Were you on one of WoW's RP servers? I've played on both PVP and PVE servers. My understanding is that on a RP server you in essence are supposed to stay in character and not talk about RW stuff, true?
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First MMO - What do you suggest?
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Were you on one of WoW's RP servers? I've played on both PVP and PVE servers. My understanding is that on a RP server you in essence are supposed to stay in character and not talk about RW stuff, true?
Wow is good but it's locked to regions so I play only in Europe. Create characters in Busy servers if u want to see folks wander. Also when you get to level 20 the wow experience happens. Dungeons and pvp. I do quests some times but I play dungeons and pvp mostly to play with other people.
There's both for normal and rp. Not eveyone is hardcore about rp and no one reports you for "talking about rl". I imagine many ppl get sick of it and stop later. If you want to do mostly rp mode, your best bet is to research a little and get a good rp guild to enter. There they can enforce rules and play with like minded ppl.
RP servers are PvE, but there are RP-PVP servers. I haven't played WoW for a few years, but my experience was that most people on a RP-PVP server had no interest in RP, they were there for one of the following reasons:
1) Lower population
2) The belief that "RP" scared away asshats
2a) this brought in some people who dislike asshattery
2b) this actually brought in *extra* asshats as they felt more opportunity to grief
3) They felt that RPers couldn't PvP and wanted easy targets
This mnight help the confusion...
World of Warcraft has 4 types of servers to play on
Normal PvE (all PvP is consensual, no roleplaying requirements)
Normal PvP (all PvP, no roleplaying requirements)
RP PvE (same as Normal PvE except your are supposed to remain in 'role' all the time)
RP PvP (same as Normal PvP except your are supposed to remain in 'role' all the time)
That being said, WoW has a huge world, and while a 7 year old might be able to make it level 80 in a month.. that's hardly the game at all.
World of Warcraft has 4 types of servers to play on
Normal PvE (all PvP is consensual, no roleplaying requirements)
Normal PvP (all PvP, no roleplaying requirements)
RP PvE (same as Normal PvE except your are supposed to remain in 'role' all the time)
RP PvP (same as Normal PvP except your are supposed to remain in 'role' all the time)
That being said, WoW has a huge world, and while a 7 year old might be able to make it level 80 in a month.. that's hardly the game at all.
But some find the leveling part of the game more enjoyable than the end game.
Oh absolutely, and that's what I was referring to. You can find max leveling guides that will handwalk you through the fastest quest/grind path...
but what I meant was the thrill of crossing that bridge to the next zone, winding your way as a level 10 past all the level 15 mobs to get to the next town's flightpath... etc.
For a RPG fan, the first run through WoW can be a very exciting voyage.
I agree 100%.
I still remember remember running my L10 Night Elf though the Wetlands trying to get to Iron Forge for the purpose of questing in the Storm Wind area. I got killed a couple of times. These days due to the shipping routes, that journey no longer has to be taken.I agree 100%.
Not to mention when you hit the 20's and you go into "Contested Area" where you have to watch your back every time you go. See a red flag player size him down, and make a choice...run and hide, or take them out before they gather and take you out!
PVP? It's been a long time since beta when I last played on a WoW PVP server, but I don't think I got jumped once there. I think I got up to about level 20-something in beta.
Ok so I've decided I'm ready to bite the bullet and actually give a modern MMO a try. I need something for the SC2 downtime
I was hoping for some advice on what would be good to try.
Couple of things:
- I have limited free time. It has to be something I can still enjoy without having the time to grind. Also, while I'm not against paying in principle, it would have to be worth the money even if I'm playing only a little.
- I enjoy RPGs of the story-laden variety. I'm not against "action games" but I would be more interested in an MMO as a vehicle for roleplay. If that still exists any more.
I've considered WoW, I've never played it before but I have access to a free trial so I thought I could give it a look. I get the impression though the way it has developed, it isn't so enjoyable for new players? And it doesn't seem to have anything to do with RP. ?
I've also thought about the free version of Dungeons & Dragons online. I like the free part. Oh and the part about it being free is good to. Anyone play it?
Open to any suggestions!
Thanks.
Sad to say i've yet to find a MMO which doesnt need to grind or do repetitive stuff, ex AC2 or Fallout which aint MMOs
Looking at your location, it shoud be pretty easy to find great MMOs around =)
AION
Monster Hunter Frontier
Granado Espada
Runes of Magic
Coming soon i would be looking at Blade & Soul, Tera or LOCO (dota like) games
Really appreciate all the responses here, much thanks. Here's an update.
Firstly on the whole WoW and RP thing. I assure you when I connected, with the 10-day trial version, there was no RP server available. I am located in Japan, if that is a factor at all. I will have another click around if there is still time left on the trial.
I didn't know that EQ2 was going freetoplay, I guess I should have a look at that.
Re Bioware games, yes indeed, unfortunately I have played through most of them already; and I really wanted to try some actual roleplaying above and beyond the tactical/combat aspects offered by those games.
I had a look at D&D Online the free version, and it looks good and is fun enough, but it didn't feel particularly "roleplayey" - lots of people running from NPC to NPC all completely ignoring each other, jumping over fences like some medieval Mario and whatnot. I imagine it would be fun to play in party with people you know from RL maybe, but it didn't feel rp heavy.
I am aware of Avlis/NWN and I did think of reinstalling NWN - but Avlis requires a lot of setup with all the packs and stuff, not sure I'm up for up lol. Maybe.
I had a quick look at Lord of the Rings online which is soon to go freetoplay and is very similar to D&D Online. It "feels" more rp, because of the setting I guess, compared to D&D. I guess again if you managed to hook up with some serious rp people it could be a fun setting.
One thing I am really noticing, at this is true of NWN too, is that the UI is not really optomized for RP. The WoW-style games are designed for the right-click combat; and NWN is Baldur's Gate-based and designed for tactical combat. In both cases the text window for chat is small, off to one side, not really designed to make carrying on conversations along with emotes and so on convenient. On the other hand, I can imagine you might get better at using that stuff over time.
One thing that occurs to me having looked at a few sites - it looks like the initial places that new characters get sent to are generally training missions of some kind which are intended to be solo-ed, and so they are automatically extremely un-roleplayey in nature. Probably you can't really judge the potential for rp in a MMO without actually getting past that stage.
When LotR Online goes up I will probably give that a serious try. It looks more graphically attractive to me than WoW and I like the setting.
Firstly on the whole WoW and RP thing. I assure you when I connected, with the 10-day trial version, there was no RP server available. I am located in Japan, if that is a factor at all. I will have another click around if there is still time left on the trial.
I didn't know that EQ2 was going freetoplay, I guess I should have a look at that.
Re Bioware games, yes indeed, unfortunately I have played through most of them already; and I really wanted to try some actual roleplaying above and beyond the tactical/combat aspects offered by those games.
I had a look at D&D Online the free version, and it looks good and is fun enough, but it didn't feel particularly "roleplayey" - lots of people running from NPC to NPC all completely ignoring each other, jumping over fences like some medieval Mario and whatnot. I imagine it would be fun to play in party with people you know from RL maybe, but it didn't feel rp heavy.
I am aware of Avlis/NWN and I did think of reinstalling NWN - but Avlis requires a lot of setup with all the packs and stuff, not sure I'm up for up lol. Maybe.
I had a quick look at Lord of the Rings online which is soon to go freetoplay and is very similar to D&D Online. It "feels" more rp, because of the setting I guess, compared to D&D. I guess again if you managed to hook up with some serious rp people it could be a fun setting.
One thing I am really noticing, at this is true of NWN too, is that the UI is not really optomized for RP. The WoW-style games are designed for the right-click combat; and NWN is Baldur's Gate-based and designed for tactical combat. In both cases the text window for chat is small, off to one side, not really designed to make carrying on conversations along with emotes and so on convenient. On the other hand, I can imagine you might get better at using that stuff over time.
One thing that occurs to me having looked at a few sites - it looks like the initial places that new characters get sent to are generally training missions of some kind which are intended to be solo-ed, and so they are automatically extremely un-roleplayey in nature. Probably you can't really judge the potential for rp in a MMO without actually getting past that stage.
When LotR Online goes up I will probably give that a serious try. It looks more graphically attractive to me than WoW and I like the setting.
WoW is a horrible MMO to roleplay in. There is hardly any player customization and everything in the game is already laid out for you. You should check out Ultima Online, even its original creator (Richard Garriott) was big into roleplaying.
True that brah.
True that brah.
Right now, I'm only playing Eve Online.
It's a little complicated and takes some time to learn, but once you do it's fairly rewarding. It differs from all the rest where you don't have to play to level up. Your character is based on skill the you choose to train. Based on stats and skill level, it give you a time that it takes to learn those skills and the counter runs down regardless of if you're online or not.
I'm thinking about picking EQ-2 up again. Out of all the standard MMOs I've played, I think I like that the best. They're all pretty much the same though.
It's a little complicated and takes some time to learn, but once you do it's fairly rewarding. It differs from all the rest where you don't have to play to level up. Your character is based on skill the you choose to train. Based on stats and skill level, it give you a time that it takes to learn those skills and the counter runs down regardless of if you're online or not.
I'm thinking about picking EQ-2 up again. Out of all the standard MMOs I've played, I think I like that the best. They're all pretty much the same though.
World of Warcraft will steal your soul.
Get Lord of the Rings online, its free to play as of early September.
Get Lord of the Rings online, its free to play as of early September.
I'm starting to think I'm never going to get the MMO thing. Sadly, because I like to think of myself as a "I can enjoy anything" gamer. But of the titles I've tried, the gameplay just seems very tedious to me. Now I accept this could simply be because I haven't given them a fair run, that two weeks or whatever isn't long enough to really follow what's happening; and it could also be because MMOs really require more gaming time than I can afford to give (SC2 has to come first of course ).
But I just find there is very little rp, and a lot goes on that inhibits rp/immersion; and that the actual gameplay is very dumbed down dragon age/click-icon-click-target.
Now I can understand that charging about raiding with friends as a sort of coop tactical game could be fun, and I haven't got into that. And, I can appreciate there are probably enclaves of hardcore rpers hidden away in these MMOs somewhere.
But I'm not into raiding per se (for that kind of gaming experience, I prefer afformentioned SC2 which is similarly social, about the same rp value ie. none hehe, and much more tactical/strategic). And I don't have the time to scour MMOs for rpers.
As I say, maybe skimming a few titles rather than devoting a solid month to just one was the wrong approach. I really don't know. But I'm afraid I just don't see the appeal. I -do- get how WoW can be terribly addictive - I know if I had the free time, it could probably suck me in. The whole "collection" aspect is very hard to stop once you start, especially when it's something you can show off to other people. But as an rp environment, bleargh.
I think if I was serious I'd probably reinstall NWN and try Avlis, that seems about the best rp option these days. Unfortunately all my enthusiasm has drained away now. Maybe later.
I imagine the appeal is too small. But if I was designing an MMO, I would design it as an rp-facilitation engine. Custom deisgn the UI for the social. Emotes, conversations, whispers, character look customization, all that stuff, make that primary. How about enabling a "close communication" mode, where the camera zooms in like in Mass Effect and you can have a sustained conversation with other people, chosing facial emotes and so on, without all of this "text floating over head" thing which really does mitigate against longer and more creative conversation/rp.
Someone finance me please, I'll design, and someone else code it.
Anyway, thanks again for all your ideas and advice.
).But I just find there is very little rp, and a lot goes on that inhibits rp/immersion; and that the actual gameplay is very dumbed down dragon age/click-icon-click-target.
Now I can understand that charging about raiding with friends as a sort of coop tactical game could be fun, and I haven't got into that. And, I can appreciate there are probably enclaves of hardcore rpers hidden away in these MMOs somewhere.
But I'm not into raiding per se (for that kind of gaming experience, I prefer afformentioned SC2 which is similarly social, about the same rp value ie. none hehe, and much more tactical/strategic). And I don't have the time to scour MMOs for rpers.
As I say, maybe skimming a few titles rather than devoting a solid month to just one was the wrong approach. I really don't know. But I'm afraid I just don't see the appeal. I -do- get how WoW can be terribly addictive - I know if I had the free time, it could probably suck me in. The whole "collection" aspect is very hard to stop once you start, especially when it's something you can show off to other people. But as an rp environment, bleargh.
I think if I was serious I'd probably reinstall NWN and try Avlis, that seems about the best rp option these days. Unfortunately all my enthusiasm has drained away now. Maybe later.
I imagine the appeal is too small. But if I was designing an MMO, I would design it as an rp-facilitation engine. Custom deisgn the UI for the social. Emotes, conversations, whispers, character look customization, all that stuff, make that primary. How about enabling a "close communication" mode, where the camera zooms in like in Mass Effect and you can have a sustained conversation with other people, chosing facial emotes and so on, without all of this "text floating over head" thing which really does mitigate against longer and more creative conversation/rp.
Someone finance me please, I'll design, and someone else code it.
Anyway, thanks again for all your ideas and advice.
I'm starting to think I'm never going to get the MMO thing. Sadly, because I like to think of myself as a "I can enjoy anything" gamer. But of the titles I've tried, the gameplay just seems very tedious to me. Now I accept this could simply be because I haven't given them a fair run, that two weeks or whatever isn't long enough to really follow what's happening; and it could also be because MMOs really require more gaming time than I can afford to give (SC2 has to come first of course
But I just find there is very little rp, and a lot goes on that inhibits rp/immersion; and that the actual gameplay is very dumbed down dragon age/click-icon-click-target.
Now I can understand that charging about raiding with friends as a sort of coop tactical game could be fun, and I haven't got into that. And, I can appreciate there are probably enclaves of hardcore rpers hidden away in these MMOs somewhere.
But I'm not into raiding per se (for that kind of gaming experience, I prefer afformentioned SC2 which is similarly social, about the same rp value ie. none hehe, and much more tactical/strategic). And I don't have the time to scour MMOs for rpers.
As I say, maybe skimming a few titles rather than devoting a solid month to just one was the wrong approach. I really don't know. But I'm afraid I just don't see the appeal. I -do- get how WoW can be terribly addictive - I know if I had the free time, it could probably suck me in. The whole "collection" aspect is very hard to stop once you start, especially when it's something you can show off to other people. But as an rp environment, bleargh.
I think if I was serious I'd probably reinstall NWN and try Avlis, that seems about the best rp option these days. Unfortunately all my enthusiasm has drained away now. Maybe later.
I imagine the appeal is too small. But if I was designing an MMO, I would design it as an rp-facilitation engine. Custom deisgn the UI for the social. Emotes, conversations, whispers, character look customization, all that stuff, make that primary. How about enabling a "close communication" mode, where the camera zooms in like in Mass Effect and you can have a sustained conversation with other people, chosing facial emotes and so on, without all of this "text floating over head" thing which really does mitigate against longer and more creative conversation/rp.
Someone finance me please, I'll design, and someone else code it.
Anyway, thanks again for all your ideas and advice.
Maybe you should give SWTOR a try when it comes out. It sound's like you'd be more into the "single player experience" as "RP". In general, it's hard to find dedicated ppl who are into this mode of play for long stretches. SWTOR is designed to let your "choose your own path" and depending on your dialog and interactions with the environment, branch into different results and storylines. And it's set in an MMO so you can also do stuff with other players. Though I imagine that Star Wars will have fewer hardcore RP'ers than medeval fantasy MMOs.
Interesting. I'm aware of the title though I haven't been following the press releases or anything. Will keep an eye on it thanks.
I'm anticipating SWTOR and will definitely give it a go. Holding my excitement in check until I see what I'm getting myself into.
Star Wars The Old Republic will also implement a lot of "voice acting" which may appeal to you. Their focus is supposed to be more into "storyline MMO" vs. the "grinding XP and items" that you commonly experience in the genre. With that, they should also have less "generic" emotes and more body/facial language from the pre-programmed NPC's at least. Not sure about PC's.
But overall, the core action engine will prolly still be like the DnD-inspired rolling. Therefore, you will still get action button mashing and queing to some extent. This also has to do with the latency of online games of this nature. There are tons of actions available and tons of factors (like level's) that determine your character's chance of whatever that it's really a turn-based game adapted to real-time. Some games like Conan and to a smaller extent DnD Online try to make it more action based with various degrees of success. But overall, the model is still turn based.