Envisioned: What AO was and should be.

[-Zagadka-]

http://www.zagadka.net/win3.jpg

That is what I envision.

Can we please, for f*s sake, go back to that? Day 2? When everything was exciting, people hunted and adventured? You could have sporadic meetings with people in the wilderness? You had to fend for yourself? Hunting grounds were bloody beautiful and plentiful?

Holy crap, I miss those days. It would even be worth sporadic disconnects and being stuck in shops.

It was so great before everyone figured out damage calculators and IP configs and started OEing with calculators. Before everyone got Yalms and started doing missions half a planet away. When 95% of the population was still on foot.

Nope, not any more. The outposts are vacant (due partly to spamming around those mini-ops, partly to nerfing the hunting spots like Temple, etc etc), no one travels, everyone goes where they should. THAT is why this game is no longer fun.

[-Zagadka-]

Look, and notice something:

Everyone has different guns and armor. Everyone isn't wearing Decus/Nano coats! OMFG! People are standing around in groups talking! OMFG!

I'm beginning to miss hunting like that. A lot.

[Starboat]

sorry friend ((

[_____________Altaire]

Sad, but true Vrach. I'm with you on that.

I could accept all of those things as they are if we could have our friggin guild housing, territory capture, story & sense of purpose, and social clothing.

I have taken an AO break and only come to the boards to check progress. It just doesn't do anything for me as it stands. It's getting pretty dull.


Altaire

[-Zagadka-]

I finally hit the threshold where I just don't want to do any more missions, and there isn't much else to do to take me away from, say, work. It became a chore. There isn't really anything interesting to do right now... I'm sure the story will pick up at some time, but for now, well, it is just sad. Everyone follows the same formula. I can't tell you how many arguments I've had because I DON'T use a Vektor.

[Hyperion]

Vrach, I read your reply at the "universal banking" thread before this.
This one explains why you call new suggestions

stupid questions about long term game expansion

You prefer to look back instead of ahead, right?

Or have i completely misunderstood you, mate?

[Bionitrous]

Gawd, it's been so long. Is that the outpost North of Tir? In any event that's why I liked AO. I guess I just kinda went with the flow as the game devolved into mission-fest and unique MOB camping.

You DO realize that people were leveling too fast hunting outdoors, so they had to put a halt to it?

Hey, at least AO HAD a Golden Age. Some other games like DAoC and Mimesis were NEVER fun. AO gave me my full 100% money's worth at one time and I hope will again some time in the future.

[____________JLefrere]

I remember those days, rome used to be packed! And people hunted in galway!

[Laeni]

Hmmm, I'd be more sympathetic to you Vrach if you weren't the one flaming anyone who dares to make a suggestion of new content for AO.

Time doesn't stand still sweetie. Things change. You apparently don't like the idea of change. Well change is what a MMORPG is. You don't like it, go play a stand alone game.

[________________Odac]

That picture sure brings back memories.. The days where seeing a Yalm was an event, having to wear night vision because the nights were so dark, conquering the spawn of Temple like people do at Avalon borgs now, and dealing with the nasty spiders that could kill a team in seconds heh.

I love my rose tinted glasses.

[-Zagadka-]

Originally posted by Laeni
Hmmm, I'd be more sympathetic to you Vrach if you weren't the one flaming anyone who dares to make a suggestion of new content for AO.

/me chuckles

I had a bad week. And anyhow, I only flame bad ideas. There is way too much gibberish around here. Someone has to point out the bad, eh.

Hell yea, hunting at Temple, scared ****less when an Ancient Gargantula aggroed. :-)

I don't think that hunting XP is such a big deal now... people level faster in missions than hunting. They also gain a LOT more money in missions. Hell, I remember first running across the Omni outpost in Varmint Woods, and having it be an amazing sight, sneaking around the edges and all. When reet form was cool.

1) Un-nerf hunting. Sure, you should be able to pick up XP, but...

2) Get rid of the extra scanners. There are like 20 in Tir County. It is stupid. Make outposts important hubs.

[-Zagadka-]

Originally posted by Laeni
Time doesn't stand still sweetie. Things change. You apparently don't like the idea of change. Well change is what a MMORPG is. You don't like it, go play a stand alone game.

*lol*

You are gonna defend AO's current state over its old one?

Change, sure. That change didn't need to happen, though.

[________Adolanabantz]

Well I totally agree.... the first few weeks were by far the best. Part of this is of course just do to it being new but I think a lot of it has to do with all the stupid changes.

Remember when there were places to hunt and actually groups of people wandering around in the wilderness?

Bring back Temple! Best hunting spot ever... the terror of the Ancient Garg... fond memories

[________BrontoCowboy]

Combine the technical beefiness of AO as it is now with the culture back at the start... and that would really be something

[_______FeloniousPunk]

This is something though where FC can hardly be called to account. It was the players who came up with the IP configs and damage calculators and ejecting people from teams because they were "dragging down their damage per second." The min-maxing Monty Haul munchkin migrated from Pnp to MMORPGs, sadly.

Me, I go to the crazy out of way spots anyway and avoid BS (and NLC now, god that place is way more lagged than Trade these days). Went hunting blubbags on the banks of the Frisko river - great spot for brave 50s to solo hunt, or lower teams, but no one is ever out there. Or Poole with the Manteze.

I am happy now with my RP guild, we try to work the less traveled spots into our events.

It's funny someone praising the old days though - I remember the hateful, hateful flames on Usenet when the game went live.

[Bionitrous]

This is something that Min-maxing players can hardly be held accountable for. FunCom laid out such an untested world that particular paths and career development choices provided the best rewards by far.

When I go to pick up one of the two bills I see laying on the floor, most people will take the hundred dollar bill rather than the one dollar bill. Can't blame them for that. Can only blame the guy who didn't drop two one dollar bills or two hundred dollar bills.

In the end, it is 100% FunCom's fault for the sorry state of the game. They caved into pressure on so many occasions and nerfed outdoor hunting because people were leveling too fast or the excess MOB's were straining the server CPU's, whatever. It's FunCom's fault that missions are of more play value to a lot of their customers than hunting.

It's FunCom's fault that nobody gives a crap whether they are Omni or Clan. It's FunCom's fault that they don't provide a story to appease some of the mission-dwellers into RP'ing. It's FunCom's fault that they don't provide any proper tools for RP'ers. It's FunCom's fault that there is no proper support for guilds. In the end, I am responsible for everything I create at my job.

In the end, FunCom is 100% responsible for what their game has devolved down to.