What's the best MMOG?

Inbetween bouts of Raven Shield last night I was talking to Certis about MMOGs and I'm quite keen to get into one, so I'm wondering what you guys (and ladies) out there think is the best of the currently(not beta) available on line games?

Opinions please!

Personally I think it''s Dark Age of Camelot, I like the classes and the coordinated PvP. Although Everquest definately has its merits as well.

Horizons!!!

I think UO is the best MMOG.

He said ""not beta"" you shill!

I don''t know if you get them in your parts Keg but PC Gamer''s latest issues is all about the current and upcoming MMORPGs. Good run-downs on where each on is at right now.

I have to give props to EQ. It is just HUGE, there is so much to do, and still to this day Verant keeps adding more, improving more, and just keeping it a fresh experience.

DAOC is pretty cool, but the PvP never really panned out and last time I played (this was quite awhile ago though) the PvE was kinda boring after awhile.

There isn''t a lot to do in EQ. What there is in EQ you can do a lot. You can kill monsters all over the place.

Well it depends what you want out of a game. I have played them all, and I think so far the game I have been both the most impressed with and the most disappointed with is Shadow Bane. There have been some amazing moments in SB. When most of Mourning rose up and swept away the obnoxious Denied guild, smashing their city and forever changing the face of the server... it was somthing to behold. This ability to be involved with and effect the world in such a dynamic and sweeping way is a huge breath of fresh air. Sadly SB is one of the crappiest level treadmills ever, and has nothing else to do...asid from the meta game (fun, but come on) and mostly it is dying a slow, or quick depending on your source, death do to utter technically boobery of the highest order and on going lag problems that make most people want to rip their hair out. Still, it makes all other game play models in dynamics look vapid and pointless.

Before my brush with SB, I hated PvP... and really I still do at some levels. All I wanted from a game was a place where my friends and I could go to have a private little adventure (adventure dose not mean mindlessly killing things again and again for levels or endless running with nothing to do or somthing inbetween. It means story and fun and progress) in a rich fun content full world that supports groups and roll-playing. Sadly a lack of instances, content, treadmills, level restrictions, camping, campers and poor heavily static world design has made this all but impossible in all MMORPGS. The pointless cycler never ending or changing GvG in DAOC held us for while but it was simple to static.

Right now I actual think the best over all MMP out is Planet Side :), I didn''t care much for it beta but my guild decided to jump so I jumped with them and we have actually been having a lot of good fun. If it has the ability to burn facilities to ground and change the world scape it would be a much better game IMO, but aside from that... no down time, tons of action, no real death penalty. All and all its'' been good for us to get and just plain be able to do stuff.

but I ramble...

I would have to go with Planetside too.

I havent had this much fun and this much withdrawal since the Original Quake.

I absolutely cannot wait until bombers get implemented! It is going to be such a blast!

Daoc has every flavor of character style under the sun. However, the intra-class balancing is such a cluster f*ck who wants to play over half of them unless your really bored. They would be more successfull if every class were as fun to play as the Theurgist, Enchanter, Druid or even maybe the Shaman. The thief classes are so gimped they should look to the stealth implementation in Planetside where its a blast

Actually I wish PS has better, or more specialist type scout skills instead of the generic stealth-er/hacker/sniper set. But maybe they will get there. I new implant every level would suite me just fine, and add a lot more character variety.

Daoc has every flavor of character style under the sun. However, the intra-class balancing is such a cluster f*ck who wants to play over half of them unless your really bored. They would be more successfull if every class were as fun to play as the Theurgist, Enchanter, Druid or even maybe the Shaman. The thief classes are so gimped they should look to the stealth implementation in Planetside where its a blast

Balancing in DAOC is going to be pretty difficult as there are just tons of classes, not to mention tons of different skills within each class. Frankly the ability to individualize your character based on the skill system within each class is one of the things I really like about DAOC.

As far as class balance at this moment the thief classes rule the roost. The theurgist is pretty much agreed to be fairly useless in RvR in all but one spec and even that spec is fairly substandard.

PvE content is definately not as good as EQ, that is where EQ shines. The other thing I don''t like about DAOC is the third person perspective I think it really takes something away from the game. For instance in EQ you could tell the differences in your group members by their face, where as in DAOC''s third person perspective you can barely see a players face. Further I think the first person perspective allows for a much higher awe factor as far as scale. For instance giants and other large monsters were awe inspiring in EQ where as in DAOC with the camera behind and slightly above your character the larger monsters just seem like more of the same. There is a first person perspective but it is implemented poorly with the camera basically set at your characters stomach and no weapon animations in first person.

You also have to appreciate the effort Mythic puts into continually updating the game. There are two free expansions and a third pay expansion coming out this year. The first of which will add housing is supposed to go into open beta next week. Not to say that EQ doesn''t offer similar support but after playing EQ for two years Mythic seems to update a bit more often.

IMO they balanced most of the fun right out of DAOC, one it''s problems is a lack of exstreams... ever enhancing the blandness.

"griffon" wrote:

Right now I actual think the best over all MMP out is Planet Side :), I didn''t care much for it beta but my guild decided to jump so I jumped with them and we have actually been having a lot of good fun.

MUWAHHAHA! I remember you coming down pretty hard on it. Of course, I''m not one to say ""I told you so"" but gosh if I''m not dying to.

And of course, my vote goes to.......ready?.........big surprise coming here........Planetside! Ta da!

With a drastic change in the way bases will be available to hack, and the Liberator (bomber) coming out soon....I''m still as gidy as when I first started playing it.

Well I decided to pick up Planetside.

Played for pretty much about 20 hrs yesterday.

First impressions:

The european server, despite being not as populated as the US eastcoast server, sucked! I was having a much better time when I quickly hopped onto the US server for a while last night.

Most MAXs suck at close range as you can''t turn quick enough to prevent being circle strafed to death unless you have other infantry for support

Flying Reavers or any aircraft for that matter is bloody tough and I think I''ll just stick to ground vehicles in the meantime.

Damn this is one ADDICTIVE game especially when you''r asked to join a squad or outfit with relatively competent players, there''s nothing quite like desperate tower defences or full on attacks on a big base to put a smile on my face!

SOME OTHER b**tard has my Kegboy handle on US East!

So from tonight I''ll be fighting for the Vanu as Kegboy2 on the US east coast server, if any of you guys out there are still playing Planetside post your handle so as I can either look you up or hunt you down!

See you out there on the battlefield.

I am so hurtin not being able to play this game for like 10 days.

Major withdrawal.

I think there is a balance that doesnt mean everyones bland and the same. Daoc is so far from it and Planetside hits it so spot on.

Counting down till wednesday if not before...

I feel your pain Fang I''ve not played for only 20 hrs and I can''t wait till I get out of the office here and go home and play some more, never mind 10 days! Ten days without internet access would drive me nuts!

I like the planetside website and the ability to look up other characters stats, that''s quite a kill count you have Fang!

"Yomm" wrote:
"griffon" wrote:

Right now I actual think the best over all MMP out is Planet Side :), I didn''t care much for it beta but my guild decided to jump so I jumped with them and we have actually been having a lot of good fun.

MUWAHHAHA! I remember you coming down pretty hard on it. Of course, I''m not one to say ""I told you so"" but gosh if I''m not dying to.

And of course, my vote goes to.......ready?.........big surprise coming here........Planetside! Ta da!

With a drastic change in the way bases will be available to hack, and the Liberator (bomber) coming out soon....I''m still as gidy as when I first started playing it.

Well, I did, and I stand by it because it was impression of it from beta. Retail has been very different largely based on the population density. Of course that is causing them lots and lots of other problems but I won''t go there in this thread.

Honestly? I''m just glad you''re enjoying the game. I was just giving you a little ribbing.

That won''t stop me from trying to pound you into dirt if I see you, but I''m glad you''re enjoying it.

Fang....hurry back.

Ok, this is going to sound like I''m bashing Planetside, and Yomm''s going to gouge my neck out with salad forks, but I think the fact that Planetside is one of if not the single best MMOG on the market right now is a strong indication of how weak the genre is. Planetside, which is a nicely addicting game, has some very strong points, but shouldn''t be the pinnacle for a genre. It seems to me that MMOGs are still waiting for someone to come up with a solid gameplay system the incorporates both acquiring levels/status/loot/points/abilities/etc. and viceral moment to moment gameplay. I think the reason Planetside is considered such a strong title is because it is a lot more focused on gameplay than many MMOGs (which get bogged down in simply accumulating stats), but it does this at a bit of an expense of long term worth.

In answer of the question, though, Planetside is probably the most fun new MMOG on the market right now. I still think there''s a lot of value to be gotten out of EQ if you have friends in the game who can give you resources and access to the higher content.

Isn''t comparing Planetside as an MMOG to Everquest and the like apples and oranges? I mean, one is a first person shooter that happens to support a few thousand people on a server and one is a RPG that happens to support a few tousand people on a server.

They may both have a monthly fee and a lot of players on one server but that''s where the similarity ends.

I wasn''t exactly comparing the two, but to answer your question I think comparing Everquest to Planetside as a MMOG is every bit as valid as comparing apples and oranges in the context of both being fruits. It''s pretty standard fare to speak of Massively Multiplayer Online Games, and the two both fit the title, though one is certainly a MMORPG and the other is a MMOFPS, just as these proverbial apples and oranges of which you speak are both fruits with varying qualities.

Let''s say, for example, that I have a favorite fruit. You ask me which I like and I say apples. They can be made into pies, and they come in different colors. I like that kind of diversity. However, oranges, which are also good, have their own charms, though I don''t think they''re quite there in the area of variety as apples. On the whole, however, I''m just not a big fruit guy. Frankly, I prefer the salty/fatty genre, and would be happy to suck down a hickory smoked sausage or two. (I smell an out-of-context theater coming) Frankly, I just don''t think fruit is in the same league, and could use some improvement.

So, yes. I guess comparing Planetside and EQ is exactly like comparing apples and oranges.

Welcome to Out Of Context Theater with your guest host, Pyroman[FO].

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I''m just ... a big fruit guy. Frankly, I prefer ... to suck down a hickory smoked sausage or two. (I smell
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This has been Out of Context Theater with your guest host, Pyroman[FO]. Sponsorship for elipses was provided by the National Association for Baby Eating and Elysium Coming out of the Closet.

Couldn''t put it any better myself.

When you make me laugh that hard, water shoots out my nose. It hurts. I plan to sue.

And now, The Out of Context Theater, hosted by series creator Rat Boy:

"Elysium" wrote:

""When...me...hard, water shoots out...It hurts. I plan to sue.""

This has been The Out of Context Theater.

In my opinion, with the new EQ expansion (Lost Dungeons) it will remain the best and get a bit better. I started playing again and am having a great time.

In response to having friends who will allow you to have access to higher content in EQ, that is excatly right. I am working on my druid epic quest and it is a breeze with all my friends who have insane hps and gear now. I once though I would never get my epic and now it should be done within a week or two.

"Elysium" wrote:

Ok, this is going to sound like I''m bashing Planetside, and Yomm''s going to gouge my neck out with salad forks, but I think the fact that Planetside is one of if not the single best MMOG on the market right now is a strong indication of how weak the genre is.

Actually I agree. I never said PS was the end all of massive on-liners, I just said (for me) it was the first one that didn''t suck. I love it, and if a massive on-liner comes around thats better then PS, great! I hope PS is just the begining of this type of game.

Even if its a different genre...if a game can give me as many options and as much action with bunches of bunches of people...I''ll try it out.

(edit: btw, Pyro...that was one of the funniest things I''ve seen on this board in awhile)

How the hell do people find the time to play more than 1 online game at a time? Right now I''ll admit I''m in the throes of Planetside addiction and I''m playing about 4-5 hrs a day (no small thing considering I work 16 hrs a day) even if I was only working 8 I''d still find it hard to play more than one. They are huge time dilating black holes of addiction...and I love it!

16 hrs a day? *strikes out Ireland from the list of potential emigration countries*

The problem is that I want to achieve something in a game and I have doubts that the three hours a day I have for gaming are enough to achieve something in an MMOG. Can someone confirm or falsify this doubt?

3 hrs on Planetside is more than enough time to accomplish goals. You can log in and get your quick blasting fix and be offf again pretty quick. I spend a lot of time in Planetside cuz I''m a sucker for those desperate last stand base defences, that can on for a good while. I suppose it depends on whether or not 3 hrs a day justifies the monthly fee, I''m getting plenty of value from Planetside right now.

3 hrs in PS will net you about 5+ capped bases and 30 kills. Yes even if you suck at FPS you can join a squad that will easily kill that many in 3 hours. (all of which you get xp for but that not important)

If you suck at FPS, get a heavy vehicle cert and run people over. I''m dead serious. You will rack up the kills quickly. I dont have any vehicle certs but I gunned for Evil a few weeks back and, as per my advice, he ran over like 10 people in a few minutes. Most of that time was driving to the battle.

PS compared to EQ is sorta on the same level as comparing Diablo to something like Fallout. Though PS is much lighter an RPG than Diablo. With PS progress I hope they can implement more RPG to achieve the Diablo balance between action and RPG.

Are the bombers out yet?

"fangblackbone" wrote:

Are the bombers out yet?

Soon.....:droll: soon.......

The skyguard is pretty niffty though. I hate it, b/c I''m in the air, but its speedy, packs a punch.....of course it''s made of paper...but its all about balance.