SASQUATCH
11-10-2010, 11:10 PM
Dark Age of Camelot: What if... Dark Age of Camelot 2
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/11/feature/4227
In many polls on many sites the one game that always comes up for sequel is Dark Age of Camelot. Launched in the pre-WoW era of 2001 DAOC was one of the hottest MMOs before the mainstream hit. Even though Ultima Online really set the ground work for PvP combat, Dark Age of Camelot perfected it and gave it meaning. A game that now lists in the history of MMO players, you hear it referenced many times as a "we wish" or "more like Dark Age of Camelot." Yet somehow the industry lost touch with a game that had a solid player base, a strong PvP system, and some great ideas that never made it into the latter half of the decade. So the question remains; what if Dark Age of Camelot had a sequel?
Imagine the perfect storm, Mythic is now part of Bioware all under the umbrella of EA. In a meeting somewhere among the corporate office someone decides that DAOC should be given its due again. The game having launched in 2001 with its highest numbers in the pre-WoW era of 2002-2003, is now due for a sequel. EA approves, Bioware approves, and Mythic goes to work.
Forget Warhammer for a minute. The game had its good points and bad points. It had some revolutionary ideas and yet dropped the ball on areas that were critical to the player base who had known and loved Dark Age. Also, Warhammer did a lot of Warcrafting in its design. It had to, as every other game did that was launched in the post-WoW era. So here we are in 2010, almost ten years after the launch of Dark Age of Camelot and Mythic gets a fresh canvas to paint on. What do you think they will do?
Let's start by looking at the strong points from the original game. The three faction system is by far one of the best features in DAOC. Albion was clearly the main faction with Camelot as its capital. Hibernia took on the Celtic myths and Irish lore and created a sub faction with a more magical inclination. Then Midgard became the third faction with its Norse theme and huge looking trolls. The fact that no side was considered evil or good was an important element in the mind set of the game. You were not playing Undead vs. Elves. No, you were playing your realm. That realm was your first choice in the game before even creating a character. There was no two sided conflict. This was a power struggle between three factions for control. In this three faction system, RvR was born. In players minds, the choice of three sides gave them a bit more choice and that made all the difference.
In the sequel, do not break what was never broken. The three faction system should remain and nothing on that front should be changed. Not only did it give players a team to choose before creating a character, it gave them pride in their realm. It also gave them a zone design which allowed them a place to level without getting ganked. At the time this was a huge difference from the PvP of Ultima where you could be killed on your front doorstep. In DAOC 2 the factions remain as all three themes touched on human history with a fantasy element and created a fun world to fight in.
The changes should come in the races that each faction has. DAOC was great about putting in multiple races for each faction. Even if the Albions were all human, at least you had Saracans and Scots to mix it up. This is where a strong change can be made. Similar to how Diablo 3 is changing up with classes. Sure the old classic races should be there, the Midgard Stone Trolls would have to return. But perhaps here is where Mythic could inject some new ideas. Taking creatures of myths from the three factions and making them into playable races. The thing is, DAOC had a good share of races to choose from all with a different look and feel. The design would almost have to be streamlined down into what was popular and would appeal to players the most.
Aside from races, the classes would have to be recreated as well. DAOC did suffer from launching many classes within the game each with a very basic core set of skills. The large variety of classes was a good thing, but the endless class balance system they created after the launch was rough. Sure there was variety and each class could be played effectively, but it did not take long for players to figure out which classes were the best at RvR and those became the top. In the sequel, rolling the dice on a large number of classes would benefit the game. Class balance has come a long way and could be improved upon long before the game hits digital downloads for launch. It was the variety of play styles that gave DAOC its fun.
Leveling, yes that hated word in MMOs now-a-days. If anyone remembers leveling in DAOC it was simple. Fifty levels maximum, you leveled from 1-40 in a long grind of chain pulling and questing. Then you hit the wall. Leveling from 40-50 took as long as it did to get from 1-40 and it was endless. You maybe got one third of a level a night if you were lucky and did not die, because if you died, then that experience was lost. This is the biggest area that an improvement could be made. Make the leveling faster, the end. The real pearl in the clam of DAOC was the RvR, so let players get there faster. Sure instance scenarios later came to the game, but we are talking about the core game here. With so many classes and races to choose from, there would be no reason to make leveling so difficult. The grind needs to end in all MMOs, but DAOC suffered from the same era as Everquest hell levels, which were much worse. Warhammer Online had some slow areas when you got to a higher level in the game. They still added in elements that made leveling a bit more fun. If DAOC 2 had a public quest system linked in with its realm pride you would see players helping each other much more. Add a reward for helping other players into this system and not only do you cut down on leveling, you give players a reason to help each other. In the end, they still need to take levels 40-50 and cut it by 60%...okay maybe 75%.
The last game mechanic to talk about is RvR. Realm vs. Realm combat is what made DAOC brilliant. The fact that you could enter into zones knowing the enemy was there and fight it out at all kinds of different levels. From huge zergs that clashed on the landscape, to the deadly eight-man groups which almost became street gangs looking for each other, RvR was an amazing system. The leader boards of DAOC gave rise to fame and fortune among players and soon the realms knew their heroes, but they also knew their enemies. In playing WoW, I have killed endless Alliance members. I could not tell you their names. In DAOC, not only did I know the top enemies I fought, I could tell you their names even today. This sort of thing is completely missing in MMOs today, having a sense of fame among your faction and even your enemies. Forget about a statue in town, people just want bragging rights. Another thing that benefited DAOC was keeping the servers small. Having the server numbers max out at five or ten thousand with three factions would mean only two to three thousand in a realm. The smaller numbers would give players a better social atmosphere to get to know each other.
We could go on and on with ideas and elements that would make Dark Age of Camelot 2 a great game. Darkness Falls was not even mentioned and it was one of the strongest tools in the game to promote leveling, realm pride, and RvR alike. There would be no Vault of Archavon in WoW if there was never a Darkness Falls in DAOC. Overall, Dark Age of Camelot did well because it was singular, it did not try to be something different for each player. It was an RvR game with a focus and designs in it to reach that focus. For me, it was never Trials of Atlantis which killed DAOC, although nothing was worse than leveling my epic axe in an underground ocean cave on big fish for six hours straight. Sorry, but Trials had some good points too, just not that one. When New Frontiers came out and RvR suddenly became all about castle sieges, the open warfare of RvR changed. Players went and re-rolled casters and archers in hopes to fight better, and the melee classes where lost. If there was ever a sequel to Dark Age, perhaps more open warfare over ruins or in towns would be fun rather than banging on a keep door for twenty minutes. First person shooters are fun because they create those scenarios, why fantasy MMOs do not is beyond me.
In the end, Dark Age of Camelot had some core game elements that made MMOs great. Those elements have been duplicated, but never in the same way. With MMOs constantly trying to be like World of Warcraft people forget that World of Warcraft was trying to be like Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot when it launched. Sometimes looking back into the past can give us a great map to the future. Dark Ages was a great map that has not been used in almost ten years. It is time to start the exploration again.
Mix reviews about this but if it should happen, I will be willing to try it because it was a game that I love very much and I would hope they would give it a try.
I think it's worth trying because of the history and the fun that it gave me throughout the years. Thanks to Machine who introduce this game to me and was the first player to help me when I started my quest and path to the Dark Age of Camelot.
SAS
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/11/feature/4227
In many polls on many sites the one game that always comes up for sequel is Dark Age of Camelot. Launched in the pre-WoW era of 2001 DAOC was one of the hottest MMOs before the mainstream hit. Even though Ultima Online really set the ground work for PvP combat, Dark Age of Camelot perfected it and gave it meaning. A game that now lists in the history of MMO players, you hear it referenced many times as a "we wish" or "more like Dark Age of Camelot." Yet somehow the industry lost touch with a game that had a solid player base, a strong PvP system, and some great ideas that never made it into the latter half of the decade. So the question remains; what if Dark Age of Camelot had a sequel?
Imagine the perfect storm, Mythic is now part of Bioware all under the umbrella of EA. In a meeting somewhere among the corporate office someone decides that DAOC should be given its due again. The game having launched in 2001 with its highest numbers in the pre-WoW era of 2002-2003, is now due for a sequel. EA approves, Bioware approves, and Mythic goes to work.
Forget Warhammer for a minute. The game had its good points and bad points. It had some revolutionary ideas and yet dropped the ball on areas that were critical to the player base who had known and loved Dark Age. Also, Warhammer did a lot of Warcrafting in its design. It had to, as every other game did that was launched in the post-WoW era. So here we are in 2010, almost ten years after the launch of Dark Age of Camelot and Mythic gets a fresh canvas to paint on. What do you think they will do?
Let's start by looking at the strong points from the original game. The three faction system is by far one of the best features in DAOC. Albion was clearly the main faction with Camelot as its capital. Hibernia took on the Celtic myths and Irish lore and created a sub faction with a more magical inclination. Then Midgard became the third faction with its Norse theme and huge looking trolls. The fact that no side was considered evil or good was an important element in the mind set of the game. You were not playing Undead vs. Elves. No, you were playing your realm. That realm was your first choice in the game before even creating a character. There was no two sided conflict. This was a power struggle between three factions for control. In this three faction system, RvR was born. In players minds, the choice of three sides gave them a bit more choice and that made all the difference.
In the sequel, do not break what was never broken. The three faction system should remain and nothing on that front should be changed. Not only did it give players a team to choose before creating a character, it gave them pride in their realm. It also gave them a zone design which allowed them a place to level without getting ganked. At the time this was a huge difference from the PvP of Ultima where you could be killed on your front doorstep. In DAOC 2 the factions remain as all three themes touched on human history with a fantasy element and created a fun world to fight in.
The changes should come in the races that each faction has. DAOC was great about putting in multiple races for each faction. Even if the Albions were all human, at least you had Saracans and Scots to mix it up. This is where a strong change can be made. Similar to how Diablo 3 is changing up with classes. Sure the old classic races should be there, the Midgard Stone Trolls would have to return. But perhaps here is where Mythic could inject some new ideas. Taking creatures of myths from the three factions and making them into playable races. The thing is, DAOC had a good share of races to choose from all with a different look and feel. The design would almost have to be streamlined down into what was popular and would appeal to players the most.
Aside from races, the classes would have to be recreated as well. DAOC did suffer from launching many classes within the game each with a very basic core set of skills. The large variety of classes was a good thing, but the endless class balance system they created after the launch was rough. Sure there was variety and each class could be played effectively, but it did not take long for players to figure out which classes were the best at RvR and those became the top. In the sequel, rolling the dice on a large number of classes would benefit the game. Class balance has come a long way and could be improved upon long before the game hits digital downloads for launch. It was the variety of play styles that gave DAOC its fun.
Leveling, yes that hated word in MMOs now-a-days. If anyone remembers leveling in DAOC it was simple. Fifty levels maximum, you leveled from 1-40 in a long grind of chain pulling and questing. Then you hit the wall. Leveling from 40-50 took as long as it did to get from 1-40 and it was endless. You maybe got one third of a level a night if you were lucky and did not die, because if you died, then that experience was lost. This is the biggest area that an improvement could be made. Make the leveling faster, the end. The real pearl in the clam of DAOC was the RvR, so let players get there faster. Sure instance scenarios later came to the game, but we are talking about the core game here. With so many classes and races to choose from, there would be no reason to make leveling so difficult. The grind needs to end in all MMOs, but DAOC suffered from the same era as Everquest hell levels, which were much worse. Warhammer Online had some slow areas when you got to a higher level in the game. They still added in elements that made leveling a bit more fun. If DAOC 2 had a public quest system linked in with its realm pride you would see players helping each other much more. Add a reward for helping other players into this system and not only do you cut down on leveling, you give players a reason to help each other. In the end, they still need to take levels 40-50 and cut it by 60%...okay maybe 75%.
The last game mechanic to talk about is RvR. Realm vs. Realm combat is what made DAOC brilliant. The fact that you could enter into zones knowing the enemy was there and fight it out at all kinds of different levels. From huge zergs that clashed on the landscape, to the deadly eight-man groups which almost became street gangs looking for each other, RvR was an amazing system. The leader boards of DAOC gave rise to fame and fortune among players and soon the realms knew their heroes, but they also knew their enemies. In playing WoW, I have killed endless Alliance members. I could not tell you their names. In DAOC, not only did I know the top enemies I fought, I could tell you their names even today. This sort of thing is completely missing in MMOs today, having a sense of fame among your faction and even your enemies. Forget about a statue in town, people just want bragging rights. Another thing that benefited DAOC was keeping the servers small. Having the server numbers max out at five or ten thousand with three factions would mean only two to three thousand in a realm. The smaller numbers would give players a better social atmosphere to get to know each other.
We could go on and on with ideas and elements that would make Dark Age of Camelot 2 a great game. Darkness Falls was not even mentioned and it was one of the strongest tools in the game to promote leveling, realm pride, and RvR alike. There would be no Vault of Archavon in WoW if there was never a Darkness Falls in DAOC. Overall, Dark Age of Camelot did well because it was singular, it did not try to be something different for each player. It was an RvR game with a focus and designs in it to reach that focus. For me, it was never Trials of Atlantis which killed DAOC, although nothing was worse than leveling my epic axe in an underground ocean cave on big fish for six hours straight. Sorry, but Trials had some good points too, just not that one. When New Frontiers came out and RvR suddenly became all about castle sieges, the open warfare of RvR changed. Players went and re-rolled casters and archers in hopes to fight better, and the melee classes where lost. If there was ever a sequel to Dark Age, perhaps more open warfare over ruins or in towns would be fun rather than banging on a keep door for twenty minutes. First person shooters are fun because they create those scenarios, why fantasy MMOs do not is beyond me.
In the end, Dark Age of Camelot had some core game elements that made MMOs great. Those elements have been duplicated, but never in the same way. With MMOs constantly trying to be like World of Warcraft people forget that World of Warcraft was trying to be like Everquest and Dark Age of Camelot when it launched. Sometimes looking back into the past can give us a great map to the future. Dark Ages was a great map that has not been used in almost ten years. It is time to start the exploration again.
Mix reviews about this but if it should happen, I will be willing to try it because it was a game that I love very much and I would hope they would give it a try.
I think it's worth trying because of the history and the fun that it gave me throughout the years. Thanks to Machine who introduce this game to me and was the first player to help me when I started my quest and path to the Dark Age of Camelot.
SAS