I hope the developers as a whole remember what worked so well in the original Anarchy Online

[foxdrakon]

Even Rubi-Ka is very similar to Arrakis, and has sand worms and a DUNE feel when you are out deep in the desert. The types of characters you can choose from are vastly different from each other, which gives a completely different play through. And the layering effect with the crafting is still the most enjoyable crafting experience I've had in a game, considering anyone can craft the basics, but the truly ingenious inventions (like the 7 laser solar pistol) were in an online recipe book, they were so complex and fun (and revealed things in the game you didn't know were there). The graphics were, well, horrendous, the character movements awkward, and the spaceships where too small to occupy a humanoid (granted Torque was in the next step of visual evolution after ASCII art), but the game itself is still my top favorite after 20 years (Anarchy Online had it's 22nd Anniversary this past June). I remember placing soda pop cans on my apartment ceiling and fighting holding furniture (even though it did 1 point of damage). I didn't like that mobs would follow you forever... really the only downside. I didn't get into the 'organization's' competitions to rule over the marketplace, but I do wish more games would try out that mechanic. I never even joined an 'organization' (player guild). Even though the game was PvP, it also didn't need to be PvP-centric. Depending on your faction, some cities, and some locations were 'safe' or 'brutal' to visit. While the deep desert was always a challenge, either from players or sand worms or the swarms of mobs that would follow you to the edge of the world... literally. The game was endless fun, that grew as you dove further into it, even for a casual player like myself.

It is still the only game I've played that understands faction differentiation and uniqueness. Each faction has a very different feel and play style, and gives you a different experience, since a lot of the locations directly respond to which faction you are playing.
For example:
- In Anarchy, The Corporation (Omni-Tek) is like a political seat. They rule through associated power and are heavy into PVP with defense, and acquisition. While The Clans are more like rebels or pirates (... or native Fremen), trying to take down the The Corporation, while trying to move up in recognition and control. If either go into each other's land holdings, they are automatically seen as enemies, which makes for a lot of fun with sneaking around. Meanwhile, The Neutrals, who were designed to be the working class, are just right for those who don't want heavy PvP, buuuut certain places are still 'off limits'. Good thing a player can set their own PvP tag to on or off. And in the deep desert, it's all tooth and nail and every man(organization)-for-himself with it's own mechanics for tower control. All in all the game handles factions in a way that makes factions mean something.

- I am still sad that WoW never brought in the The Scourge as a playable faction. But playing Alliance or Horde were just quest-for-quest mirrors of each other. Sure, the city guards would attack the opposite faction, but the reasoning and joy for the two sides to fight each other was rather thin. I do like that the servers were separated between PvP and Casual (RP).
- I was excited for ESO's three factions when it first came out, but it was no where near as dynamic as the three factions in Anarchy Online. The three ESO player factions were more interested in mending relations, and PvP was limited to one play zone. Even though the war mechanics are awesome... tension is not really incorporated into the gameplay overall. Having a dedicated PvP zone, is nice, but it is the only time your choice of faction even matters.

So I am hoping that the developers of DUNE Awakening pay attention to what Anarchy Online achieved with it's dynamic and iconic gameplay in regards to factions that matter (not just exist), character creation options that actually give you a different viewpoint of the world, and a crafting system that can be as simple or complex as you feel like. I also miss running around holding a chair. I loved the easter eggs, the Uber Leet puns, and all the secret rare items that took a certain activity to acquire. I even liked how the player housing apartment buildings were instanced... not to mention making pictures with pop cans on my ceiling. :) . I didn't like the level lock on the starter dungeon, capping how many pieces of Living Armor you could collect, in combination with players screaming to the exit pulling every mob in the dungeon to murder you before you could finish... I restarted a new character sooooo many times. XD. At least it wasn't a late game issue.

Actually, now I want to play the newer Anarchy Online XD. See what is the same and what is new. :)
I'm still hopeful for Dune Awakening. The inclusion of PvP doesn't necessarily mean the game will become a mess. If the developers take what they can learn from Anarchy Online, it'll all be alright. Rubi-Ka and the gameplay are so similar to the Dune universe already.