Saga ~ Our Online Roleplaying Family

SagaFamily Admin => Various Archived Boards => Black Desert Online => Topic started by: Vilidius on August 16, 2016, 05:04:14 PM

Title: Mer.
Post by: Vilidius on August 16, 2016, 05:04:14 PM
Hi all

Just wanted to post and acknowledge that I've crashed hard lately over BDO and haven't been playing. It may be a phase or it may be permanent. I hate that I've turned into one of these binge and bust gamers, and it would probably be a mistake to attribute it too much to the game itself at this point because I've repeated the cycle too many times to say it's all their fault. But I also feel ... I don't know ... the cycle of gaming has accelerated. Games go much quicker now from their build-and-honeymoon phase and some seem to go immediately to their monetize-the-f**k-out-of-this-before-it's-too-late phase.

There's a raging debate around p2w in BDO, and in the Aug. 10 patch as they outright started to allow (and encourage) players to buy cash items and post them to the marketplace to exchange for silver, I feel like the game turned a critical corner for me. It's funny how these things exist in balance with one another. In GW2 that was never an issue for me, despite the fact that the game was designed explicitly on a real-money-for-game-money economy. In GW2, silver (or whatever - I can't remember the currency) could only buy so much. Equipment was only a limited factor in end-game play, there was a lot still that could only be acquired through play, and skill mattered. In BDO, character progression and equipment progression, at the end game, are almost synonymous. It was interesting for a while, for me. The economic mini-game was almost the end-game, which was fun and challenging. But when you introduce and outright pay-for-silver mechanic into a game that already has this going on ... the end game (such as it ever was) is really just reduced to reaching for your credit card.

I don't want to turn this into a rant. The last thing I care to do is undermine anyone's gaming enjoyment, for those still enjoying BDO. I just wanted to try to explain why I went from playing so much to just crashing out. It IS funny how these things exist in balance. If there was a real, challenging PvE end game, I'd feel like there were still goals that weren't rooted in their p2w economy. But it's just not there. =(

At heart, I know I'm an "achiever" type gamer, more than anything. When my achievement gets too tainted, or when there's nothing left that's fun to achieve, I lose it. And it usually doesn't come back.

I will say this, to end on a slightly positive note. There are elements to BDO that I am very glad to see cross-pollinate from Korean gaming into the North American MMO market. Hopefully we see some more of those elements in future games. I'd never suggest we game in a world of WOW clones or similar, but certain assumptions in gaming tend to go unchallenged until something shakes them up, and this was a good shake.

I'm probably back in lurker mode for now. Maybe I'll check out No Man's Sky - mediocre reviews and all.
Title: Re: Mer.
Post by: Jasyn on August 16, 2016, 07:55:44 PM
This is an aspect of BDO that kept me away for so long after the initial launch.  I'm just trying to focus on the parts I enjoy and see how long I can ignore the parts I disapprove of for as long as possible.

Before I got into GW2, I wasn't particularly excited about the prospect of a cash shop, but after I experienced it in a live environment, I personally found the GW2 model to be incredibly well designed and executed.  I now approve of it greatly.  I think it's the mark that every other game has failed to hit when they attempt to execute a similar model.

The BDO model offends me more than the SWTOR model, so I can sympathize.  I'm hoping to avoid my trigger moment, but as I said, right now I'm a monkey with his hands over his eyes and ears.  See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

I'm also a four armed monkey.



Title: Re: Mer.
Post by: Lyrima on August 17, 2016, 04:37:58 AM
I wish I could say it was game play that pushed me out.

As usual for me it is what is going on this side of the screen.  Babies, work, family stuff...leaves me too tired at night.  That and the fact Blaek wouldn't join me :( He has only a 4 week window and he has declined to buy the game and play with me. SIGH.  I do hope to get back to it but who knows when at this point.

bleh to me and my (lack of) gaming life.
Title: Re: Mer.
Post by: Mixxi on August 19, 2016, 05:20:54 PM
I had the perfect storm of starting a new job (just finished the first week of school) and getting rather burned out on discovering that the higher-end PvE content consisted of carpet bombing you with fast-spawning yard trash. I really love this game. It's the most beautiful game I've ever played (as far as realistic games go), and I LOVE my character. I miss Tariq. I miss his friends. I miss riding around the beautiful world.
Title: Re: Mer.
Post by: Jezerai on August 21, 2016, 12:38:06 AM
For my part I tired pretty quickly of BDO because of the lack of challenge in the game play.  I know that many of you will object and it may be that things get challenging later on, but for me that later on is too late.  There were many aspects of the game that I enjoyed but the lack of grouping and the lack of need to group destroyed things for me.  I have once again wandered back to EQ2, the time lock server in particular.  This is still the best MMO I have found and I always seem to come home to it.  The Time Lock server is fun because people are still in LFG looking for Runnyeye  or Cazic Thule groups.  There is still content that demands you have at least two to be successful.  I just don't like the current model for MMOs.   :'(
Title: Re: Mer.
Post by: Allen on August 21, 2016, 04:40:01 PM
Anyone up for Classic EQ - Project 1999?
My nephew expressed some interest in checking it out because I introduced EQ to him back in 2000ish (when he was about 8) and he is enjoying the nostalgia -- it was funny to log in with him and we both almost immediately made a comment about how we remembered the graphics as being so much better.