[Akalabeth Angel]

Yup, I've played D&D, and actually found it quite fun, I'd even consider having a go at LARPing, despite the fact that is, in essence, PvP, but it's not a situation where the other guys run off with your sword, or demand cash from you not to attack, you meet up purely for the purpose of combat, kind of like Unreal Tournament or the like.

Can't you just avoid other players in something like WoW or not really?

[Flipside]

Well, in honesty, I'd probably be prepared to give WoW a go, but since LOTR is free and considered very similar, I'll see how my experiences go with that first and take it from there

[Fury]

How is LOTRO free when it only has 10-day free trial? Such trials are also available for WoW and most other MMO's as well.

[Flipside]

It's 14 days, and it was the first one I came across, no point trying to do them both at once, I'll probably give WoW a shot once the 14 days are up.

Though, I'm also thinking seriously about D&D online, which IS now 100% free for a non-premium account

[TrashMan]

sorry, but the game(play) is basically a carbon copy. ;\

All fantasy MMO's have basicly the same gameplay. What, you didn't think that WoW is somehow incredibly original and that it didn't copy from the game that came before?
Either way, there are some small differences, and rather important ones for me. Still not big enough differences for me to continue playing.

Thing is, I don't have a problem with Corp-work, but I used to play Eve and found the fact that PvP was forced on you a little annoying. Eve seemed to turn into a game of 'find the exploit', and I lost interest, there were areas of space that were supposed to be 'safe' for players who weren't interested in PvP, but the truth is that people found ways to work around that, from salvage thieves to griefer corps, who'd wardec you on a ransom. Frankly, I don't like being threatened by people I've never met before, be it irl or online.

Personally, I'll always prefer a co-operative form of game to a confrontational one, it's in my nature, and Eve seemed to encourage the latter. I wouldn't mind giving LOTR a go now that there's a free-play option, but the fact is that any game that throws absolutely everyone into the same game-space will always include people who are just there to ruin it for everyone, I'd rather do something like Diablo or Dungeon Siege, where the number of players are limited, but you can choose the game with the ruleset that suits you.

That's why I generally don't play MMO's, but rather multiplayer games that are far less prone to such things.

[QuantumDelta]

All fantasy MMO's have basicly the same gameplay. What, you didn't think that WoW is somehow incredibly original and that it didn't copy from the game that came before?
Either way, there are some small differences, and rather important ones for me. Still not big enough differences for me to continue playing.

You have trouble with reading comprehension don't you

LOTR is for the most part a clone of WoW which is a clone of EQ which is a clone of AC which is a clone of UO
Saying you somewhat like it means you 'somewhat' like the genre.
Some are indeed very grinding and epic lootz focused, others are very pvp and minmax focused, and then there are yet more, nuances in the genre can be quite dramatic.

Unfortunately (*apart from WoW and UO) most of the 'mainstream' ones have nuances I don't get along with.

[Liberator]

Well, I like to think that WoW is so massively popular because it is easy to pick up, runs on almost any hardware and the story, while sometimes presented in a hamfisted way due the way that MMOs work(which Blizzard has gone a long way to fixing by the use of they're phasing technology), is compelling and epic without being completely out of reach and contrived.  Is it derivative?  yes.  But it revels in it's derivativeness and is better for it.

[BloodEagle]

Though, I'm also thinking seriously about D&D online, which IS now 100% free for a non-premium account

It looks like combat isn't 'click-based'.

Let me know when (if) you start on that, I'll probably give it a go.

::EDIT::

Nevermind. I checked it out, and you have to install a torrent client to download the game.

[Liberator]

But it's a managed torrent client, that only downloads Turbine games.

[Akalabeth Angel]

Someone should make an FPS MMO. I'd play that. Fallout3 was FP wasn't it? Why not that on a grand scale.

Of course people want to watch their characters walk everywhere but that's why you give an option for TPP.

[QuantumDelta]

Someone should make an FPS MMO. I'd play that. Fallout3 was FP wasn't it? Why not that on a grand scale.

Of course people want to watch their characters walk everywhere but that's why you give an option for TPP.

It's been done a few times, the games always turn out to be very elitist and very niche.

Neocron 2 is still live I think.