tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post1329509745372619669..comments2024-03-18T19:38:53.390-04:00Comments on Parallel Context: Fun With MMOs: Rift RevisitedRedbeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-45221294857832604272017-07-20T14:30:58.482-04:002017-07-20T14:30:58.482-04:00I'm happy to give you more ideas for things to...I'm happy to give you more ideas for things to blog about! XD<br /><br />Comparing AoC's output with anything is a bit unfair, considering that Funcom has officially put the game in maintenance mode.<br /><br />But I can't help but wonder if this might not have been RIFT's last expansion too. Its reception seemed to be really bad, mostly due to things like bugs and missing/delayed content. Syp's was about the most positive impression I read of it, and even he had given up by the second zone iirc.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-5566162110780962602017-07-19T18:54:58.806-04:002017-07-19T18:54:58.806-04:00Shin, you have brought up some great points, and w...Shin, you have brought up some great points, and whether or not an MMO's history (or the dev house's history) should factor into my MMO reviews is something I should examine for another post.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-35032059836707569092017-07-19T15:35:32.557-04:002017-07-19T15:35:32.557-04:00Well, I'm not sure. It depends on whether the ...Well, I'm not sure. It depends on whether the playerbase feels that using Steam is worth it. On AoC, I hear people badmouthing the Steam implementation all the time, but I really consider that more a function of being annoyed because the newer goodies have been angling toward the Steam downloaders than the people who have been around longer. It's been a while since I logged into STO, but I recall similar gripes about when they wanted people to download ArcGames to use as a launcher.<br /><br />I do recall the P2W crap that Trion got, but I have to think that Trion's belief in announcing they'd never go F2P was their real downfall. It was their hubris in thinking they could out-WoW WoW. Blizz has their sub model because of their sheer size, and even in the era of declining subs and the WoW cash shop they can get away with this. Trion could not, because they didn't have the size or volume to keep it going. And really, the only sub --that is strictly a sub and nothing else-- in MMO space is WoW. <br /><br />I personally never bought into the hype about Trion being a model of doing it right, because we didn't have the sub numbers that showed a steady player base. MMO players are very prickly --just pick any drama and I'll call it a tempest in a teapot-- and tend to have devs that listen to the loudest voices in the room rather than make decisions that are best for the game (see: Wildstar). Their decision to sell raid gear was not smart from mainly a perception POV, but it also doesn't impact the original game very much. I felt that the F2P environment in Rift is pretty much what I'd expect for somewhere in the middle of the cash shop zone. But I'd also point out that Trion is doing well enough to keep releasing new expacs, which is something that AoC and to a lesser extent, Wildstar aren't doing.*<br /><br />Nevertheless, an MMO reaching a six year anniversary is no small feat. The fact that Rift is able to hang in there in spite of everything against it --no established hot property, bad or no press, overall decline in MMOs as a genre, rise of MOBAs-- speaks to the quality of the original product.<br /><br />*Wildstar is releasing new raids, but that's about it as far as new content is concerned. No new zones, stories, or other major content. They're basically doing "Double XP Weekends" and whatnot at this point.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-84055134507925431252017-07-19T14:14:57.470-04:002017-07-19T14:14:57.470-04:00I do think your description of the story makes it ...I do think your description of the story makes it sound quite interesting and less generic than I've been led to believe!<br /><br />I'm aware that many MMO players don't use Steam to play their game of choice, but I see no reason to assume that the <i>percentage</i> of those who use it should vary wildly between games, so the relative size comparison should still hold.<br /><br />I just don't see RIFT as a survivor but rather as an example of how you can have a great start in the MMO space and still ruin things over time. At launch, Trion was the golden child and everyone talked about how great the game was... I remember the drama about a WoW blogger putting up a "RIFT-free zone" sign on her blog because she got tired of people gushing about it everywhere! Then the hype died down but Trion remained a champion of the subscription model, wowing to never fall so low as to go free to play. Then they did, but they were going to be different from everyone else and avoid annoying restrictions and pay to win! Then they sold raid gear in their store... it's just been one giant downward spiral, in terms of PR at least!Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-7496092382494203102017-07-19T11:52:56.178-04:002017-07-19T11:52:56.178-04:00And about your mention as to the lack of discussio...And about your mention as to the lack of discussion about the background to Rift, I really don't know why people don't talk about the Rift story. Maybe people just look at Rift as an excuse to PvP and raid, but I think the backstory is much more compelling and much less discombobulated than WoW's is. Maybe that's the SF/F fan in me, but I can see the planar invasion backstory as a good jumping point for a book series. <br /><br />Now that I think about it, you could make an argument about aspects of the Buffy-verse fitting into Rift's universe quite nicely.<br />Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-8102648073315821462017-07-19T07:50:55.443-04:002017-07-19T07:50:55.443-04:00The "Two Sides to a Coin" series is like...The "Two Sides to a Coin" series is likely much longer, but I also didn't use a lot of screenshots in that series either. What I wanted to do was examine what I felt would be potentially ridiculous aspects of the game that would break immersion, and visual evidence would be important.<br /><br />I think that Steam numbers are deceptive in this case, as Rift (like LOTRO or other MMOs) has a significant player base that doesn't use Steam to connect. And to be honest, with the clustering Rift uses I saw toons from several different shards when running around the zones. I also realize that the toons I'm seeing in the main capital and low level zones is going to be different than people hanging around wherever the high end toons congregate --think Dalaran in Wrath versus Org/Stormwind-- but there were more people in the low level zones than I originally expected. The rifts do tend to attract people from around the zone, so people who just quest and avoid the rifts do seem to be more of the exception. It is hard to avoid the rifts, but given my prior experience in the Beta of high level (major) rifts opening up in a low level zone, I placed a priority of avoiding the rifts until I was certain I could get a feel on what the level of the creatures were. (The map lets you hover over a rift to give you the level, which is a godsend.)<br /><br />One item I found interesting was reading the Gen Chat, because the people who complained that Rift was dead were also complaining that the toons they created in the Beta (or shortly after launch) were no longer around. I was surprised that people would complain that toons created 5 years ago and not touched since were cleaned up somewhere along the line. I'll freely admit that I was surprised that my original Trion account from the Beta was still active, but I've not seen an e-mail from Rift in years, so I figured it was gone long ago.<br />Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-42519550787452923632017-07-19T01:59:47.753-04:002017-07-19T01:59:47.753-04:00Sorry, that should have been slightly above Wildst...Sorry, that should have been slightly <b>above</b> Wildstar - got the lines mixed up at a glance. In a similar ballpark in any case.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287859335174901821.post-46222974222135556542017-07-19T01:57:59.224-04:002017-07-19T01:57:59.224-04:00Is this the longest post you've ever made on P...Is this the longest post you've ever made on Parallel Context? It's gotta be up there!<br /><br />As someone who's never played RIFT herself but has been exposed to plenty of blog posts about it, this is actually the most detailed explanation of the game's background I remember seeing. I think it's telling that people generally aren't too keen on talking about that part of the game...<br /><br />Have to disagree with your assessment of the game's population though, at least if Steam Charts are any indication of an MMO's relative size when compared to others: <a href="http://steamcharts.com/cmp/376570,39120,212500,217750#1y" rel="nofollow">They have</a> RIFT slightly below Wildstar, while LOTRO has about double the amount of players.<br /><br />The number of servers is deceiving because the game allows you to freely jump between them at the press of a button (I've seen a video about this) so everyone tends to gather on a single actually active server unless they are specifically seeking out solitude.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.com