General Discussion

Ryzom

http://www.ryzom.com/

Free trial, no credit card

You don't play Ryzom, you visit Ayts.

To the O.P.

basically with your last paragraph - you answered your own question. :)

I wouldn't opt to invest too much time into any 'pay-for-play' mmorpg's until the release of some of the newer ones coming out, actually happen.(imo)

I seem to be in the same position, but with a gauntlet of morpg's behind me, I have been returning to the older ones for a short stay and/or just settle playing some of the free ones to check out some of the new ideas that are scattered about on each game, until something new gets released.

seems every 3-5 years we have this 'dead' space in game releases(same is true for the platforms)....after all, it takes a while to make a game.....3-5 years actually( if you want anything decent)

you could always try PristonTale or HelloKitty!. they are free!

woooot!

mheh...seriously....I feel im in the same 'boat' as you, ....as many others do too( i assume). We are..."stuck between release dates" and not willing to put out 2-4 years of time into another in-depth 'pay-to-play' morpg when all-thats-new is coming out in less than half that time.

GuildWars may 'take-the-edge' off. hehe

I have been grinding MMO's since their inception (Archmage and Meridian 59) and I am honestly about done with them all together. We recently went back to DAOC which has been my wife's favorite MMO and was mine if not for being a tester for 6 six years and grinding the game into the ground. It is not just this game either but the whole scene in general is the same old grind. Nothing holds me and I think I am about ready to go back to strictly single player RPG's or games like Hellgate London and GW 2.

I am tired of investing massive time sinks into games as well. Like I said, I think my whole problem is that I have been playing MMO's way too long. I took a break for almost a year before coming back to WOW and DAOC. I bene testing games for just as long and nothing new on the horizon other than WAR and AOC even interests me. I can feel were your coming from and I will tell you that your not alone. I have spoken to many long time MMO players who say after the current game they are on, they are done with them as well.

The advent of raiding since EQ has pretty much ruined it for  me also. I was so sick of 4+ hour runs in WOW that I had to dedicate time to if I in fact wanted to be  a part of them. I have always been a hard core grinder and that probably doesn't help the situation either. Burn out comes fast for me and honestly I am patiently awaiting The Witcher, hellgate London, Crysis, and a few others that I can stop when I feel like it, pause, etc. or jump in and out for an hour and not have to sink my existence into the game to get awesome gear etc.

The other problem I think I am having too is the fact that we have been so overly saturated with fantasy lore games. I really wish SOE had not destroyed SWG as bad as they have. The game had so much promise and I was a long time tester for Ryzom and it just didn't grab me. Tabula Rasa may be promising but who knows. In the end, they are all the same old endless grinds and I don't know who will come out with new innovation that will change the mechanics of MMO's.

Take the bartles test

http://www.guildcafe.com/zQuest.php

Figure out what sort of gamer you really are and then match a game to it. The magic of MMO's isn't in the game mechanics, its in the communities. Mechanics are just a ruleset, either you play or you don't.

You sound like primarily a socializer. Games like WoW or GW will be a very poor match for you. I think, just by looking at what you wrote, WAR isn't going to suit you very well either, not so sure on Conan, its going to be PvP focus which will draw mainly achiever/killer types, not a good match for you.

You are looking for a game that draws Socializers and explorer type players.

Compelling content outside of the noob island? Not like you want to hear. The content is in the community not from robotic NPC's doling out generic fetch quest.

Originally posted by Torak

Take the bartles test

http://www.guildcafe.com/zQuest.php

Figure out what sort of gamer you really are and then match a game to it. The magic of MMO's isn't in the game mechanics, its in the communities. Mechanics are just a ruleset, either you play or you don't.

You sound like primarily a socializer. Games like WoW or GW will be a very poor match for you. I think, just by looking at what you wrote, WAR isn't going to suit you very well either, not so sure on Conan, its going to be PvP focus which will draw mainly achiever/killer types, not a good match for you.

You are looking for a game that draws Socializers and explorer type players.

Compelling content outside of the noob island? Not like you want to hear. The content is in the community not from robotic NPC's doling out generic fetch quest.