Man alive, I am overwhelmed with cRPG nerdiness.

Nefaro · January 20, 2015, 01:08:02 PM

Quote from: Toonces on January 20, 2015, 01:28:13 AM
^ Sadly I haven't tried WoW yet. I didn't know there was a free version. I'll have to look into that. I have tried LotRO and Neverwinter, and some other free RPG that was highly rated, but I think to really get into MMOs you need to join a like-minded guild and I'm not sure I'm ready to make that jump.

Joining a guild with people you don't mind hanging out with is essential in the long run for any MMO. Nearly all of them have group content that requires groups and the single-player content will feel like a grind after a time.

QuoteI think I would like LotRO if I gave it a chance...getting it to update has been troublesome.

If you don't want to shop around & find a like-minded group, there may be other options. For example, LotRO has it's monster side (aka "Creeps") where you can start up top-level Orcs, Wargs, etc in the big PvP zone. They still level up abilities & such, but instead of doing kill or collect quests you tag along with the other Creeps and kill "Freeps" players and NPCs for rewards. The reason I mentioned this specific one is that the Creeps often form groups of whomever is around before heading out to do the dastardly deeds so you can find groups more easily there. That's how it was years ago, anyway, and I don't think they changed anything drastically. During primetime, and I suspect even during other periods since it's free-to-play these days, there will be big PvP battles between the two groups with the leaders maneuvering around for advantage or cap points. ^-^

glen55 · January 20, 2015, 01:19:51 PM

I have gotten to the point where I'm just not interested in the "multi" part of multi-player. I've played a bunch of MMOs and had a great time, even was a key player in a couple of powerful guilds in EQ2 and WOW. I loved it for a long time, but then I hit the wall.

The problem for me is that you really take on obligations when you're a key player in a powerful guild. People expect you to be online every night, they look for you, they're worried if you're not there, plans get spoiled if you aren't - but you SURE don't want to be in a crappy guild with crappy players.

I really like the vibe of MMO games, where you get to know a large world intimately, learn how to use the environment to increase your wealth and power, that it's an ongoing thing where you can continue to do these things pretty much indefinitely, much as if you actually lived there. I just don't like the fact that people start expecting me to do things. Especially as my game-playing style has become more and more of a dabbling-type style. I like a game where I can sit and play for 45 minutes or an hour, an hour and a half, and then I get up and wander around for a bit, do some kind of household task, check the internet, then come back and play another hour, etc. That just does . . . not . . . work in an MMO. You have to sit there, alert, with your eyes glued to the screen for hours.

One of the reasons I'm enjoying Dragon Age: Inquisition so much. The world has that MMO vibe . . . but it's single-player! Woot!

JasonPratt · January 20, 2015, 04:13:02 PM

I've put a lot of time into Lotro last year without needing any mp interaction at all. Of course, I'm still in the Shire and other lands west of Rivendale, too. The main reason I dropped off a bit was because I wanted to save some non-combat missions in the Shire for my niece(s) who would love being able to drive 'me' around the property doing things. It may not be quite the best looking MMO on the market, but seeing all the little nooks and crannies mentioned in books and appendices and such filled in contiguously in a kind-of-to-scale fashion, is geeky bliss.

Edited to add: I'm still playing free, too, although back during a flash Thanksgiving sale I picked up all the 'paid' expansions since at the time they were only $15 or $20 total if I recall.

TacticalWargames · January 22, 2015, 10:50:23 PM

In the early to mid eighties when I was a teen I owned D&D starter\basic set, Traveller, Middle Earth RPG and bought White Dwarf each month before it turned into a Games Workshop sales mag. I also owned Car Wars and it's two expansions, Battlecars, StarFleet Battles and apart from Cars Wars none of them got played as I knew no one interested in RPG'S and boardgames and thats why the computer was a god send ( I reckon the StarFleet game hasn't even had the counters punched)!! The PC was then and is now my chance to play RPG's and wargames without the need of like minded people. It's probably the reason I avoid MMO's and apart from Red Orchestra 2 play all my games solo.

JasonPratt · January 23, 2015, 08:34:06 AM

Tis true; since I lost my brother (to a wife and kids) I just don't have anyone to play with (nieces still aren't quite old enough yet, and I would have to be reaaaallly careful what I proposed.)

BanzaiCat · January 23, 2015, 09:44:29 AM

I remember a guy in high school that lived in my neighborhood, so we always rode the bus together. He ALWAYS had copies of the Traveller game under his arm with his schoolbooks.

MengJiao · January 23, 2015, 12:38:15 PM

Quote from: glen55 on January 20, 2015, 01:19:51 PM
I have gotten to the point where I'm just not interested in the "multi" part of multi-player. I've played a bunch of MMOs and had a great time, even was a key player in a couple of powerful guilds in EQ2 and WOW. I loved it for a long time, but then I hit the wall.

The problem for me is that you really take on obligations when you're a key player in a powerful guild.

I took much the same trajectory. My MMORPG play has gone to zero after about 15 years of it. Other than PBEM, the last multi-stuff I did was Rome II and then some Heros and Generals. Rome II worked okay; I just logged on and crushed people with the Massagaetae Armored archers and cataphracts. Heros and Generals was heading for the point where I was getting way too involved. So I'm still trying to avoid any multiplayer stuff.

These days I'm happy to play very in a very idle fashion: fly a plane, drive a train, fire some missiles, blow up an "outpost" or two in Far cry 3.
Nothing that demands I be there in a certain way at a certain time.

Nefaro · January 23, 2015, 12:40:45 PM

That's why the multi-player 'battle arena' games are probably so popular.

You can log in and be automatically siphoned into a multi-player match quickly, at the touch of a button, with little extra fuss or pre-planning. That's definitely why I play WT.

MengJiao · January 23, 2015, 01:02:43 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on January 23, 2015, 12:40:45 PM
That's why the multi-player 'battle arena' games are probably so popular.

You can log in and be automatically siphoned into a multi-player match quickly, at the touch of a button, with little extra fuss or pre-planning. That's definitely why I play WT.

Well, Rome II was pretty fun as a battle arena, once I started setting up huge battles on the steppes with lots of money. I'd deploy the Massageatae (I had the DLC and I never saw anyone else with that DLC) and the Selucides or somebody would laboriously set out their complex forces with lots of artillery and elephants and what not. The battle would start and sometimes the opposing player would leave after his horse archers and what not lost 700 men in 2 minutes of archery from the Massagetae. Then of course the AI was often much harder to defeat than the human players.

I wonder why I stopped? Possibly it was because it took quite a while and many ups and downs to get a game to the battle stage. And those were often pretty fast.

Toonces · February 13, 2015, 11:25:16 PM

Not that I need any additional RPGs, but I saw two very interesting ones today:

Malevolence looks really interesting. Turn based, grid based, nice graphics, and "infinite" whatever that means. Demo available (I have d/l'd but not tried yet).

And I also came across this game on Steam called Sanctuary RPG: Black Edition (on sale for $6). All old school ASCII graphics. I'd blow it off, but it sounds so damn compelling! Also available on GoG (on sale for ($6)

Edit: Sanctuary has a demo available on Steam as well. Just downloaded...

Toonces · February 14, 2015, 02:08:07 AM

I've been playing the Sanctuary demo on Steam and I'm pretty sure many of you guys would like it. Definitely worth a try! O0

Rayfer · February 14, 2015, 08:51:40 AM

Quote from: Toonces on February 14, 2015, 02:08:07 AM
I've been playing the Sanctuary demo on Steam and I'm pretty sure many of you guys would like it. Definitely worth a try! O0

The Malevolence trailer is disappointing in that it doesn't show much, if any, game play. It looked cinematic, it was hard to tell? Not saying it isn't a good game, it may well be.

Toonces · February 14, 2015, 01:09:54 PM

I checked some Youtube videos and also there is a demo available for Malevolence. No reason at all to not give it a try if you're interested.

The demo is the full game, but you can't save your character so every time you re-start the game you start from scratch. Should be enough for you to tell if you'll like it or not, though.

Toonces · February 14, 2015, 01:19:43 PM

Not a lot of let's plays, but I suppose this works well enough:

Rayfer · February 15, 2015, 08:36:28 AM

toonces....actually, it had quite a bit of gameplay, even a combat near the end. Looks a lot like Might and Magic X, grid/turn based, but different in that it is a single player only, no building a party. The dungeon at the end reminded me of Legend of Grimrock. Nice find.