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Old 03-06-2005, 05:02 PM   #29
SpiritWarrior
Jack Burton
 

Join Date: May 31, 2002
Location: Ireland
Posts: 5,854
Quote:
Originally posted by Legolas:
I find it is in fact the lack of central GMs and the fact that anyone can start their own server that makes it possible to find a proper world.
A DM doing his worst to you doesn't keep you from logging off and then going someplace where that individual doesn't have the ability to bully others. While the lack of rules and official policing leaves potential for those kinds of situation, it also leaves potential for the opposite. Again, a matter of searching around.
For me the lawless hack-filled public servers were a good reason to play Servervault games (contrary to Localvault, characters start at level 1 and with standard equipment here as opposed to being able to import any item or character they can think to make into the game), and to try a few other places. These days scripting's become familiar enough that LV servers can be restricted just the same, and many of the obvious hacks have been patched. I'm also well pleased with the official support it's still receiving to this day.

Like I said though, NWN's perhaps not quite as massive as WoW and similar MMORPGs, so I realise it's not entirely similar.

As for Diablo 1 and 2, I have never once seen anyone there even trying to act in character. The only roleplay aspect is character advancement, but there doesn't seem to be a roleplay reason behind the choices made. It's all about which combinations are most powerful (and how many people you can kill with it). Perhaps it's due to the linear nature of the game, with its pre-set storyline on all three levels of play. Maybe it's the fact you can choose one of five (or three in D1, or a couple more with expansions) classes, the name, and nothing else to make your character unique. Maybe it's the kind of audience attracted to Hack & Slash styles of play. These days, it's the reputation of it being like that that maintains the community's composition.
Yeah Legolas, I played SV on NWN's for awhile actually. I was just looking at it from a public server point of view and telling of my experiences in what the game tried to do and where it fell doing so. Again, I found paid GM's who were part of an established command structure always played by the rules since you were paying for their services and could simply report them to their "boss". You have no such power or rights against someone you'd meet DMing a NWN's server. Yes, you can always log out but isn't that really the whole point? That one is forced to log-out ending their gaming experience for the moment? I remember many a time throwing my hands up in the air and shouting to the heavens. "Idiots, I'm surrounded by idiots!". Ok, that didn't happen [img]tongue.gif[/img] but bah, you know it got old.

As for your observation of Diablo...well powerplay is certainly as big an issue in NWN's also. Again, depends on the server I suppose.

Quote:
Originally posted by Link:
Hmpf, I still stick to my point. Without getting too political here and bringing the topic to another level I think it's suffice to say that the American judicial system is crooked at every bend in the river. Isn't it an ode to Marvel that people use the names of their comic book characters? Regardless of what Marvel thinks in general and what it thinks it can earn by taking the case to court, NCsoft is hardly to blame for what happened in City of Heroes. After all, it's the players themselves that decide on a name and the clothing of their character.
The world is too much about owning property instead of sharing it. It may be a bit idealistic of me to think this way, but sueing a game for copyright infringement once again demonstrates to me the fact that the world is getting so damn bureaucratic it's hardly possible anymore to make a statement without breaking one of the billion rules out there. If people would just relax, ease up with their rules, and stop imposing their ideas on other people, perhaps this world will work out after all. In my eyes credit is earned, and not taken.
I couldn't agree more.

Quote:
Originally posted by Link:
On your point, though, I admit it's hard for me to really 'judge' the MMORPG genre as a whole, or even a part of it. You're right that I'm not involved in it. But do I need to be a politician to critize politics? Do I need to be a historian to have an opinion about the Middle Ages? I think not. I would even go so far to say that I'm not even judging the MMORPG in my post, I'm merely advocating for one of them.
I believe in sound arguments, decent comparisons and well-balanced conclusions. In my eyes, a difference between two things does not necessary make one thing better than the other. It merely makes them different. What I felt what was happening in this thread was that members were creating a bias towards, in this particular case, Guild Wars. The main focus of my point was merely the presumptious tone that was accompanying all the arguments here...
You could certainly have an opinion but that opinion would carry alot more weight if you actually had some hands-on experiences. What if I educated people about Paris but never actually visited the place? I'd be all textbook and second-hand info. What if you created a computer game and I reviewed it without never playing it? Would you take that review seriously? Now, in something as tricky as the gaming industry and the MMO genre, certain things can make or break the experience for you ultimately being the deciding factor in whether you'd choose to pursue them or not.

Quote:
Originally posted by Link:
I'm glad you have found out that MMORPG's that ask for a monthly subscription work out better for you. This does not mean, however, that you can generalize all free online games by saying that they are all doomed to be crowded with PK's, hackers, corrupt DM's etcetera. Isn't it true that online gaming is undergoing constant transformation as well as everything else?..
There are no immense transformations every week if that's what you mean but yes, the system is (we like to believe) always being tweaked. Well I have, in a way automatically judged free games and I admit that. Unless some kind of valid policing system can be found that works around the lack of cash in a free game I don't see myself going back anytime soon. Oh I'm always watching, don't get me wrong .
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Still I feel like a child when I look at the moon, maybe I grew up a little too soon...
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