MMOLRPG Questions.

[Fr8monkey]

Can anyone tell me the thrill of games like Warcraft, Pirates of the Burning Sea or the new Star Trek Online? What is the point of spending $50 on a game (plus expansions)and still have to pay monthly to continue playing it? Can anyone inform a non-believer?

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

The only one I play is Lord of the Rings Online, and I'm fairly certain it's simply because of the setting and LotR-related quests. It's essentially a much prettier World of Warcraft, yet I can't seem to get into WoW at all. Maybe it's the hats...

Spoiler :

If you actually want to try such a game, get Guild Wars. It's close enough to an actual MMORPG, without monthly fees.

Cue PrinceScamp "I hate MMO's in five, four, three..."

 

[GoodGame]

Can anyone tell me the thrill of games like Warcraft, Pirates of the Burning Sea or the new Star Trek Online? What is the point of spending $50 on a game (plus expansions)and still have to pay monthly to continue playing it? Can anyone inform a non-believer?

The thrill of being a sucker!?!!? .

The $50 usually amounts to a free month, plus if you buy into a game early it probably equates to some kind of satisfaction to a MMORPGer. Considering a lot of games are expansion franchises and some games don't get good bug-swatting until the sequels, it's not always a big difference in value of MMO montly fee vs. traditional game. That said, it's amusing that very few games command full retail price a year after their release, and that's usually only through expansion packs.

I say why pay $50 for a brand new game until it's been reviewed. I rarely buy a game on it's initial publish date---usually not until one to four years after it's published and the modding scene seeded.

But really it boils down to gameplay/theme. If you like the gameplay/theme, you'll pay regardless of pay structure.

 

[PhroX]

I've played quite a few MMOs varying from the great (EQ, CoX) through the reasonably good (EQ2, WoW, LotRO, WAR) to the downright awful (VG), and tried a whole bunch of others that I forget.

The argument about the cost is simple - you get far better value for money than most games. Barring rare things like Civ, you might get, say, 20 hours gameplay out of a new game (actually, that's pretty high). I'll probably play an MMO for at least 10 hours a week, for at least several months, and the good ones I'll play for years (I've been playing CoX since the UK release). Yes, I'm paying more for the MMO, but I'm getting way more hours of gameplay per pound. Plus, decent MMO developers (eg Cryptic/Paragon) will provide a constant stream of free content.

 

[Fr8monkey]

I've always wanted to try Burning Seas and the up coming Star Trek; but how much does it cost a month anyway?

 

[GoodGame]

Burning Seas and Age of Conan are practically free. I've seen them for $10 for the installation.

I imagine Star Trek will command a premium for awhile, given the IP. Trekkies would kill for a good PC game.

Back to the OP, I'd say it really boils down to MMOs for subscription are role-playing games, and really that's the only way to keep fresh content. I guess the real question to ask is if your MMORPG is giving you better role-playing content than you'd get from a single player RPG, like one from Bioware.

 

[Maniacal]

I don't hate MMOs. Just most. If they took most of the bad grinding and put in better combat, and if it wasn't a subscription, I'd probably play one or two.

 

[Serutan]

I tried WoW via a friend. What I didn't like was that was nothing to it but doing quests - no story at all. And you spent more time running back and forth to you quest giver/town than you did doing the quest.

 

[Fr8monkey]

Sounds alot like D&D, Serutan... I HATE D&D.

I have the game Sea Dogs which is a lot of fun (at least to me); so I thought Burning Seas would be fun.

I am also a Star Trek geek from waaaaaaay back. I also Have Starfleet command II
which gets repetitive very quickly; but fun if you are an old school SFB board gamer (We're talking OOOOLLLLLLD school here)

 

[GoodGame]

which gets repetitive very quickly; but fun if you are an old school SFB board gamer (We're talking OOOOLLLLLLD school here)

Me too. That edition's too new BTW. I used to have the three big box sets from like the early 80s. But FWIW, SFB is really a divergent Trek universe (I'm sure ya know that if you're a true Trekkie).

 

[Nylan]

Hey, don't be hatin' on D&D

 

[Fr8monkey]

Hey, don't be hatin' on D&D

It's too easy.

 

[Nylan]

It's too easy.

Doesn't that entirely depend on who you're playing with?

 

[Fr8monkey]

No, just the whole concept.

 

[Maniacal]

And mmorpgs are harder... how?

 

[carmen510]

So you're basically saying such games as Runescape and Adventure Quest are harder than D&D?

(Not that they're bad or anything)

 

[GoodGame]

I think he was implying D&D sucks and commenting on it is too easy. Not anything about D&D vs. MMORPGs.

 

[carmen510]

Speaking of which: What the hell is a MMOLRPG?

 

[GoodGame]

Live RPG? :shrugs:

 

[Fr8monkey]

No, it just that it is easy to hate D&D... not that it is easier to play.