ARG!! I just read your latest Gamespin, Mark, and I had to scream.

Most of the issues you address as being fixed in DAoC (over EQ) were never issues in AC to begin with.

"Better yet, if you do have to sit to rest, which usually takes less than a minute, you don't have to stare at a spellbook like the magic users in EverQuest. In Dark Age you can rotate the camera view even."

Let's see... AC's camera system, fully rotatable and you can soom in or out at will. And between mana elixers and even just plain lying down, recharging after a battle doesn't take more than a minute or two.

"In Dark Age Mythic immediately responded to complaints from players having a hard time finding their way in the game world by adding a compass to the onscreen display. "

AC's had a compass and coordinate system since Day 1.

"In EverQuest if you are a magic user and your character dies, you have to memorize spells again, and each one takes several seconds to memorize. It's a pointless waste of time. In Dark Age you are reincarnated (or whatever these games call it) with your spells ready to go."

AC merely requires that you know the spell and have the skill and components for it. Different, yes, but once you learn them, you're golden. Granted, AC has a much more complicated spell system, but half the joy is learning that new spell that no-one else has.

I'm not really that ticked off at you, Mark. It just bothers me when I see these features listed as ground-breaking and new, when they've been part and parcel of a game I've been playing for 2 years now. Ah well. To each his own.

Asheron's Call? Ppl still play that game? Jeez...........

The difference, apparently, is that DAOC is fun, while AC is boring for most people who try it.

Come to Asheron's Call and be attacked by flying pillows!

Hehe, honestly though, I've never tried the game. I was neck deep in EQ, and loving it, when AC was released. After that, the bad press just kept me away. Any developer who has a publicly stated policy of "yeah, there are bugs, but screw you if you want them fixed" and "sure, people cheat, but we're not going to stop them" just loses way too many points in my book.

The way I read the article, it was a straight EQ to DAoC comparison, not a global features-list rundown, so in that context the lack of mention of AC and UO didn't surprise me. Implied thesis statement: "DAoC is like EverQuest, but different, and here's why it's EQ Minus The Suck."

At least that's what I got out of it. Nice article, Mark.

By Jim Frazer
"Any developer who has a publicly stated policy of "yeah, there are bugs, but screw you if you want them fixed" and "sure, people cheat, but we're not going to stop them" just loses way too many points in my book. "

Huh? Since when has Turbine said that? They're much better at tech support than what I've heard from the other camps. Every monthly update was a major bug fix. Sure, new bugs would crop up due to some of the new content, but they've always done a great job of squishing most, if not all of them. And as far as the cheaters go, they put in an anti-gear patch a little while ago and have been pretty vigilant about cracking down on any wide-spread abuses.

I wasn't trying to say that the article was bad. And I know it was a direct DAoC/EQ comparison. I just found it odd that pretty much every complaint that was fixed in DAoC from EQ was something already present in AC.

I think a big problem a lot of people have with AC is the fact that it is a non-tolkeinesque fantasy (ie. no dragons or elves)... that can be a little too much outside the comfort level of some people. I happen to like the non-standard setting myself.

Spigot:
"And as far as the cheaters go, they put in an anti-gear patch a little while ago and have been pretty vigilant about cracking down on any wide-spread abuses."

Disclaimer: I love AC. Played it since beta0, cancelled/sold in June, and now I'm back.

Vigilant on cracking down on abuses? Okay. Let's look:

* Server crashing dupe exploit. Took four months. No bans.

* GEAR exploit on Darktide. In place for at least six months. Took three months to fix. No bans.

* Training hall macro in place for three months, until folks started posting screenshots of newb characters summoning portals in the training hall. No bans.

* Mana pool macro in place for two, maybe three months, until the outcry from allegiances finding it impossible to hold meetings in, of all places, the allegiance halls demanded some sort of response. No bans.

* Macro abuse... still occurs. Steps are being taken, but far too slowly, and combat macros are currently a-okay. No bans.

* Platinum scarab exploit in place for a month and a half that I know of personally. Knowledge got out, servers came down, 2-day rollback. Any bans? No.

And these are just off the top of my head. I wouldn't call this "vigilant" under even the loosest definition of the term, myself... and the reason I cancelled and sold my account in June was due to combat macroers perched in the Acid Vault. The lag and the disruption was insane, and I simply reached my limit there. (To be fair, they've since made the perches... not solid (can't think of the word), but it took 'em almost six months.)

The big problem people have had--and continue to have--with AC is that the player models and textures are not as intricate or detailed as those of competitors. Petty, but there it is. The milieu hurts 'em too, as does the unrestricted gameplay (newbs have to make a lot of choices, and having the starting templates suck--and they've since been updated--didn't help any).

Comparatively, it's much easier to "get into" EQ; who doesn't know what a knight is? Or an elf? Same with DAoC; who hasn't heard of King Arthur or Camelot? And AO, broken as it is, is by far the beauty queen of the current crop--and it's a truism that screens sell games.

Will be interesting to see how well Dark Majesty does. Me, I found out today cottages are about 400k to get, so I'm pretty pleased.

I will say their permissive, casual attitude about exploits and abuses will most likely come and bite 'em on the ass in the long run. Will be interested to see how the Code of Conduct changes if/when AC2 comes out.

Hmmm.... good points.

I guess for me most of the problems you listed above amounted more to just petty annoyances than something that turned me off of the game. But you are right. I stand corrected!

I just wanted to let you know that so far, Dark Majesty is pretty neat. The new Tumerok quests are pretty spiffy and the new island and monsters rock.

I guess a big reason that I still stay with AC is that I feel like I'm getting something for my $15 (canadian) every month. To my knowledge, none of the other MMORPG's have something like AC's monthly update scheme.

BTW, what server to you play on? I'm a Morningthawer myself.

How about the fact that in AO this is pretty much only one template you can follow if you want to be viable in the end game? Or that crazy magic system that is far worse than anything in EQ or DAOC. Then there are the abuses brought up above. I know some people like it but those I listed plus the graphics are the reasons I didn't ever get into AC past the beta.

this should be there

Spigot: Started on LC, moved to SC, then to WE (I like new servers). After I cancelled, I came back on SC... I know too many people on WE to be real comfortable playing there. Not in a bad way, mind you... hard to explain.

Rob Funk:
"How about the fact that in [AC] this is pretty much only one template you can follow if you want to be viable in the end game?"

Really. And which template is this? Life spec? Yes, tell that to Raa, who made it to 106 in less than six months using Item only. I'm sure he'll be surprised to know he wasn't viable. The Life-spec template makes it easy, but it is not the only viable template. Lots of folks believe that, but then lots of folks are lazy. And you're talking to someone that has never trained anything more than Item on his fighters, and has gotten into the 70s with fewer than one death per level on a 56k.

"Or that crazy magic system that is far worse than anything in EQ or DAOC."

Crazy? Please explain. I'd posit that it's the only magic system in any of the current games that actually makes sense. (How many other magic systems have their own internal, logical consistency and structure?) But then, I don't mind thinking and analyzing, and I don't mind earning knowledge rather than having it handed to me, so I guess your mileage may vary.