epoling
08-11-2004, 10:05 PM
I have hungrily read everything I can find about this new expansion, wanting to see what is in it for low levels and new players. My family and I have been debating dropping AC permanently for something that offers game play for all levels, as we prefer not to have to use a buff bot, and thus can't take on the high end monsters. Most of the patches have been full of things that kick our level 40-something behinds without high level buffs. I was hoping that the expansion pack would be geared toward making the game accessible to all levels of play, as well as drawing new players. (Has anybody noticed that there have been very few "New" new players for quite a while, when trying to get vassals. I would like a few vassals who don't know the game better than me before they come out of the training hall.)
Instead, at the moment, this expansion pack appears to be a gift to the high level players, with nothing to draw in new players or returning players. There are some "new" features, but none of them are outstanding or even worthy on their own of an expansion pack.
Fixing the graphics up is nice, but it sounds like it will be piecemeal, not a total overhaul, and a game should be good without worrying about the graphics anyway. Since soon after the game came out, we have had overhauls of various creatures, making them look better. Since they have already started using updated textures for some of the dungeons, I am not sure why they aren't just sticking some new creature models in every so often. If it were a total graphic update, it would be a reason for an expansion pack, but seeing a hodgepodge of old graphics and new stuck together doesn't impress me.
Unless there is going to be some kind of change in all the races, it is unlikely that the Viamontians will be much different (except for the polycount) from the rest of the races. Race has never made a difference in this game, and I can't see how Turbine could make a new player race really "different" without having serious side effects on the old characters and upsetting the balance they have worked to maintain. They just, at the moment, don't sound interesting in a way that would draw me back. In fact, at the moment, they sound like a pointless addition to the game. Why not just use the three existing races and and let them be "lost" from the rest of Dereth, much as Marae Lassae was?
The new "Rare Items" sound like they could be cool, but not enough to draw in the new player. With the drop rates I have seen kicked around, I would feel like I have an extremely small chance of ever getting even the weakest of rare drops, so why spend the money on the expansion in the slimmest of hopes I might get even the lowest level drop? (I don't play the lottery, either, because the odds of winnning are so low.)
New creatures are nice, but don't we get new creatures every month (Burun, the new ghost things, dolls)? It doesn't seem like a selling point for an expansion pack, or a way to get in new players.
The land of Viamont would be the same thing... We got Aerlinthe, the Tusker Islands, and the Vesayen Isles all in monthly events. Unless there is something very special and very large about Viamont, it doesn't seem to be much of a selling point, either.
Finally, we have the raised level caps and the augmentation gems. These seem to be the big thing everybody is talking about. Great prizes for playing Asheron's Call for a long time, but if I am starting at level one, and want to experience the game, I don't care what happens when I finally reach level 125 or higher. I play for the along the way stuff, and not just to get to the end point. There is not a lot there for me now, and it seems that it will be more of the same but for more levels. (I have done the olthoi armor dungeon that starts at level 20... since the only difference between that and the higher levels is the level of armor and monsters, why go back? I have seen it and navigated it. It is my understanding that the other "leveled" dungeons are the same way -- each level is the same layout, decoration, etc as the one before it.) Why should I even want to get to level 275?
Since it is my understanding that the augmentation gems are for characters over level 125, at level 42 I don't need or want them. By the time the expansion comes out, I might have a character to that point, but if I don't, it isn't going to be a selling point. If I had never played the game, I don't believe I would by it for something that should take me a lot of time to earn. It's nice for those of you who will get them, but it doesn't seem to be a real selling point for the first expansion pack in several years.
At the moment, the expansion pack does not seem to offer a whole lot to bring in new players. A lot of monthly event stuff and a new system for high level players is nice, but for a game that hasn't been on store shelves for quite some time, has not had a real expansion for several years, and could use a real infusion of new players, this doesn't seem to be the way to go.
I would like to see more low and mid level inclusion in the game with unique materials, not just copies of quests designed for high level characters. An expansion needs some sort of new dynamic for the game it is going into that will appeal to more than just the current player base. Housing was the selling point for Dark Majesty -- maybe Turbine could add mounts, instanced dungeons, pets, or some other game play feature that makes it more appealing to a wider base than the people who have already gotten to level 126.
Eric
Instead, at the moment, this expansion pack appears to be a gift to the high level players, with nothing to draw in new players or returning players. There are some "new" features, but none of them are outstanding or even worthy on their own of an expansion pack.
Fixing the graphics up is nice, but it sounds like it will be piecemeal, not a total overhaul, and a game should be good without worrying about the graphics anyway. Since soon after the game came out, we have had overhauls of various creatures, making them look better. Since they have already started using updated textures for some of the dungeons, I am not sure why they aren't just sticking some new creature models in every so often. If it were a total graphic update, it would be a reason for an expansion pack, but seeing a hodgepodge of old graphics and new stuck together doesn't impress me.
Unless there is going to be some kind of change in all the races, it is unlikely that the Viamontians will be much different (except for the polycount) from the rest of the races. Race has never made a difference in this game, and I can't see how Turbine could make a new player race really "different" without having serious side effects on the old characters and upsetting the balance they have worked to maintain. They just, at the moment, don't sound interesting in a way that would draw me back. In fact, at the moment, they sound like a pointless addition to the game. Why not just use the three existing races and and let them be "lost" from the rest of Dereth, much as Marae Lassae was?
The new "Rare Items" sound like they could be cool, but not enough to draw in the new player. With the drop rates I have seen kicked around, I would feel like I have an extremely small chance of ever getting even the weakest of rare drops, so why spend the money on the expansion in the slimmest of hopes I might get even the lowest level drop? (I don't play the lottery, either, because the odds of winnning are so low.)
New creatures are nice, but don't we get new creatures every month (Burun, the new ghost things, dolls)? It doesn't seem like a selling point for an expansion pack, or a way to get in new players.
The land of Viamont would be the same thing... We got Aerlinthe, the Tusker Islands, and the Vesayen Isles all in monthly events. Unless there is something very special and very large about Viamont, it doesn't seem to be much of a selling point, either.
Finally, we have the raised level caps and the augmentation gems. These seem to be the big thing everybody is talking about. Great prizes for playing Asheron's Call for a long time, but if I am starting at level one, and want to experience the game, I don't care what happens when I finally reach level 125 or higher. I play for the along the way stuff, and not just to get to the end point. There is not a lot there for me now, and it seems that it will be more of the same but for more levels. (I have done the olthoi armor dungeon that starts at level 20... since the only difference between that and the higher levels is the level of armor and monsters, why go back? I have seen it and navigated it. It is my understanding that the other "leveled" dungeons are the same way -- each level is the same layout, decoration, etc as the one before it.) Why should I even want to get to level 275?
Since it is my understanding that the augmentation gems are for characters over level 125, at level 42 I don't need or want them. By the time the expansion comes out, I might have a character to that point, but if I don't, it isn't going to be a selling point. If I had never played the game, I don't believe I would by it for something that should take me a lot of time to earn. It's nice for those of you who will get them, but it doesn't seem to be a real selling point for the first expansion pack in several years.
At the moment, the expansion pack does not seem to offer a whole lot to bring in new players. A lot of monthly event stuff and a new system for high level players is nice, but for a game that hasn't been on store shelves for quite some time, has not had a real expansion for several years, and could use a real infusion of new players, this doesn't seem to be the way to go.
I would like to see more low and mid level inclusion in the game with unique materials, not just copies of quests designed for high level characters. An expansion needs some sort of new dynamic for the game it is going into that will appeal to more than just the current player base. Housing was the selling point for Dark Majesty -- maybe Turbine could add mounts, instanced dungeons, pets, or some other game play feature that makes it more appealing to a wider base than the people who have already gotten to level 126.
Eric