Thanks Sin.
I don't have much knowledge of DAoC, do this is insightful.
As far as technologically, EQ shows it's age.
I don't know. I mean, EQ has (had) a lot of potential. But, it's outdated and it shows.
I mean, even with the luclin "retexture" of the existing zones, the game looks like it is from 1995.
The graphics engine is weak as hell, too. With a GeForce 3 and a 1Ghz athlon, I should be able to see more than three spell effects at once in a six sided box room with 6 people before the frame rate drops.
And as far as gameplay, well. You said it. Camps. Rare spawns. Rare drops from Rare spawns. "Hell levels". And ohh, the camp disputes.
I dunno about DAoC, but damned, camps are super super unrealistic and take away from the "adventure" of the game. However, the whole game is based around it, so you HAVE to do it. Raids are fun, but even then you're still camping and moving on, camping and moving on.
And you know, about the hell level thing. Really though, I mean sure, it should be harder to get through 45 than it wa to get through 25, but pleeease. Sitting in dreadlands for 200 hours of gameplay dealing with grouping and killing the same monters over and over and over and over again is NOT FUN! Not FUN! Sure, we all get through it, but c'mon..
They give you a hell of a hard time getting to level 60, but even then your survival is far from guarenteed. There's lots of zones that challenge the top end players. But only the ones that spend 10 hours a day playing EQ for a year get to enjoy them.
There are good things about EQ of course. You can have a good time, sometimes those sticky situations are hella fun, and I love playing my Magician. Pets are real fun. Aquiring new items is always fun, and sometimes you meet a nice person. Sometimes.
For me though, I want a game that not only looks great, but also is fun to play and not aggrevating to the point where you have no hair. Perhaps DAoC isn't as rich in spells and such, but if it's fun and I still have hair, I'd play that. Plus, from the screenshots it looks fantastic.
Personally, I'm very dissapointed in the fact that OU2 has been canceled. I've always been a big fan of Ultima, I played them from Ultima 1 all the way through 9. Fantastic story and very well written. I just can't get over the PK mess and graphics engine of UO. Oh well..
-CB