So, Alex is trying on Warhammer for size?

We were playing Age of Conan for a bit, but J just didn't get into it (too much like WoW, which he was totally burnt out on; I found the mechanics different enough that it made that sort of game 'new' again, but ultimately just couldn't suck myself in enough to make a lasting habit of it and will be canceling it this week)... We're primarily waiting for the ever pushed back GTA MMO.

Seems like a lot of people are trying out WAR.

Oh, we're going to try a game called Spore.... anyone heard of it? I can't see myself playing it for lengthy periods of time, but it looks kinda cool, too...

I'm trying it but the initial commitment is minimal. If you pre-order it comes with a code for getting into the open beta. So it only cost me $10 at Best Buy. If I am not blown away by the beta I'll not go any farther with it.

I'm generally not a huge fan of PvP so I don't have great hopes but I'm not dismissing it out of hand.

Between this and the D&D thread I'm reallyclose to playing something.

I think my desktop could handle it. My laptop is limping through.

Yeah it looks neat-- I think it's being released next month?

I'm still playing Lord of the Rings Online... they're still having that $199 "lifetime membership" thing which has been a really good deal for me. Also in November they're going to have the first expansion, Mines of Moria (which basically covers Moria, Lothlorien and the surrounding areas). We're the largest gay guild in the game, wooot! :D

I recently discovered SmallWorlds. It's pretty fun so far, and still in beta.

What I like - it's not very time-consuming to do things, like decorate your house, etc. I can pop in for 10 minutes while I have some work rendering.

Chernabog: You're the first person I know personally who has continued playing for LotR for more than a month. That failure rate kept me from even trying.

Spore sounds technologically interesting but it isn't the type of game (at least as I understand it) that appeals to me for playing.

Well from the time it started, they revamped portions of the UI (especially the questing system organization, it's WAY better now), upgraded each of the character classes, added new zones, expanded the epic quests, added raid content, reputation points etc., included in the price.

But all online games are like that -- a lot of people try out the first month and drop out. Or they level their toon to maximum too quickly, or they don't meet friends in the game for some reason, or they just don't like the game mechanics.

I've found that since I like the storyline of the Lord of the Rings universe and have a good guild to play with, it's a fun game (also it helps that it's mostly geared to the casual player). Which isn't to say I don't get bored with it every so often either (like any game you play often). Having the $199 lifetime membership thing is perfect because it is like a disney annual pass -- you can play as much or as little as you like, or take a break, or whatever, and you don't feel like you're obligated to play a certain amount each month just to get your money's worth.

Mines of Moria ("Volume II"), when it comes out in November, WILL have the entirety of Shadows of Angmar ("Volume I"). So you may want to wait till then if you'd like to try the whole thing for one price, but I don't know if the pricing will remain the same (i.e. the lifetime membership thing).

Sorry, didn't mean to suggest you're "wrong" to like it. Just saying that I hadn't run into many who stuck with it. But they were mostly in the early wave so if it has been much improved they'd probably all moved on too soon.

Nah that wasn't how I took it. I took a break of like 2 months at one point (LOTRO has been out for a year, and I have been on since launch). But I come back to it because I've made friends, I DO like the game, it's fun to see the new additions, etc. During the first 6 months or so there were definitely a lot of people who were just trying the game out and didn't want to stick around in the long term for the reasons I mentioned above. I don't see that too often anymore.

It was the same way with Guild Wars (which I actually don't play anymore) during the first few months, and that game is still hugely popular and churning out the expansions.

I'm a fan of both PvP and PvE, but probably more PvP. To have truly epic PvE, IMO, it seems to take more than I'm willing to give. Now, one of the reasons I think I got bored with WoW was because I felt it was becoming too gear-based with people who could do both, and I couldn't beat anyone because I didn't have the right gear, or enough time to do massive PvP grinds.

I prefer faction-less games with siege mechanics, so I can hate anyone I damn well choose, and if I can convince enough people to hate them I can launch war.

But damn it, I don't know if I'll ever have the kind of time I once did to play this. I think it'll just take the right game to suck me in.