ALFA vs WOW

[Veilan]

I have played a little on an MMO RP private server based on Lineage 2 which was managed by two ALFAns. One of which is still around and the RP was very good. On par with ALFA.

Lies and slander .

[Mulu]

The wife and I tried the WOW 10 day trial, and were underwhelmed. We didn't even make it the full 10 days, I think we lasted 3. The ridiculous cartoon environment, the constant PvP challenges... well those were the big two, enough to make us look for something else.

Then we tried Guild Wars and actually liked it. When you adventure outside, you get your own world with only your party members in it. All the munchkins and OOCness just disappears, POOF! Beautiful. Plus it's free to play, and it's easy to play. My 6 year old kid plays Guild Wars with us. Of course, my 6 year old kid has mastered the NWN DM client....

Guild Wars, and I suppose MMO's in general, give you exactly what's missing in ALFA: Instant game. There are certainly many other PW's that have instant game, Avlis comes to mind, so it's not a platform issue, it's a choice, or a lack of builders I suppose. It's the old argument: With content comes players, with players come rp, with rp'ing players come plots and more DM'age. I'd probably play on ALFA again if I knew I would have something to do even without a DM. Obviously with a DM ALFA and really any NWN 1/2 rp environment rocks, and that's something no MMO can ever offer. People trump platform every time, and the NWN rp community has better people and a better game concept than any MMO. Still, for instant casual gaming, MMO's are a nice option.

So Mik let's see some screenshots of your whirling dagger dark elf of death.

For that matter, just how pretty is LOTR?

[zicada]

um, are we really comparing wow to alfa in this thread ?
*scratches head*

[johnlewismcleod]

um, are we really comparing wow to alfa in this thread ?
*scratches head*

It does indeed defy reason

[peterdin]

a long post and then this: OK, there is my ALFA vs WAR summary. More to follow if I think of it. Ciao.

if that was a summary, what will be the whole?

[Mikayla]

Peterdin:

if that was a summary, what will be the whole?

Are you sure you want to ask?

[Hialmar]

For that matter, just how pretty is LOTR?

LOTRO is awesome graphically.

I was like you when I tried WOW. I hated its cartoon graphics.

Plus in LOTRO you can pay for a lifetime (ie the lifetime of the game ) account. I did that and enjoy it a lot for instant play like you.
Basically I just explore the wonderful rendering of JRR Tolkien's world.

RP is mostly bad even on RP servers (I play on Laurelin - the 1st Euro English RP server) but the PvP is restrained to some zones so you don't have to worry about that.

[Kest]

How can you decry the cartoon style of WoW on one hand and praise the cartoon style of LotRO on the other? How does that work? Characters in LotRO looks like claymation dolls...

Interface: WAR wins, and it wins TWICE dammit. The WAR UI is customizable, and after 6 months, I have a UI and a mouse/controller set up that allows me to fight competitively in PvP. REALLY competitively. In comparison, when I returned to ALFA, the amount of effort to simply target and attack something, or, gods forbid, target and cast a spell on something, is ridiculous. In WAR, I would have already killed it! Point being, NWN2's interface and combat mechanism is clunky and awkward and slow and frustrating.

Well I'd certainly never have been able to make this in NWN2:

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=5ug5u1&s=5

[Kest]

but why are you even comparing mmos to nwn2 they are totally different genres

ps. if anyone wants to try WAR let me know so i can send you a trial account using the recruit-a-friend thing

[Mikayla]

Hey Kest, I mentioned WAR first! So if people want to try it out, talk to ME!

(( Just FYI, the reason that we care is that if you get 6 people to join, you can get a manticore or griffon mount. Hmmph. ))

Truth be told, I've not played WAR in over a month because I am sick of unbalanced servers. Still, the engine is great. And Kest, we have *very* similar UIs (though I don't use the waaagh shock bar you have at the top, and I use a HUD combat thingy etc,, but still, very close).

[Ithildur]

This is amusing and somewhat informative, but almost an off topic thread ain't it?

[Veilan]

Technically this qualifies as ALFA discussion, so we'll leave it here .

[Kest]

(( Just FYI, the reason that we care is that if you get 6 people to join, you can get a manticore or griffon mount. Hmmph. ))

I want it more.

Truth be told, I've not played WAR in over a month because I am sick of unbalanced servers. Still, the engine is great. And Kest, we have *very* similar UIs (though I don't use the waaagh shock bar you have at the top, and I use a HUD combat thingy etc,, but still, very close).

Some servers ae better than others. I use SNT Info for the top. Did you make your own? lets see some pics!!

[Kest]

As for roleplaying, I have online tabletop to satisfy that.

i was very disappointed with NWN2, though most of the blame lies with D&D3E which is a completely horrible system for roleplaying

[Duck One]

*waddles in and adds a couple of thoughts*

For those of you who scoff at the very notion of comparing WoW to ALFA, I would point you in the direction of those on your right who scoff with equal contempt at the comparisons of ALFA to D&D. No, I am not here to leap to the defense of WoW. I in fact could not find any amusement in it. But that doesn't mean that the comparison lacks any analytical merit, and anyone who thinks they can't learn something from an enterprise that has clearly redefined the medium is very narrow-minded.

In fact, the vast success of WoW has the industry trying to dissect it to understand what really makes it so successful so as to try to leverage it for their own offerings, and ALFA would be wise to at least understand it. To help you make that bridge let me draw some parallels:

Both are computers games based in the PC world, a medium that is losing ground quickly to console and hand-held offerings.

Both are set in fantasy worlds based upon middle-age technology infused with magic and mythical creatures.

Both are role playing games whereby the player is to assume the fictional identity of a single fantasy character and make decisions for it, both in terms of plot choices and character attribute development.

Both are real-time action combat games (as opposed to a turn-based strategy game)

In short if you were to divide hobby and entertainment pursuits (from playing guitar to watching a movie), WoW and ALFA fall into the same 1% such that the average man on the street would not be able to tell you how the two are different. In fact, if you were to just isolate computer gamers (from console gamers to those playing shooters or strategy games), my guess is that most could not give a very accurate accounting of the variances between the two.

Yes I understand the differences and how they are very important to those who call ALFA home, but you might be surprised how many of your prospective members don’t, or indeed how many of your loyal members also find amusement in WoW or something akin to it. Bottom line, there is much that could be learned and in some way leveraged.

So what does make WoW so attractive to so many?

Execution: WoW puts out clean stuff. It doesn’t bug, hang, or crash. Every detail (no matter how cartoony you think it is) fits and works. It’s easy to use in a bunch of languages, and every last pixel of the world is as it should be. This is the marketing that made McDonalds king of restaurants. They don’t have to make the best burger, but every time you go in, it’s hot and predictably satisfying.

Content: From the second you log in you are slammed with options on things to do. You don’t have to wander too far or wait to long before you’re hip deep. There’s crafting, community, economy, PvP, socializing…things to do alone or in a group of 40. You could spend literally a lifetime trying to find all the things to do and get them done.

Accomplishment: this is the secret. People come in out of curiosity, but they stay for the sense of pride. There’s always one more level, another rare bobble, one additional badge of honor. The never-ending supply of carrots to hang on so many sticks…this is their niche.

Do I say ALFA needs to be more WoW-like? I’m saying I would keep my nose from getting too high long enough to look under the hood and see what makes it tick.