posted 01-06-2002 16:36            

But then again...Square's got a good reputation for doing things well, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I would absolutely love it if it were a true world, where players' actions had consequences, where if goals weren't met, you'd be fucked. I hate the whole deus ex machina aspect of current MMORPGs. The developers set up scenarios, with attainable goals, but if players can't meet those goals in time for the next update, then the developers go ahead and make NPCs do the dirty work. That's not how a FF-based world should operate. How rewarding is it to not achieve the goals yourself? I would surely have hated it in FF7, for example, if some NPC came down and showed me how to beat Emerald Weapon. Or gave me the locations of all the playing cards in FF8. Half the fucking fun is finding out for yourself.

Give me a FF MMORPG (any more acronyms, please?) where, if players fuck up, the world gets destroyed --- and by destroyed I mean the MMORPG starts over, for everyone --- and I might be happy. At least there'd be a risk, a sense of urgency, a need to actually acomplish something.

posted 01-06-2002 16:46         

quote:

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Originally posted by MightyMon:
But shit....I know I'll probably see you on-line for the launch of FFXI, Biggles, no matter what they do to it.

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posted 01-06-2002 22:57         

still I've played almost every FF there is (haven't played the japanese only ones on the nes) so I'm going to get the game just as soon as I get a ps2 and FF 10 first

later
trey

posted 01-07-2002 14:54            

FF has traditionally been an RPG? With a story? So was Ultima, and look at the success of UO. People enjoy playing it, even if they aren't there to kill Mondain, or become an avatar, or rescue Lord British or what have you.

It's an Ultima-themed world that people enjoy. (Until they take up fishing, and start pulling up 30 different force macing weapons a day when all they REALLY want is a %$#!@$ vanq swords weapon, and maybe a painting or two.)

So what are we looking at? An FF-themed 'world' where Joe Blow can learn special moves, hunt in the wasteland, and engage in PvP. Not save the world.

If you like this idea, try it out. If you don't like it, then just stick with the single player RPGs you enjoy.

posted 01-07-2002 19:22            

FF XI will probably wind up being the only FF game ever that I don't buy. I think Biggles said it best. Mmorpgs are surrogate realities, and behave as such too. Players are actually impressed with the high level characters with the fancy "sword that drops once every 10000 kills of mob x that spawns once an hour," despite the fact that all ownership of that particular string of 1's and 0's represents is weeks of bona fide real life WASTED in front a computer monitor.

Sure, you can decrease spawn times, increase drop rates, speed up the treadmill, and toss in interactive storylines, but the essential factor of mmorpgs, the race for uberness, is always gonna be there, and it just doesn't sit well in my mind.

EQ, AC, UO, AO, DAoC, WW2oL, the upcoming Warcraft mmog, SWG, and now Final Fantasy... the bastardization of gaming is nearly complete. I swear that this is one trend that I wish would just die.

Unfortunately, there're more than enough pasty white, attention starved, friendless wastes of flesh with no lives that are perfectly willing to squander their pathetic lives whacking the bar of their skinner boxes trying in vain to achieve some sort of respect from fellow human beings (even if that respect exists only in a world that isn't even real) to keep the mmog industry alive and raking in the cash for years and years to come.

The sad part is that catering to that particular variety of cretin is doomed to be such a cash cow that eventually you'll be hard pressed to find an actual game to play that isn't just a glorified version of whack the mole. Thank god that most console users still haven't plugged the damned things into the internet yet.

Chiastic
"The internet killed computer gaming"

[This message has been edited by Chiastic (edited 01-07-2002).]

posted 01-07-2002 21:38         

quote:

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Originally posted by Chiastic:

Chiastic
"The internet killed computer gaming"

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I don't think the internet has killed computer gaming just it just hasn't found a good way to make the mmrpg as good as single player rpgs.

also the other genres you can play on the net I believe are very good like FPS and strategy games like starcraft and the upcoming warcraft 3.

that reminds me you can sign up to try and get in the beta in about an hour or so.

later
trey