MMORPG - MMOCrunch - World of Warcraft

Lets face it, many of us who are MMO gamers would probably consider ourselves hardcore gamers. And what do hardcore gamers like? Tech toys. So it’s probably reasonable to say that a higher percentage of MMO gamers might have dual monitors compared to casual gamers. With that said, why aren’t there more MMOs that support dual monitors?

Now I know some MMOs, including World of Warcraft, already make it possible to setup the game on dual monitors, but requires tweaking your settings, playing in a window or you have to download a mod, which I hate. What I’m looking for is build in support, you go to the games setting, click Dual monitor and your done.

As any MMORPG gamer can tell you, your screen can get cluttered fast considering all the short cut bars, stats, quest logs, chat, party members, etc. So why not support dual monitors for those of us that have it? Just think how much better, cleaner your playing screen would be without all that junk. But I guess we’ll have to wait until developers decide to start supporting it.

For those of you interested in dual monitors for WOW, go to ctmod.net to download their mod, you’ll need it.

We have done lists in the past that show some of the best MMORPGs on the market, but I thought it would be fun if we flipped it and took a look at the top 6 worst MMORGPs based on the composite scores at gamerankings.com. I’m going to come out and say that out of the 6 I’ve never played any of them, so don’t get mad at me.

6. Final Fantasy XI

Xbox360 - Square Enix - Avg. Score = 69.348%

While the PC version of this game comes in at #7 for best MMORPG, the Xbox360 port turned out to be a dud and comes in at #6 of the worst.

Provided by Gamespot

• Preposterously long installation period, plus layers of unnecessary inconvenience
• Virtually nothing done to enhance the experience for the Xbox 360
• Slowly paced action and exploration caters almost exclusively to the
  hardcore
• Tough-to-swallow monthly fees required
• Not a single unlockable achievement, unlike every other 360 game.

5. The Matrix Online

PC - Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment - Avg. Score = 68.974%

Ah, The Matrix Online. This game appeared on another one of our lists, 4 MMORPGs That Should Have Been Great. But sadly the game was not great and is actually the 5th worst MMORPG of all time.

Provided by Gamespot

• Very rough around the edges; runs sluggishly and filled with noticeable glitches
• Repetitive mission design–mission types all blend together after a while
• Not much diversity of content
• Quirky interface takes a while to get used to.

4. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

PC - Sony Online Entertainment - Avg. Score = 68.929%

Vanguard launched with nearly 100,000 users, but it’s been all down hill since then, currently boosting about 35k users and declining.

Provided By Gamespot

• Bugs, bugs, and more bugs
• Forced grouping will leave solo players cold
• Stiff death penalty and lack of instanced dungeons are as frustrating
  now as they were in EverQuest’s early days.

3. Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle

PC - NCsoft - Avg. Score = 64.523%

At one time Lineage II boosted over 2.2 million users, however the game did not live up to the hype and is currently just over 1 million. While I’m sure many of you might be upset with this game appears on the list, that doesn’t save it from being one of the lowest reviewed MMORPGs of all time.

Provided by Gamespy

• Terrible for small party/casual players
• lag in graphically complicated areas
• poor chat system and guild management tools
• minimal character customization

2. RF Online

PC - Codemasters - Avg. Score = 56.143%

And now we come down to the top two and finally plunge way below the 65% mark. RF Online was once pay to play, but after getting slammed by reviews and lack of interest it’s now free to play. Although, would you really want to even if it is free?

Provided by Gamespot

• Low-level quests are generic and boring
• Traveling around the world is painfully slow
• Very little variety in terms of items, quests, classes, and enemies
• Bland environments.

1. RYL: Path of the Emperor

PC - Planetwide Games - Avg. Score = 54.360%

Can’t say that I’ve even heard of this game, but considering it’s ranked as the worst MMORPG of all time, not hearing about it might not be so bad.

Provided by Gamespot

• Dated, low-res graphics
• Bland player-versus-environment content
• Frequent graphical glitches.

There are many free MMO trials out there for you to enjoy. It seems to be an advent that has occurred in the MMO gaming space that works fairly well for most developers out there. After all, they attract gamers who want to try something new and, in turn, the developer gets the chance to have the player subscribe, or at least hope that the player has forgotten that if they don’t cancel in the 14 days they’ll get charged anyways. Yes, it seems like the free trial system works out well for both developers and gamers, but does it really?

Many gamers today would probably think of a free trial as something like a demo. You get to sample the game and, in turn, it gives you the necessary information on whether or not you’ll buy it. Unfortunately, unlike a demo, with a free trial in an MMORPG you will not be sampling many of the features that are so prevalent in the later parts of the game. That is the primary difference between a demo and a free trial. When you play a demo, the game has “incentives” to take you to a part of the game where you’ll get to sample just about everything. For example, the Iron Man game demo for the 360 (yes, I downloaded it) has you flying around, shooting missles, and doing just about everything you’d expect from Iron Man. However, when I download the free trial of Everquest 2, I am treated to the beginner’s island with a handful of quests. In order to leave the island and experience the real world I must subscribe.

Now, any Everquest 2 subscriber will be able to tell you that the difference between the “real” world of EQ2 and the trial island are enormous. The world is far bigger and there are gameplay elements not showcased in the island that are in the full version of the game, elements that the player may or may not enjoy. In turn, this can hurt the developer and the gamer… Had I known from the free trial of World of Warcraft that the endgame was going to be non-stop raiding would I have still subbed? Maybe not.

Obviously there is no clear cut solution to this predicament, but there are steps that the developers can take to amend it. Just something that I though up right off the top of my head: why not introduce a separate server for trial gamers where they start at a mid-range level and have access to skills, items, and monsters that they wouldn’t ordinarily have in a standard free trial. Should the player like the way the game plays at those later stages they can then continue their free trial on a real server and subscribe thereafter. Not a perfect idea, but at least the player still gets to create a character and level him up and gets to sample some of the later material. Just some thoughts anyways…

Thanks for reading.

We’ll we’re down to the final week before Age of Conan is released, so I wanted to see who was planning on getting it, who’s waiting for the reviews, and who’s going to pass. Playing through the beta I enjoyed the game, but didn’t really get far enough into the game to get a good sense of the PvP and battle system, so I’m going to hold out for reviews before I get it. Tabula Rasa was the last MMORPG I picked up blindly and we all know how that turned out.

On a side note, I saw today at VideoGamer.com that it’s going to take about 250 hrs to reach the max level in AoC. Considering this MMORPG goes to lev 80 that sounds about right. I know in LOTR it didn’t take anywhere near 250, more like 150, at lease for me.

In an interview posted by The Seattle Times, John Smedley President of Sony Online Entertainment, gave his thoughts on MMORPGs and where they fall in for PS3.

Q: Does the realignment of your group, from Sony Pictures to Sony Computer Entertainment, mean that you’re going to try boosting PlayStation 3’s online network with your MMO [massively multiplayer online] games.

A: I think MMOs are going to be a real strong selling point for the PS3 long term — there’s going to be some great ones on the PS3. You’re not going to find “The Agency” on the [Xbox] 360.

Q: Have MMOs reached the mainstream yet?

A: I would say they’re getting more mainstream. If I were characterizing it, I would say think of the video-gaming industry five years ago. That’s kind of where I think we’re at. … Five years ago, do you think “Grand Theft Auto IV” would have done $500 million [in opening-week sales]? To me, video games are just reaching the real mass-market now. That is going to translate to the MMO side of the business.

Q: Do you think everything will be an MMO in the future?

A: I don’t. I think it’s just like in the single-player or low multiplayer; it’s just about the individual games. We think there’s a huge, hungry audience waiting for that to come to the MMO world. It doesn’t mean everything’s going to be an MMO. I’m sure there’s always going to be single-player games.

Good news if your a MMORPG fan and have a PS3. But personally, I think I’ll stick with my PC.

Rupture the social networking site aimed at gamers, has been purchased by EA for a reported $30 million. Rupture was founded by Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster and has never gone past the closed Beta phase.

So what does this mean for Rupture and online gamers? We’ll it’s no secret EA is making a push into MMORPGs with its upcoming Warhammer Online and Biowares untitled MMORPG. If EA is able to integrate Rupture into it’s online MMO games, it will give players greater social tools to communicate with guild members and friends when not logged in. Sorta like Steam does with telling you what games your friends are currently playing and giving you the option to chat with them, although Rupture promises to have more features.

Personally, I don’t think this was a good move by EA. I mean this is software that has never gone past closed beta, so it obviously doesn’t work right yet, and they have very few members. For $30 million, why didn’t they just create a new system from the ground up instead of fixing and changing a site that doesn’t really work yet. Can anyone say 2nd internet bubble? After all Shawn Fanning could be the poster boy for the first bubble.

Remember when Realtime Worlds bought back the rights to their upcoming GTA-inspired MMO, All Points Bulletin? It made quite the flurry of news as people gasped and pondered what would become of the new franchise. Anybody who reads MMOCrunch regularly would know that this blogger speculated that perhaps Microsoft would helm the project for Realtime Worlds given the obvious relationship the two companies have. However, I might have been wrong.

According to Eurogamer, it seems that a “credible source” has told them that Realtime Worlds has plans to sell the game to Rockstar so that it may be redubbed as Grand Theft Auto Online. While this may seem unlikely, it actually makes a whole lot of sense. Rockstar is in need of a way to grow the franchise without infringing on their deal with Microsoft to allow for exclusive DLC. Allow me to put it this way, back in 2007 it was announced that Microsoft paid $50 million to secure exclusive DLC for the 360 version of GTAIV. In that contract there were probably stipulations concerning the advancement of the series. After all, would anybody really care for exclusive DLC is a GTAV were right around the corner? Probably not. In order to expand the franchise something different, but similar at the same time would have to be done. Enter APB, a “crime” MMO that promises GTA thrills but in a massive world.

Of course, who knows if this is true. I still maintain my own speculations that Microsoft will want to publish this game and make it exclusive for the 360, but I guess at this point anything could happen.

Stay tuned for more information on this matter.

Starting tomorrow until May 12th players who have left LOTRO will have the ability to come back for free for during these 4 days. LOTRO has changed quite a bit since it first was released and Turbine is looking to boost it’s subscriber numbers by giving players the opportunity to take another look at the game. This come only 8 days before Age of Conan is set to be released, so maybe Turbine is trying to snag any borderline players before the game is released.

I myself rejoined back in Feb after a 6 month hiatus and signed up for 3 months, however I again lost interest in the game after a month of playing and haven’t been back since early March. Since its a free weekend, I’ll probably hop on for a bit, but I doubt I’ll signup again. I’m going to hold out for AoC.

As surely as the day turns into night, MMOCrunch was there, albiet somewhat haphazardly, for the open beta of what can only be considered one of the most anticipated MMORPGs ever to be released. With over 500,000 beta sign-ups, it is conservative to say that the MMO is on many gamers’ minds as it fastly approaches it’s release date on May 20th. In order to help you with that decision I decided to take an indepth look at the beginning levels through the eyes of the ever-infamous Necromancer class. Sit back and enjoy the read…

As many MMO gamers already know, Age of Conan is boasting a new combat system unlike any other MMORPG out there. It is fast paced, action-oriented, and near-useless to the mage classes of the game. So where does that leave all the struggling magic-seekers during the beginnings of the game? Probably not as far from World of Warcraft as you’d have hoped, but that doesn’t mean the game hasn’t developed some well-crafted mage classes anyways.

Washing up on the shore of an unknown beach, you quickly find yourself in hostile territory. As an escaped slave there are few friends and even fewer options available to your character. After speaking with a distressed woman you have but one option, find your former slaver (who also survived the ship wreck) and kill him. Then and only then will you be free to do whatever it is that you wish.

Of course, as you soon will find out while stampeding through the wilderness, this feat is easier said than done. Not five minutes into the game you’ll have to begin fending off ruthless scavengers and would-be pirates attempting to look whatever they can find of the shipwreck. This is, of course, where the newly designed combat system takes place. As a Necromancer you shouldn’t get too connected with this style of fighting, but because it’s the beginning of the game you will get to use it for at least a little while, after all, the low level spells aren’t that great.

The melee combat system works in the manner of three buttons, which can be applied to the number keys or not, your choice. These buttons signify three arrows: up, left, and right. Upon clicking the buttons your character will perform an overhead swing, a right swing, or a left swing. From what I could tell, depending on what the enemy was doing would also depend on whether they were hit by your swing, or if the blocked/parried it. While the system may seem a bit basic, it’s actually quite fun. You will not be sitting there waiting for stuff to happen like you would in WoW. Of course, that is about as complex as the system gets for mages on the lower level (the higher end may get something more).

As a mage in a game which is so focused on the new melee aspect, you may feel like you are getting left out in the cold, rightly so, too. The mage abilities, from what I have scene, are fairly typical of an MMORPG. You get spells as you level up, and you assign those spells to a numbered slot. If you want to cast a spell you simply click on the number and watch as it gets cast. Nothing too spectacular, however, that doesn’t mean the classes are flawed in any way. On the contrary, the Necromancer class was quite fun to play, even if it was a bit more traditional. Upon level two I got my first damage spells and at level five I was able to summon my first undead creature. From there I was causing havoc and torment to all enemies that crossed me. Again, this was nothing out of the ordinary but it was still a fun time.

Overall, Age of Conan is shaping up to be a very good game, despite some installing headaches. The level of detail in the cities and forests were very intricate and the detail in the combat system definitely helps to liven things up. Tie all this together with a unique world and a unique way of talking to NPCs (think KoTOR) brings together one extraordinary MMO experience. If FunCom can get some of the more major loading and black screen bugs out of the way it will be very hard not to recommend this game to any MMO fans out there… even die hard WoW fanatics.

Stay tuned as we bring you more updates from Age of Conan throughout the week.

Not to say the game isn’t any fun, but, rather, I wouldn’t know if the game is any fun or not. You see, I was able to get into the “open beta” because I am a fileplanet subscriber. Needless to say, I was very excited that I was going to be able to play one of the most anticipated MMORPGs ever (with over 500,000 beta applications). Hell, the only thing that would have made me more excited was a beta invite to either WAR or the Chronicles of Spellborn. In a rush to play the game, I immediately downloaded and patched the game (12gb download, 2+ hours worth of patching). Finally, after a day or so of downloading I was ready to begin. Just a quick double click and I was going to be playing Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures… or so I thought.

After creating my account and pushing the ever so delightful “Play” button on the patcher I was greeted with none other than a black screen and nothing else. No sound. No intro. No logos of any kind, just black. I was fine with this though. I have been in many betas in my lifetime and I knew what to expect. Games not loading properly are a common occurrence in many betas. So off to the forums I went!

Upon reaching the forums and doing a number of searches to find others who had my same problem I was greeted with these solutions:

1. Change the resolution to the lowest possible setting.
2. Repeatedly mash the escape button.
3. Play in windowed mode.
4. Turn DX10 on.
5. Turn DX9 on.
6. Be patient and wait…

So I changed my resolution, messed with the options, and even tried it in windowed mode. Nothing changed. I was finally left with only the last option to wait and wait I did. For 21 minutes I sat there in front of that black screen. Dismayed and exhausted, I was about to give up when I heard something. A faint sound, but a sound nonetheless. Alas! Thirty seconds later I was greeted with a giant pink FunCom logo, followed by all the usual screens that one would expect to follow.

Glorious in my victory and ready to start my own “Conan” adventure I proceeded, quite hastily, through the character creation. I decided to make a necromancer as I knew everybody else would want to play a combat character to test out the fighting scheme FunCom had created. After deciding upon a name, Blackgem, I clicked the glorious little button that sent me swirling into the world. Or so I thought…

After hours of work and getting to create my character, I am now unable to actually get into the game as I am faced with a loading bar that refuses to load fully. The background music plays, but the game never loads. Attempting to see if my old tricks would work I waited…

10 minutes…

15 minutes…

30 minutes…

60 minutes…

Nothing happened. Desperate to play I attempted to mess around with the more advanced graphics options. Nothing changed. So here I am, unable to play Age of Conan with hours of time vested into just getting into the actual game. My only respite is knowing that I am not the only one as a quick look at the official forums notes that problems like mine are rampant.

So that’s my experience with Age of Conan thus far. While I’d love to regale you with stories of my adventures in Age of Conan, I simply can’t. Hopefully they’ll work out these problems soon as I would very much like to be able to play before the game actually releases in less than three weeks. An alarming situation for FunCom considering their first MMO, Anarchy Online, suffered through one of the worst launches in MMO history…

EDIT: Changed title to better represent this is for the BETA not the retail version of the game.