Playing MMORPGs has changed significantly over the years. We present to you 5 things that only true MMORPG veterans still know.
MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or The Elder Scrolls Online are now one of the biggest pastimes overall. They are easy to install, often cost little, and can captivate for many hours. But it wasn’t always like that before. In the “old days”, anyone wanting to play an MMORPG had to deal with a variety of problems that today sound like stories from the distant Middle Ages.
It’s time for 5 things that only true MMORPG veterans will remember.
1. The Mammoth Task of Installation
Anticipation is the greatest joy – or at least that’s what they say. When installing PC games, especially extensive MMORPGs, this holds particularly true. When bringing home a new game, one had to prepare for a lengthy installation – often across several CDs.
Completely excited, one would insert CD after CD into the drive and watch the installation bar move forward millimeter by millimeter. If nothing moved, one would even press a ruler or pen against the screen to see if the bar truly wasn’t moving any further.
So one often waited an hour or longer expectantly in front of the computer, hoping that the grayed-out “Play” button would finally be filled with life.
And anyone thinking: “Okay, why didn’t you play something else during the installation?” – Oh, my sweet summer child.
Most computers back then were so busy with the installation of a large game that one wouldn’t even dare to start Minesweeper in the meantime. Who knew back then if that would overload the PC and lead to a crash? A risk no sensible gamer would ever take.
2. The Infinite Value of Magazine CDs
Even though it sounds a bit like the grandpa from the war recounting stories – back then, so-called “magazine CDs” (or magazine DVDs) were something very special. It could happen that on one of those discs, you found the latest patch for your favorite game. While this was only “nice” for single-player games, it was a real blessing for MMORPG players. With a normal internet connection, downloading could often take many hours.
Not only did this lose valuable time while playing, but it could also become quite costly. In most cases, the internet connection wasn’t charged monthly per flat rate but rather strictly by the minute – and that with a transmission rate so low that even images in 640×480 format took several seconds to load.
You always had that satisfied sparkle in your eyes when magazines like GameStar or Bravo Screenfun included the latest patch for a game. Just that was often worth the price of such magazines.
3. Failed Downloads
If there was no saving magazine CD or the only friend with turbo internet didn’t have a USB stick to lend, nothing worked. Patches had to be downloaded manually and that took its time back then. Depending on the game and update, the complete patch process could easily take four, five hours or longer.
Particularly enjoyable were those moments when you returned to the computer after hours, ready to immerse yourself in the game – only to find such a message in disbelief:
The file haettestduwohlgerne.cab has an error in the segment waerewichtiggewesen.data. The download process was aborted.
Unlike today, where you can simply resume the download, back then that often meant: Everything from scratch. If you meet relaxed players in MMORPGs today who apparently “have all the time in the world” – they’ve probably trained that over the years through hellish experiences.
4. “Talking to Yourself” at Home Leading to Connection Breaks
If back then you lived with your parents or had a partner who had little understanding of gaming, you knew the situation: Suddenly the connection to the game broke. As Murphy’s law would have it, of course at the worst time.
You took off the headphones and heard someone in the next room engaging in a self-talk. Oh, no, not that – it was a phone call.
In many households back then, there was exactly one line for internet access – and that ran over the phone line. In plain language, this meant anyone wanting to surf the internet or play games could only do so until someone wanted to make a phone call.
When the phone was used, the internet connection dropped. The understanding among people who didn’t comprehend MMORPGs (or simply weren’t interested) was rather low.
- “Do you really need to be on the internet that much? Just download the game.”
- “Then just hit pause until I’m done.”
- “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d notice if I just called Grandma for a second.”
Yes, I do notice. And unfortunately, all my teammates do too. Thanks.
5. All MMORPGs Had the Same Soundtrack
Did you know that MMORPGs back then all used the same soundtrack? No? Then listen, it was the opening theme of every game.
If you didn’t understand the last point, consider yourself lucky. No one would want to impose that on anyone today.
Do you also have a few (annoying) things from the past that thankfully no longer belong to gaming?
