28 replies to this topic

[Texashawk]

As a former BT nut who used to spend more time than is healthy on things like interstellar campaigns using house rules, and having extricated myself from the time-suck that is EVE Online, I was wondering if someone with a family and a regular job can just enjoy this game in short bursts without having to commit to a clan, a practice schedule, meetings, etc.... Sometimes when reading these forums I get the sense that there isn't much room for the 'average' adult gamer here, and I'd love to be wrong! For reference, I enjoy MWLL tremendously and have great fun playing 'in and out' for an hour or two at a time, and don't mind working as a team (Teamspeak, etc) but there's no way this is going to be the 'life' anymore. Thoughts?

FANTASTIC looking game, BTW.

[Brenden]

NO.

[Harper Madrone]

Yes, it's doable, just as in any other online game (MMOs). You can even participate in clans/merc groups, I would gather. I am a family man also with job, kids, etc. And I'm in beta.

[Dr Killinger]

If you stay a Lone Wolf, you could easily just have casual pub matches whenever you feel like it. People often call MWO an MMO, but it definitely won't be- and neither is it P2W. You'll be fine.

[CoffiNail]

304th Assault Cluster/Ghost Brigade is a mostly casual unit. We play when we can. There are a few family guys, myself included who play a hour or two a few nights a week. It is very doable and enjoyable.

[Toothman]

Easily. You can even find a guild that isn't overly serious about themselves and won't care if you play part time or don't want to do the meta game. Lots of healthy people here.

[Ninja Thor]

I have a wife and two kids and I'm very active with a great group. It can be done just make sure you are in a unit with like minds and understands that not everyone can be on 24/7.

[Star Ace]

You can "live through it" via role-play, of course, but that doesn't require you spend your life on this game.

I feel pretty bad about all of those groups that require of you to play many hours. It is not "wrong" to play a lot, but it's not realistic to many, many casual players who wouldn't be that casual if they weren't as busy. I hate it when living a responsible life is taken as "lack of commitment" or flakiness in part of a group member (note that I am not saying those that play a lot must be "irresponsible", but that I dislike when such players have elitist/critical attitudes towards other players who can't help but being casual gamers.)

For those who say "well, I work 40 hours and still play a lot of hours per day", I would say, that's pretty good for you, but others have others things to do, besides ther family if they have one. If you play music or make art, you have to practice those skills (just as an example.) There's no way a person who is in a busy job, whether he/she has a family or not, can easily devote tons of time to any MMO game without sacricing other important stuff in his/her life. As I see it, guild/gamer groups should be happy that any members play casually for them, and not force on them this kind of competitive elitism that not everybody can be part of due to life's more practical needs.

Edited by Star Ace, 18 August 2012 - 10:41 AM.

[bikerbass77]

A good game will hold your attention for a while. A great game will have you coming back for more. The best games are the ones you never want to stop playing.

As for which are the best, it is a personality thing. I personally hate World of Warcraft. Yet I can not deny it is the most successful MMO to date. The only one it has yet to beat for longevity is Ultima Online (which is still going - just).

[OmegaMinion]

If you dont commit to a faction, youll be ok.

[Star Ace]

Why would commiting to a faction prove a disadvantage if you are a casual gamer? I don't mind freedom, but I don't think casual players should be penalized, or even forbid of joining factions. Is this related to "faction reputation loss" due to not playing as much? I find that there are passionate players who just don't have the time, and I don't think the game should penalize them for being busy (this is probably very idealistic of me, of course)-the decision to be a lone wolf, mercenary, or faction member should be up to them, and not tied to the time they can commit to the game due to "penalties".

Just my opinion.

[JFlash49]

Certainly. You can find a clan with others like yourself or go lone wolf

[Skadi]

JFlash49, on 18 August 2012 - 12:32 PM, said:

Certainly. You can find a merc corp with others like yourself or go lone wolf

fix't

[juxstapo]

wife and four kids here... well.. extremely supportive wife, but yea. It is possible to go this totally alone, but (as you are well aware), not nearly as much fun. I'd find a group (Like CoffiNail's up there, he's a cool, laid back dude), with a similar RL situation who just game for fun.

[Freyrs Huntsman]

I had the same question coming into this game's community as well, and ended up turning down many invitations to clans and the like simply because of how 'tight' their agenda was.

However, I did end up joining one clan: The Templars, who kind of work at the game from the other way. While they do organise drops and lances and keep everything on a professional level, their agenda is actually built around the members rather than the universe itself. It manages to keep itself going in the interstellar campaign simply because of its numbers, but just a couple days ago, even, they sent out a survey to the members to see when everyone is able to play MWO during the week, and adjust the practice schedule to that.

So, yeah, there actually are some clans out there that can afford casual players more than others!

[Lightdragon]

Hans Davion, on 18 August 2012 - 10:44 AM, said:

A good game will hold your attention for a while. A great game will have you coming back for more. The best games are the ones you never want to stop playing.

As for which are the best, it is a personality thing. I personally hate World of Warcraft. Yet I can not deny it is the most successful MMO to date. The only one it has yet to beat for longevity is Ultima Online (which is still going - just).

actually... eve online has been out 2 years longer than wow

Edited by Lightdragon, 18 August 2012 - 08:31 PM.

[Coralld]

For the most part as to what people here are saying is that many groups here, be it Merc or House Units, there are many to pick from that are very laid back and mostly casual, I will toss in our Sea Wolf Merc unit into that hat with the many others that are huge fans of BT/MW but play casually. What you really have to do is explore the many units here and see which one you think best suits you.

[Texashawk]

Wow... thanks for all the replies. It's good to know there are some relatively 'old farts' on here (I fondly remember playing MW2 when I was in college - first game I ever upgraded my computer to play!) So I think I will be getting in on the beta; even though it's FTP (which as an old-school gamer is a concept I abhor in theory, but that's another post entirely and it seems MWO may steer clear of my main burns in this regard)

One follow-up question: Can you play this game 'lone wolf' part-time and still be part of a lance/unit when desired? I have a sinking feeling that I'll want to play this a lot once I get the hang of it, and I especially like the tactical and strategic part of working as a unit to achieve objectives as opposed to a free-for-all. That being said, I'd still want to practice in 'open' matches since there is no offline component (that I've seen; perhaps I've missed something).

[Lightdragon]

for nda reasons i dont think i can answer that question all i can really say is you will like it no matter how much ime you spend with it

[Sephlock]

Texashawk, on 18 August 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

I was wondering if someone with a family and a regular job can just enjoy this game in short bursts without having to commit to a clan, a practice schedule, meetings, etc.... Sometimes when reading these forums I get the sense that there isn't much room for the 'average' adult gamer here, and I'd love to be wrong! For reference, I enjoy MWLL tremendously and have great fun playing 'in and out' for an hour or two at a time, and don't mind working as a team (Teamspeak, etc) but there's no way this is going to be the 'life' anymore. Thoughts?

Just get your family into the game. And insist on calling your wife "Katrina". And make her call you "Vlad".