vanguard Saga, and World of Warcraft. None of which are out yet 
EDIT -- added stuff. |
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Wed May 19, 2004 10:08 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
...and i know what im talking about, i have a level 25 on mainland... |
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Wed May 19, 2004 11:43 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
Thanks for the input.  I might check out SWG with a mind to playing JtL and see where that goes.
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Thu May 20, 2004 12:38 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Did you ever try EVE-Online, Dhruin ?
It's space-based and you can carve out a good living for yourself soloing if you wish. |
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Sat May 22, 2004 9:19 pm |
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
Yes, I played it for a few months. I got myself to a cruiser (Minmater Stabber? A cheap one ) but the level grind hit me like a shovel: I was doing exactly the same thing in the cruiser as before... The point-and-click flight model wasn't immersive for me and there was no content as such (the missions were pretty terrible). Suddenly the dozens of hours I had spent mining seemed foolish - I was paying a company for entertainment that was so boring I surfed the net while mining or travelling (apologies to fans of Eve).
I figure being able to explore the ground and jump into space when the mood takes me should keep me interested (I'm assuming you can move between standard SWG and JtL at will).
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Sun May 23, 2004 12:14 am |
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Kiff
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 27 Oct 2002
Posts: 257
Location: Indiana |
Haha, if you don't get lonely and like crafting, go to Horizons. The place is empty and is a crafters paridise. |
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Wed May 26, 2004 6:29 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Kiff
Haha, if you don't get lonely and like crafting, go to Horizons. The place is empty and is a crafters paridise.
How is it a crafter's paradise if there's no one to sell your gear to? Doesn't sound like paradise to me...
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=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Wed May 26, 2004 6:41 pm |
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Kiff
Protector of the Realm
Joined: 27 Oct 2002
Posts: 257
Location: Indiana |
Because the crafters don't sell anything, they break it down, which gives them crafting exp, then keep building things for exp. Ya don't really sell much. |
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Thu May 27, 2004 2:16 pm |
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