MMORPGs, The Next Step
How do we work equitable player migration from DAOC to Warhammer?
To Sanya...know that your efforts are appreciated. Think your job must be
as difficult as the secretary of defense: balancing player demands versus
game dynamics and longterm business competitive viability.
So let's address the matter at hand: how much longer will DAOC last, and
what will happen to the die-hard? Trends based on players totals posted to
the Herald (hey, don't have to worry about much lag these days!)
Rather than attempt to resuscitate a dying MMORPG, let's look at the
alternatives from a business perspective. The game SHOULD die,
theoretically, from a cost-benefit perspective. EA cannot support continued
development, and I would hazard a ballpark of 6-9 months before player
totals tank online. WoW is a healthy competitor despite its cartoonish
appearance, and just easier to get immersed in. DAOC feels like old code by
comparison.
What will happen in terms of character transfers if servers are merged?
Expansions like Labyrinth of the Minotaur will revitalize the realms
briefly, but will not attract veteran players back to the game without
fixing a simple and fundamental flaw with the game:
"My level 47 necro just took down Tartaros"
--In Albion, this encounter requires a group of 4, including a necromancer
and a paladin. In Hibernia, 8, including 2 naturalists and buffbots. In
Midgard, you will require 2 full groups.
If you do not create a game that more closely aligns character abilities
across realms, you are left with situations/pvp/encounters where certain
groupings are overwhelmingly powerful. How many times have we been rolled
by a group of ML10 Tiarnas? Everyone remember the 108 deaths at the mid
mile gate, all in about a second? C'mon. Things don't need to be
equal...they need to be equitable.
Prior to our move, let's assume EA has the oomph to push one more expansion
and then migration to whatever the next game would be. EA needs to give a
long lead time on the shutdown date
"8-bit option" (lessons learned): the game needs a truly lo-res option, for
the bandwidth challenged. Players left due to system requirements following
SI and ToA.
Some sort of Mythic-sponsored chat protocol, perhaps for a nominal fee.
Hell, you could include ads, MotD, even music.
Instanced dungeons are great! What a welcome relief and keeps me gaining XP
without getting ganked in WoW by some level 60 dorf pally griefer.
Whence Fafnir? Alfheim? Avalon? The gods, both good and evil? Agnostic
is boring; there is SO much more content that this game could expand to!
Absolute freedom in class development is NOT what appeals to players.
Structured content and classes with a chance to tailor skills and abilities
is more appealing.
However, EVERYONE wants to be able to GROW their character indefinitely;
just make the limitations logarithmic. Yes, the realm rank 15 shadowblade
is going to wtfpwn you 99% of the time...but every now and then, even a noob
is going to be able to overcome him. Reward those for loyalty and
longevity, but do not make them omnipotent.
Give every realm a "bad guy" class--vampire, fey, eaters of the dead. Make
playing them difficult and time-consuming...but ultimately rewarding.
Monks. Learn it, live it, love it. Co-ed naked combat. WHERE ARE THEY?
Fix customer service. When I quit WoW, I was asked intelligent questions
about what they could do to retain me as a customer. When I quit DAOC, I
got "customer service" from Mumbai. F@#$ you!
Proposals to reward customer loyalty / migrate DAOC customers to Warhammer:
--1 month free UO / Warhammer (any other EA game)
How DO you migrate equitably without unbalancing the game in favor of
long-term players? Towels for everyone! Weighted scale/system of rewards
for faithfully supporting Mythic. What weight do you give to the thousands
of hours put in acquiring MLs, CLs, # of toons to level 50, playtime, RRs,
etc?
For the Devs, hire engineers, not liberal arts majors. You need
Implementors who dream, not dreamers who can(NOT) implement.
For the future: Listen to Woody and Ted's parody of what you have become.
Take a lesson or two from Japanese storylines: humanity--nature versus
nurture. Are we gods? How about Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos? Can we not
transcend?
How do you break into a saturated market? QUALITY. You have to prove you
have a better FANTASY than the other guy--better graphics, better sound,
better PLOT, better classes, better environment, better playstyle. Appeal
to the divine in all of us.
"Gift of Valhalla" +20 levels dropped randomly on a character in a
realm--one per day.
Meteor showers that periodically deposits fragments on random mobs of EVERY
level, permitting EVERY level of character the chance to acquire one for
enormous rewards...thereby mitigating the perception of "grind" for
everyone...hey, you could get lucky and avoid some of it!
You have been more interested in kitsch than content (jack o'lantern moons,
april fools day). But if you're going to do it, go all the way--Mayday, All
Souls, Solstices, etc, etc, etc!!
If some of my observations seem a little out there, blame it on my unique
perspective. I am not an industry wonk, just a gamer who would like to see
Warhammer succeed, retain its vision, and set the new standard.
Life's too short to play 2nd-rate games.
Sat Jul 25, 2015 6:36 am
