choices ?? FFXI / EQ II

[cactuar]

before i get flammed by even mentioning EQ name. i would like to state iam purchasing ffxi for ps2 so i can play it as i got eqII on pc. i would just like to know if anyone plans on leaving ffxi for eqII or what your opinions on a comparison would be. (anyone who beta tested eqII would be especially appreciated for posting) ty

ps use good judgement.

[Stormwalker]

After playing Star Wars Galaxies I will never ever ever buy another Sony Online Entertainment product again. I don't care what they say about it. Period. End of statement.

Fortunately, I love FF XI, so I see no need to go looking for another game anyhow.

[Brer Fox]

Oh jeez, yes. If they let down SWG, one of the most promising games in history (if not THE most promising. Come one, MMORPG + Star Wars!) to the uttermost, then I cannot expect SOE to do anything with any of their future titles. Unless they've made a radical change from their corner-cutting beta-pushing days, it'll end up bugged to pieces just the same.

I just don't like how it's looking, anyway. The graphics make everyone look like they're made of plastic, and, while advanced, end up looking very simple and generic.

FFXI is still the apple of my MMORPG eye. Not terribly interested in MEO, or EQII, or WoW.

[Kamotracker]

I beta'd SWG, and it is a great game with great concepts, however they released it about 3 months of beta testing too early-it was buggy as hell, missing features, etc (honestly as much as I hate SoE, I think Lucas Arts had more to do with that decision). Now, closing on a year after release, it is MUCH more polished and actually worth calling a retail product. It has tons of content, diverse character development, player cities...all in all a VERY nice and complex game. I don't play very much anymore (maybe like 2 hrs a week if that), my girlfriend is a master tailor & entertainer and plays a few hours per day.

EQ2 will probably be very good. Hard saying. It is not in any form of public beta yet. The beta application page still says they are not accepting apps yet. ( http://everquest2.station.sony.com/beta.jsp ) EQ1 is currently 3 years and 410,000 users over their initial expectations. It's about as good as can be expected from such shortsighted goals...it's ready to cave, the game is so superficial and beyond it's origional state that it cant last much longer. They have learned alot and will expect and plan for much more longevity. Should be great.

Now as a comparison. Alot of this will go off my 3 years of EQ experience and my expectatiosn for EQ2 from everything I have been reading on it. EQ is a good deal more freestyle(EQ2 I would imagine moreso, with the addition of non-combat classes...hopefully several SWG concepts will see its way here, would make a great game) FFXI has more of a focus, single playerish storyline, everything is just seems like progressing in the same direction. Sub classing is totally unique, and same with renkeis, TP and XP chains. I doubt EQ2 will have anything like that. Also the envorinment will probably be a bit more 'serious' than FFXI...FFXI really feels like a game, even a little cartoonish. This is both good and bad....it means FFXI has more of a fun feel, but EQ is more immersive, but can be less fun at times and more like a chore. EQ had(had) a more realistic tone, things considered from a RL standpoint, needing food, weight restrictions and not really slot rescritions on inventory, being able to kill any NPC, etc. From what I have read about EQ2, even going to a different town would require you to rent a boat and pack mule to take the stuff from your bank to that town...also player housing that you would buy and it could be different and you could pick the location and other people could go in and see it.

Really the only good way to tell will be to wait till EQ2 is released and out for a month or two.

[udontknowme]

forget both of them, this is the future

http://www.blizzard.com/wow/screenshotindex.aspx?PageNo=1&Set=0

[Issaac]

If i plan to leave? No.


But i have to admit that i will try both of them. EQ2 and WoW. Unil now im very very happy with FFXI. There is always something to do. In groups or alone and if it is gil farming for the next spell i miss. As long as im not bored. Ill stay.


The only thing i dislike a lot in FFXI is the variate of monsters. They all look the same and just get other names.

[kainzero]

if WoW's community is anything like the bnet forums i don't think it'll be any good =P

[Kamotracker]

Completely forgot to mention WoW...it will probably be kickarse, simply because Blizzard doesn't release bad games. Heck they don't release average games...they release GOOD games. Simple as that. Every one of their games since WC2 has sold millions of copies each(If i'm not mistaken D2 and WC3 each hit the 5 million mark...impressive for a PC game). My ONLY skepticism is that it will be more noobified than a MMORPG vet would like.

[Issaac]

Originally posted by Kamotracker
Completely forgot to mention WoW...it will probably be kickarse, simply because Blizzard doesn't release bad games. Heck they don't release average games...they release GOOD games. Simple as that.


Not to forget that they release "easy to hack" games, always.

[udontknowme]

if WoW's community is anything like the bnet forums i don't think it'll be any good =P

The Bnet forums dont represent WoWs communitiy at all. And i'm sure this forum would be just as bad if it had the same population and accessibility that Bnet.

Not to forget that they release "easy to hack" games, always.

Issacc before you start talkin out of your uneducated fanboi ass, please understand the structure of MMO's, combined with a monthly fee prevent 99% of hacks. Name one PC game that doesnt have a monthly fee, which is as popular as blizzard games, but have less hacks...... I rest my case

My ONLY skepticism is that it will be more noobified than a MMORPG vet would like.
I agree and I hope they stick with their saying "Easy to learn, hard to master"

[Aanya]

In my opinion at this point in time with MMORPG's its not about which game is the end all beat all of MMORPG's. There are so many out there, you can just pick a universe and go with it. Each on will have its drawbacks and pluses, all of them will have flaws.

As for EQ2, its going to be new. And we all know that an MMORPG community takes atleast a year or so to build and become stable. Look at SWG, sure it sucks and some of us hate it. But its stood the test of time, and is just another universe to pick from.

I read the interview with one of the devs from WoW on gamespy. What new concepts are the adding that EQ hasn't done or FFXI for that fact? It looks like nothing new really. Just EQ with a blizzard name on it. Sure he makes everything sound like its cutting edge, but its not. Theres only so far you can take this game concept =)

At any rate, just pick one and go. Or play them all. Either way you'll find some place/community you like. Me personally I'm going to stay with FFXI, maybe try MEO since I love the Tolkein books =)

Ahh and I wanted to add, to the poster that said he thinks Lucasarts had more to do with the premature release than SOE, BRAVO!! finally someone else that thinks that too =D

[udontknowme]

What new concepts are the adding that EQ hasn't done or FFXI for that fact? It looks like nothing new really.

This is blizzard, they take the things that work and are fun while tossing out all the crap. They dont care about inventing the "newest thing". All the care about is weither the game is fun or not fun.

You think Starcraft was full on new concepts? Nope, not at all, yet SC is hands down the best RTS in gaming history and why is that? Because it was fun and balanced. And i have a feeling Blizzard will do it again but this time with the MMO genre.

Read this article about the class's, then come back and tell me what u think. Their idea's might not be innovative, but the way they implement and diversify each class is simply amazing

http://boards.ign.com/Warcraft/b5369/49281674/?12

Thats 4 our of 9 class's

[The Heretic]

WoW and EQ2 are garbage.

Lineage2 looks good though.

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by Issaac



Not to forget that they release "easy to hack" games, always.

not necissarily true, the just make VERY popular games, therefore cheating bastards are more likely to play them.
They try, they patch, they ban 1000's.

EQ II will have an existing fanbase. But good lord, is it one sin ugly game, everyone looks like a poorly made plastic doll, that's the extent of their realism. Some of their concept art was pretty cool (giant stone carving of asianic war demon/god) but the actual characters... There's a dwarf in iron pajamas, I think they're calling it plate mail :/.

WoW looks very strong. Blizzard has a solid artistic crew, and interesting ideas. Their warrior classes are using something similar to FFXI's TP bar (a 'rage' bar)
and they've got an innovative combat system for Rogues too. Rogues use 'set up attacks' to fill a bar, then use 'finishing moves' that take up the bar's energy.
To me, Blizzard is Squaresoft USA, they have the same flexibility of talent, eye for asthetics, and just plain fun power to me as Square has always had (Square-Enix now, I mean)


what I didn't expect was Lineage II. A Korean game, it just looks like a really pretty Everquest (I mean that as a complement, they do Swords and Sorcery midieval fantasy right)

[The Heretic]

I thought it was just me who thought EQ2 looked scary!

[pagodaman02]

Am I the only person that thinks the World of Warcraft screenshots arent that impressive? Looks like a cartoon.

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by pagodaman02
Am I the only person that thinks the World of Warcraft screenshots arent that impressive? Looks like a cartoon.

and cartoons are cool.

They're good because they have style. FFXI is also cartoony, just look at the taru taru, or mandragora.

It's that style that makes these two games appealing. You don't need to hate competition, accept it as a healthy factor for growth in both companies

[Brene]

Originally posted by The Heretic
WoW and EQ2 are garbage.

Lineage2 looks good though.

I concur. :biggrin:

Does anyone know if Lineage 2 will be group servers like ours or will they have separate servers for separate countries?

[stereomancer]

I think WoW looks very good and I am hoping I get approved to beta it. Not saying its going to be better then ffxi but probably more my style I think. Especially what I read about the wars, and Paladins.

[Tobold]

Both EQ2 and WoW are games that I will definitely buy and test for the one "free" month that accompanies this sort of game. But there is no way of knowing which one is best before having played it.

Choosing between FFXI, which is already out, I'm playing it, I like it, and EQ2, which isn't out, never played it, don't know if I'll like it, is easy. Always play the best game that exists, and ignore the games that are only hyped.

On every message board you will always find the same idiots posting "this game sucks, but game X that will come out in 6 months will totally rock". 7 months later he'll post the same thing on the message board of game X, waiting for game Y instead. It's bad enough that we MMORPG live in a virtual world, we don't need to make it worse by trying to live in a virtual world that doesn't exist yet.

[Mewnie]

EQ2? I dunno..after playing EQ for damn near 4 years, I seriously doubt SOE's ability to make it all work..they're busy flushing everything Verant did down the drain..and as others have said, the models are just ass-tastic.

in any case, I've sworn off SOE games

WoW has my interest, I kinda like the art for it..very stylish and bright. Also, a number of the Blizzard folks who are working on it were members of Legacy of Steel, an 'uber guild' on the EQ server I played on. I think they based some of WoW design on EQs weaknesses (high level content access via instancing rather than racing + cockblocking; useless, annoying tradeskills; classes that were too powerful compared to the others, hi Velious Rogue/Monk)

I'm anticipating WoW, but until I can try it out, I'm not going to say it's the cat's ass. FFXI does a good enough job of keeping me entertained for the time being.

As for Linage 2? Any game that has PvP as the foundation for the gameplay is, imho, a complete waste of time. I play a game to have fun, not be griefed by lamers. Oh...I guess the elven chicks have really big boobies :thumbsup:

[Trimpton]

Completely forgot to mention WoW...it will probably be kickarse, simply because Blizzard doesn't release bad games. Heck they don't release average games...they release GOOD games. Simple as that. Every one of their games since WC2 has sold millions of copies each(If i'm not mistaken D2 and WC3 each hit the 5 million mark...impressive for a PC game). My ONLY skepticism is that it will be more noobified than a MMORPG vet would like.

That just to funny! Blizzard doesnt realease bad games? What about Diablo 2. Blizzard is HIGHLY overrated. Just because they have high sales doesnt make their games good. WC 1&2 both blow and did when they came out, each team was exactly the same with different names. Starcraft and the Original Diablo are there only landmark games, rest of it is basically RE POLISHED crap. Its all the same with a new name thrown on it.

And no the screenshots and Ingame (I have the sandbox) arent really that impressive, sure its alpha but the features arent even that impressive. Its just EQ with a new engine and probably without the decent party system.

Every MMORPG to date usually is just a revamped eq with a few extra features here and there. We NEED someone to re vitialize the gnere and give us something new, Shadowbane tried it but it was all hype bullshit and the game all around was crap. We dont need the same Level treadmill we need something new to accomplish than a race for powergamming.
---

As for my comments on EQ2, Ill surely give it a try. I try to give every MMORPG a try because ever since my first exp with the original everquest I got my hands on every game associated with the gnere. EQ2 has been kinda tight lipped and I truely hope they do not release with the screenshots they are showing because everything excluding the dragon looks plastic and terrible looking. Iam 100% sure they will delay the release and hopefully revamp the models. I just hope they can introduce new features to the MMORPG gnere.

But as of now it sucks.

[Jei]

I don't really care much about EQ2, but the only way to find out how good it is, is to try it out i guess ; /

FFXI is definitely a great game at the moment for me. The game itself kinda lack customization and freedom which EQ2 seems to have a lot of those. EQ2 have a nice looking features like others have posted and to find out if it's fun or not, I can only wait till the game comes out.

FFXI, EQ2, WoW, I'll try them all. good or not we'll see :thumbsup:

[Vittra]

I think MEO is eliminating the level grind or creating a different skillup system, go take a look if you're interested, and I agree.... WoW doesn't look that impressive. I'm going to try it, but the screenshots aren't appealing to me.

[Aniedi]

My judgement would be:

Its like leaving FFXI for "Big Giant Magic Clown Loving MMORPG."

Do you know how "Big Giant Magic Clown Loving MMORPG" is to play? Of course you don't, nor do we know how EQ2 is, or Word of Warcraft or any other title to be named later that we haven't played.

My experience is that most mmorpgs really suck. DAOC and Shadowbane really sucked. Anarchy Online really sucked in the beginning, but oddly enough its about the best one out there now.

I'll try EQ2, Lineage 2 and WOW if I get in the betas, otherwise I won't be blowing money on them. 50 odd bucks is just too much to blow when you can't return the product.

[Cbot]

The think is EQ has gamecards which FFXI don't have.

[kainzero]

Nope, not at all, yet SC is hands down the best RTS in gaming history and why is that? Because it was fun and balanced.
And it took how many patches? And how long did it take those patches to come out?
It took them forever to release the latest TFT patch. I don't even remember what was broken, but it took a least a good 4-5 months for them to do it. Or what about RoC 1.05 when Mass Casters ruled all and Blizzard waited 1-2 months before their expansion release to fix that?

so yea.
blizz's support may be questionable. may be. i dunno if it is or will be, but it's questionable now.

s-e sucks at server maintenance but they do like to fix stuff. like when our macros were broken for that one day, they fix it the next.

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by Trimpton


That just to funny! Blizzard doesnt realease bad games? What about Diablo 2. Blizzard is HIGHLY overrated. Just because they have high sales doesnt make their games good. WC 1&2 both blow and did when they came out, each team was exactly the same with different names. Starcraft and the Original Diablo are there only landmark games, rest of it is basically RE POLISHED crap. Its all the same with a new name thrown on it.

And no the screenshots and Ingame (I have the sandbox) arent really that impressive, sure its alpha but the features arent even that impressive. Its just EQ with a new engine and probably without the decent party system.

Every MMORPG to date usually is just a revamped eq with a few extra features here and there. We NEED someone to re vitialize the gnere and give us something new, Shadowbane tried it but it was all hype bullshit and the game all around was crap. We dont need the same Level treadmill we need something new to accomplish than a race for powergamming.
---

As for my comments on EQ2, Ill surely give it a try. I try to give every MMORPG a try because ever since my first exp with the original everquest I got my hands on every game associated with the gnere. EQ2 has been kinda tight lipped and I truely hope they do not release with the screenshots they are showing because everything excluding the dragon looks plastic and terrible looking. Iam 100% sure they will delay the release and hopefully revamp the models. I just hope they can introduce new features to the MMORPG gnere.

But as of now it sucks.
Warcraft 3 n' Diablo II are very high selling games. Bad games do not sell well.

and repolished crap?

You're playing the game made by the company that's MADE OVER TEN VERSIONS OF THEIR HALMARK GAME!

TEN

TEN man

TEN (11, if you count this one)

and on patching. well, they still patched them, no? and battlenet's an exellent service for gaming. Plus those games had no fees (WoW will of course)

[DJplaeskool]

Originally posted by TMPikachu

Bad games do not sell well.

How many copies of Enter the Matrix sold....?

anyways...
In my opinion
EQII has some promise...
Lineage II has more promise...
WoW has even more promise than that...
but I'm still looking forward to True Fantasy Live Online (http://www.level5.co.jp/products/new/tflo/index.html) ...

[felpa_de_osa]

Originally posted by Issaac
If i plan to leave? No.


The only thing i dislike a lot in FFXI is the variate of monsters. They all look the same and just get other names.

that's with all rgps online or single non online games that's what i think

[Carbon]

my two cents:

EQ2: The EQ setting is too stereotypical high fantasy for me. I *hate* stereotypical high fantasy.

WoW: I'm expecting this to be a good game. While I'm not ecstatic about every Blizzard game, I don't think they've ever made a truly _bad_ game in their history.

I wish they didn't have undead as a race, which I find to be a rather stupid idea. Graphically I'd put it at about part with FFXI, though personally I prefer FFXI's design/style.

If for no other reason, I'll get WoW so I can have a MMORPG on my PowerBook :)

Lineage2: blows away any other MMORPG graphically. However, everybody looks like a clone =P.

AFAIK, pretty much every mandatory non-consentual PVP MMORPG has never lived up to its goal (except maybe in PK heaven, AKA Korea), so I don't expect Lineage2 to succeed where others haven't (Shadowbane, Eve Online, Lineage1 outside of Korea, etc. etc.)

[cactuar]

well good comments all lets keep it up.
gamecards? ahh yes this could be a big factor in the make or break it deal. eq franchise offers gamecards. anyone care to comment on that ?

ok time to put my 2 sense in, ill be playing eqII on my pc while i have FFXI on my ps2 they are both set up neck to neck with bb connection on my computer desk so ill be gaming both quite a bit as for WoW in my opinion its not pioneering nothing looks a bit dated but that doesnt mean the game play will be horrible.
i forsee FFXI and EQII going neck to neck for the years to come as the two top mmorpg's. i somehow feel the others will fall short or not have a big enough userbase to become a hit.
oh and to the person who wondered if eqII was going to have a subclass sytem wich FFXI has. EQII does have something like it but not identical you choose from one of 5 archtypes under that you choose a class and then eventually sub it with something of your choice.

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Originally posted by DJplaeskool


How many copies of Enter the Matrix sold....?

anyways...
In my opinion
EQII has some promise...
Lineage II has more promise...
WoW has even more promise than that...
but I'm still looking forward to True Fantasy Live Online (http://www.level5.co.jp/products/new/tflo/index.html) ...

Yes but WC3, AND Diablo 2 all got good reviews from every gaming magazine. They are good games, period. Anyone who disagrees these werent fun games, either hates Blizzard, or is in the small group of people who truely disliked these games. Honestly, they were fun, not groundbreaking or anything like that, but like someone said they were not BAD games.

I think WoW has a lot of potential, I dont feel like gettin into EQII, i tried to get into I and i quit after a couple days of trying. It just seemed hard if you didnt already have friends, or know anything about a game that has been out for 3 years (Sucks bein a noob). Since EQII will probably be similiar ill still feel like a noob in that game probably.

As for L2, i played that game, and it really is a pretty game. As for the PvP it works pretty well. If you attack someone your name changes color, and for a certain amount of time you are free to attack without penalty. Not only that, but the more you attack people the longer you will stay this color. When you normally die you have a low chance of dropping an item, but its pretty low, this is encentive for others to pkill. However the more you pkill the higher your chances of dropping items shoots up, untill the point it is inevitable. It was pretty fun.


Blizzard has great support for games that have no MONTLHY fee. Also their previous games were not MMORPGs, WoW will be as hacked as FFXI and all the others were, which is not very. Diablo and WC/SC games stored most of their data CLIENT side, while MMORPGs store most data SERVER side, making it extremely hard to manipulate.

[Carbon]

Also, just m opinion, but EQ2's character models are....../barf /barf /barf

They're technically awesome, but artistically hideous IMHO.

In regards to Blizzard games, how is SC original? Am I the only one who felt it was Warcraft II in Space, albeit _heavily_ refined?

In terms of gameplay, the leap from Starcraft ---> Warcraft III is much much larger than the leap from Warcraft II ---> Starcraft IMHO.

[Thoronas]

Am I the only person who thinks the character animation in Lin 2 looks stiff and unappealing? The giant dragon everyone fought looked sweet in the latest demo but if it's like the first Lineage they will remove the dragons because they are "buggy" and only use them in promos or for special events where only the highest lvl players will get the drops.

No thanks.

[cactuar]

hmmm about the eqII graphics in my persoanl opinion i think that
trimpton should notics the great texture and bumpmapping along with stellar partical effects not to mention game play ::example::
in EQII lets say you approach a treant ::giant living tree:: you can hack n slash it as a warrior or burn it down with one spell as a wizzard these kinds of gameplay elements are sure to delver a good game and as for the graphics i belive people hate them due to a more mature look its obvious EQII is directed towards a more older audience.

just my opinions anyone care to comment more ?

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by cactuar
hmmm about the eqII graphics in my persoanl opinion i think that
trimpton should notics the great texture and bumpmapping along with stellar partical effects not to mention game play ::example::
in EQII lets say you approach a treant ::giant living tree:: you can hack n slash it as a warrior or burn it down with one spell as a wizzard these kinds of gameplay elements are sure to delver a good game and as for the graphics i belive people hate them due to a more mature look its obvious EQII is directed towards a more older audience.

just my opinions anyone care to comment more ?
'mature' though...

I would say in general, the artist are less mature in talent and ability. the armor and monsters I've seen are more akin to a highschooler's doodle of his D&D character than a professional.
and almost all of their art has been ripped off from old D&D works, I've got a bunch of old AD&D books n' games lying around, the dark elf, orcs, etc. they were all just terribly obvious copies.

Realism does not equate skill. EQ has captured the realism of poorly made wax sculptured wearing tacky clothing made for a middle school play.
It's just, they're given some of the best tools to work with,, but don't do anything with it.
In a wierd FFXI metaphor, it would be like a lvl1 smith with adaman

here is EQ's Mr.Iron Pajamas
http://everquest2.station.sony.com/screenshots/010504/202Dwarf-Guardian.jpg
with handlebar moustache and beard.

here's his buddy, flipper
http://everquest2.station.sony.com/screenshots/Orc_attack.jpg

those armors are actually less realistic than the FFXI ones, they look like iron spandex, and despite being plate, have little weight to them.

and what is 'mature'? realism? would you call japanese tastes immature then?

[cactuar]

if you were to go into detail everything fantasy orgin driven was inspired or came form d&d one way or another including final fantasy franchise.
ps didnt mean to sound cocky when i posted older audeince just came out wrong

[TMPikachu]

yeah, but FFXI is distinctively different from D&D, i'm saying EQ just ripped off their old box art.

THIS does look cool though

http://everquest2.station.sony.com/screenshots/livingStatue.jpg

but it's a replica of an asian war god statue anyways, so they couldn't get that wrong :D

[Carbon]

Like I said, EQII _technically_ has amazing graphics, such as those details you mentioned. The characters are modeled with exquisite detail. _Technically_.

But artistically, the character model designs look stupid IMHO. They don't look mature or "older audience oriented" or "realistic"....they look like old 1980s action figures.

It's like Olympic figure skating...EQ2 scores high marks for technical, but abysmal for the artistic by my standards. (Whereas FFXI may score lower for the technical, but much much higher for the artistic)

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather be a cutesy semi-anime-style FFXI toon than a 1980s He-Man-reject-wannabe-action-figure EQ2 toon =P

[cactuar]

i hera what you are saying but go to EQII.com they got some in game movie footage. i know what you mean, however there are soem armor that look great such as the elven paladin chick with the skimpy cover in some sort of stance

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by cactuar
i hera what you are saying but go to EQII.com they got some in game movie footage. i know what you mean, however there are soem armor that look great such as the elven paladin chick with the skimpy cover in some sort of stance

But I think that one passes the fine line between 'free spirited/elegant' to whore :/

at least mithra wear underwear

[cactuar]

true i agree but still worht looking at for those OTW moment to a camo while on auto follow lol

[Emina Agnam]

when i look at the cover and characters design, im 100% sure i wont play EQ2...-_-

[Taurius]

No matter how well a MMO is designed(play and graphics wise), if the social aspect of the game is poor, there will be very little interest in it after it's release. PPL play MMOs for the social interaction. PPL stick with crappy MMOs just because they made good friends. Who hasn't gotten all emotional when you left a MMO and had to tell your friends good bye #.#

[Aniedi]

?

How would everything fantasy come from D & D when D & D came from Tolkien, Leiber, Howard, Etc?

[cactuar]

iam talking about ame fantasy non litature

[Vestas]

EQ2 - I look foward to this because it's the only MMORPG to go the full nine yards with high fantasy. Dark, High, Wood elves, dwarves, gnomes, humans, lizardmen, ratmen.. it sets a tolkeinesque setting like EQ did. I'm also already familiar with Norrath and it's history. If nothing else, after four years of EQ I'd love to wander the streets of Freeport on a new souped up graphics engine :) There are few details on the gameplay, I'm not overly excited by the character class tree they've shown. SOE also has a bad record righ tnow, SWG didn't excite me and they turned EQ into a "Must have 80 people armies to enjoy content" style game. I'm still gonna try it though.

WoW - I have low expectations. Blizzard has a successful track record but not with MMORPG's which are radically different the anything they've built before. Diablo being their closesest RPG like game, it's nowhere near the deptha nd complexity of an MMOG. Likewise I'm not enthused by some of the design choices they have made. However, they do make very stylistic games and I was a huge warcraft fan back in the day, so I'm gonna try this one.

Lineage II - *Shrug* Lineage stank like moldy cheese. I cannot comprehend how it got so popular in Korea. Horrible production values, terrible animations and extremely limited character customization. While Lineage II has amazing graphics, a "PvP" centric game does not really excite me. What's with Asian MMO's having ridiculously small character class/race chocies with minimal graphic difference? I'm all for balance but sheesh, that's a bit ridiculous. I'll still try it but I'm not eagerly anticipating it.

Ultima X - I'm curious, I like the stuff I read about it however developers and previews are notoriously misleading (Good lord the pre-release interviews and articles on Asherons Call 2 sure made it sound good). It'll be first out of the gate this spring so I'll be giving it a spin :)


In the end, no one knows how these games will play. It's all speculation based on hype. Thinking one will be the next messiah of MMORPG gaming is likely to lead to serious let down. Underestimating any of them would be a bad idea as well. Likewise they are all going to appeal to different kinds of gamers so the opinions on which are good or which are bad will be as varied as there are people who play them.

[cactuar]

iam on same train of thought as vestas. ty for your positive output on em all, unlike the previous posts that state all suk ff rulz cause that aint the case.

yes and lets make this forum post grow good to see some comparison

[Xavius]

I personally think all the games mentioned are good. Will I give up FFXI to play EQ2? Probably. I like a lot of FFXI's things, such as the ability to change classes on a whim and a few other things but I also feel it has its downsides too, such as when people finally get access to all classes and master them..where is the uniqueness? Also the graphics, how many people have seen their twin running around? Quite a few. EQ2 will be a more fantasy based environment which appeals to me more, plus the more realistic aspects they are putting into the game are drawing me to it, such as characters actually aging visually and weapons/armor degrading over time. Plus the fact any race can be any class, which is one thing I disliked about EQ1 because I wanted to see a troll mage ;), and also a very nice tier system of classes which remind me most of Seiken Denetsu 3 with the good and evil aspects of each class.

I will say this about the graphics, I thought they were too glossy and doll like, until I read a Dev Team post where they said most of the screenshots do not have the full range of detail on them, such as shadow layers, texture layers, and are just plain character models. Anyone who has used a 3D Model program knows that is how the artwork looks till you apply the textures and other aspects. I personally think it is far to early to say 'Well this game sucks because of the graphics' when no one has even seen the finished graphics.

[cactuar]

exavtly the devs also said none of the modles had the aging or extra details to them such as scars eye patches

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by Vestas
EQ2 - I look foward to this because it's the only MMORPG to go the full nine yards with high fantasy. Dark, High, Wood elves, dwarves, gnomes, humans, lizardmen, ratmen.. it sets a tolkeinesque setting like EQ did. I'm also already familiar with Norrath and it's history. If nothing else, after four years of EQ I'd love to wander the streets of Freeport on a new souped up graphics engine :) There are few details on the gameplay, I'm not overly excited by the character class tree they've shown. SOE also has a bad record righ tnow, SWG didn't excite me and they turned EQ into a "Must have 80 people armies to enjoy content" style game. I'm still gonna try it though.

WoW - I have low expectations. Blizzard has a successful track record but not with MMORPG's which are radically different the anything they've built before. Diablo being their closesest RPG like game, it's nowhere near the deptha nd complexity of an MMOG. Likewise I'm not enthused by some of the design choices they have made. However, they do make very stylistic games and I was a huge warcraft fan back in the day, so I'm gonna try this one.

Lineage II - *Shrug* Lineage stank like moldy cheese. I cannot comprehend how it got so popular in Korea. Horrible production values, terrible animations and extremely limited character customization. While Lineage II has amazing graphics, a "PvP" centric game does not really excite me. What's with Asian MMO's having ridiculously small character class/race chocies with minimal graphic difference? I'm all for balance but sheesh, that's a bit ridiculous. I'll still try it but I'm not eagerly anticipating it.

Ultima X - I'm curious, I like the stuff I read about it however developers and previews are notoriously misleading (Good lord the pre-release interviews and articles on Asherons Call 2 sure made it sound good). It'll be first out of the gate this spring so I'll be giving it a spin :)


In the end, no one knows how these games will play. It's all speculation based on hype. Thinking one will be the next messiah of MMORPG gaming is likely to lead to serious let down. Underestimating any of them would be a bad idea as well. Likewise they are all going to appeal to different kinds of gamers so the opinions on which are good or which are bad will be as varied as there are people who play them.

Diablo II is not a MMORPG though, it was not designed to be one, for it is a hack and slash game, and a very great example of that genre.

there's more customization of character in that than FFXI actually
you assign skillpoints, assign attribute points
synergy between skills, etc.
to say it lacks depth I would say you have not played it long enough.

on why Lineage is popular with Koreans, a biggie is...
National Pride, like why Americans might buy crappy American cars.

[cactuar]

hmmm what about the national law in korea ::dont know specific hours:: states that between the hours of 10:00pm to 6am all internet caffes and online games will be shut down.

[cactuar]

please correct e if iam wrong but ive read that in sevral gamming magazines and online forums and sites

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by cactuar
hmmm what about the national law in korea ::dont know specific hours:: states that between the hours of 10:00pm to 6am all internet caffes and online games will be shut down.

I think that idea was in Thailand.

And if so, then the play in the morning and evening

[Jennessee]

right now my computer runs ffxi decent

it would not run eq2

:spin:

I think that would affect my decision alone, but I am so sick of EQ, after 5 years just can't deal with it anymore :p

WoW on the otherhand is perking my interest *nod*

[Foamingpanda]

WoW will be ruined by a player base of 14 year old diablo 2 PK'ers who can't type a complete sentance.

[cactuar]

true true you gota have pretty kik ass comp to run EQII system requirments are a bich 512ram 64mb vid card that supports pixel and vertex shader capabilties and 1ghz or faster cpu

[Foamingpanda]

At least EQ servers usually shun idiots, children, and people who can't type correctly. That's what I loved about EQ the most.

[cactuar]

its obvious your a fan boy who doesnt look at the good sides of things but only what your narrowminded brain thinks.

keep posting everyone i appreciate your feedbak. at least for the mst part its been good and not stupid

[Cali]

That comments also applied to those that say 'EQ rox'?

Anyway, personally I will never leave FF for EQ... why? I will never play a monster.... the man doesn't look nice enough for me to like, not to mention the girl look like man....

It's hard to say a game will be full of idiots, I didn't foresee FF will be full of people that are disable in learning.... I was hoping it to be like the PSO I 1st played(which turned into a hacked game), but the experience back then with everyone nice to each other, and no one wanting to cause displeasure to others is nice... but look at FF now, there are tons of idiots running around, and when you try to tell them MNK/NIN is useless, they will tell you PLD/WAR sucks, and RNG should tank..... a bit exaggerated, but there are newbies that called you a newbie when you can obviously play better....

for me, I choose games for the look, EQ no matter what people say, the character design make me sick... so I will never play it...

[cactuar]

one thsio attachment the character model doesnt look like a guy to me.
keep in mind no aging or facial textures are applied to the model
hence the clean doll look::incomplete::
not arguing against anyone posts

[Telok]

I will never play and SOE game ever... I played EQ1 and i hated it... I got to level 12 or so and I got so bored with it... I've played a lot of MMO's, and the only 2 that have interested me are DAOC, and FFXI...
I hated SWG when i beta tested it, and when i found they released it with so many bugs that i encountered in the beta, i said skrew that...
FFXI is great, awesome game... The only other game im going to try is WoW, and if me and my gf dont like it, then we're going to go back to FFXI...

[cactuar]

thats odd considering orignal eqlive is the world number #1 mmorpg for a reason
its a classic,orignal and pioneered the genre.
keep in mind ffxi is eq inspired hardcore

[Cali]

^^;;;

It doesn't matter if 10 million magazines and reviewers say EQ is nice, if it's not my type I won't play... It's like here in England, I like playing RPG, and they like playing FPS, so every mag I read, they say Halo good, RPG bad... but I still like RPG better, so no matter if people say EQ is the top of the world best of the best game... I will never buy a game I don't like...
It's hard to compare FF to EQ, to my knowledge, EQ is a mouse clicking game, and FF so far from all I heard is a keyboard game/controller game... just because it's 3D characters running around in a 3D plains doesn't mean it's EQ-origined...

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Originally posted by cactuar
thats odd considering orignal eqlive is the world number #1 mmorpg for a reason
its a classic,orignal and pioneered the genre.
keep in mind ffxi is eq inspired hardcore

I hope thats an opinion, cuz its not true. There are other MMORPGs that are way more populated than it. Remember countries like korea, china etc play games too, and they a have a huge population.

I forget what the highest populated MMORPG is, but i can guarantee you it is not EQ....

As to what MMORPG is #1, that is just an opinion, other than population, there is no way to rate what is better. Some games are better for others.

[Setio]

I personally am not going to jump on the band wagon when the next game comes around.....but heres my opinion on the future MMORPGs you have stated.

EQ2- Yeah...not going to get this game. Ive read to many things about it that makes it seems bad. The pictures look absolutely horrible....doesn't appeal to me.

WoW- Bah.....It seemed promising until I saw a few screenshots. They didn't seem too great. Its too cartoony for my style...but I might try it....could be good.

I know its not good to judge a game before its done. I thought SWG was going to the best game ever.......but it turned out sooooo...bland and boring......its better to have low expectations for a game and feel happy if its good.......than have high expectations for a game and get crushed if its bad....

[illusan]

I'm not sure if this has been said but... I know for a fact that the Original EQ guys left and are not working on the sequel (EQ II) and with that said... don't expect the same quality as the first game. As for where the original guys went... I heard somewhere they are making a different MMORPG title (i'm not sure what the name is)



FFXI should keep me busy for at least a year and a half...if I sleep correctly that is. I've skipped sleep a few times just to play... and ignored real life... so yeah...pure addiction there.

[Grizzlebeard]

I play both EQ and FFXI and have to admit I'll never buy another SoE product as long as I live. The customer support stinks, they have no idea after four plus years what the classes actually do and continue to churn out money making expansions that are poorly implemented and favour caster classes. EQ2 while having better graphics is set to be more of the same. Early reports say it is a more tradeskill orientated game which appeals to me about as much as putting my genitals in a blender. Level grind and key camping in EQ is also a total pain, even though the same is repeated in FFXI.

It's been hard for me playing this game and starting out as a total noob again after being max level in EQ and part of a hardcore raiding guild but it's getting better. My biggest gripe with FFXI is the amount of time you can sit looking for a party but the same is exactly the case with EQ. I am kind of disappointed they don't have more non-JP servers. Not because I have a problem with JP's but I'd like to be on a server that wasn't populated by a mass of people who've already beaten the game and seem to have no problem whatsoever strolling into my xp camps and raping every single target. It's really frustrating after having carefully broken a camp spawn up and knowing when the mobs are going to pop and where to have a JP come in and kill every living thing then wander out again and return when they start to pop again. While this can happen in EQ the majority of players I've known over many levels respect a camp and just move on. While in FFXI it seems you get the "Might makes right" mentality and "You can do it too when you're at that level". The absence of DMs or in-game moderators means pretty much anyone can do anything they like to you without fear of any kind of reprimand. Whereas in EQ, if someone intentionally screwed you over you could get them warned/suspended/banned depending on the severity of their actions.

[illusan]

Nothing is perfect. I still choose FFXI.

[cactuar]

i dont get how you say the screens are horrible when its leagues ahead of ffxi you may not like the flavor or adult looking feel of it but thats doesnt make it bad at all

[TMPikachu]

Originally posted by cactuar
i dont get how you say the screens are horrible when its leagues ahead of ffxi you may not like the flavor or adult looking feel of it but thats doesnt make it bad at all

We've already said it, technically, it is very impressive

design wise, it's... poo

if you were to carve out of platinum, the bust of a pile of dog excrement, no matter how great the materials, or how much painstaking details one puts in, it will forever remain a turd.




"you may not like the flavor or adult looking feel"

if one does not like the flavor of a certain food, one will not like it.
as for adult feel...
I don't like the word 'adult' either. Would you say all of Japan is childish? It's just another sort of style. The funny thing is, the designs in EQ are even more unrealistic than that of FFXI, there's less thought put into how the armor would move to the form of the wearer, the EQII desings look as if the characters were poured into iron casts.

Again, I would say the design sense put into FFXI is of a far more mature ability than what EQII has shown.
the generic "slutty elf mage" costume that consists of 1/2 a drape,
the generic "giant warrior guy" wearing an ironcast wetsuit (he's got flippers! flippers!)
I've seen better 'scantily clad elf chicks' n' 'hulking iron monster warriors' than those in EQII.

then again, it's all a matter of taste and opinion. I'm sorry for coming off as mean, it's not a very big deal anyways.
I love sushi, some of my friends can't stomach it, a pity :/

[Dalmonth]

Originally posted by cactuar
one thsio attachment the character model doesnt look like a guy to me.
keep in mind no aging or facial textures are applied to the model
hence the clean doll look::incomplete::
not arguing against anyone posts

Originally posted by cactuar
i dont get how you say the screens are horrible when its leagues ahead of ffxi you may not like the flavor or adult looking feel of it but thats doesnt make it bad at all


Oh I'm sorry, I did'nt know that was a person, condiering the facts that she looks like a cartoon and HER FEET HAVE NO TOES, THEIR JUST SKIN COLORED SHOES!

[Star8urst]

To the person that said FF and EQ are not realy similar, you are very wrong. Both games are very similar in design, FF does have a few extras (subjob, renkei, exp chains).

I am enjoying FF at the moment, my only complain is the dificulty in getting a party. Part of the problem for me in my timezone, not many english speaking players in japanese prime time because the game has not been released in Australia/NZ/Singapore/Hong-Kong etc. Apart from that, the game is fun.

EQ2 was interesting for a while, as a EQ player, but now I'm not realy looking forward to it. I will apply for beta and hope to get an idea about gameplay first hand. I think the game will do good, but not great.

I beta tested SWG and I did not realy like the game system, so I was lucky I did not need to buy the game to find that out.

WoW does look interesting. The more I learn about it, the more I like it. It will have a very good launch, I just hope is a worldwide release. I am going to give WoW a shot, I hope I get in the beta too, and plan to start my own guild when the game is released.

It will be interesting to see if I will give up FF for WoW, at the present time I would have no problem considering I could not make 1 level with my Dark Knight in a week.

In the end the game that is more fun to play will win my subscription.

[Dalmonth]

THERE IS NO GOD


unholy beast (http://everquest2.station.sony.com/screenshots/010504/191EQ2_1023_018.jpg)

[Eriks]

That is by far the scariest thing ive ever seen in my life

*stabs eyes out*

[illusan]

What i'm really interested in seeing is how they are going about to manage the graphics... if the playerbase is as big as eq.... what will happen? ha..