New Content in the Future?

[Kamarar]

I'm curious if we're going to see any more traditional dungeons, random RK content or any of the more original features of AO?

ToTW, Subway, Foreman's, CoH etc. used to draw a nice crowd. But, eventually they got kind of old and boring. While I have no problem with the "outdoor" stuff, it really all starts to blend together at some point. One aliumz canyon is the same as the next. One SL instance isn't really that much different from the other. ToTW is completely unlike Foreman's, which is completely different than Subway.

I get it that you're all involved in this rebalance stuff, but one of main reasons I left is because I had pretty much seen the entire game. One fixer with too much time on his hands can definitely get around. You can only get drunk in two realities and revisit the same content before you get tired. It took quite a few years, but it did eventually happen.


I can understand if you don't have the funding or the resources to generate brand new models, sounds and animations, but there's definitely a lot of older content that hasn't been re-used all that often. There's still plenty of room for themes that haven't been beaten to death (quite literally?) yet. There's also all this emphasis on raids. Why isn't there content design specifically for 2-3 people in "average" setups (3-manning the beast does not count) ? Why is there so much focus on loot, when the goal of the game isn't specifically to get lots of phats and camp and farm til our eyes bleed and our parents are frantically calling us to make sure we're still alive? I always thought it was about having fun.

For all the thematic differences in classes, there's very little exploration of their differences anymore. The Fixer Grid quests are possibly the most original example of this, but there's not been anything approaching this level of definition in a long time. What do bureaucrats actually do? Why are there enforcers, and what do they enforce? Are agents actually affiliated with any agencies? Do engineers ever engineer anything, or just strip down in slayerdroid mode to shake their servos for cash? What life-shattering events lead meta-physicists to become so hateful (and prone to trolling)? Are adventurers really lonesome rangers familiar with the wilds, or just future-versions of Twilight fangirls? I can't even tell anymore. We all just pile into a dungeon, kill things with little (or usually no) provocation and blithely ask the corpses "can i hav ur stoof?" before ransacking and occasionally dismembering it?


So, will we see any new type of dungeon* that doesn't include a price tag, like we used to get? Perhaps even premiered a bit before the engine release to iron out bugs and provide an actual reason for the original constituents to return and poke about? How about some new geographical anomalies? Random unique mobs? Quirky dialog (<3 Marvin)? Things that don't necessarily involve any new resources, but at least give us a reason to get out there and populate the deserted planet that started it all?

Dailies were an OK step, but you've once again copied WoW. I seriously think that you don't do yourselves or the game you work on much credit when you're more than able to generate content for the players who don't want to play WoW... they want to play AO.

In closing, I don't think it would be a bad idea to look back at Rubi-Ka and remember where most of the original fanboys came from as you progress into the future.


*Dungeon: No canyons, cultists, aliumz, or anything even loosely related to SL. Nothing we've seen before that explores a facet outside the influence of the Xan or aliens.

[SoapTarder]

Its sad alot of RK is obsolete now (still alot that isn't). good post through and through I would love to see rk being the focus for improvements as well (improving old content) and even new content. its where the heart of this game lies, and where the nostalgia comes from for a lot of older players.

[Protozo]

I've always been sad with the few amount of actual dungeons on Rubi-Ka. I'd love to see some more creative dungeons that don't have features that look just like missions. For instance, you've been to one Shadowlands dungeon, you've been to them all.

[Kamarar]

I would also be all for a new stuff in RK missions.

They're at least three times more interesting than any alium/SL missions for several reasons:
-Huge amounts of random loot
-Random mobs (Ok, so AC holes count for jack. At least they have a varied appearance) that use skills.
-Interesting rooms. Some of them are quite rare, even. But overall, most are worth a few moments of time to actually look at, unlike SL/alium.
-"new" boxes with improved/rarer loot
-More varied layout due to a large pool of rooms to draw from.
-Other things that slip my mind since I've been up for 3 days straight -.-


If you can go and improve on any one of these areas, it wouldn't be wasted effort in the slightest. People still use this content on a hourly basis.

You could perhaps...
Extend the "sealed weapon container" selection.
Put mines back in >
Improve upon the "boss aura" by also including some tricks that go along with them and remove the complete immunity to certain weapon damages.
Add more "trap" monsters. How do those rollerrats fit in the door frames?! I don't care. It's awesome.
I'm hesitant to suggest new mission types since that area of code is probably half-lost and requires a solid understanding of ancient Samaritan (possibly a good drug regimen to keep the mind flexible as well). Still, they could be improved upon.
Mob equipment and skill selection. It wouldn't be so terrible to see 250 (REAL MEAN) mobs changed around a little and given more advanced sets of armor and skill usage to compensate. Maybe bring the mob cap up to 300 (or more..........) even.

[Kamarar]

You know... I was gonna try and give a damn about the game one last time, but it's obvious to me that the developers have no further interest in developing their game. They just want to mod it here and there with their half-assed skeleton crew, and then try to suck the last remaining value out of it while they put on their happy faces and take it up the butt month after month.

Expecting people to pay a full subscription for a game that's not even being supported properly is just stupid. You might as well just pull subscriptions entirely and make everyone pay for their levels, their gear, etc. because that's all I see in the future for AO.

I'm done for the last damn time.

[omegahealer]

to i see a rage here because they're not replying to you? it always takes time for them to read everything and reply to the things they deem important.

Also i doubt they'll reply to the obvious things posted and that getting angry after a mere 3 days + insulting the dev team isn't working your case.

Your OP was rather ok, but the things posted in it have been said over the years already and replied upon by the devs then.

[ZenWon]

The reason people still sub this game thats not being supported properly..is hope.

Hope that itll get better. I would be a damn shame for a game thats been around for almost 10 years to go away because the powers that be shuffled most of their programmers into other projects..ie; AoC and now TSW. I have been a very vocal and demanding subscriber myself for a number of years. I said some things to devs, and to the teams in anger and fruustration.

Its very true that "they" have some very obviously shady things go on in the past. That being said..I think someone..somewhere in that office cares bout ao in their own and and are trying.

So..my apologies to those Ive offended. Its easy to get some good nerdrage goin when youve invested years of your life in a "game". Love=passion.

My only request would be, just dont tell us stuff you guys know isnt going to happen now, or anytime soon. Dont package a product you cant deliver. Be open fortright and honest and this community will go to balls to the wall for you. We love AO or we wouldnt be here after the umpteenth year.

Peace.

[botbolter]

The ironic thing is, with a new engine, AO would sweep the board and make a lot more money for the company. Perhaps they should consider how many people would actually come back. The winning thing about AO is it's concept which has never really been challenged by any other platform and this is why people still dream of new beginnings, a new chapter in AO.

[Traderjill]

The reason people still sub this game thats not being supported properly..is hope.

Hope that itll get better. I would be a damn shame for a game thats been around for almost 10 years to go away because the powers that be shuffled most of their programmers into other projects..ie; AoC and now TSW. I have been a very vocal and demanding subscriber myself for a number of years. I said some things to devs, and to the teams in anger and fruustration.

Its very true that "they" have some very obviously shady things go on in the past. That being said..I think someone..somewhere in that office cares bout ao in their own and and are trying.

So..my apologies to those Ive offended. Its easy to get some good nerdrage goin when youve invested years of your life in a "game". Love=passion.

My only request would be, just dont tell us stuff you guys know isnt going to happen now, or anytime soon. Dont package a product you cant deliver. Be open fortright and honest and this community will go to balls to the wall for you. We love AO or we wouldnt be here after the umpteenth year.

Peace.

Very true.

You know, I really wonder why someone like me that has been paying 2 to 3 subscription fees for over 6 years (out of a 7+ year account history) can't get the candid truth.

Honestly it is not too much to ask to not be lied to. When you tell your customer base that they can expect something by the end of the year or by the 1st quarter .. those ARE real expectations. And yes, I use the word lie because when it is done repeatedly, without care or appreciation for those that are being mislead there is a level of negligence that makes it a conscience act of deception.

I've heard all types of people try to explain away the miscommunications. The best one I've heard was the person that said "subscription fees are to pay for current product not a payment for what has not been developed". Granted that is true but none of that has anything to do with the fact that we have been given bad information for so long that it is almost expected. And the folks that say "no one leaves AO because of the graphics engine" well I think they need to take a look around at the ghost town known as Rubi'ka these days and explain exactly why they think the people left. The engine may not be the direct reason but indirectly the failure for Funcom to produce it has caused people to lose hope in a revitalization of the game. With every person that leaves, that's one less person to play with and leaves more people feeling as if the game is 'empty'.

/rant off

Now regarding the original post.. if the xp gain in rubi'ka was raised I believe you'd see a lot more action there as there are more people to play with on rubi'ka, in some level ranges, than SL due to froobs. Outside of that, I do not think that any new areas to split the already small population should be developed until the engine/new starter experience is released.

[SoapTarder]

^^ very hard to discuss the fallout caused by the engine delay, without getting trolled or flamed by someone, but I know for a fact people aren't returning because of it. its may be easy for people to downplay who leaves and who doesn't because of no new engine, or that they aren't true ao players if they only played for the graphics (or hoped for graphics), but its much much harder to dismiss those that have cancelled accounts, and who will not return until new engine is released. the latter is a much bigger crowd to my knowledge. graphics aren't everything too, performance is key. even on a great rig, AO has lag, and even stutters at times, not to even mention a mouse cursor that is made of lead and won't move properly in raids/teams/busy areas. this fact alone shuts up the crowd that says they are happy with the graphics as they are, because its much more than that.

the new engine, if it can solve the performance issues, will bring back a lot more people than the graphics hungry crowd. I don't think this is at all off topic, because as long as the new engine is in production, new content comes out slower, and that equals a stagnant game, where everyone's tired of what content is already available. people might point out that there is a new pande area opening up. thats nice, but it was announced, waht... 2 years ago?

I agree that xp in RK should be raised to match SL. afterall, people will still have to go to SL at 200 to keep levelling quickly anyhow. the grind of RK was cool once (maybe), but its certainly not now. there's so much old content that people just ignore because it gives crap xp, outdated gear, and its void of other players for the most part.

the Devs could likely fix up the old content, and bring it up to snuff for a much lower pricetag than adding and designing new content. of course, seeing how long it can take to rebalance items, it might be quicker to just keep adding new content once or twice a year (and itemshop doesnt count lol).

[chickeepie]

i just got done leveling my froob sgent to120 ish. man some of those levels are brutally long. RK xp needs to be raised. as for the engine talk:

To me FC has treated us like sh*t. Constantly promising us the engine is coming , that the rebalance is going to happen.. we have paid for this game month after month. We have stayed by it . We love this game. I for one know i am leaving this game probly by the end of the year. It is not that i need the graphics. It's not that i care about the rebalance all that much. It's that FC hasent been treating us with respect. They keep acting like we are like dogs. loyal no matter what. They seem to think we will always be here (for some people it is true). They treat us like crap. In games like WoW i could see that being fine. They have a couple million subscribers. Im doing a rough estimate here and guessing AO has 25k tops. Treat people like crap and the number lowers. look at the ghost towns many of the cities have become. How many times to you hit the "find team" button and have absolutely zero people come up.

in any case FC get your **** together we love this game we have passion for it. but we arent mindless sheep who will be here waiting forever for the engine/ rebalance/ false promises

/rant

[Metafizis]

i just got done leveling my froob sgent to120 ish. man some of those levels are brutally long. RK xp needs to be raised. as for the engine talk:

To me FC has treated us like sh*t. Constantly promising us the engine is coming , that the rebalance is going to happen.. we have paid for this game month after month. We have stayed by it . We love this game. I for one know i am leaving this game probly by the end of the year. It is not that i need the graphics. It's not that i care about the rebalance all that much. It's that FC hasent been treating us with respect. They keep acting like we are like dogs. loyal no matter what. They seem to think we will always be here (for some people it is true). They treat us like crap. In games like WoW i could see that being fine. They have a couple million subscribers. Im doing a rough estimate here and guessing AO has 25k tops. Treat people like crap and the number lowers. look at the ghost towns many of the cities have become. How many times to you hit the "find team" button and have absolutely zero people come up.

in any case FC get your **** together we love this game we have passion for it. but we arent mindless sheep who will be here waiting forever for the engine/ rebalance/ false promises

/rant

I agree with some points made here. After playing/trying to some other games I noticed most have weekly patches and random tweak patches, and such. Games that are actually being worked on, not just "talked" about being worked on.

In the past years so many minor tweaks and fixes could have been made, but none have.
For example LE proc descriptions... perk info.. a **** ton of bugs all submitted by players to contribute for a better game, many have been ignored. I guess there is just noone working on the game. Not to mention certain gamebreaking bugs that take over a year to get removed...

..a year where most of the populus left.

[chickeepie]

I agree with some points made here. After playing/trying to some other games I noticed most have weekly patches and random tweak patches, and such. Games that are actually being worked on, not just "talked" about being worked on.

In the past years so many minor tweaks and fixes could have been made, but none have.
For example LE proc descriptions... perk info.. a **** ton of bugs all submitted by players to contribute for a better game, many have been ignored. I guess there is just noone working on the game. Not to mention certain gamebreaking bugs that take over a year to get removed...

..a year where most of the populus left.

I bet we wont have any fc member post on here. Besides the standard " Haha you bet we wouldn't post on " post. We want some answers and fc quite frankly is hoping we are too naive or STUPID to realize AO is dead

[Xenotric]

if they ever do put in something like a new RK dungeon I really hope they make it properly sci-fi

Subway is awesome, and ok the temples and steppes are quite cool but not really what I'd expect if i just started ao and even the new AI zones dont really have much of a sci-fi feel...

bring on the immaculate labs with pew pew lasorz and giant robots shooting forcefields!

[Notcrattey]

I demand a continuation of foremans!

[Otansaanpas]

so, if i read first post right, we need new bosses & areas that doesn't give anything to players except disappointment after opening loot window?

[Ahndracorvid]

If loot is all you play for, I guess.

Personally I used to spend time in ToTW when I was new well after I'd obtained all my loot. Why? Because back then the dungeon was full of people, and some of the most fun moments that still stick with me now would occur just from that fact. Aztur trains gradually went from being a pain in the backside to something to laugh out loud about when I bumped into them unexpectedly. I'd meet people many of whom were fellow newbies, a number of whom became close friends who I still keep in touch with and raid/pvp with today. Stuff like that.

There's a lot more a classic-style dungeon can offer people, and I agree with the sentiment of the OP: I miss their atmosphere. But I can't really see that atmosphere being restored with the current activity levels. After all, one of the reasons why ToTW nolonger interests me is because every time I go in on a lowbie these days it's completely deserted. And that makes me a sad panda. :<

But we all already knew an increase in population would be a welcome change for the whole game, so...