MMORPG/MMO games you anticipated, only for it to be canceled or disappointing?

[Felon]

Many MMOs play it safe for the same reason Hollywood plays it safe with most movies, and why large game companies (okay WotC) also play it safe with their major properties . . . innovation is risky! Innovate well and you raise the bar and become the industry leader, innovate poorly and you destroy your once-loved property. Keep it safe and enjoy a more stable source of income and profit.

The problem with the analogy is that while a person might see one movie last week and another movie this week and another movie a couple weeks later, MMO's tend to be exclusive of each other. If I'm just going to play a game where my character is little more than a predetermined role (tank, DPS, or buffs). I might as well just play WoW. That rigid allotment of class features by role is really a shame, as is the emphasis on combat that focuses on devising a scripted, repeatable approach to every fight.

DDO (Dungeons & Dragons Online) had a lot of innovative features that were praised by critics and many players (one of which being the nonstandard D&D setting of Eberron) . . . but over time the game has morphed to be more like WoW in order to keep a survivable subscriber base. While DDOs innovations were pretty cool, the game overall was "fun" and "okay" but not "GREAT" or "OMG WOW THIS IS SO COOL!!!" and so the game never enjoyed the success it could have.

DOO needed content. It had other pros and cons, but really, without content you ain got much of an MMO>

 

[Knightwind1972]

DDO.

 

[Darkwolf71]

DOO needed content. It had other pros and cons, but really, without content you ain got much of an MMO>

Yeah, but that combat system I was so concerned with at first turned out to be a real gem. best part of the game, IMO. I mean it's not perfect, but it beats the crap out of all other games in that one area.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I'm not a huge MMORPG fan, but I tried DDO and was pretty disappointed by it. Then again, I'm not sure D&D is really a great rule-set for an MMO.

The game I'm still anticipating (and constantly disappointed about not seeing) is Blizzard taking the WoW engine and building a single-player game around it.

 

[Felon]

Yeah, but that combat system I was so concerned with at first turned out to be a real gem. best part of the game, IMO. I mean it's not perfect, but it beats the crap out of all other games in that one area.

Yeah, I never understood the fixation on auto-targeted, queued-up combat in MMO's. Guess it's just easier for their servers to handle than letting people attack in real time.

The MMO I'm currently watching with great skepticism is Champions Online. Combat which promises real physics. Picking up cars and throwing them, smashing walls--that's the stuff a superhero game should offer.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Yeah, I never understood the fixation on auto-targeted, queued-up combat in MMO's. Guess it's just easier for their servers to handle than letting people attack in real time.

Mainly it's been a "lag will KILL you" issue. Even now if a lag spike hits in WoW, I can miss an interupt or something and end up getting screwed. If your shots are based off of hitting a particular position in real time, that lag issue gets worse.

I mean, what's the current limit on FPS multiplayer? 40 v 40? And those are a bit more dedicated.

It COULD be done, and it's not like MMO's don't start breaking down if too many folks are in one area anyway, but no one has pushed it yet.

Tablua Rasa really put a decent "illusion" over their system though, and it felt like you were shooting in real time, even if it was simply a targeted/PC-skill system.

 

[blobsticks]

Definitely Age of Conan.
That game promised sooo much and I was really excited about a game for a change, sadly it didn't live up to much at all.
I did like the combat though

 

[DonTadow]

Age of Conan for the win.

I bought two copies of the game. I installed one. (The other is still sitting in the shrink.)

It promised much - and delivered pretty much nothing.

Hey Age of Conan was the best MMO to be released to date... for the first 20 levels... and then it tanked worse than a Janet Jackson reappearance at the Superbowl. (que family guy cutscene)

 

[Goodsport]

I can't believe that it's been nearly ten years since Lost Continents was first announced! ...


-G