World of Warcraft (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Schmitt]

Hey Jeff, what server(s) are you playing on? I'm on Tichondrius as an Orc/horde and Spinebreaker as an Elf/Alliance (both PST PVP servers).

Aaron

 

[Jeff_Standley]

I have some other non HTF friends playing on the boulderfist server. I will create a character for the HTF server also.

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

There's an HTF server? Did I miss that?

 

[Rob Silver]

HTF WoW server? If that's true, I might just get a copy of WoW.

 

[Jeff_Standley]

I think we are still debating an what the official HTF server will be, lol. Lets decide once and for all so we can hook it up.

I propose we go with whoever has the highest level character if you dont mind. I havent created a high level character yet so I am willing to relocate anywhere.

 

[Scott Bourden]

The organized PvP has been quite good on Illydin so far. A lot of the quests in the disputed terratories become pretty hectic, when you go out to collect some ore, and suddenly get chased back to town by 4-5 horde players trying to ruin your day. Even more fun when you reach town, everybody hears your character screaming as you run, and 20+ eople all charge out, and the horde hitail it back to safer group.

Even more fun is hiding behind tree's, etc and ambushing people when they least suspect it, nothing more fun then griefing the enemy in disputed terratories, nothing is worse then the 5+ min walk to recover a corpse after dieing.

Having a blast with both partying with people for quests, and occasionally heading out to ruin people's days. I found the PvP didn't start to shine until the mid 20's because you can actually survive the trip to harder area's, and only get5s better from here.

 

[Jeff_Standley]

I just finished the term here and cant wait to log in for a marathon of WOW.

 

[Adam Sanchez]

I had to chime in here myself.

First off I played EQ1 off and on for about 4 years, it wreaked havoc with my personal live but after quitting and growing up a little, I was able to resubscribe and play at a normal duration and I really loved the game most with PoP was out... I even maxed out my character to the current level for the first time. The game did grow weary again and I quit, and have not played since the last few expansions. I tried Star Wars Galaxies, it didn't hold me, nor did Dark age of Camelot.

When Everquest 2 came out, I bought it and I do like it. I like the story and Im very curious about what happened to Norrath and the graphics are just amazing... but sadly all I felt like I was doing was grinding for Xp... and the quests were fun, but alot I couldnt do without a group and I think I got about 2 groups in the month I played. I also only levelled to 14.

My friend who tried EQ2 and didnt really like it, but had bete tested WoW kept going on and on for me to play it. I finally bought it to basically say I tried it and still didn't like it... I was hell bent on NOT liking it... but.... damn it... Not even 5 minutes into the game and I was in love. It took me less than a day to decide which game I was gonna keep the subscription on, as I only have time and money for one right now and warcraft easily won. If you put a gun to my head and asked me WHY I find it so fun, I really couldn't tell you... I just do.

Everything about the game is wonderful, even the graphics, which are a totally different style that EQ2's really work for me. I read a review somewhere that said it looks like something out of Disneyland and that feels very right to me. The graphics are colorful and though not realistic like Eq2, they WORK somehow. Riding the Griffin in WoW is simply breathtaking. You know what I mean if you have did it. The Deeprun tram is also a very nice touch and effect.

World of Warcraft is the game for me. I'm also level 16 in 6 days of owning the game. Like I said I'm only 14 in EQ2 after 3+ weeks.

I was prepared not to like WoW only because my friend wouldnt shut up about it, but I fell in love after 5 minutes. Grrr on him!

 

[Jeff_Standley]

Glad to hear you liked it Adam, I have never played everquest but I had friends that sank countless hours into it.
The first and only MMORPG I ever played was SWG when it first came out and I loved it. I still play SWG but not so much lately. I beta tested COH which was fun but did'nt pick it up when it was released, when COV the expansion comes out I want to pick it up and try it again. With not much time on my hands with two kids and school, I dont have much time on my hands to log into MMO's anymore but I still love to play them. I am soaking as much time into WOW before Christmas break is over as I can, hehe.

Still not sure if we have an HTF server or not though. Have we decided?

 

[Gregg Shiu]

Adam, welcome to the club, and pretty much the end of your life. Having a couple friends who played Everquest constantly, and relatives who invested countless hours into other MMORPG's like Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, etc., I've seen my fair share of MMORPG gameplay. Though EverQuest was the only one I haven't really played much, my take on MMORPG's is that they suck, they're just not my thing really. When Blizzard originally announced that they'd be making one of their own I thought it was essentially going to be Warcraft: The Quest for More Money, but after playing on my friend's 10-day gift pass, I can say this is my favorite game this year! I suggest watching or reading Gamespot's review to see some of what I'm talking about. My only gripe about it is the backlog of crap that I have to do because of this damn game: Half Life 2, Sid Meier's Pirate's, Chronicles of Riddick: Director's Cut, countless TV episodes... and oh yeah, homework.

 

[JamesED]

Very fun game, I'm playing on Archimonde (PVP) former CST server. I've played MMORGPs since 1997 Ultima Online. I played the hell out of Everquest 2 yrs ago, but the time sinks really affected my school work so I quit. I'm really enjoying WoW, they've really managed to cater to casual gamers but still have good content for the hardcore.

 

[David Rogers]

What has WoW done that's right? What have they done that other MMORG developers and live teams need to take note of?

Singularly, they have removed the "gotcha, hahahaha!" from the MMORG experience. Prior games, particularly Everquest (but also notably Galaxies and Dark Ages of Camelot), had a us vs. them mentality. The Us was the hapless players trying to have fun, while the Them was the developers looking to trap players with frustrating gameplay and impossible quests.

In Everquest, a "quest" is very difficult to find. It's difficult to figure out what you should be doing and where you should be going and looking to do it in. You always have to look offline to an external quest site to figure things out. And then, once you've finally pried the information you need for the quest out of the ether, you then are facing the prospect of actually completing it.

In Everquest, "quests" are like playing the lottery. Whether they're to kill a certain mob(s) or collect a certain item(s), you had to deal with the Developers' idea of likely occurance. Basically, on a server, X number of instances of the needed mob or item would appear over Y time. Problem being, X and Y were both far too big. You would "work" on a quest for days, weeks, months or even years sometimes. To get quests done "quicker" you had to camp and grind away until the random number generator rolled your lucky number and gave you the Magical Enchanted Widget of Quest Completion.

This basically sucked. Classic reward psychology shows behavior is encouraged by rewards. Prior MMORGs have a very low reward vs work payoff; you spend dozens and dozens of game hours to complete one goal. Often, by the time you finished the quest, you were sick of it, didn't need or want the reward anymore, and were definitely ready to be done with that area you'd been stuck in.

WoW, however, takes a delightfully refreshing approach to gameplay and questing. Quests are an integral part of WoW, which is quite amusing considering "everquest" is supposed to have this sort of game play, but SOOOOOOOOO doesn't.

In WoW, quests are everywhere. You can easily identify quests; whether you are eligible for them or not. NPCs are clearly marked that they have a quest available; you don't even have to talk to each person in town to see which have quests. Simply walking up and looking around will show you which NPCs are offering quests.

Further, the quests are designed to be (gasp) FUN! The quests are very clearly worded with both color text (the stories and in game reasons for this quest) and instructions. The quests don't offer impossibly cryptic puzzles and riddles like EQ and DAOC do, but rather say things like "southwest of Riverville, past the mountains, there are nests of monsters. Kill 5 of them and bring their toes to Gyllian Herbmixer in Riverville so he can make magical potions."

There is a screen that shows you all the quests you have right now. You can instantly check on the exact progress of your quests anytime you like. Each quest ticks off your progress, 5 of 12 items collected, 3 of 7 monsters killed, etc... Further, as you collect or kill, you get a visual update on your HUD that's unmissable (5/12 appears right across the center of the screen for a few seconds).

You can even view the quest reward before accepting; it'll show you what you're questing for, be it money or items. You can abandon a quest at any moment you like and the quest will reset back to the NPC for you to start again later if you like.

Basically, the quests are fun. They structure and enhance the gameplay. They do all the things a proper MMORG quest should do; provide a guide for your online play, encourage you to explore areas and investigate the local flora, equip and pay you with items and cash you need at that time, and reward you with experience that is an important part of your character leveling experience.

WoW is a home run that's still going, long story short. Everything about this game is user friendly and designed to be fun. The virtual environments are very real feeling and extremely enjoyable. Cities and villages have the distinct feel of a real place due to the appearance, and due to the other players cycling through to talk to NPCs and engage in commerce. Cities in EQ and DAoC always seemed empty and unfinished; not so here.

If you're playing another MMORG, you owe it to yourself to find a friend who's playing WoW and look over his shoulder for a little while. Then beg him to get up and let you play for an hour or two.

 

[Jeff_Standley]

David Rogers, very nice read. /golfclap


WOW is so much fun, I am still torn between keeping this and SWG at the same time. The only problem is that I barely have time to play one of them. I hate to drop SWG as Im very close to opening my FSS and I have 17 professions behind me for added tree's when I do get it.
I think SWG is on it's way out for me because I love WOW.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Just wanted to chime in here. I picked up WoW last week and I am thoroughly hooked.

I am not a die-hard gamer. In fact, in the past 8 years, there are really only three games that I got into so much I played them every day for multiple hours. Those games are Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (N64), GTAIII (PS2), and now WoW.

I've never played a MMORPG before. I almost got into Star Wars Galaxies as I am a huge SW fan, but I had heard enough negative things about it from friends that are MMORPG players that I stayed away.

On the recommendation of those friends and the glowing reviews I decided to give WoW a shot (got it for $40 at Fry's).
It's been non-stop fun since I first started. In fact the only negative experience I have had with it was some server instability Tuesday night that caused me to lose a couple things, but nothing major. I'm currently a level 21 human Paladin, and luckily my good friend invited me into his 30 or so member guild, which had several level 40ish players, so help is around when needed.

The landscapes are stunning IMO. The first time I walked outside Ironforge into the snowy forest of Dun Morogh it was quite a sight. Stormwind City is also very impressive. And I haven't even been into the north or the Horde continent which I'm sure hold even more interesting areas.

Anyone on the fence about this game should definitely give it a shot.

 

[Matt Stone]

Wow, I'm definitely hooked as well. My buddy picked up a copy and got hooked a few weeks ago and kept pestering me to buy. I've been busy with work and other games, so I turned him down. Well...he came up for a visit last week and brought a copy and a 2-month game card for me. A belated Christmas present Needless to say, I cannot stop playing. I thought Diablo 2 was addictive, but this could easily top it. Every facet of the game is fantastic.

BTW...did anyone have a hard time finding a copy of it? My buddy hit ~6 Best Buys and many other stores between here (Lafayette, IN) and Kentucky and only found 1 copy in stock. Nuts.

 

[DaveB]

I participated in 2 stress tests and the open beta. I no longer have the time to play and thus haven't picked it up yet. I wish I did though. The game is truly special. It's all very simple and streamlined, and yet deep at the same time. And always fun. The graphics are gorgeous on average, and at times stunningly breathtaking. In fact, I'd have to say WoW is probably the best looking game out right now. Sure, HL2 and D3 do more things technically, but as for overall visual response I find WoW the most visually compelling.

Just my $.02

David

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Matt,

The game has been very hard to get since the holidays. No Best Buys had it around here, Bestbuy.com was backordered last week, and TRU didn't even carry it. Finnaly foudn a bunch of copies at Fry's for $40 no less last week, went back 3 days later for the guide-all but 3 copies gone. Took six stores just to find the guide too.

 

[Dave Sabo]

I was lucky enough to find a copy at my local Best Buy... I caved to the pressure from friends who are playing... I'm still up in the air about it, it's fun but I think EQ2 wow'd me more in the first few days of play. Of course, I'm getting close to cancelling EQ2 so that means nothing... I think it's the graphic style, not to my taste. Other than that it's fun so far. Oh well, looks like a 3 mmo subscription month for me this month (EQ2, WoW, CoH)

As far as finding a copy... a quote from the WoW forums...

 

[Gregg Shiu]

Wow, not too many posts in a thread about a game you'd think tons of us would be playing. Then again, most people are probably doing just that, instead of reading here. I Don't think this has been mentioned, but if you are playing World of Warcraft without Cosmos, a set of awesome macros, extra bars, and customization tools, you are MISSING OUT! If you're on Doomhammer server, look for me, Chauda.

 

[Tim Markley]

I'm still enjoying WoW very much. I hit 40 with my Paladin this week on Lightbringer. Unfortunately the server problems continue. Lag in Ironforge has made the auction house almost unusable. This game has been much more popular than Blizzard predicted and their servers just can't keep up with the demand.