503 sweaty men in a cave (MMOs).

[Rowne]

Oh look, Rowne's created a topic!  This doesn't happen all that often, does it?  Sorry about the topic title too, I wasn't feeling particularly creative, perhaps a little bit controversial but not creative.

Anyway, I've seen EVE mentioned so I figured I'd post and ask what everyone's playing in the field of the online RPG.

I'm also going to ask what everyone's looking forward to on the horizon.

Until recently, I was playing City of Villains which has consumed a large part of my time but I felt like trying something different.  So I'm now playing Everquest II (currently on the Lucan D'Lere RP server).  I like that game lots.  After all, it has some of the most genuinely funny quests I've ever seen.

Oh and it has a Gnollish Godfather who's the head of an underground criminal organization.  He's named Fippy.  Any Everquest I fans should recognize that name.  That's just awesome, I'm sorry but it is.  I wish they'd had more quests.  I'd more eagerly work for said organization than the Qeynos Guard, that's for sure.

As for what I'm looking forward to, I was interested in Vanguard but I'm getting worried that it's going to be very generic and bland.  I'm still following it but I don't have as much interest as I did.

What I'm really fascinated by (as a big fan of PSO), is Phantasy Star Universe.  It looks to have great races, beautiful locations and most importantly, drivable vehicles that don't suck.  Such a thing is rare, Half-Life II rare.

So that's my info added then, what of the rest of you?

[Malakin]

The only MMO i have been into recently is a game called Planetside, Its an MMO-FPS (not RPG) and the only one of its kind..

{Edit: oh god i sound like I'm selling something... well i guess i am  if you are intrested in an MMOFPS then look up the planetside free trial on google, or just use this link http://planetside.station.sony.com/reserves/

and if you want to read my rant about it continue on below:

You fight as one of 3 empires over 10 interconnected maps that are on average (i think) 8*8KM2 some are larger than this and some are smaller.. Anyway, these maps (continents) have a series of bases and towers, each with their own benefits and design. The goal of course is to capture as many of the bases and continents as possible by the end of the day..

To help you kill the opponent there is a large variety of weapons and vehicles (this is a full FPS no RP stats changing damage or anything), fighters, bombers, tanks, apc's, quad bikes, (and more) are fully available to use, each with empire specific versions and common pool' variants.. but the combat does not begin and end with tanks and aircraft, the infantry also have a wide variety of guns and armours to use.. everything from assultrifles to assult shotguns and mini-chainguns, Agile exosuits to the impressive MAX-suits, grenade launchers (with a variety of grenades) to anti-tank RPGs and plasmaguns.. All this available to a massive 366 players per Continent..

It is also all PvP, and has very good support for clans (outfits) with the ability to create onthefly 10 man squads and put them together to get 30 man platoons (great for outfit coordination)... There are also dedicated command channels for the CR1-5 players and dedicated squad platoon outfit and Continental channels to help with the over all organisation...

all this and more

[thosdsuthainn]

Pretty much the only true MMORPG I've ever played is Guild Wars... (Woohoo for being to cheap to pay for anything with a monthly subscription fee!) ... Though I haven't been playing it for the last couple of months.

As for the future... Phantasy Star Universe looks good, but again, I'm too cheap/broke to pay monthly fees, so I'm probably not going to get it.

[Nikki]

I'm hooked on Runescape ;-;

[Rowne]

I could actually play PlanetSide, Mal.  I have Station Access [in preperation for Vanguard] and PlanetSide is amongst the Access games.  It's just that I don't do so well in PvP.  Not because I'm bad at it, au contraire.  No, it's because I have a guilty concience the size of a very large natural satellite and I tend to think too much about how my victims would feel.  So what're the PvP losses like?  I'd feel absolutely awful whilst running and gunning if I was dealing out setbacks.

So yes, I'm like that.  Bloody carebears.  My heart just wouldn't be in it.  It'd be less than half-arsed I expect.

That's why I usually hang around PvE games and why I wasn't in World of Warcraft for too long.

As for Guild Wars, I have both that and Factions.  Not really an MMO though, more of a multiplayer RPG with a huge lobby, much like PSO was and Phantasy Star Universe looks to be.  And much like Neverwinter Nights, except in that case the lobby was outside the game but the ideal holds true.  Those were all very good games though.  I got as much as I could out of the PvE content and I go back every now and then to watch.  I love being able to watch PvP in Guild Wars, I'm really strange like that.  Some teams are really good sports and Guild Wars comes over more like ... well, a game of football than the nonsense of Warcraft.  If that makes sense?  It's very civilized.

So yeah, I like Guild Wars and I'll buy anything released by ArenaNET just to support their development model (not having to pay to play rocks) and to continue to watch PvP games like a good game of footy with popcorn in hand.  I can't say that I actively play them, though.

As for Runescape, I've never tried it.  It seems to be a serious MMO but I couldn't see whether it has crafting or not.  Does it have crafting?  I'm crafting obsessed, especially if there's player housing involved.

[Nikki]

Crafting...yes..i think...

[Arcalane]

I could actually play PlanetSide, Mal.  I have Station Access [in preperation for Vanguard] and PlanetSide is amongst the Access games.  It's just that I don't do so well in PvP.  Not because I'm bad at it, au contraire.  No, it's because I have a guilty concience the size of a very large natural satellite and I tend to think too much about how my victims would feel.  So what're the PvP losses like?  I'd feel absolutely awful whilst running and gunning if I was dealing out setbacks.

So yes, I'm like that.  Bloody carebears.  My heart just wouldn't be in it.  It'd be less than half-arsed I expect.

You can still play Planetside and get XP, etc. - even without getting stuck in. You could devote 100% of your Certification Points to skills like Engineering, Medical and other support options like Dropship Pilot, APC Driver and whatnot. It's a bit harder to play support, but hey, it can be done! I used to do it when I still had my old GFX card which had trouble with major combat.

I play PlanetSide aaaand.. Auto Assault. Vehicular Mayhem ftw. I have a BioMek Terminator. He drives a tank. This tank has a Gatling Gun. It is fun.

[Malakin]

EDIT:darn you sheridan! that will teach me to get drinks /dehydration


Well, the most the other person can lose in planetside is about 30 seconds of their time as they respawn, and if PvPing is still not your thing, then you could even be a full support player..

There are several roles that are vital to any army in planetside, these include combatmedic (can heal and revive people)/engineer(can repair the armour of tanks and people), AMS driver (its a mobile respawn point), APC driver/dropship pilot (helps get people around )..

You will find in the large battles that support players are ALLWAYS needed, infact there might be too much for you to do (which is a good indicator you are losing )..

But as i have said, its mainly an FPS.. You die, you respawn or get revived by a medic you don't lose out on anything.. So combat is not so bad on your conscience.. Whats more is that if you get involved with a really organised outfit who do black-ops (think SAS, commando type work)   type work a dedicated support player with only minor weaponry could be very very usefull.

[Arcalane]

Oh, and just because that SMG looks piddly, doesn't mean it is. It's actually quite accurate.

[Rowne]

Hm, the PvP sounds interesting. In most MMOs I've seen, there's usually heavy losses for losing.  With Guild Wars there isn't but I had more fun watching than I did playing because in Guild Wars, one still had to fulfil a basic combat role, even in support.

I like the idea of medics, personally, it reminds me of stuff like Team Fortress and things like that, where the primary goal was to run around and jab people with a needle, either to poison them (which I did little of) or to heal one's fellow players.

Suffice it to say, I've quite enjoyed class-based FPS games over the years.  The thing with PlanetSide and the thing that kept me away is I didn't know how much FPS it was exactly and how much MMO.  My first FPS foray into the land of MMOs was Neocron and early on I tossed myself into the PvP zone there to see what the losses were like, awarding someone a free kill.  The losses in Neocron, at least in the beta, were nasty.

So I quit playing that.

PlanetSide sounds to be something different, as much on the side of the FPS as Neocron was on the side of the MMO.  I'll definitely give it a look, poke it, try it out and see what I think.

[Malakin]

Dont expect to kill or do anything other than die for the first few sessions, unless you were like born to play planetside It has a steep learning curve!
Situational awearness is one of the most important skills you will need to learn, oh and if you dont know where to look to find the opponent then run away or find cover

Do tell what server and team you chose i might just join ya if you dont mind

[Arcalane]

Hm, the PvP sounds interesting. In most MMOs I've seen, there's usually heavy losses for losing.  With Guild Wars there isn't but I had more fun watching than I did playing because in Guild Wars, one still had to fulfil a basic combat role, even in support.

The worst you can get is an increased respawn time, and even then that caps out at about +15 seconds. (this is quite high (20-35seconds depending on facility bonuses), enough to beat sense into most. But not all. )

[CutMan]

Some of those I've never even heard of. However, I'm playing Runescape for anyone that's interested. There are skills other than just fighting to help you make money. Such skills include:

Construction, Crafting, Cooking, Fishing, Herblore, Woodcutting, Smithing, Thieving, Mining, and a few other things that aren't too important. I mean, the game is fun and all, but the few flaws it has are massively exploited. Regardless, I play it and have fun killing other players (refered to as PKing).

Welp, that's the online game I play. There's another one, but I'm keeping that a secret until the time is right. Later, guys!

[Rowne]

I might give Runescape a look too then if it has a PvE server.  Especially if the crafting and gathering skills are fun.  I can spend hours sitting around and doing things like fishing.  It's never been as fun as those halycon days in Ultima Online I admit because people just don't sit around and fish much anymore (which is a damn shame, though it's mostly due to how nodes work as opposed to being able to harvest anywhere a la UO) but I still do it because I'm ... well, me and any game in which I don't spend ages fishing is a game that simply doesn't appeal to my personal tastes.

This is likely why I play Animal Crossing: Wild World so much.  *Cough.*

----

Rowne: Nook!  I bring you fish!  I have many very large and smelly fish.  No bugs, items or rare bones for you.  No, you only get the best of my hard earned FISH!
Nook: Oh Gods, not again.

[Kio]

I know a couple f good MMORPG's.

Gunz Online
Conquer Online
Maplestory
Battelfield2 Ithink
Goonzu (I think that's what it is called) (It's not good but addictive)
And more MMORPG's I can't remember

[Arcalane]

I know a couple f good MMORPG's.

Gunz Online
Conquer Online
Maplestory
Battelfield2 Ithink
Goonzu (I think that's what it is called) (It's not good but addictive)
And more MMORPG's I can't remember

BF2 is not technically an MMORPG I wouldn't say, apart from the rank aspects that allow you to unlock more options. But it's servers cap out at around 64ish I think whereas most MMOs have persistant worlds that only change by player interaction. I guess you could use that logic to say Gunz wasn't an MMO either, but eh.

[Rowne]

I don't mind online experiences being listed here so much though, at least if they're good ones.  After all, Neverwinter Nights resulted in some of the best times spent gaming I've ever had and some of the best memories of the internet that I have.  It wasn't an MMO, just a multiplayer RPG but it was good times, really good times.

I got into a session which was a piratey RPG once (X Marks the Spots) with Stephen Gagne (Gagne is a diety) heading up the helm, that was some of the most worthwhile roleplaying I've ever experienced.

I'll never forget the best moment of that, too ...

Okay, in a Discworld-like Universe, you have clockwork-golems guarding the entrance to an early fantasy mass-manufacturer.  You want to get in to see their CEO.  What's the best way to do it?

Rowne: We're stinking rich foreign investors, we have large bags of money which we wish to plunge into this place.  We wish to buy your shares and fund your company's endeavours.  We're big fans and we're foolish with our money.
Clockwork Golem: *Whurr.* You wish to *Cliktbeep.* invest in this company?
Rowne: Oh yes, we have lots of money and we'd like to sign a very beneficial agreement with your boss to become shareholders in this fine company.  He'd be a fool to miss an offer like this one, we're all multi, multi-billionaires you see ...

Apparently, the end result of this is that we skipped a portion of the mod where we'd have to run through a dungeon killing things.  I was proud of myself.  :p

[Silverfoxr]

There is a  new online game coming out tomorrow in beta that i am gonna be trying out
its called trickester and its bascially a scalled down verison of Raganrock online but the differance being that all the characters are animals (see what attracted me to it
http://www.tricksteronline.com/

yes its korean

[Paladin Sheppard]

Alrighty my turn. Heres my list of MMOs that I've played:

Anarchy Online
Dark Age of Camalot
Starwars Galaxys
Planetside
EVE Online
Matrix Online

I'm currently Playing World of Warcraft (and eagerly awaiting the exp pack The Burning Crusade).
One that is in deveolpment that I'm interested in is one called Huxley (MMOFPS) looks interesting to say the least.

[Nikki]

Is Gaiaonline considered a MMORPG?

[Rowne]

That looks interesting Silver, a lot of style there.  I'll definitely give it a look.  I wish some of the Western efforts had style like that.  Some of the existing and upcoming MMOs out there look more like a Nickelodeon show than anything else.  I suppose that's why I'm drawn to Phantasy Star Universe of the upcoming available MMOs.

I did spend a while in Ragnarok Online so I might enjoy this.  Sometimes I find the capitalistic nature of their games (the way they're grind and item driven) a bit insufferable but aside from that, I've found both RO and the Lineage games to have quite, quite enjoyable elements to them.  Same goes for FF IX actually, had a great playerbase, that one.

---- Edit

I'd say it's more of a massively multiplayer web-based collect-'em-up, actually Xze.  It's not bad though, I played it for a little while, they could use more minigames but I liked their avatars.

You know, this reminds me ...

I'm absolutely stunned that nobody's mentioned Puzzle Pirates, since you folks seem to gravitate towards that kind of game.  I play that one on and off.  Occasionally I poke the icon on my desktop to head in and do some puzzling.  Besides, it gives me the oppurtunity to shamelessly yell "YARRRR!" at people and that can't be a bad thing.  Can it?

(Oh and I should likely add for the amusement of all that when I first read Xze's post, I read it as "Is Gasoline an MMORPG?".  Bloody worthless sight.  I swear, I do more double-takes at what I thought I'd read than what I actually do read.)

---- The Edit wot Says I Need to Stop Editing Posts

I have to add that I love the Ghostbusters avatars and signatures I see around here.  I still have a great deal of love for that show.

Yesterday, I searched around Google Video and Youtube and I found a whole bunch of Sam and Max episodes (honest!), today I'm tempted to poke those sites for old Ghostbusters episodes.

[Malakin]

sam and max episodes?! brb!

[Rowne]

* Rowne laughs heartily.

That was pretty much my reaction.  I spent a good few hours watching every last one that I could find.  There's more on Google Video though, quite a bit more.  Actually, they tend to be good resources for cartoons.  Youtube even has Bananaman episodes, which stunned me when I thought to look after the recent banana-obsession elsewhere.

[Malakin]

lol banana man I remember that... what a weird idea D:

when he eats a banana he turns into something like superman but smellier...

[Rowne]

Weird that I remembered it or that the idea is weird?  It was weird that I recalled that though in reference to the 'Pyro is a banana!' thread/comic.  So, welcome to my mind.

As for the actual cartoon being weird, it really was.  The first episode is up on Youtube and you should watch it to see the kinds of things that I was watching as a kid.  It goes a little way to explain why I'm so eccentric these days.

---- Edit

Bananaman is so much better as a superhero than Superman!  He doesn't have any Kryptonian weaknesses.

... I can't believe I just said that.  Nostalgia wins the day over rationality it seems, still, I stand by wot I said.

Besides, Supes doesn't have the prerequisite amount of corn and cheese that I require to enjoy my diet of entertainment.

Also: We're totally derailing this thread.

[Rowne]

I have Trickster, Silver and it's supposed to have opened today but I can't get it to do anything, strangely enough.  On starting the game from the launcher, I just get a slightly corrupted startup screen with music playing, the cursor changes as I move it around as if there were an interface there but I can't interact with that interface (not to mention it's invisible).

If they get those problems sorted out, I'll definitely try it out.

[CutMan]

I'm sure some of you guys have to remember "Freakazoid!" It was one of my personal favorites. It's a shame that the WB doesn't make cool cartoons like that anymore. There's a load of videos for it on YouTube as well. So dang funny.

On another note, MapleStory isn't half bad. I just wish you didn't have to pay for every last thing you want to make your character look cooler. I do like some of the customization options, though. They look sweet.

[Arcalane]

On another note, do you have[/i] to post in orange? It's hard to read on some of the other schemes.

[CutMan]

On another note, do you have[/i] to post in orange? It's hard to read on some of the other schemes.

Sorry, buddy. It's a necessity. It looks fine to me. The background is black, and the text is orange. It's a complete stand-out.

[Rowne]

Ah, it seems like the Trickster issues will be resolved, yay!  Surprisingly, I'm eager to try this one now, since I did like RO and I love the screenshots.