Ashes of Creation

Xerge said:

The Studio made the swap to UE4>5 and cost them huge dev. time, and it fucking shows. They are incredibly behind where they could have been and I dont think the benefits have outweighed anything yet.

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Do they still use UE server? If so, it may have been the wrong decision to use the generic implementation, which isn't really tailored to complex MMO gameplay. MMOs are basically elaborate graphical database clients.

Sloan said:

I think the pendulum of what a large chunk of gamers want is swinging back in the direction of less private zone, less theme park WoW style MMO and more classic type of grind, competition and scarcity. Only time will tell how big that minority is.

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The downside of less instanced, less theme-parky gameplay is that you have to find your own way to play the game. With the current culture of "optimal way to play" guide websites plus Youtubers + Twitch streamers showing off their play, you will have a lot of people trying to emulate that, in turn crowding certain areas making them unplayable.

That is the downside of non-instanced content plus big servers. It worked back in the day because the servers were not as full, and not everyone knew what an Allakhazam and how to use it in the first place. So, not only did WoW kill that playstyle, it was also Thottbot.

Also, let's not dance around the elephant in the room: less private zones, less theme park , more "classic grind" as you put it, does not automatically imply PvP.

Sloan said:

The casual vs wolf problem is the trickiest one to overcome in a game like this, and from what I see right now they are doing a pretty good job segmenting the content so both have their spot. A lot of large guilds have whole divisions that do nothing but gather and craft or PVE content, and other arms that solely do the PVP. Also, the PVP that the devs seem to care more about is large scale PVP that affects the environment for PVE - in the same way people do not strike at their job when food prices go up in general, but do strike when their direct pay is cut...i think most people will be ok with PVP affecting them indirectly like this as opposed to on an individual level.

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This right here is why I /consider dubiously on AoC. You basically describe "being a cog in a large nameless, facelss guid" so you can PvE--except you have to pay taxes of course. So I'm basically working for Amazon or Walmart, and the IRS wants money at the end of the year--only in a virtual world. Who would want that on the PvE side? Do I at least get an ingame pee bottle?

Again, this is New World all over, where guild could take over a trading post and set taxes. So players started to trade in items instead of coin.

Sloan said:

(there will always be risk of it, but right now the risk is very minimal as people do not want to get corrupted). Right now it seems they understand this, as Steven has said many times they arent balancing or building for individual PVP

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Highly motivated players will find ways to fuck with other players. You should brush up on your knowledge about the psychology of PKs. They find enjoyment in destroying the fun for other players. And who cares about the corruption system when they can make alts and trade stuff, akin to a fence.