Game Content Still Horribly Lacking, Despite Alleged Storyline

[_____________Virindi]

More than six months after final release we have a game which remains essentially the same as the original Beta version. Apart from the frequent 'firefighting' patches which have ruined gameplay enjoyment for most of us, the only tangible difference between then and now seems to be the so-called "storyline". And, as many of us agree, the storyline sucks ostrich eggs.
Storylines should be built into the actual code of a game, and not just dreamed-of in some personal mind-fantasy where we are expected to ignore critical game flaws and start reading second rate fiction instead. It should not be necessary to buy a book, or download a video clip to experience proper game content.
Asheron's Call, for example, gives monthly patches where seasons change, plots thicken, challenges grow, mountains rise, spells improve and real-time all-player events happen... all in the actual game itself as you play it. But in AO, all we get is a couple of new (and bugged) maze dungeons, and another video clip to watch.
You can't fool all of the people all of the time, Funcom... and you need to put us into your dreams, before you can be in ours. =)

[______________Xombie]

And yet, Asheron's Call still sucks, and this still doesn't belong in this forum.
-Seasons don't need to be changed in this game. The weather changes constantly.
-The storyline started a month ago, and you're comparing it to the monthly patches of a game that's been out for over a year. Be patient, grasshopper.

[_____________Virindi]

This thread is about Future Changes ? Um, I think my post does belong here.
All I want FC to do is forget about books and video clips and start programming some *playable* content into the game. How about guild houses, multi-part quest-missions or even some special clothing for guild officers. How about some free-roaming level 5,000 mobs that can lay waste to entire towns? When can I have a sand mantis hive guardian for a pet ?
FC I dont want a book to read.. just give me a game I can *play*.

[________________Thug]

your troll post belongs here even less than his do, you are NOT a moderator of these forums, so quit trying to play out your moderator fantasies..

[________LucidWarrior]

quit this whole amnesty thing already, Im bored, their should be massive player participation for instance u should be able to turn off suprression gases so say if the a group of say 5 clans wanted to take over Rome they could do it, maybe a mission or something, then all fo a sudden Rome is taken over by the clans. ALl Suppression of, all omni who would have spawned in Rome get routed elsewhere then goes the objective of takin Rome back and perhaps a counterstrike =) i want to see more massive attack i mean cmon this is a massively multiplayer game, i couldnt care less about Eleena Oak

[___________TreeTrunk]

I have to agree that the storyline needs to affect players and their everyday play experiences. I certainly don't want to purchase a book that has nothing to do with my whack-a-mole-ing.

If I were on a small live team coding for AO, I would do two things:

1) immediately nerf over equiping

2) create a mission database system that would assign 'critical missions' to randomly selected factions/clans. These missions would be pass/fail and would result in changes to the storyline, with the news headlines on the web page reflecting the outcome.

Now, if I had more time and a larger development team, I would focus on a mission system that had broader capabilities, like one that would require a clan to hold a piece of ground for X amount of time, and would pit an omni faction against them.

However, I don't think the live team can afford to create this system. Maybe they should hire a few programmers to build additional story game code infrastructure before it is too late. THen again, maybe this is not viable with their current budget.

With a large-enough in-game live team, this might be handled by observing referee event coordinators, and not require code technology. Again, that might involve more people to pay...

[alphane]

>quit this whole amnesty thing already, Im bored, their should be >massive player participation for instance u should be able to >turn off suprression gases so say if the a group of say 5 clans >wnted to take over Rome they could do it, maybe a mission or >smething, then all fo a sudden Rome is taken over by the clans. >Ll Suppression of, all omni who would have spawned in Rome >set routed elsewhere then goes the objective of takin Rome >back and perhaps a counterstrike =) i want to see more >massive attack i mean cmon this is a massively multiplayer >game, i couldnt care less about Eleena Oak

how could you see massive attack in a game that massively lag ?

you're describing what Planetside will be, not AO. its not intended to be but i agree with previous post. i dont like to have to download big mpeg in order to know what the story line is. it seems like if the game had been developped without a story line in mind. and while playing the game i still never seen someone who care about story line. just leveler gamers . i 'm a member of a guild . i would like to see guild management improvement , better communication chat , auction boards, guild bank etc.. item and chat behaviour sucks a lot.

[Szentasha]

There is a very easy solution to this problem. Its not great, but it will get the job done.

ADD ITEMS WITH CUSTOMIZED NAMES / DESCRIPTIONS

Like a piece of paper you can write something on.

The 'story' people are only focusing on the big picture. Thats ok, but it doesn't help the people who want day to day roleplaying experiences on a smaller scale. Why can they not provide this? Because it would require employing too many story creators, and Funcom doesn't have that kind of money (who does?). The solution? Add more roleplaying CONTENT that can be used by average players to create their own roleplaying experiences. Funcom gave us dance clubs, dancing emotes, and a variety of non-armor clothing (thank you!). Using those tools, many groups have been organizing dance competitions and parties. Very fun, but also limiting. Using a customizable object, like a piece of paper that can be writen upon, interested players could create their own content and roleplaying scenarios and take the heat off of the small number of GMs and story creators. This would take advantage of the pent-up creativity of players and at the same time would not affect ballance issues because these objects would have no affect on game mechanics.

Is anybody listening?

I would be happy to discuss this concept with any interested Funcom empolyee.

- Szentisha

[______________Taelyn]

Funcom clearly doesn't understand roleplaying. Roleplaying is not where they tell us a story, its where everyone cooperates to tell a story. Perhaps they're trying to set the mood, but at this point, noone really cares. Nothing has happened in game. I see no differences. And Xombie, before you give me that, "patience, grasshopper" nonsense, a story needs to have a hook to get players into the swing of things quickly, not test their patience to wait months without anything happening.

Additionally, AO's total inability to handle large events is going to be its real downfall. Nothing big can ever happen, since when it does, the server simply crashes. No fun there.

In conclusion, patience is best. Patience until another game comes out.

PS. I have to wonder if Funcom's ever played a real RPG (meaning pen and paper). I can't believe they have.