Chucksteak

I just want to confirm a few things to be sure i didnt missunderstand your post. 1. Most of all the megas got together to plan ahead. 2. A dev or some devs were there or at least in direct comminication with the event. 3. You all got to choose where to settle so as to not have to compete with each other. 4. You all confirmed you would not be competing with each other further by forming a server wide alliance/truce. 5. You wont be raiding bothering small or solo groups beacuse you all agree thats just not what you do or what your into. Did i miss anything? If this is true, why in the FUCK are you and everyone in that meeting not going to PvE!? You basicly said, "we dont pvp anyone". One of the biggest problem before was the server wide carebear festival between all the megas. And here we are again with the biggest groups sucking each other off for fear they might have to compete in thier own lane. I dont get. The worst part of all is the continued direct conversations some people get to continually have with the devs, yet no ones given me a call yet to ask my advice or opinions. Funny, I paid just as much for my copy of the game.

I thought you were just an average uneducated person. But im thinking you may just have me confused with someone else you know. You certainly dont know my age. That was presumptuous of you, albeit par for the course it seems. But no, I bought it and saw it back in '95. But by all means, tell me some more about me.

What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Lol, oh the uninformed. Look, I didnt make the game ok. I also didn't define what an MMORPG is, nor was I hoping for this to be an MMORPG with some agenda. However, it is what it is. Go google it and get learnt before you go saying stupid shit in public. Also, go fuck yourself. Cheers, CS

I hear you. At first I did not think of this as an MMORPG. However in another thread someone asked if this was supposed to be a MMORPG, maybe it was @DocHolliday but I cant be sure. I looked up what a MMORPG is in order to say this was clearly not one. I was wrong, this is categorically an MMORPG like it or not, clearly unfinished as of now. I would never want to take any of the sandbox away from Atlas. I was trying to only suggest assets and features that are already in the game as to not add anything.

I totally agree with you. The current and planned forms of Atlas are almost certainly going to have those issues you stated, in my opinion. This is why I felt it necessary to add my suggestions at the bottom, they are specifically designed to combat these issues I feel.

lol, fair enough, you may keep your sheep for ...whatever it is you need to do with them. I tried to only suggest things that have already been done or are said to be coming to the game. It was difficult so please let me know if I missed something. Thanks for reading the whole thing.

**This is my critique/review of the game so far, its mechanics, concepts and implementation. This is not at all about the technical side pertaining to programming. Net code, exploits and glitches/bugs are all assumed to have been logged and are being addressed. Also, I apologize for the length as it violates my own advice of not making a post that is longer to read and respond to than the average amount of time one spends taking a shit** What we have so far with Atlas A great framework for an MMORPG. The map size is vast, its beautiful. Yeah, its chalked full of native UR4 assets, but that's your benefit to using UR4 (I like seeing my PUBG rocks and trees, its comforting). The sea, while not quite as good as Sea of Thieves, is pretty awesome and makes up for a lack of polish by having a fully functional "under the sea" environment (I personally think this might be the biggest asset Atlas has, the potential of what can be done here is just massive). The ships, although overly limited in options for the time being, are also done very well and I think they look and feel fantastic. Far far beyond anything SoT has been able to produce. The sub looks fantastic! The dynamic weather, although a little unpolished is such a welcome addition to an MMORPG. A hardcore PvP aspect reminiscent of Diablo II. You die, all your gear stays on your corpse to be lost or recovered as you are able to do. It is a welcome throwback to add risk to death. The Condition for "winning" in Atlas Is currently amount of land "claimed". This is a solid tried and true concept for any MMORPG. The basic idea is "King of the hill". What we can do in Atlas Objectively speaking, we can only Build, Destroy, and Kill. Any action taken is in pursuit of one of these goals. This was the first breakdown in Atlas gameplay. The WinCon and what we can objectively do are separated. I could go to your island and throw down flags, thus progressing with my WinCon. I don't have to build anything, or destroy anything, or kill anyone to accomplish this. Additionaly there is no tangible reward or incentive for "winning" (yes I know you get a front of ship figurehead for aesthetics). This is unrewarding, unstimulating, and leaves me wanting to do any of the 3 things I can do that are all vastly more rewarding than fulfilling the WinCon. But the concept is still solid. We just need winning to feel more like winning, and losing feel less like starting over from scratch (as this will fatigue the community). Some people have called for factions, they probably came from WoW. Some people have called for combining PvE and PvP, they probably played real MMORPGs where this is truly the best setup. Some people are calling for a small team style companies, while overs still covet the Megas. What all parties are trying to articulate is a desire for a tiered system with varying degrees of the WinCon where a sense of success or progression is attached to it. Its basic human psychology. Casinos have been using this since they were created to make people addicted to gambling. What we are missing so far in Atlas NPCs. The current AI slaves are a disincentive to cooperate with other people. A good MMORPG design should continually encourage and reward cooperation and competition. Where are all the townsfolk? Where is the auctioneer? Why is there not a bank or warehouse, and the NPCs to run them? Towns/Cities. What is a Freeport? Why is it a deserted ruins with a waterfall? I feel like there should be a purpose, I feel like it should be community related. Combat. It needs a lot of polishing. I'm fully aware there is a ton of time until release but this is 2019 after all, I feel this could have been better out of the gate. Economy. Make Gold Great Again. The gold sinks currently available are disappointing, What do I NEED this gold for? A solid mechanic is to require some purchasable items in common crafting. Another idea, more in line with the direction we are going is maintenance fees. This puts limits on build size and sustainability. I would also have re-specking a character be a gold sink that only ever gets more expensive, or at least has a flat rate high enough to be a deterrent from day to day re-specking. The other humanoids. 40% of the map is sea, 40% of the map is Air, and 10% is land. Where are the Atlantians? The Pathfinders can breathe above the sea and struggle below, so half the map is conducive to this existence. Should there not be an inverse to this? If we can build structures in the sea, something should be able to utilize them. There seems to be ample conditions for more races to add diversity. I could be way off on this one I admit. End Game content/objectives. What exactly is there available for me to do at lvl 50 or 100 that I cant do at lvl 10? For that matter..... What is the point of levels? What is it I get from gaining levels, or max level, albeit they are currently almost just given to you. There is nothing currently locked behind a level. I don't necessarily find this a bad concept, just curious why bother even having the levels? I feel skill should always trump time invested in a game, so why cant everyone start with the stats of a lvl 100 to distribute as they see fit? My suggestions I think "King of the Hill" is the correct concept. I just think we need to identify where the "hills" are and reward appropriately. This would be my suggestion below, I feel it allows for all play styles without compromising anything. 1. Turn free ports into fully functioning towns with the basic assets of a decent MMORPG. The player shops are already said to be coming, lets just finish the job. 2. Add in the "King Hills", aka CASTLES. These should be pre-built epic structures that must be taken, be it 24/7 or weekly or monthly w/e. Think Lineage II style sieges. The current owner should be entitled to some form of taxes from a set surrounding area. These can be located in free ports for several of them, or on an added island in a free port grid, or added to the islands in the golden age ruins grids. These are the alpha prizes, hence the tax reward. Owning these is what puts you on the leader board. The Castles should be ranked, with possibly 1 or a small number of them ruling over the others or a set of the others. These structures should be susceptible to damage, but never completely destroyed, think ESO type castles in the PvP area. A company can only hold 1 at a time. 3. The islands (on colony settings) are the small hills. These should be 1 claimable per Company and ranked. The act of taking a better ranked island relinquishes your claim on the lesser ranked island. Think Drow society in Forgotten Realms, loosely. This provides incentive to move up in rank as the higher ranked islands are just better, bigger, nicer or w/e you reap more from taxes. All island owners will be able to tax the island under their claim (opposed to the castles which draw a tax from many islands). The small companies and solos that settle on the island would remain indigenous to the island unless they chose to move, as they don't control any of it to begin with and are not entitled to earn taxes. - This creates dynamic and appropriate WinCons based off of the original concept that rely on the 3 core things one does in the game. - This creates a space and incentive for bigger clans to fight for control of bigger hills, while providing a disincentive for them to go around displacing all the smaller companies in an endless land grab that offers little to no reward. - This preserves the concept of "colony settings" as I think that will be a successful space for the medium size companies to exist in harmony (not in peace) with each other and the bigger ones. Misc. Thoughts BPs should not be OP enough to discount strategy and skill. Melee weapons should have a place somewhere noticeably above harvesting tools. Cannon walls on ships....lets acknowledge there is a keel and it has a limit. I have to believe this is doable. Can tames be useful without becoming the meta and a requirement? (imho tames are SOOOO lame and belong in Ark) I have to believe the UI can be better. Exploits....exploits.....exploits.....this can never, WILL NEVER, be a good game as long as exploits exist. I believe the "empire settings" would not be necessary with these changes. Thank you for your time, -CS

I like Jat, he wears a cool priate hat. Always trust a man in a cool hat.

I think everyone should move away from this speculating that the cost of another server(s) is an actual concern at all. To you, as an individual who has time to game (unproductive time) a server cost is a concern. To a game development company, the cost of another cluster is not even something that would be brought up in a meeting. Its possible thier workstations cost more than another server. Or put another way, if another server cost too much, GS wouldn't be around to launch the game in 2 years anyways. Just sayin. -CS

Im confused about what your confused about. Also i said I wanted the ability to do so, not that I had the desire to do so.

Your totally right man. But at the very least they were player created. Id never want to be unable to attack anyone I see, to me that is what makes it PvP. WoW rules dont count as real PvP.

I was gunna write this long thing. Your welcome. Tldr - IMHO factions blow.

What MMO has ever changed the map layout for a PTR? Granted, this is not a fully functioning MMO, and a seasons format would work much better for the near future. But still, this is not an issue. The only assets you cant scout RIGHT NOW, are the added islands. The same islands will be in the same grid with the same or similar bioms, except for the added biomes witch will be new. You would have to be a dumbass to think scouting a PTR (that is accessible to everyone who paid for the game) is cheating. Oh wait....

Are you the same USE from the AoC forums?

Yeah @Bullet Force has missed a few facts to better his spin. Yes, you can still attack people as far as I can tell. The raid window is to protect your time invested, i.e. your structures. The ark crowd only knows and thinks about bases. The entire concept of sailing and pirating people on the open sea is just lost on them. To the poit where @Bullet Force will say things like its a PvE sever 2/3 a day becuase some 5-10% of the map will at any given point have ORP for structures. Completely forgetting 90% of the server is sea and not protected at all. Also completely ignoring that people will have different windows. And a full omission of lawless squares to boot. To the people who say "build better". That might have been possible before walls were nerfed multiple times. Ill never understand why they chose to make raiding sooo much easyier for the attacker, completely agaisnt game logic. Build 8 or 10 walls deep idc. I can be inside your base before you enter REM the way it is now.

Well at least you agree with @Back Stabbath. Apparently in Ark that was a respectable strategy. Its unfortunate becuase it solidifies what an absolute POS Ark actuly is as a game, and what a terrible community it has gathered. Perhaps I should ease up. It might be too arogant of me to say. Just becuase I dont need overwhelming numbers of low level players to have a winning strategy doesnt mean a mega with only low level players has any choice. And again, its only the fast travel that facilitates the zergs anyways. Take that away and most if not all of these zergs cant even sail ships to your square successfully.

Zerg is a slang term for a group of low-level gamers who depend on overwhelming numbers to achieve victory, rather than relying on technique or strategy. The term is most often used in the context of online role-playing and strategy games, but it also applies to multiplayer first-person shooters. Gamers essentially team up and agree to attack a specific opponent at the same time. By forming a zerg, the gamers can usually kill an enemy while taking general – but not fatal – damage as a group. This strategy itself is known as zerging.

Ahahaha LOL. Thanks for that. Lol It goes, lol, green barets, seal team 6, PvPers, true ones, as described by a dude named Bullet Force. Then a bunch of other shit, zebras ants and what not. Then at the bottom, PvE players, as described by a dude named....Bullet Force. LOL "The best, of the best, of the best, SIR!" BBB - neverlost!

"Naivety at its best." Fitting quote for this guy. Some people just aren't cut out to use thier heads. For the rest of us, numbers and data are wonderful tools. Fortunately you guys will be playing Empire settings I am sure, and thus need not concern yourself with ORP.

Actually, before they capped the companies to 250 there was at least 2 full 500 man chineese companies in the northwest allied. Perhaps more I cant say. Maybe 1000s is a little overblown, but not by much. All these people still own the game.

No way, @Bullet Force and TPG would certainly want to do Empires. Hes been hating on the slightly harder to offline raid people settings since they were announced. He'd have to be an incredible hypocrite to go play Colonies settings. Hell TPG is #1 most of the time. I dont see why they would be afraid to try Empire mode. Hell the whole SC alliance can go carebear it up in hardcore mode like they were doing before and thats what they wanted.

I would have agreed with you, before the devs announced the major changes that are design specifically for smaller groups and made 2 servers to split them. Megas are the whole point of Empire settings now.

Oh, my bad, I thought he was talking about pillar spam, not erecting fobs or the like.

Well, I'll be "hiding" at work and taking the kids to practice and sleeping etc. But it will be great knowing you, with what I assume is a nearly unlimited availability, wont be "hardcore PvP'n" my workshop and boat while I'm hiding. Regaurdless, I wish you and, (was it TPG?) do great in the Empire server. I think its fantastic you get your own settings to facilitate your interest and availability.