Lejendary Adventure Online

Games
1

http://di.gamepoint.net/lejendary/en/index.php?page=news

I’m not really an RPG’er so maybe I’m just not listening in the right place, but I would’ve thought an MMORPG designed by Gary Gygax would be getting more lip service than it has. To me, the game looks extremely interesting, but maybe it’s just because I’m attributing more virtue to it than it deserves based upon who its daddy is. So does anyone more in the know on the subject have any opinions about LAO, or about what they think Gygax might bring to the table that could make this game stand out from its brethren? Anything? Nothing? Desslock?

(One thing I love is that it looks like they’re finally going to allow players to implement a genuine system of law and order within the game system itself, which will allow for the existence of realistic bad guys, who have to constantly run from the law and so on. About time.)

2

I think it’s not getting as much attention because it’s being developed by relative unknowns. I don’t think they’ve got anyone pushing the game yet, either. It should pick up steam as they get closer to launch.

Has the pen and paper game done well? I don’t follow that scene, but I was at Gen Con a few years ago and Gygax was in a booth pushing it and no one seemed to care.

3

Honestly, it’s damn easy to be skeptical about MMORPGs these days, and there huge numbers of reasons cynics will spout off why this one has no chance in hell.

However… here’s another one. They spelled Legendary with a “j”. That screams uncool out loud, in a booming voice.

4

I’ve followed it a bit, largely because I am such a fan of Gygax’s stuff, but I think Xahlt’s point is true – it’s difficult to not be skeptical of the viability of a MMORPG from a small developer. There literally have been 20-30 similar projects in development since UO, and the only ones that have made it to release are DAOC and now Shadowbane.

Plus Gygax’s strength is his creativity, which isn’t really given the opportunity for expression in a MMORPG, at least in those to date. But we’re see.

5

“There literally have been 20-30 similar projects in development since UO, and the only ones that have made it to release are DAOC and now Shadowbane.”

Yeah, and shallow gamers like me want good production values in my MMOGs. I’m skeptical about the ability of small developers to deliver on this.

I’m more and more convinced the MMOG market is saturated and all these small dev efforts will need to make a profit on small subscriber bases.

6

I think it’s because they misspelled “Legendary.”

7

Back in my big pnp days ten years ago, I bought the basic rulebook set for it and my buddies and I tried a few times to play, but it never really grabbed us. Ambitious and interesting, but ultimately flawed by being too cumbersome a rule set (a la Torg) was our final decision, so we shelved it and I haven’t touched it since.

8

Try this: check the screenshots out first, then read the “about” section.

Poor, naive Gary.

9

I don’t see his about section as unreasonable… sounds very UO esque in terms of what they going to try to do. With some laws laid down.

Sure, UO has taken forever to make something work and they gave up having a world where PvP could happen out right, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t do it right.

10

I don’t see his about section as unreasonable… sounds very UO esque in terms of what they going to try to do. With some laws laid down.

Sure, UO has taken forever to make something work and they gave up having a world where PvP could happen out right, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t do it right.[/quote]

From the “about” section:

“The Lejendary Adventure (LA) MMP Online RPG is not the same as the others are, it is better and more fun too.”

11

Hey Guest, could you be a little more specific about your complaint, please? I don’t see from the screenshots anything that would contradict their claim. If you just mean it looks the same, based upon some early screenshots, that’s not much of a criticism, it seems to me.

Not that it really does look the same to me, if by “the same” you mean “crappy.” The graphics appear to be of at least AO-quality when viewed at hi res, so I don’t think it can be dinged on that score. Also, what we can see of the landscape looks very realistic, and I was struck by how much the interior architecture reminded me of Tomb Raider (a good thing). The character model looked fine as well.

12

Notice how the character model isn’t shown close-up in any of the screenshots? That’s your first hint.

The environments look decent, but every online game in development has at least passable scenery (grass, bushes, four-flat-bitmap trees, etc.). Incidentally, much of what Anarchy Online has to offer these days looks considerably better than those screenshots. Don’t take my word for it, I hear they’re offering yet another free trial subscription offer month thingy.

What I was getting at was Gary’s letter, and how it sounds so hopeful and excited and naive, as though he’s somehow going to innovate past everything that everyone else is doing (even though everyone else has been thinking the same thing about themselves for the past 3 years and failing miserably–take QT3’s latest whipping boy Shadowbane as an example). Also, from the sound of things, Gary doesn’t seem all that familiar with the logistical and technical ins and outs (to say nothing of the tremendous expense) of putting together an online RPG. As you may know from your own experience, they can, at times, be enough to make many grown men cry in unison. Yet here’s Gary running through the fields with a hand-drawn crayon picture of a stick-figure with a sword and an arrow drawn to it that says “Me.” It’s all the more surprising coming from someone who is obviously experienced in the ways of the difficult and sometimes depressingly unprofitable tabletop game business.

13

Ok, thanks for explaining what you meant. I’d have to say I agree with you on the naivete thing. If he doesn’t have a great team working secretly behind the scenes, he’s going to be in for a rude awakening down the road, I think. I don’t know this from firsthand experience, since I don’t work in the industry, but judging by what I’ve read from everybody who’s ever attempted to make an MMORPG, that’s going to be the case.

Notice how the character model isn’t shown close-up in any of the screenshots? That’s your first hint.

Well, maybe so, but she doesn’t look like the kind of image that’s going to degrade significantly when brought in close. I could be wrong. Anyway, the graphics don’t have to be photo-realistic to please me. They just have to be attractive at high resolutions and consistent with each other in their design. DAoC is no award winner when viewed at 1600 x 1200, for instance, but it’s good enough to do the job.

The environments look decent, but every online game in development has at least passable scenery (grass, bushes, four-flat-bitmap trees, etc.). Incidentally, much of what Anarchy Online has to offer these days looks considerably better than those screenshots. Don’t take my word for it, I hear they’re offering yet another free trial subscription offer month thingy.

Yeah, I have a subscription to AO already. I haven’t compared the shots directly with ones from AO, because I play AO at 1600 x 1200, and these obviously are lower res shots. I’m just imagining what they’ll look like at 1600 x 1200, and it appears to me they’ll probably look a lot like AO’s graphics. There is sigificantly more ground cover in LAO than in AO, however, which is one of my tests for believable landscaping–certainly enough to allow me to immerse myself in the world. I also noticed a bird flying in one of the pics, which is a good sign.

The door in one of the dungeon shots does appear to be hinged on its handle side, though :D