Monsters and Memories (Project_N) - Old School Indie MMO

Kithani

Kithani

Blackwing Lair Raider
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... said:
Yea krip's answer is about what was going to say. some people arn't playing the game to WoWstyle level plow. they're engaging with what's there.

I would add also that it's not that bad. the dark is dark, but you can use the backlighting or the hovering names to do most things in a noobie zone. just pan the camera up. The guildleaders for the newbie note can be a pain in the ass, but the rewards for turning in is basically worthless. you can slowly acclimate to the city and eventually do your newbie quest if you care, but...it's not that hard. its divisive sure because a generation or two was raised on hand holding for their handholding. but there's also players checking out stuff like old school runescape, or nutting up for darksouls style games left and right.

I had 5 friends join me 3 enjoyed it enough to keep playing , we g rouped up to...about 8. 2 immediately said "ITS DARK NOT LIKE" and stopped. Really if the newbie zone just had a few more lamp posts and backlighting those guys prolly would have found it immersive.
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It’s not simply about the game being dark and “not easy enough like WoW”. It’s about being unrealistically dark to the point that being outside in the desert under the moon/stars is more akin to being in an underground cave.

I loved EQ because it basically felt like an immersive DND simulator. There’s nothing realistic/immersive about that level of darkness to the point that it feels unrealistic just for the sake of forcing people to use their torch/lantern system that they’re clearly super proud of coming up with.

If the devs wanted to have a super dark area like a cave or a spooky forest akin to Kithicor/Nektulos that would be cool with me but having every single area work that way is just silly.
 
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S

Sloan

Silver Knight of the Realm
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I dont know why the dark is still being complained about the gamma slider nullifies it. Dont even have to blast it just turn it to 75-80.
 
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GuardianX

GuardianX

Perpetually Pessimistic
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Will be fun to play while waiting for AoA.

My family just isn't as into it as me and holy shit did camping a level 10 for 5 hours take the wind out of my sails.

SHM gunna be interesting though:

Code: 
consumes
Consume 1 (12) - 11 mana / 25 hp / .44 ratio
Consume 2 (28) - 25 mana / 50 hp / .5 ratio
Consume 3 (44) - 45 mana / 90 hp / .5 ratio
Consume 4 (60) - 90 mana / 150 hp / .6 ratio

Regens
Minor Regeneration (8) - +2 / 25 m
Lesser Regeneration (20) - +5 / 25 m
Regeneration (32) - +7 /
Greater Regeneration (44) - +9 /
Exceptional Regeneration (56) - +11 /

Spores
Salubrious Spores (12) 160 hp / 35 m
Salutary Spores (20) 300 hp / 60 m
Restorative Spores (28) 600 hp / 195 m
Regenerative Spores (40) 1200 hp /
Chloroplastic Spores (52) 2400 hp /

Only counting consuming spores
@12 -- 31 mana return
@20 -- 72 mana return
@28 -- 105 mana return
 
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Goonsquad Officer
7,146
16,518
GuardianX said:
Will be fun to play while waiting for AoA.

My family just isn't as into it as me and holy shit did camping a level 10 for 5 hours take the wind out of my sails.

SHM gunna be interesting though:

Code: 
consumes
Consume 1 (12) - 11 mana / 25 hp / .44 ratio
Consume 2 (28) - 25 mana / 50 hp / .5 ratio
Consume 3 (44) - 45 mana / 90 hp / .5 ratio
Consume 4 (60) - 90 mana / 150 hp / .6 ratio

Regens
Minor Regeneration (8) - +2 / 25 m
Lesser Regeneration (20) - +5 / 25 m
Regeneration (32) - +7 /
Greater Regeneration (44) - +9 /
Exceptional Regeneration (56) - +11 /

Spores
Salubrious Spores (12) 160 hp / 35 m
Salutary Spores (20) 300 hp / 60 m
Restorative Spores (28) 600 hp / 195 m
Regenerative Spores (40) 1200 hp /
Chloroplastic Spores (52) 2400 hp /

Only counting consuming spores
@12 -- 31 mana return
@20 -- 72 mana return
@28 -- 105 mana return
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are you pulling a spelldat? or is that posted up some where?
 
Kriptini

Kriptini

Vyemm Raider
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Kithani said:
It’s not simply about the game being dark and “not easy enough like WoW”. It’s about being unrealistically dark to the point that being outside in the desert under the moon/stars is more akin to being in an underground cave.
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I agree with this. I explored Glass Flats for the first time this test and the default brightness in that zone at night is much brighter than the other desert zones. Granted, it doesn't have cliffs, trees, or city light pollution, so that sort of makes sense, but I think if that was the default lighting for all the desert zones, the experience would be better. Leave the pitch-black darkness for the zones that actually have zero light sources (like certain parts of Wyrmsbane).
 
...

...

Goonsquad Officer
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Kriptini said:
I agree with this. I explored Glass Flats for the first time this test and the default brightness in that zone at night is much brighter than the other desert zones. Granted, it doesn't have cliffs, trees, or city light pollution, so that sort of makes sense, but I think if that was the default lighting for all the desert zones, the experience would be better. Leave the pitch-black darkness for the zones that actually have zero light sources (like certain parts of Wyrmsbane).
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there's just so many areas in the city that are absent ambient lighting or even backlighting. i had a brand new homie start and she got the quest to go into her druid guildhall. and the stairwell was bafflingly dark to her. she said she felt like she had to wait for daytime to go do her things in there. just...a torch or t wo. or even a roaming npc with a lantern. maybe some kind of tiny reactive light style magical crests.
 
Gravel

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Spit Take Lol GIF by Justin


I like that he called out FoH.

Look, I had a really great time playing it. Made it to level 12 on a fighter. Did Wyrmsbane a couple times. Crafted my own set of copper armor and a backpack. There's just some glaring issues that I can see becoming a massive issue. Maybe they get fixed, maybe not. I hope so, because I want to play the game. I'm still split on playing at EA or not. Probably depends on if anything else comes out at that time, to be honest.
 
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Quaid

Quaid

Trump's Staff
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Kriptini said:


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This guy is something else man.

"lol if it doesn't work we'll change it". Is this supposed to be some kind of revelatory statement? Of course that's how it works.

We're on a classic MMO enthusiast forum discussing if things work or not from an enthusiast perspective in an alpha phase of a classic-era MMO. I'm going to continue discussing it until I'm tired of doing so because I enjoy talking about this subject matter. If things change, they change, and if they don't they don't. If they remain in, I'm going to continue discussing them, period. If Shawn (or anyone else, frankly) finds that annoying or frustrating, he has his own perfectly curated little safe spaces where he can exclusively engage with anesthetized opinions from his fans.
 
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S

Sloan

Silver Knight of the Realm
143
126
Quaid said:
This guy is something else man.

"lol if it doesn't work we'll change it". Is this supposed to be some kind of revelatory statement? Of course that's how it works.

We're on a classic MMO enthusiast forum discussing if things work or not from an enthusiast perspective in an alpha phase of a classic-era MMO. I'm going to continue discussing it until I'm tired of doing so because I enjoy talking about this subject matter. If things change, they change, and if they don't they don't. If they remain in, I'm going to continue discussing them, period. If Shawn (or anyone else, frankly) finds that annoying or frustrating, he has his own perfectly curated little safe spaces where he can exclusively engage with anesthetized opinions from his fans.
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1753731940492.png
 
Kirun

Kirun

Buzzfeed Editor
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I want a truly great, "old-school" MMORPG just as much - if not more - than many of the posters here. There's something undeniably special about the sense of community and discovery those early games fostered. I even mentioned earlier in this thread that there's absolutely still a market for what could essentially be "this generation's EverQuest"- a game that pays homage to the past but isn't shackled by it.

What we don't need is yet another project that lazily dips into the nostalgia bucket and calls it "game design". Too many attempts at recreating that magic end up just recycling outdated mechanics. Not because they serve the experience well today, but simply because they were present in a game from 1999. That's not homage, it's stagnation.

Nostalgia can be a powerful tool, but it shouldn't be a design blueprint. The goal should be to capture the spirit of what made those early games compelling, and then build on it, with modern sensibilities, streamlined systems, and accessibility that invites a fresh audience, not just the same aging fanbase that's been clinging to MMOs since the early 2000s and is slowly attriting out.

We need to stop pretending that clunky interfaces, punishing downtime, and opaque systems are inherently "hardcore" or desirable just because we endured them decades ago. They weren't good then, and they're certainly not good now. There's room for a game that respects its roots while still moving the genre forward in certain ways.
 
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Kriptini

Kriptini

Vyemm Raider
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Quaid said:
This guy is something else man.

"lol if it doesn't work we'll change it". Is this supposed to be some kind of revelatory statement? Of course that's how it works.

We're on a classic MMO enthusiast forum discussing if things work or not from an enthusiast perspective in an alpha phase of a classic-era MMO. I'm going to continue discussing it until I'm tired of doing so because I enjoy talking about this subject matter. If things change, they change, and if they don't they don't. If they remain in, I'm going to continue discussing them, period. If Shawn (or anyone else, frankly) finds that annoying or frustrating, he has his own perfectly curated little safe spaces where he can exclusively engage with anesthetized opinions from his fans.
Click to expand...

Maybe I clipped the stream wrong, but he doesn't regard you as annoying or frustrating. He just sees you as a notable character. He appreciates the discourse.

Kirun said:
I want a truly great, "old-school" MMORPG just as much - if not more - than many of the posters here. There's something undeniably special about the sense of community and discovery those early games fostered. I even mentioned earlier in this thread that there's absolutely still a market for what could essentially be "this generation's EverQuest"- a game that pays homage to the past but isn't shackled by it.

What we don't need is yet another project that lazily dips into the nostalgia bucket and calls it "game design". Too many attempts at recreating that magic end up just recycling outdated mechanics. Not because they serve the experience well today, but simply because they were present in a game from 1999. That's not homage, it's stagnation.

Nostalgia can be a powerful tool, but it shouldn't be a design blueprint. The goal should be to capture the spirit of what made those early games compelling, and then build on it, with modern sensibilities, streamlined systems, and accessibility that invites a fresh audience, not just the same aging fanbase that's been clinging to MMOs since the early 2000s and is slowly attriting out.

We need to stop pretending that clunky interfaces, punishing downtime, and opaque systems are inherently "hardcore" or desirable just because we endured them decades ago. They weren't good then, and they're certainly not good now. There's room for a game that respects its roots while still moving the genre forward in certain ways.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, though I don't think we have an extremely clear picture of all of the benefits and consequences of those nostalgic systems. I think there's merit to implementing those systems (even the more painful ones) to get practical data on both their immediate and far-reaching impacts. The lack of a real quest journal, for example. It's absolutely inconvenient, but does it also encourage more interplayer communication? Things like that.
 
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S

Sloan

Silver Knight of the Realm
143
126
Quaid said:
Ehhhh i dunno man… I’m not sure this whole ‘old man yelling at the sky’ thing makes a ton of sense when applied to my actions. You’re not really using the metaphor correctly…

I’ll try to think of something better to help you along.
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You are correct, it isnt a one to one to most your statements. I like to think of it as more descriptive of you in general though.

Anyway, you loot box enthusiast fast traveler fans can all keep posting we will all keep playing. PL offer on the table whenever you decide to give it a go.
 
Gravel

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole
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"Interplayer communication" is either yelling in ooc "what the fuck does this item go to?" or going into the Discord and yelling "what the fuck does this item go to?"

Eventually those will be replaced by Wiki entries.
 
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Quaid

Quaid

Trump's Staff
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Kriptini said:
Maybe I clipped the stream wrong, but he doesn't regard you as annoying or frustrating. He just sees you as a notable character. He appreciates the discourse.
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I'm reading his tone as frustrated in that first clip, but I could be wrong.
 
Quaid

Quaid

Trump's Staff
12,001
8,386
Sloan said:
Anyway, you loot box enthusiast fast traveler fans can all keep posting we will all keep playing.
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I played classic EverQuest for 4 hours yesterday. I am within the target market for this game. Keep telling yourself otherwise, though.
 
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