Say what? You're still at version 1.7.0? That's like 4 years old You start the game.. Then it will aailmuttcaloy start to download the patches. You will end up at patch 3.3.5 (The latest one.)You could also download just patch 2.4.3 from an external site, like Wowwiki.com

But, you left out Kingdoms of Amalur, the greatest clone failure of the modern era, which has taken all of Curt Schilling's baseball profits and most of Rhode Island's money...

[url=#user_comment_136551]@logic[/url] They've been quoted in saying that the TES MMO will follow a traditional hotkey system. Take that as you will.

From what I heard, they have been working for the past 6 years on an Scrolls MMO. I hope their ideals for a successful MMO aren't from 6 years ago.
All that keeps the "scrolls" rolling is lore, and hearing it will be 1000 years before the events of skyrim is a big "fuck you" in the face of lore

Why is it that games that advertise themselves as MMOs are so similar to each other, yet these same MMO games are so fucking different than regular multiplayer/singleplayer games?

Use of phases in game areas by wow. Nothing innovative?

If you want to succeed as an MMO, having your game have blatant reminders of your main competitor is like subliminal advertising FOR your competitor.

[url=#user_comment_136544]@someone[/url]: bars with pictures is fine... but here's the thing. almost every MMO I've played has had bar of skills across the bottom, the EXP bar above the skills, the health, mana, and portrait in the top left, minimap with a circular design on the top right. Is it that hard to change the layout?

[url=#user_comment_136468]@galdon[/url]: the problem is, sometimes there's not very many ways to do something efficiently or keep it looking nice. If you have a lot of skills/abilities/wearable items/potions etc... bars with pictures is really the best way to go.

ako yun...

What do you think of Guildwars 2?

[url=#user_comment_136495]@PapLockDunk[/url]: It is but like Mike Mohaine said it requires half a billion dollars which is how much money they put into making the game. (and that was 4 years ago)

People who say WoW didn't innovate, or EQ didn't innovate haven't actually played any MMOs before WoW.

You people need to stop talking, seriously.

As for ESO, so long as it doesn't prevent TES6, I'll happily be able to ignore it.

Here's the problem I see with trying to beat WoW. WoW has had 8 YEARS to refine and add new stuff to their game. It is impossible for developers to create a new game that will beat WoW in terms of content and variety.

[url=#user_comment_136453]@Xeno[/url]: I believe Jo really meant WoW in this strip as one of the most popular ones, not original, therefore mentioning direct revenue. You could mention older classics like Ultima or Everquest, but these days most people dont even know these exists, so developers goes for a wow-like design.

More than 100 comments over 1 panel strip... Jo, this time you really rattled the buzzer nest, pal.

Xeno: the problem is, most MMOs go so far as to actually copy WoW USER INTERFACE. It takes literally no effort to at least move the interface around a bit so it doesn't look exactly like WoW's, or maybe using a square minimap instead of a round one.

Seriously want to play TERA.

C'mon, I'd expected better from you. Many MMORPGs copy from WoW ok, but WoW is not exactly the first one out there, Blizzard copied a lot of things itself. It's just lame to refer to it as some final and everlasting archetype of the genre. It's like claiming every RPGs copied from Final Fantasy...

I play TERA, the combat system is smooth, very responsive, For example the tanking class Lancer has a block ability that has no cooldown, all attacks you do can be animation canceled into block and block, blocks all damage and debuffs from infront of you.

Try Guild Wars 2.

I puked after 15 of any of those other games.
They are all the same.

Guild Wars is different. It's actually fun.

I don't trust the Scrolls online much, but there is enough sketchy about the concept that you should need to resort to the "lol, wow clone" stuff, especially not this early on.

Seems a bit of a jump since not a whole lot about the game has been released, so calling it a clone this far in advance, especially given the crowd they would be appealing to with the current fan base (open world, more action style of combat rather then icon watching, etc).

CLONES?

IT'S NOT CLONES IF THERE'S ONE DIFFERENT THING

[url=#user_comment_136199]@Kazmohdim[/url] Successful troll is successful.

[url=#user_comment_135960]@Hyshinara[/url] DAMN RIGHT!

It takes money to keep a MMO running. Devs introduce shitty game elements that deliberately slows the pace of the game down so that you don't "finish" the game in a week and stop paying. And now you know the reason why MMOs will NEVER be as fun as a regular vidya game.

tldr; MMOs suck

[url=#user_comment_136288]@Doktor[/url] I totally agree, only reason I play WoW is cos of how much i've put into it, and how few people I know in Rift... if this weren't an issue, would've dropped WoW and stuck to rift the moment I first tried it. Nearly did as a matter of fact.

If you're going to start labeling Fantasy MMORPGs as clones, then get the game they're cloning right - All Fantasy MMORPGs owe their existence to a little game called Ultima Online.

tbh how many of these are still around, don't hear much from them anymore.

The problem is no matter how different an MMO is from WoW someone, somewhere, is going to call it a WoW clone just because it's an MMO. It's just like every single shooter is a Call of Duty clone now even though Call of Duty was a clone of Medal of Honor back in the WWII days.

I've got to say that "WoW Clone" is kinda getting old.
WoW can be said to be Everquest clone. Rift is an amazing MMO and throwing it down as a WoW clone just isn't fair.

Shoot, I still play WoW over Rift (Because of how much time I've already put into it) But Rift is still great.

Kara was the only raid I ever had fun with after the first two or three runs.
DAOC once had a free pvp expansion that let you level up through battlegrounds, and then hit pvp without ever having grinded.

Those are the only good moments I've had in themeparks.

[url=#user_comment_136272]@zeal[/url] Did you even research what GW2 is about before you wrote that?

Age of Conan imploded into itself due to the massive amounts of gamebreaking bugs that really never got fixed, tried the game 2 years after when it went F2P and it was still incredibly bugged.

GW2 combat looks bad, to much like WoW, clone etc.
I think i will stick to Diablo3.

SW:TOR is out of the shop for a bit, but it will be back. Seriously, what a terrible game.

Where is Aion?

Jo,you really should check GW2
and on a somewhat lesser note(i mean,it`s still only asian still) PSO2

[url=#user_comment_136199]@Kazmohdim[/url]: you miss the point :p He just said that compare lotro and wow is like compare hl2 and cod 3. Any possibilities to compare them. Or compare a duck with a truck

[url=#user_comment_136199]@Kazmohdim[/url]: I think that was actually his point...

[url=#user_comment_136174]@someone[/url]: LOL@ HL2 is COD clone. The original half-life was made in 1998, thats before the first call of duty game was even in concept. HL2 is just the sequel to its own game.

I actually enjoyed Warhammer Online. That one was really fun. I had a lot of good memories stem from it.

I tossed in the towel on MMOs after Neocron died.
Tried WoW and hated it. Played FFXI for awhile and rage-quitted. Tried Rift while new and actually ENJOYED myself... before it got repetitive and too time consuming.
If I ever need an MMO-fix... Ragnarok Online :P

1) LotRO is a WoW clone in the same way that Half Life 2 is a Call of Duty clone(haven't played the other 3; therefore reserving judgement)
2) LotRO is also still going pretty strong
3) Just because something is an MMO doesn't mean it's trying to overthrow WoW.

Its sad... Poor doctor Wily shouldn't be making ESO, he should be making Elder Scrolls Man!

@Angry Microbe: Sounds like someone's poor :p but seriously I know what you mean

[url=#user_comment_136098]@oslecamo[/url]: wow...checked...they actually are making a PSO 2...and I thought they had gotten Street Fighter syndrome considering the last one was something like Phantasy Star Portable Infinity Universe Blue Nacho Supreme... I'd still rather like a new plain Phantasy Star game...

Warhammer Online was epic for the realm vs realm pvp and the new frontier it pushed there - but its died a sad, slow death over time.

Fun Fact: LOTRO and ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE have the same bubble graphic. AGE OF CONON and RIFT have the same ones aswell, but RIFT's is upside down.

Warhammer online has a free trial and that was enough to convince me to not bother with it.

So, is Warhammer Online worth checking out?

What makes LotRO good is the community. They have got to be on of the most mature game communities I've ever seen. Gameplay-wise though, it's not that exceptional.

CONT.

RIFT - I actually enjoyed this, my only problem was lack of friends playing (if I had someone to roll with, probs would've stayed, the class system etc was awesome)

SWTOR - wanted to try, but EA can fuck themselves with the £45 price tag on the box (I shall wait)

just my 2 cents.

Age of Conan - just seems terrible imo, so much so I didnt even want to try it

Warhammer online - im not to into the whole pvp thing, but probs should give it a try as I love the warhammer franchise

LoTRO - loved the game, and the community, just some of the systems seemed a bit clunky.

Now iirc, Jo likes (maybe plays) SWTOR and that might be the reason why it was left off.

Personally, I'm waiting for Phantasy Star Online II. The first PSO actually came out before Wow, so you can't call it a clone. Also robot maids with guns. And it will be free to play from the start!

Wow Jo...I hope your trolling, cause that is easily the stupidest thing you have ever said. Ever.

Seriously, dudes, Warhammer Online isn't a WoW Clone!

There is a huge difference between 6 Battlegrounds and some feral PvP and much bigger RvR with castle and zone capture.

To be fair to Warhammer Online, it had a VERY good pvp system. And seeing how people are still playing the game despite the terrible patches the game gets, just proves how good the pvp is.

@Angry Microbe: And paying to acquire it

You all have fun with your clones. I'll just be over here, with the MMO that's actually fun to play.

That said, one nice trend in SWTOR and GW2 is that they're focusing more on the Massive and not as much on the Multiplayer part--making games that can be played fine solo, *or* in a group, without forcing the latter that often.

To be fair to war, it had a lot of innovative stuff now present in most new mmo's- it was just rushed out and didn't have a very complete endgame etc.

Plus if we're going to talk about stealing, what about Blizzard basically ripping the whole warcraft franchise from warhammer's lore?

[url=#user_comment_136006]@Nam[/url] One question does come to mind--just how much 'something different' does a game have to have before it *stops* being a 'WoW clone'? If you listen to people talk about it, it seems like every MMO in existance is nothing more than a WoW clone...including the ones that were around before WoW was.

Why a customer would pay money every month just to play a game they already own is beyond me.

Would you rather play a multiplayer game that isn't massive, but it's free. OR would you rather play a massive multiplayer game for a monthly fee?

An Elder Scrolls MMO would only be popular because of the fanbase. So far, it won't have an aggro function, areas are being developed before release as DLC, and it breaks a shit ton of lore made beforehand. It's disgraceful.

[url=#user_comment_135981]@qq[/url] I suppose you don't know Dofus or Wakfu =3

Shame about Warhammer. I actually had a lot more fun with it during the trial period compared to WoW, even if it was a clone.

Everyone if you're sick of the whole "clone" aspect of MMOs I suggest Wakfu it's a lot of fun. At least check it out whenever you get a chance.

well for WoW i think its a little outdated to be used as the master copy. All its doing now is killing its self. . . slowly!

@Music Meister:

And yet its still a clone. A successful clone, but a clone nonetheless.

If only they tried clone dcuo and ddo. Those games are plenty of fun thanks to better combat system(specially dcuo:s).

forgot SWTOR

[url=#user_comment_136010]@maestro[/url] 2 million players from WoW seems like a success to me.

Note the lack of SWTOR...

[url=#user_comment_135986]@El_Nazgir[/url]: May I remind you that EQ1 was also highly succesful, Warhammer was a widely known IP and WAR made by a widely exalted company, LotRO goes the same for that. GW2 is nothing special so far. Well known IP and and few new things like everyone else.

[url=#user_comment_135994]@Altherix[/url] If investors played video games, then EA's board of directors would be drinking booze under a bridge.

I think the main reason is that they all think WoW big and when they don't get it, they're deemed failures. There was an article that said that an MMO with few tens of thousands of users will rack up money just fine. But it's not WoW, so they axe it.

I'd think now investors would be noticing that WOW is in decline currently. Be it people are bored of it or the terrible economy more are worried about real life than a game.

I agree though, some company needs to take a risk in the MMO market. I've play far too many 1 month and I'm bored MMOs.

Lies, lies...lies!!!! All of you are wrong! I'm 100% sure that (...insert random MMORPG name here...) will totally best WoW! And nothing you say can't change my mind!

[url=#user_comment_135902]@LSRagnarok[/url] I get it Aziz!

[url=#user_comment_135982]@nam[/url]: The difference is that Guild wars already carved itself through the MMO business successfully, with plenty of difference with the MUD clones already. May I remind you that guild wars is the MMO with the second most copies sold, and the 9th most sold PC game?

Lol of course WoW copied stuff from Everquest, just like absolutely every platformer after the first Mario copied stuff. Thats not Jo point, his point is that new MMO obviously try to be WoW while WoW wasnt trying to be anything else then itself. Everquest wasnt doing too good when WoW rolled around

@ Asgar:

Yes, and every game on that clone list "tried something different"

Turn based MMO - you don't need more signs of failure.

One thing to say about the comic. My toughts exactly!

Guild Wars 2 is actually doing something different, played it last weekend. Will be interesting to see how it will affect the MMORPG genre.

Would have been better if Rift was replaced with SWTOR. At least Rift has the dynamic invasions and cool class system to set itself apart from the pack.

What I find funny personally all those new "M"MOs are cutting down on Massive part of name.
25 man raid ?
Some FPS have more people on map than "M"MOs in one instance.
I miss times of 200+ man raids in L2, only notable exception now is EVE but its not for everyone.

Hope you know that WOW copied parts from EACH existing MMORPG during the same era..

WoW is NOTHING original, just a pure copy-paste mmorpg.

I wholeheartedly DON'T want an Elder Scrolls MMORPG...
All I want, ever since I played Oblivion, is Elder Scrolls "invite-in co-op", where you can get a friend to join you game and play a quest with you.
Or a form of 4-or-so-player server.

Oh, please, it's not that everyone copied WoW - it's that WoW copied Everquest, which copied MUDs, and no one has innovated anything since then. WoW is just a reskinned MUD itself, in essence. There's no real innovation anywhere.

Diablo III:
http://rojaysoriginalart.com/BeauvaisAlien.JPG

its a funny comparison to the Card Game Glut that reared its ugly head in the early 1990's do to the rise of Magic: The Gathering. Everything, and i do mean Everything had a card game at that point. Everyone wanted to cash in. Its nothing we haven't seen before and won't see again.

Lotro, srsly? You disappoint me, my tentacle friend.

Well, not that we know much of Elder Scrolls Online, but the 3 factions is a dead giveaway, this will be a DAoC 2, Matt Firor being on board is another dead giveaway.

So won't be much of a WoW clone.

where is the guild wars 2?

So I loved the personal story mechanism of GW2 and the dynamic events. Hopefully it will develop even more (wow, MMO puberty). One thing that concerned me was the areas seemed really disconnected. Losing a dynamic event in an area didn't seem like it would spill into any of the neighboring areas.

I saw people spontaneously helping each other out all the time in the GW2 beta. I enjoy that kind of spontaneous cooperation more than the social gameplay encouraged by most MMORPGs' mechanisms.

In GW2, there's way more incentive to actually help out other players out since everyone shares equally in the rewards no matter what, and the events encourage teamwork. So it feels more like a MMO game than a game where everyone solos or plays in exclusive teams.

I liked what I played of GW2 better than most other MMORPGs I've tried. In most games, you want to whack on a mob no one's whacking on because of the reward mechanisms.

Uhm.....lumping these all as clones is kind of misleading and really it would be just as bad to say they're all clones as most use the same set of elements. If the implication is these are all failure clones, then that also isn't really accurate; LOTRO at the very least is very strong still.

They admitted to purposely developing DLC before release. It's going down in flames.

Not that I hate SWTOR (I actually love it) shouldn't it be up there?

You should've drawn the AoC clone malnourished and withered, maybe the tank a little cracked and leaking. Y'know, to symbolize how FC decided to forget people were still playing the game.

For the record, those are the four stages of MMO denial.

I think it's kinda Unfair to Age of Conan. In Conan, You can dodge and attack by direction.

[url=#user_comment_135879]@Flashburn[/url]: But it's in Betaaaaa, but it's just been releaseeeedddd, but they'll patch iiiiittttt, but I don't want to be aloooonnnneeee.

In the games development industry, a common term to use for large-scale grind-based online games is "MMO", which means "More Money Oooooh~"

I don't think anyone is really under the illusion of an MMO having anything resembling a quality gaming experience, any more.

Good old times of Ultima Online and Ragnarok Online...

As much as I hate to add it since I like Aion. It was up there with AoC and Rift as WoW killers also.

Loving GW2 though.

[url=#user_comment_135869]@anon[/url] 23 Way to pass judgment on the game based on the BETA. GW2 is hardly ready to release.

The funny thing is there's probably a WoW ad above the comic.

gw2 actually sucks i played beta

HE was probably going to draw Eve online but he-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

SWTOR needs to be up there instead of Warhammer. At least you're not Jesse Cox and insulting Guild Wars 2, the flame wars would melt the last of the ice caps.

@A Guy: Um, a remake of a remake? PASS. I'm pretty sure I'm not getting in any lines to see a remake of Avatar.

"Now Pocahontas in the ocean with orange people! It'll be a hit! Everybody's got a thing for scales!"

Elder Scrolls Online sounds like more of a clone of GW2 from what they've said about it so far

If you want an MMO that's no WoW clone, join us on EVE Online. The only game where you can lose EVERYTHING!

As much as everything is a clone of WoW, WoW is a clone of EQ and other predecessors. If a clone can be so successful, what's to stop a clone of a clone from being great?

Where is SWTOR?

I always wondered how Warhammer Online has been doing. I havent played it in years i remeber it being fun as much as a WoW clone can be i suppose

Again and again and again!

We can reboot them - we have the technology. The technology to keep milking ideas FOREVER.