Life is Feudal Official Forum

[Jaywynne]

I will preface this by saying: I've been a gamer for over 20 years, I've played almost every genre of game from JRPG's to FPS games in competitive tournaments. So while I may not speak for every gamer, I think I can touch on specifics that will resonate with others as I enjoy aspects of all games in a general sense, and have seen the worst of the worst and the best of the best.

This game has massive potential, but there are glaring reasons, in my mind, why it hasn't taken off as it should.

Price:
Games these days have gone the way of complete F2P - it's basically a fact of society at this point. There are too many competing titles to sustain a subscription model unless you're Blizzard, and even then, only the most hardcore fans will stick around. It's hard to even get people to commit to a one-time payment for access unless you have a well-known company. Even though I would be hard-pressed to say paying is required, or it's pay to win, it's beside the point. Heck, at this point the only REAL benefit is an increased xp cap and claim size, but even so, the "subscription" will linger over the heads of people regardless of what it does, especially at the price point offered.

Skills:
There is zero connection to your character. I came after the skill change, but as it stands now, it is not conducive to enjoyable gameplay. The fact is it's too easy; you log in, grind out a menial task for 30-60 minutes, and you log off until you max out a profession (or mediocre status in 2). Combined with that, some professions are incredibly boring or generate zero profit so the argument of a "social" game just doesn't fit when you're a lapdog for a guild or run multiple characters to fill gaps while playing a profession (or another game) you actually enjoy.

This leads to you not having to play the game, and certainly does not make you want to log in when you know you just have to wait 1-2 months to have a viable character.

In this respect, I see a system like Wurm (possibly closer to your old system) promoting real engagement with the game, the community, and not being restricted. If I can say one thing I've taken from every game I've played: being boxed in based on arbitrary rules is not enjoyable. There are amazing games that use this system like the TES series or Darkfall before it was ruined, and it fits for a game like this. Unfortunately, this is a hot topic as you have a balance between having a real life and having an engaging skill system. Then again, you can construct it in a way where you could potentially do everything, but perhaps with a lower success, a lower quality, and give a reason for those hardcore gamers to log in and play for hours at a time to be the best at something.

Danger
I've never felt a real struggle in this game even as a brand new character. Maybe that would change if the game was more populated and you had to worry about being ganked, but it needs more than that to be an engaging survival game. Wildlife is not a threat, lack of food or water is not a threat, it's basically a sandbox with rubber sides and people that come poke you with a stick on occasion.

Random Thoughts
Overall both my wife and I are struggling to find meaning in this game. The "end game" as it were, is PvP. In itself that's fine, I enjoy PvP games above all else, but as it stands now that isn't even an option on most days and much of that is due to the low player base. With the new guild system, smaller groups are restricted to the safe zones, and thus there is no exploring taking place. Again, another instance of being boxed in by arbitrary rules where you must do X or you cannot do Y (joining a guild to leave the SZ or be burdened with decay).

Sometimes people need a reason to fight (more often than not) other than fighting for the sake of it. The world needs static locations that are desired to be controlled. Maybe they give a buff, have exceptional resources, or rare creatures and many more possibilities a more creative mind than my own can imagine. Another stolen idea from Darkfall, which without the server issues on launch, was poised to be the greatest sandbox PvP MMO created.

If I were to sum it up with a TL:DR: The game is too easy, it's not engaging, it doesn't promote community involvement other than by restrictions. This is painful for me to say as there's a hidden gem in this game, and I fully understand that it's both hard to do technically and in the sense of appealing to a wide audience.