无尽的任务 vs 魔兽世界(测试报告)

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无尽的任务2VS魔兽世界EverQuestIIversusWorldofWarcraft:ClashoftheTitansWrittenbyMark"Deathstryker"Norris无尽的任务2VS魔兽世界：巨人间的对决作者：Mark“Deathstryker”NorrisPartI.Introduction第一章：简介MynameisMark"Deathstryker"Norris,andI'manAssociateEditorforIGNVaultNetwork.I'vebeenplayingMassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGames(MMORPGs)sincethebetareleaseofMicrosoft'sAsheron'sCallgameinJuneof1999(Asheron'sCallisnowownedbyitsdeveloper,Turbine).Thisdoesn'tsetmeapartfromanumberofgamersthatbeganplayingMMORPGsalongtimeago(thosewhobeganwithUltimaOnlinehavebeenplayingsince1998,thoseplayingtextbasedMUDshavebeenplayingevenlonger),butitdoesgiveyouanideaofhowlongI'vebeenaround.IhavebetatestedorplayedeverymainstreamMMORPGthathasbeenreleasedfrom1999totoday,andfeelthisgivesmeacertainqualificationthatonlythatlevelofexperience(bothdepthineachgame,andbreadthacrossthegenre)canprovide.我的名字是Mark“Deathstryker”Norris，我是IGNVaultNetwork的一名副编辑。我从1999年微软的AC（阿斯龙的召唤）beta测试的时候开始玩MMORGP。这并不是说我玩MMORGP的历史有多么长（很多玩家从1998年就开始玩UO，而另外一些在很早以前就开始玩MUD了），我的意思是我有足够长的游戏年龄来证实我的观点。1999年后出现的MMORPG游戏我都玩过或者参与过他们的beta测试，这些体验让我有了发表一些经验（无论是对游戏的深度或者是游戏间的比较）的资格。Additionally,IamaffiliatedwithIGN'sVaultNetwork.TheVaultNetworkisthelargestcompilationofMMORPGfansitesontheinternet,andisrunbythecorporateentityknownasIGNEntertainment.TheVaultNetworkboardsystemisthemostfrequentlyusedboardsystemontheentireinternet,andfromthisboardsystemalargenumberofvaryingopinionshasbeenintroducedtomeinregardstoMMORPGdesigns,whatgamers'want,andwhatgamesarebuiltwithinherentflaws.BeinganAssociateEditorfortheIGNVaultNetworkhasallowedmeaccesstothedevelopersofmostofthemajordevelopmentteams(SOE,Turbine,NCSoft'smyriadteams,etc.),andthisallowsmetogetanadditionalperspectiveonMMORPGdesign,andgivesmeanideaofwhatworksinanMMORPG,whatfanswantbutsimplycannothavewithtoday'stechnology,andwhatflatoutdoesnotwork.另外，我是IGN’sVaultNetwork的一员，IGN’sVaultNetwork是Internet上最大的MMORPGfans的网站，它由IGNEntertainment运营。VaultNetwork的BBS是最频繁被使用到的InternetBBS，从这个BBS上，我接受了大量的关于MMORPG设计的不同意见，什么是玩家想要的，什么是游戏内在的缺陷。作为一个IGNVaultNetwork的副编辑让我能接近很多大的开发小组的开发人员（例如：SOE、Turbine、NCSoft’smyriad teams等等），这让我能得到一些附加的关于MMORPG的个人观点，并给让我更了解开发MMORPG的工作，了解什么是玩家想要但是目前的技术无法实现的，什么是过时的方案。WhydoIspendtwoparagraph'sdetailingmyself,whenthisarticleisaboutEverQuestII(EQ2)andWorldofWarcraft(WoW)?BecauseIbelieveapreviewofagame,andacomparisonoftwodifferentgamesisonlygoodasthepersonwritingthecomparisonorpreview.WhileanyTom,Dick,orSuzycanfindamessageboardandtypeoutfivesimplewords,"EQ2isbetterthanWoW",thosewordsmeanlittleifthewordsaren'tsubstantiatedbyexamples.Thatiswhatthisarticleisabout.Itisaboutdetailingandcomparingtwogames,twogamesthatwillbebehemothsintheMMORPGgenre,andthatwillforthefirsttimeintheshortlifespanofthegenrereleaseveryclosetoeachother.Itistheproximityoftheirreleasedateswhichcausesmanygamerstositdownandaskthequestion,"IfIamtobuyandsubscribetoonlyoneofthesegames,whichshoulditbe?"Thisarticlewillattempttoanswerthatquestionforyou.这个文章是介绍EQ2和WOW的，为什么我要用两个段落来介绍我自己呢？因为我认为，用一种个人的观点来展望和比较这两个不同的游戏会比较好。因为不是随便某一个人都能说出“EQ2比WOW更好”这句话的，说这句话需要有事实来证明。这就是这篇文章要说明的。它是关于这两个游戏的细节与比较的，两个游戏都将是MMORPG系列的庞然大物，由于过于接近的发售日期，他们会很快交锋。过于接近的发售时间会让很多玩家烦恼：“如果我只能玩其中的一个游戏，那么我应该选择哪一个呢？”这篇文章就是用来回答这个问题。PartII.TheGames,Developers,andPublishers第二章：游戏，开发及发行WorldofWarcraftisagamethatisbeingdevelopedbyBlizzardEntertainment.BlizzardisownedbyVivendiUniversal(notethatBlizzardisnotanindependentstudiolikemostpeoplebelieve),andhasbeencreatingqualitygamesforquitesometime.SomeofthemorenotablegamesthathavebeencreatedbyBlizzardincludetheWarcraftRealTimeStrategy(RTS)seriesofgames,Starcraft(anotherRTStitle),andtheDiabloseriesofgameswhichareRolePlayinginnature,butnotsetinapersistentworld(whichiswhatMMORPGsaresetin).OneofBlizzard'sgreateststrengthsisitsQualityAssuranceprogram.Thisprogramismuchbetterthanmanyothersoftwaredevelopercompany'sQAprograms,andmostBlizzardtitlesshiprelativelybugfree.TheQAprogramBlizzardusesdoeshaveasmalldrawback.Thegameisoftendelayedforalengthyperiodoftimeinordertoensuretheproduceshipsasbugfreeaspossible.WOW是暴雪娱乐开发的，暴雪是维迪旺的下属机构（需要注意：暴雪不像大部分人想象的那样，是一个独立的工作室）。暴雪开发了很多高质量的游戏：比如魔兽争霸系列RTS游戏，星际争霸RTS游戏，还有Diablo系列RPG游戏。但是没有一个自定义的世界（MMORPG通常都会自创一个世界）。暴雪的一个最大的能力是高质量的程序。他们的程序要比其他软件开发部门的好很多，而且暴雪会免费修正bug。暴雪的质量保证体系使用一种小回溯的方法。所以游戏经常跳票直到暴雪确信没有bug。WorldofWarcraftisBlizzard'sfirstforayintotheMMORPGgenre.Thegamebegandevelopmentroughlythreeyearsago,andisontracktoreleasesometimeinthefallofthisyear.Thereleasewillbeaworldwiderelease,andalargenumberofWoW'ssubscribersarebelievedtobecomingfromtheAsianmarket(specificallytheKorean market).WorldofWarcraftisbasedontheWarcraftRTSseriescreatedbyBlizzard,andthegame'stimelinepicksuproughlyfiveyearsaftertheconclusionofWarcraft3'sexpansion,TheFrozenThrone.WOW是暴雪的第一个MMORPG游戏。这个游戏已经开发了3年了，如果没有意外的话将在今年秋季的后期或者冬季的前期发售。这个版本将是世界版本，我们相信大量的收益会来自亚洲市场（特别是韩国市场）。WOW是基于暴雪创造的魔兽世界系列RTS背景的，这个游戏的时间是魔兽争霸3资料片-寒冰王座发生后的第5年开始。EverQuestIIisatitlethatisbeingdevelopedandpublishedbySonyOnlineEntertainment.SonyOnlineEntertainment(SOE)hascreatedanumberofnotablegamesoverthelastfewyears,withthemostnotablegamesbeingEverQuest(whichwasacquiredwhenSOEpurchasedtheVerantdevelopmentstudio),andStarWarsGalaxies(whichwasdevelopedbySOEandpublishedbyLucasArts).ItisalsoimportanttonotethatSOEisnowworkingontheireighthexpansiontotheoriginalEverQuestgame.无尽的任务2（以下用EQ2）由SOE开发和发行。在最近的几年里，SOE创造了很多知名游戏，包括最出名的EQ（SOE收购Verant开发工作室后获得的）和星战（由SOE开发，LucasArts发行）。值得注意的是现在SOE正在开发EQ的第8个资料片。Obviously,SOEhasquiteabitofexperienceinproducingMMORPGs.Currently,itisbelievedthatEverQueststillholdsthelargestnumberofactivesubscriptionsintheNorthAmericanmarket,andStarWarsGalaxiesfollowsinsecondplace.EverQuestIIissettoreleaseinlatefall,earlywinterof2004,whichplacesitinthesamereleasetimeframethatWorldofWarcraftisslatedfor.EQ2'sstorypicksup500yearsaftertheoriginalEverQuesttitle;theworldofNorrathisvastlydifferentthanwhatoriginalEverQuestplayerswillbeaccustomedto.显而易见，SOE在开发MMORPG上有一定的优势。在目前，他开发的EQ在北美市场仍然保有了很大数目的玩家，而星战的玩家数目名列第二。EQ2将在今年秋季末期发售，或者是2004年冬季的前期，和WOW的发售日期差不多。EQ2的故事开始于EQ的500年后；诺拉斯大陆由于毁灭性灾害而与EQ中我们所熟悉的大大不同。PartIII.WarningandNotes第三章：警告和注意Bothofthesegamesarecurrentlyin"beta".Whilebetaindicatesthatagameisnotyetfinished,thedevelopmentteamsforbothWoWandEQ2havechosentostartbetalaterinthelifeofthegamethaniscustomary.Whenplayersenterthebetaworldforthesegames,thereisstillagreatinterestintheactualtest,butmoreandmoreemphasisisbeingplacedon"marketing"thegamesinthebetaphase.Bothofthegamesareextremelypolishedforbeinginabetaphase,andthismayleadtoshorterbetadevelopmentcycles.Thatsaid,thingscanandwillchangeinbeta,andthosechangescanverywellaffectthefindingsinthiscolumn.这两个游戏目前都处于“BETA”测试。“BETA”的意思是游戏并没有完全开发完成，WOW和EQ2的开发小组都习惯在游戏开发末期进行BETA测试。当玩家进入“BETA”世界时，他们仍然能感觉到很多乐趣，但是更多更好的乐趣仍然处于“建设中”。尽管在“BETA”阶段，两个游戏都已经十分闪亮，“BETA”的开发过程可能不会太长。这就是说，很多东西会在BETA中改变，而这些改变会让你发现游戏有了很大的改变。I'dalsoliketoaddthatthefindingsinthisarticlearemine,andminealone. I'vespentroughly20hoursplayingeachtitle,whichisenoughforacomparisonoftheearlypartsofeachgame,andacomparisonongamedesign.Thiscomparisonwillnotaddress"endgameconcerns",orhighlevelcontentcomparisons.Certainlythosearetwoveryimportantconsiderationsthatneedtobeaccountedforwhenmakingapurchasedecisionbetweenthetwogames,butbothtitleshavechosento"lock"thehighlevelcontentawayfrombetaplayers.Thishasbeendonesothatbetaplayerswillnotbeabletoexploreanddoeverythingbeforethegamereleases,anditallowsfordeveloperstokeepsomesurprisesfromthepryingeyesoffansiteswhodetaileveryquestandplaceeveryiteminadatabase,andgivesgamerswhoenjoy"theracetobethefirst"somethingtolookforwardto.而且我必须说明的是这篇文章的观点来自我，我个人。我花费了超过20小时分别玩这两个游戏，这些时间足够我比较每个游戏的初始阶段和比较游戏的设计。这些比较不是针对“末期游戏”或者高等级的比较。当然，有两个很重要的考量需要在你选择这两个游戏中的一个时作出，他们是开发人员“防止”所有的高级内容都被BETA玩家了解。这样为了保证BETA玩家不会在正式发售前探索每一个地方和做所有的事情，而且能让开发者去保有一些秘密不被那些网站爱打探的眼睛们发布全部的任务和地图攻略，并且能给那些喜欢“我的第一个种族”的玩家一些东西去探索。Ifyoureadtheprevioustwoparagraphsandbelievethiscomparisonwillbeincomplete,Iwelcomeyoutostopreadingitatthispoint.Iwillupdatethiscomparisonafterthegamesrelease,butitwillnothelpformetoholdthiscomparisonfromgamerswhoareonthefenceaboutwhichtitletobuywhenthegamesdorelease.Thiscomparisonismeantasaguide,oratoolifyouwill,itwillnotbeallencompassingforsomeperiodoftimestill.如果你读了上面两个段落并且认为比较会是不完全的，我欢迎你停止阅读下面的部分。我会在游戏正式发售的时候更新这些比较，但是它不会是我帮助那些犹豫不决的玩家如何选择的比较。这个比较是一份指导，如果你愿意，你也能把它看作是一个工具，它不会再任何时候都包含全部的内容。PartIV.GameComparison-BasicCharacter/ClassDesign第四章：游戏比较-基本角色/职业设计ThispartisgoingtobebrokendownintoalargenumberofareasthatareessentialtothesuccessofanMMORPG.Theorderinwhichthesectionsappearareatrandomandeachonecanbeconstruedtobeasimportantasanyother.这个部分是把游戏分割成数个部分，每个部分都是MMORPG成功的要素之一。这样能看出哪个部分是随意的，哪个部分被构造成为最重要的部分。IVA.CharacterChoices-Race/Species第四章：1。角色选择-种族/种类WorldofWarcraftwillincludeeightraces/speciesthataplayercanchoosefrom.Thechoicesarebrokenupintotwoseparate"sides",onesidebeingthesidecalled"Alliance"andtheothersidecalled"Horde".TheAlliancesideiscomprisedoftheHumans,Gnomes,Dwarves,andNightElves.TheHordeisrepresentedbytheUndead,Tauren,Orcs,andTrolls.Eachracehasitsownstartingarea,andeachoftheraceshasadistinctlookandsize.Additionally,eachracehascertaininnatecharacteristics.Forexample,Humansreceiveadditionalskillpoints,dwarvesreceiveanadditionalcapacityforfindingtreasureandareresistanttocoldmagic, andtheTaurenhaveincreasedrunspeedon"plains"typeareas.Additionally,eachracehasdifferentstartingstatswhich.TheTaurenhaveincreasedstrengthbutlowerintellect,theUndeadaretheexactopposite.Lastly,certainclassescanbeplayedonlybecertainraces.OneoftheseclassesisthePaladin,whichcanbeplayedonlybyDwarvesandHumans.WOW将包括8个种族/种类供玩家选择。这些选择将被分为两个不同的“派别”，一边被称为“联盟”而另一边被称为“部落”。联盟由人类，地精（侏儒），矮人和暗夜精灵，而部落的成员是不死亡灵，牛头人，兽人和洞穴巨人（巨魔）。每一个种族都有其初始的出生地点，每个种族都有不同的外观和尺寸。并且，每一个种族都有其天赋能力。例如，人类能获取额外的技能点，矮人有找到宝藏和抗寒的额外能力，牛头人在“平原”上跑得更快。还有，每个种族都有其不同的出生状态，牛头人就有更高的力量但是只有很低的智力，和不死亡灵正好相反。最后，某些职业只能被某些种族的玩家扮演。例如：圣堂武士（Pal）只能由矮人或者人类担任。EverQuestIIdoublesWorldofWarcraft'sracialofferings.16playableracesarepresentinEverQuestII,andtheyaresimilarlydividedintotwodifferentsides.TheevilraceswillbegininthemilitaristicdictatorialcityofFreeport,thegoodraceswillbegininthepeacelovingcityofQeynos.TheracesofferedinEverQuestIIincludeBarbarians,DarkElves,Dwarves,Erudites,Frogloks,Gnomes,Halflings,HalfElves,HighElves,Humans,Iksar,Kerran,Ogre,Ratonga,Trolls,andWoodElves.AswithWorldofWarcraft,eachracehasaverydistinctlookandsize.TheracesinEverQuestIIeachhavedifferentresistpercentagestovariousdamagetypes,andsomeraceshavean"enhancedvision"whichcanbetriggeredwithakeyonthekeyboard.Thesevisiontypesincludesonicvision,infravision,andafewothertypes.Eachracehasuniquestartingattributestats,makingthempronetoacertainclasstype.AnOgrehasthehigheststartingstrengthofallraces,butthelowestintelligence.Thiswouldmakethisraceexcelatfightingbutbeweakatmagic.However,inEverQuestII,allracescanbeallclasses,soshouldyouwishtoplayanOgremage,youcandoso.EQ2提供了两倍于WOW的种族。16个可以选择的种族出现在EQ2中，他们也分成了两个派别。邪恶种族在独裁的军事统治下的城市自由港出生，而正义种族在富有爱心的和平城市奎诺斯（强烈抗议！奎诺斯在EQ基本上就是一个死城，NPC对我也决不是富有爱心的！）出生。EQ2提供的种族有：野蛮人、暗黑精灵（没家了...）、矮人、博学者、蛙人、地精、半身人、半精灵、高精灵（也没家了，哈哈）、人类、伊克萨、克兰（猫人）、巨魔、鼠人、洞穴巨人和木精灵。像WOW一样，每个种族都有其不同的外观和尺寸。EQ2的种族每个都有不同的抵抗不同的伤害类型的能力，有一些种族有“加强视力”，这些可以用键盘开关。这些视力包括“红外视力”“紫外视力”和其他的一些种类。每个种族都有其独一无二的初始状态，这影响到了一些职业取向。巨魔有所有种族中最高的力量，但是只有很低的智力。在这个世界里更适合成为一个战士而不是法师。然而，在EQ2种，每个种族都能成为任何职业，所以，如果你想成为一个巨魔法师，那么就去做吧。Whencomparingthetwogamesinthisarea,EverQuestIIsimplyhasmoreracialchoices.TheaddedbonusofbeingabletochooseanyraceandstillplayanyclassyouwishisanabilityofEverQuestIItointroducechoicetotheirgame.Choiceisextremelyimportantforgamers,andthemorechoicesthegamerhas,thebetterthatgamebecomes.AndadditionalfactorthatweighsinEQ2'sfavorincludetheuniquevisionabilities. EverQuestIIwinstheracialbattle.在这个领域比较这两个游戏，EQ2明显有更多的种族可以选择。另外一个特点（可以用任何种族扮演任何职业）也会成为EQ2被选的原因。选择对玩家来说是很重要的一点，越多的可供选择的范围，越容易被玩家接受。（寒，在中国可不是这样的…）另外，EQ2拥有独一无二的视觉系统。所以，EQ2赢了这一轮比较。IVB.CharacterChoices-Customization第四章：2。角色选择-个性化WorldofWarcraftincludesfivecustomizationslidersforeachrace(exceptGnomefemales,theyonlyhavefour).TheseslidersarecalledSkinColor,Face,HairStyle,HairColor,andFacialHair.Theskincolorsliderhasapproximately14differentcolorhuespercharacter,exceptforTaurenandUndead,whichhaveslightlyfewer(thereareonlysomanyshadesofdead).Thefacesliderchangesthefacecompletely,andeachracehasapproximately15orsochoices.Thehairstylesliderisnext,andeachracehasabout20differenthairstyles.ImportanttonotehereisthatthehairstylesliderfortheTaurenactuallyadjuststhehornsfortheTauren.Haircolorsimplychangesthehaircolor,andeachracehasbetween11and13colorchoices.Thefinalsliderisfacialhair.Forwomen,thischangesthepiercingoptions.Optionsinclude;oneearmaybepierced,bothears,andnoears.Noseringsmayalsobeavailable.Formen,thisoptionallowsforbeards,mustaches,goatees,andnofacialhair.Therearealsosomeneatoptionshereforcertainclasses,astheundeadhaveawidevarietyofgrotesquefeatures(suchashavingnolowerjaw),theNightElvescanchangetheirfacepaint,andthetrollscanadjusttheirfangs.WOW的每个种族都有5处可自定义的部分（地精女性除外，她们只有4个位置）。这些位置是皮肤颜色、脸部、发型、头发颜色和胡须。WOW拥有14种不同的肤色，不过牛头人和不死亡灵能获得的颜色会稍微少一些（不死亡灵只有一些灰色）。每个种族有大约15种面部可选择。发型有20种。需要注意的是牛头人的发型仅仅是改变头上的角的形状。头发颜色仅仅改变头发颜色。对女性来说，还有露不露的选择，你可以选择露一只耳朵，或者全露，或者全不露。鼻环可能也一样。对男性来说，这个选项对胡须适用，可以选择小胡子、络腮胡、山羊胡须或者没有胡须。对某些职业来说也会有一些整洁的选项，像亡灵就有很多特别的外貌（比如没有下巴），暗夜精灵能改变面部彩绘，洞穴巨人能改变他们的牙齿。EverQuestIIquitepossiblyhasthelargestamountofcharactercustomizationavailableinanygame,anywhere(someCityofHeroesplayersmaydisagree).Iwon'tdetaileverysinglecustomizationoptionavailableforthesakeofbrevity.Therearefivemain"areas"andeachareahasbetweenthreeandfiveseparateslideroptions.Herearetheareas,andafewoftheslidersineacharea.Thefirstmajorcustomizationfocusareaiseyes.Underthisareaarethreesliders:eyes-sliderbarforeyelocationonhead,eyebrow-sliderbarforeyebrowtiltandlocationandeyecolor-palettestylecoloroptions,allcolorsareavailable.Nextistheheadareaoption.Thefirstoptionundertheheadareaisears.Thereisanearsizesliderbar,andanearlocationsliderbar.Thenextoptionunderheadischeeks.Theslidersavailablewithundercheeksincludeafull/thinslider,andahigh/lowsliderbar.Thethirdoptionintheheadcategoryisthechin.Theoptionsunderchinareanarrow/widesliderbar,ashort/longsliderbar,andathick/thinsliderbar.Thefourthoptionunderheadislips.Lipsoptionsareadown/upsliderbar, afull/thinsliderbar,andanarrow/widesliderbar.Thefinaloptionunderheadisthenose.Theareasyoucanadjustundernoseincludeanosetiltsliderbar,askinny/widesliderbar,andashort/longsliderbar.Thenextmajorareaofcustomizationisskincolor;again,acolorpaletteisprovidedforeachracethatincludesalmostallcolors.Thereisalsoasliderbarunderskincolorthatisanageslider.TheagesliderisanoptionsimilartoSWGwheretheslidermakesahugedifferenceinappearance.Asifthesefeaturesweren'tenough,therearemore!Thenextmajorcustomizationishair.Underhairisadropdownmenucalledaccessories.Thisbasicallymeanshairstyle/racialspecials.Someoftheneateroptionsincludetheoptionsfortrollsthathavenailsjuttingthroughtheireyelids,andthehalfelves,whichhaveanumberofpeculiarpiercings.Thereisalsoafourthcustomizationareacalledbody,whereyoucanadjustyourbeginningclothesandyoursizetoasmalldegree.Inadditiontoallofthat,certainraceshavespecialcustomizationfeatures.TheBarbarianshavewoads,theDwarveshavestratums,theGnomeshaveeyespieces,andtheIksarhavereptilelikefrillsthatadorntheirheads.PossiblytheneatestcustomizationbelongstotheKerra,wheretheirfurpatternsandfurcolorcanbeadjusted.EQ2可能是所有游戏中可自定义部分最多的了（不过可能一些城市英雄的玩家会有不同意见）。我不想一一列举所有的可以自定义的条目。EQ2中，一共有5个主要区域，每个区域又被分为了3至5个可以自定义的条目。下面是各个区域和一些区域中的部分。第一个主要的自定义部分是眼睛。在眼睛这个区域中有3个部分，眼睛在头部的位置，眉毛的位置和颜色，所有的颜色都是可以使用的。下一个是头部区域。头部的第一个选项是耳朵。有耳朵大小、位置。下面是脸颊部分。可以选择丰满/消瘦的脸颊，还有颧骨的高/低。头上第三个部分是下巴。可以选宽或者窄。第四个是嘴唇。有高/低滚动条和肥/瘦滚动条，还有窄/宽滚动条（以下省略….）[特色：有年龄滑动条总之：能改的很多很多，翻译这个没有意义。]Obviously,SOEhasspentnoexpenseinensuringthatplayersareuniquefromoneanother.ThisincorporatesasecondmajorfacetthatMMORPGdevelopersconsiderimportant,characteruniqueness.Italsoallowsplayerschoice,whichaspreviouslymentionedisalwaysagoodthing.WhileBlizzard'scharactercustomizationoptionsareindeedadequatefortheirpurpose,SOEsimplyoutdoestheminthiscategory.显而易见，SOE花费了很多确保每个玩家都有独一无二的造型。独一性是MMORPG开发过程中第二重要的部分。总是让玩家选择，这个观点经常是正确的。当暴雪的角色个性化是在他们想好的几个中选择时，SOE已经跳出了这个圈子。IVC.Classes第四章：3。职业WorldofWarcraftgivesplayersnineoriginalclassestochoosefromatcharactercreation.Theseclassesaredruid,hunter,mage,paladin,priest,rogue,shaman,warlock,andwarrior.Therewillalsobesomethingcalled"heroclasses"whichplayerscanchoosefrominordertofurtherspecializetheircharacters.Theseclasses,whicharenotinthecurrentbetabuildduetothelevelcapinbetacurrentlybeinglevel39,includethearchmage,beastmaster,berserker,blademaster,cryptlord,darkranger,deathknight,demonhunter,dreadlord,druidoftheclaw,druid ofthetalon,farseer,keeperofthegrove,lich,mountainking,necromancer,pitlord,priestessofthemoon,rifleman,shadowhunter,spiritwalker,taurenchieftain,warden,andwitchdoctor.Thismakesatotalof33classesthatplayersmayultimatelyattainingame.Craftskillsaretrainedpercharacter,andarenotincludedasaseparatesubset.Oneotherthingtonotehereisthattheselectedclasswillincreasethecharacter'sattributethatgovernsit.Forexample,ifyouchooseawarrior,yourcharacterwillgainaplustwotostrength.WOW提供了9个基本职业给玩家选择。分别是：德鲁伊，猎人，魔法师，圣堂武士，祭祀，盗贼，萨满，术士，战士。还有一些是被称为“英雄”的职业，他们可以让玩家更加专精化他们的角色。这些英雄职业在BETA版本中由于等级封顶39而无法选择。英雄职业包括：大魔法师，驯兽大师，狂战士，剑圣，地穴领主，黑暗游侠，死亡骑士，恶魔猎手，恐惧领主，爪之德鲁伊，猛禽德鲁伊，先知，丛林守护者，尸巫，山丘之王，亡灵法师，土坑领主，月之女祭司，莱福枪手，暗影猎手，灵魂行者，牛头人酋长，守望者和巫医。这些使WOW一共拥有33个职业。交易技能可以被每个角色训练，而且没有包括一些附属职业（？）另一个值得注意的是：选择职业能得到一些属性补充。如，选择战士能得到2点额外的力量。Note:TheheroclasseslistedhereforWoWarenotconfirmed.ItwasmentionedbytheBlizzardteamthattheheroclasseswouldbetakenfromtheclassesinWarcraftIII,andthesearetheclassesthatareinWarcraftIII.Theseclassesmayormaynotappearinthegameatrelease.注意：这儿列出的WOW中的英雄职业是没有确认的。他们是在暴雪的魔兽争霸3中的英雄上面建立的，也就是说他们是魔兽争霸3中的。在WOW的最终发行版本中可能不会存在。EverQuestIItakesabitofadifferentapproach.Yourcharacterstartsasoneoffourverybasicarchetypes;mage,fighter,priest,orscout.Fromthosebasicclasses,placeswillmakeafurtherclasscustomizationchoiceatlevels10and20.Thereareatotalof40combatclassesthatcanbechosenfrom.Theseoptionsarebrawlers(whichincludebruisersandmonks),crusaders(whichincludepaladinsandshadowknights),warriors(whichincludeberserkersandguardians),enchanters(whichincludecoercersandillusionists),sorcerers(whichincludewizardsandwarlocks),summoners(whichincludesconjurorsandnecromancers),clerics(whichincludeinquisitorsandtemplars),druids(whichincludefuriesandwardens),shaman(whichincludedefilersandmystics),bards(whichincludedirgeandtroubadours),predators(whichincludeassassinsandrangers),androgues(whichincludebrigandandswashbuckler).Inadditiontoyourbattleclass,everycharacterwillbeabletospecializeinoneoftheartisanclasses.Theartisanclassesincludebuilders(whichhousethecraftersandsmiths)andthescholars(whichincludethesagesandalchemists).EQ2采用了不一样的方法。你的角色只能从4个基本职业开始游戏：法师、斗士、祭祀、侦查兵。从基本职业开始，在10级和20级的时候玩家能自由的选择进阶职业。一共有40种不同的战斗职业。[下面的在论坛有高人解释过了，我就不献丑了]Again,IgivethenodheretoEverQuestII.Morecombatclasschoices,andadditionalartisanchoicesgiveEQ2aslightedgeoverWoW.AnotherkeythingtoconsiderhereisthatinEQ2youmakethreecombatclasschoices,andinWoWyouonlymaketwo.ThisisimportantbecauseitallowsafurtherdistinguishingofyourcharacterinEQ2thatisdoesinWoW.Choiceandcharacteruniquenessareagainthekeyconcepts Iconsideredwhenratingthewinnerofthiscategory.同样，我认为EQ2更加优秀。更多的战斗职业可以选择，而且有更多的附加的交易技能可以选择使EQ2比WOW稍微好一点。另一个关键是EQ2种你能够做出3次职业选择，而WOW只有2次。选择和职业的独特性也是这个类别的游戏是否能获胜的关键。V.UserInterface第五章：用户界面Oneofthemostimportantaspectsthatdeveloperstakeintoaccountistheplayabilityofthegame.Howsteepisthelearningcurve?Themainfactorthataffectsthelearningcurveistheuserinterface.Bothgamesdoanadmirablejobontheuserinterface.WorldofWarcrafthasasmallmapinthetoprightcornerthatmapsoutwhatyoucanseeonceyouhaveactuallyexploredthearea.Inadditiontothemap,thereisanadvancedchattaboptionthatallowsyoutodecidewhichchattypestoincludeineachchatwindow.Thereisanexperiencemeterrightunderneaththechatwindows,andimmediatelybeneaththeexperiencemeterisaskilltabontheleft,aplethoraofclickonoptionsinthemiddle(optionslikemainoptions,inventory,social,etc),andtheplayersbackpacksontheright.TheUIisveryintuitiveandeasytouse.开发这需要重视的一个重要的方面是游戏的易用性。为什么要让游戏的上手那么难？主要的影响是因为用户界面。两个游戏都在用户界面上做出了一些令人赞叹的工作。WOW有一个小地图在屏幕的右上角，它能显示出那些我们已经探索过一次的区域。在地图上，有一个高级聊天选择工具，它能让你选择什么类型的聊天信息应该显示在什么窗口里。在聊天窗口下面有一条经验槽，在经验槽下面的左边是技能按钮，一些多余的按钮在中间（像主菜单、行囊、社会之类的），玩家的背包在右边。这个UI是直观的和容易使用的。EverQuestII'sUIissimilar,butthereismuchlessdisplayedonthescreenatonce.Onthetopareaofthescreenthereisanexperiencemeter,agroupwindow,andacompass.OnthebottompartofthescreenisasmallEQ2symbolontheleftwhichhousesalltheoptionsavailableontheUI(mainoptions,socialoptions,chatoptions,etc.).Theskillstabisonthebottommiddlepartofthescreen,andthereareadditionalskilloptionsonthebottomright.OnethingtonoteaboutEverQuestII'suserinterfaceisthatthedeveloperswhollyexpectgamerstoalterit.SOEhasnoproblemswithplayersalteringtheiruserinterfacesolongasthealterationsdon'tincludeanythingthatcreatesagameimbalance.EQ2的UI也差不多，但是在屏幕上依次显示的更少。在顶部是经验槽，组队窗口和一个罗盘。在底部有一个微型的EQ2标记在左边，这个标记包括了所有的UI中的选项（主菜单、社会、聊天选项等）。技能按钮在底部的中部，还有一个附加技能选项在底部右边。值得注意的是EQ2的UI是可以完全被资深玩家修改的。SOE并不会干预玩家改变自己的UI只要不包含有损游戏的平衡的东西。Theuserinterfacecategoryisadraw.Neithergamewins.Bothuserinterfacesareintuitiveandeasytouse.Additionally,IbelieveplayersforWoWwillalsofindawaytoaltertheWoWuserinterface,andprovidedownloadsoftheiruserinterfacestotheotherWoWgamers.打平，没哪个游戏获胜。所有的两个UI都是直观的和易用的。我还想说，我相信WOW玩家也会找到改变WOW的UI的方法，然后提供他们的UI给其他的WOW玩家下载。VI.Tutorials 第六章：教学系统Eachgamehasatutorialsystem.WorldofWarcraft'stutorialbeginsonceyouhaveenteredthegame.You'llbegininasmallareaandmoveoutside.ThereyouwillfindaNPCwithanexclamationpointoverhishead.TheNPCwillgivethecharacteradeliveryquest,andthecharacterwilllearntomoveandusethemouselookasheorshesearchesforthecharacterheneedstospeaktonext.Uponfindingthecharacter(whohasaquestionmarkabovehishead),thequestwillcomplete,andthecharacterwillissuethecharacterashortkillXnumberofenemiesquest.Thisisacombatorientationofsorts.Uponcompletionofthisquest,anumberofotherNPCswillofferoneofthreetypesofquests;killXnumberofmobs,killXnumberofmobsandgathertrophies,oradeliverytypequest.Allthequestsareeasytocomplete.Aboutlevelfiveiswhenyou'llreceiveaquestwhichwilltakeyououtofthestarterareaandintoamaincity.两个游戏都有教学系统。WOW的教学系统开始于你进入这个游戏的时候。你出生在一个小的区域，然后需要移动到外面去。在那儿你会找到一个头上顶着大大的感叹号的NPC。这个NPC会给你的角色一个送信任务，你的角色会学系移动和在他/她寻找他们下一个要找的角色时使用鼠标锁定。找到那个NPC（头上有任务符号），任务结束，然后NPC会指导你去杀死x个敌人的简短任务。这是战斗指导部分。完成这个任务后，一些其他的NPC会给你提供三种任务——杀死x个mob、杀死x个mob并收集战利品或者送信任务中的一个。所有的任务都易于完成。在你5级的时候你会得到需要离开出生地去主要城市的任务。EverQuestIItakesthetutorialastepfurther.ThecharacterbeginsonaboatboundfortheIsleofRefuge.Whilethecharacterisontheboat,thetutorialwilltaketheplayerthroughlearninghowtomovethecharacterandthecamera,howtoopenyourinventorywindow,howtoinitiatecombat,andhowtobuyandsellitems.ThekeydifferencebetweenEQ2'stutorialandWoW'stutorialisthatEQ2'swilltelltheplayerpreciselywhatkeysneedtobepressed,andexactlyhowtodocertainthings.Afterthecharactercompletestheshorttutorial,theplayerwilldothesameexactkindsofquestsWoWoffersinitsfirstfivelevelquestselections.EQ2doesofferanadditionalmini-bossencounterattheendoftheIsleofRefuge.EQ2使用一种指导流程的教学系统。玩家角色起始在一首前往Refuge岛的船上。在船上，教学系统会让玩家学习到从移动、改变视角、打开物品栏、如何战斗直至如何买卖物品。EQ2和WOW不同的关键是EQ2会告诉玩家应该按什么按键，如何正确完成目前的任务。在玩家完成这个简短的旅行后，玩家会得到同WOW提供给5级玩家那样的额外任务。EQ2提供了一个附加的小boss在Refuge岛上作为岛上旅行的结束。ThetutorialedgegoestoEverQuestII.WhilemanyexperiencedMMORPGplayersmayseeatutorialasaburden,itisessentialforthoseplayersthatarenewtothegenre.Agoodfirstimpressionisextremelyimportantinagame,andthoughbothgamesgiveoffgreatfirstimpressions,theeaseofuseforthe"noobie"intheEQ2tutorialgivesittheedge.看起来在教学系统这个部分EQ2有一定的优势。很多资深MMORPG玩家把教学看作是一个负担，但是对新人来说又是必要的。一个好的第一印象对一个MMORPG来说是极端重要的，虽然两个游戏都有很好的第一印象，但是给新人提供的轻松的教学系统给了EQ2一定的优势。第八章：环境TheenvironmentinWorldofWarcraftisveryaestheticfeelings.Therearedeep shadesofpurple,mosscoloredgreens,andgrandredsstrewnabout.Thegamedefinitelyhasanartistictouch.TheenvironmentinEverQuestIIhasmoreofarealisticgrandiosefeeltoit.Thisisadifficultcategorytojudge,asdifferentgamershavedifferenttastesinthismatter.OnethingthatisreallyimportanttomeinaMMORPGisthatIfeelimmersedinthegame.ThoughWoWisartistic,itdoesn'timmerseyouinthegame.Forexample,thebeginningareafortheundeadinWoWisDeathknell.Whenyouareinthisarea,thewindishowlingmadly,andyouwouldexpecttoseetreesbeingblownbackandforth,andthegrassswayingwildly.Unfortunately,everythingisextremelystill.ItreallydetractedfromtheimmersivenaturethatMMORPGslooktocapture.Ontheotherhand,EverQuestIIprovidesthosesubtleimmersivefactorsinitsenvironment.Whenaplayerwalksintoastillpoolofwater,ripplesradiateoutfromtheplayersteppingintothewater.WOW的环境是富有美感的。到处都是紫色的阴影，绿色的苔藓，盛大的红色点缀其间。游戏明确的定位成了一件卡通作品。而EQ2的环境更加的真实。这是两种不同的类别，不同的玩家会有不同的感受。对我来说，进入游戏世界的带入感是很重要的。所以，尽管WOW是一种艺术，但是对我来说带入感不够。比如，不死亡灵的出生地是Deathknell。当我进入这个区域，狂风怒号，你会期望看到树被吹得东倒西歪，野草乱摆。但是不幸的是，什么都没有变化，树和草还是照旧。这的确很让人转移对MMORPG里面的环境的注意。而另一方面，EQ2在环境中提供了这些精巧的细节。当玩家走如一潭清水中，波纹会随着玩家的脚步回荡。ItisthesubtleattentiontodetailthattheSOEteamisprovidingthatputsEverQuestIIoverthetopinthiscategory.Thegamingenvironmentiswhataplayerseesthemostof,andisthereforeanextremelyimportantfacetinthedevelopmentofanMMORPG.从精细的角度来看，SOE提供的EQ2达到了这个类别的游戏的巅峰。游戏环境是玩家所看到的，也是MMORPG开发过程中一个很值得注意的地方。IX.Graphics第九章：图像Iwasn'tgoingtotouchthiscategoryastheissueofartisticgraphicsversusrealismhasbeenbeatentodeath.However,Ibelieveitdeservessomemention.WorldofWarcraftwillreleasewiththelowestsystemspecificationsthataMMORPGhasreleasedwithinthelastfivereleases.Thereasonbehindthisissimple,theloweryoursystemspecs,theeasieritistomarketthegametoagreateraudience.Whilethisisagreatideafortheshortterm,gameslikeEverQuestIIandVanguard:SagaofHeroeshavedecidedtogowithabusinessmodelthatallowstheirgamestoscaleupwardasthegamematures.Forexample,EverQuestIIisunplayablebyhomecomputersonitshighestgraphicalsettings.Thisisintentional,becausethedevelopmentteamwantsthegametocontinuetoappearfreshashardwareadvances.我不想接触这个部分因为是用卡通比较真实是会比死人的。然而，有一点是要提及的。WOW的系统要求是最近发售的5款MMORPG中最低的。原因很简单，需要的配置越低，可以接受的用户越多。这是短视小组的伟大想法，EQ2和Vanguard:SagaofHeroes决定继续他们的市场直到他们的游戏市场成熟。例如，EQ2的高标准图像是不能在家用电脑上进行的。这是故意的，因为开发小组希望游戏在持续发展的硬件上同样能表现出好效果。Whilemostgamerswilltakea"side"indebatebetweentheartisticlookofWoWversusthehigherpolygoncountrealisticgraphicsapproachofEQ2,Ithinkgamersare missingthelargerpicture.Gamershateplayinggamesthatlookdated.EverQuestissetforitssecondmajorgraphicsoverhaul,andthoughthegraphicswillbeverygood,theystillwon'tbeevenclosetothegraphicsoftoday'sMMORPGs.EverQuestIIwinsthiscategorybecausethedevelopmentteamatSOEhastheforesighttorealizethatgamerswhoplayagraphicalMMORPGwanttoenjoythegraphics,andwhenthegraphicsarestillamongthebestonthemarketayearafterrelease,twoyearsafterrelease,itleadstoplayerretention.当所有的玩家都分成两拨开始争论是WOW的动画好看还是更多多边形的EQ2好看的时候，我认为这些玩家已经不再关心游戏本身了。玩家讨厌过时的东西。EQ是在其第二个画面引擎上了，尽管画面也还不错，但是还是无法达到现在的MMORPG的水准。EQ2在这个类别获胜是因为他的开发小组深深的认识到MMORPG的玩家需要享受画面，而且如果这个画面在游戏发售一两年后还非常精美，那么就会保持游戏的活力。X.Combat第十章：战斗CombatplaysavitalroleinMMORPGs.WorldofWarcraftdoesadecentjobwithcombat,butthereisnothingnewthatisbroughttothetablewiththeircombatmechanics.Playersstillpulloneortwocreatures,beatonthem,restupabit,andunleashtheirfuryuponthenextsetofcreatures.Whilethecombatlooksgood,itdoesn'tcreateasenseofdrama,nordoesitrequireanyskillbeyondsimplyclickingonthecombatmovesyouwanttouse.战斗是MMORPG的最重要的部分了。WOW的战斗非常标准，但是没有什么新意。玩家还是拉出一、两只怪物，然后杀掉，然后休息一下，然后把怒火发泄在下面出现的怪物上面。虽然画面看起来不错，但是没有艺术感，而且除了不断的移动和点击技能，不需要任何技巧。EverQuestIIhasaverysimilarcombatstyle,butitintroducesafeaturethatcreatesareasontostayatyourcomputerinsteadofclickingattackandwalkingaway.SOEhascreatedthe"combatwheel".Thecombatwheelisacirculariconthatappearsinthebottomrightofthescreenasyoucombatamob.Insidethewheelisanumberoficonsthatrelatedirectlytothespellsandcombatabilitiesoftheplayersthataregroupedtogether.Ifthespellsandabilitiesareusedinthecorrectorderindicatedbythewheel(andinthetimeallotted),aspecialattackisunleasheduponthecreaturesthatthegroupisfacing.ThesystemissimilartoFinalFantasyXI'sskillchainsystem,butbecausethewheelisrandom,itkeepsplayersontheirtoesmore.Additionally,SOEhasgoneawayfromthepullone,two,orthreemobstoyourgroup,killthem,rest,anddothesamethingtothesameexactmobsinthesameexactspotthatisincorporatedbyWoW.Thenumberofmobsthatappearareequitabletothestrengthofthegroup,andtheydon'tcomeoveroneatatime.Themobsare"linked".Whenoneofthemisattacked,theywillallattack.CombatinEQ2ismuchmoreAsheron'sCallinspiredthananyotherMMORPGtodate.ThecombatwheelinadditiontothelargernumberofmobsthatkeepthegroupbusyfactorgivesEverQuestIItheedgeinthecombatdepartment.EQ2有类似的系统，但是与点击技能移动不一样，它引入了一个很重要的特色来吸引你留在电脑前。SOE创造了一个称之为“战斗轮”的系统。战斗轮是一个环 形图标，在你攻击怪物是显示在屏幕的右下角。在环中有一个数字的图标，这个数字与你的队伍的魔法和战斗技能相关联。如果魔法和技能在轮中的命令指引下正确的使用（在时间允许下），一个特别的攻击就会释放到团队面对的怪物身上。这个系统和FFXI中的技能链系统有些类似，但是因为轮子是随机的，所以会让玩家更加注意自己的手指。另外，SOE从一次拉出一、两只怪物，杀掉，休息，然后不停的作同一件事情的WOW还在使用的循环中跳了出来。接近队伍能力的数量的怪物会出现，而且他们不会一个一个的出来。怪物都是有联系的。当一个怪物受到攻击，他们全部会开始攻击。EQ2从AC中获得了比其他MMORPG中更多的战斗方面的灵感。战斗轮和更多的怪物会让队伍保持繁忙这点让EQ2在这个方面胜出。XI.Questing第十一章：Iamnotgoingtospeakmuchonthiscategory.Ithinkbothgameswillhaveepicstylequestsinadditiontotheregularquests,andeachgamehasasubstantialnumberofquestsingame(WoWreported1400,EQ2reported1500).AsIhaveyettolevelfarenoughineithergametodoanyofthetrulyepicquests,Idon'tfeelqualifiedtomakeadecisioneitherwayonthiscategoryyet.IwillupdatethiscategoryasIgetfurtheralonginbothgames.我不想再这个方面多说。我认为两个游戏在普通任务外都会有史诗任务，两个游戏都有很多任务存在（WOW有1400个，EQ2有1500个）。因为我在两个游戏都没有足够的等级去做一些真正的史诗任务，我没有足够的资格去说这个部分。我会在我花费一些时间在两个游戏后的未来更新这一部分。XII.PlayerVersusPlayer第十二章：玩家对玩家（PvP）Thisisanotherverydifficultcategorytorate.Initially,thiscategorywasallWoW.However,afterBlizzardannouncedthatPvPwouldbeconsensualonitsnormalservers,Ican'tingoodfaithgiveeithergamethiscategory.Bothgameswillallowforduels,bothgameswillallowforgroupduels,andbothgamesallowplayerstoduelforitemsormoney.Theybothwillhavearenatypesettings.WoWwillalsohavewhatappeartobeinstancedzonesontheirnormalserverswhereplayerscanenterandPvP.PvPisnotinthecurrentbuildofWoW,soIcan'tsaythatwhathasbeenreportedwillbethecase.BothgameswillalsofeaturesomesortofPvPspecialrulessetservers.Thespecialrulessetsresultfrombothgameshavingtwodistinctsides,EQ2havingtheconflictbetweengoodandevil,WoWhavingtheconflictbetweenAllianceandHorde.ThekeydifferencehereisthatBlizzardwillhavetheseserversatlaunchwhileEQ2willnothavetheseserversuntilsomeundeterminedtimeafterlaunch.Inretrospect,IawardthiscategorytoWoW,becausetheirPvPserverswillbeavailabledayoneofretail.这又是一个很难评判的部分。最开始，这个类别没有WOW。后来，暴雪申明在普通服务器可以进行PvP，我不能作出正确的评价。两个游戏都允许决斗，两个游戏都允许团队决斗，两个游戏都允许玩家为了物品和金钱决斗。它们都有竞技场。WOW也许会在其普通服务器上出现PvP副本区域，玩家可以进入进行PvP。目前WOW的PvP还没有固定下来，所以我在这个案例上作出分析。在建立服务器后，两个游戏都将有某种形式的特殊的PvP规则。这些规则都建立在两个游戏分为两个不同的派别上，EQ2有正义和邪恶之分，而WOW是联盟和部落的区别。它们区别的关键是暴雪有阵营PvP服务器而在EQ2的服务器建立前并没有这个打算。我认为这个部分的胜利是WOW，因为暴雪已经计划在正式发售时建立PvP服务器。XIII.OverallImmersiveness 第十三章：总体的游戏乐趣WorldofWarcraftisaveryimmersivegame.Thegraphicsfitthetoneofthegametoa"T".OneofthethingsthatBlizzarddidexceptionallywellwastieintheloreandthecharactersfromtheWarcraftseriesintoWorldofWarcraft.PlayerswhohadplayedtheRTSgameswouldinstantlyknowanumberofthemajorNPCs,andplayerswhoarenewtoWarcraftcanfindoutwhotheyarethroughthenumerousqueststhatarespreadthroughouttheland.PerhapsoneofthemostimmersiveaspectsofWoWistheplayercontrolledmountsthatcanbeacquiredatlevel30.Whileothergameshaddonemountsbefore,WoWhasaddedmountsthatcanfly,andtheaerialmountsareoneoftheshiningfeaturesofWoW.WOW是一个非常吸引人的游戏。画面符合游戏的气氛（？）。暴雪做的很好的一件事情就是把魔兽争霸的故事和WOW的故事紧密结合在一起了。那些玩RTS的玩家可以立即了解很多NPC，而那些对魔兽争霸不太了解的玩家也能通过大陆上大量的任务去找到他们之间的联系。最吸引人的地方是玩家在30级的时候能够获得坐骑。当其他游戏也做了坐骑系统后，WOW又增加了飞行坐骑，而这大量的坐骑会成为WOW的一个亮点。Whilemountscertainlydoaddsomeimmersion,theydonotaddtheamountofimmersionthatcharactervoicesadd.WhileEverQuestIIhasgonewiththetriedandtruefantasysettingfortheirgame,theyhaveaddedonetremendousfeaturethatonceaplayerexperiencesit,theplayerwillhaveadifficulttimedoingwithoutit.ThatfeatureisNPCvoiceovers.Andwearen'ttalkingjustoneNPC.WearetalkingeverysingleNPCintheentiregame.ThatmeanswhenyouwalkdownastreetinQeynos,youcanhearvendorsshoutingwaresatyou,NPCsthatneedsomesortofquestassistance,andkidsrunningbywiththeirpets.Nothingelsescreamsimmersionlikebeingabletoseeandnowhearthegameinvividlifelikerealness.虽然坐骑能增加游戏乐趣，但是不会增加玩家的总体乐趣。EQ2则有更加令人兴奋的设定，那就是全程的NPC配音。我们不但能和一个NPC对话，还能和整个游戏中的所有的NPC对话。这意味着当你在奎诺斯的街道漫步时，你能听到各式各样的叫卖声、那些需要帮助的NPC的求助声和孩子和宠物戏耍时的声音。没有什么能和这一样让游戏变得如此真实和生动了。Anothermajoraspectofimmersioncomesintheformofguildsandplayerhousing.WorldofWarcraftoffersyourstandardguildsetupandthatworksadequatelywellforrunningyourguildingame.ThereiscurrentlynoplayerhousingavailableforeitherguildsorindividualsinWorldofWarcraft,howeveritisplanned"sometimeafterrelease".EverQuestIIofferstwotypesofguildsetups.Thefirsttypeiscalledafamily.Thefamilyhasallthefunctionalityofatraditionalguild,anditalsoallowsmembersofthefamilytohavethesamelastname.TheothertypeofguildinEverQuestIIisthe"guild".Guildsfunctionlikefamilies,exceptthatguildsdon'taddalastnametotheplayerswhojoinit,andguildsjoinupundercertainNPCguildsinordertocompeteiniPvP(indirectplayerversusplayer).ThehigheryourguildisrankedwithintheNPCfaction,thebetterrewardsyouwillreceivefromtheNPCfaction.Thereisalsoarewardsystemfortheindividualswithintheguildwhocontributethemosttothefaction'ssuccessiniPvP.EverQuestIIwillhaveanextensiveplayerhousingsysteminplacewhenthegamelaunches.Therearetwotypesofhousing,individualplayerdwellingsandguilddwellings.Theindividualplayerhousingininstancedandeachhousewillbefullycustomizable bytheplayer.Therewillalsobeguildhouseswhichwillhaveanexterior.Theinteriorsofthesearealsocustomizable(evenmoresothanStarWarsGalaxies).另外一个乐趣是公会和住宅。WOW提供了一个标准的公会系统，你能在游戏中建立和运营你的公会。目前WOW不提供住宅系统，这个系统将在“发售后”开始计划。EQ2即提供了两种公会系统。第一种叫“家庭”。家庭有和传统的公会一样的功能，而且可以让家庭成员拥有同样的姓。另外一种是“公会”。公会和家庭的功能差不多，但是公会不会给成员添加同样的姓，而且公会可以加入某些NPC的组织来实现iPvP（间接的PvP）。公会和NPC的关系越好，就能从这个NPC阵营获得更好的回报。对公会的每一个个人来说，在间接PvP中作出的贡献越大，获得的回报也越多。EQ2在游戏发售时也将有一个大的玩家住宅系统。有两种住宅，玩家住宅和公会建筑。玩家住宅是一个可以完全由玩家定义的实体。公会建筑在外观有一些区别。房间的内部同样是可以自定义的（比星战•银河系更多）ThoughmountsareagreatadditiontoWoW,theysimplycan'tcompetewithNPCvoiceoversandarobusthousingsystem.AddintheiPvPsystemwhichrewardsplayersandguildsthataretakingupthefightfortheirchosenNPCfaction,andoverallimmersivenessmustgoEverQuestII'sfavor.尽管坐骑是WOW的一个很优秀的特色，但是也无法和NPC语音系统和住宅系统媲美。而间接PvP系统的奖励能使玩家为了他们所选择的NPC阵营而战斗，所以，总而言之，EQ2的游戏乐趣更大一些。XIV.Conclusion第十四章：总结IratedthesetwogamesinthetencategoriesIbelievetobethemostimportantaspectsofMMORPGdesign.TheresultsleanheavilytowardEverQuestII'sfavor(sixcategorieswonforEQ2,onecategorywinforWoW,andthreedraws/notenoughinformations).Thatsaid,notallgamersrateallcategoriesequally,andnotallgamerswillagreewithmyassessments.Theconclusionsdrawnaremyown,andasstatedinthefirstpageofthiscomparison,theycomefrom20hoursofplaytimeineachgameaswellasmyknowledgeoftheMMOindustry.Withthatsaid,IdobelievethatWoWwillhaveahigherinitialsalethrough(bothgameswillsellbetween250,000and400,000withinthefirstfourmonths).However,ItrulybelievethatSOE'scommitmenttoensuringtheirgameisviabletwo,three,andfouryearsdowntheroadfromnowiswhatwillsetthesegamesapartwhenallissaidanddone.Feelfreetoemailmeaboutthisarticle,Iwelcomeyourinput.我把两个游戏分为10个我认为是MMORPG的比较重要的领域进行比较。结果是EQ2更加的好（6个方面获胜，3个领域打平/没有足够的资料，1个部分落后）。当然，不是所有的玩家都认为每个方面都一样重要，也不是所有的玩家都认同我的评估。所以总结是我的个人观点，这点我在第一章说的很清楚了。这些观点来自于一个分别花费了20个小时在两个游戏上的，对MMORPG有一定的了解的我。在这个观点的基础上，我认为WOW在最初的的销售会更好（在前4个月，我认为两个游戏都会售出250000份到400000份）。然而，我还是认为SOE的后期服务能使游戏在第二年、第三年到第四年都能沿着现在打下良好基础健康前进。请多多给我来信，我欢迎你的意见。VeryRespectfully,非常感谢Englishisthemostwidelyspokenlanguageinthehistoryofourplanet,usedinsomewaybyatleastoneoutofeverysevenhumanbeingsaroundtheglobe.Halfoftheworld'sbooksarewritteninEnglish,andthemajorityofinternationaltelephonecallsaremadeinEnglish.Englishisthelanguageofoversixtypercentoftheworld'sradioprograms.MorethanseventypercentofinternationalmailiswrittenandaddressedinEnglish,andeightypercentofallcomputertextisstoredinEnglish.Englishhasacquiredthelargestvocabularyofalltheworld'slanguages,perhapsasmanyastwomillionwords,andhasgeneratedoneofthenoblestbodiesofliteratureintheannalsofthehumanitisnowtimetofacethefactthatEnglishisacrazylanguage--themostlunaticandloopyandofalllanguages.InthecrazyEnglishlanguage,theblackbirdhenisbrown,blackboardscanbegreenorblue,andblackberriesaregreenandthenredbeforetheyareripe.Evenifblackberrieswerereallyblackandblueberriesreallyblue,whatarestrawberries,cranberries,huckleberries,raspberries,andgooseberriessupposedtolookaddtothisinsanitythereisnobutterinbuttermilk,noeggineggplant,nograpeingrapefruit,nobreadinshortbread,neitherwormsnorwoodinwormwood,neithermushnorroominmushroom,neitherpinenorappleinpineapple,neitherpeasnornutsinpeanuts,andnohaminahamburger.(Infact,ifsomebodyinventedasandwichconsistingofahampattyinabun,wewouldhaveahardtimefindinganameforit.)Tomakemattersworse,Englishmuffinsweren'tinventedinEngland,friesinFrance,orDanishpastriesinDenmark.Andwediscoverevenmoreculinarymadnessinthethatsweetmeatismadefromfruit,whilesweetbread,whichisn'tsweet,ismadefromthisunreliableEnglishtongue,greyhoundsaren'talwaysgrey(orgray);pandabearsandkoalabearsaren'tbears(they'remarsupials);awoodchuckisagroundhog,whichisnotahog;ahornedtoadisalizard;glowwormsarefireflies,butfirefliesarenotflies(they'rebeetles);ladybugsandlightningbugsarealsobeetles(andto,asignificantproportionofladybugsmustbemale);aguineapigisneitherapignorfromGuinea(it'saSouthAmericanrodent);andatitmouseisneitherisliketheairwebreathe.It'sinvisible,inescapable,indispensable,andwetakeitforgranted.But,whenwetakethetimetostepbackandlistentothesoundsthatescapefromtheholesinpeople'sfacesandtoex-theparadoxesandvagariesofEnglish,wefindthathotdogscanbecold,darkroomscanbelit,homeworkcanbedoneinschool,nightmarescantakeplaceinbroaddaylightwhilemorningsicknessanddaydreamingcantakeplaceatnight,tomboysaregirlsandmidwivescanbemen,hours--especiallyhappyhoursandrushhours--oftenlastlongerthansixtyminutes,quick-sandworksveryslowly,boxingringsaresquare,silverwareandglassescanbemadeofplasticandtableclothsofpaper,mostaredialedbybeingpunched(orpushed?),andmostbathroomsdon'thaveanybathsinthem.Infact,adogcangotothebathroomunderatree--nobath,noroom;it'sstillgoingtothebathroom.Anddoesn'titseemalittlebizarrethatwegotothebathroominordertogototheisitthatawomancanmanastationbutasmancan'twomanone,thatamancanfatheramovementbutawomancan'tmotherone,andthatakingrulesakingdombutaqueendoesn'trulea?HowdidallthoseRenaissancemenreproducewhentheredon'tseemtohavebeenanyRenaissancewriterissomeonewhowrites,andastingerissomethingthatstings.Butfingersdon'tgrocersdon't,haberdashersdon't,hammersdon'tham,andhumdingersdon'tthepluraloftoothisteeth,shouldn'tthepluralofboothbe?Onegoose,twogeese--soonemoose,twoOneindex,twoindices--oneKleenex,twoIfpeopleringabelltodayandrangabellyesterday,whydon'twesaythattheyaball?Iftheywrotealetter,perhapstheyalsotheirtongue.Iftheteachertaught,whyisn'titalsotruethatthepreacher?WhyisitthatthesunshoneyesterdaywhileIshinedmyshoes,thatItreadedwaterandthentrodonthebeach,andthatIflewouttoseeaWorldSeriesgameinwhichmyfavoriteplayerfliedweconceiveaconceptionandreceiveatareception,whydon'twegrieveaandbelievea?Ifahorsehairmatismadefromthehairofhorsesandacamel'shairbrushfromthehairofcamels,fromwhatisamohaircoatmade?Ifadultscommitadultery,doinfantscommitinfantry?Ifoliveoilismadefromolives,whatdotheymakebabyoilfrom?Ifavegetarianeatsvegetables,whatdoesahumanitarianeat?(AndI'mbeginningtoworryaboutthoseauthoritarians.)Andifproandconareopposites,iscongresstheoppositeofyouhavetobelievethatallEnglishspeakersshouldbecommittedtoanasylumfortheverballyinsane.Inwhatotherlanguagedopeopledriveinaparkwayandparkinadriveway?Inwhatotherlanguagedopeoplereciteataplayandplayatarecital?Inwhatotherlanguagedoprivateseatinthegeneralmessandgeneralseatintheprivatemess?Inwhatotherlanguagedopeopleshipbytruckandsendcargobyship?Inwhatotherlanguagecanyournoserunandyourfeetcanaslimchanceandafatchancebethesameandabadlickingandagoodlickingbethesame,whileawisemanandawiseguyareopposites?Howcansharpspeechandbluntspeechbethesameandquitealotandquiteafewthesame,whileoverlookandoverseeareopposites?Howcantheweatherbehotashellonedayandcoldashellthenext?Howcantheexpressions"What'sgoingon?"and"What'scomingoff?"meanexactlythesamtonandunbuttonandtieanduntieareopposites,whyareloosenandunloosenandravelandunravelhesame?Ifbadistheoppositeofgood,hardtheoppositeofsoft,anduptheoppositeofdown,whyarebadlyandgoodly,hardlyandsofty,anduprightanddownrightnotopposingpairs?Ifharmlessactionsaretheoppositeofharmfulwhyareshamefulandshamelessbehaviorthesameandpriceyobjectslessexpensivethanpricelessappropriateandinappropriateremarksandpassableandimpassablemountaintrailsareopposites,whyareflammableandinflammablematerials,heritableandinheritableproperty,andpassiveandimpassivepeoplethesameandvaluableobjectslesstreasuredthaninvaluableones?Ifupliftisthesameasliftup,whyareupsetandsetupoppositeinmeaning?Whyarepertinentandimpertinent,cannyanduncanny,andfamousandinfamousneitheroppositesnorthesame?Howcanraiseandrazeandrecklessandbeoppositeswheneachpaircontainsthesameisitthatwhenthesunorthemoonorthestarsareout,theyarevisible,butwhenthelightsareout,theyareinvisible;thatwhenIclipacouponfromanewspaperIseparateit,butwhenIclipacoupontoanewspaper,Ifastenit;andthatwhenIwindupmywatch,Istartit,butwhenIwindupthisessay,Ishallendisacrazycanexpressionslike"I'mmadaboutmyflat,""Nofootballcoachesallowed,""I'llcomebyinthemorningandknockyouup,"and"Keepyourpeckerup"conveysuchdifferentmessagesintwocountriesthatpurporttospeakthesamecanitbeeasiertoassentthantodissentbuthardertoascendthantodescend?Whyitisthatamanwithhaironhisheadhasmorehairthanamanwithhairsonhishead;thatifyoudecidetobebadforever,youchoosetobebadforgood;andthatifyouchoosetowearonlyyourleftshoe,thenyourleftoneisrightandyourrightoneisleft?Right?