05-06-2004, 01:31 AM
Hi,
I've been reading (and posting) on the official testers forums (fora) for WoW. While the overall quality is a lot better than most open fora, the experience rekindled my appreciation for the Lounge and the people who frequent it.
For one thing, the official forum software sucks big time. That it isn't threaded is bad enough. But in addition, there is no search capability, no way to keep track which posts you've read (you can keep track of which threads you've read, sort of), no way to keep track what threads you've participated in. And, of course, no one reads past the first page (the default sorting is newest response first). So the same topics appear in new threads every couple of days. Each time, some good and many poor arguments are made on each side, but the discussion is fragmented and chaotic.
Further, it appears that only one Blizzard person posts with any great regularity. That would be Katricia. But she (he?) only seems to post in the General forum. Since most people seem to want attention from Blizzard as much as anything else, that is where a lot of posts end up going that would be better off in one of the other 18 (!) fora.
The PvPers are out in force, and "carebear" appears in many posts (one PvP supporter even has it in his signature). As always, the PvPers are claiming that only PvP makes a game worthwhile, a true role playing experience, etc. etc. And, no, not a one of them would ever dream of griefing a low level player, or taking advantage of someone down to low hit points after fighting mobs, etc., etc. You don't need to read the posts -- you've seen it all before for over seven years. PvPer, PKer, griefer, all the same species. There are those who have enough intelligence to realize that not all games are DOOM.
And, yes, I've met a couple of "good" PvP players in my time online. It's just (to paraphrase the lawyer joke) that 99% of then give the rest a bad name. And, no, I am not talking "consensual" PvP or dueling -- that is not what these people are asking for.
Now, as WoW stands, there is little skill or challenge involved in most game situations. Many solo combats require little more than targeting the mob and moving your avatar into range. Then it's mostly a situation of watching the avatar do battle. If you have some "special" attack (or spell) you cast them as the timer, rage, mana, or spirit moves you. Often you do this to break the monotony or to increase some skill or other (although no one has yet explained what increase skill in a spell buys you). And if you do die (usually because some mob respawned behind you in an area you checked before attacking), all you need to do is run your invulnerable ghost back to your body.
But, apparently, this is still not easy enough for a lot of people, and all sorts of suggestions are being made to make combat or resurrection or travel or trade skills or everything easier. And the reply to those types of ideas are running mostly positive (and this in a community of people who are gamer enough to get into an alpha or beta). Any suggestion to make the game more challenging gets lambasted. If Blizzard takes even 1% of the suggestions made to make the game easier, they'll have to rename it World of SimCraft.
And, if Blizzard doesn't make the game easy enough for the "average" player, why then there are all sorts of people writing scrips to save effort, energy and thought.
Ah, well. We'll see. I hope that this will be a game that will be playable for a neophyte but still challenging (and not just in the boredom sense of having to kill a million mobs to level) for a hard core player. I don't see it now, I don't see it promised, and I don't particularly see it requested by the community.
Perhaps there will be some variant possibilities that will appeal to some of us. Otherwise, all that there seems to be is eye candy. Worth playing for free, maybe even for the cost of the box. But not yet enough to change my outlook on pay to play.
Then again, they've got months to get it right. I'm still hoping -- but I'd have to get good odds to bet on it.
--Pete
I've been reading (and posting) on the official testers forums (fora) for WoW. While the overall quality is a lot better than most open fora, the experience rekindled my appreciation for the Lounge and the people who frequent it.
For one thing, the official forum software sucks big time. That it isn't threaded is bad enough. But in addition, there is no search capability, no way to keep track which posts you've read (you can keep track of which threads you've read, sort of), no way to keep track what threads you've participated in. And, of course, no one reads past the first page (the default sorting is newest response first). So the same topics appear in new threads every couple of days. Each time, some good and many poor arguments are made on each side, but the discussion is fragmented and chaotic.
Further, it appears that only one Blizzard person posts with any great regularity. That would be Katricia. But she (he?) only seems to post in the General forum. Since most people seem to want attention from Blizzard as much as anything else, that is where a lot of posts end up going that would be better off in one of the other 18 (!) fora.
The PvPers are out in force, and "carebear" appears in many posts (one PvP supporter even has it in his signature). As always, the PvPers are claiming that only PvP makes a game worthwhile, a true role playing experience, etc. etc. And, no, not a one of them would ever dream of griefing a low level player, or taking advantage of someone down to low hit points after fighting mobs, etc., etc. You don't need to read the posts -- you've seen it all before for over seven years. PvPer, PKer, griefer, all the same species. There are those who have enough intelligence to realize that not all games are DOOM.
And, yes, I've met a couple of "good" PvP players in my time online. It's just (to paraphrase the lawyer joke) that 99% of then give the rest a bad name. And, no, I am not talking "consensual" PvP or dueling -- that is not what these people are asking for.
Now, as WoW stands, there is little skill or challenge involved in most game situations. Many solo combats require little more than targeting the mob and moving your avatar into range. Then it's mostly a situation of watching the avatar do battle. If you have some "special" attack (or spell) you cast them as the timer, rage, mana, or spirit moves you. Often you do this to break the monotony or to increase some skill or other (although no one has yet explained what increase skill in a spell buys you). And if you do die (usually because some mob respawned behind you in an area you checked before attacking), all you need to do is run your invulnerable ghost back to your body.
But, apparently, this is still not easy enough for a lot of people, and all sorts of suggestions are being made to make combat or resurrection or travel or trade skills or everything easier. And the reply to those types of ideas are running mostly positive (and this in a community of people who are gamer enough to get into an alpha or beta). Any suggestion to make the game more challenging gets lambasted. If Blizzard takes even 1% of the suggestions made to make the game easier, they'll have to rename it World of SimCraft.
And, if Blizzard doesn't make the game easy enough for the "average" player, why then there are all sorts of people writing scrips to save effort, energy and thought.
Ah, well. We'll see. I hope that this will be a game that will be playable for a neophyte but still challenging (and not just in the boredom sense of having to kill a million mobs to level) for a hard core player. I don't see it now, I don't see it promised, and I don't particularly see it requested by the community.
Perhaps there will be some variant possibilities that will appeal to some of us. Otherwise, all that there seems to be is eye candy. Worth playing for free, maybe even for the cost of the box. But not yet enough to change my outlook on pay to play.
Then again, they've got months to get it right. I'm still hoping -- but I'd have to get good odds to bet on it.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?