Disclaimer (I should probably preface all my posts with this....lol):
This is not a personal attack against anyone quoted below--I am simply quoting them to give reference for what I am about to say. I have no fight with anyone here. I actually believe that we're a great community and everyone here who is a friend of the effort to get the game back is a friend of mine. This is simply a little statement/rant about what I've observed about gaming wants/expectations over the past few decades.As a noob I remember not being able to figure out how the trains worked so I made the mistake of walking though the Zone entrance for Skyway City as a lowly level 5 and getting attacked by a mob of clockwork. Which then ended up sending me to the Skyway medical clinic. Then me having to try and run all the way back to Atlas Park without drawing aggro. LOL I died many, many times....but I got there eventually.
And you have a great memory to share of those times because of it.
Not to mention that IMO, some areas shouldn't have simply been "open season" for everyone. I know that- as a newbie- I had had enough troubles using the trams to get to areas that were too high level for me, and had some serious wake up experiences ("D'OH!"), but that problem simply got exacerbated towards the end with all the open transit.
Add to that that so many zones at that point had close story arc/continuity ties, and should have been more transitioned into. First Ward notably comes to mind (as a Praetoria lover). I think it was already kind of an oddity to have that zone so open to non-Praetorians, but to just have it available to enter as a first level hero in Paragon City was kind of weird.
Not to mention that IMO, some areas shouldn't have simply been "open season" for everyone. I know that- as a newbie- I had had enough troubles using the trams to get to areas that were too high level for me, and had some serious wake up experiences ("D'OH!"), but that problem simply got exacerbated towards the end with all the open transit.
Add to that that so many zones at that point had close story arc/continuity ties, and should have been more transitioned into. First Ward notably comes to mind (as a Praetoria lover). I think it was already kind of an oddity to have that zone so open to non-Praetorians, but to just have it available to enter as a first level hero in Paragon City was kind of weird.
There are those of us out here in the world that actually prefer to learn by experience than being "throttled" or "forced" into doing something. I'd rather pull an "oops, guess that death means I wasn't supposed to be there yet!" than find out via some kind of message "NO. YOU CANNOT ENTER THIS AREA." On top of this, an open world allows for various challenges ("let's see... I wonder if I enhance with this and choose this and this power, can I go up against an enemy 5 levels higher than me when I'm level 15....") I maintain that more options is better.
If you can't tell, I don't like the "linear story/combat" experience. It suggests there is only "one way to play." And if you make a game that only allows for "one way to play," you really cut down on the amount of people it will appeal to. A truly well-made game (as we all well know since we've all played CoH) is one that allows many personalities and many demographics and many walks of life play it in their own way and have their own experience. Like to travel? Great, we've got it for you. Like to skip the travel? Great, there's options for that as well. Like to do story-based short missions? We've got it. Rather do a longer-term series of missions? We have task forces. You're a PvP person? We've got several zones that are for nothing but that. Interested in just dressing up and RP'ing? You can do that too.
Most other modern games (even in the MMO genre) have very limited costume options, extremely limited ways you can play, and--if you're not the Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or Grand Theft Auto--sometimes even limit where you can go. It's as if most developers out there aren't really interested in selling their game. They're more interested in creating something they themselves would play their own way. That's fine in a sense (why wouldn't you design a game you wanted to play?), but then comes the question of sustainability. If you don't have more options to appeal to more people built into the game, you can guarantee there will be a flood of people who will try your game, not like it, and move on.
However, if you build a TON of options in a game like CoH did, you grab a very wide audience that stays loyal to the game because they're allowed to play it how they want to.
What about the people who did nothing but build their base all day? What if they were pigeon-holed into something else and prevented from doing that? What do you think would happen to them? They'd move on and find a game that allowed them to express themselves the way they wanted. Can you imagine what it would be like if you couldn't adjust your UI to exactly how you preferred it? Or put your powers where you wanted?
I can completely understand if something is game-breaking. Or, imbalanced. Or overpowered. I'm not talking about those things. Remember all the people who complained about the new graphics? They still could play the game on their old machines in the resolution they always could, but because there was a new "option" for people who could take advantage of it, they complained. Because they didn't (or couldn't) use it.
I don't know... I just feel like a lot of people don't realize that if they wish for QoL enhancements to get taken away, or fewer options, or nerfs, they're most likely ruining someone else's favorite experience. The immediate reaction of MOST people with this "I don't like it so it shouldn't be there" attitude always seems to be "if you don't like it, you can always leave."
Fine. So, let's say a huge chunk of people decide to leave because they start to get aggravated that they're not allowed to travel like they want to. Or, they don't have as much of an "open world" as they'd like. Then there are not enough people there to support the game you told them to leave. And....suddenly there isn't a whole lot of people to play with...or, even worse, it gets shut down. Would you be happy with the results of "if you don't like it, leave" in an MMO world?
Maybe I should have been a Producer.