Sorry folks this is definetely a rant and a rant I've wanted to say for the last 5 years . Now any mmo you play I'm sure the developers have made plenty of mistakes as they happen in all games but most notably in mmo's . And as a result those games lose subscribers but what would you say if a percentage of the player base plays a part in driving away any potential subscribers due to the following reasons . Drama Politics Religion Elitism Rudeness Immaturity Now I've been in online gaming for almost 10 years and I've played my share of mmo's good ones bad ones and great ones , have had good memories and bad memories all of that basically . But in the last 5 years I've grown tired of people leaving a game they like simply because of the community and I don't blame them one bit . Now granted yes there are companies that think they know what's best for their player base and have completely missed the mark and thus messing up the game designs and sometimes the after effect is a mess exodus . Today I was playing champions online and I love the game and there are many that share the same feelings But when I look at the forums I have seen many quit because of the community itself and the reasons stated are listed above . Now I like online gaming it's why I've been playing for the last almost 10 years but I often wonder if it's worth playing the games I love and have to put up with these things . Games are meant to be fun and an escape from real life but clearly a lot of people will ignore that . I've often stood by a principle in mmo's and that is a mmorpg is good as only by the developers that create it and the community that plays it . Many players when they rage quit will often blame the devs but i bet if a poll was done in mmo's that have bad communities it would reveal otherwise . I'm considering leaving online gaming for good cause while I may have a lot of fun the amount of stuff I have to put up with seems to outweigh that fun .
Part of the reason I rarely check game forums after release. Ingame everything may appear peachy, but on the forums you see all the eggs with too much spare time. I feel it is pretty much the entire (vocal) community that kills games. The game could be terribad, but if everyone actually has a good time and gets along then it is awesome fun still. Warhammer had a great community originally I feel, then the vocal few put doubts in everyones heads...? I agree with what you put there, however I dont have those community issues when playing in a TOG Guild as the overall attitude is somewhat more mature. This can't always overcome poor game design, but is a step in the right direction.
Thanks for your feedback Snott , and I enjoy my time being a togger but unfortunately I have seemed to have a run of bad luck cause most mmo's I have played have a very little tog presence in and as a result I'm forced to look for another guild and that is where I've encountered these problems . I've also learned to rarely look at the forums and turn off all the general chats but doing all of that and I still can't escape these problems that make my skin crawl I often wish that general social chat was never put it but what the tools to make those channels available . As it would allow players like me to enjoy our games rather then see others who apparently like to strip up trouble
In most MMOs I only visit the forums regularly around launch, i.e. a little bit before and a little bit after, if I have decided to play the game close to launch. One reason is that there is too much noise and garbage mixed in with the really good parts. And there are good parts also. The exception here is City of Heroes/Villains - the forums are generally quite nice and I read them regularly (and sometimes write too). Most of the global chat channels in there are player created+moderated, works reasonably well in my experience.
The key problem is this: If someone likes the game, they keep quiet and play it. If someone is indifferent about a game, they just quit and move on. If someone dislikes a game, or something happens that they feel "nerfs" them or otherwise affects their gameplay, they blow it up out of all proportion and flame about it on the forums. So, all you have are forums full of bile and hate, and if you actually look at the number of people posting that bile and hate, it will actually be a very small (albeit vocal) group... lets say 15-20 up to at most 50. In a community of thousands - millions, that is a VERY small amount, but that small amount just get very vocal and spread hate on the forums, which is picked up by the masses and snowballs. I, after many years of MMO gaming, generally ignore 90%+ of the negative posts, as they are usually just a few bitter players. It isn't worth letting it impact your enjoyment. Flint
Communities are terrible, full of whiners who will say all sorts of rubbish because no-one knows who they are. The problem with game developers is they listen to their vocal minority. While some suggestions are worth consideration, the game developers need to remain true to their game. I see so many just changing things to suit the community, it is why games are now all on easy mode As said, forget the community as a greater. I have played many MMOs, I have found good guilds in most, TOG or otherwise. Free To Play MMOs may be trickier as they attract a different crowd and I don't generally play them.
Most of the games I have seen fail were unoriginal, merely copied WOW; had no end game, Tabula Rasa and AOC; and/or didn't run very well, aka Warhammer and Aion, the masters of lag. I hardly blame the community for this. That being said the communities are toxic and best avoided. After Warhammer, I barely visited an Aion forum, just wasn't conducive to fun gaming. Keep in mind most communities are spoiled teenagers so they are best ignored.
My god yes - my biggest MMO complaint is that anything where people actually need to challenge there skills get nerfed for just do this... please would someone make one more challenging not to the lowest common denominator! My rant - gotta agree with a few things here... and Snott you are right about Warhammer... I'm tempted to go back though!
I did for a while, my biggest gripe was the lack of PvP in my timezone. I actually enjoyed it. Being in NZ I'm heading to bed when all the Aussies are getting on.
I was given some advise a couple years back and it still occurs to me to be best advice for MMO's these days 1. Do not read the forums, and 2. Turn off global chat. Nothing good usually comes from either.
I agree with Gorne, I turn off Global and I don't read the forums unless I have a very specific issue. I learned to judge a game by what I got out of it, not the people around me. I left The Realms which I would say was my first true MMO due to other people, but after a few years I realized that I did enjoy the game just not some of the players, and I should allow others to drive my interests. Since then, I have thicker skin and ignore works well.
There's a reason Rickety runs the new MMO's and I run the old MMOs. I've been in plenty of betas and launches. I think it is basically impossible to create a "good" MMO at launch. Especially now that WoW is the defacto benchmark. I like to join an MMO that's at least a year old if not more. The community has shed the "new game" players and power levelers. It's gone through some stabilization releases and expanded the content a bit. You can get an idea of the company deals with situations. If I do join a new MMO I go in with the knowledge that stuff will be broken and missing. No beta is big enough or long enough to catch everything in MMO's they are too dynamic. Anyway. I play various games. Rotate around here and there. Sometimes I stick for a year or two. I will read the game's forums, but if I'm on the forums for a long time then it probably means I'm nearing the end of my time in that game.
Thanks guys for your feedback on mmo's . I'll admit everything I've learned I should put into practice and no doubt I've learned plenty of good things and bad things . As for me and the future of mmo's I really don't know if I'll continue . To me the fun and social aspect is what got me to play to begin with but I feel that is gone now . I think also given the fact I've been playing mmo's for almost 10 years that I'm just tired and am due for a long break from gaming in general .
I felt like that over 12 months ago, and started playing Aion while still in that frame of mind a little I think unfortunately. I have since had a decent break and feel much more relaxed about the whole thing and am looking forward to grouping up again with TOGs in the various MMO's in the future I also play Bad Company 2 plus a few others to give the quick "action" fix when I only have a few minutes to spare at a time now.
Yeah I felt the same about 8mths ago and have had a nice break too. Recently started playing Heroes of Newerth, not an MMO. But am keen to play an MMO with a good concept, when one comes out.
I usually don't bother with the forums until I get comfortable with a game. I'll try anything once and sometimes it sticks sometimes it doesn't. The only forum I frequent is the City of Heroes forums. I don't want the vocal minority to influence my opinion of a game.
Ive been there, done that and ive also got the T-shirt so i know exactly how you feel merwood. First off speaking of champions online ive been playing since open beta and the general public who play it are worse then children when they are at their worst (cause some children are more mature then some adults ive met). Especially zone chat in MC. Theres flames, blatant swearing and calling each other some things that would make the devil blush. The forums are a little better although some of the stuff mentioned there years ago in an mmo you would be banned for people seem to get away with. Secondly i consider myself an online gaming vet, ive played over 25 mmos since ultima online and ive met just about every weirdo, idiot and nice person there is to meet and nothing suprises me. I had some awful experiences when playing wow when it was first out and quit online games for nearly 18 months before coming back with a renewed attitude towards internet gamers. The best game i ever played for the player base was COX (heroes and villians) in 3 years i never had a cross word with anyone. I cant say that could happen in any other game ive ever played. Now heres a life lesson (learnt this on a psychology course which cured my depression). You cannot change one other person you meet in life so you must change yourself. By doing this (and applying alot of other stuff which would take to long here) you can adapt your way of thinking. I learnt that if someone says something to upset you or make you angry you can act one of two ways, you can choose to get upset or get angry and let them win or you can choose not to rise to it and move on. This way i never let anyone get me to the point that they ruin my gaming experience. With this in mind i carry on playing online games with the knowledge that if you keep your mind disciplined no one need ever get under your skin unless you choose for it to happen. Just remember that every action and reaction by yourself is your choice. Of course it takes quite a bit of self control to do this but in the long run its of great benefit. Of course teaming only with Toggers helps and turning off zone chats etc.... as others have said are an easier solution. Yes we do play online games for escapism and to enjoy ourselves but theres always others out there that find enjoyment out of ruining your enjoyment. Its why we have to have firewalls and antivirus on our pcs. I dont want to paint a black picture here but things will only get worse, standards and morals are dropping all the time and so are peoples attitudes and conducts so unless you find the way to ignore this your online gaming experience is going to suffer badly.
