--------- Original Message ---------

DATE: Mon, 1 Dec 2003 08:52:27 
> From: "replicant" <replicant@northstate.net>
To: "Tenchi Mailing List" <tenchi@ml.usagi.org>
Cc: 

>
>------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C3B7E8.7B811A60
>	charset="us-ascii"
>
>Hey all. I know we have several MMORPG geeks on here playing various
>games. For the past week I have been playing EQ again and it seems like
>a whole new game since I quit right at the start of Shadows of Luclin.
>The only annoying glitch from my past playing that is still around is
>mobs aggroing through walls. Very annoying, but I can deal with it if
>need be. The new areas are pretty cool and The Lost Dungeons of Norrath
>is pretty kickass. I really like the single party quest in a unique
>dungeon with a countdown timer. It just makes the action more intense
>and the loot/exp is really damn good. The beastlord class seems kinda
>neat, but I haven't played one yer. Also, Frogloks are nice, but dammnit
>I wanted to be able to play a Froglok Monk..Grrr, tired of only
>Human/Iksar Monks. Humans suck and Iksar are just annoying. I also saw
>the linux EQ program (hack) that allows you to see mobs, what they drop,
>and full maps of everything. That is amazingly fucking gay! Verant fix
>that shit. Grr.
> 


Heh heh

The game has changed quite a bit in some ways.  Of course, I've still walked 
away from it, and it eventually comes out to the same thing, but the Lost 
Dungeons were a lot of fun.
 

As for EQHack, I don't think it can be fixed.  With the way the game works, 
there's a constant datastream between the computer and the server that 
provides the information EQHack taps into.  Its built into the game engine, 
and I don't think it can be removed.  Its encrypted differently from time to 
time (from what I hear), but the hackers still eventually break back into it. 
 On the other hand, it also allows for useful sites such as Lucy 
(lucy.fnord.net - a wonderful spell information site) and Magelo 
(www.magelo.com - which has a very nice inventory database system for 
characters).
 

>I finally got to see a friend playing FFXI yesterday and it's definitely
>not for me. IMO it seems almost as pointless as AC2, PSO (GC/DC), and EQ
>Online (PS2) are.

Interesting.  I guess the big question is why you found it pointless.  
Argueably, they're all somewhat pointless.  Or as my constant in-game partner 
quipped one night, "There must be something wrong with me that I enjoy 
staying in one spot and doing the same thing over and over again."  You do 
that in pretty much any MMORPG, so the game breaker is the other elements.
 

I like it in way that the quests and missions are implemented (among other 
things - this is the big one).  Some quests are the usual "Run here, loot/buy 
this, bring it back" variety, but others involve one time cutscenes and 
advance the story in different ways.  The game tracks which quests you have 
finished, and some of them (particularly those with cut scenes) can only be 
completed once.  NPC responses also change based on whether or not you've 
completed certain quests.  Some quests only become available after you've 
completed certain other quests, and build on the previous ones - and often 
provide a little background information as to what is going on in the city.  
The missions are the ultimate example of this, being quests that can only be 
completed by members of the respective nations, but providing interesting 
depth and background to the city.
 

But that's my thing.

As for other games, well...

I'd thought about WoW, but I've heard one or two rumbles indicating that it 
might not be all its cracked up to be.  There aren't any other games that I'm 
particularly interested in.  While playing a dragon in Horizons has some 
interest for sheer differentness, I also know that a lot of other people are 
probably also interested in doing that, and I'd rather not play a game that 
has dragons as common as the elves in EQ.  So I expect to stick with FFXI for 
quite a while - and if I do stray, it'll probably be back to my Erudite 
Paladin in EQ (Solusek Ro server).
 


junior