Spore or Wow subscription ?

[Dr. McKay]

There I was, wanting to buy Spore and expansions. I tried the Creature creator trial and was amazed at how polished and smooth it was. So I was really looking forward to the full game.

But then I reinstalled my old Warcraft 3/Frozen Throne. Had quite a bit of fun with it. And then I did something I'd never thought I'd do (because I was 200% certain I wasn't interested in online gaming) : I downloaded the Wow trial, you know, just to see what all the hype is about (it's been out for a couple of years, but hey, better late than never).

I've been playing Wow for three days... and I'm becoming hooked ! The atmosphere, the graphics, just the whole game oozes quality.
And it's polished, just like Spore.

So what to do : I'm on a budget (and I don't have time to spend on two games at once). Since I can only play about an hour and a half a day, maybe a Wow subscription is a waste of money and Spore would be better for a 'casual' gamer.
Difficult decision. Is Wow worth it for casual gamers ? It'd be ages before I reach an acceptable level.
Buying Spore with Galactic Adventures and creepy/fun pack would set me back around $80. That'd buy me a couple of months on Wow.

Suggestions ? Advice?

 

[deadwulfe]

WoW is horrible for the casual gamer. I haven't played in three years, but when I did, I was in a casual guild. So there were always people playing who didn't care if you only had an hour or so of time. It's just not as rewarding when you see 90% of the people around you decked out in gear you'll never have.

 

[BubbaJones]

I heard Spore wasn't great either. Wait for Steam.

 

[Sambo110]

WoW is horrible for the casual gamer. I haven't played in three years, but when I did, I was in a casual guild. So there were always people playing who didn't care if you only had an hour or so of time. It's just not as rewarding when you see 90% of the people around you decked out in gear you'll never have.

It's a lot easier for casuals now, a few examples:

The first 15 levels moves use less mana, and your health and mana recharge a lot quicker

You need a lot less Exp to level now

Random Dungeon finder, finds you a group for a random dungeon, and when you finish you get money, exp and a bag that gives you a random blue

They are just three changes that make it far easier for a casual gamer to play/get into the game. I would say get WoW.

 

[yukio]

i'm a casual WoW player - if anything playing casual has gotten in the way of joining a guild because i'm not there often enough to maintain persistent contact with a specific group of people.

but - so far i've been able to level to 22 solo, which i guess isn't too bad.

i don't think that will be able to happen for long - but i have used the random dungeon feature to join in and have to admit that it's a blast.

 

[topgunn]

If you have 1 to 1 1/2 hours per day, Spore.

If you have 7 to 10 hours per week, WoW.

It is very easy to play WoW casually, even through end game content. Leveling to 80 and gearing up to be ready for end game can be done at your own pace, even in the 1 to 1 1/2 hour blocks you may have available. Once at 80, you can continue on to a new character or build up your main. If you want to experience end game content, I suggest finding a guild with people of a similar mindset as you. This is where it is handy to have a flexible schedule. You won't find many guilds who raid in 1 or 2 hour blocks. You will probably only need to set aside two 3 hour blocks a week.

I am in a 10-man raiding guild and we have been working on the Lich King (the last boss in the current expansion) for the last couple of weeks. I typically raid for 6 hours a week and piddle around for another 2 to 4 hours throughout the week.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Casual wow player here. I'm in a raiding guild, but only because all my real life friends are in it. I solo most of the time, and it's taken me well about a year to reach level 76. But I keep playing, and I like it.

 

[Huntn]

Regarding the OP, first off don't you see a drastic difference between Spore and WoW? I've watched my wife play Spore and I prefer WoW no contest. And WoW is casual friendly. The best situation is to find a casual guild of friendly people, then you'll really get hooked as Wow will start representing a social outlet.

And your right the world in WoW is compelling, it's incredible, it's the best that has ever been, and it's a shallow 2 dimensional world where the critters run on tracks and the world never really changes, where all of the quests are just about the same, but you won't care for somewhere between 6 months and 6 years.

I've sworn off after devoting about 2.5 years to Wow in two different periods, but I swear I'm sworn off of it for good, and I don't regret the great times I had playing it.

 

[NGL]

If you're budget conscious, I don't see how WoW is a solid option. Those monthly fees start to add up quick. I quit about a year back, partially because of the cost and partially because of the time investment. It's $180 a year at the rate of $15 / month, and that's not counting buying the initial game, and then any expansions that are released (like the upcoming Cataclysm).

On the other hand, I've heard Spore isn't that great. I second the "wait for steam" option.

-Nick

 

[Dr. McKay]

On the other hand, I've heard Spore isn't that great.

I've heard that a lot, I have to admit. On the other hand, just as many people say it's great and a must-have !

I second the "wait for steam" option.

Why ? Because there will be other games available ? I had already decided to buy Half Life Complete, but nothing else. Even if things like Crysis come out for mac, I wouldn't buy them. I've played plenty of demos in Bootcamp and not one of those games (Crysis, Assassin's Creed, Supreme Commander etc.) lived up to the hype for me...

In any case, I think I might go for Wow. I AM budget conscious but after taking it into consideration, Wow seems quite affordable and reasonably priced. Maybe if there were a demo of the other Spore stages, I'd be inclined to go with Spore (even though I do realize it's a whole different animal compared to Wow) but as it stands, the creature creator trial is just what it is. I have no idea whatsoever whether I'm going to enjoy the full game. At least with Wow, I know I like it.

 

[Sambo110]

I would recommend The Orange Box over Half Life complete personally. Though Half Life 1 is still worth owning. Plus you can get the disc based version of The Orange Box for $20-$25, half the price of Half Life Complete, then you could buy the four other games for $20. So you get more games, for less price.

 

[Dr. McKay]

I would recommend The Orange Box over Half Life complete personally.

Yeah, well, I might just buy that. I had already played half life 1 on the pc years ago, so it would have just been for 'sentimental' reasons. The money I save will almost pay a full month worth of Wow

And speaking of Wow : can you transfer your Wow trial character to the full game or do you have to start anew ?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

You can transfer. Just run out to your local Wal*Mart or Game stop and buy the WoW Battlechest, and in your battle.net page, there's an upgrade area, and you put the CD Key in there, and it'll just upgrade your trial account to a regular one.

 

[Dr. McKay]

You can transfer. Just run out to your local Wal*Mart or Game stop and buy the WoW Battlechest, and in your battle.net page, there's an upgrade area, and you put the CD Key in there, and it'll just upgrade your trial account to a regular one.

Thx. Except we have no Wal Mart or Game Stop

I live in Europe. I'll just order online with Amazon UK. They're the cheapest...

One more question though : if you install BC or WoLK, does it simply add content to the full Wow or do you have different clients (as was the case with WC3 and Frozen Throne) ?

 

[Huntn]

And speaking of Wow : can you transfer your Wow trial character to the full game or do you have to start anew ?

If I'm understanding you, when you play the WoW trial you are playing the full game, at least the full portion of the original part of the game before expansions. There are no character transfers, no servers switches required, unless you want to. From the trial, you only have to start paying to continue to play.

One more question though : if you install BC or WoLK, does it simply add content to the full Wow or do you have different clients (as was the case with WC3 and Frozen Throne) ?

When you buy an expansion it just adds new content to your WoW application/folder and allows access to the new areas. All the WoW servers are fully upgraded to the latest version of the game, which includes the latest expansion.

 

[Dr. McKay]

I installed the streaming trial (I believe it's somewhere around 45Mb), not the full 4 to 5 Gb install.
So if I understand correctly, the trial IS the full game, but with certain restrictions as far as your character goes. Simply upgrading my trial account will give me access to the full game (at which point it would be better to download the full 4.5 Gb of the Wow client. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If this is true, then there's no need for me to buy the battlechest. I could simply keep on playing and then buy the expansions as I go along ?

 

[Huntn]

I installed the streaming trial (I believe it's somewhere around 45Mb), not the full 4 to 5 Gb install.
So if I understand correctly, the trial IS the full game, but with certain restrictions as far as your character goes. Simply upgrading my trial account will give me access to the full game (at which point it would be better to download the full 4.5 Gb of the Wow client. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If this is true, then there's no need for me to buy the battlechest. I could simply keep on playing and then buy the expansions as I go along ?

The trial is the full game. I believe you'll have to create an account. I'm not aware of any character restrictions, you simply play until your trial runs out then the game will insist you start a subscription of some kind, month to month, six months, 1 year or you can use game cards to recharge your subscription. I recommend month to month for a couple of months and then switch to 6 months or longer when you are sure. Oh yes, there will be a character restriction, some of the new races that come in the expansions will not be accessible in the trial, but you'll have access to everything that came with the original game.

You only need to buy the Battlechest if you want to. To me that represents a commitment to the future when at this point, you are not really sure you'll be sticking with the game or not. There is a good chance you will stick with it, but many don't.

I'll take this moment to make a recommendation- figure out if you want to be Alliance or Horde. I all most exclusively played Alliance. Many prefer Horde, but over all, with the exception of the Blood Elves, they are an ugly group.

On the Alliance side the most busy area is will be around Stormwind City, followed by the area around Iron Forge as a close second. Humans start in Northshire just outside of Stormwind. However that does not mean you have to be human to quest in this area. My personal preference would be to start as a Night Elf. Their starter location is Teldressil, a most magical place, a giant tree off the shore of N. Kalimdore (the western continent). But relatively speaking, these days, it could be a relatively lonesome place. You will see other players, but not as many as in the Stormwind or Iron Forge areas. It may or may not bother you. The same goes for when you move to the next location, Dark Shore, another magical place.

However if you go with a Night Elf and decide it is too lonely in these questing areas it is very easy to take a ship or flying mount from Rut'Theran Village (on the edge of Teldressil) to Dark Shore, then jump on a ship in Dark Shore which will take you to Stormwind. Make sure it is the right ship- three stop in Darkshore. (Facing the water, it's the pier extension that juts to the left.) Since a small settlement just outside of Stormwind (called Northshire) is the human starting area, all of the quests in Elwynn Forest will be at your level and you just continue questing there.

The normal Night Elf questing progression is Teldressil, Dark Shore (Northern forest), Auberdine (all forested areas) and continues into the rest of the WoW.

The normal Human questing progression is Northshire, Elwynn Forest, Westfall, Duskwood/Redridge, Stranglethorn. Most outstanding questing areas.
Here is a WoW map link. You'll have to futs with it a bit to see stuff. First thing I did was lower the scale so you can see both continents. The Eastern Continent is where the humans, dwarfs, gnomes start. Click the boxes to see zones and locations. And here is a list of WoW Zones by level requirements. That becomes important if you decide to move your character from from one starter area to another. It's fun just talking about it.

 

[Dr. McKay]

Thx for the info.

For the trial, I chose Night Elf, Hunter and after playing for about little over 3 hours, I have reached level 4, nearly 5 I believe.

Apparently, a hunter is ideal for casual players so I chose wisely.
I think my trial accoun still has 4 days left in it, so I guess I'll have to decide over the weekend if I'll stick with it or not (in all probability, it'll be a resounding yes )

 

[Huntn]

One of my favorite characters was a Night Elf Hunter because you have your own built in tank.

I'm not familiar with the "streaming trial".

 

[Dr. McKay]

I'm still on the trial. The streaming trial means that you don't install the complete client in one go (which is about 4.5 Gb in size).
Instead, you install only the necessary files to play the game and then it downloads stuff as you go along. Or something like that.
I downloaded the installer (1.9Mb) and it then downloaded around 45 Mb after which I could launch the game.

As I've said, I've got 4 days left on the trial. I suppose I can upgrade whenever I want, even a couple of days after the trial has expired. In other words, my character isn't deleted automatically once the trial expires ?

 

[jaysinnva]

I'm in the same boat as you, Dr. McKay. I'm a few days into a WoW trial as well, having never really played an MMO before. I have to say, it's much more accessible than FFXI was when I tried that (got bored in a hurry). I started to feel the same way about WoW until I got a little more used to it. Now I just created a second character last night (Undead Mage), and am getting the hang of things. I really like that I can just stop and start when I want.

 

[Huntn]

As I've said, I've got 4 days left on the trial. I suppose I can upgrade whenever I want, even a couple of days after the trial has expired. In other words, my character isn't deleted automatically once the trial expires ?

No it's not. I came back to the game in Dec 08 after taking a 2 year break and all of my characters were sitting in my account just as I left them. And if you want even when your subscription is expired, you can still get logged on enough to keep your client updated.

 

[Dr. McKay]

No it's not. I came back to the game in Dec 08 after taking a 2 year break and all of my characters were sitting in my account just as I left them. And if you want even when your subscription is expired, you can still get logged on enough to keep your client updated.

That's nice to know...

 

[lannister80]

Another casual WoW player here. Maybe 6 hours a week, tops.

Lots of fun, well worth it. And I've been playing since January 2006 (casual the whole time).

Played Spore. It was...OK.

 

[potaco]

Regarding the cost of a pay-to-play game like WoW... obviously it depends a lot on personal circumstances, but you have to put it in perspective. Cell phones can run $70+ per month, internet can be $30+, cable $50+, etc. Even going out to the bar some weekend will likely cost more than $15. Buying a single new game each month could cost $50+.

For a game that can be played virtually any time, for as long as you'd like, with almost endless replayability, $15 could be a steal. If you own a Mac, chances are you aren't living on a ridiculously tight budget to begin with.