I found this on the web somewhere(this is a little part of it)...... what ever happened to AO?
RPGamer's
e3 2001
Coverage
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It's not fair to send die-hard Mac geeks to inspect what may be the best online RPG of the year. Sooner or later, it will result in the phrase "I may just have to buy a PC to play this game."
FunCom has been developing Anarchy Online for nearly five years, and it shows. The programmer that RPGamer spoke with admits that the development team played a great deal of Shadowrun and Rifts, and they've managed to capture the feel of those games in what promises to be the most detailed online RPG world yet. With over 47,000 items and a "mission system" that can be expanded by players and GMs alike, there's plenty to keep even the most addicted gamer busy for the game's 4-year planned run.
Gameplay is fairly standard for an online RPG, though there is a twist that can (sadly) be considered unusual: combat is not necessary to advance in level. Players in Anarchy Online can gain experience in a number of ways, including guard duty, healing, and item retrieval. For the gamer who is less interested in the hack-and-slash aspect of online gaming, this is the title to try.
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In the article they say that the programmers have played Rifts alot and that they captured the feel of that game..... I dont know if any of you have played Rifts but it is a "roll"playing game and is 100 times better than AO. I wish AO was more like Rifts.... its not. AO definately needs to put a Rifts-like combat system and choices, etc in their game though. It also states that combat is not necessary to advance in level...... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. How many of you laugh at that one?... XP from guard duty and healing??????? Where the hell did that go? The game would be alittle better if that was possible. It would be great to guard Tir and get XP for it. I would love to be able to heal a PC or NPC and get experience for it..... What happened to AO and the promises? A game that could be so good... There were probably many other promises left out of the game too. I could go on and on but whats the point?
Rebell
