Bolty Sells Out

[Bolty]

But then I don't play enough any more for a pay-per-month to make any sense for me.

This was the key overall point of my review. If this game was a pay-once game, I'd be practically pre-ordering it right now. HOWEVER, with a monthly fee, I'm not so sure it's a must-buy.* I will reserve my opinion until the beta period.

-Bolty

* I am very picky when it comes to monthly fees. If Diablo II were a monthly-pay game, I would not be playing it now. I don't know if I'd be playing anything, come to think of it :)

[Moose]

Yeah, I was rootin for Bolty, he ALMOST had the tourney won :(

Me, I didnt wake up early enough for it. It was a fireball fest anyway, hehe.

I'll post my writeup over on the KFO forums soon, too, Nico -- I was at the event if you couldnt tell already.

As for the pay per month thing... Me, I dont mind it in the least, but then again I've been doing it for almost 5 years now. Its no big deal to me, and I can easily see where its valuable -- I mean, I can watch a movie at a theater for the same price, or play a game for a full month...where do you think my money goes.

Oh, one last thing. The sushi? Sorry Nico, but I passed on it too. The sammiches were good though.

[whyBish]

If D2 was pay2play my grades would be a whole lot better ;)

I'm not really that interested in any p2p game, especially when the servers wouldn't be located within the country (or even continent). On battlenet my ping was around 500ms for at least the first 18 months, there is no way I would pay for that.

[[wcip]Angel]

Great article. I laughed loudly on several occasions.

"After lunch and the group quests, EA held a question
and answer session. Some of the questions were good,
such as "what kind of support UXO will have for guild
halls," while other questions seemed to come out of left
field. For example, "Will I be able to dress up my
character like a pirate?" What?" Actually hitting the
table with my fist at this point :lol:

It seems they've been partly inspired by Planetside, in
regards to the chat-thing with differing spheres and the
'zones' that are not really connected. I actually bought
Planetside and played it for the better half of a month.
It's a great game, but I've stopped playing it because
there is no end to it. If there is no final victory or
defeat, then my presence is not needed, and that is
something which really speeds up the uninstall-
process. I feel I have to make a difference. If I'm
redundant, than I'm not enjoying myself.

According to the article you wrote, Ultima will have
some form of final destination, some sort of closure. As
you said it'll be interesting to see how they do this.

Some people read books, most people watch films. The
most important reason why I play a videogame, is
because I like to immerse myself in a detailed and
intrigueing storyline --> I like the plot. Any game
without a plot starts off at an indescribable
disadvantage, and only a few plot-less games have
become classics to me (Gran Turismo and Counterstrike
being the two I can think of at the top of my head.)
Although the quests in Ultima seem to be impressive, I
can't help to think that I'll see them as more complex
ways of increasing in level. (Most of, or at least some
of) the quests should be tied into the main storyline,
such as the case of Morrowind.

It'll be interesting to see how this game turns out.

By the way, were the cookies any good?

I also do consider myself somewhat of a veteran
gamer, having gone through the most important
platforms of the last decades (commodore64, atari,
amiga500, nintendo, supernintendo, gameboy,
gamegear, playstation, playstation2 and the PC) and I
haven't either spent any time with an Ultima-game.
Well, I think I saw a friend play one of them some years
back, and I considered it a shabby mutation of the
ever-infamous "Eye of the beholder."

[jondifool]

I am not that picky about a monthly fee, but I exspect to get something special for it! And this have to be more than just playing with others in a online envirement! Because the monthly fee is only being paid if the game is "the most prefereble one" for more than a little while.

being part of the greater story, figthing clanwars, playing roleplay, outstanding characterbuilds, mission imposibles, and achivements off all kinds might all qualify as the basics for this special something! But knowing this about game complexity that if trying to do all, it would most likely fail!

Anyone knows off some MMO games looking really promissing! Warhammer Online does really have my attentention at the moment, with some interesting PvE setups, a huge and welldescribed world and a nice roleplaying game as the foundation. I am toying around with Starwars Galaxies but without getting the special feelings I want (though I am to much off a newbie to could judge yet)! World of warcraft I have simply just my faith in blizzards ability to make games with high playability, and have not looked closer!
And Ultimas just came as a surprise for me. To little info though too really get an idea if this is promising.
Someone wants to enlightent me!

[Catflap]

EA is the most evil game company in the world.

So true, they beat UO to death with trammel/pk nerfs and now with AoS they are pissing on its grave.
I miss the glory days of UO pvp.. :(
MMOG's are a weird bunch, i've only played a few were it was really worth the cash over a normal game.

[roguebanshee]

Angel,Aug 25 2003, 12:56 PM] The most important reason why I play a videogame, is
because I like to immerse myself in a detailed and
intrigueing storyline --> I like the plot. Any game
without a plot starts off at an indescribable
disadvantage, and only a few plot-less games have
become classics to me (Gran Turismo and Counterstrike
being the two I can think of at the top of my head.)

My advise to you would be to stay far away from the current MMO's and for a few more (MMO-)generations. All of them are either very little or irrelevant storyline with the actual gameplay being about getting the mostest of the bestest.

Besides, how would you make an engaging storyline that involves 1000 (or more) people who all want to be the main character? I can't see an easy solution but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

[Catflap]

Jondifool, i've played SWG..i didn't like it at all, and i'm a big Star Wars fan..it just lacks content, too much like Everquest and others for my tastes.It might get better in future though.
MMOG's evolve all the time (wait for the Space Expansion) for now, Try Knights of The Old Republic instaid :)

[roguebanshee]

Why MMORPG's have a monthly fee.

Would you pay a monthly fee for Diablo 2 (and LoD) Realms if :

...cheaters/scammers/etc got banned the second their behaviour was confirmed?
...you had access to a hotline when some issue came up?
...the game got regular updates, both fixing bugs and adding new content?
...if blizzard held semi-regular server-wide events (3 or more each year)?

From the linked thread :

Ford makes cars, Aston Martin make cars (and they're owned by the same company too). Does that mean I should get an Aston Martin for the same price as a Ford? No, it doesn't. Sports cars will cost more than Sedans, Dynamic real-time online games will cost more than Static off-line ones.

[whyBish]

...cheaters/scammers/etc got banned the second their behaviour was confirmed?
...you had access to a hotline when some issue came up?
...the game got regular updates, both fixing bugs and adding new content?
...if blizzard held semi-regular server-wide events (3 or more each year)?

"Battle.net is the system used by Blizzard to connect people to individual games. It is simply a marker system that shows other people where the games really are it doesn't actually host/contain/maintain these games...
Thus the cost of running Battle.net is fairly negligible as opposed to the centralized server system that is necessary for a MMORPG."
"In D2 the host's computer does much of the numbercrunching, making it easier to cheat. In EQ just about everything is done serverside."

Well, for other games the first quote would be true, but not for D2, which was the game under discussion in the thread. There were some valid points in the thread, but here are my replies to the ones you mention.

1) Possibly, but not a big factor
2) Not if it was a number that costs to pay (and it would if it was a U.S. 'free' number)
3) D2 does already(for free), although I don't think that a good, well tested game should need regular fixes
4) And what use is this? The serverwide events would have to be at a non-North-American/European time for me to show any interest... and if they are only once every 3-4 months, what are you going to be doing the rest of the time?

My arguments are not against monthly payments as such, more against monthly payments for an American-centric service. (i.e. no way would I pay to have 500ping constantly and events that are on at 4am and have monthly costs that are payable in foreign currency, that essentially doubles their cost due to transaction fees)
I suppose it would be best to end by countering the car analogy with one of a tennis court. I live in NZ. I can pay to become a member of my local tennis club (no big deal), I can become a member of a tennis club in the U.S. for free (D2) in which I will never get to play, or I can pay to belong to a tennis club in the U.S. where I will never get to play (MMORPG)

[Jarulf]

>Would you pay a monthly fee for Diablo 2 (and LoD) Realms if :
>
>...cheaters/scammers/etc got banned the second their behaviour was confirmed?

I don't consider such a thing enough incentive to be paying the prices current such online games have per month currently. My experience (although admitadly old) is that such games have its share of cheating/scamming and such as well. Doesn't seem to help paying monthly fees.

>...you had access to a hotline when some issue came up?

Nope, same again. I think forums and such are adequate in most cases.

>...the game got regular updates, both fixing bugs and adding new content?

Bug fixes I expect to be done! Of course there should be no costs for the consumer when errors or faulty products get fixed. Adding content? I prefer to get new games if I need more content. I really hate the current trend in making a game where it seems the maker create a game, cut away 25% of the game, sell it and then turn those 25% into an add-on or "expansion". Doesn't change with providing it all in small chunks. I probably end up paying more that way too as well. I find that for just a few months fee, I can get completely new games with far more new content (and that is without factoring in that I usually buy slightly older games at bargin prices.

>...if blizzard held semi-regular server-wide events (3 or more each year)?

Could you give examples? By the way, wouldn't it be better to pay specifically for those events then? What if I am on a bussiness trip, holliday or otherwise can't attend those 3 events? Money lost for nothing.

[LavCat]

Would you pay a monthly fee for Diablo 2 (and LoD) Realms if :

...cheaters/scammers/etc got banned the second their behaviour was confirmed?
...you had access to a hotline when some issue came up?
...the game got regular updates, both fixing bugs and adding new content?
...if blizzard held semi-regular server-wide events (3 or more each year)?

No, but I would gladly pay for another DII expansion pack if one came out. Software engineers have to eat like everybody else. Even marketing folks should get to eat sometime.

My half-serious advice to blizzard: fix the monster AI for free, charge for the new rune words. If they impose a monthly fee for battle.net, they will lose a customer.

[TPJ]

If they impose a monthly fee for battle.net, they will lose a customer.

They'd lose more than one - that's for sure.

[TPJ]

My report is up now as well.

Nothing new to report - since Bolty and I both saw eye to eye on this title. Eh, read it anyway. There's even a picture of Bolty in it!! *snicker*

[Count Duckula]

There's even a picture of Bolty in it!!

So who's who? Inquiring Lurkers want to know!

[whyBish]

*hint: check the image source.

[roguebanshee]

>I don't consider such a thing enough incentive to be paying the prices current such online games have per month
>currently. My experience (although admitadly old) is that such games have its share of cheating/scamming and such as
>well. Doesn't seem to help paying monthly fees.

You don't mind it taking more than a year to fix Ith's and other hacked items? Of course if you don't play the game anymore or singleplayer/open only this probably isn't much of an issue to you.

>Nope, same again. I think forums and such are adequate in most cases.

Would you try to get help from blizzard on their D2 fora? Different companies do this in different ways, some will only accept email others want requests ingame and so on.

>Bug fixes I expect to be done! Of course there should be no costs for the consumer when errors or faulty products get
>fixed. Adding content? I prefer to get new games if I need more content. I really hate the current trend in making a game
>where it seems the maker create a game, cut away 25% of the game, sell it and then turn those 25% into an add-on or
>"expansion". Doesn't change with providing it all in small chunks. I probably end up paying more that way too as well. I
>find that for just a few months fee, I can get completely new games with far more new content (and that is without
>factoring in that I usually buy slightly older games at bargin prices.

I too expect bug fixes, but how fast do you expect them? And how often? Good, fast support isn't cheap. I don't think I need to tell you that whenever you alter some code you need to test it again and usually some new bug you didn't find will come up during normal use. As for content most MMORPGs usually are sizable when they launch and the devs still didn't have time to add all they wanted. Some of the things they want in gets added in free patches and others get put into expansion packs depending on the publishers greed and the amount of stuff added. For Diablo2 (LoD) it could have been new runewords and uniques at semi-regular intervals, possibly alteration of TCs and SuperUniques, attempting to balance skills or maybe even improved AI. For another game it could be adding a skill to help balance the game.

>Could you give examples? By the way, wouldn't it be better to pay specifically for those events then? What if I am on a
>bussiness trip, holliday or otherwise can't attend those 3 events? Money lost for nothing.

• Mobs replaced with seasonal counterparts eg. some mobs could be wearing bunny suits and dropping eggs (money or special items) during easter or special mobs wander around like having Santa showing up to give gifts to the (possibly nice) players. These usually last for the season/holiday and most people get to see them.
  <>
  
• Storyline Quest Event thingy, likely it's a 'go fetch some items and beat up the bad guy(s)' RP may be involved. Usually takes quite some preparation on the GM side and lasts for varying amounts of time, but usually much less than the above.
  <>
  
• In a 'Town Invasion' a bunch of normal mobs (and possibly some boss mobs) attack normally safe areas. These take very little preparation and could theoretically be done at any time depending on the mood of the GMs.<>
  [st]You will normally be able to see when an event will happen weeks in advance. Adjust by competence of GMs and CS-reps, neither of which come cheap if you want high quality. Do you have a radio/TV? They cost money too (or are plastered with comercials) and you can't always be sure you'll get to hear/watch what you want unless you have some equipment that automatically records everything you want. Besides you can probably find a gaming cafe with whatever game you want to play nearby if you're on a business trip to some major city.

[Bolty]

Nothing new to report - since Bolty and I both saw eye to eye on this title.

Actually, you caught a number of things I didn't mention, such as how your equipment levels up with you. Always worth reading!

-Bolty

[[wcip]Angel]

But what did the cookies taste like?

[TPJ]

Bolty will have to answer that one. He was the only one I know of with the cajones to try one!