Fallen Earth:

http://fallenearth.com/index.htm

Though it's not something anyone'll be playing anytime soon. Last I heard it's still at least 1.5 years from release, and beta hasn't even started.

Sounds very interesting in theory, but I wonder if the players will be up to the challenge of playing it historically correctly.

I was in the beta for Roma Victor.

Its a shame that I never really gave that game a bigger chance then i did however.... What made me run away really fast was the overall look of the game. The grapichs was...well, ugly imo. The client looked like some old ultima online client...
We all know not to judge a game on the gfx.... but after i had been running around in a ugly looking city for a little while with no idea on what to do i gave up.

Imo it was a bad move of them to make their own engine. They have said that there was no engine that gave them the control over the game that they wanted and that was why they made their own. But i think that was a bad move as it must have taken a lot of dev time to complete.

The good things about RV would be: mature playerbase, a decent RP setting, pretty advanced skill system if i remember correct (both good and bad, but i would rate it good in most cases ), the plan is to have a huge gameworld

Well, don't judge a game on that. The forums always said the same about Seed.

I'll probably pay the subscription fee and give Roma Victor a try anyway. As much as I've enjoyed Ryzom, looking through the forums and dev posts I'm coming to the realisation that the company seems to have no intention of expanding the RP side beyond what is already there. People talk about various potential changes or additions that would improve RP, but all that the roadmap consists of from the launch through to the furthest future plans is one PvP-based addition after another. Apparently, they have decided that the big money comes from barely literate PvP-monkeys and that the game is to become yet another World of Warcraft clone. A tragic waste, as it has the potential to become so much more, but there doesn't seem to be anything better around yet. I'll keep looking.

I'm hanging in SoR until I find something better. I am starting to get to the point where I realise that I really don't want to grind any more, though, so I'm going to do my best to find a point in the game where I can just play my character out without having to spend hours chopping up kitins or digging for materials. Whether this is possible or not remains to be seen.

In regards to SoR, I think you're both being too negative Tanta and Ahnion.

Of course the devs focus more on things that will give them money than on RP. And of course we could wish for a better game to RP in. Also, yes, there's a lot of grind if you wish that.

However, I have just been confirmed in my initial viewpoint coming into SoR: That with RP'ers, any game can be incredibly interesting and suck away (what remains of) your real life. You can play a barmaid full time, or a hunter going into the wilds, a beggar on the streets, etc. not grinding at all, if you wish. You just need to be around other RP'ers. I have 40 names in my Friends list now, who are all RP'ers. It gives me immense pleasure logging in and RP'ing (ok, so I am actually grinding a lot right now, but.. ).

Other games and other settings might have their own appeal too. A very few games (Seed, possibly URU) might have better developer focus on RP. But when it comes down to it, RP will find a way. I have had as enjoyable RP moments in SoR as I had in Seed. There's a lot SoR does not have that Seed had, but also vice versa. It is possible to RP other situations and context in SoR, than was possible in Seed.

I for one, don't want to bemoan what is not there. The devs decide that, and in SoR, we won't influence them. Better to focus on what IS there. And that's RP. I also think there is amazing potential in our site, in regards to drawing online RP'ers together so we can enrich our gaming experience.

Realistically, other games won't be worse or better than SoR, if there are enough RP'ers present. The only game that might be better, from its premises, is URU. But I still think what matters most are the roleplayers, and it is important to note, at least I do it, that I enjoy the RP moments in SoR as much as I enjoyed them in Seed.

And this is not a defense of SoR as such. It's just a game. We create the context. It could be any game with minimum requirements fulfilled. SoR is a huge, well-done game in its own right, somewhat original (and french, it shows in places, heh), and that's that.

Last edited by Darkhawk (2006-10-24 19:23:09)

ding!!! 10 points to ahnion

I feel the same. The (very) little RP I did in SoR I did enjoy. But the game forces me to much to do things i am not interrested in. No doubt other games is doing this as well.... but that isnt an exuse imo

Funnily I found Roma Victor at the same time as Seed, and I've had it as a homepage these last few months. I was very close to signing up, but then Seed whooshed me away.

It a historical period I'm interested in and for years I actually dreamed about setting up a MUSH based around the Celts, so I might yet be tempted to give it a go. But for now, my game time is so limited that as long as can get a couple of hours of quality RP a week, I'd even RP being an elephant

Esme

If that is your view on roleplaying an elephant I really suggest you try playing the pen and paper scenario "Samsara" by Jacob Schmith Madsen (yes, he was a co-writer on Seed). In this scenario the roles change every scene - except the main character Purusha which rotates among the players (yes, Purusha was Jacobs screen name on the Seed forums). So, some of the, very interesting, roles you are going to play includes a snake, hyena, tiger, monkey and the white (but depressed) elephant of the god Indra. And that elephant is quite fun to RP I can assure you! The scenario is in danish however... but you can find it here http://rlyeh.trc.dk/pub/scenarier/scenarie.php3?id=71

I can recommend it as the basis for my best RP experience - ever! :mrgreen:

Last edited by Frakel (2006-10-25 21:06:31)

Age of Conan is more likely to appeal to me than Lord of the Rings. I've always been an avid reader of the Conan books, and the chance to play in the original Swords-and Sorcery setting has me excited already. I'm now looking to start upgrading my PC, so I can play it when it finally comes out. The PC specs problem is the only thing that could deter me from at least trying it- it's Conan.

The Cliches and stereotypes were purely a product of the era- Howard wrote the original Conan stories in the 1930s, after all, when such attitudes were the norm. There was a note on the site that the setting has been "updated" to remove the blatant racism and sexism, since neither was integral to the setting- simply a reflexion of the author and the times he lived in.

And yes, the stories were first published in "Weird Tales", alongside such authors as HP Lovecraft. Reading the stories, it's easy to see that the supernatural side of the Hyborean Age, the spells and the demons, was heavily influenced by Lovecraft. That's one of the big attractions of the setting to me. There are no whilte magicians, everyone who studies sorcery is automatically dealing with dark forces that Man Was Not Meant To Know Of.

The game will be the greatest action-oriented online game ever, as long as it delivers what it promises. But we all know better than to simply trust the game blurb by now, don't we?