I miss Percival.

 

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Step 1. Get the game out of EA hands, than we can go from there. Otherwise, no rezz.

 

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shut it down, give it a dignified death.

 

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What do you care, you don't play.

 

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Good post as usual semi4. I think Origins now, or Mordred, basically anything that can in any way split the player base, should be viewed as a bad thing by Mythic.


Someone mentioned EA, I'm not sure EA has done much against DAoC? They've kept it operating. The big mistakes were done before EA (if my timeline is right).


I forgot to mention in the other thread, I do think there are too many towers in NF, not sure I would get rid of most of them, *at least* one per keep.

 

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Here's what I just sent in a feedback form, which I feel is at least partially relevant to this thread:


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I'd just like to say off the bat that I started playing DAoC around when SI came out and have many, many fond memories of the game over the years. I recently decided to return and, for one reason or another, ended up opening a new account instead of a previous one.

As a returning player I feel that the way the game is presented after the tutorial island could be a large part in what keeps new or other returning players from sticking around.

I feel that the tutorial island itself is great, it does a good job of teaching players the basics of combat, questing, basic PvP through the dungeon, and gets them off to a good start equipment wise. But once players reach level 11/12 and are done with the area, they're dropped right into Classic DAoC without much direction given on what content is available to them.


I'm going to be frank, the way the classic areas "work" (few equipment drops, relatively few quests to complete that give good XP rewards, requiring players to find a camp of mobs and grind) isn't going to keep new players around these days. That was how MMOs were back in the day, but it just doesn't cut it today and dropping new players into that sort of content can't be doing well for player retention.

Of course, later additions to the game have made leveling and gearing a character up easier, especially with Catacombs' introduction of task dungeons and Aurulite. Battlegrounds up to level 30 now have repeatable quests that grant Aurulite with a vendor right next to the quest givers, not to mention the massive amounts of XP gained from the quests themselves and the mobs required. The issue is that, as far as I can tell, the game really does not guide new players to these places when it's most important; after they've left the tutorial. Sure you get a popup that gives a general explanation of the Catacombs expansion when you enter a Catacombs area, but that doesn't help if a player never gets it because they spent an hour killing things around Mag Mell and quit because they thought that was what they were going to have to do all the way up to 50.


Heck, I'm not even a new player and I had some trouble finding reasonable, relevant content once I reached 30 and the Battleground Aurulite quests stopped. I remembered that there were dungeons where the mobs dropped Aurulite, but I couldn't find an ingame source that told me which dungeons these were and what the level ranges were. I ended up having to go to Alakazam to find that information, and even then it wasn't perfect.


For a new player trying out the game for the first time, dropping them into the classic areas is the worst way to introduce them to the game, especially after how nice the tutorial is. New or returning players are going to be necessary to keep this great game around, and presenting them with the classic areas first is doing a disservice to both these potential customers and the work that you have put into improving the leveling and gearing experience. Guide these players to the best leveling experience the game offers, not the worst.

To change the course of the game would require not just one change but many I think.


It could be done, but you need a young hungry company that's really devoted to make it happen. Mythic seems to have lost faith in DAOC unfortunately.

 

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I don't think it'd necessarily require a large restructuring of the game's PvE content, just changing how players are introduced to it.

A general idea off the top of my head: start players off in their realm's capitol city after the tutorial instead of outside of it. Put them near new NPCs that now act as "guides," telling them what areas in different parts of the game would be good for a character of their level. Make sure emphasis is put on how Aurulite dungeons are great for a new player to earn equipment and how task dungeons give great XP and money. Tell them which Aurulite dungeons would be good for their level and how to get there. Pre level 30, keep telling them how the Battlegrounds would be a great way to get used to PvP while earning Aurulite for equipment.

Not the greatest solution in the world, but it at least gives new payers some guidance to the better parts of the game without needing to actually modify any of the content itself.

The invention of a flux capacitor.


Or possibly a glowing blue Scott Bakula to leap back in time and put right what once went wrong?


Can see the episode now, Dr. Beckett leaps into the past to find himself standing in front of a big conference table in front of a projection screen with a power point presentation that says "Trials of Atlantis" by Mark Jacobs... this is when he looks into the mirror and see Mr. Jacobs staring back at him and says "Oh boy".

 

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