Profile: mlambert890
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• • This might seem shallow, but

  • Big +! to this comment and the comments about the game engine.

    People seem to love to rant in a vacuum with absolutely zero perspective.  EQ2 may have limited customization, but whats better?  And in any event, it IS a limitation of the game engine and this is an unavoidable fact of MMOs - they last so long (if they're good) that technology marches on.

    You're supposed to play these games for fun and friendship.  If you're trying to build an alternate life with a "toon" that looks like your vision of a dream hero, you'll probably have to either adjust your expectations or come back to the genre in 20 years.

    So many of the rants you find on forums are really rants about the current state of technology.  It also sucks that we dont have warp drive and a pill that cures cancer, but what can you do.  Either get cracking on making one or deal with it.

  • Posted: 8/12/08 10:17 PM
    Everquest II
• • If this doent get Lufkin fired, nothing will

  • Im sensing lots of self-righteous hypocrisy here.  I can see that Lufkin was hated, but lets not pretend that a REALLY small comment like "rants are for women!" is some huge deal to all of you.

    Its simply not possible for people to be that hypersensitive normally.  If you ARE *that* PC, then you've got some serious issues.

    That comment was a typical macho jab that is very common in any circle that is mainly male.  I think any guy and all women realize that and arent deeply hurt when they read it (unless they need counseling)

    The vast majority of women think that videogames are a pointless bit of stupidity as it is and fully expect guys to generally be juvenille, so lets not pretend this guy is some raging, dangerous, misogynist based on such a silly LITTLE comment.

    The ENDLESS use of "gay" as a pejorative is FAR worse and I dont see anyone getting whipped into that kind of frenzy EVER.

    Of course Im sure if this guy Lufkin did that, there would then be  a frenzy.

    At least just admit that you hate LUFKIN and its not so much what was said but that HE said it.  Or are all of you going to pretend you've NEVER laughed at sophomoric humor in movies, on TV, from comedians, from friends, etc etc.  You really all sit there ENRAGED at Chris Rock, or Harold and Kumar or pretty much ANY OTHER pop culture comedy, eh?  Yah... OK.

    The guy may very well be a jackoff, but its pretty obvious he was going for schtick in that post.  He clearly has embraced the "kick you in the nuts" type internet persona that  SO MANY seem to favor.

    The ONLY thing Ill give you is that its probably not appropriate for an official rep to be, well, human, but I consider that unfortunate really.  EVERY corporate communication is sanitized and analyzed by lawyers and HR departments on the LOOKOUT for BS lawsuits (not out of any *real* sensitivity since there is no *real* harm 99% of the time).  I dont really think society is somehow BETTER for this totalitarian political correctness regime we now live under.

  • Posted: 8/10/08 9:04 PM
    Age of Conan
• • I just want to have fun again!

  • Originally posted by HardwareGuy
    

    It's amazing how much people really don't know the human mind.  Online games are never going to be enough for people for very long.

    The difference between online "mmo-rpg?"  or whatever you want to call it, and normal console games is the fact that you can only put so much dynamic content... the rest has to be static for the next guy to experience the same crap you just did.

    It will never change until developers start hiring people to play NPCs...  or other gamers..  I could be wrong but thats my opinion on it...

    
     

    Completely correct... But most people arent deep thinkers really.  They just know what they know and know what they want and then when they dont get it they go and complain and argue.

    The "problems" with MMOs are completely common sense and anyone should be able to easily see them coming.  Its like screaming that the "problem" with FPS online is that you get shot a lot.  Well yeah, thats the point and there isnt much thats going to change anytime soon. 

    MMOs seem to have an emotional lure for many who, I think, are looking to fill some kind of void.  Other genres dont have this lure and so they dont get as fanatic and angry of a fan base.  Only with MMOs do you see such resentment and bitterness leveled at the devs rather than people just floating away to some other hobby.  People actually stick around to torture themselves and complain because their "dream game" is something they actually *need* for some emotional reason, even if they are unable to recognize this in themselves.

    This also the obvious reason behind so many ranting about how "SOE *ruined* EQ" or what have you.  Ive played all these games from day one as a GAMER (rather than a fanatic) and no one "ruined" anything.  They're all the same crap, have the same lure, offer roughly the same play mechanic and challenges, havent really changed on any fundamental level since inception, and are all pretty fun if you dont overthink it or expect miracles.  No one changed anything or "ruined" anything.

    What ACTUALLY happened is that for some, the first MMO they played was the realization of a DREAM come true for them.  Eventually, however, like all dreams, the reality failed to live up to the expectations.  Its no different, psychologically, then the problem people today have with relationships.  Everyone wants, expects and demands a tailor made version of perfection handed to them because they are special and really really want and "deserve" it.  When reality turns out to fall far short of expectations, they lash out bitterly and unfairly.

    People need to step back and be introspective.  If what you've always dreamed about is jacking your brain into the Matrix or walking into a Star Trek holodeck and leaving your mundane existance behind, you might as well start collecting stamps or something.

    I know people will complain I am being overly harsh or reading too much into it and that all people really want is a game that isnt "theme park" or "care bear" or "cookie cutter" like "all of the crap today", but when pressed for what they want to see, you basically get a description that includes fully dynamic worlds, fully intelligent NPCs, fully living environments, fully and perfectly scaled challenges, fully perfect simulation of real life with no "ladders" or "fedexing", and on top of that, all of this must also make them feel "special" even though 10,000 people are playing.

    If that list matches the list of "all you're asking", then here's a newsflash... That IS ridiculous and IS a big deal and WONT happen.  Essentially you ARE looking for The Matrix (the real one, not the game)

    What technology can do today that can still fit in the confines of a game that has to keep 10,000 people happy and be commercially viable is exactly what it IS doing.  Even if a game company DID hire THOUSANDS of actors to "play" NPCs, the game ENGINE would still need to somehow be able to create endlessly dynamic content, maintain a living timeline, simulate a real ecosystem and somehow keep everyone happy and playing and challenged and entertained without rewarding some too much and without leaving anyone out.  To do that would require basically just simulating an actual world 100%.  It just cant be done.

    If, on the other hand, all you want is a sandbox for player created content, then you dont want an MMO... You want something like NWN.  How can a persistant world possibly accomodate player GMs and not result in a game that thrills some, pisses MANY off and is hugely exploited? 

    When people say they want an MMO where the players have the ability to "steer" the world, they are either talking about the dream MMO that cant exist where you just live a real life (and somehow, EVERYONE gets to be king - wonder how that will work even if the world COULD be simulated???), or they are talking about the NWM style sandbox. 

    There is no "half way" because these issues go to the very foundation of the game mechanic.  Either you can fully simulate a dynamic world, or you cant.  Right now, the devs do ALL that can be done with current technology.  Why do some of you think that no one comes out with the dream game?!  Did it never dawn on you that it just CANT be done?

  • Posted: 8/04/08 2:46 AM
    General Discussion
• • Stargate Worlds: Combat Hands On Preview

  • Originally posted by Stevesan
    

    "Sounds more like mmorpgs are not for you anymore."

    Yes, all those THEMEPARK MMORPGs that are out there and that are incoming are not for me, that is absolutely correct. But that doesnt count for me and MMORPGs in general. I am just so damn tired of the same handfull of features that are in those games nowadays. If u just use your imagination a bit, there could be so many nice things to be tried in an mmo that the list quickly can grow endless.

    All that is done at the moment is to milk licenses. But none of the games that have been released really drove the genre forward. And sorry to throw in Ultima Online again; Compare the featurelist of what u can do in UO and what u can do in any game that came afterwards (exclude AC, Neocron and EVE maybe from that list, and some lowbudget projects), than you must see that all of them were a big step backwards. I am just asking for a step forward, nothing more nothing less. And this process of milking the same concept over and over again will go on  till even the most stupid financial guy found out that its now time to try something new. So you may call me impatient but not  a nay-sayer.
    
    Well we will discuss SGW a few months after launch anyways. I will even press my thumbs for the game, but i doubt that it will be a step forward...

    
    

    
     

    I've been reading comments like this - the whole "nothing new! same old same old! when will we get (insert laundry list of dream features)" - rant, since literally the dawn of MMOs back in the Meridian 59 era.

    Yes, for some people, nothing short of a Star Trek holodeck or the Matrix (not the game, but the actual Matrix) will satisfy them.  Until they can literally remove themselves from their actual life and lead a fully realized virtual one, they will say "not enough"

    Still others seem to really just not like the genre.  Whats "new" in FPS games or fighting games or strategy games?  A genre is a genre.  What COULD be "new" really?  Criticism is easy, but I never see anyone articulate what their grand vision of "new" would be in a way that is remotely realistic in terms of implementation.  Yes, human level intelligence on NPCs and completely dynamic living worlds would be nice, but its 2008, not 2080.

    The other thing is, what some people mean by "new" is most likely just a totally different genre.  Countless times when I have pushed people to articulate WHAT they want to see, they essentially end up describing an RTS, or an FPS, or what have you, but with some level of persistance.  Thing is, the persistance isnt really adding value to those genres and there are already FINE examples of online multi-player flavors of FPS and RTS that one can play.

    I actually work for a developer (not of MMOs, but the comparison applies).  This may be a news flash, but we're not idiots.  We can dream up the same deep future sci-fi scenarios as anyone.  The catch is, we have to actually IMPLEMENT it.  What the web community fails to realize is that 98% of the world population can dream things up.  I know many think thats a skill and makes you a "designer", but it isnt and it doesnt.

    You need to "dream up" something that has SOME chance of realistic implementation and then can be backed by a viable business plan.  So yeah, dream away, but reality is reality and to post the same type of comments EVERY release is really the equivalent of yelling "WHY DONT WE HAVE HOVERCRAFTS THAT RUN ON VACUUM ENERGY!!!" on car forums every time a new model is announced.

  • Posted: 8/01/08 2:32 AM
    General Discussion