Revisiting MMOs

[Panayjon]

Currently I'm engrossed in Warhammer Online but aware of the flaws it has, I've often defended it with, "It just came out, give it half a year before you give a final verdict". Obviously before that you're more than free to level criticism at it. Just don't write it off. WAR in particular seems to have an update/fix/addition every couple of weeks.

Anyways, lets revisit some MMOs that had a failed launch and see if they have gotten any better. Assuming anyone on the Escapist is still playing them to tell us. I'm especially curious about Vanguard, the title that promised us everything (almost 2 years ago) and Age of Conan which promised us action and breasts (about 6 months ago).

 

[xitel]

I want to hear about Planetside, if anyone is still playing that.

 

[Erana]

The Escapist should be considered an MMO, IMO.

 

[InsanityBaronOfAtrocity]

I want to hear about Planetside, if anyone is still playing that.

Me too! A while back I opened up one of those Planetside Reserve accounts. You know the free ones? After they stopped doing them I just stopped playing the game. I would love to go back to it but I'm not willing to pay £12 just to find myself in an empty server.

 

[CoziestPigeon]

Vanguard I wanted so badly to love, but it just wasn't ready for the world.

 

[Panayjon]

Well, its nice to know that there is some curiosity for the subject, even if there aren't many answers. After a quick Wiki search though I did come up with this for Vanguard... though more than just changes I'd like to see some opinions on if its suddenly become fun and playable.

Game Updates (GU)[13] have now been established as a regular upgrade of the game, once about every two months. Between the GU, random smaller content updates are added to the game as well. Players can try out new content on the Test server, before they hit the regular servers. Unlike other SOE titles, there are no Addons (expansions) for Vanguard planned at this time.

* Game Update 3 - Released Oct 16, 2007 (Phase 1), and Dec 12, 2007 (Phase 2). Introduced Raiding. Also added Holiday content such as the flying mount Randolph, the flying reindeer, which where disabled again Jan 9 2008[14].

* Game Update 4 - Released Mar 11, 2008. Introduced permanent flying mounts (Griffons and Wyvens) and changed the Riftway System again. Removed Character Customization to allow helmets[15].

* Game Update 5 - Released May 28, 2008. The main feature of this update was racial mounts[16]. Shortly afterwards, city faction armor and the Pegasus permanent flying mount were introduced.

* Game Update 6 - Released September 10, 2008. Features a trial island where new characters can start, new customizable character models, class balance fixes and over 1,500 bug fixes[17].

As for future improvements and updates, Vanguard players on the official forums have created a list of improvements to be made. These can be seen at the official Vanguard: Saga of Heroes forum[18][19].

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For Age of Conan

In September 2008, Gaute Godager, the Producer and Game Director resigned from his role in Age of Conan and from Funcom, a company he had been involved in for over 16 years[47]. In his press release, he revealed that he was not happy with elements in the game's development since release. He did not elaborate on the specific concerns, however the game has sparked heated criticism from players on the Internet and game forums lamenting the removal of mature content[48]. In several months past, the game has had numerous fixes "toning down" content. For instance, several NPCs have had clothes added when they were previously nude, and the ability to become intoxicated in taverns and cause a bar fight was scrapped at release.

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For Planetside

As of 2007, the game is actively supported by Sony Online Entertainment, although due to a reduced development staff the release of new content is less frequent compared to 2003-2004. New content and patches are released once every 3-4 months and are usually focused around an in-game community event. The number of active Planetside subscriptions worldwide is not provided by Sony Online Entertainment, but is estimated to be around 20,000 players compared to late 2003, when subscriptions peaked at around 75,000 players.[2]