Thoughts about Humania and the future

[dudetus]

I've been thinking (lolwut?) about PL quite a lot in general and especially upcoming Humania as DL is going to be released soon and therefore Humania is getting closer as well.

Sry this thread won't include screenshots of me in "funny" suits if u were looking for that :(.

All of the things I am going to say are my own opinions. It is alright to disagree with me but I hope u all appreciate all of the opinions over here. No need for a flame war.

I am anxiously waiting for Humania and therefore the new cap. Sam has said that Humania is going to be worth the waiting (sry no links 'cause I am writing this with my phone) and me and many others are expecting a lot from it. Many of my friends have been on a break waiting for Humania to come. But what about if Humania isn't going to be that outstanding in theory? I know most of my friends who are on a break might quit PL for good if they dislike Humania.

What I am rly worrying is the future. AO3 was IMHO last awesomesauce campaign and many (including me) think it is the best campaign in the whole PL. The quests, the enemies and the whole entertainment is out of the scale. Sewers, Nuri and Fang are again IMHO "only" mediocre campaigns and they all are going to have lack of players when Humania arrives. There are going to be 15 lvls of emptyness unless there aren't going to be modifications. Main reason why all come back to AO3 is Cyber. What makes end game players come back to Sewers, Nuri or Fang in the future? Nothing except they r helping a friend or they are questing. Most of the ppl are either end game or below lvl 50 but what about the future 50-65? There aren't going to be enough players to give variety to the gaming and PL might get boring to them. My own personal advice is increasing drop rates for ppl to come back there. And there might also be a problem to get good enough equipment for the lvl 50-65 in the future due to insanely low drop rates and therefore rly high prices

Which leads to my next topic. Drop rate scale -> 10=Frequent - 1=almost none. When STS has introduced a new campaign the scale is always 10 and it gets lowered by the time and reaches almost 1. Why is it like this? New campaign itself is interesting enough we don't need that high drop rate to keep us entertained. It would be better if it was like 5 all the time. Not always but yet quite frequently. It would keep us interested and it gives everybody a chance to get awesome equipment. It could also make us go back to Sewers, Nuri and Fang if we knew we would get something from there.

I am also quite interested about next vanity cap reward. IMHO it is going to be a new helm because it is quite hard to make a matching Vanity Pet for the set. Only if it is a Golden Dragon... So anyways let's pretend it is a helm. Is it going to give a set bonus with SoH or MFA? Or is it going to be a seperate round with a new Shield and Armor to get a set bonus? Either way it is going to cause lots of discussion.

What about a new Cyber or Mystery kind of quests for Humania? Lots of ppl are waiting to farm some bosses to collect totems (including me) to get awesome looking equipments. I hope Humania has some kind of "Elite quest" to keep ppl entertained in the far future.

Well that's it ty for reading if u actually read it...

[RedRyder]

I lost faith in PL a long time ago lol. It'll never get better than AO3. We've yet to be proven otherwise.
SL has prettier everything and DL being a new game, STS will have a lot of creative freedom. I think PL Is as good as it'll ever be. Its time for alterra to retire.

[Elyseon]

Personally, I enjoyed sewers, not up to par with AO3 but still good, Nuris was boring, too hard, and way too low drops, and fang is just boring/the gear is ugly.
And yeh, they need to add some epic cyber like endgame quests again

[WoundedEagle]

I enjoyed sewers as well.

[RedRyder]

Personally, I enjoyed sewers, not up to par with AO3 but still good, Nuris was boring, too hard, and way too low drops, and fang is just boring/the gear is ugly.
And yeh, they need to add some epic cyber like endgame quests again

They're about to hit some kind of bandwidth cap, so they can't do much for PL anymore. SL still has plenty of room for creative freedom (it's about to hit its "ao3" era) and DL being a entirely new game, it should blow us away.

[Rare]

They're about to hit some kind of bandwidth cap, so they can't do much for PL anymore. SL still has plenty of room for creative freedom (it's about to hit its "ao3" era) and DL being a entirely new game, it should blow us away.

I don't by the "bandwidth cap" thing that keep coming up. STS has said they have a roadmap all the way to lvl 100. If they are only 2/3 of the way through it and are already hitting some cap, I would say there are some very serious design flaws. People that seriously engineer software should see this coming and begin tackling the issue LONG before it becomes a problem.

In an industry like this where you're trying to win and keep a strong fanbase, you REALLY have to be proactive and not reactive.

[RedRyder]

I don't by the "bandwidth cap" thing that keep coming up. STS has said they have a roadmap all the way to lvl 100. If they are only 2/3 of the way through it and are already hitting some cap, I would say there are some very serious design flaws. People that seriously engineer software should see this coming and begin tackling the issue LONG before it becomes a problem.

In an industry like this where you're trying to win and keep a strong fanbase, you REALLY have to be proactive and not reactive.

What exactly would they gain from lying?

[dudetus]

They're about to hit some kind of bandwidth cap, so they can't do much for PL anymore.

I'm afraid I have to disagree with u in some points. Even though I agree PL has lost it's "touch" I still think it's the best game to play on my phone. We need some new features that's for sure but what? As a pick-up-and-play format of a game PL is going to be what it is now unless they decide to make it into "more hardcore" MMO by adding Skill Trees and open world as for an example. For now I only see upcoming campaigns but I agree something has to be done but it is in the far future IMO.

[RedRyder]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with u in some points. Even though I agree PL has lost it's "touch" I still think it's the best game to play on my phone. We need some new features that's for sure but what? As a pick-up-and-play format of a game PL is going to be what it is now unless they decide to make it into "more hardcore" MMO by adding Skill Trees and open world as for an example. For now I only see upcoming campaigns but I agree something has to be done but it is in the far future IMO.

I still think PL's golden years are over. There will never be fully open worlds, as the legends suite isn't that type of game. It just isn't STS' M.O. I can't really speak for DL yet, but it might follow that same dungeon crawler format. You can't really expect a super Mario fps, it just isn't nintendo's m.o with the Mario suite of games.

See what I did there?

Since DL is already featuring skill trees, I see it as a step in the right direction for STS. Don't see it implemented for PL though. Humania is my last hope, so I might quit pl if it disappoints :/ not that I even play anymore. It's been a few months.

[Fncrazy]

Sewers was the last good map. Nuri and fang were way to hard without Elix. I miss the days in the sewers were you could cruel blast with your bird and kill a mob of 5 on 2x. In Nuri and fang they just look at you like what was that

[RedRyder]

Sewers was the last good map. Nuri and fang were way to hard without Elix. I miss the days in the sewers were you could cruel blast with your bird and kill a mob of 5 on 2x. In Nuri and fang they just look at you like what was that

I can't even consider sewers because that's when the weapon/gear models started getting reused

[Rare]

What exactly would they gain from lying?

Time. Or a reason for not adding content. I don't know.

I'm not even saying they are lying. The other option would be poor engineering. Maybe it is related to the workload with DL and SL to deal with.

EDIT: Of course, I am only going by what I know. Which may not be a lot.

1. Roadmap to at least lvl 100. That doesn't mean it will stop there.
2. Rumored limitations on bandwidth/data.

I only heard about this rumor I think when Nuri's started. So maybe they've been hard at work at fixing it. Who knows?

[Rare]

Nuri and fang were way to hard without Elix.

Really?? hmm. Don't see that on my end. IMO, if they made it any easier, there would be no fun. Maybe if you're trying to solo its hard.

[dudetus]

I still think PL's golden years are over. There will never be fully open worlds, as the legends suite isn't that type of game. It just isn't STS' M.O. I can't really speak for DL yet, but it might follow that same dungeon crawler format. You can't really expect a super Mario fps, it just isn't nintendo's m.o with the Mario suite of games.

See what I did there?

Since DL is already featuring skill trees, I see it as a step in the right direction for STS. Don't see it implemented for PL though. Humania is my last hope, so I might quit pl if it disappoints :/ not that I even play anymore. It's been a few months.

Fair enough but it isn't that bad to be an optimist ;).

Sorry to see u have almost given up hope... Wouldn't want yet another veteran to quit PL :/ ...

[dudetus]

Time. Or a reason for not adding content. I don't know.

I'm not even saying they are lying. The other option would be poor engineering. Maybe it is related to the workload with DL and SL to deal with.

STS is still kinda small business compared to big MMO companies. And they are releasing their 3rd game already... I still know that they are doing the best they can as a business to keep us, the customers, to play furthermore by adding new and interesting stuff.

[RedRyder]

Time. Or a reason for not adding content. I don't know.

I'm not even saying they are lying. The other option would be poor engineering. Maybe it is related to the workload with DL and SL to deal with.

Not buying it = you think they're lying. They have separate teams working on adding content for each game, so that shouldn't be the case


Really?? hmm. Don't see that on my end. IMO, if they made it any easier, there would be no fun. Maybe if you're trying to solo its hard.

No, fn is in the same guild as me, and it was almost impossible to play through nuri's without elixirs until we hit the 60/61 cap. 1hit k.o's from one skeleton is too hard. 1xp per kill is too slow. It was as if they did it just to get us to buy elixirs

[dudetus]

I can't even consider sewers because that's when the weapon/gear models started getting reused

Same. Even though the maps were something new the items weren't. That's why I counted Sewers in the "mediocre" campaign. I felt so bad for seeing King Mynas gone Gurgox in Nuri as a Snake Charmer...

[Ardon]

STS is still kinda small business compared to big MMO companies. And they are releasing their 3rd game already... I still know that they are doing the best they can as a business to keep us, the customers, to play furthermore by adding new and interesting stuff.

It still baffles me that they are already releasing a third game. Especially for how small STS is. It's gonna be hard for them to have constant work on three games simultaneously.

[Rare]

STS is still kinda small business compared to big MMO companies. And they are releasing their 3rd game already... I still know that they are doing the best they can as a business to keep us, the customers, to play furthermore by adding new and interesting stuff.

Oh no... don't get me wrong. I don't think they are doing a bad job. Not saying that in the least.

But being in the software engineering industry I know first hand how easy it is to overextend yourself and to quickly get yourself under water. Obviously these guys are great at what they do. But even being great doesn't prevent small things (sometimes big things) from falling through the cracks.

[dudetus]

Oh no... don't get me wrong. I don't think they are doing a bad job. Not saying that in the least.

But being in the software engineering industry I know first hand how easy it is to overextend yourself and to quickly get yourself under water. Obviously these guys are great at what they do. But even being great doesn't prevent small things (sometimes big things) from falling through the cracks.

I've been thinking about this as well and I've wondered how this had happened. I am waiting Humania to be some kind of a "redemption". To give us back actually awesome content once again.

[RedRyder]

Just to clarify, nothing against STS s**t happens, but I just think its time to throw the towel with PL. Games do have to end eventually, and with a two year run, I think PL has done enough for a primarily mobile game. We still have SL and DL when it comes out.

[dudetus]

It still baffles me that they are already releasing a third game. Especially for how small STS is. It's gonna be hard for them to have constant work on three games simultaneously.

Yep I am actually a bot worried about upcoming releases (DL, SL Canpaigns, PL Campaigns) because monitoring and making new and interesting stuff as a not that large business is going to be a bit tricky.

[Rare]

Not buying it = you think they're lying. They have separate teams working on adding content for each game, so that shouldn't be the case



No, fn is in the same guild as me, and it was almost impossible to play through nuri's without elixirs until we hit the 60/61 cap. 1hit k.o's from one skeleton is too hard. 1xp per kill is too slow. It was as if they did it just to get us to buy elixirs

Well... in my original post, maybe I misstated what I meant. I meant, I don't buy the band cap because:

1. These developers seem to be great and put out a great product (at times). I'd think this issue has been in their crosshairs for some time if it is indeed an issue.
2. The other option, unfortunately, is that they are too swamped to deal with the problem.
3. Then again, the problem may already be resolved and we don't know it yet.

Regarding Nuri's and Fang, we'll just have to agree to disagree I guess. I made it to about 50k for two of my toons before I started with elixirs (in Nuri's). I didn't think it was all that difficult. Of course, if you were running with a terrible group it could get very difficult. I guess that wasn't generally the case for me. I personally didn't think it was that much harder than AO3 or Sewers prior to endgame (other than the one hit kill combos of course).

What I found was that elixirs actually made it ridiculously easy, especially if all 5 were using it. It was obvious to me though that the intent of increasing the difficulty was to move people toward elixirs.

[Noobified]

I have faith that STS will resurrect PL back to its glory days, maybe not on Humania, but maybe the following update. Being a small company with limited resources, especially developers, I assume they have spent the past year concentrating on DL and maybe even SL, as opposed to PL.

Now that DL is set to be released, much of their workload has been offloaded and they can devote more time into developing new kickass campaigns with story lines that rival AO3. Developing new games and content is extremely difficult. Ask the folks at Blizzard. How long have they been working on Diablo 3, like 10 years? Yeah, it looks pretty good, but 10 years in the making good? STS has accomplished great things by releasing 2, maybe 3 if DL turns out well, great games in a relatively short time span.

Btw, I want the 2000 platinum purchase option back!

[RedRyder]

I have faith that STS will resurrect PL back to its glory days, maybe not on Humania, but maybe the following update. Being a small company with limited resources, especially developers, I assume they have spent the past year concentrating on DL and maybe even SL, as opposed to PL.

Now that DL is set to be released, much of their workload has been offloaded and they can devote more time into developing new kickass campaigns with story lines that rival AO3. Developing new games and content is extremely difficult. Ask the folks at Blizzard. How long have they been working on Diablo 3, like 10 years? Yeah, it looks pretty good, but 10 years in the making good? STS has accomplished great things by releasing 2, maybe 3 if DL turns out well, great games in a relatively short time span.

Btw, I want the 2000 platinum purchase option back!

I'm assuming you're new, so you're looking at this with fresh eyes. It sucks waiting a while for a campaign to have it pale in comparison to a previous update. You haven't bee disappointed yet.

[Samhayne]

Hey guys, we know you are looking for more fun with new stuff that rocks for Pocket Legends and we are working hard to bring that to you. I can't wait to show off what we have cooking. We still need to get DL out the door, but that time is nigh.

Thanks, as always, for your support!

[Rare]

I'm assuming you're new, so you're looking at this with fresh eyes. It sucks waiting a while for a campaign to have it pale in comparison to a previous update. You haven't bee disappointed yet.

Can't argue with you there.

[OvigorothO]

The reason PL has been bland and full of re-used content is merely because they r reaching the cap limit of memory. However android and apple will soon be increasing thier max amount of memory games can take up meaning no more recycled content soon. Only until recently when running through lost expidition did i realise sewers was also re-used content with the resemblance of the mage wands,staffs,the bear axes,and as for the recurves and crossbows of sewers there have been many crossbows/recurves with similar designs

[Noobified]

I'm assuming you're new, so you're looking at this with fresh eyes. It sucks waiting a while for a campaign to have it pale in comparison to a previous update. You haven't bee disappointed yet.

You're right, I'm new, but I'm also looking at this through a resource and priority standpoint from STS' side rather than from a game player's perspective. However, with my limited experience in PL, I am beginning to understand the disappointment and frustration that the more veteran players are experiencing although I cannot put myself entirely in their shoes.

[Shellkaz]

I'll be honest, I don't run sewers, or nuris because of the low drop rates. There is no reward to running them. Gold drops are poor, drop rates for items are even worse. And it's true, I don't go in those maps unless I'm helping someone level or to open up a set of maps. I've finished my quests there so there is nothing to draw me back to them. They are fun maps and I wouldn't mind going back but since I have terrible luck with drops. I have resigned myself to purchasing my gear. Which means gold. Therefore I go where the gold is.

I would really like to see quests for end game gear like cyber or mystery. I was so proud of my first set of mystery gear. Crafting it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment! But make them achievable in our life times. It's no good putting out the most innovative maps there has to be a reason for people to keep coming back to those maps. I still have fun in AO. I'd like to have the same level of fun in sewers and nuris.

I think Fang got it right when it came to crafting, with the single exception of the absurdly low drop rate for recipes. So wow us with new content, and tweak the drop rates a bit in sewers & nuris and I'll be a happy camper.

[Roc]

Not giving up :biggrin: I have been disappointed, sure, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to play the levels or wanting to see what comes next. I'm not a veteran, but I have played for a long time and I just wanted to say that this old non-veteran still plays because I think PL is fun.

[zeusabe]

In my opinion, let's just wait and see. Speculations are good as it helps in building up hype. It's no secret that STS would release different types of games for different type of players (I think Cinco mentioned something to this effect earlier), it's part of their "promise" to their customers, so to the guy who's baffled why STS is releasing a new game (Dark Legends) when two others aren't "perfected" yet, don't worry, that was all part of the plan from the start. It's premature to say the game has reached its "golden" days because the entire picture hasn't been drawn yet, I'll wait 'till "all" the contents are released (or when the game actually comes to a halt) then that's the time I'll assess, for now, I'll keep my judgment to myself and write it in pencil. Sure, there will be technological limits to a game but it can be expanded, it has been done by other games who started off a little "slow" and later on "boomed" in content or released a game sequel with more powerful server limits, it's a matter of business standpoint, who knows, they might be actually saving the best for last. Even in other popular games, there are expansions that sucked...but they were able to rebound with a better one. It's just the half time of the ballgame my fellow Alterrans, don't count them out just yet, you might end up eating crows. It's common knowledge that players lose interest playing a game, that's natural, there will be new ones that will think the game is omgftwawesomesauce and the old ones will think the opposite, that's the cycle of things, as long as STS-PL keeps on releasing new campaigns with new content (even if not breakthrough expansions), I think PL will still maintain the natural flow of "new" players and the inevitable exit of "older" players. Just my 2 cents.

[StompArtist]

My opinion: AO3 is a brilliant end game campaign that makes the levels after it feel like DLCs... basically its almost as if AO3 should have been kept last, if that makes any sense...

[Whisper72]

To add my two cents trying to counter the negativism.

I look at it arguing from a diverse player base. Most people posting here, especially the 'old guard' veterans are more or less 'hard core' players. These players strive to reach the cap as soon as possible, merchant actively, want to be good at PvP and thus 'need' the best gear available.

I think the vast majority of PL players however is more casually inclined (If I look at my 'friends list' from the beginning, theres plenty ppl who leveled up only to about lvl 20-30 while I am languishing at 66 for some time now...) and do not have these 'issues'. If you are lucky to get in a couple hours per week of playing, then level caps, the best gear, amassing millions in gold etc. are not goals that they pursue. Most of these people will be happy with how things fare as long as the story line and the quests are interesting and fresh.

The only real issue for these people is the recycling of content. That is something everyone gets to deal with sooner or later. On the other hand, if your leveling is that slow, you may not really realise all the things that have been recycled at all...

Just check out how busy Forest Haven areas are. Theres plenty new blood coming online. Not all veterans of MMO's either (myself, I never played in an MMO either, my experience with RPG's on the computer are the infamous 'gold boxes' from SSI (yeah, I'm THAT old...)), and plenty of ppl just having fun making friends online and doing a bit of PvE questing.

Not trying to say that the complaints voiced here are baseless or whining (most points mentioned are true and valid or simply the way a person experiences the game), just that from the overall player base and the businessmodel of STS's point of view, are very likely a small (if vocal) minority and therefore will not sway the decisions of an company catering to many hundreds of thousands of players, most of whom are probably happily playing the game, spending money on plat etc.

Speaking for myself, I still have plenty to do. Leveling alts (trying to get my Bird to cap). Trying out new builds. Trying to complete all my quests (still need to do the cyber quest for my main). I'm not richt yet, so amassing gold is still something I am doing. Merchanting is still relatively new to me (I struck gold twice with way underpriced sanguine equipment, and now I'm more actively exploring that route of amassing wealth). I have never really yet tried my hand at PvP. Just helping out noobs with advice and free gear (I amassed so many purples and pinks during the snowball/yeti pelt quests that selling them through CS just takes too much time, liquidating provides too little cash, so I decided to just hand out stuff to other players). There is so much rewarding stuff to do in this game...

Thanks STS for providing us this great game! I am looking forward to the new cap and look forward to see the whole roadmap develop all the way to 100 and beyond...

[LwMark]

What sam replied made me happy again.cant wait to see the future!

[Aikiebo]

that was all part of the plan from the start.

It's premature to say the game has reached its "golden" days because the entire picture hasn't been drawn yet,

it's a matter of business standpoint,

It's just the half time of the ballgame my fellow Alterrans, don't count them out just yet, you might end up eating crow.

It's common knowledge that players lose interest playing a game.....and the old ones will think the opposite, that's the cycle of things,

as long as STS-PL keeps on releasing new campaigns with new content (even if not breakthrough expansions), I think PL will still maintain the natural flow of "new" players and the inevitable exit of "older" players.

100% accurate!!!

Just cause some players leave a game, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the game. Someone who has been playing for two years is most likely the one to leave a game than someone who hasn't been playing as long.

WoW lost 2 million subscribers last year. Does that mean that WoW is a bad game? Ummmm..... No, it does not prove that at all.

It cracks me up everytime I see some oldie complaining about how Nuri's and Fang is hard. Saying that STS made them hard to promote elixirs. Cracks me up!! Every video game the levels get harder. It's called level ramping. I agree with the others who say you can play both those campaigns WITHOUT elixirs. I agree with others who say it's a lot more fun to play both those campaigns WITH elixirs.

I hope no one actually wants higher campaigns to be easier than lower campaigns.

And all f2p games structure their games to encourage in-app purchase. That is obvious. That is natural. That is perfect. What it is NOT is evil or greedy.