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SOE Station Pass Reviewed
Geldonyetich, at Grimwell.com, has reviewed the pile of games that makes up the SOE All-Access Station Pass. The pass includes SWG, EQ, EQ2, Planetside, and the "Station" games Tanarus, Infantry, and Cosmic Rift. From the article: "In the interest of having a complete review, I installed and took a good look at each of the individual PC game offerings under the Station Access subscription. I didn't have the necessary broadband PS2 hardware to try out EverQuest Online Adventures nor the Apple hardware to run EverQuest: Macintosh Edition. Just because I didn't include them doesn't mean they aren't part of the subscription plan. Chances are if you're considering the Station Access subscription you are a PC gamer anyway, as otherwise you've only access to one or two of the games."
I doubt that it will increase it tenfold in the slightest, and what mmo realisitically doesn't have forced grouping? There will be solo content after all, so you won't have to always be grouped. Tradeskills can be done with multiple people *but will not always require it*. The original EQ didn't have these "mistakes" you speak of. It wasn't until these creators were gone that EQ became the waste of time and effort it is today. The creators of Vanguard are making a 3rd generation game. They know what worked and what didn't in EQ1, EQ2, and WoW. They have this view that will allow them to create such a strong game that I promise, you will be stunned.
rellix
I'd honestly love to see your proof that he was behind the failure of EQ, or did you forget that the game was at it's peak during the Kunark/Velious era. After Brad left, the game only went downward and is left in it's current status: death.
rellix
Regardless of the reason EQ became so popular, its longevity does not rely solely on the station pass, in fact, the station pass barely effects it. Of the guild I was in before quitting EQ(about a year ago) after 4.5 years, I would say that even today, only about 15% at most use the station pass. People play that game because it's damn good, and while it may be past its prime, it's still a good game. Friendships are made and many things are accomplished. You're right that many people play because of the effort they put in but hell, that's the same with other MMO's too, so you can't single EQ out on that fact. WoW reached 2 million players because it was launched in a different era of gaming. Online gaming was still a new and unexplored environment back in 1999 when EQ was released, and only those that ventured into the area on their own really knew about EQ. The game was under-advertised before it was released and even during the first year or two people had never heard of it. Fast-forward to 2004. Millions upon millions more people have internet connections - many have now upgraded to broadband and computer gaming is becoming "cool" among the younger generation. Half of advertising is word of mouth, and it doesn't surpise me that even with all of their advertisements in the magazines and on websites, WoW, a lot of their subscribers come from recommendations. It also helped that WoW had 3 extremely popular games beforehand - as opposed to EQ's 0. It's obvious to me that you looked in Vanguard's FAQ for reasons to *not* play. Sure, there are a few features that you may personally hate, but there's a hell of a lot more things that you'd love. You don't want to play the game? Fine, but don't concentrate on the negative without considering the positive.
rellix
I played PlanetSide for about 6 months solid before giving up my subscription.
Great idea, and MMO FPS games are definitely an exciting direction to be going in. However notable flaws:
1. Pricing - full price for the game and then a full-price subscription fee? I paid it, but I didn't like it. On top of that, paying another full-price for the expansion to the game? No thanks. That's about the time I quit playing, when the Core Combat expansion was released.
2. There's no victory - You take bases, while losing bases elsewhere. Perpetually. Eventually, highly frustrating. Especially after putting a few months of effort into the game to discover this.
3. System requirements are ridiculous - you actually do need 1Gb of ram to get the game to run acceptably, and even then, you're still going to choke in big firefights
But put all that aside. Sony are playing the Social blackmail game because they hold the keys to some of the best online social dynamics available. Gaming alongside friends and making new ones as you go along is a tight experience. I'll probably subscribe again in future.