Shadowland

[Krabbus]

Originally posted by ryack
So take a guess what i am going to buy in the shop. The choices are an upgrade to AO which i have to by or my char will be useless compared to new chars. Or one of the brandnew games, where everything is still new and fresh.

Ahh, my point again But lets wait and see what will happen with the Expansion Pack - Cz told me that there will be some more information about this pack later.

But one thing is for sure, it's stupid to let IGN make an article of this not explaining more about it and how it's implemented with the normal version of AO as well. I really didn't think money made the difference in my stripped-off Solitus Engineer...

"What I said about changing the color of a skill from blue to green is that you are allowed to raise it 5 times each level instead of eg. 3"

[Archelan]

Originally posted by ryack

So take a guess what i am going to buy in the shop. The choices are an upgrade to AO which i have to by or my char will be useless compared to new chars. Or one of the brandnew games, where everything is still new and fresh.

Remember that the "new and fresh" thing also applies to bugs

[BoomDoom]

Originally posted by ryack


So take a guess what i am going to buy in the shop. The choices are an upgrade to AO which i have to by or my char will be useless compared to new chars. Or one of the brandnew games, where everything is still new and fresh.

if there's one thing i learned in Anarchy Onlin its to never, NEVER, NEVER, but a MMORPG the moment its released. Let it sit on the shelves long enough to begin to function. I tried WWII online the moment it weas released and then I tried this. I've learned my lesson (although i had to get burned twice)

[Vannie]

As i understand it, shadowland is kind of a new dimension. Its a mini-world with a medievel touch. Being a mini-world you can only equip and use mini-stuff. The items you have in shadowland will be of no use to to the rest of rubi-ka.

This is how i understand shadowland, after reading articles and discussing it with several players. I might be right - i might be wrong.




- Vannie 162 mp -

[_____________Selyana]

Shadowland is an expension I belive including some more zones .. but I can be wrong but I think I'm not

[Nanomouse]

One of the shortcomings of AO has been a certain lack of high-level content which I think the expansion pack will add in. I would love to see the ability to go beyond level 200, perhaps to 300. Like other games, such as EverQuest, expansions are there to provide a game EXPANSION to those who purchase it. If you're happy with AO as it is you don't have to buy it, but if you want all the really neat new abilities, items, and functions it is fair that you should buy the expansion. I play a lot of Anarchy Online and really enjoy the time I spend in-game, paying (and supporting) Funcom to get the expansion works in both our interests and I look forward to the expansion.

The expansion items should not be tradeable, that is really just a cheap-out by people that want to get what they don't want to pay for. Expansions breathe a lot of life and variety into MMORPGs, great going Funcom!

[_____________Duality]

Originally posted by Thugdoom
And if you don't want to pay them the extra money you don't get the extra stuff. This is a MMORPG, as you said, it is not a Socialist Government Agency that is responsible for making all players equal. You want the gear, you pay the cash. If you think you can play without it, then don't buy it. But if you're going to go crazy because some of us are willing to participate in the almighty capitalist entity referred to as pay to play gaming and you're not, then you might as well quit.

Exactly!!!

[Netduke]

The more money you have in rl, the more of a advantage you have over other chars... Buying expansions and buying ebay items and such...
i wonder why most of these game comapnies are opposed to ebay item selling... they are basically doing the same thing. They should integrate a system so that you can just pay funcom more money in the beginning and get a lvl 300 char or some unique loot, Id definately pay a few more bucks to be able to have a huge advantage over people that dont pay. or even better, maybe in pvp combat you can just have a system that gives you an instakill button that just charges you $1 but you can instantly kill anyone that you have targeted. if you see some high lvl person that just finished a mission you target them and kill them instantly by paying some money and you get all their items. If there was such an option id use it all the time, i could then sell all the loot on ebay and make back all the money i spent.

[xbmspec]

Would you like to patti to go with that bun you just bought?
Perhaps some Ketchup for 2$.


Funcom Burger Land!

[_______________Knarf]

Ok heres whats goin on.

Alot of you people are getting confused about somthing really ez to explain. Funcom has two choices when they come out with this new pack:

1 - Totaly new server, the pople will get the pack and enter in the code number for it then have the choise to enter in rubika-1 EXP rubika-2 EXP or german sever EXP and thats it no conversing with the old ppl in the game.

2 - Stick us all to the server and make a lot of code changes where some certian people can do get certian items and such.

the ezer of the 2 is #1 cause then they dont gotta go and try to do **** like example-

Player 1 and 2 are in a TEAM
player 1 has EXP and 2 dont
Player 1 -EXP kill monster
Its Player 2s turn to loot.
now if there is a EXP item in there then they gotta ither make it so player 2 cant get it or dont see it or somthing which means the body will sit there till player 1 can loot it and he can get the item or untill it just fades away.

I think that going with the first solution is much ezyer all together. then ppl cant get all hissy about us EXP players being stroger and having diff stuff that tey cant and stuff.

so basically ppl like that krabb.. somthing guy should Stfu and just get the damn exp pack so he can enjoy the new parts.. whats it gonna cost 20 bucks? i mean its not gonna be any more then the damn game cost for all i care they can get mirrors up and we can pay to dl it off of there and then get on our exp server and then kick ass even more then the idiots that wont get the damn pack.

But in till some moron responds to this im out .. peace

[ryack]

Remember that the "new and fresh" thing also applies to bugs

Yes but new and shiny usually means fun fun fun. And there are still games that are a year out of the shop and still as bug ridden as when they were hurried out of beta.

[Kuro]

Originally posted by Knarf
Ok heres whats goin on.

Alot of you people are getting confused about somthing really ez to explain. Funcom has two choices when they come out with this new pack:

1 - Totaly new server, the pople will get the pack and enter in the code number for it then have the choise to enter in rubika-1 EXP rubika-2 EXP or german sever EXP and thats it no conversing with the old ppl in the game.

2 - Stick us all to the server and make a lot of code changes where some certian people can do get certian items and such.

the ezer of the 2 is #1 cause then they dont gotta go and try to do **** like example-

Player 1 and 2 are in a TEAM
player 1 has EXP and 2 dont
Player 1 -EXP kill monster
Its Player 2s turn to loot.
now if there is a EXP item in there then they gotta ither make it so player 2 cant get it or dont see it or somthing which means the body will sit there till player 1 can loot it and he can get the item or untill it just fades away.

I think that going with the first solution is much ezyer all together. then ppl cant get all hissy about us EXP players being stroger and having diff stuff that tey cant and stuff.

so basically ppl like that krabb.. somthing guy should Stfu and just get the damn exp pack so he can enjoy the new parts.. whats it gonna cost 20 bucks? i mean its not gonna be any more then the damn game cost for all i care they can get mirrors up and we can pay to dl it off of there and then get on our exp server and then kick ass even more then the idiots that wont get the damn pack.

But in till some moron responds to this im out .. peace

Creating a new dimension is out of the question. That would split up friends and associates based on their purchase of the expansion pack.

And it is entirely possible that they might restrict the profession specializations to expansion pack owners. I'd find that a rather silly move to make but it's not unprecedented to restrict major game mechanics from players in other games with expansion packs.

[____________Dominata]

...read what is being said about the skills specializations in the article...

I quote:
"Fans can still expect to see the implementation of story quests, IPR points, and new character skills wholly separate from the Shadowlands expansion."
End quote.

Gaaah... I hate repeating myself.

For a game that has a PvP element involved you simply can not unbalance it in such an obvious and crucial way.
FC has nerfed a lot of things so far and will probably continue to do so in the future, but even they wouldn't be stupid enough allow part of the player base to have such an advantage over the people who will not buy the expansion.

If there hadn't been any PvP it still would have been unfair but much more justified to only let people buying the expansion reap the skills benefits.

I say it's a very good decision of FC to let the whole playerbase take part of the skill specialization. If I have misunderstood this and it will be exclusive to the Shadowland buyers...

[_____________Mystika]

You still have no idea how they will implement it. Assuming that they will just let the expansion ppl pvp with normal characters is pretty short-sighted. Plus the fact that I don't know anyone who is not going to buy the expansion just to prove a point.

[_____________Satiate]

An expansion should not change fundamentals of a game and can not create a different ability versus people who do not purchase it, especially in a game with pvp being an option for every single person.
You can not have a person overpower another using unique items only they can have because they decide to purchase something for more money.

The prime example of this is everquest. Their expansion are that, expansions, new lands, new dungeons, new items. If you don't buy it you can't visit the new lands but you can use those items and spells from those lands. If one happens to be no drop that is something you'll have to deal with, but those are the rare examples. This isn't even a game that wants to be pvp and they can handle it properly. The new skills which were added are all post 50, meaning any level 50 and below can be on par with each other. If you buy the expansion you can advance beyond 50 and use those new skills.

In changing anything below level 200 you are creating a great divide of players, those who suck and those who don't. In changing skills, giving unique nanos or unique weapons which overpower those in the old world is complete crap. It is nothing but a ploy to get people to purchase the expansion, because if you don't, you will lack in the new 'basic' skills which are the norm.

AO started off really, really bad. So bad they laid off a lot of people and were probably close to closing shop (speculation). It then had a few patches and then some really, really bad patches. A lot of people left. Slowly but surely some problems were fixed and there seems to be a decent amount of people playing. I don't believe there has been a 'smooth' patch yet and in creating an expansion that will treat the same level of player differently is more then an accident waiting to happen.

I'll say it right now, there is no way in hell this expansion will join smoothly with the game. You can not have a level 100 and another level 100 of the same race/class have different colored IP pools or stats, nanos, weapon choices. There is so much room for error, exploits, and overpowering it boogles my mind they would even think about this.

I liked AO for a while, but it is nothing more then mission after mission for a constant change of loot. Be it for better or worse, there is no sense of accomplishment in any item received and why would I buy an expansion for more worthless items in the same missions I am sick of now. Fighting above land is too boring and tedious, and the communication of players in game in AO is lacking.

Back to the expansion...
Expansions should be nothing more then new lands you can only visit via a purchase and the ability to get new items which can be bought and sold to anyone. Is there going to be an expansion auction channel now too? (Like we need more channels).

I could be way off since I've only read a few dozen reader comments, but this has trouble written all over it, and any programmer can list about a hundred or so 'issues' that go through this approach.

My accounts already canceled due to boredom (go with monthly payments in any MMPORG, that way you don't end up paying for a few months you don't want to play....trust me), and I imagine adding new items wouldn't cure my stance...

good luck all, I look foward to reading the complaints when it goes live :)

[_________________MrM]

ok, I understand what U are saying. How ever, U do have a funy way of seeing things. It all 3 EQ X-pacs they did alow to trade iteams with non X-pac users. How ever, they did not have direct X 8.1 then. In the new X-pac SOL U can still get the iteams, but the skill system, apperance systam and alot more where rewriten, where Pre-X-Pac user could not get. And Ever one Who gets the X-pac will not have such a big advatage as u say. If U read, it will alway to chage profession mid game. This means that u lose all ur programs that U used to have, but at the same time have them when U turn back. If I am a fixer and turn to a doc, I can't use that weapond I just sumond, and now with Over-equip rules, there's no stopin it. In fact pre-x-pac users may have the Up side. If What u ssay is true then the pre-x-pac users will have exploits not yet fixed and cuse SL will get all the work, you can use that exploit long after U report it. All the Over-equiping going on now that has been stoped, have u over equiped now. Well its the same thing, have U bought the X-pac to deni over equipin but alow better iteams. Its like they say, take the good with the bad as long as the good is better then the bad. Sorry for bad gramer and spelling and not being ordered, I just wanted to get it off my chest.

I hope U respond to this, I am think that U gave up figtin. People must look at both sides of the fight and then address both sides, then state what U belive, not say, U wrong deal with it.

Kamakizi Robot will hear both sides then distroy both, offten the best way.

[mrbbad]

Originally posted by Thugdoom
I don't get the problem. What exactly is wrong with expansion. Almost every game of quality (and plenty of games not of any quality) have expansion packs. Whenever significant material is added it is normal for it to be added in an expansion pack.

I only expect Funcom to patch the game for story content, bug fixes, and game-play issues (like the so-called "balance" patches). When they want to add new classes/races, abilities, equipment, functionality for equipment, and areas I don't mind paying a couple of extra bucks for it. I consider that kind of addition to be above and beyond what the $13 a month pays for.

People like you make them more rich and rich and rich, and for what? YOU ALREADY BOUGHT THE GAME, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE NOW? Expansions should be released to draw in new people, not to try and suck more money off old people.

I ain't gunna buy it, that's for damn sure. It's unfair, it's stupid, and I don't need more than what I already have.

[__________Atwight014]

"Oh, this is "MMORPG" game and I'm paying the monthly fee to see some progress in Rubi-Ka. "

Correction, you're actually paying for the massive server fees of keeping all your zones even playable. Progress is a bonus.

I don't see how you can complain, the developers spent a lot of time making this new stuff, mechanics, and such for shadowlands, and now they want you to pay for their work, you know, wages. Yet, somehow, you're complaining that you should get it free. Hmmmmm. Maybe, just maybe, people who pay for first class should get it, but people that don't feel like paying should get first class too! Brilliant plan. Deliciously brilliant.

You paid for for AO. YOU HAVE IT. You have all the zones, items, classes, and server support (that you still need to pay for) that were promised (well, that's debatable at the LAUNCH of AO, but that's another arguement.) Nobody said 'your purchase of AO will also guaruntee 8 years of new stuff, constantly.'


"1 - Totaly new server, the pople will get the pack and enter in the code number for it then have the choise to enter in rubika-1 EXP rubika-2 EXP or german sever EXP and thats it no conversing with the old ppl in the game."

Yes, THAT'LL be cheap. Why not just take the money from the exp pack (known as profit) and set it on fire, instead? Sure, they'll get more off server fees, but long story short it'll probably be the same people playing, so server profits = same, exp profit = burned on a whole new server, which is infact probably hundreds of servers operating together with more required tech support and maintainence. Funcom gain = 0. Another worthy business plan.

[_____________Kasimir]

you people whining about expanions..have you ever played an online game before AO? I'm an EQ vet myself..EQ has had three major expansions since general release, and each one brought new zones playable ONLY if you bought the expansion..items were a different story but anyway...point is every major MMORPG, DAOC the only exception I can think of offhand, has had or plans several expansions.

[Brad, STL/MO]

What seems to me to be missing from more than half of this discussion is a realization of just how tiny the "Shadowlands advantage" is going to be. New armor -- how much you wanna bet it's maybe 1% better than the old stuff, just different looking? Skill specialization - so in one very minor skill per profession, the people who paid extra get 1 more point per charlevel. New items - again, do you really think that having a ShadowLands gun will mean that you automatically "own" anyone who doesn't? It'll probably do something like maybe 10 points more max damage at QL200, big whoop.

So what we're talking about is an awful lot of screaming and crying that people who pay a one-time $13 fee plus sales tax or VAT will acquire the possibility, not the guarantee but the possibility, of being something like maybe 1% or 2% more powerful than people who don't.

As somebody else said already, "oh, boo hoo."

For $13 worth of pizza, I could probably bribe a high level guildmate to camp Nugget for me, and make any nanomage character about 1% more powerful.

For $13 on eBay, I could buy about 2 million credits, and make my character about 1% more powerful. (Or again, get the same benefit out of a buddy with a higher level character for the same amount of pizza.)

Or I can pay Funcom, who is struggling to pay programmers to keep the thing running, $13, and become potentially 1% more powerful that way.

Or I can do none of those things.

Either way, big deal. Luck, skill, and the social skills or connections to get into a powerful guild all matter a lot more in combat than anything I've heard pre-announced for Shadowlands.