I'm think about getting into these. I've been interested for a long time, because I grew up a console "RPG" fan, then I sorta graduated to real RPGs (like BGII), and it seems like this would be the next step.

I've never had a computer (or internet connection) that could support this, so I never really considered it, although I wanted to. I also don't really want to get dragged into it, ya know, I've heard about "Ever-crack" and all that, and I'm probably the kind of person who would be like that.

But I'm thinking about playing one of these games anyway (getting kinda, note that I only said 'kinda', bored with traditional videogames).

I have a few in mind: either the tried and true Everquest, that one Star Wars MMORPG, or Final Fantasy XI.

I have a PS2, and so the FFXI seems like a real possibility, but I can't find alot of information about the game (although I'm pretty sure it's out here in the U.S.). If you check Deathkiller's FFXI post, that is the kind of adventure I would expect to happen in an MMORPG,

Everquest would be my second choice, but I don't really like computers (I am a computer gamer though, so lets not get off topic), and right now I have to share a pc with family, so it's bogged down with lts of programs and crap. and I hear cheating and spawn sitting and whatnot run rampant in that game (plus, I'd be literrally years behind other gamers).

star wars comes in a distant third, so i'm not really worried about it.

so, what opinions do you guys have on games like these, where can I find some information on these games, and what suggestions would you guys have?

[ 01-09-2004, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: cav_again ]

Don't chose Everquest 1, it suck.

Go for Final Fantasy or Star Wars. Or if you are a little patient wait for Everquest 2 or Dungeon and Dragons online.

[ 01-09-2004, 06:25 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

I've got the patience, do you know where I can find some info on these games?

Google

Edit: Here's the press release for both Dungeons and Dragons online and Middle Earth online.

Everquest II info could be found on Everquest's official page, probably.

[ 01-09-2004, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

I'm personally gonna go for FFXI. I've always liked final fantasy. Ever since 2nd grade when my uncle got me the original for NES. It was officially the coolest game I had ever played. I was forever after hooked on the franchise. Not that I've played every single game in the franchise. Anyways I'm waiting til I get a job of my own before I go for any MMORPG's. My dad is already talking about dropping our dsl connection in favor of Netzero. I think he's nuts, but if finances are that tight then there may be no alternative. Anyway, yeah. That's just my two cents

You should be able to find info for FFXI on www.playonline.com

Yup just checked. That's the right link.

[ 01-09-2004, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: Firestormalpha ]

That's you guys. Firestormalpha, when are you planning on starting?

Can FFXI handle a 56k modem?

I rather play Dragonraja. so many locals are playing it. I feel right at home playing with them.The good thing is that it can support 56k modem. Though I need to top up my account first to continue playing. :D

I'm pretty sure with PS2, it can handle 56k. I have a good connection where I live (just outside of cable/DSL range, but close enough where I have a great 56k).

What's Dragonraja?


also, is FFXI for PS2? or just PC?


thanks

Stay away from Star Wars Galaxies too. It just devolved into a Red vs Blue tag fest, instead of a grand moderated war. The devs may know something of programming, but they have no clue about combat on a strategic level.

Yeah, I wasn't figuring on star wars. I like the idea, but I had heard about the overall bad execution of the game.

Not sure when I might start cav_again. But definately within a month before or after I get a job. the first month's subscription is free, but we'll see. Anyways gotta go feed the dog.

Add: FFXI is for PS2 and PC. I don't think there will be a Mac port, but I've seen stranger things happen.

[ 01-09-2004, 10:18 PM: Message edited by: Firestormalpha ]

http://www.anarchy-online.com/ Try it... It is free for first 7 days... I have played nearly all the MMORPGs and right now this is the best one... Been playing it for going on 3 years now...

SWG is terrible (I played for 4 months) The only reason I see that it is popular is because it is "Star Wars"...

EQ is a camp fest...

AC1 is full of exploiters now and AC2 is pretty much bottomed out now...

FFXI - I have not played but I have heard nothing good about it... It appaerntly (what I hear) has a terrible interface as well as it is very difficult to play because most of the player base is Asian and if you do not speak Japanese/Korean you will have a very hard time...


I would seriously consider giving AO a shot...It had a terrible launch but has improved steadly since and now is the best MMORPG out there...Steep learning curve but not too bad and you can progress at your own pace... It is a free download and free for 7 days to try...As well there are alot of new players entering the game...In fact it is flooded with "newbies"...

That's right. I forgot about that one ogopogo. That was the first MMORPG I ever played. My bro was in on the beta test, and I jumped in with his account. And AFAIK they don't charge you for extra characters. Could have changed by now though. Do you get the whole package at once? The original AO and both expansions, or do you have to grab the expansions seperate?

[ 01-09-2004, 10:48 PM: Message edited by: Firestormalpha ]

Yeah you can have 8 characters on 1 account... I am not sure if you get all the expansions with the free trial because I have not done it but I think it is only 30$ for the whole game anyhow(expansions and everything)...

IMO it is the best out there, it has great customer support and is a whole lot of fun... espessialy the earier levels...(below lvl 150)

Like I say it is a free download and free for 7 days to try out... That is a good deal in my book...And after you buy the game after the 7 days it is free for another 30 days...

So for about 30$ you get 37 days free to give it a shot... That 30$ gives you both the expansions as well as the game...

Oh and if you decide to try remember "Omni-Tek is your friend" ;p

edit--- actually you can have 24 chars on one account... 8 in each of the dimensions... RK1 is most popular (I would suggest going there as it is the most active) but there is also RK2 and the German dimension if you speak German...

[ 01-09-2004, 11:04 PM: Message edited by: ogopogo ]

Yeah, I've heard of Anarchy Online before too. See, this is why I posted this, cause I want to see what my options are befoer I devote my time to one game.

I'm still leaning towards waiting till march for FFXI on PS2. I think I can pretty much rule out any pc MMORPGs, atleast until I go to college in the fall(So I'm going to change this thread, can somebody move it to the Miscellaneous games forum???), but I've heard that about it ogopogo, and I've also heard that the asian players are extremely powerful compaered to western players, because it was released there first.

I think that Square will put a lot of effort into it in the long run though, and it uses the job system that I like, so I'm putting my chips on that.

Question. Is there only one server for FFXI? If so, why not more? I mean AO has more than one server. Most of them split by language. Then there's also the starting area's that they use to keep strong players from picking out newbies to knock around.

ok, first of all, everquest is really too old for anyone new to get the same experience out of it that really warrants playing it. there's no one at the lower lvls to group with and everyone just powerlevels their toons to the top atm. i'd go for ffxi, as it's newer, even if it's been out for a year in japan.

secondly, ffxi does have multiple servers. many of them. you just don't get an option to choose your server till you've had a toon for a bit. i don't know the exact details but you have to find an item or have someone have one ready for you to go to a specific server.

Wait for City of Heroes. Its an MMORPG with super heroes.

This thing look awesome

FFXI has lots of servers... Not sure how many but several, as do most MMMORPGs... AO has only 3 which is rare... RK1 and RK2 are both english mainly servers ( you will find many Eupoeans (French mostly) on these)... There is one server that is German but I have a couple toons there and really it is as much english as it is German...

Most other MMORPGS have more then 10 servers and that is what makes AO better IMO... Nearly everyone is on only 2 servers (The German on is pretty queit)...

Also as far as the strong players vs the new players in AO you do not have to go up against them... You are given 1 minute to leave a PVP area if perhaps you enter on... So you never, unless you want, have to battle other players...

EQ has at least 10 servers I think more now
AC same
SWG has over 10 as well
FFXI not sure but I know it has several
DOAC has over 10

That IMO gives AO the edge because nearly everyone is "together"...


The starting areas are all free of PVP and are strickly PvM... If you want to PvP and play that way you will need major money (credits) to "twink out" your character to be competitive...

Problem, other then the language issue in FFXI, is that each additional char costs money...And I believe that, like SWG, you can only have 1 toon per server...(not 100% about that though)... but I know that it cost extra $ for each char...

Im not saying AO is the be all and end all of MMORPGs but I have played them all except FFXI and it is the best... My opinion (maybe not fair) is based on people I have played the other MMORPGs with,,,,

It's a Korean made MMORPG. There's also english version of the game. here's the english version link.
www.dragonraja.com.my

Hey ogopogo what do you think about Dark Age of Camelot?

Im personally gonna wait for "the World of Warcraft", then after that its D&D Online. I have heard good things about EQ and AO, but im not gonna go for those...

I have prior experience with AO, as I've stated, so I'm more likely to go with that. It's been like 4 years, give or take, since I've played. At least I think that's how long it's been.

The only thing I don't like right now is the fact that it costs almost $100 a year at it's cheapest (that is with the 12 month plan). What's the price range for the other games?

[ 01-10-2004, 11:22 AM: Message edited by: Firestormalpha ]

I played it when it first came out for a few months as well... Personally I didnt enjoy it but it is very popular... The problems I found were it was quite unbalanced, but with 2 expansions now that may have been fixed...

edit--The problem with most MMORPGs is they are not very "solo-friendly" ... To advance in most you most certianly need a large team and sometimes that is hard to find... And if you just want to play for less then an hour it is pretty rude to pick up a team then leave them... DAoC is like that... Very team oriented and I am a bit more of a soloer myself...

With the mission system of AO you can pick up a mission and do part of it or all of it in you own time...However its downfall is that to be truely powerful and not just average there is camping and long team sessions needed just like any other MMORPG...(maily in the higher levels)... But if you are content not to have the best weapons and armour then it is by far the most solo friendy out there...

I am not much of a role-player myself, but there is a large roleplaying base who play as well... There are disco's, bars and lots of other things for the role-players... Hehe it sounds like I work for Funcom or something but I dont [img]smile.gif[/img] ...

[ 01-10-2004, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: ogopogo ]

Yeah i am looking forward to WoW too... It looks like it could be real good, but I have learned not to get my hopes up to high [img]smile.gif[/img]

I've checked out FFXI quite a bit these last couple days, and it's looking good to me.

the system is built for 56k users (somebody explained that to me, I don't have the details).

It's got lots of feature I like.
I'm new (to MMORPGs), and this game is realtively new, so that works.

I heard of plenty of flaws, but they don't seem to unbearable: $1 for extra characters? I don't plan on having extra characters. the world pass system? i found some people that will get world passes for me and my buddies. things like that, most can be bypassed, and I believe that Square is in this for the long run, and will continue to update and fix this game.

How does the creating a person work? when you choose an initial starting job, how does that affect your stats?

how are your stats affected when you change a job?

for example, I'm going to be hume; i choose monk as a starting class for his extra vitality point, but right away switch to warrior? would that work? what would my stats be?

you can find loads of info on ffxi as well as most other MMORPGs here http://vnboards.ign.com/

I played Anarchy Online a little, and I really hated it. It was my worst MMORPG experience.

BTW, has anyone of you played Earth and Beyond?
I tried it about a year ago and it was fun in the beginning, but it couldn't build up enough flair for long time playing IMHO.

Just tested AO (after downloading the 'small' 700 MB package (6 hours DOH!)). It's funny, but my ping suxx hard (over 150 all the time). :(
But my 2 cents about it are the same I said about EaB above plus I don't like the graphixx very much.

Gonna wait for WoW. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 01-11-2004, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: Ghoul ]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy AO Luvian. I found it an acceptable game with no real PK'ers. Had a few of those uber mobs you never want to run into without a highlevel party. Anyways that basically describes my worst encounter. I had a mission to a location in the middle of one of these uber mobs territories. Someone's team kindly kept the bugger busy while I made my run. :D Overall I've had nothing but friendly encounters within the game. The only problem I've had are some horrible camera angles where the camera controls wouldn't respond properly.

Middle Earth online looks really, really good. If I had time for an MMORPG, I'd really check that one out. If you want something more SF, you could have a look at The Matrix Online (still under development) or Neocron. World of Warcraft also looks good (not too complex) but the graphics are a bit cartoony [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 01-11-2004, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]

Yeah i am looking forward to WoW too... It looks like it could be real good, but I have learned not to get my hopes up to high [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]For me, WoW is just to get used to playing MMoRPG's, so i can enjoy D&D online at its fullest...

Here is a link to Dark Age of Camelot. I play this game on a regular basis and yes it can be obsorbing at time's. I am soloer and have managed rather well. It is nice to get a good group going though, the xp can flow like water if you are in the right one. If you decide to go for it, I play on Gawaine server, Albion.

Im sorry I didnt know this topic existed! I am a HUUUUGE FFXI player, I dont think I can stress that enough, I love it I love it I love it. I've played many MMMORPGs in my time but I swear, FFXI is the ONLY ONE I will ever play EVER again until they maybe come out with something better. The graphics, the music, the gameplay, the LOADING TIMES are all Top-Notch. I mean Im on DIAL UP and it takes 2 seconds to load a huge town with 200 players in it running around buying stuff. On top of this, it has 4 differint methods of communication, Chatting, In-game-Mailing, Gouping up, and Linkshells, all of which are very nice for keeping track of your freinds (I just bought a linkshell the other day, costs 8000 gil :D ) anywy, If you want to try an MMORPG for the first time, FFXI might be a little Shocking to you, as it's WAY bigger than Phantasy Star Online ever could have dreamt to be and it has a very large freindly community that will just SUCK YOU RIGHT ON IN THERE. Anyway, If you're interested in playing FFXI I highly recomend you try it, OH and When you make your character, Make sure to get to SERAPH because that's the server I'm on and I'll hook you up.

To play on the PS2 you'll need the Hard Drive, because you have to download about a 160 Meg update from last Christmas, See the game Never stops changing, And last Christmas they UPPED the maximum level capacity to 75 and LOWERED the Necessary Chocobo Riding Level to 15 :D

So it's Awesome.

get it!

GET IT NOW!

[img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well you dont NEED EXTRA CHARACTERS first of all.

ONE CHARACTER can be ALL CLASSES. You can have EVERY job in the game and level it up to 75, + you cand have 4 Subjobs Innevitably when you reach level 75 (each subjob is 1/2 the subjob before it and you can only get subjobs at level 18)

At level 30 of your characters job you can do sertain quests to unlock MORE jobs like Summoner and Samurai, which you would then start again at level 1, but you could always switch back to your Level 30 Theif/whitemage or whatever you choose to be.

The Races are really based on whether you want to have more HP (health) or MP (magic) And all races can be all jobs, it doesnt matter what you choose to do or be.