I think Alakazam was the only one I visited regularly, and that was way back in my EQ1 days.
I typically use them to look up spells, back when there was nothing but the spell name in game, because remembering if Fireball was a higher or lower spell than Fire Burst, just wasn't something I did, so I looked it up.
Or look up gear stats.
dorotea said:Nope - haven't even visited one for quite a few years. I tend to just ...play. And be active in the official forums.
I really agree with this. The official forums are very important to me. I will watch the streams on youtube at Bazgrim’s channel, but that’s all. It’s not a fansite, and it is a good way for me to view the streams.
#communitymatters #makenightmatteragain #factionsmatter #riskvsreward #deathpenalty #HardRaiding #respectyourguild #HellLevels #worldsnotgames #sticktoyourvision #restoreMMORPG
In most ways, I try not to, because they almost always contain spoilers to some degree.
Official moderated forums are best when you want to discuss the game or ask about particular things when it's live as people are much more careful about spoilers (and it tends to be enforced by moderators).
What I like to see (and what I intend to make myself) is content that has guides and help that is more 'generic' involving technique and suggestions rather than spoilers and solutions. Content that emphasises community and fun rather than competition and speed progression. Stuff to encourage and facilitate exploration and discovery rather than replace it.
It's an interesting question.
Back in the EQ days, I didn't mind fansites so much. I used sites like EQAtlas, EQCrafters, and Allakazam.com all the time to look up maps, crafting recipes, quest details, and item drop locations quite often. It didn't bother me back then because often figuring those things out on my own would have required a lot of trial and error - the game really just didn't give very many hints at all on its own.
Since that time I've played a lot of other game, and my attitude has changed. I have now come to value that sense of mystery and discovery in MMORPGs a lot more than I did back in 1999-2003. I want to find things on my own and solve things on my own, not be guided by someone's walkthrough. At the same time though, the games themselves have included more hints, and it's a lot easier to figure things out on my own than it was back in EQ. There are also still some things that I'll look up on a fansite - for example, even though I love running things blind (without any preparation), it's hard to get a group to agree to do that. So for raid bosses only, I will still go look for a writeup of their mechanics. Not a full walkthrough, but enough that I can recognize the things that they'll do and not get everyone else mad at me. Likewise, in FFXIV I use the fishing fansite (FF14Angler) all the time, because fishing in that game is *really complicated* - for example, if I need a specific fish, there's no way I'm going to easily remember that I can only find it at night in a specific zone when it's raining and that I can't use normal bait but that I have to catch a different fish first and then use that fish as bait to catch the fish I want. Nope. I envy anyone that can keep all that in their head.
So, there's a balance. I love depth and complexity and forcing players to think and solve puzzles/riddles on their own in-game. At the same time I also think it's ok for players to be able to share information when stuff really *is* complicated. The problem is that everyone's definition of complicated is a little different. Some people have a much lower tolerance for that sort of challenge in MMOs than others. Once you open Pandora's box with a fansite, you have to expect that people are going to put all the spoilers on it (if they're not on twitch or youtube already). Culturally, while some of us are cognizant enough to realize that maybe it's a good idea not to overshare, we live in a world where most gamers think it's actually helpful to create endless numbers of guides and walkthroughs showing the preferred meta for whatever it is they're talking about.
For Pantheon, I help administer Pantheon Crafters. Right now, we use the site mainly to try and promote community discussion, but eventually the vision is that it will be a resource site for players to do things like look up crafting recipes, find out where materials they need come from, understand how the mechanics of crafting and gathering work, and support each other as a community. There will end up being spoiler-type information on the site and there is no way that I can prevent that from happening. It makes me a little uneasy, but I also think that the benefit to the community, and having a place online where crafters and gatherers can come together with other likeminded player, outweighs the impact of any spoilers. Pantheon needs to be an MMORPG where people don't feel alone just because they're not a raider. If our little crafting site can help with that, then I'll try my utmost to make it useful for everyone.
Kilsin said:Community Debate - Fansites - Do you run or support a Fansite for your favourite game, If so, what do you like the most about them? #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
Could not care less about fan sites. Most are just shameless vehicles of self promotion with the creator little more than a parasite attempting to pull in revenue off the works of the developers. Without the game, the 'content creator' would just shrivel up and disappear.
Kilsin said:Community Debate - Fansites - Do you run or support a Fansite for your favourite game, If so, what do you like the most about them? #MMORPG #CommunityMatters
I like the Idea of running a Fan site. I went as far as having 2 domain names reserved for Pantheon Fan site, I love the names too. Then I realized just how much work it takes to have a relevant site up and running. I don't have the bandwidth to run a whole site. At this point I would love to contribute and write content for a Pantheon site. Contribute to a class guide, and/or fun fluff pieces, interviews with Pantheon teams stuff like that. So if a team needs some help I am willing to take a conversation offline about the idea.
I still would love to do some RPing as well (Monk Class)
I like fansites, however these days there tends to be so many its hard to find one I click with that often I get bored with the search.
I remember EQ1 had the "Safehouse" fansite that people loved, so loved that it was kept fairly secret. I only found out about it after it had died, and even then by reputation. Apparently there were no spoilers but it was a place where people could come and theorize and make connections over the things they found, Lore/quest-wise. I think it crumbled once there were alot of "lore" things that went nowhere and alot of annoying broken quests that stpooed mid-way through or went no farther, even zones that were left uncompleted.
I have to admit I do like using them to look up help with quests or what quests are available etc in a region. I'm quite OCD/a completitionist which is a bad habit for MMORPGs and I don't like to feel like I've missed a particular quest line in a region I'm leveling in etc!
I also enjoy leveling my crafting professions and would use the data on drop rates to look at where to buy mats.
Only site I remember the name of is thottbot for WOW classic back in the day
My issue with most fansites is that they never live after their creator. Most people get excited to create a fansite as long as they enjoy the game, working alone and keeping all keys, then drop it entirely when they are fed up with the game.
While I shouldn't be in position to ask people to do things "professionnaly", I don't think it's a good thing to do such a site without beeing professionnal.
fan sites are great when you are jonesing for content. For pantheon, I'm finding myself watching more and more pantheonplus, bazgrim, and nathan napalm videos these days in order to get my fix. Once I'm able to play, that need for content will be largely be replaced by playing the game itself but I've always been a gamer who frequents the wikipage for information, but specifically for pantheon I could see myself still perusing fan sites at the beginning of the game just to see what others are saying about the game.
Nephele said:It's an interesting question.
Back in the EQ days, I didn't mind fansites so much. I used sites like EQAtlas, EQCrafters, and Allakazam.com
I used the same and EQCastersRealm. In the beginning there was not much out there abut as the sites started to gether information, they were a great source.
Trying to work out craftng receipies by randomly putting items into a container was painfully show. and learning what skins made what size items. Having printed out EQAtlas maps in plastic page folders to flip through while your runing around the place was fun as well as frustrating when you still got lost. But had a folder for each continent.
I know a game can generate a lot of buzz from fan sites. I prefer if everything Terminus related could be on the Pantheon site. Nephele is right on the crafting example. I hope to be able to add and use content from the crafters forums for a long time.
When playing EQ back in the day I used EQAtlas (I get lost a lot). I like a map where I can not see myself as a dot on the map. Thats how real maps work. That's why I wish I could make a map in game.
Nephele said:Back in the EQ days, I didn't mind fansites so much. I used sites like EQAtlas, EQCrafters, and Allakazam.com all the time to look up maps, crafting recipes, quest details, and item drop locations quite often. It didn't bother me back then because often figuring those things out on my own would have required a lot of trial and error - the game really just didn't give very many hints at all on its own.
This was the same for me. Today, I definitely try to support the various streamers who are promoting Pantheon. When the game goes live, I do not plan on visiting any spoiler sites.
Lore sites, sure. Some fan fiction sites too (I miss the Tavern!). Baz's site because he was a Fantheon long before it was cool.
But much like others, once I am playing a game, I usually spend my time in game / in guild.
Only fansites I frequent are ones that offer utilities that a game's official site or the game itself doesn't offer.
Example of this would be:
1. Skill calculator - to allow for planning ahead.
2. List of skills available WITH their descriptions (detailed enough to compare and contrast to my other abilities to know which is better for a given situation) - to allow for actually understanding my character (vanilla EQ was F'n horrible for this one... there was no way to know what spells did because there was only a mana cost and the spell name - a horrible one that comes to mind was the wizard's damage shield which sounded like a badass fire nuke and turned out that you were buffing the target..)
3. Map - because I can't stand not having a map in a ficticious/magical world where you can take lethal damage and mysteriously come back to life indefinitely, craft wonderous items from a piece of metal and some water, build sprawling cities with incredibly detailed statues, teleport around the planet and even to other dimensions, but there is no such thing as cartography?! -Facepalm-
The only fansites I use are the ones that supplement a game's utility or lack thereof.
Darch said:Only fansites I frequent are ones that offer utilities that a game's official site or the game itself doesn't offer.
...
This is pretty much the ones I use the most. I wish the official sites had these features implemented in already. For example, I think it would be cool to have the option to look up the stats and visuals of an item as it goes live in the game or test realms from the official site's database feature. Like some other websites have done, Pantheonmmo.com could have a comment section attached to each item, spell, location, and so forth.
I like fansites and have been to many in my years of playing EQ. They can certainly take away some mystery though. I'd prefer to get lore from the pantheon site. That way its centralized and official. If there are short stories or pdfs for a few bucks, id buy them! If there are hardback collections of lore for bigger bucks, my wife would have another option for holidays :)
I liked the class sites that came about when EQ was young. great forums to talk about strategy, gear, spells, etc.
ZAM is an honestly amazing database of EQ everything. I always thought it would be cool if you could build your own 'ZAM' in the game based on what your account's characters have been exposed to. Kind of like your character has a notebook and you know that these herbs grow in this area because you picked them there before, or you know bandits drop this certain dagger because you looted one from them. Would be a cool 'meta' thing to work towards and give another reason to explore areas you may have outgrown.
I really agree with Darch on the map front
Darch said:
3. Map - because I can't stand not having a map in a ficticious/magical world where you can take lethal damage and mysteriously come back to life indefinitely, craft wonderous items from a piece of metal and some water, build sprawling cities with incredibly detailed statues, teleport around the planet and even to other dimensions, but there is no such thing as cartography?! -Facepalm-
What if the map was hidden from you until you explored all of it. Maybe pieces of a zone map could drop which you right click and it updates your atlas. Maybe cartographers could craft area's they have been to. What if their skill determined how acurate the map actually was, or how many significant areas are labeled/available. Would be a nice reward for the explorers out there. They could better help navigate their group and help them uncover more areas. I could see bards/wizards/druids being special contributors because of synergy with exploration.
I always thought it was neat that EQ would make some maps and leave the rest up to the players. The community was so on top of it that the geography was all mapped out for the new expansion while it was being beta tested tho, so they ended up just being kind of a standard 'requirement.'
