RPG Progress Report

[BogusMeatFactory]

Isiola you bring up some great points and I do feel that there is some middle ground here. When you talk about starting a new character and having to start the slog all over again, I really appreciate everquest's approach.

Every race has their own city and their own zones to progress within. They merge around level 15-20 ish into various regions of the continent's, but for the most part your early experiences are very unique. This is further deepened by offering unique hunting and zones for good vs. evil characters in the same cities.

When you talk about modern mmos having lots of detail, it only pertains to visual detail, but lacks the most important thing... context.

Locations need meaning, history and character and connections. A lot of times, locations are set pieces for mmos and it is almost cardboard in nature. Having played tons of mmos in my lifetime, I find that cities, villages and dungeons have little emphasis on their place in the grand scheme of things. Sure they have a story, but there is little to back it up in grand scheme of the world.

Everquest has everything all wrapped up in a great web.

I'm a side note, let me tell ya about a quest I have to do.

Outside the city of Qeynos, there is a huge forest protected by rangers and druids. They worship this elder bear which poachers are trying to kill. The bear is sick and a ranger asks you to get medicine from this zookeeper in the gnome city (it has a big add zoo in it). You get this medicine, which is actually like a syrup of epicac, and makes the bear vomit up a gross thing that has made it super violent.

That syrup can be used to make other animals vomit things up and help in other quests. Crazy!

[isiolia]

Locations need meaning, history and character and connections. A lot of times, locations are set pieces for mmos and it is almost cardboard in nature. Having played tons of mmos in my lifetime, I find that cities, villages and dungeons have little emphasis on their place in the grand scheme of things. Sure they have a story, but there is little to back it up in grand scheme of the world.

Everquest has everything all wrapped up in a great web.

Personally, I think the bigger change is in the players, not later games. Put enough time into the genre, and the illusion tends to wear off. So, later games might still be fun, but you're not seeing the game worlds as much more than their component parts. Meanwhile, that first game always has a layer of nostalgia to mask them, if only a little.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Locations need meaning, history and character and connections. A lot of times, locations are set pieces for mmos and it is almost cardboard in nature. Having played tons of mmos in my lifetime, I find that cities, villages and dungeons have little emphasis on their place in the grand scheme of things. Sure they have a story, but there is little to back it up in grand scheme of the world.

Everquest has everything all wrapped up in a great web.

Personally, I think the bigger change is in the players, not later games. Put enough time into the genre, and the illusion tends to wear off. So, later games might still be fun, but you're not seeing the game worlds as much more than their component parts. Meanwhile, that first game always has a layer of nostalgia to mask them, if only a little.

You would think So! Bit I played everquest for about 5 hours as a kid as it belonged to my oldest brother and I got to play it when I visited. I never made it past 5th level.

You are right that players are the cause of the change. developers focused on creation of content that everyone must experience, versus making content that only a smaller fraction of players will experience. Theme park mmos are the norm and it is not a style I enjoy. Theme park mmos make older zones inconsequential. If you aren't that level you will NEVER go there again. Sandbox mmos give incentive for players to move about the world freely and there is always something for someone in every reach. Those styles are so few and far between.

Again, I know my view on mmos is a minority and even those in the vanilla everquest community, my style of play is a minority. They only care about high level gear and raids only.

[isiolia]

Well, how far/long have you ever played a character? I recall last time you mentioned playing EQ it was much the same thing, starting fresh and enjoying early game content.

To a fair point, the kind of cohesion that you're talking about is easy to accomplish if it's effectively launch content. I think FFXI manages it quite well too. Now, stuff that came out a decade after launch? That may not fit in quite as well
Still, even sandbox MMOs don't tend to put content in the same few zones forever. Eventually, you do move on, and I'd suspect that's also true of EQ after so many expansions.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Well, how far/long have you ever played a character? I recall last time you mentioned playing EQ it was much the same thing, starting fresh and enjoying early game content.

To a fair point, the kind of cohesion that you're talking about is easy to accomplish if it's effectively launch content. I think FFXI manages it quite well too. Now, stuff that came out a decade after launch? That may not fit in quite as well
Still, even sandbox MMOs don't tend to put content in the same few zones forever. Eventually, you do move on, and I'd suspect that's also true of EQ after so many expansions.

Yes, but thankfully vanilla EQ is just the first 2 expansions. Yeah I have now moves on from the starter zones and really digging in. There is an insane amount of content from the get go with eq, and the two expansions offer an entire new continent for iksar players to start off in and an entire continent for level 35 and up to explore.

I get people's incessant need to devour games, but I am not like that as a person. I take things slow and savor and I feel like a lot of content in everquest caters to that mindset and a vast majority of mmo players are not that way. They ignore quest storylines and rush their way to max and play raids raids raids.

[Exhuminator]

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland



I've got 10 hours in this now, the game's addicting as hell. I have no idea how to describe this JRPG in a review without it sounding like the worst thing ever. On (digital) paper it will sound ridiculous, but in practice it's like crack. Also I'm super impressed with how well this sequel ties into the original game. It's awesome to not only see Rorona again, but also being able to recruit her into your party! Really great design.



I'm Platinum rank adventurer now, trying to get to Diamond before the license extension deadline hits. Working on my synthesis level but I get distracted just exploring new areas as they continuously unlock. Which isn't optimal because I'm pretty sure I need to be building a boat.

[alienjesus]

I'd advise you to build that boat early, the stuff related to it is a real time sink as the boat journey takes quite a lot of days each way.

I liked Atelier Totori significantly more than Atelier Rorona. The 3 month 'do this for rewards' system in Rorona made the game feel significantly more restrictive I think. Hopefully Meruru is more like Totori.

Actually, I should probably finish Rorona first. I stopped about halfway through.

[Exhuminator]

The 3 month 'do this for rewards' system in Rorona made the game feel significantly more restrictive I think.

I agree there. Although I still enjoyed Rorona (Plus version) quite a bit, enough to finish it. This was my review from 2015:

In the fantasy kingdom of Arland, a little alchemy shop sits underutilized by its lady owner Astrid and assistant girl Rorona. One day the development body of the kingdom decides the space taken by the alchemy shop would be better served by a factory instead. Astrid and Rorona are given three years to prove their alchemy shop is actually useful, or they can kiss it goodbye. Astrid couldn't care less though and leaves the task to Rorona instead. Rorona having little actual alchemy experience has a challenging road ahead of her to prove the alchemy shop is worth keeping around.

For the player this means taking primary royal requests from the kingdom and fulfilling them before a time limit runs out. There are twelve tasks in total of varying difficulty. The tasks usually focus on synthesizing special items via alchemy. To do this, Rorona and her friends (or hired mercs) must venture out into the dangerous countryside and collect the necessary ingredients. But that is not all Rorona can do in this game by far. There are copious side quests, cooking, gardening, equipment crafting, and even bounty hunting elements as well. That means the true challenge is managing your time, as everything you do costs days on the calendar. Run out of days before the primary royal request has been filled, and Rorona's little shop will be in dire straits indeed.

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland is an incredibly charming game to play, with an uplifting spirit to the whole affair. Though graphically simple for a PS3 game, the aesthetics are consistently upbeat and exude cheerfulness. Characters are written well and come to life via competent voice acting. The catchy and perky music is seriously great, but if you don't like it, you can change it, because Rorona Plus allows the player to pick tons of tracks from all of the games in the series and assign them however they like. And while the plot is relatively simple, it never gets caught up in overwrought melodrama as so often plagues JRPGs. (The only questionable element being that Astrid is ostensibly an overt child molester who admits to fondling Rorona when she sleeps.)

Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland is not a game for everyone. Those seeking classic JRPG structure and tropes won't find that here. This is a laid back experience about a seventeen year old girl just trying to keep her job. But if you want to enjoy a relaxing game, explore some countryside, collect ingredients and synthesize all sorts of crazy alchemic goodies, Rorona Plus lets you do that. With a decent combat system and optional super bosses, you can get into lots of involving battles as well. By the end, Rorona's friends and acquaintances will likely grow on you enough that you'll understand why Rorona wants to stick around Arland so bad. This game might not ultimately synthesize gold, but it never stops synthesizing fun.

PS After you finish the original game, the "Plus" version includes a large bonus scenario where the protagonists from Atelier Totori and Atelier Meruru travel backwards through time and end up in Rorona's shop. A whole new series of adventures opens up for the three to endure. This includes new super tough dungeons and incredibly hard enemies and bosses. Also extra costumes are unlocked for Rorona to wear (which are a bit scanty because that ol' lech Astrid designed them for her).

I'll definitely get on that boat building.

[Markies]

Oh Boy, those 4 Seal Guardians can go screw themselves!

In my FFV4JF Run, I was walking through the Moore/Mua Forest and I got to the 4 Seal Guardians at the end. One is immune to Bolt, another to Fire, another to Ice and another to Earth. With my Party (BM, SUM, HUNT, DRAG), I don't have a good way to heal at the moment, so I need to kill things with magic rather quickly. When bosses can do that better than me, then I get screwed.

It took me several times to Titan the three of them as they case some mean spells when close to death. I finally got three of them down and then got screwed because he cast Earth Shaker and I cannot Float.

On my 5th try, I finally defeated him. I killed all three with one person alive, revived everybody, full HP and then I only attacked with Fire3 and he died.

That was my first real severe roadblock in the game.

Now, Galuf is dead and Krile/Cara is now in my party. I wanted to start World 3 tonight, but X-Death's castle is super long and I got some hard boss fights coming up and I really want Carbuncle.

I saw those fire rings at the beginning of the game, but they were 40K a piece. I need them so bad! I have a Flame/Ice Shield for my Dragoon and that is how I survived the Seal Guardian fight. I'm so close to getting a good powerful way of healing!

[Segata]

I am on the third scenario in Persona 5. So I assume soon will start the 3rd palace.