Am I the only one who refuses to jump on the bandwagon? I mean, I know its a nice thing to be able to play with a bunch of people, but I just cannot see paying for the game up front, then paying a fee each month to play the game I already bought.

Do these online games have a one player mode....like world of warcraft...Im not gonna get it because I've heard its an online game only.

anyway.../rant

8/1/2005 12:52:26 AM

Ultima Online changed my life.

*shudder*

I will take thee!

8/1/2005 1:00:41 AM

http://www.guildwars.com

8/1/2005 1:28:54 AM

The paying up front then paying per month does kind of suck... But the gameplay of those types of MMORPGs just seems too repetitive to spend so much time on, let alone pay per month to play. After playing for a year, what do you have? You're out $240, and you have the satisfaction that you've pissed away many hours of your life developing a virtual character in a severely limited virtual world, where everything is laggy, your vision is going bad, your clicking finger is getting arthritis, and your monitor has burn-in. It doesn't seem worth it... Maybe in the future when they can significantly reduce lag, significantly increase the variation in story line potential and immersion in the virtual world, and give the game away for free while only having the monthly price, MMORPGs will have more appeal to normal gamers.

8/1/2005 3:15:25 AM

rjrumfel, you are talking about MMO games, not just online games.
CS is online, and I got that for 10 bucks bundled with 3 other Sierra games.

But anyways, yeah, I really doubt I'm ever going to play any big-league MMO. I could just barely get over the principle of 15 bucks a month if I had the money to spare AND if it was like the best fucking game ever AND I didn't have a job or school.

Even then I'm not sure I could get over the principle.

[Edited on August 1, 2005 at 4:17 AM. Reason : ]

8/1/2005 4:17:02 AM

my perspective on paying a monthly fee is this: how much do you pay per month for a cell phone, and how much use do you get out of it, versus how much would you pay per month for a good game, and how much play would you get out of it? for me at least, WoW is way cheaper, and I utilize it way more.

8/1/2005 6:48:54 AM

Yeah, I don't think I'd end up getting my money's worth.

Some months I'll play one game every day all month.
Other months I'll barely play anything.
I just picked up NS after not playing for like 6 months.

8/1/2005 7:03:03 AM

to each his own

some people spend 3 dollars a day on cigarettes, or 100 dollars a week going out to clubs and bars, or 16 dollars for a cd here and there, or buy dvds, money eating out at restaurants or ordering delivery food.

some people just choose to spend their money differently

8/1/2005 9:49:46 AM

yea, but my cell phone is the only phone I own, and its a utility. A better comparison I guess would be paying 15 a month for a movie pass at blockbuster.

But does world of warcraft have a one player, non online mode? I really liked warcraft, but I dont want to get it if its only online

8/1/2005 10:25:04 AM

its an MMO

no it doesnt have a single player mode. thats just not the gametype.

paying 15ish a month for this game has stopped me from dropping 50 a month on some other new game I would want to play.

8/1/2005 10:31:57 AM

If you really get into MMO's then you'll easily spend 30+ hours a week playing. The fact that it will consume your life for a long period of time and prevent you from playing anything else, let alone having a life, so it saves you money in the long run. Seriously, one can easily burn through 3 console/PC games in a month and thats gonna run you about $120-$150. Odds are you won't play any other games when playing an MMO so you will put off those other purchases. Also, its not so much the actual gameplay but the social aspect that hooks people. Look how addicted people get to TWW, just througha really emmersive fantasy game on top of the chat/social aspect and you have an MMO.

8/1/2005 10:52:34 AM

The thought behind pay-to-play monthly fees for MMOs (specifically MMORPGs, which most P2P games tend to be) is that it gives the developer a steady stream of income to pay their people to develop new material for the game.

If you have ever played an RPG, you know that eventually it gets old because everything pretty much stays the same. With P2P, the developers (in theory) add more content as the game progresses. Some have an evolving storyline that is shaped in part by what happens in game. This is the allure that makes people willing to pay $15 / month for a game they already paid $50.

Personally, I tried it with Star Wars: Galaxies for about 2 months and didn't like it. I like to game, but I don't do it enough to justify the cost. When I wasn't playing, I always felt like I was wasting money. I also hate "grinding", which was essential to do anything in the game. The only reason I played that long is because I knew people who were already many levels above me that would give me free stuff and let me group with them.

There are very few P2P games that aren't MMORPGs (I can think of maybe 2 or 3). You can buy an MMO like CS or Battlefield that has no monthly fee. If you notice, those games usually only get patched to fix bugs (the rare exception is CS:S - the devleopers have been added a number of new maps with their patches).

8/1/2005 3:10:25 PM

CS and Battlefield arent MMOs

They are PC Games that have online multiplayer features

8/1/2005 3:12:48 PM

http://www.guildwars.com

8/1/2005 5:04:14 PM

GuildWars is not an MMO. It is far too shard/splintered to be considered a massive persistent world.

http://planetside.station.sony.com/ is about the closest thing to an MMOFPS that I have seen.. although WoW ain't far behind

8/1/2005 8:37:47 PM

while I don't quite enjoy the instance areas outside of towns, it is in most other concerns very much an MMO

and it's definitely the answer to the people who don't want to pay monthly

8/1/2005 10:59:17 PM

http://www.guildwars.com


elementalist what

8/1/2005 11:14:03 PM

I can't see paying a monthly fee for a reason to call in sick to work.

8/1/2005 11:19:06 PM

Started with FFXI, and now playing WoW. I play A LOT. But then again I get to play at work and I work fulltime, so it's worth it to me. I have made a lot more real life friends from playing that game than I would have elsewhere. This has been said before, but I'll bring it up again. If you're sweating $15.00 a month, then you have other issues other than whethere you should play a game or not. I do have to admit that my time in WoW has prohibited me from buying/playing KOTOR II, Rome: Total War, and SW: Battlefronts. Oh well.

8/1/2005 11:38:55 PM

^how the fuck do you get away with that?

8/1/2005 11:45:39 PM

MMO = Massively Multiplayer Online

BF2 = 64 people, online, in a server together. That qualifies as MMO in my opinion.


I guess "massively" is open to debate. I think 64 people trying to kill each other at one time is a lot. Granted it isn't the thousands of an RPG...

8/1/2005 11:59:15 PM

Quote :

"ut then again I get to play at work and I work fulltime, so it's worth it to me."

You are playing with fire

Quote :

"I have made a lot more real life friends from playing that game than I would have elsewhere."

You really think there aren't better places to make friends?

8/2/2005 12:23:24 AM

http://www.autoassault.com

going to be the next MMOFPS out there. sort of like an MMO twisted metal / mad max. looks pretty awesome.

8/2/2005 1:43:49 AM

I've tried to get into them before and just couldn't. The money wasn't the issue so much as I just found myself not having the time to keep up and I tired of the repetitive game play rather quickly. I have on the other hand really enjoyed playing Age of Empires II, the MechWarrior series, PlayStation online, and other such games that had one player modes but allowed for online play. The other added bonus, most of those games you could play online for free which was nice because I didn't have to worry about keeping up an account if I got tired of the game. It was pretty much just one sitting and I'm done.

As for more involved games that I've played online, my current addiction is Kingdom of Loathing. Not nearly on the level as most of the other stuff named here, but fun none the less. Its primarily a one player game but allows for interaction through PvP, and a mall system where you can buy and sell most of the items in the game. That and I just laugh my ass off at some of the stuff they've written in. If you check it out, don't expect to be blown away by the graphics though. Its all black and white, and done with stick figures.

http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/

8/2/2005 7:36:50 AM

I mean, I think blizzard had it right with diablo, diablo II, and warcraft 3....you could play online for free if you wanted to, but then you could come back to your own game

8/2/2005 8:17:29 AM

Quote :

"MMO = Massively Multiplayer Online BF2 = 64 people, online, in a server together. That qualifies as MMO in my opinion. I guess "massively" is open to debate. I think 64 people trying to kill each other at one time is a lot. Granted it isn't the thousands of an RPG..."

Your opinion doesnt matter. its in the definition of the game type.

An MMO has a consistent world run by the developer for you to log into, a team dedicated to new content development as well as a team dedicated to in-game customer service, no single player option, etc

Battlefield is just a multiplayer game, same with counterstrike.

8/2/2005 8:26:15 AM

i met hockeyroman irl through ffxi...


there is nothing wrong with meeting real life friends through a common interest. its just like any other place you could meet friends.

besides, im an awesome person to know

8/2/2005 9:10:30 AM

tribes 1 could do 128 players and 4 teams on a server.

Battlefield1942/v/2 are trash.

8/2/2005 9:17:56 AM

What is trash is that Tribes is dead now. T:V was a total flop and they killed off the series by not releasing a patch that could have kept the game alive.

If you actually spend a little time getting used to BF2, it's a great game. Much better than either of the other two BF games before it.

8/2/2005 9:55:08 AM

the demo was alright. I just didn't feel it was worth shelling out the $ for.

i wish someone would take the original tribes and just update the graphics. Leave everything else as it was.

8/2/2005 10:03:22 AM

Counter Strike Source... most time consuming game I've ever played.

8/2/2005 11:18:43 AM

When Natural Selection comes out for Sorce...

That'll be cool.

8/2/2005 5:25:48 PM

http://www.runescape.com

Quote :

"I just cannot see paying for the game up front, then paying a fee each month to play the game I already bought."

The graphics are kinda cartoony, but its no payment upfront and unlimited free play. (or optional monthly payment for expanded services). So atleast you don't have to pay twice.

But heres a game I'm starting to get into that involves other players without any online stuff
http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=338359

8/2/2005 6:53:10 PM