2013 MMO thread

[Matthean]

Last year's thread

2012 MMO Thread (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=83874)

Firefly Universe Online reactivates with Fox's 'well wishes' | Massively (http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/01/04/firefly-universe-online-reactivates-with-foxs-blessing/)

[mckerney]

Last year's thread

2012 MMO Thread (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=83874)

Firefly Universe Online reactivates with Fox's 'well wishes' | Massively (http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/01/04/firefly-universe-online-reactivates-with-foxs-blessing/)

The prospect of a game set in the Firefly universe doesn't really do anything for me, even as much as I loved the show. It was a show that was great because of the characters, not because of the small amount of lore that was covered in 14 episodes and a movie. I don't see what it would add over any generic space MMO other than attempting to cash in on the name of the tv show.

[tyketime]

Gotta agree with you there, Mc. I also don't believe there's enough there to create a full-blown MMO.

[tyketime]

Turns out it was a hoax (http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/01/06/firefly-universe-online-continuation-revealed-as-a-hoax/).

[Matthean]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/01/06/firefly-mmo-creators-respond-to-accusations-of-fraud.aspx

Sort of true, it will be inspired by it.

[CrimsonFox]

They should do books on tape and graphic novels. A comic book series perhaps.

[Icy]

Surprised there isn't a survival/zombie mmo already, as it's a very popular genre right now. We have game mods like Day Z, but not real mmo.

[Thomkal]

TERA goes to F2P in Feb. Still too many restrictions on free players I think based on the comparison chart in the link, but not too bad overall.

TERA going free-to-play in Europe and North America | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/09/tera-going-free-to-play-in-europe-and-north-america/)

[Matthean]

Gazillion Unmasks Founders Program for Marvel Heroes | MarvelHeroes.com (https://marvelheroes.com/news/press-release/gazillion-unmasks-founders-program-marvel-heroes)

[Atocep]

Gazillion Unmasks Founders Program for Marvel Heroes | MarvelHeroes.com (https://marvelheroes.com/news/press-release/gazillion-unmasks-founders-program-marvel-heroes)

I read a hands on with that game awhile back (I think it was Rock, Paper, Shotgun) that was very, very negative. I don't think there was a good thing said about it.

[Matthean]

If the price points are what I think they are, it is a pure money grab. Too bad. I'm finding far more MMOs flat out disappointing more than anything. I haven't tried the past couple of days, but I never could get subbed for TOR and people wanting to buy stuff but not being able to was a known issue. Support was non-existent.

[Matthean]

I read a hands on with that game awhile back (I think it was Rock, Paper, Shotgun) that was very, very negative. I don't think there was a good thing said about it.

Hands On: Marvel Heroes | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/17/hands-on-marvel-heroes/)

*sigh*

Give me a DCUO styled game with standard controls and I am all over that. It's amazing CoH trounces the other superhero MMOs so bad, and it's the one that got pulled.

[Thomkal]

Hands On: Marvel Heroes | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/17/hands-on-marvel-heroes/)

*sigh*

Give me a DCUO styled game with standard controls and I am all over that. It's amazing CoH trounces the other superhero MMOs so bad, and it's the one that got pulled.

With ya a hundred percent here.

[BYU 14]

Beta Testing signups open for Elder Scrolls online

Bethsoft.com - News (http://bethsoft.com/en-us/news)

[Matthean]

Finesse, Synergy, and You: How It All Fits Together in Elder Scrolls Online | The Elder Scrolls Off The Record I An Elder Scrolls Online Podcast (http://elderscrollsotr.mymiddleearth.com/2012/10/22/finesse-synergy-and-you-how-it-all-fits-together-in-elder-scrolls-online-3/)

[Thomkal]

Well I didn't know there was a MMO Hall of Fame, but they announced the five to be inducted this year:

MMO Hall of Fame Inducts 5 New Games - RuneScape and City of Heroes Get In! - MMO Hall of FameMMO Hall of Fame (http://www.mmohall.com/2013/02/12/mmo-hall-of-fame-inducts-5-new-games-runescape-and-city-of-heroes-get-in)

Very happy to see my all time (and now dearly missed) fav City of Heroes get in. A bit surprised Runescape made it.

[Thomkal]

There may be a problem with getting to the site, so just in case the five that reached the mandatory 60% are:

RuneScape (80% of the votes)
Asheron’s Call (80% of the votes)
Dark Age of Camelot (80% of the votes)
City of Heroes (70% of the votes)
Meridian59 (60% of the votes)

[Matthean]

60% seems low, but the list of +70% looks good.

[tyketime]

If you are interested in Defiance (coming out in April):

Just saw this at Green Man Gaming. If you are interested in purchasing - this may be of value (knocks price down from $59.99 to $48.):

20% off with: GMG20-P4DLK-FKYRS

** EDIT: Seems like GMG may not have a stellar reputation. PLEASE proceed with caution...

[Matthean]

Neverwinter beta Half-Orc character creation video preview | Massively (http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/09/neverwinter-beta-half-orc-character-creation-video-preview/)

[Thomkal]

PC Gamer got a look at Elder Scrolls Online:

The Elder Scrolls Online hands-on: first-person mode, skills, stealth and more | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/the-elder-scrolls-online-hands-on-first-person-mode-skills-stealth-and-more/)

EDIT: Just added a video interview with the developers:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/03/19/the-elder-scrolls-online-video-interview-matt-firor-and-nick-konkle-on-not-making-skyrim-2/

[Peregrine]

Have to say I like the idea of a single player mode with TESO, but not really sure why I would bother with it instead of a modded-up Skyrim - still on the fence on that one, but some green shoots of promise.

[spleen1015]

Is there anyone that has anything good to say about Marvel Heroes? I am a sucker for Marvel games like this and I am hoping it is decent.

[mckerney]

Is there anyone that has anything good to say about Marvel Heroes? I am a sucker for Marvel games like this and I am hoping it is decent.

I've read a couple places that it's terrible.

[Matthean]

Is there anyone that has anything good to say about Marvel Heroes? I am a sucker for Marvel games like this and I am hoping it is decent.

One poster on another forum said it is growing on them, but due to it being in closed beta, they can't say anything. Outside of that, yeah, the buzz on it has been terrible.

[spleen1015]

I know it is free to play. Is that free to play like GW2 or free to play like Wizards 101?

[Thomkal]

Neverwinter's Open Beta starts April 30 after one more closed beta weekend April 12-14.

Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Free-to-Play MMO. Sign up for access! (http://nw.perfectworld.com/news/?p=849741)

[chinaski]

Neverwinter's Open Beta starts April 30 after one more closed beta weekend April 12-14.

Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Free-to-Play MMO. Sign up for access! (http://nw.perfectworld.com/news/?p=849741)

First ive seen the videos, looks really good.

[Matthean]

Some of the old CoH players posted initial stuff on the game and didn't seem positive at all. They kept track of it and got into closed beta and seem to be enjoying it.

[Thomkal]

Wildstar has entered into closed beta and has a fun new intro trailer:

WildStar enters closed testing, new beta sign-ups still being taken | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/04/11/wildstar-enters-closed-testing-new-beta-sign-ups-still-being-taken/)

[Matthean]

Wildstar has entered into closed beta and has a fun new intro trailer:

WildStar enters closed testing, new beta sign-ups still being taken | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/04/11/wildstar-enters-closed-testing-new-beta-sign-ups-still-being-taken/)

Too bad NCSoft is developing a history of canning MMOs.

[Thomkal]

Too bad NCSoft is developing a history of canning MMOs.

Yeah I was a big City of Heroes fan, so not sure I'm going to support Wildstar-but thought others would be interested.

[Matthean]

I know of three total offhand, but I think somebody said they are up to five. The game looks decent enough to try out, but I don't think I trust the company outside of the Guild Wars franchise.

[BrianD]

Neverwinter's Open Beta starts April 30 after one more closed beta weekend April 12-14.

Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Free-to-Play MMO. Sign up for access! (http://nw.perfectworld.com/news/?p=849741)

Open Beta starts today. I've had the client downloading for the last 3 hours. 48% done.

[Thomkal]

Open Beta starts today. I've had the client downloading for the last 3 hours. 48% done.


You're missing a lot of lag and rubber-banding so don't be in a rush to get on. Plus the servers just went down for maintenace

[Thomkal]

I'm on the queue for Neverwinter-started out in the upper 7000's and now suddenly I'm in the 44000's. Yes they are having problems with the queue system :)

[Thomkal]

Got in after about 20 mins or so. Lag and rubberbanding mostly gone. A fun part of the game is The Foundry-where players can create adventures for other players to go on. This has already led to recreations of actual Dungeons and Dragons modules. I'm just about to try B2-The Keep on the Borderlands-which I think is the first adventure I ran as a DM. Yes I am a geek :)

[Shkspr]

But...B2 takes place in Greyhawk! Sacrilege!

[SirFozzie]

It's a failure of planning to have nearly 2000 people in the queue to log in at 3:00 AM of your second day.

[Thomkal]

But...B2 takes place in Greyhawk! Sacrilege!

It's called "creative license". Deal with it. :D

I haven't finished the adventure yet, but so far its good-other than the fact that first cave in the "Cave of Chaos" I went into was full or orcs that did a good job of owning me. And there's far nastier stuff like a troll awaiting me.

[Thomkal]

It's a failure of planning to have nearly 2000 people in the queue to log in at 3:00 AM of your second day.

Yeah, I'm fine with queues early in a game's existence when everybody and their brother is playing. But these companies never seem ready to handle the numbers.

[BrianD]

Keep in mind that this is just an open beta. I have no problem with a company ramping up their capacity and testing during the beta. Hopefully this won't be the case when they release.

[Thomkal]

Keep in mind that this is just an open beta. I have no problem with a company ramping up their capacity and testing during the beta. Hopefully this won't be the case when they release.

No actually I don't either Brian given its a beta-but its also a first impression for many of the players-and some (many?) are instantly turned off by a game they can't get into immediately or shortly after logging in. Its stupid of said players of course given its a beta-but the message boards are full of posts who think that way. And it will be a lot better on release too I think. They would be better served I think to have more capacity on the first day or two of an open beta to help prevent this attitude right from the start.

[Matthean]

Apparently they are adding servers since the number of players was higher than expected. Perfect World and Cryptic have enough experience putting out games, let alone F2P games to where there is little excuse for them to not be better prepared.

[BrianD]

No actually I don't either Brian given its a beta-but its also a first impression for many of the players-and some (many?) are instantly turned off by a game they can't get into immediately or shortly after logging in. Its stupid of said players of course given its a beta-but the message boards are full of posts who think that way. And it will be a lot better on release too I think. They would be better served I think to have more capacity on the first day or two of an open beta to help prevent this attitude right from the start.

That is a fair point. I was thinking more of a logical perspective, but the customer impression perspective shouldn't be overlooked. Customers shouldn't get turned off by anything that happens in a beta, but that doesn't mean they won't.

[thesloppy]

After that first day of hiccups, I've actually been playing the hell out of the Neverwinter beta, anybody else? It's not anywhere near the kind of thing you want to evangelize about or anything, but there's just a ton of crap to do/collect/achieve that keeps you coming back, and it's a decent F2P model.

[Matthean]

I'm watching stuff via Youtube channels. It really hasn't done much for me. Even one person who is max level says there's huge balance issues.

[chinaski]

After that first day of hiccups, I've actually been playing the hell out of the Neverwinter beta, anybody else? It's not anywhere near the kind of thing you want to evangelize about or anything, but there's just a ton of crap to do/collect/achieve that keeps you coming back, and it's a decent F2P model.

Same here, playing it like mad. I have a lvl 48 HWF on Beholden. Im really liking the core of the game so far, but as you said, it cant be evangelized yet. AH sucks, group queue suck, pvp sucks... but it looks pretty and I love the fighting mechanics. Im sure in due time my suck list will get shorter. Hopefully theyll come down on prices for items, 6 bucks for a bag, 50 for a mount and 5 bucks to even respec is totally absurd.

[yeah826]

Anyone interested in Final Fantasy XIV Realm Reborn im looking into picking that up when it comes out.

[Arles]

Anyone tried Marvel Heroes yet?

[Thomkal]

They are having a final open beta weekend that started about an hour ago if you want to check it out.

https://marvelheroes.com/<wbr>?pcode=facebook2 (https://marvelheroes.com/?pcode=facebook2)[/URL]

[URL="https://marvelheroes.com/download"]https://marvelheroes.com/<wbr>download (https://marvelheroes.com/download)

I tried it briefly a couple weeks ago, and didn't come off it that impressed. You get to play as one of any number of Marvel Heroes, which is a positive and a negative when compared to other superhero MMO's. The positive being of course you get to play as your favorite Marvel Hero. The negative being that there can be an infinite number of "copies" of that same hero running around-for me that didn't make feel unique. Other MMO's like City of Heroes and DC Heroes you get to create and play "you" or characters you have some level of emotional investment and interest in, so I didn't feel that immersed in the universe and setting they have created. (Plus I'm much more of a DC Heroes fan anyway)


Combat is a "action RPG" style like Diablo where basically all the bad guys in range run at you and/or attack. I have trouble playing that kind of system, and found it very "fidgety", but no doubt you won't have a problem if you are used to that kind of combat. Graphics I can't comment as I'm playing it on a older computer with lesser graphics, but seeing some youtube videos of the game, I wasn't that impressed.

[chinaski]

downloading now!

[Matthean]

They are having a final open beta weekend that started about an hour ago if you want to check it out.

https://marvelheroes.com/<wbr>?pcode=facebook2 (https://marvelheroes.com/?pcode=facebook2)[/URL]

[URL="https://marvelheroes.com/download"]https://marvelheroes.com/<wbr>download (https://marvelheroes.com/download)

I tried it briefly a couple weeks ago, and didn't come off it that impressed. You get to play as one of any number of Marvel Heroes, which is a positive and a negative when compared to other superhero MMO's. The positive being of course you get to play as your favorite Marvel Hero. The negative being that there can be an infinite number of "copies" of that same hero running around-for me that didn't make feel unique. Other MMO's like City of Heroes and DC Heroes you get to create and play "you" or characters you have some level of emotional investment and interest in, so I didn't feel that immersed in the universe and setting they have created. (Plus I'm much more of a DC Heroes fan anyway)


Combat is a "action RPG" style like Diablo where basically all the bad guys in range run at you and/or attack. I have trouble playing that kind of system, and found it very "fidgety", but no doubt you won't have a problem if you are used to that kind of combat. Graphics I can't comment as I'm playing it on a older computer with lesser graphics, but seeing some youtube videos of the game, I wasn't that impressed.

Seems more video game than a MMO. I keep watching videos of it, but it is another one where nothing really stands out.

[Thomkal]

Rift goes F2P as of June 12, making me a happy boy.

RIFT® | RIFT Free-to-Play - No trials. No tricks. No traps. | RIFT MMORPG (http://www.riftgame.com/en/promo/freetoplay.php)

[Matthean]

City of Steam is now live. It is browser based so from the time you sign up to playing is rather small. I only signed up and did three missions so way too early to tell. It does need voice overs though.

[Havok]

Rift goes F2P as of June 12, making me a happy boy.

RIFT® | RIFT Free-to-Play - No trials. No tricks. No traps. | RIFT MMORPG (http://www.riftgame.com/en/promo/freetoplay.php)

finally.... and i will be returning. It's such a good game that just can't escape WOW's shadow.

[Matthean]

One of the better known professional gamers got banned in Neverwinter for reasons he's not sure about. I checked another forum that is talking about the game decently and the person who has talked about the game more than anybody there got banned as well. It appears to be dealing with hacked accounts.

The Icon tool for City of Heroes that was giving you access to the character creator now let's you go into some empty maps and move around.

[cuervo72]

Ohh, nice strides there.

It's sad - I still am reminded of or have flashbacks to elements of City of Heroes on a daily basis. Not easy getting over its loss.

[Thomkal]

One of the better known professional gamers got banned in Neverwinter for reasons he's not sure about. I checked another forum that is talking about the game decently and the person who has talked about the game more than anybody there got banned as well. It appears to be dealing with hacked accounts.

The Icon tool for City of Heroes that was giving you access to the character creator now let's you go into some empty maps and move around.

They had to shut the Neverwinter servers down over the weekend because a (large?) group found an exploit in the Astral Diamonds currency-looks like they are going to do a rollback to before the incident took place and compensate those affected and all other players too.

FAQ - AD/AH Exploit Follow-Up (http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?266921-FAQ-AD-AH-Exploit-Follow-Up)

[Matthean]

NCSoft's next prematurely shutdown MMO is looking good. :D

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8MyI75JzS0E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Thomkal]

Rift goes F2P as of June 12, making me a happy boy.

RIFT® | RIFT Free-to-Play - No trials. No tricks. No traps. | RIFT MMORPG (http://www.riftgame.com/en/promo/freetoplay.php)

You can get a headstart on the F2P this weekend, starting today through Monday, Rift is free. You can play all but the Storm Legion expansion souls if you don't have the expansion. However they are advertising a way to get the expansion free if you sign up for Raptr. I had already played the game so much I qualified for the expansion upon signing up for Raptr.

http://raptr.com/High_strung/<wbr>news/5176e8e371abcdb7e2/<wbr>rift-takes-raptr-rewards-by-sto<wbr>rm (http://raptr.com/High_strung/news/5176e8e371abcdb7e2/rift-takes-raptr-rewards-by-storm)-

[Lonnie]

Well I signed up for Raptr, but since I didn't play Rift through Steam it doesn't know my 15 days of playtime to give me the free Storm Legion.

[Lonnie]

Dola...

Also my old shard Briarcliff is now a trial only one, so I have to pick a new one.

[Thomkal]

Well I signed up for Raptr, but since I didn't play Rift through Steam it doesn't know my 15 days of playtime to give me the free Storm Legion.

Ah well that sucks. :( I would say you could play it through Steam now and see if you can play enough to get Storm Legion, but probably not enough time before it goes F2P. Not sure though how much you would have to play to qualify for it.

And yeah I had to change servers too, which also sucked :(

[Lonnie]

It's telling me 13 more hours to get to experienced. I'll just leave it up and alt-tab over and walk around a bit to keep it from logging out.

Which shard did you transfer to?

[Thomkal]

It's telling me 13 more hours to get to experienced. I'll just leave it up and alt-tab over and walk around a bit to keep it from logging out.

Which shard did you transfer to?

That might be doable if you have the free time. I forget the name of the Shard right this second...Deepwood maybe?

[Thomkal]

These MMO's need to coordinate better I say-Neverwinter just went into Open Beta-Dragon Prophet's Open Beta starts tonight and now Rift has a free to play weekend.

[spleen1015]

Anybody playing Marvel Heroes?

[Thomkal]

Rift update is ready to be download and F2P starts today! Not sure if servers are up yet or not.

[spleen1015]

I am very tempted to jump back into Rift. I always liked it.

[Thomkal]

I am very tempted to jump back into Rift. I always liked it.

It's F2P now you might as well :)

Servers are not up, may be about 3 hours.

[larrymcg421]

I have been playing Rift since F2P started and I'm utterly addicted to it. I haven't been able to get into any other MMO since COH started, but this one hooked me right away.

[BrianD]

I've been thinking of signing up for Rift. Anything I need to do to be able to play with other FOFCers?

[larrymcg421]

You'd just need to be on the same shard. My main (lvl 23) is on Laethys, but I can roll a new char on any other shard.

[chinaski]

Playing pretty hooked on Rift since f2p started, even dropped 50 bucks for some credits. Im Dang on Shatterbone.

[Marmel]

There is a spiritual successor to city of heroes that sounds like it might actually happen.

Missing Worlds Media Forums &bull; View topic - The Phoenix Project Update: Monday, June 10, 2013 (http://missingworldsmedia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1837)

A kick starter will being in early September

[larrymcg421]

So far the only thing I don't like about the Rift F2P is not being able to sell items in the auction house. But the "Instant Adventure" feature is very cool and the easiest way to level once you hit lvl 10.

[chinaski]

So far the only thing I don't like about the Rift F2P is not being able to sell items in the auction house. But the "Instant Adventure" feature is very cool and the easiest way to level once you hit lvl 10.

Yeah that was one of the factors in me buying credits. I think its 1500 loyalty points to sell on the AH, which I think translates into like 5 bucks worth of credit.

[Thomkal]

Neverwinter has gone Live today:

Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Free-to-Play MMO. Sign up for access! (http://nw.perfectworld.com/news/?p=922181)

[thesloppy]

It is interesting to me how quickly my interest in an MMO can go from "this is neat and fun" to "this bores me, and I am never, ever going to play it again." Neverwinter was the latest 'winner' in that regard. I was having great fun for 2-3 weeks, and then at some point (relative to nothing, in game) that window closed immediately, and I have no desire to ever play it again. Go figure.

[larrymcg421]

Yeah that was one of the factors in me buying credits. I think its 1500 loyalty points to sell on the AH, which I think translates into like 5 bucks worth of credit.

Yeah the $5 isn't a bad deal at all, especially since you still get to spend the credits. I bought an upgraded mount, an expensive wand for my mage, and 16 slot bags. So now I have 60 total slots, which should more than make up for the 3 bag limitation. I also rolled a new character and since there is no lvl floor for the basic mount, he gets to start off with one right away. It made the lower levels much more tolerable.

I now have Teaasa (lvl 26 Mage) and Reikar (lvl 7 Cleric) on Shatterbone.

[BrianD]

This may be a stupid question, but how does one see their current XP in Rift? I can see my level, but I can't figure out where I am in the process of getting the next level.

[chinaski]

This may be a stupid question, but how does one see their current XP in Rift? I can see my level, but I can't figure out where I am in the process of getting the next level.

Theres an option in the UI settings to show text info for xp (and other stuff). I think you can hover over the XP bar as well to see that info.

[chinaski]

It is interesting to me how quickly my interest in an MMO can go from "this is neat and fun" to "this bores me, and I am never, ever going to play it again." Neverwinter was the latest 'winner' in that regard. I was having great fun for 2-3 weeks, and then at some point (relative to nothing, in game) that window closed immediately, and I have no desire to ever play it again. Go figure.

Exactly happened with me with Neverwinter. I played it like crazy for a few weeks, then never played it again. I really like the game, but their f2p model didnt sit well with me, its way over the top expensive.

[BrianD]

Theres an option in the UI settings to show text info for xp (and other stuff). I think you can hover over the XP bar as well to see that info.

Where is the XP bar? The three bars next to my picture are health, mana, and charge. I assume three has to be an XP bar, but I can't seem to find it.

[chinaski]

Where is the XP bar? The three bars next to my picture are health, mana, and charge. I assume three has to be an XP bar, but I can't seem to find it.

Its that bluish bar above your where your skills are.

[BrianD]

Its that bluish bar above your where your skills are.

Ah, thanks. I knew it would be somewhere obvious that would make me feel like an idiot. :)

[chinaski]

Firefall is in open beta now, which is basically its release to the masses. Havent played since closed beta around 6 months ago, just fired it up and it looks really polished. If you like shooters and mmo's this is a great choice imo.
Firefall (http://www.firefallthegame.com/about)

[Thomkal]

Well doesn't look like I will be playing Wildstar (or at least until I hear the full details about C.R.E.D.D):

Wildstar to use monthly subscription model, plus EVE style "play-to-pay" system | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/19/wildstar-to-use-monthly-subscription-model-plus-eve-style-play-to-pay-system/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=emp)

[Matthean]

It sounds like the casual player who wants to pay will get a sub as where the more hardcore player will skip the sub and earn it via in game currency.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Anyone in the beta for Final Fantasy XIV? I've got a buddy who's playing it non-stop, but has a real hard time describing why.

[Thomkal]

It sounds like the casual player who wants to pay will get a sub as where the more hardcore player will skip the sub and earn it via in game currency.

Yeah that is my question really, how easy is it going to be to get CREDD, and how much will it take to get enough so you are "playing for free"?

[Matthean]

Anyone in the beta for Final Fantasy XIV? I've got a buddy who's playing it non-stop, but has a real hard time describing why.

Once person I watch on Youtube likes it and another hated it. There's also essentially a NDA on the game despite being in open beta.

[Thomkal]

Well doesn't look like I will be playing Wildstar (or at least until I hear the full details about C.R.E.D.D):

Wildstar to use monthly subscription model, plus EVE style "play-to-pay" system | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/19/wildstar-to-use-monthly-subscription-model-plus-eve-style-play-to-pay-system/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=emp)

Found out a little more about pricing-game will sell for $59.95 and sub for $14.95/month. I'm not sure what reality they are living in that they think those prices will attract people to the game.

[Matthean]

The $60 cost will go down in a flash. I doubt the actual sub will last long. It seems like games start with a sub and months later it is F2P.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Once person I watch on Youtube likes it and another hated it. There's also essentially a NDA on the game despite being in open beta.

An NDA for an open beta? Huh.

[Matthean]

An NDA for an open beta? Huh.

You can't stream it, show pictures, etc. One of the more known gamers went on a rant about it and said he wanted to show stuff from it, but he can't.

[Thomkal]

And Elder Scrolls Online also goes the subscription route:

The Elder Scrolls Online monthly subscription confirmed | News | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/21/the-elder-scrolls-online-monthly-subscription-confirmed/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=emp)

[cuervo72]

Pixie Hollow is closing Sept 19.

[Wolfpack]

Pixie Hollow is closing Sept 19.

Of all the places to find this out. My girls will be very sad about this. They absolutely love that game. :(

[cuervo72]

Yeah, sorry - we got a renewal notification, my wife went to the site and saw the notice.

[Matthean]

Anyone in the beta for Final Fantasy XIV? I've got a buddy who's playing it non-stop, but has a real hard time describing why.

A follow up, Youtuber ZiggyD Starcraft will be the one posting a bunch of videos on the game starting tomorrow. He's been in beta for some time and says he's got a ton on content he's wanting to cover.

[Matthean]

The one group of CoH players who got together to make their own project that I'm somewhat interested in put up another video. Looks like they are going to KS in three days.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o7cF0vGjZlk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Vince, Pt. II]

A follow up, Youtuber ZiggyD Starcraft will be the one posting a bunch of videos on the game starting tomorrow. He's been in beta for some time and says he's got a ton on content he's wanting to cover.

As another follow up, I was bored this weekend and sick, so I took the plunge (it's been live for a few weeks). The short version:

-Graphics are beautiful.
-Sound is absolutely phenomenal.
-Voice Acting is laughably terrible. Truly, some of the worst I've ever seen.
-Oh my god dialogue everywhere (well, duh, it's a Final Fantasy/Squeenix game).
-Story is somewhat intriguing.
-Gameplay...this is clearly an MMO. If you don't like MMO's, you won't like this one. If you do like MMO's, you'll like this one.

More details:

FF XIV has a Class/Job system. You pick a class (from one of 7 basic classes, 4 martial 3 magical) and as you play, you level up with that class. Each class has class specific quests every 5 levels. Once you reach level 10 and complete your quest class, you are allowed to change your class as you wish...with no restrictions. You do this by visiting the guild for the class you want to be, reading some dialogue, then changing your weapon. When you swap to a new class, you start at level 1 - with level 1 HP and the ability to wear only level 1 armor. This can be somewhat disconcerting at first. When you switch back to your original class, you keep all of the old stats and XP, so you lose nothing by switching. So when all is said and done, you can be a level 50 EVERYTHING on just one character...if you put enough time in.

Jobs are a little more specialized - they require you to reach level 30 with your main class and then level 15 with a secondary class. Unfortunately, the system is not nearly as complex as the one in Final Fantasy Tactics, although many of the classes are lifted straight from it. Each basic class has exactly one Job they can eventually learn - except for one of the casters, which gets two for some unknown reason. So for example, my Archer, upon reaching level 30, can become a Bard if he raises his Pugilist class to 15 as well. Oh yeah, and Crafting and Gathering are not professions, but separate classes in and of themselves - gotta level them from 1 too.

As for actual game play, they seem to have borrowed a good bit from all of the other MMOs out there. They have random group participation battles in the world called FATEs that are exactly like the Rifts that would open up in, well Rift. There are also some interesting quirks in Levemetes, quest givers in each main hub area that have random selections of level appropriate quests that can specialize in either Battle, Crafting or Gathering type activities. These Levemetes have associated Guildhests, which are basically dungeon-finder like queues for small individual encounters which require a tank, a healer and 2 DPS. I've participated in two so far: the first included two different groups of enemies, then a final 'boss' enemy with two additional groups around him. If you were careful, you could pull each additional group separately, but we had someone randomly charge in. The second was a single boss monster who spawned waves of adds as the fight progressed. Each took about 5-10 minutes in a queue (where I could explore, craft, level, etc while waiting), then took less than 10 minutes each to defeat. Pretty cool little addition. I'm assuming as I level further I'll be able to use the same system for their longer Dungeons as well.

Also, each class comes with its own Hunter's Guide - a list of 10 creatures (or sets of creatures) to look for and kill every 10 levels. Each set of creatures is worth a nice bonus of XP, and completing an entire 10 level set of one is worth an additional bonus as well. Any creature you haven't killed yet from the list that you see in the world has a nice little target icon over their character to help you identify them.

So far I've leveled three characters, one is a Level 16/8 Archer/Lancer, one is a Level 13 Thaumaturge (Black Mage) and the other is a Level 7 Marauder (2 Handed Axe Warrior type, can tank in a pinch it appears).

So far, I'm really enjoying the game. Being able to re-roll a different class on the same character is really nice. That being said, it's probably going to be a little grindy - getting my Archer to level 8 as a Lancer was a pain, because all of the fluff quests that I used for experience with the Archer weren't there, so I had to use creature kills (and the Hunter's Guide, which is a godsend) and FATEs in the world to get him that far. Apparently you get an XP boost based on the disparity between your highest leveled class and the current one - the greater the disparity, the greater the bonus XP. So a level 50 Archer would have a massive boost for his level 1 Thaumaturge, but a level 30 Archer's boost would be smaller.

As for cons, talking to my buddy who's already a level 50 Black Mage (Level 30 Thaumaturge, Level 15 Archer), there is almost no diversity in build or rotation at max level. If you're a Black Mage, you use the same set of skills in the same order that every other Black Mage uses...and you're going after the same gear. After spending so much time with WoW (which I haven't played in months and don't really have a desire to go back to) I find it hard to believe I'll be playing this one for the end game, so that doesn't worry me as much.

[Matthean]

Follow up, considering this has been in the works for a year done by volunteers, this looking rather decent.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/U4gpo8pBFxc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Marmel]

The Phoenix Project - City of Titans by Missing Worlds Media &mdash; Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/missingworldsmedia/the-phoenix-project-city-of-titans)

Their kickstarter campaign just launched.

[Matthean]

I looked at funding last night and compared it to now. It has a solid chance of being funded. I just hope they don't try to make it too close to CoH. I saw them using Atlas as a place already.

https://www.facebook.com/ValianceOnline

Seems to be there is a third CoH spin off. This one is being done by actual professional developers, and they had a fantasy MMO in the works before switching it. Far less is known but that's because they decided to work more and talk less. They have an alpha build being tested. They are suppose to put out more info this month.

The second spin off remains as not worth keeping track of.

[Matthean]

The Phoenix Project - City of Titans by Missing Worlds Media &mdash; Kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/missingworldsmedia/the-phoenix-project-city-of-titans)

Their kickstarter campaign just launched.

It should hit the 50% funded mark in just over a day. Unless there is a significant drop off, they should reach their goal. The question now is how far does it go.

[Thomkal]

It should hit the 50% funded mark in just over a day. Unless there is a significant drop off, they should reach their goal. The question now is how far does it go.

http://mmoattack.com/mmo-news/city-of-titans-enjoys-hugely-successful-start-on-kickstarter

[Matthean]

It will hit 230K shortly. One interesting aspect of this is the continual amount of people finding about the project and offering to volunteer as well. I think this will be more of an open source MMO than anything I have really seen, and I always wondered if it could be done. MWM will obviously need income for the servers and such, but with the income model they have it should work. I still want to hear more about the various systems they are going to do for things.

[Marmel]

They have exceeded their goal with 27 days remaining.

[Matthean]

I thought it was going to slow down more than it has. Doubling the goal seems way more than likely. I'm curious what it gets to. They will get a push at the end as well. It would be good for them if a larger company came along and took them in since the company could help them with the initial cost of going live, which is really the biggest hurdle.

[Marmel]

I thought it was going to slow down more than it has. Doubling the goal seems way more than likely. I'm curious what it gets to. They will get a push at the end as well. It would be good for them if a larger company came along and took them in since the company could help them with the initial cost of going live, which is really the biggest hurdle.

I would be surprised to hear that they would partner in anyway with a larger company. I feel that they would never take a chance that this would be pulled away from them as CoH was.

[Matthean]

It's just going to be interesting to see how they progress forward. They still have to deal with getting and supporting a server as they look to follow CO's path of one server for all. Beating the goal by a sizable amount is going to help lot though. I know CoH failed with in game ads, but something similar might not be a bad idea. People don't like it for PoE, but it helps pay the bills. They could do a company sponsored contest for creating a mission/story arc.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Up to level 35 as a Bard (50 is cap) in FF XIV and still enjoying it. Came to the realization that while the flexibility of changing classes by simply switching weapons is nice, but leveling up alternate classes on the same character is going to be a pain in the butt because I'll already have finished most of the quests. You get a nice XP bonus while leveling an alternate class, which will help, but I can't help but think that secondary and tertiary classes are going to be grindy as hell.

Still impressed by the visual and audio. The story is better than I gave it credit for early, but still nothing groundbreaking.

Dungeons are extremely linear, but the encounters are fun and have much more complex mechanics than I expected. So far running with completely random groups, I've done 6 dungeons and I've only wiped in one (though we did wipe several times on the last boss in that one dungeon). There have been several instances where the tank has died and I have had to use all of my skills to kite the boss/group of mobs, and it's been a blast fighting my way through those occasions.

It's a little frustrating that the main story quest line forces you to participate in the dungeons - queues can be somewhat long, and if you get stuck on a boss with a random group, you can easily be forced to wait for another group to come along before you can move on. I understand the second M in MMO is Multiplayer, but I prefer to choose when and where to group up. I don't really like being throttled because of someone else's incompetence.

[cuervo72]

Heh, I've long been like that. I liked that there were other players around in CoH (and fueling the auction house/production of goods), but I didn't necessarily want to have to team with them unless I was in the mood. :)


(Still using CoH as an example because, well, I've still not picked up another MMO.)

[Vince, Pt. II]

Yeah, I definitely like to solo in MMO's :)

What's been nice is that nearly everyone I've seen has been helpful, which is awesome. Not that I've needed the help, but yesterday when we spent half an hour wiping on the last boss in Brayflox's Longstop, the rest of the group wasn't angry and actually kept giving positively worded advice to the tank. Turns out he didn't know how to strafe and was playing using a controller...which is crazy to me.

I'm certain this is just because the game is relatively new, but hopefully I'm proved wrong and the fellowship attitude continues.

[BrianD]

It seems like you tend to see more annoying people when you get to 50. People are pretty good going through the story-mode quests, but their demands get very specific when doing quests beyond the end of the story.

[Matthean]

CoT ended up with 5K in backers for $678,189. Not bad. At one point I was thinking maybe 750K but more than doubling there goal is still pretty crazy.