A zOMG! Reflection: Dev Replies - Pages 2, 4, 5 and 6

[crmsonbyrd]

I didn't know they changed the beginning sequence. That's upsetting! When I first joined the game, I wasn't sure about it, since I don't usually like games that need clicking, and that's sort of how it was introduced (before I figured out how to set up keyboard shortcuts). But the opening really drew me in, and was really cute and all. It was different from other games I'd played, and a lot of fun. I stopped playing for a while, and came back recently to find everything way different. And it does seem way easier. I don't necessarily mind the increase in gold rewards and such, because I'm always poor anyway, haha. I like some of the changes, but I don't know. I see what you guys are saying about all this stuff.

And the Aekea robots were really dumb. Haha. I like talking to NPCs better.

[MistressMinako]

The game has been toned down. It's quick and simple to complete in under a week (I just started playing on a mule and just doing the quest chains and a few hours of Terror farming rocketed me to SS where it took three of us fighting and one healer to finish the end boss).

I remember the days of orb famine, TCL limits and challenging bosses. In my opinion the game started to go when people were farming bosses. The gold increase from zOMG is nice and it makes it fun to farm with my friends, but it's just too easy to get to max level without learning a thing about how the game works, which decreases the overall quality of the game.

I value the friends I've made and the good times I've had, but between the recent phoning-in of events, and the lack of general ability in the players (oh how I hate the ubiquitous seven attacks and bandage sets), the glory that was zOMG a year ago seems to be fading.

In my opinion, the way to fix zOMG is to teach users about buffs and crowd control. Bring back the old training sequence and force users to do the sewer circuit until they've gained a healing ring, two attack rings and a buff/crowd control (the chests in the sewer don't even work right now). Treat the newbies kindly, make sure they know what they're doing and they'll become better players and zOMG will become a better game.

[Secks Shae]

MistressMinako

The game has been toned down. It's quick and simple to complete in under a week (I just started playing on a mule and just doing the quest chains and a few hours of Terror farming rocketed me to SS where it took three of us fighting and one healer to finish the end boss).

I remember the days of orb famine, TCL limits and challenging bosses. In my opinion the game started to go when people were farming bosses. The gold increase from zOMG is nice and it makes it fun to farm with my friends, but it's just too easy to get to max level without learning a thing about how the game works, which decreases the overall quality of the game.

I value the friends I've made and the good times I've had, but between the recent phoning-in of events, and the lack of general ability in the players (oh how I hate the ubiquitous seven attacks and bandage sets), the glory that was zOMG a year ago seems to be fading.

In my opinion, the way to fix zOMG is to teach users about buffs and crowd control. Bring back the old training sequence and force users to do the sewer circuit until they've gained a healing ring, two attack rings and a buff/crowd control (the chests in the sewer don't even work right now). Treat the newbies kindly, make sure they know what they're doing and they'll become better players and zOMG will become a better game.

3nodding Keep making posts like this, it'll be more ammunition for my next QA session.

[Balathran]

awwwww...
zOMG isn't exactly how you want it to be, so sad
Do you need a band-aid for that boo boo?

[Valheita]

I think a large issue is just how much "fun" was squeezed out for the sake of balance.

The allowance of multiple users in instances, for instance. It doesn't sound all that fun to people who never did it, but there's just something amusing about dragging 15 people through Shallow Sea, or camping out infront of the mansion in DMP.

And the ability to have tea with bosses, or treat them like pets because they were too weak to do anything to you. Alas, scaling my ancient foe~

But a key factor to remember when comparing things to old zOMG! is the nostalgia factor. People say that the new play through is too easy, but I remember when I bought a C.L. 10.0 Teflon Spray to up my C.L, because I finished the entire OA quest chain at C.L. 5.3, and had a very long grind ahead of me. At least that doesn't happen any more, right?

[Secks Shae]

Balathran

awwwww...
zOMG isn't exactly how you want it to be, so sad
Do you need a band-aid for that boo boo?

Yes pl0x, preferably with cutesy chibi Airsharks on it o3o

[OMFG Taylor]

I hate to be so pessimistic, but I'm actually just waiting to get the official announcement that development on zomg has been halted.

I can't help but feel that it's going to come within the next couple months... >___<

Which makes me terribly sad, btw sad

[MushroomCap00]

I feel your pain. I used to have a pretty good account on this site, C.L. 7 something...then I stopped playing for awhile and when i finally got back on Gaia last week, all my stuff, including my progress on ZOMG was gone. So I sucked it up and worked my way back up. I've only been playing again for about a week and already I'm at 4.7 C.L.
It's gotten easier AND all the good stuff is gone. I LIKED the sewer intro, but this time around I had to go and look for the sewers so I could relieve the nostalgia. I have no idea how to get the goof course thing going again and, when I kneeled down for a refreshing fountain game, nothing happened.
..
....
yeah, I'm not happy.

[MistressMinako]

OMFG Taylor

I hate to be so pessimistic, but I'm actually just waiting to get the official announcement that development on zomg has been halted.

I can't help but feel that it's going to come within the next couple months... >___<

Which makes me terribly sad, btw sad

At least then I wouldn't be getting a sinking feeling every single time I see Cresento make a forum announcement.

Hell even that annoys me - that the devs have decided to use an NPC instead of having swarf make the announcements. I miss the personal touch that came with Qix letting us know what's going on.

And as for the grinding - I think the scaled orb drops eliminate that (as opposed to the old system of getting one or two orbs per monster no matter what area of the game you were in). I think a little bit of time needs to be taken in order to learn how all the rings work and develop strategies different from loading up on attack rings. And on that note - I'd like to see debuffs become more useful. Right now rings like Iron Will don't have a noticeable effect to the casual player (defined as one that isn't focused on stats). I'd like to see the animated have their old HP restored and debuffs/crowd control become more useful.

[Tymon Kinneas]

I all but quit due to the direction the game was going in. When they more or less nerfed slash to where it hits more or less JUST your target unless you use max rage, that completely ruined what was my favorite ring in the game. Furthermore, the nerfing of it was poorly designed. I have no idea what the 'area' of the attack is now. I've hit things where the sword passes through an animated and it doesn't even have 'miss' pop up. it just doesn't hit them. and hits my target only. Furthermore, I've also had it where it's hit another target that the sword animation didn't even pass through. The point of slash was to have more or less an AOE melee attack or an 'arc' attack. They made too many things into aoes, (guns guns guns, hotfoot, etc are now aoes at high rage ranks) and nerfed what was literally the most powerful 'aoe' (meaning hit multiple targets) damagewise into what is now more or less a single target attack. Furthermore, now some of the buffs are now debuffs? Adrenaline? Knife Sharpen? Knife Sharpen doesn't even SOUND like an attack or a debuff, it sounds like a buff. They also messed around with the sets. Pirate now has QUICKSAND and increases armor? All in all I'm disappointed in the way they 'fixed' things in the name of balance. The game used to be semi-soloer friendly. I actually could literally make it through the shallow seas all the way to the endboss area all by myself. Now... It's next to impossible even with a full crew (at least on hard) considering coral fluffs can freaking one shot you. Oh yes. And the soulbinding. It was added so people couldn't 'breeze through the game' Considering the alternatives people offered, Pure soulbinding was a very stupid, and very bad decision. It cuts out one of the major social aspects of ANY mmo. which is essentially equipment trading. If you are searching for one specific ring? Good luck with that. not only do you have to have a ring drop in the first place, it's a 1 in 40 chance to even GET what you want in the first place. If they did one of the suggestions and made it where a rings charge level dropped to 1.0 when transferred to someone else, it would have been a MUCH better idea. You could still give rings to friends if you got one they were looking for, or sell off other rings you don't really need on the marketplace. Or even trade rings with people if they have one you need and you have one they need. Completely restricting the rings to your account was a very poor idea and honestly added a level of frustration that a lot of people more than likely have felt. I don't know many people that LIKE farming for 20+ hours and still fail to get the one ring they are searching for.

[Ash_Trigar]

my loyalty to zomg is born from the first glitchy system ^_^
the confusing tasks and the endless help offered by the npcs in the game
its lost its character due to (perhaps) ppl complaining of a "slow start"
i met great ppl on zomg but i too feel it turning into nothing more than a joke...
so be it ...

[hopbunny1]

I could not agree more. Although I've only been playing since late 2008, early 2009 I've seen the huge difference between then and now. I myself was so enthralled with the plot that I could not stop playing zOMG. I just HAD to find out what was going to happen. But with them ripping apart the beginning, and killing the plot, what IS the point of this game? Honestly I only go on for 2 things. To get gold, and to work on badges. Really there is nothing else to look forward too. I hold out no hope for the second chapter, although I personally would love to fight robots.

Also as a side note, I tihnk many people are simply getting bored with this game. It's all to predictable, the events that is.

[bronstahd]

Too much to respond to point by point, but I'd like to speak to the general sentiment, and address some of the valid points made in this thread.

It's true, the game has been made noticeably easier. Personally, I'd argue that this gives the game a broader appeal. The truth is, our "numbers" have increased across the board since the most recent training and balance changes. It's also true, though, that this leaves those of us who enjoy being truly challenged - and I definitely consider myself in this category - a bit wanting. This is something that we plan to remedy with a new level 10 area and additional game-types and difficulty levels in boss lairs in the next several months. Unfortunately, the early game, and specifically training and waterworks, was all but unplayable and had to be fixed first.

I also agree that we're not doing everything necessary to fully train new players. However, I disagree strongly that the old training was superior in any way to the current version. Most people don't want to spend the first 20 minutes of play reading tutorial after tutorial. They want to learn the basics and play the game. This is why less than 15% of people who started the old training actually completed it. The answer really is not to return the old training, it was an absolute failure. Instead, we need to provide and improve later tutorials to ensure players are receiving the instruction they need. This is also currently planned as a necessary improvement for the coming months.

I hope this assuages your concerns somewhat. The game is still being worked on. Improvements and new challenges are still coming. As a reminder, we are a small team, we always have been, and these things take time. Please be patient, I promise we're all working as hard as we can.

[Bladeglory]

The Way of the Sword
~~~0==}|3ladeglory~~~

Thank you bron. *sits and waits for the tutorial improvements*

Maybe, during it, you could drop a hint that the zOMG! forum can help with tactics and gameplay mechanics.

"Elizabeth: Well, now you're done with your basic training!
Player: Yay! That was intense!
Elizabeth: Remember that it was just the bare-bones of fighting knowledge, though. If you want to learn more, you can visit the Forums to discuss more advanced techniques with your allies!
Player: Thanks Elizabeth! Where do you think I should go now? *continues on with game"

[Allisande]

*bows* Thank you, bron. So long as I know my favorite part of Gaia is still progressing, I'm content. Still, even if the tutorial remains shorter, could you bring Frank back? The part of the new changes that has killed me the most is the death of the story. I love the No Way! moment when you get to EB. It's closure. It doesn't even have to be that long. T-T

((While I'm still listing things I miss: Bruce. I spent a lot of time getting chewed on by Landy as a lower level player, but I'd always go to the null, run back, and get eaten again. There was glory in getting killed by Landy, even as a CL10! I loved it! It didn't even keep me away from gold beach, since I knew that Landy didn't come very often. Landy getting returned to the state of an equal opportunity OMNOMNOMer would make me happy, but not as much as the return of a more complete tutorial with the story elements.)) (((And the fix of the EB recipes. I still haven't finished all four because I'm so darn afraid I won't get them.)))