The World of Avlis

I've always wondered,

What do you get out of paying to play Galaxies, EverQuest, DAOC...?

Is it really any different that NWN? Do you get more DM time?

Why pay when NWN is free and has many splendid communities? Make the odd donation of a few bucks instead of paying a monthly fee.

Variety.
Personal preference on playing style.
Because you can.

Just because something is free doesn't mean it is great value for money just as something being expensive not relating to the quality and quantity of content.

At the end of the day, personally, I try other games because I can sometimes get bored with doing the same thing over and over. A big part of why I stayed with Avlis was to explore and to learn the crafting systems. That is still going on but like with any game, when you know everything and have done everything then the alure diminishes. I need to have a goal or target to work to. Reach a certain level, learn a certain skill, explore a certain area. When all your goals are gone then, for me, it is time to move on.

I'm just wondering if there's a significant increase in quality of

dm time
build objects
quest design
player base
quality of play
quality of players. I imagine there's more trolls since they payed to be there and you can't boot them for no reason

What is it that justifies paying for a game at the same price, then forking out 16-30 dollars per month

i think with MMORPG's it's mainly the world quality. Because you're paying an on-going fee to play, the companies thet set that stuff up can afford to pay staff to continually update and produce quality worlds to play in.

But i'm not sure. I played one month of Everquest what seems like years ago and never got into it.

Samin Swift wrote:I'm just wondering if there's a significant increase in quality of

dm time

Wha? In an MMORPG?


Almost all of them have no sort of DM interaction, they rely completely on scripts.

Samin Swift wrote:I'm just wondering if there's a significant increase in quality of

dm time
build objects
quest design
player base
quality of play
quality of players. I imagine there's more trolls since they payed to be there and you can't boot them for no reason

What is it that justifies paying for a game at the same price, then forking out 16-30 dollars per month

The short answer is the MMORPG companies would like you to believe the above. I've played on many MMORPGs and I can say you get little / nothing more than you do on a free NWN server. I've played (and still play) on NWN servers that had more life, player interaction, and quality of design that is worthy of being paid for.

So, if you're wondering if the grass is greener on the other side I can tell you it isn't. [/u]

The only real advantage of a MMORPG is the number of people playing... That is also one of the major factors behind cost.

I can tell you that running Avlis, for the number of players we have isn't cheep... Trying to do the same thing for 10,000 people at once...

Vanor wrote:The only real advantage of a MMORPG is the number of people playing... That is also one of the major factors behind cost.

I can tell you that running Avlis, for the number of players we have isn't cheep... Trying to do the same thing for 10,000 people at once...

Which is also a flaw... with that many people, they lose the personal feel.

Hence less people = better, for me. Same for a LOT of people, actually.

Fuzz wrote:Hence less people = better, for me. Same for a LOT of people, actually.

Not to mention that if you figure 10% of the player base are assholes, better to have 2-5 out of 200-500 players, then 100 out of 10,000 players.

Vanor wrote:

Fuzz wrote:Hence less people = better, for me. Same for a LOT of people, actually.

Not to mention that if you figure 10% of the player base are assholes, better to have 2-5 out of 200-500 players, then 100 out of 10,000 players.

Other than the values being 20-50 and 1,000 being 10% of the totals you mentioned I think the % of rude people on MMORPGs is much higher.

Vanor wrote:

Fuzz wrote:Hence less people = better, for me. Same for a LOT of people, actually.

Not to mention that if you figure 10% of the player base are assholes, better to have 2-5 out of 200-500 players, then 100 out of 10,000 players.

Well... I was thinking more along the lines of 50-150 players as small, but yeah, same concept.

I've spent my time in EQ and DAOC, and read a lot about several other MMORPGs. You get fewer DMs and almost no input into the world storylines - most MMORPGs are by their nature VERY static. Instead of DM quests you get "events", which almost inevitably end up being fucked up by dozens of assholes who swarm in to ruin everything. MMORPGs also are by and large based on a "level treadmill" concept, where the companies do everything they can to slow down progression and keep people playing as long as possible - because time is money.

So for all these downsides, what's the upside? Number of players, really.

Other than that, I find the roleplaying is generally poorer (from "14 Warr LFG!" to incessant spawn-camping), the impact of the individual character is nonexistent, and there are a lot more Diablo-style powergamers who come on to either grief others or play 24 hours a day to race to level faster so they can gain prestige thereby. In worlds without meaningful politics or player-driven storylines, there is virtually no status outside of character power, meaning powergamers flourish.

Pfah.

- Aloro

They should change the name to MMOPG
Massive Multiplayer Online Paying Game
Would be more correct from what I've seen
I've paid over 3 years to more then 3 companies monthly fees.
For companionship and hobby which is allot of money in total but a strong argument can be made for other hobbies such as wood crafting that can well exceed these fee's in fewer hours.

So what do you get for your money?
1) Lots of time on a level treed mill
...must... get... more More MORE !!!

2) Emotional growth retardation
Can't even count how many times I've seen a grown man in full plate mail holding a weapon walk up to me and say: "WaaasSup?"And I actually replied "Hail their friend"

3) Hoping for a quest that doesn't exist!
Leaving you with a strong feeling of pulling out your old D&D dice and dancing with your imagination even if your alone

There is much more content in MMORPG, but there is less interation.
They could all be great games if everyone was in it for the same reason.
For example here you have a bunch of people playing D-D and Role Playing the whole time. Well you could try to do that on SWG but at least 50% dont care for it. Imagine people walking around Avlis yelling..."can someone sell me experience points?" while you are trying to Rp....Just doesnt work.

Samin Swift wrote:I've always wondered,

What do you get out of paying to play Galaxies, EverQuest, DAOC...?

Is it really any different that NWN? Do you get more DM time?

Why pay when NWN is free and has many splendid communities? Make the odd donation of a few bucks instead of paying a monthly fee.

It's all about the number of players. I've been involved in some truly epic battles in MMORPGs, ones which NWN can't come close to matching.

On the downside, the worlds are full of assholes, powergamers, and people who don't want to roleplay. That's why I left SWG to devote more time to Avlis.

Anyone playing final fantasy XI online? Saw a demo and it looked quite good.

_Wake_ wrote:They should change the name to MMOPG
Massive Multiplayer Online Paying Game
Would be more correct from what I've seen

To many people, an RPG is really just an adventure game with some type of fantasy overtones. I had a discussion with a guy over at another (non RPG) gaming forum who claimed that traditionally, RPGs are single player games, and the best RPGs are SP. He just didn't get it when I kept saying that it depends on what you mean by an RPG. It's kind of pointless to roleplay in single player if you ask me.