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Classic MMO Appreciation Thread

I was rummaging through the garage the other day and came across a couple of game boxes from the late 90s that brought back vivid memories of summers spent in front of my old Pentium II. Considering how dry most game content is these days, especially in the MMO genre, it's really incredible what some of these oldies were able to accomplish back then. Who remembers a time when consoles and internet gaming were irreconcilable, when computer game companies boasted of servers with more than 2,000 people people playing simultaneously, when players couldn't communicate through speech and had to painstakingly type out every motherfucking word? Do you remember when you were actually afraid of being killed in a game for fear of losing all the shitty magic items you spent hours questing or camping to get? Perhaps you remember trying to buy and sell your loot in an online economy that wasn't fucked by bots, macros and Asian goldfarmers. If any of this sounds familiar, chances are you played one of these games:








Fuck World of Borecraft and whatever other dull contrivances people are wasting away in front of these days, that shit took everything great about these games and turned it into a primatial lever-pulling contest. There was a time when online environments rewarded exploration, team work, research, communication, etc. Now the only variable they give half a shit about is time. Player pays x amount of dollars, plays for y amount of hours, becomes level z, the end. WoW can offer their "free starter pack" until level 500 for all I care, their game will still be a drawn-out, one-dimensional grind from start to finish. The only difference is instead of slaying normal pigs, you'll slay spiny pigs, or demon pigs! Big fucking deal.

Sure the oldies like Everquest demanded our time, our money, even an occasional human relationship here or there. Sure they only offered us frustration and heartache in exchange, accompanied by an occasional lucky drop or level up. But the difference was the element of danger they presented. Zones used to be massive environments crawling with danger that players had to avoid as they precariously crossed to the next friendly city. Quests used to be obscure bits of knowledge that you had to consult guildmates or guides to obtain. Raids were carefully coordinated ventures that demanded strategy and attention, or it was everybody's ass. And when you died, you didn't just neatly respawn with a tiny bit of experience missing. No, you took a massive fucking xp hit, you had to run and find your corpse, and if you died in a bad enough spot, you had to hire somebody to help you out or there was a very real possibility you would lose everything. Shit mattered back then.

Anyway, thought I would publicly reminisce over these gems and how great they seem in comparison to the shit that is coming out these days. I haven't played an MMO in probably 6-7 years for the reasons described above, and I often think about finding a new computer game to get into, but after experiencing the early days of MMO it hardly seems likely I'll find anything worth my time. Or maybe I will, and that's the problem.

nope.

quote:

Originally posted by BTG nope.

isn't there a hockey game on or something?

this is like a "how has trance changed your life?" thread

Nethack > All others.

quote:

Originally posted by jupiterone this is like a "how has trance changed your life?" thread

maybe I have worked myself into a fever over this. but come on, shitty old games were more real than shitty old music. right? RIGHT??

quote:

Originally posted by phyrrus isn't there a hockey game on or something?

it's the end of july.


OF COURSE THERE"S NO FUCKING HOCKEY >

MMOs suck.

medal of honor spearhead > *

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN MMOs suck.

thank you.

not that the concept sucks IMO...just that there's no games that are really ENTERTAINING. sure..if you wana grow an internet penis the size of a black dudes, it's good for you..but as far as just "SPORT" there's absolutely nothing.

that's what I'm saying. had you played the shit 10-12 years ago, you'd be singing a different tune. now it's all the same watered down shit that has no appeal for newcomers because it's designed for the stupidest people. actually BTG, maybe you should give it a shot.

I think i'm going to play Starwars with my buddies when it comes out...

reluctantly..but hey..it's star wars..gota bring back my old character(from starwars galaxies)...


SPACE_ALIEN!

Ugh, no. You actually have to have something seriously wrong with you to enjoy that kind of game.

First of all, unless you're a giant loser, you either (a) don't have time to actually accomplish anything in any of them; or (b) have approximately one billion things you would rather be doing than sitting around with a pack of the most annoying jugheads on the internet for hours on end, doing mostly nothing. Very likely both.

But putting that aside, just look at the gameplay. The pacing--if you can even say there is any--is glacial. Actually, sitting around watching glaciers recede would probably be more exciting and fast-paced than ninety-nine percent of the time you spend on any of those games. But at least that remaining 1% is really dynamic and interesting, right? Wrong. You literally sit there and do the same thing over and over and over--that is, when you're doing anything at all. If that's what you call fun, then you should go get a job as a tax accountant or something. You can sit there doing repetitive, inane work all day and actually get paid for it, instead of paying to do it. Maybe you'll even meet some real friends, instead of creepy guys living in their parents' basement hoping that you're the 13 year old girl of their dreams.

When I was eight years old, I rented a NES game called "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance." In the three days before I had to return it, I did not manage to figure out how to pass through the door in the very first room (as I found out years later, you have to hold, not merely press, the up or down button to pass through doors in the game.) Thus, all I was able to do was futilely jump each character into the bottomless pit on the very first screen, one by one, to their deaths. Even so, I can now say, without a doubt, that doing so was a far more fun and rewarding gameplay experience than all of the not inconsiderable hours I wasted trying out these so-called classics combined.

I can agree with you on one thing: modern MMOs are definitely "watered down shit." The difference, then, between them and these "classics" is the addition of water. And while that diluting effect might render their stench slightly less potent, they are still far from producing a palatable product. But that's just my opinion. Since the target audience for the entire genre seems to be shit-eating losers, maybe it is indeed a change for the worse. Personally, I just want them to make the games as successful as possible so that the kind of slavering imbeciles who enjoy them will spend all of their time at home so that I don't have to see their fat, disgusting bodies out in public.

quote:

Originally posted by Arbiter When I was eight years old, I rented a NES game called "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance." In the three days before I had to return it, I did not manage to figure out how to pass through the door in the very first room (as I found out years later, you have to hold, not merely press, the up or down button to pass through doors in the game.) Thus, all I was able to do was futilely jump each character into the bottomless pit on the very first screen, one by one, to their deaths. Even so, I can now say, without a doubt, that doing so was a far more fun and rewarding gameplay experience than all of the not inconsiderable hours I wasted trying out these so-called classics combined.

Fucking LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Arbiter In the three days before I had to return it, I did not manage to figure out how to pass through the door in the very first room (as I found out years later, you have to hold, not merely press, the up or down button to pass through doors in the game.) Thus, all I was able to do was futilely jump each character into the bottomless pit on the very first screen, one by one, to their deaths.

you had to go out through the kitchen!

quote:

Originally posted by Arbiter "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance."

we won btw. i betrayed the queen of darkness and helped defeat arakis, and i took the black robes and became the most powerful mage in all ansalon. it was good times.

UO was amazing and I am still looking for a game that has that same feeling of a living breathing world

I like starcraft. and fifa.

quote:

Originally posted by psymon.d and fifa.

PES

quote:

Originally posted by srussell0018 PES

you're one of them eh?

I'm still trying to get the jar of spanish fly off the ledge in Leisure Suit Larry 1

quote:

Originally posted by psymon.d you're one of them eh?

If you mean someone who appreciates far superior gameplay, then yes.

i've just eaten a whole pack of italian ham. like a boss

Asheron's Call is still fucking great. They STILL come out with monthly content updates. WoW goes 6 fucking months without new content, easily.

Wish they'd make AC Free-To-Play though.

quote:

Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On Asheron's Call is still fucking great. They STILL come out with monthly content updates. WoW goes 6 fucking months without new content, easily. Wish they'd make AC Free-To-Play though.

one of their downfalls, certainly. how did game companies expect thirteen-year-old pimply pinpricks to pay $9.95 monthly via credit card, and then later raise it almost unanimously to $12.95 for pay-to-play services? Do you know how hard it is to explain to your parents why they should keep paying for this? Blizzard, though responsible for one of the worst games in computer gaming history, admittedly paved the way for free MMO gaming with battle.net. When WC3 came out I almost enjoyed sitting in b.net chatrooms more than playing the game itself.

quote:

Originally posted by Arbiter When I was eight years old, I rented a NES game called "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance." In the three days before I had to return it, I did not manage to figure out how to pass through the door in the very first room (as I found out years later, you have to hold, not merely press, the up or down button to pass through doors in the game.) Thus, all I was able to do was futilely jump each character into the bottomless pit on the very first screen, one by one, to their deaths. Even so, I can now say, without a doubt, that doing so was a far more fun and rewarding gameplay experience than all of the not inconsiderable hours I wasted trying out these so-called classics combined.

I'm willing to bet that had you rented this shit a second time, you would have figured out what to do and really enjoyed the game. Therein lies the perverted genius of MMOs. I was maybe 10 or 11 years old when I installed the original EQ, and only minutes after I created my first character I got him lost in a cave because it was night time and I had no light source or natural night vision. I got frustrated, quit for about 2 months, and then tried again. I got out of the cave, leveled up and soon learned that I had unknowingly chosen to play on a PvP server, which meant that other players could kill me almost at their whim. I continued to level up, join guilds, meet people and so forth, until I had a general idea of what was up.

Look, the point is that the model of a MMO is, or was, a fantastic idea, but only because it was such a great challenge that only so many people could deal with it. As soon as they ditched that challenge factor and replaced it with fancy graphics, expansions, proctored game play, whatever, it became a big underwhelming timesink. Basically, as soon as the MO became the MMO, it all started to go pete tong.

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