Is this game worth buying?

[Johnathon Fortnite]

I'm more into story than gameplay, though gameplay is important if there's not much of a story I'll lose interest pretty quickly. I've only ever managed to keep playing ff14 because I like the games story, WoW and just about every other mmo ended up boring me. Is it worth buying if I didn't like those games? Seems a lot less solo friendly as well so considering I dislike playing with other people?

And did this game really recently release? it's been a while but I remember ff11 looking nicer lol. Assume this is one of those mmos that are going for a more oldhead go ♥♥♥♥ yourself ♥♥♥♥♥ experience rather than the modern babying experiences with graphics to match?

[jdpvagabond]

There is no story at the moment. It's a bare bones barely alpha game that the devs are getting people to pay to test after over a decade of start and stop attempts to get something off the ground.

[Johnathon Fortnite]

Originally posted by jdpvagabond:

There is no story at the moment. It's a bare bones barely alpha game that the devs are getting people to pay to test after over a decade of start and stop attempts to get something off the ground.

Fair enough, I'm gonna wishlist it then. Didn't notice the early access lol. I'll give it a while and come back. Looks cool though I shudder at the losing items and equipment upon death idea lmao

[Lord Bullingdon]

More of a "Make Your Own Story" kind of experience right now. You drop your inventory on death but keep all the gear you are wearing so you can fight your way back if needed. I always deposit my cash and items in the bank before I do a run so it's not so bad. Might lose some bags. That said: you have to be trying REALLY hard to lose your items permanently. Corpses stay around for a long, long time before they disappear and both Necros and Summoners can get your corpse back with no issues. Even better if you have a healer nearby because they can rez the summoned corpse and give you some experience back.

[Johnathon Fortnite]

Originally posted by Lord Bullingdon:

More of a "Make Your Own Story" kind of experience right now. You drop your inventory on death but keep all the gear you are wearing so you can fight your way back if needed. I always deposit my cash and items in the bank before I do a run so it's not so bad. Might lose some bags. That said: you have to be trying REALLY hard to lose your items permanently. Corpses stay around for a long, long time before they disappear and both Necros and Summoners can get your corpse back with no issues. Even better if you have a healer nearby because they can rez the summoned corpse and give you some experience back.

Oh if you keep all your gear then I wouldn't mind too bad, I assumed you'd need to regrind for your equipment and that would be horrific considering mmo drops lol. Maybe I'll give it a try after all. Idk, I want to but 30 quid innit. I'll keep an eye on it at least.

[Jothany]

There has been a writer name JN Gerhart on staff for most (if not all) of the years of development of Pantheon. For several recent years, there was a 2nd writer. They have created a ton of Lore and Backstory.

Currently, almost none of it is IN the game, because the introduction of all that lore and story is waiting on A: the implementation of the Perception System and B: polishing of the NPC dialogue for Quests and Flavor.

Over the years, they have released tidbits of the Stories in various updates or special releases. Some could be found on the main forums, but it would take a great deal of searching.

If you check back closer to release, you may find more available to look into.

[Johnathon Fortnite]

Originally posted by Jothany:

There has been a writer name JN Gerhart on staff for most (if not all) of the years of development of Pantheon. For several recent years, there was a 2nd writer. They have created a ton of Lore and Backstory.

Currently, almost none of it is IN the game, because the introduction of all that lore and story is waiting on A: the implementation of the Perception System and B: polishing of the NPC dialogue for Quests and Flavor.

Over the years, they have released tidbits of the Stories in various updates or special releases. Some could be found on the main forums, but it would take a great deal of searching.

If you check back closer to release, you may find more available to look into.

Yea I've decided to wishlist and wait or if i get one of my friends play it together. Though it's more likely I'll have to wait lol. Looks promising though, which is a lot more than i can say the average triple a billion dollar game.

[Why?]

EQ is a sandbox game. So you make things happen. It had incredible story. It's just not a lazy person's read the lore and know what is up kind of thing.

EQ to me has 2 stories. The first is a Rimworld type emergent story that you create. Yep, you chose where to go, what to do and how you do it, and shockingly you create the story of your character as you play through the game. Others go to different zones (even if the same race), and have different experiences. A person who just reads the lore thinks there is no story. I guess it just goes over their head.

The second was stories you found out as you adventured into areas. For instance I remember in Qeynos there was a shadowknight guard. Who was only out at night, and you would get killed if you were good. After you zoned or died you would check things out and the paladins told you the guy was evil and they were trying to catch him. You also stumbled into the hidden thief area. Or went under the arena and found the evil people had their own trainers under the city.. Or fed guard Quinby muffins. Or found the missing girls dress in the sewers. All of these things only existed if you talked to the NPC's (not a question mark quest) and did what they asked. If you did, you found layers of story most others missed out on.

Long story short, the story was there and it was often epic and incredible. But it was up to you to find out.

For me, it is the only way to story in an MMO. I don't go and read some writers lore, as usually it never is realized correctly in the game. Also it's usually stupid and not worth reading.

I would hope Pantheon is doing story the old EQ way. As with tabletop, the story is made by the group and the GM. Non TT players won't notice it's mostly about story and team work. If Pantheon is done that way it is far more memorable. If it is done that way, it is worth it to me. Though EQ was also about needing a team to win. Which is incredibly rewarding at end game. And you make friends that lasted years. So if you like that, it's great. But if you like amusement park stuff this might not be your jam.

[Tanist]

Originally posted by Why?:

EQ is a sandbox game. So you make things happen. It had incredible story. It's just not a lazy person's read the lore and know what is up kind of thing.

EQ to me has 2 stories. The first is a Rimworld type emergent story that you create. Yep, you chose where to go, what to do and how you do it, and shockingly you create the story of your character as you play through the game. Others go to different zones (even if the same race), and have different experiences. A person who just reads the lore thinks there is no story. I guess it just goes over their head.

The second was stories you found out as you adventured into areas. For instance I remember in Qeynos there was a shadowknight guard. Who was only out at night, and you would get killed if you were good. After you zoned or died you would check things out and the paladins told you the guy was evil and they were trying to catch him. You also stumbled into the hidden thief area. Or went under the arena and found the evil people had their own trainers under the city.. Or fed guard Quinby muffins. Or found the missing girls dress in the sewers. All of these things only existed if you talked to the NPC's (not a question mark quest) and did what they asked. If you did, you found layers of story most others missed out on.

Long story short, the story was there and it was often epic and incredible. But it was up to you to find out.

For me, it is the only way to story in an MMO. I don't go and read some writers lore, as usually it never is realized correctly in the game. Also it's usually stupid and not worth reading.

I would hope Pantheon is doing story the old EQ way. As with tabletop, the story is made by the group and the GM. Non TT players won't notice it's mostly about story and team work. If Pantheon is done that way it is far more memorable. If it is done that way, it is worth it to me. Though EQ was also about needing a team to win. Which is incredibly rewarding at end game. And you make friends that lasted years. So if you like that, it's great. But if you like amusement park stuff this might not be your jam.

Yeah, it was amazing...

One thing I wish (not going to happen in Pantheon because they went the "click" route for NPC dialog) is that there was the old EQ NPC chat system... but... here is the twist... updated with AI technology.

So, imagine... every NPC is given a clear "template" as to their behavior and interaction. That is, they won't have "scripted" responses, but rather personalities given to an AI chat bot to act out completely as if you were chatting with ChatGPT on some issue.

The AI would only respond within the context and knowledge of the NPCs template, but... it would act life like (ie be able to hold basic conversations within that NPCs world knowledge and understanding).

Think of the possibilities here. Imagine how quests, stories, and interactions would evolve. Think about the local baker and how you could essentially discuss their day to day on baking as well as pick up various gossip between the NPCs, local news and events.

It also would remove the dreaded issues EQ had with phrase or word triggering because the AI could generally pull relevance of a comment to establish understanding.

Anyway, I dream of a game that brings back the old system you mention, but brings it up to date with AI technology. I think it would really be cool.

[Waam]

Originally posted by jdpvagabond:

There is no story at the moment. It's a bare bones barely alpha game that the devs are getting people to pay to test after over a decade of start and stop attempts to get something off the ground.

Says the guy that’s never played it.

[Waam]

Originally posted by Johnathon Fortnite:

Originally posted by jdpvagabond:

There is no story at the moment. It's a bare bones barely alpha game that the devs are getting people to pay to test after over a decade of start and stop attempts to get something off the ground.

Fair enough, I'm gonna wishlist it then. Didn't notice the early access lol. I'll give it a while and come back. Looks cool though I shudder at the losing items and equipment upon death idea lmao

You drop a corpse with your bags/inventory that can be recovered. You retain your equipped items so you can fight without looting your corpse if you so desired.

[Johnathon Fortnite]

Originally posted by Waam:

Originally posted by Johnathon Fortnite:

Fair enough, I'm gonna wishlist it then. Didn't notice the early access lol. I'll give it a while and come back. Looks cool though I shudder at the losing items and equipment upon death idea lmao

You drop a corpse with your bags/inventory that can be recovered. You retain your equipped items so you can fight without looting your corpse if you so desired.

I tried it and didn't like it, I'll try again closer to release. And no you're wrong, the guy having not played it doesn't matter. The devs themselves have said there's little to no story atm.

Originally posted by Why?:

EQ is a sandbox game. So you make things happen. It had incredible story. It's just not a lazy person's read the lore and know what is up kind of thing.

EQ to me has 2 stories. The first is a Rimworld type emergent story that you create. Yep, you chose where to go, what to do and how you do it, and shockingly you create the story of your character as you play through the game. Others go to different zones (even if the same race), and have different experiences. A person who just reads the lore thinks there is no story. I guess it just goes over their head.

The second was stories you found out as you adventured into areas. For instance I remember in Qeynos there was a shadowknight guard. Who was only out at night, and you would get killed if you were good. After you zoned or died you would check things out and the paladins told you the guy was evil and they were trying to catch him. You also stumbled into the hidden thief area. Or went under the arena and found the evil people had their own trainers under the city.. Or fed guard Quinby muffins. Or found the missing girls dress in the sewers. All of these things only existed if you talked to the NPC's (not a question mark quest) and did what they asked. If you did, you found layers of story most others missed out on.

Long story short, the story was there and it was often epic and incredible. But it was up to you to find out.

For me, it is the only way to story in an MMO. I don't go and read some writers lore, as usually it never is realized correctly in the game. Also it's usually stupid and not worth reading.

I would hope Pantheon is doing story the old EQ way. As with tabletop, the story is made by the group and the GM. Non TT players won't notice it's mostly about story and team work. If Pantheon is done that way it is far more memorable. If it is done that way, it is worth it to me. Though EQ was also about needing a team to win. Which is incredibly rewarding at end game. And you make friends that lasted years. So if you like that, it's great. But if you like amusement park stuff this might not be your jam.

Honestly I went to play EQ1 but even as someone who's a fan of old graphics 😭. I'm planning on playing it eventually but rn the concept of getting one of those private servers working on my pc. It looked like way too much effort. I wish there was a really simple download this and it's done one.

I just end up looking at the whole thing and immediately getting overwhelmed.

[2c]

Originally posted by Johnathon Fortnite:

its not too bad to instally but really the old EQ1 game is over, everyone knows every little pixel in the game and as such its a huge waste of time

[Johnathon Fortnite]

Originally posted by 2c:

Originally posted by Johnathon Fortnite:

its not too bad to instally but really the old EQ1 game is over, everyone knows every little pixel in the game and as such its a huge waste of time

How did you make me say this lmao. Assuming you were trying to respond to me.

Yeah no surprise tbf. Honestly I tried ff11 and was really disappointed. Not because it was bad, it was really fun. But holy dated. It was a challenge in of itself to SWITCH targets without combat ending lol. Old mmo's I'm starting to think just weren't built for my ass. I'm hoping with due time because this game isn't old as my grandmother it'll become the one retro mmo I'm capable of playing without pulling my hair out.

I would say something along the lines of I wish they'd remake this games with more modern sensibilities. Such as switching targets in ff11 not being so convoluted but looking at every aged mmo's modern day counterpart. Yeah no thanks.

[Johnathon Fortnite]

wtf is the quotes doing

[MugHug]

Anyone know of a accurate and factual documented history of the development of this game?

Not really looking for opinions and guesswork.