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What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:51 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
The weirdest thing happened last week. I was informed by the local monopoly called Eircom that the telephone line I use had been upgraded at the exchange to support broadband. Now I'm a little blindsided by seeing my favourite monopoly increase broadband availability in Ireland beyond 0.0001% - up to now I've been using a satelite service for downstreaming, but which still needed dial-up (at vile rates) for upstream.
Not one to be left behind, I'm going to hop on the MMOG band wagon for a while and see if it really is so addictive that food, water and sleep are optional. So what MMOG's are you guys playing (if any) and why do you prefer one over another?

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:05 am
by Zoxive
WoW.. sigh
I have stopped again though(2 months+ now), do not play this game. Takes up way to much time.
You have been warned.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:12 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
That's the one problem I have with WoW possibly - I play games a lot when I have the time, but even then we're talking on average 1.5hrs per day (leaning towards weekend marathon runs

).
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:19 am
by Zoxive
No bragging intended, just to show you how much time this game has wasted. I have 3 level 70's, and had a level 60 before the BC expansion came out.
I wonder what I would be doing right now if I didn't play this game.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:25 am
by Inkyskin
Ive only really played WoW, I did enjoy it, but stopped playing after a while. (I was not getting any work done!) It is a good game though, and quite enjoyable to play.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:32 pm
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Anyone playing Eve Online? Looks like my sort of game (actual tactics?)

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:39 pm
by Josh1billion
Runescape is a great game in itself, about half of the game is free and the rest is $5/month. You can still get a good half-year of enjoyment out of the free version (the subscription version is the same but unlocks a large portion of the world with more quests, items, and some skills).
World of Warcraft- you know about this already. You can download a one-week (or maybe it was two-week) free trial on the website.
Everquest - it used to have a free 7-day trial, and I think it still does.
Everquest II - I don't know much about this because I've never tried it.
Of course, with all of those games, you need LOTS of free time (2+ hours/day) if you want to make real progress. If you only have 20-30 minutes per day (or less) available to you, you should look into browser-based MMORPG's instead which are often designed to cater to people with lives. My game,
Seeds of Time Online, is one of such games.

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:45 pm
by Inkyskin
Maugrim_The_Reaper wrote:Anyone playing Eve Online? Looks like my sort of game (actual tactics?)

I have played this, but be warned, it takes a VERY long time to learn skills. You could be stuck mining rocks for quite some time as the game requires quite a lot of time to be spent on it. It's good though, and once you get past the basic skills things start to liven up

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:47 pm
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Thanks Josh - and I will check out your game soon

. I got started in PHP writing browser-based games or assisting in their production as a freelance programmer while in University. Admittedly my first steps were a little less than impressive back in 2000 when working in bits and pieces on Solar Empire

.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:49 pm
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Yeah, I figure all MMOG's need that initial time sinking, Inkyskin. Wasn't sure how much it was for Eve Online - but it's quite an attractive game. I love strategic games, and really like sci-fi settings for them (except for Total War which is a case in point that any setting can be made ultimately cool if the underlying gameplay is ridiculously good).
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:31 am
by alex.barylski
OMG You guys are video game geeks?

Haha...
Flight Simulator all the way!!!

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:47 am
by Benjamin
The only games I really play are Zuma and Need For Speed MW. I used to play Diablo II years ago.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 2:51 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
OMG You guys are video game geeks?
Absolutely

. I suppose it depends on your entertainment preferences. I'm not a massive TV fan - I think there's too much rubbish on the TV to make it worthwhile so I get by on a few TV series which doesn't take up a lot of time. So I'm inclined more towards gaming for that block of entertainment.
Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:30 am
by malcolmboston
Maugrim_The_Reaper wrote:OMG You guys are video game geeks?
Absolutely

. I suppose it depends on your entertainment preferences. I'm not a massive TV fan - I think there's too much rubbish on the TV to make it worthwhile so I get by on a few TV series which doesn't take up a lot of time. So I'm inclined more towards gaming for that block of entertainment.
Same, if im at home i rarely watch TV unless im really bored and cant be bothered doing anything, otherwise its the 360 nowadays which although i only got approx 2 weeks ago have built up quite a large collection of games already.
However, with me now pushing onto 25 i am pretty much bored with video gaming in general and i havent played a game that has 'sucked me in' in a long long time, was really looking forward to Halo 3 and completely locked myself out of seeing any of the game until i had it myself, major disappointment and i was hoping id never have to say that about my beloved halo
As for my 3 PC's at home, well working 9:30 - 5:30 7 days a week for the last 18 months, the last thing i want to do is go home and continue programming / designing, hence not a single one has been turned on in approx 3 - 4 months.
I think im hitting a mid-life crisis

Re: What MMOGs is the community playing?
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:27 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Hey malcolm, welcome to the wonderful world of 9-5 (and then some overtime) life

. I know it well.
I found the first year or so difficult to reconcile my personal time with - lately I've started setting a few priorities. So yes, for about I've been coding on my own time - usually only on my own personal open source stuff for the Zend Framework, PHPSpec, OpenID, etc. I've also cut out even more TV, narrowed my gaming time (I only play one full game every two months or more - usually whatever strikes me as time-limited (FPS's) or a long-term investment without strings (Strategies)). Takes a while, but if you really focus on how you're spending your limited free hours each day, it is possible to strike a good balance between hobbies. I even started writing again after a two year break - never ever once thought I'd even take a break for writing, it's one of my few really strong creative outlets besides PHP open source.
For everyone else - I've decided to signup a trial account for Eve Online and see how it goes. I was chatting to a few players and I was positively impressed at how dull WOW players make it sound boring. Looks like it really does require a lot more thinking, planning and strategic long term planning and patience. What's boring for some people is ecstasy for others

.