If Neverwinter comes out without a sub fee, as I expect it probably will, I’d be at least willing to consider looking at it… though I anticipate I will probably be too busy with other games (Sword of the Stars 2, then GW2, and eventually Diablo 3) to really have time.

In fact, if Cryptic dropped the sub model for Champions Online, I’d strongly consider going back and seeing what they’ve done with the place. While the game still did have a number of problems when I left, they weren’t really game-breakers, and overall the game really wasn’t as bad as so many people seem to think; for me the problem was mostly insufficient quantity and variety of content (plus I am not a fan of subscriptions.)

I wrote up an initial reaction earlier, but I reckon I’ll need to follow up with a fuller account.

Makes me wonder if you could design an itty-bitty MMO (or CRPG) with the framework behind it to … make it bigger, if it should do well.

Not making much sense. Coming off a three-day migraine does that to my brain.

Cryptic has a perception issue, not necessarily a product issue. They made some bade decisions, so many people are instantly down on them.

That people instantly assume that, because there are so many fantasy MMOs out these days that any NEW fantasy title MUST be an MMO, is the fault of the people who think that way, and is not duplicity on Cryptic’s part. Your point about the difference between Torchlight II and this announcement is spot on.

The part that really has me cautiously excited, though, is the toolset. I really would like to hear how they’re going to incorporate user content. A friend of mine did some pretty good mission creation in CoV for us, but that system was a bit lacking. I’d like to see something like that in this NWN product.

I am a huge fan of Guild Wars, which apparently is a CORPG or CRPG or whatever. It does not matter to me if Cryptic delivers a MMORPG, a CORPG or WTFRPG. I am not in love with the mechanics that people seem to associate with MMOs anyways, mostly the DIKU Trinity etc. And this will be a Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition, a bit in the style of Neverwinter Nights. Something else. Nothing wrong with that!

I think the problem is something different. It is called “Image”. And Cryptic became the bad boy, unfortunately.
Most people probably know that I am still playing Cryptic’s Star Trek Online, despite a TON of flaws, bugs and other horrible things.

But many people quite before release, after the really horrible open beta that even made me cancel my order before I reconsidered to give it a chance… the launch was much smoother then. Cryptic has the Lifetime+Sub+Store model, and for many people this is already a reason to scream. I do not like it either.

Champions Online and Star Trek Online have some fans, but not that many anymore. I am afraid Cryptic rather scared away a ton of people with high hopes, especially Trekkies who expected something else.

My impression of Cryptic is that they let small teams work very hard. They simply can’t keep up with the content demands of MMO gamers nowadays, the numerous reintroduced bugs and all that indicate they have little time, little resources, and too much to do.

There is another problem: DDO. Okay, DDO takes place in Eberron, not in the more (at least to me!) familiar and popular Forgotten Realms. But it is run very well and received a lot of praise and Turbine has a much better image than Cryptic, for being fair, competent, all that.

I know the people working for Cryptic are doing their best. They are talking to players, even playing with them, all that. Still, they made PR blunders and bugs and other things happened that just make for extremely bad press. Blame the management?? Add some extremely disappointed players, and there we go -> Cryptic becomes the boo-man, and they are responsible for a lot of the bad press they got, people did not get riled up against Cryptic for nothing.

In short, people who where disappointed by CO and STO now fear Cryptic is dragging the Forgotten Realms into the crap, too.

Once again, the problem is that “MASSIVELY” is covering it. They shouldn’t be. If you’d heard about this first on Joystiq or somewhere else where you wouldn’t immediately assume it was going to be an MMO, would you still be disappointed? Back when NWN was announced (the Bioware game, I mean) were you disappointed?

I’m a former MMO gamer myself, and I’m also a rabid Halo fan. Maybe not rabid. Enthusiastic? Serious? Something like that. Also into RTSs, so I was following Halo Wars for quite some time.

And there’s some things about your business model that don’t quite make sense.

It’s a downright pity that later screenshots of Titan weren’t released, if they’re as good as you say they are. “The Untitled Halo MMO” is as well-regarded amongst Halo fans as “Star Trek V” is amongst Trekkies, and I’d say for good reason.
I guess the most important thing about any game that’ll be going on as long as an MMO is keeping the story, setting, and feel consistent.

So, yeah, you start out with a bright color pallet that’s more akin to WoW than Halo:CE, and make an IP that’s been getting darker and edgier into something that’s lighter, softer, and more cartoony. You introduce psions into a universe that has survived on bullets and energy weapons. You graft chainsaws on to the arms of Terran Firebat-sized Spartans.

It makes good design sense, but poor business sense. If you’re going to be using the Halo IP to sell the game, the last thing that makes sense is introducing elements that are going to break the fanbase.

As for doing what has been done by WoW, I can understand that also. But I remember my Digital Design teacher saying, “Follow the Leader is a strange game. The only way to win is not to play.”
What he meant by that is, if you copy the biggest kid in the playground, you’re competing against him and the other guys playing “Follow the Leader”. Strike out on your own, or at least be innovative in areas, and you win. People will copy you, sure, but you have the initiative, which means you’re winning.

Last thing I have to remark on is the control scheme for a console MMO. Well, you can point out that you got Halo Wars to work on the console, and others would point out that you had to sacrifice the good bits to do so. Personally, I look at it as a challenge. The features on a PC MMO make sense for a PC. Spamming “Selling 59 Aezeynthian Bear Claws” in a crowded place, for example, works for a setup with a keyboard. But why does a person have to sell in a crowded marketplace? What’s wrong with building an in-game auction/exchange that not only is easier for a console to browse, but allows people to shop for what they’re looking for?

Meh.
Just some incoherently connected thoughts, maybe, but they’re worth going over. Sad to see you guys closed down, would have liked more AoE.