So many of you responded to our survey from last Tuesday that SurveyMonkey wants us to pay them money to see more results! Thanks to all of you who filled it out.
The results were interesting. A quick rundown:
- You guys want to watch us stream SWTOR and Skyrim ASAP. You even wrote in Skyrim as a reason why you won’t be playing anything else.
- Console Games interest you and are of growing interest to the majority of our readers.
- The vast majority are not at all interested in DOTA2, which surprised me given how popular MOBAs have become.
Despite the very vocal support for GW2 and very vocal denouncing of SWTOR, the majority of our blog readers are looking forward to SWTOR the most. I think a lot of this has to do with SWTOR coming out in two months. Those who voted “other” voted for Secret World, Archeage, or said that all MMO’s suck.
Now here’s what I thought was most interesting and perhaps most useful.
Prime: Battle for Dominus is being developed by Pitch Black Games. The team holds a developer video chat every other week (next one on Oct. 28). I’ve written about Prime several times here on the blog. It intrigues me that the very large majority have no idea how to categorize Prime. That’s a detail I would want to pin down immediately if I were on the PBG team.
Also, it looks like most of those individuals who could attach a label to the game decided it was about RvR. Fascinating how they chose RvR over PvP. That distinction tells me those who do follow the game are thinking of Prime similar to how DAOC and WAR are viewed with respect to their particular form of faction vs. faction vs. faction struggle.
Regarding Prime, could it be because the majority doesn’t have any interest in the game? Can’t speak for anyone else but I read “scifi” somewhere and there all of my interest in the game went down the drain, so I didn’t even know that it was a MMO 😛
I actually missed the polls, thats what I get for reading your blog primarily through Google Reader I guess ^^
I’d vote for GW2 ofc, SWTOR will prob attract more players than GW2 will, but to me it’s one to pass on.
I agree with Proximo. I voted “No Idea” on the Prime question as a proxy for “couldn’t care less”. I was aware it was a PvP game with an RvR slant, but it has an SF setting and that completely turns me off so I have not been paying any more attention than that.
I’ll put up with fantasy games that wear SF clothes, like WildStar appears to do, but pure SF holds no interest at all.
@Proximo: Prime is a sci-fi MMO being developed on the Hero Engine (same engine SWTOR uses). Prime will feature crafting like SWG, 3-faction PvP akin to DAOC’s RvR, and jetpacks like Tribes.
It looks more promising on paper, in terms of being different/using what has worked well in the past, than any other MMO coming out.
@Bhag: I’m usually against Sci-fi, so I totally understand. Star Wars, Star Trek, and Stargate are my only 3 that I put up with (and Firefly).
I wacthed that whole video with the beta footage, I dident see or hear anything very interesting what so good about this game?
@Rivers: The beta footage isn’t doing Prime any favors. It turned out to be more of a tiny gift to the people who are practically worshiping the game already and wanted to see any footage — any. Those that use the video as a means to judge the game will have tons of ammunition to discredit it.
Disclaimer: This is all “on paper” and I have nothing to go by except for my own practical experience with these mechanics as they have been previously used in other games.
Features that stand out to me as underrepresented in the market that Prime will have:
* DAOC-style 3 faction RvR
* SWG player controlled and open crafting
* Resource manipulation
* Bases to control, destroy, capture from the enemy.
* Darkness Falls style area unlocked for those winning the war
“@Bhag: I’m usually against Sci-fi, so I totally understand. Star Wars, Star Trek, and Stargate are my only 3 that I put up with (and Firefly).”
As someone who loves to read sci fi that’s such a shame. Dune, Cyteen, Foundation, there’s so many wonderful stories you’re missing.
I didn’t know so many people were against Sci-Fi. I don’t understand you guys. You like elves, dwarves and gnomes but not Sci-Fi makes your turn your nose up? Don’t like interstellar travel, pulse rifles and aliens?
Seeing a game with a certain design choice and being instantly turned off is something that boggles my mind. I like good games…fantasy, sci-fi or otherwise. If Prime is a good game, the fact that its Sci-Fi will turn you away from it? What kind of sense does that make?
There is a lot of good Sci-Fi out there to love. Not a lot of good MMOs, unfortunately, but a lot of good games.
I didnt vote but if I would of it would of been heavily in favor of GW2 and then TSW and ArcheAge in those orders. I am too not a fan of sci-fi so Prime holds not intrest for me, regardless of how good the game is. I am a fantasy player for life.
I find it suprising SWToR is so high, I dont know how most people here feel about WoW, Rift or the other themepark games but I will never ever play a themepark in the WoW mold ever again. To me SWToR jsut doesnt differentiate itself from WoW at all.
I didn’t cast a vote either. I would have added a notch to GW2.
We hear plenty about Prime and I do not want you to decrease the amount that you post about Prime, but I would like more coverage on GW2 if there is any to spare.
You must hate that Keen since you dislike SWTOR…I’m surprised you even blog on it. I really enjoy it, as do most of the people that follow you. You say it’s because it’s about to release but I disagree. They want to see more because it’s a very solid game.
@Russel Gusto: Umm, I dislike SWTOR?
@Steeldragoon: I have to become more familiar with the GW2 systems/mechanics/features. I’ve written a lot about the “dynamic content” and don’t want to belabor that point. I do not have anything to talk about, but if I do find something worth commenting on then I’ll definitely jump at the opportunity.
Keen as far as GW2 I could go on and on forever about how “I” believe it will revolutinize the MMO genre, in the same way that WoW did but I’ll stick to jsut a couple talking points. These are my most looked forward to aspect of the game too.
1. NO RAIDING in the WoW sense of the word. I cant stress this enough, that for me raiding, or should I say organized raiding where you have to have dedicated time commitments with lockouts promtes elitism and it is IMO a silly way to play a GAME. game should be fun not work.
2. No holy trinity. Got 5 rangers you want to run with, no problem.
3. The world is alive. No more sitting in capitol cities waiting on your next dungeon queue. GW2 will have instances but the majority of your time will be spent in the open world.
4. Everyone can heal. No more of the “ohh crap I cant solo because I am a healer, or this mob will take me 20 mins to kill because I am a tank. Everone is firts and foremost a DPS and to me it just screams heroic feeling.
5. WvWvW PvP. As an avid supporter of DAoC I cant understand why this one feature wouldnt get you all hyped up.
6. No more asshats. The PvE portion of the world is dedicated for social interaction with all the potential for asshatery being removed.
Now with that being said the only downsides I dont like about the game so far is there is still instanced PvP 🙁 And the Class system, untill more is learned of the trait system I cant help but wonder if the classes will be able to differentiate themselves from the same class, heaven forbid that every warrior or every sorcerer plays hte exact same way.
The majority are voting for SW:TOR because it’s the one coming soon, with a fixed release date. If Arenanet announces that GW2 will be released e.g. January 2012, you’ll see a very different poll result.
@Zederok
“5. WvWvW PvP. As an avid supporter of DAoC I cant understand why this one feature woudlnt get you all hyped up.”
I’ve seen this discussed to compare GW2 with DAoC and I don’t see how the two systems are very similar. Dark Age of Camelot had three separate factions (as in, three different areas of the world with three different sets of classes, races, towns, environments, themes, music, sounds, and abilities). This is not much like how GW2 is approaching their open world PvP. In Guild Wars 2 you won’t have the same sense of enmity that you did in DAoC at all. You’ll fight the same classes and races that you grew up with, and your reasons for fighting (perhaps most importantly of all) are completely arbitrary. You don’t even get to fight them persistently, but will instead be, again, arbitrarily thrown from one set of opponents to another.
The two systems can hardly be compared.
As far as no dedicated healing classes go, a lot of people are really psyched about that, and I can understand that. However, a lot of my enjoyment in an MMO is being a healer, and their decision to remove them actually has me kinda bummed. I’ll still likely try it, since there is no sub, but I can tell you now that if they plan on keeping their wonky WvWvW system, it won’t hold me for much time.
I love League of Legends, but from the DotA2 streaming I saw at Gamescomm (the International tournament they held), it was extremely underwhelming. I really despise the super-carry design where one very fed champ can literally 1v5 your entire team. I also found it brought nothing new or interesting to the table. Finally, there’s no way in hell I have the time to learn 100+ new champions now that I’m a father.
I’ll stick with LoL until it bores me and then move on from MOBAs due to the extremely high learning curve.
I read about Prime right here and immediately checked it out even further. I like it because it isn’t fantasy, it has 3 way PvP action and the SWG like crafting system. If I had to kill one more elf, drawf etc…
I really would like to know the Dev that created the first healer class in a MMO. It had to be because of some lore reason. I’ve played the class but I did not enjoy it as much as any other class out there. People who really enjoy playing a healing class are rare and they are also the ones considered the best healers.
I recall far to many times when we could not do something because we did not have a healer. I also recall leaving one class out or another behind because we needed a specific class to beat the boss. That is why I like GW2 chances. If it is open world enough for my taste I’ll be playing.
Thats what makes gaming so muchg fun. There is a game for all of us.
I’m not so much a fan of scifi mmo, I’d prefer to have elves than aliens. I also watch the beta footage. It wasn’t impressive in my opinion, and nothing to keep me wanting to be informed about the game’s(Prime) progress.
But I’ll still be watching out for SWTOR. It’s just a massive hype, and hope it goes well, and will bring more gamers and help grow mmo gaming!
@jostle
I do understand the apprehension, but I would think as a gamer, and a fantasy MMO gamer at that, you would have no problem ‘suspending disbelief’. I know I wont, I could care less if I am fighting other Norn or Charr. It matters little to me that the enemies I’ll be fighting are the same race as me, as 3+ years of high level Arena in WoW has taught me to not look at the name above the head but the color (red).
I understand the enemies you fight in WvWvW will have the same classes too, but its no different then the last 6+ years of WoW PvP where you faught the same classes.
And does it matter to you that the enemies you fight is persistant or not? I know for me it doesnt, as most liely you will be unable to see their name except a red title like ‘Asura Elementalist’.
I cant help but think your reasons (although semi-valid) are moot, since when was the last time we had a MMO that followed in the tradition of DAoC? WAR tried but their RvR lakes were way to small, and the quality of the gameplay was lacking.
For me would I rather have nothing or something? I pick something, and there are enough similarities in WvWvW to have me hyped for this game.
@Zederok
It’s not about suspending disbelief, it’s about the feeling you get when fighting persistent, alien enemies. In Dark Age of Camelot you spent ages leveling to 50 in a certain kind of environment that was totally different than both your enemies’. This gave you a real sense of “Us vs. Them” that didn’t feel artificial or arbitrary or incidental in any way. What I describe as a sense of enmity others describe as a sense of “realm pride.” They’re pretty much the same, and if you think about what made DAoC great, it was this sense of realm pride in tandem with the overall community, of the game and of your server. So yes, persistent enemies are important. When you go pale seeing that awesome guild start to flank you because you know them and how awesome they are, that’s important.
World of Warcraft PvP being lame doesn’t have anything to do with PvP being “allowed” to be that way forever more now. I didn’t play WoW long because I am such an antagonist of WoW-style BGs and Arenas. I’d much rather have rivals and allies that I enjoy based on a lot of time spent fighting with and against the same people for a reason other than red=dead. To me, that gets boring very quickly without a social aspect to it.
I agree that we haven’t seen a decent “DAoC” style MMO in a long time, and before I heard of another upcoming game, I was convinced I would have to reluctantly try to emulate my DAoC feelings in GW2 with a sub-par PvP system. It’s better than nothing, but I’m not going to fool myself into thinking that it will work for me on the same level that Dark Age did. If you’re totally cool with just PvPing cause that’s just who happens to be your enemy at the time, then you should love it. For me, the social and atmospheric aspects of Dark Age of Camelot can’t be ignored in importance of my PvP experience, and my longevity in the game.
@Keen: Thanks for the quick bulletlist, sadly even with some interesting features on paper, the game doesn’t interest me due to the SciFi setting, as I’ll describe further in my reply below.
@Bartlebe: I’ve nothing against SciFi really, I LOVE series like Firefly and BS:G, movies like 5th Element and I used to watch Babylon 5 regularly.
It’s just that in terms of my MMOs playing in such worlds just doesn’t do it for me for some reason. I want medieval, I want knights in shining armor, I want sword and board meets fragile fireslinging mages. I love medieval movies and series even more than SciFi ones, and my time ingame is limited as it is so fantasy/medieval wins my time every time.
Also SWTOR doesn’t interest me because it fails on 3 major things for me;
SciFi game, again.
Star Wars game, I used to love the movies, now I’ve grown a bit sick of the concept.
Bioware, not one of their games has held my attention enough to not fall asleep while playing them (true fact, I gave up on them cos I fell asleep every time I tried playing).
Clarifications please:
@Keen: You reference a “Darkness Falls style area”. I never played DF and even after Wikipedia’ing it I still am unsure what specifically this would mean in the context of Prime.
Could you elaborate?
@Zedorak: “No more asshats. The PvE portion of the world is dedicated for social interaction with all the potential for asshatery being removed.”
Can you provide specific examples on game mechanic behind how this will work?
@Gankatron:
Darkness Falls was a dungeon/area in Dark Age of Camelot that was accessible by portal. Only one realm (faction, there were three) controlled or owned the zone at a time and they did so by owning the most keeps (bases).
When another realm became the majority owner of keeps, Darkness Falls transferred to that realm’s ownership and the portal in that realm would activate and players could start pouring in. Players from all three factions could potentially be in Darkness Falls at the same time — it’s up to the new owners to “purge” or clear out the previous occupants.
Darkness Falls offered leveling opportunities from levels 10-50 and had unique tokens that would drop from monsters. The harder the monster, from a solo-able kill up to a boss that took 50 people to kill, the better the tokens. These tokens purchased nice gear.
Thus there was incentive to own Darkness Falls.
1) By owning Darkness Falls you own the most Keeps; in other words, you are winning the PvP fight.
2) Access to guaranteed great PvE. The experience in here was really great.
3) Tokens which means loot.
It had a very big impact on PvP since it gave even the PvE’ers a reason to get out into the frontier and help their realm take keeps. It kept PvP active, PvE active, and your realm was more of a community working together because of it.
@Keen – Great explanation of DF! Now if only some game designer read it, understood it, and re-implemented it. 🙂
Thanks, DF sounds like it was great fun, hopefully we will see it again in some form!
@Gankatron: I’ll try to answer your question to Zedorak;
ArenaNet has been trying to put systems in place to make sure that other players can’t grief you, in fact, they’ve stated something in the lines of “MMO’s are social games, seeing another player should NEVER be a bad thing” (I’d be up for discussing if that is true in PvP as well :P).
So from what I’ve gathered so far, here are some of the things they have put in the game to make sure you can’t be griefed;
No mob tagging, if you do damage to a mob, you get XP, if someone else comes along and helps you kill your mob, you both get XP (even if not grouped), there’s no XP penalty for killing the same mob, you both get the full XP worth of a kill (there’s prob a threshold, say u need to do at least 20% of the dmg to the mob or so). The same is true for loot, loot drops for both.
You get XP for rezzing other players, saving them a walk back to where they where at.
Resource nodes are “phased/instanced” for the player. If you see a copper node, you can have it, noone can run and mine it while you are stuck fighting the mobs who where “guarding it”. They might see a node there as well, they might go mine it, but yours is still there for you to mine when they are done.
Some intelligence in the scaling of their dynamic events. Events will scale to the amount of players participating, but what happens if 10 people enter the zone and hits the boss twice to scale it up, then just stands there doing nothing (trying to make the encounter harder for you). Scaling will constantly be monitoring players in the vicinity to make sure they are actually contributing towards the event, if they are not, they ain’t counted towards the scaling of the difficulty.
Lengthy answer…
I’m gonna dig up a URL to a panel from GDC 09 or 10, in which ArenaNet spoke a lot about these features and a lot about how they have been approaching system design with GW2, it’s a awesome video imo because it tells so much without being pure marketing fluff.
One more thing they mention in that video, is that they are constantly playing their own game, going into content and thinking; “If I wanted to grief anyone here, how would I go about it”, to see if they have been missing something. That said, I know griefers are some of the most inventive people out there so I’m sure someone will find a way to grief others in GW2 as well 😛
@Steeldragon, Gankatron
Prime is using a dungeon similar to DF called Mt Dominus in the heart of the biggest PvP map (planet Dominus).
There’s so many cool design features that part of Prime, which is why it looks so damn good on paper.
Here’s the video I mentioned;
http://gdcvault.com/play/1013691/Designing-Guild-Wars-2-Dynamic
I’ve linked it twice before in comments here, and I’ll prob link it again 😛
I just think its a great movie and too few have taken the time to watch it, hell I’ve watched it all myself twice or three times already. 😛
Thanks Proximo, that is one of the most promising video that I have ever seen for a product in development. This video deserves a thread of its own due to all of the topics broached. It may actually live up to the term revolutionary, or at least a leap in evolution. There are many topics that I could elaborate on, but the scaling down of higher level players in world events is important to keep lower level zones vital long after launch.
SWTOR will be fun, but standard MMO fare with strong RPG elements, I wonder how long I will remain subbed; I can envision remaining interested in both GW2 and Prime for a long time.
Glad you liked it. 🙂