Oliver

Hmm, just read the second blog entry on weapons... that makes it sound much better. I just hope there's going to be much more loot in this one, making the decision of what to wield difficult. No more of this changing a weapon every 7 levels, please.

I'm really not sure about the skill system. I was hoping AN would expand the number of slots, but this doesn't really sound like an expansion to me.

Of the ten you get, you can choose what goes in 4 of them. Of that 4, 1 is dedicated to an Elite skill, which you're likely not going to have for a long time. Sure, 5 are for weapons, but if I'm using the same weapons for several hours, this is going to get awfully repetitive. Not only that, GW1 was really light on weapons as loot really wasn't the focus. So we may end up using the same weapon for a huge section of the game, upgrading it as needed.

Am I missing something here? This sounds to me like I'll be stuck using mostly the same skills for a large chunk of the game, and that just doesn't excite me. One thing I like about 'traditional' MMOs is the levelling - which generally gives you a nice new skill to play with. This seems to be the opposite to that.

For me it's all about SWOR. Well, that and Champions. I LOVE sci-fi, but the others are just not quite doing it for me.

JGE - I will definitely try this. I like these games (most notably Freelancer), but probably not enough to sub. I like my little avatars too much for that.

BP - JGE... but all instanced? No thanks.

STO - Meh Online, more like.

FE - Haven't really followed it.

ER - Wasn't very enamored with the gameplay vids I watched, but I'll keep an open mind.

Although most of these look really cool. I think the problem with these will be getting people (like you know, *normal* people) to identify with them. Champions, yeah, people get that - it's comic books. Star Wars and Star Trek, of course - they've seen the movies & tv. But the majority of these have an uphill battle just to get people to have a good reason to *want* to play em. It's a pity, really.

For me, it's the cohesive WORLD that they've created. I like that it's not all about combat - you can just simply do so much more in the game. Maybe today I feel like getting a job. Tomorrow, car racing. Another day, maybe some hunting.

So many MMOs seem to try to make a game a world, but it really just all comes down to the combat. This is the first one that seems to offer more.

I really like the idea of a tiered pricing structure that others have mentioned. I think it would be awesome if it were based on the # of days you logged in per month, not hours. So if you didn't log in at all, you could pay $5 to just keep your sub active. If you logged in less than 7 days, you could pay $8. Less than 15 days, $11. Less than 21, $14. More than 21, $17.

It would be even better if you could buy a 3 month option for say $5. that would pro-rate your logins over that period. This way, if you went hardcore for just a month, it would be averaged over that 3 month period, and still be much less than your typical $15 monthly or $13ish for a 3-month card.

My two cents...

I just thought I'd chime in here as I think I may be different from most. Since this is a site that is only about MMOs and heavily favors (in their own words in this article) the P2P ones, I thought a differing perspective might be in order.

I think the model that succeeds is what is going to stick around; and for the time being, that model is $15/month + retail. Devs build that because they know that if they can get a sub base, they're going to be profitable. However, with the overwhelming success of WoW, I think it's very possible that this being the predominant method of subscription is going to go the way of the dodo. The simple truth is that MMOs are going to continue coming, but without a large enough sub base, they will disappear, eventually. This is how the so-called F2P model began - to try to come up with a new way to win over players, while making money in the process. Make no bones about it - they are free... initially. The lack of depth in the game is made up for with cheap, seemingly inexpensive content.

My background - I played WoW briefly, (2 months) and have tested pretty much every MMO that has offered a trial. I have GW and an expansion, and have logged about 20+ hours into it, before getting bored of the grind. I'm currently playing Rohan and Perfect World International, to see which one I'd prefer to spend a few hours off and on in. Rohan is currently winning, though I believe they're both quite good. Especially since they've so far cost me not a red cent.

I really think a new model needs to arise, imnsho. :) I think MMOs are frankly, kind of boring. I want them to be more than they are - which is why I keep testing them, looking for one that gives me that spark. But the trouble with the payment model is this; once you've gotten pretty far into any of these games, you're paying monthly for what? To run into yet another dungeon with yet another bunch of people who are also glued to their monitors, wearing out the print on their 1-0 keys? That's why I'm leaning towards SOME sort of F2P model at the moment.. for those weeks that I don't feel like/am too tired to spend on an MMO, I don't want to feel guilty about the money I'm spending. But at the same time, when I DO spend time playing, I want to feel interested and excited about doing it. I want it to be FUN.

You know what game I found FUN in the past little while, when testing? Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Crazy, hey? Yeah, it's for kids. But it was fun cause I actually had to CLICK my mouse on things. And I had to time it. Hey, maybe I'd love AoC. Who knows? But they really made me realize that something in gameplay model is crazily broken... I simply don't have enough fun just sitting there occasionaly pressing number keys without actually INTERACTING with the game.. and I sure don't want to pay for that.

Oliver

ps. sorry for the rambling rant..