A sad goodbye

[rogueish]

First of all I'd like to thank all at NGD for many years of enjoyment I've gotten from Regnum, while I've played other games this was the only one that I always came back to. I'd also like to thank all the friends I've made in game and wish them all the best.

I've come to the realization that as hard as it is to face that Regnum is no longer the game it once was. Regnum started as a PvP game about field battles and hunting. Then invasions were added which gave further options for activity. There were many changes over the years, some I didn't mind, admittedly most I disliked, but no real dealbreakers. Then came the obsession with making the game revolve around invasions, and although class balance was thrown out the window at least two players of the same class were on equal footing.

The dragon amulets were bad enough and their rarity on Raven was one of the greatest benefits of playing there. But now with all the assorted OP gears and jewelry Regnum has finally crossed the line where it is really no more than a low graphic version of every other MMO that is out there.

It's really sad that the devs don't realize that the reason Regnum has outlasted just about every other MMO from its time was because of its uniqueness, and every change to try and copy all those other "modern MMOs" simply made Regnum less unique and will ultimately lead it to going where most other MMOs already are which is oblivion.

I am truly sad right now but feel unable to continue in a game where no skill is required rather whichever zerg has the most conjurers wins. Regnum Online started as the best, most unique MMO I have ever found as can be shown by its longevity, it's just too bad the devs didn't appreciate what they had and chose to try and copy the format of every other short term MMO that has come and gone over the last decade.

Anyone can flame this post if they like but I truly wish all players well and hope NGD can save the game somehow.

[Adrian]

Sad to see you go! But there are some words I like you to take with you, and always remember them:

Regnum is still that very same game. What you're experiencing is that the initial users we had were completely different than the ones that we have now. Those initial users now are only a few that come back from time to time.

You may think they are a lot, but no. The game provides a lot of options and given how the users combine those options, the atmosphere and dominant gameplay gets formed somehow. We could try to "force" or "lead" the users to the classic gameplay but that has failed many times and also: it's not the way to go.

Think of this analogy: a football field can be used for regular good-old football, or just use half the field and one goal. Or no goals at all and just play around. Or make duels of tricks while everyone else watches... and there's the referee that could make them go back to the regular game but you can't go against the will of people.

Regnum still offers the very same gameplay it always had. If it weren't for the other options we added, Regnum would be long dead. You mention that we survived for so long but you're criticising the reasons of why we did.

Regnum's problem is our slow development pace and nostalgia. Some old players are creating an unbreathable atmosphere instead of adapting (if you really love the game, no obligation, of course) because this is how we're surviving. It's not that we loved adding some things: it's that people wanted them. Most of our users give plenty of use to the new features as well as the old ones.

And this can be applied to anything, not just this game. Nostalgia is nice when it doesn't mess with the present. Especially without trying to understand the present. Of course, the good old times! We all sigh at the very thought of them. But they are still there. Possibilities do not change that much, but the interests, will and preferences of people do, a lot.

To simplify it: of course, things changed. Some a bit, some completely. But the core is still there and that was needed to keep it alive.

We could've focused in pure RvR and many of the nice things a good and original gameplay could have. We could've pleased many of the discontent users of today. But for sure, the game would've perished. Just as those amazing series get cancelled. Just as the quality tools get replaced by all-in-ones. Just as the more vitamins are shown in a package outsells the regular product. We don't like this, but you have to broaden the spectrum to survive. Consumers changed. You change or you die.

And we didn't change that much, but for the majority it seems so.

So, it's sad to see you go but take this words into account. Regnum is still here and still will be while we keep on adapting even if our adapt capacity is obviously crippled.

[rogueish]

Thank you Adrian for replying.

Since you gave me you viewpoint I guess I should respectfully give you mine.
I'll start with my history in Regnum and what I've noticed.
I thought I started in 2007 but my forum account says 2008 not important but just mentioning that.
I played religiously from the time I started until Chilko made the big changes in game mechanics around 2010 and I stayed around for a month or so after before my first break. At that time I would say at least a third of the former playerbase quit, and I remember one of the devs saying in a forum post that they knew a lot would quit but believed they would attract an even greater number with the changes. I was gone around a year and when I returned I found the playerbase had still not recovered.
Now as bad as the changes in mechanics were what has happened in the last few years is what has really killed the game in my opinion.
Regnum was always unique because there was no built in imbalance, some may have complained that they wanted their personal class stronger but there was no gear that made some players gods. I never had an amulet but always heard many complaining about them but i did get to see what they could do eventually. We had a hunter in Raven Syrtis who was a complete joke he couldn't even win a fight using exploits and after the merger he was unkillable with some referring to him as a great hunter, if an amulet can make someone who couldn't win a fight cheating into an expert hunter player you know it's a game breaker. But you went even further with all the OP gear you added.
At one time I would tell people in other games that you have a choice of PVP or PVE, no game with raids, epic gear,crafting and all the other generic crap that every game tries to cram into their systems can ever have good PVP. Regnum excelled for what it was, but no longer is.
I understand that at some level you believe you are "progressing" the game, but is it really progress to force the game into a mold created by other developers especially when they have all copied each other to the point that the entire genre is failing to a great extent.
Personally I believe Regnum has survived in spite of all the changes not because of them.
I know that there is no chance of resurrecting the old game as much as I'd like it to happen.
I just want to summarize
1- Regnum was unique in that there was no built in imbalance other than character level, that's what made it great.
2-There are and have been hundreds if not thousands of games using the template of raids, epic gear, crafting, and the like and most fail within a short time and none have ever had worthwhile PVP.
3-Even if there was a market for another generic MMO, Regnum can never compete with identical games with modern graphics.
That pretty much sums it up.

One thing just struck me and I'm sure you have thought of it but I'll throw it out there anyway. Since you've already added every every other feature of generic MMO's you only have one left to go, player housing, I'm sure someone will want it, I wouldn't, but someone likely would.

[halvdan]

What a sophisticated way to attract NGD representative(s) and then blame them for everything once again.

[_Scias_]

rogueish raises a lot of fair points though.

RO was unique with its focus on RvR battles, and most of the time NGD instead of capitalizing and improving this aspect hurt it with features copied from other MMOs we didn't need and that anyways would not be as good as what you'd find elsewhere.

Invasions started to make RvR wars more predictable and linear, while introducing realm-wide rewards and punishments thus starting positive and negative feedback loops with people leaving weaker realms to get to the stronger one(s).

Warmasters and the new level cap increased the impact gear has in battles, while before it was moderate. It also ruined the overall class balance for a long time since Mages' damage doesn't scale with levels compared to the other classes. And the first iterations of the reworked invasions system were really terrible and had to be reverted quickly.

Then Champions came and well, I haven't seen a better way to kill the RvR yet than by introducing instances. That was a totally counterproductive move for a game which main selling point is large-scale open-world RvR battles and totally killed the few activity Horus/Haven had left yet. The introduction of "Champion rankings", and the statues representing the individuals who won the most champions coins the past "seasons" that were supposed to be at Central Island, are again, in complete opposition with the RvR aspect of the game that should priviliedge realm-wide effort over individual pride. No wonder that shit got abandoned pretty quick too.

Add to this the 2 extra currencies, instanced dragons, item crafting, new types of even rarer drops, premium pets...

All of this logically resulted in less RvR for more PvE and PvP, which the game sucks at and isn't balanced into. And it also affected the general mindset of people who are still playing. I don't know about other realms but as for Syrtis I've never seen a realm caring about (super)bosses or TDM so much over war than now because they need x dragon poo or y coins. Heck now there's even a dragon wish to allow one realm to kill the other realm's dragon... No wonder RvR is scarce now...

But there was some good decisions though. The completely new redesigned areas/new forts, smoothed xp curve for low levels, the fact you can get decent xp through war, that WMCs are mostly obtainable through war, realm tasks...

Originally Posted by Adrian

...

The people who want epic PvE with crafting bells or balanced/instanced PvP will not play Regnum and shouldn't anyways. Or they will for 5 min and realise how awful the game is at those areas (compared to others who are insanely better but don't have RvR) and leave a terrible review on Steam afterwards.

This game had the potential to be a good and fun RvR game, now it's a jack of all trades, with tons of badly implemented and incomplete features and is now master of none.

You also seem to blame the "old players" for being too rigid due to nostalgia, and for that being part of RO's failure, but RO would actually be nothing without them. I've never seen such a resilient community, even today after so many years of eating shit the proportion of old players is still really high while low level areas have never been as empty. So clearly it's not the very low influx of new players that kept this game alive for so long. Heck I don't even know what I'm still doing here...

[Awrath]

Rogueish, all the best.

However, one does not just quit Regnum! See you back someday perhaps :P.

Originally Posted by _Scias_

Heck I don't even know what I'm still doing here...

You and me both. I still lurk occasionally, ever hopeful and ever doubtful.

[rinky]

Originally Posted by Adrian

Some old players are creating an unbreathable atmosphere instead of adapting

I agree 100%.

[Dumberest]

i cant breathe!,,stahp it!

[Psynocide]

Originally Posted by Adrian

Nostalgia is nice when it doesn't mess with the present.

Bravo. You don't hear this nearly enough.

For nostalgia might I hop on once in a wistful while, but only with change might I remain.

[Valour]

In the 'old times' on the game, gear was more balanced, but realms were imbalanced (as always).

I miss my friends who have quit the game, but I am trying to play with new people often to make it fresh. There is however a massive defeatist attitude to whomever is on the 'losing side' when it is going on - but the fun of the game for me is to try and overcome the odds and win in some way (even if by accident ). RO can be a challenging game and I really like that.

The premium gear 'divide' is a big thing for me. If decent gear were available to buy for ximerin directly (like a champion gear item but for ximerin), it could fix that side of things and allow people to feel as though it's not 'the gear' holding them back from winning the fight (especially now that WM jewellery exists).