The reason I PLAY and subscribe to Anarchy...

[_____________Malakie]

Hi,

I just watched the full Story (animated movie) in entirety for the first time after an all-night download session and I want to express my thoughts in hopes that the team at FunCom reads this....

I play and subscribe to Anarchy Online (and have since day one) for a VERY important reason.. at least to me... The STORY!

I, for one, am sick of the online games that pop up all over the place because they lack the one thing that Anarchy, to date, has... an ACTIVE, intriguing and fun to follow STORY to go WITH the online play.

Games like EQ and UO were fun in the beginning but like many others, I no longer frequent them because of a very big reason.. they are BORING! After you reach a certain level, or heck even if you do not, it gets very boring just walking around hacking at things all the time.. Sure the scenery may change but that is it. Everything basically remains the same... walk around, hack and slay, move to a new area and hack and slay more.

But Anarchy Online has kept my attention, my interest and the intensity for me and all because I feel as if there is actually something I am working/playing/striving for in the game. In a sense, Anarchy IS like a 'real' world that we players can get lost in because it is alive with the story.

If you take away the story then Anarchy will become just like those other games.. boring. And I know that I will loose interest quickly if that happens. Sure I can hack and slay, gain levels, move to a new area, hack and slay some other graphical things and so on... but you know, that just does not do it after a few hours.

I understand that time is an issue and that because of the technical problems in the beginning, things are tight. But I can promise you this (and I am SURE others will agree)..... KEEP the game ALIVE. Keep the story going. Continue to produce the news, the movies, the anims and everything else that goes with the story. We, as players and customers, WANT that more than anything else and that is why MANY of us are here and why we have stuck it out from the beginning.

IF you continue to put as much effort into the story and the supporting things that go with it, not only will we faithful stay on with you far into the future, but THAT in itself will sell more copies and more subscriptions to Anarchy than anything else. Imagine if you were a customer who heard about Anarchy Online today and then two years from now you again hear about Anarchy Online and how a dramatic and flowing story has developed throughout the Rubi-Ka world and how the DEVELOPERS have CONTINUED to fully run the show for their players..... Wouldn't you suddenly sit up and take notice, if not run to the store and immediately wonder why the hell you didn't buy and start this game from day one?

Trust we players. If you stick with it for us, not only will we stick with you but in time you will blow away subscription numbers for all the games online now and later. Players want substance. They want something to do, something to follow, something to get immersed into, something to rally behind and something to thoroughly enjoy like a great novel.

Those that are waiting and watching to see what happens to Anarchy Online now WILL become members of the Anarchy world if they see this world REALLY grow and continue on for the benefit of the players and the community.

I say all of this because I know.. I no longer play UO or Everquest much anymore. Why? Because I am not willing to waste my time going from place to place just to hack and slash another graphic image. I want a living world that I can immerse myself into. I want something to strive toward.

I am not one of those that 'goes' for the 'new' upgrade' or 'land expansion' just because it has 'new graphics' and I can now raise my character above level 50. What makes anything different from my character at level 49 than 59 when in essence other than some new images and graphics, the game is still just running around hacking and slashing over and over and over and over and over......... THIS is the problem with all those other games out there... and right now THAT is what sets those games apart from Anarchy Online.

People/Gamers WILL come to Anarchy Online once they SEE and REALIZE that you, the game, the world, the story and everything involved with it are here to stay. I have a number of friends that are watching my play to see how things go. I can tell you that ALL of them will become active members in Anarchy Online if the world continues. But they are waiting for a bit because the last thing any of them wants is to again get stuck in a world where nothing happens but the same old hack and slash routine. They have been burned once to many times..

Even I am at that point. I decided to take a chance with Anarchy Online because I read about the intriguing world and the story behind the gameplay. But I can also promise you that should things become 'just like other online games' then I too will move on and probably forego playing any other massive-multi player online games in the future. Please do not take that negatively... Keep Rubi-Ka and Anarchy Online ALIVE and active and I will be one of your staunchest and dedicated roleplaying members well into the future.

Sorry for the long winded letter..... I hope Funcom reads this and please do feel free to respond. I would love to hear your thoughts on my comments (and any other players for that matter who agree with me!)

I hope that Anarchy Online remains a game that I personally will continue to WANT to enjoy years in the future.

Take it light!

Malakie
Omni-Tek Soldier
Planet Rubi-Ka

-----------------

Sincerely,
Todd B
ToddB_24@Hotmail.com

*Feel free to respond to my post.. I am interested in the future...

[Naima]

I don't think they're ever going to quit the story, it's too important. It's the anmated series that's going to probably quit, 'cause of costs' cut I guess. So we'll have articles and PDF episodes but just no animation. Well, I really hope they keep the animated series too, maybe sometime in the future (there'se another quite big thread to discuss this), but the continuation of the story was never put in doubt.

[_______________Lubox]

As I talked about in this post: http://forums.anarchy-online.com/sho...?threadid=4562

I think AO is all about hacking, slashing, lvl'ing! AO is not demanding, but it's a great game where you can hunt to get XP, get XP to get better weapons to kill even higher monsters. It goes on and on like this, at least for me.
I want more in-game content, not some cut-scenes downloadable from a webbie. Sure, you can generate missions where you gotta put something into something else to save Tir city from a flood of some sort, but nobody will ever know you did this mission unless you tell them.
AO is easy to play, and, as far as I'm concerned, beginning to become a bit boring. Why? Because I'm not in the story.
Sure, you can make your own story, told by yourself to yourself, as you hack, slash and lvl. But I need to know that what I do has an impact, small or huge, on the story-line or other players. It is not like this now. We have a rolemaster called Funcom, which has 1 huge story to tell it seems, not several smaller.
Funcoms plan was to have a storyline that spans 4 years! No wonder I'm bored, and can't find the story interesting. They're gonna tell a story for 4 darn years!! When I log on today, I need to know that these 3 hours of hacking, slashing and lvl'ing has a meaning, besides getting a lvl.
What is the only thing you can loose in the game? XP. XP is what AO is all about. If you die, you will only loose XP (maybe a little buff or two). So why should I kill omnis (me being clan and all)? So they loose 50000 XP? What's the big deal, they will spend 2 minutes to get them back. I need something in the games that is demanding, that makes me scared of getting killed, that makes me able to really make a difference on a omni scum's gaming experience.
I am gonna cancel my account, but I haven't made up my mind to when I'm gonna do this. Maybe I will in 10 lvls, maybe already today.

I'm not (!) going to play this game for 4 years. LOL, no way. I'm gonna play Sim City which has a meaning; Build a huge city, and take a screenshot.

Snus

[Naima]

that's your personal point of view Snus. And partially I agree. Just partially. It is sure fun to level, get money, better stuff, and level again, and so on.. But the most fascinating thing of AO, which sets it apart from other similar game, is socialization: being in a clan/faction, doing trade, doing politics, participating at meeting, answering for your mates' call when your Home is being attacked by borgs or bios, even if you are in the middle of a lvling treadmill and you know you're surely gonna die (hey, but I won't miss that insurance terminal before heading suicide!), they're all things that add some value to the simple leveling.

The storyline is something that really makes me want to return to the game every day or so, watch the changes, explore new sites....

Exploration is the second big thing of the game: in Sim City you build your city and have a screenshot of it, fine... In AO I make a SS EVERY DAY, sometime it's a little thing, sometime it is a huge new sight, but every day I see something new! I think the difference beteween you and me is not the game we play (that's for sure the same), but the approach we have towards it. I'm more like what marketing guys would call "FunCom's target" of "potential fanbase".

My point is: Suspension of Disbelief. I know they over-used words, but the meaning of it in a game like AO is vital. You are NOT the main character, the Hero of the game. You are one of the many colonists of a Red and Dry planet, they are tens of thousands in a single dimension, it can't be possible fore EVERY one to be part of the events, the story, the politics and the organization... In FC mind I'm sure it was PLANNED that there'd be people like you (most of them), and people like me (a minority). Everybody have their play style.
Now, my point is that we have to suspend disbelief by being dragged on the current of the GREAT story telling from Tornquist & co, without opening our eyes and looking at "realism", "balance", "leveling", "graphic glitches" (well, "game crashes" are out of the list, since it is difficult to take a frozen computer like part of this dream, even for the greatest of the idealists, hehe). I mean, if you test the game 'til its boundaries, and play it a lot, you will sooner or later find many limits that the material aspects of "technology" and "ai" put to the visions of the desingers.

Just "drink" the game slowly, taste carefully the many aspects of it, immerse in the environment, listen to rumors, ACT as a rk colonists, don't play more than 2 hours a day (average, of course). When you want some more, try to apply for the ARK program. Read the book, if you can't afford it or don't want to buy it borrow it from a friend, or make a friend buy it if there aren't any

As a final statement, though (sorry for the lenght of the message ), I would like to show my appreciation to some constructive ranters who help a lot the devs in being focused to the technical problems and gameplay holes: if the players were all like me, the game would remain less than perfect forever, like in the old days when there weren't so many gamedesigner wannabes around (hey, I am one of them too!), and I, as a little child, took every single funny game on my Amiga 500 as state of the art (and bugs for me where only filthy insects)

[______________Icaria]

I think Funcom is slowly accomplishing a worthwhile goal, to have a game environment that has something for everyone. Want to hack and slash and shoot? You've got it! Want to take part in the development of the community? You've got it! Want to meet people and chat and become part of a team or guild? You've got it!

And, you know, like any other part of life we have problems to deal with. That can be enjoyable too, it's all in your outlook.

[Naima]

Hey, this thread is becoming too sweet to FC!

/me waits for CaptFallout to show up and put some fire in again

[Laeni]

Originally posted by Ivan Thely
Hey, this thread is becoming too sweet to FC!

/me waits for CaptFallout to show up and put some fire in again

Either that or he'll start another flame thread. LOL

[______________Icaria]

As I have been out there on the front lines blasting Funcom when I felt it was needed I feel it only fair to state when I feel they are trying to do things right. <chuckle> Recently the support group bent over backwards to help me with a problem that turned out to be MY problem and it was much appreciated.

While not a heavy role player I do see where having a very well rounded "community" will make the game all the more enjoyable for us all. I'm hoping to see the trade skills more utilized and that will happen when they can find ways to have those in the trades gain experience points without having to fight for most of them. And I'm sure that's not going to be easy, I hope all in the trades will feed Funcom ideas on how they could gain experience without needing a Mausser. <smile> Overheard recently was a comment akin to "in many societies you will find that politicians carrying guns is frowned on!"

We need more ideas to Funcom on this, in my humble opinion. We need more ways for players to get involved with the story, the history, the planet of Rubi-Ka.

How about extra experience points for a neutral trader selling an exploding weapon to an Omni thug? <ROFL>