What is Next Generation MMO?

These days, it seems that latest buzz in the blog and podcast world is all about what the “Next Generation” MMO will be like.  I would suggest that there will be no such thing.  How do I base this opinion?  First off, there is just way too much competition out there.  I think that in such an environment, there will never be enough funding and time for any team of developers to come up with anything that could possibly be dubbed as such.  You can keep pining away, hoping for the stars to align, but it won’t happen.

 

Even so, I think that there is a lot to be excited about.  Take Warhammer for instance.  It’s been called nasty names like “WoW Clone” and “Cartoonish”, but just look at what this game is going to do for the MMO world.  No, I don’t expect Warhammer to outperform WoW.  From my standpoint, that is a good thing.  I think that the public quests are really going to change the expectations of gamers.  From a smaller standpoint, if you want to call something next generation in gaming, this idea is a good example.  For me, the worst part about playing a MMO is the negativity towards looking for group.  About half the time anymore if I ask someone if they want to group, they simply do not answer.  How did we get to this point?  I know that many people in my guild would rather solo than do anything but a guild group.  This selfish attitude is what kills the fun in a MMO.  How can a guild possibly expect to grow if they do not adventure and recruit with pick up groups?  These questions need to be answered in traditional MMOs if they expect to compete.

 

Another idea that I heard about in a podcast that will remain unnamed, is an MMO in which there are no classes.  Please, take no offense, but I can’t think of anything more vanilla and boring.  My prediction is that any MMO like this would fail miserably.  To me, I like having to level up a new character if I want to play another class.  In this manner I am able to hit content previously missed and see places I would otherwise have no reason to see.

 

When I say that there will be no “Next Generation” MMO, I’m not being pessimistic.  I think that there will be many things to be excited about in the future, it just isn’t going to happen in one shiny package.  These changes will have to take place in small increments.   Games with novel mechanics like Warhammer and games like Vanguard which push the limits of current technology, will lead the way to change.

 

One other piece of information that some may not be aware of is that sometime soon Vanguard will have a mentoring system.  I really hope that it isn’t too late for this feature, as I know many have been wishing for it for quite some time.  Anyway, I am hoping that those disgruntled, crusty old gamers can find the silver lining and keep a positive attitude.  For me, I am looking forward to Game Update 6 and all that will come with it.  I can’t wait to do my review!

Vanguard, Game Update Four reviewed

            To me, Game Update Four was a huge step in the right direction for my play style.  I daresay that most players will find it to be the same.  It is clear that Sony has chosen to make the game more appealing to a broader spectrum.  At this point in time, I would surmise that it was necessary to Vanguard’s survival.  That being said, I am very happy with GU4, the worst I can say is that I am indifferent to most of the Veteran rewards.  A lot of people have been excited about the flying mounts, which I am sure are wonderful.  For me, it just isn’t a priority as I am busy with other projects.  For those who have not been in Vanguard recently, but are interested in the changes, you should pay attention to some sticking points.  Hardcore players will most likely be turned off by the riftway system.  I have also heard complaints about flying mounts.  Something that you might have missed in the patch notes are the changes to the decon system and the availability of rare crafting supplies.  Harvesters will notice a big change in the harvest nodes.  Players that have used custom User Interfaces need to be aware that they will be required to download the latest UI updates before they will be able to take advantage of the riftways.

            Now that Game Update Four is now live, I am waiting to see what will be coming next.  Some bits of news that I have heard so far have include new starting cities, a revamp of other classes, Pegasus mounts, and in a distant future, alternate advancement.  In my view, GU4 could be a big turning point for Vanguard, now that the performance issues are for the most part ironed out.  Most of the bugs I notice now are problems with the adventuring quests, which I would think will be a focus.  One thing to note if the new starting cities caught your eye is that Phantom made a point of saying that the next game update would not include the introduction of the long awaited Berserker and Inquisitor classes.

 

Flying Mounts – While I see nothing to suggest the quest is broken, I do see reports that some of the quests have some minor bugs.  Another thing you should know is that you must have 45 Adventuring levels to start.

Riftway Revamp – This is by far my favorite new feature.  However, I will say that the new system is incomplete if you consider the fact that they removed the dockmasters at Tanvu, Martok and Ca’ial Brael but did not add them as a hub.  I am assuming that this will be addressed shortly and I hope that I am not mistaken.  If so, this item will quickly be my number one thing to bitch about.

Character Optimizations / Helmets – Some of them look great and some of them are hideous.  Luckily, there is an option to turn them off.  Hopefully in the future there will be an appearance tool.

Overland Raid – Honestly, raiding hasn’t been a factor in my Vanguard experience to date, but it’s good to know that it is there and getting some attention.

Class Updates – I will add this to my review after I have more information. 

Refund Points – The way this now works is that you can now refund and redistribute your points at a cost.  The more points you adjust, the higher the price becomes.

Veteran Rewards – While I really do appreciate the experience potions, the vanity pets are of no consequence to me (since they do nothing).  It’s not a big deal to me, but I’m sure some people will really appreciate the new furniture and titles.

Bug Fixes / Performance – After the hotfix patch, things seem back to normal.  I am in the boat with the people who did not experience a large problem with this to begin with.  Some lower end machines should really be noticing a difference.  From what I understand, the biggest reason for the performance boost is due to the helmet / optimization changes.

Adventuring Drops / Decons – Originally a lot of people were upset with this change, but in the end, I think it turned out very nicely for all.  Instead of being able to decon rare items earned from names, now there are special items that drop which can be deconned.  People really went off the deep end complaining about this before the update, not knowing about this new feature.  Honestly, the developers, could have been a bit more up front about it.

Updated Harvesting System – This is change that a lot of people do not like, because now, there is no visible difference between a rare node and a regular harvesting node.  The opportunists do not like this change because now, they will have to do the hard work like the rest of us.  No more following me around and jumping on my rares… In your face!

Experience Ability – This was done to quell the complaints (valid complaints) from people who were unable to enjoy game content as a result of out leveling content too quickly.  Overall, I think that this feature was a great addition.  I really look forward to day that we can switch experience into alternate advancement to the same effect and at the same time continuing to develop our characters in a meaningful way.

A Valid Point raised…

Quote from Silky Venom Forum  posted by Kurron Nye - Stop whining about making the game ‘easier’ Why?Because you folks who do not like the game changes to make access easier have a choice..they can choose to NOT use these features and functions.

You do not like the riftway? Then get on your mount and ride everywhere. You do not like the inter-continental teleporter? Then get a caravel and sail via the sea portals. You do not like corpse summon at altars? Then choose not to summon and instead do a CR every time.

You do not like Rest XP or the ease of XP gain? Then rack up twice as much XP debt so each level takes twice as long to complete.You want more challenging encounters? Then take on 4/5 dots with less than a full group, and do not use groups at all for 3-dots.

The point here is these ‘accesibility’ options are OPTIONAL, so if you are a person who truly believes in make the game harder, then yo would choose NOT to use them. However, I seriously doubt that any of the ‘anti-dumbing down’ crowd have boycotted these new features, and in fact use them in every play session. That to me says that part of the vocal minority has no legs to stand on..they are saying one thing while doing the opposite in practice.

They post about how ‘easy’ the game is while at the same time taking full advantage of the game’s ease. One could respect their arguments if they actually practiced what they preached and played this game in the manner they wish to force on everyone else. Thats also the rub…the methods of gameplay they want have NOT been taken away, but instead alternative forms of gameplay have ben offered. The ‘hardcore’ could choose to make their gameplay adhere to the standards they alledgedly support but do they? How can their arguments be taken seriously when they themselves will not play the game ‘hardcore’ when the ability is sitting right in front of them? (and there are gigabytes worth of posts over the years in the hardcore vs. casual debate which show what ‘hardcore’ MMO gamers seem to want)

To me, it proves that the core argument in favor of ‘hardcore’ gameplay is NOT to make their own gameplay harder, but to make everyone’s else’s game harder so they can appear superior in comparison.

Yea..wonderful eh? Rather than raise themselves up, they choose to lower everyone else. Sounds more like Communism than anything.

SO really hardcore folks, what is limiting you from playing ‘hardcore’ like yo claim to want on VG? I do not see how SOE has prevented you from playing the game the wa you want. You seem to simply advocate forcing everyone else to play the game the way *you* want.

P.S. Please bear in mind I am not against making games more challenging, the point is if challenging gameplay is so important to you, why do you not make the game more challenging for yourselves, rather than browbeat SOE and people who play differently than you? Why is it the game cannot be ‘fun’ for YOU unless everyone else if forced to conform to your worldview?

Do you REALLY want to group with people who are only with you because they HAVE to be there? Seems to me you would be trying to dungeon dive with people who would leave you to rot the first chance they got.

     I can’t say enough how glad I was to see this post on the Silky Venom forum.  Silky Venom has long been the top place for many people to post thier discontent about Vanguard.  Occasionally, posts or replies like these are made to add some perspective and balance to the norm.  I can certainly understand that some are genuinely discouraged and have had negative experiences in the game.   However, many of the posts at Silky Venom are blatant attacks on the game and employees at SOE ( both past and present ).  What I see on the forums is a lot of pissing and moaning from disgruntled individuals… The question most obvious to me would be, “So where are all the positive posts?”.   For me, rather than wasting my time posting on a forum in which I would most certainly dog piled upon, I choose to enjoy the game.  My positive outlet is through blogging.  Hopefully, the developement staff at SOE takes the forum posts with a grain of salt and realizes that these posts come from the “Vocal Minority”.

Vanguard Predictions for 2008 (and 2009)

    What have you done for me lately? - At some point this year, I expect an announcement that the first Vanguard expansion will be released in 2009.  Many will argue that it is way too soon to consider an expansion for a game with so many existing bugs.  While that may or may not be true, I think that the development team should be happy with their progress and the game is finally becoming a much more stable and user friendly.  I think that SOE will soon realize that the only way they will be able to bring people back into the game is to offer a solid expansion, full of dynamic group and raid content.  Let’s face it… If SOE wants to retain current players, reclaim past players and expand its player base, Vanguard needs to give us all a good reason to do so.  Some features that will be included will be; instanced quest lines, more mount selection, rededication to lore and diplomacy and the debut of the Inquisitor and Berserker classes.

     Instancing – Instancing is going to become a reality, whatever SOE wants to call it.  Although people will complain about it, SOE knows from experience that when done correctly, instancing can do miracles in terms of adding dynamic game content that can offer an easier way for players to band together in more a central location.   Instancing will become a huge part of Vanguard and I think that this time, SOE will get the job done right.

     World Content – While I don’t expect to see much done here, I think we can expect some more content to become available in areas that currently are not well utilized and will mostly be made available to levels in the 40-50+ range.

     Increased Level Cap and Alternate Advancement – The biggest complaint that I normally hear from my fellow players is that there is nothing to do once they reach level 50.  Aside from raid content, that is a point I can’t really argue with.  That is why in addition to increasing the level cap, I expect some form of AA to be released in the next expansion.

     Return of Guild Mates Passed On – Most of your friends that have moved on from the game will be back to check out the changes.   Whether these mysterious people will stay in the game will depend on the quality of the expansion.

     Negativity – Whether or not I am right about my predictions, negativity will continue to surround Vanguard.  Reality is that some people just have to have something to complain about.   At least for the next year or two, it will continue to be fashionable to bash Vanguard and predict it’s impending doom, mostly by people that no longer play the game. 

    Success – Vanguard will never become as popular as WoW, but I do expect it to be just as popular as Everquest and Everquest II.  I think that there is a huge opportunity for SOE to make a move with Vanguard in the upcoming year, but only if they seize the opportunity.  I think that the people at SOE have plenty experience with the production of MMOs to recognize that fact as well as the ability to deliver.

      Shut Up, We’re Talking – After the release the increasingly hyped Warhammer and Conan, the entire cast will spend all of their time playing Vanguard after a hugely successful expansion.  In retaliation, Brent will change the name of the Podcast to “Shut up, We’re Talking About Vanguard”.  Karen and Troy will return to Vanguard, where Troy will two box a Monk named 55378008 (type it in a calculator and read it upside down) and a busty, blonde cleric named ILuvULngTiiiime MeezaHorneey.  Karen will play a Halfling Bard, whose armor will be dyed all the colors of the rainbow.

Instancing and Rewards

            Today, I was able to catch the latest episode of Equal Perspectives.   Troy and Karen were talking about epics and mentioned some ideas that Mighty Dar had about grouping.  This got me to thinking about what I would like to see in Vanguard or even another not too distant MMO.  I have fond memories from Everquest of Epic questing as well as some great reward based quests, such as DON.  I would really like to see the developers find a creative way to bring players back together and give them more reasons to group together.  I think the biggest problem, I have had with Vanguard is the fact that there is so much content and so many different things to work on in Vanguard, that the population is fractured, even among guild mates.   My idea is to offer a centralized reward system to players based upon quests they complete similar to the one used in the Dragons or Norrath expansion, but on a much grander scale.   The way the DoN system worked was that players banded together and would accept an instanced quest.  Upon completion of these quests, they were rewarded with either ebons or radiant crystals.   Once you have enough crystals, you could purchase equipment from vendors.   While these items weren’t top notch, they were good.   It was a great way to gear up my characters and I don’t recall ever having a problem finding a DoN group.

             What I would like to see in Vanguard would be the same type of system, but not limited to just one expansion.  Where they went wrong with DoN was that you could only get ebons and radiant crystals from DoN instances.  I would hope that Vanguard would not make that same mistake.  Instead of limiting the reward system to just one expansion, carry the concept throughout the game.  Instead of making a brand new system with every expansion, simply add more rewards available at a higher cost and offer new quests and instances.  This is one of the primary reasons that I ended up leaving Everquest.  Every time a new expansion came out, there was brand new system in place, that made any earlier expansions irrelevant.  By offering a universal system, players would be bettering themselves no matter which quest line they were working on.

            Speaking of epics, I could see how this concept could be integrated into the same system.  Each class could have its own series of tasks and storylines that would need to be completed.  If they were incorporated into this system, there would be plenty of incentive for other players to come along, as they would be receiving credit towards their rewards.   Perhaps you would even offer a bonus to players assisting in the quest by offering them with a higher reward rate.   Also, to avoid exploitation, these quests would only be available as a quest line series and not repeatable once completed.  Access quests to raid zones could be handled similarly. 

           And what about raid gear?  I firmly believe that raid gear should be noticeably better than quested and crafted gear, but not ridiculously so.  The way I would put it, is that better quested gear should be attainable by the average person and would be necessary to be able to visit the current raid zones.  Crafted gear and quested gear should be of similar value.  Raid gear should be much more difficult to get and require defeating much more challenging encounters. 

           Another idea that I really liked was evolving items from Everquest, I’m assuming Everquest II has something similar.  These items were always a lot of fun and give you more feeling of accomplishment.  I think that evolving items could even be used as epic type items, similar to what Karen and Troy were talking about.   The item could received fairly easily to begin with, but to reach full effectiveness, a line of quests would need to be completed.  I thought that was a most excellent idea.  Hopefully, game developers will take notice.

            All of these ideas require the use of instancing.  I know that that a lot of people strongly oppose instancing.  That is something that I never did understand.  The benefits to instancing is an environment that will be free of lag, no contested content and allow the group to progress at a reasonable rate.  The only reasons that I can think of that you wouldn’t like instancing would be poorly designed zones and lack of contested content.  Honestly, I don’t understand the desire for strongly contested content.  I prefer to have fun playing my games, not fighting with rude or greedy players that do not share or have respect for others.

            Anyway, I had to get that off my mind and perhaps someday we will see something like this in Vanguard or some other MMO game sometime soon.