Final Game Analysis

As I posted in the off-topic section, I am quitting the game. Before I go, though, I just wanted to post my thoughts on the how the game is done, how it is doing, and what might be improved in the future. So here I go:

I started playing this game on release. June 27th, 2001. Lol, actually, it was more like June 28th. The game had so many people joining at release, that it took me an entire day to just start playing. When I finally did log on, it turned out to be incredibly laggy and buggy. It took me a while to be able to play the game. Heh, to give you an idea of how bad it was: the first time I went in tir, it was like walking through glue. It took me a while to even be able to log off. Also, I remember duping my entire inventory by accident-twice! I still have no idea how that happened.

Fast forward to when I created Tyndareus, about six weeks later. From then on, Tyndareus was the only character I played, aside from a couple of noname level 2 characters that didn't matter. I eventually leveled him up to level 100, had a lot of fun with him, joined a guild (the Crimson Crusaders) and so on. Then I quit the game for 6.5 months, because I was living somewhere where I did not have a net connection on my computer.

Fast forward to August. I started playing again. The game had improved a great deal, and had some new features. I leveled my character up to level 173, got some new stuff, and joined a guild, (AO) Tribulations (AO). I had a lot of fun in the guild.

Now that I've given some background in my character life, I can talk about the game. Like I said, at release, the game was extremely buggy. It should not have been released at that point. Over time, however, most of those bugs were fixed, and the game really shined. Of course there have always been bugs, and of course there have always been problems with balance and design, even up to today, but this happens with every online role-playing game. AO has always been a great game; if it hadn't, I would not have spent so much time playing it. I would like to congratulate Funcom on a job well done. I hope you are able to make the game even better as time progresses.

To make the game better, here are some suggestions I have, as a player:

Before releasing a patch, fix the obvious problems. The recent patch is one example. There were a number of bugs and design flaws that were obvious enough, but were not fixed. I really think you need to focus on fixing bugs and design flaws before you release patches and so forth. On a related note, please take as much time as needed to get Shadowlands working properly. I don't care if it takes until Christmas 2003; ultimately, if you release Shadowlands with many obvious, crippling bugs, the way patches are released, it will be more disastrous than if you had waited to fix them.

Another thing: please make sure that your servers are robust. I admit, my isp where I am at right now is awful. Whenever I have lag and link deaths, and lag deaths, I have trouble figuring out if it is my isp, or my computer, or the servers at Funcom. I really don't know how good the servers at Funcom are, but just please keep them well-serviced and upgraded. You'll make (or keep) a lot of people happy.

Please continue to make the interface more user-friendly. The new character creation, and speech system, was a step in the right direction. Some suggestions: make it to where people can specify the number of a particular item they want to buy in shops, such as bullets and treatment kits. Also, make it to where people can label backpacks. I have wanted to be able to label backpacks since the game started.

Now, here are some things that I think the game has done RIGHT:

It has provided an excellent place for people all over the world to get together. This is the most international game I have ever played; I've talked to people all over the world. Maybe this is because the game was made in Norway, I don't know, but it seems to attract a lot of people that are not from the US. I think this is great! I have a lot of fun talking to people from different countries.

Despite what people say, I think AO has an incredible diversity in its classes. All, and I mean all, of the professions are able to complement each other with their buffs and respective skills, . There are still some problems (most notably in pvp, I suppose, but I really didn't do pvp anyway) but the people at Funcom are on the right track.

IP reset points were a great idea. Every one of the online role playing games has a continuously fluctuating system, so that one skill may be more useful after a particular patch. You have given people a way to both correct their mistakes and change with the flow of the patches.

I really think this game has a story, and one that is character-influenced, despite what people say. I've seen arks, etc a number of times doing story-related things. Also, I enjoy the time that people spend updating things such as TAG and so on. There were also player-related story things such as Dark Carnival and, more recently, the newly-formed Council of Truth (I forgot what their new name was for it.)

Another thing I like about this game is the balance it places on soloing and teaming. Both are quite possible in this game, and both have their advantages, so that if one wants to do one or the other, they can. A person may have to change classes to be able to get the maximum advantage from soloing or teaming (or a combination of both) but overall, Funcom has done very well to make sure that one thing is overwhelmingly more desirable than the other, or that one is overwhelmingly the only option.

The game has a very good world. It really is pretty stunning. For instance, I remember the first time I found Rising Sun...a mesa behind a waterfall? Cool! Another example: one time I flew to the pyramid in BS and took a screenshot of me sitting on the apex. I'm not a photography major, but I liked the effect. It's a pity I couldn't stick around until Shadowlands....I never got to see Jobe, unfortunately, which is really sad. Ah well. I'll look at the screenshots when it comes out.

I might add more to this post later, I don't know..but for now, that is what I can think of to write. Note that this summary I have given of my experiences playing the game is from my perspective only. I expect that people will disagree with me, and that's ok; this is, as I say, from my experience only. I am writing this in the hope that the people at Funcom will get some useful feedback out of it. Also, maybe some players will get something out of it too. Also, I like writing. I think I might be a writer someday.

Anyway...like I said, it's time for me to go back to Earth....for good. I need to go on to do other things, due to real life issues. After all, it's a long way from here to Rubi-ka. Too far to ever go back, I suppose.

As for those who stay, though: have fun! And keep up the good work, Funcom!