Access to limited areas is not a problem to me personally, and yes, I've been locked out due to discarded quests. However, should the current trend continue, I can envision a Yliakum future in which more experienced players will be locked away in restricted areas, leaving future new players out. Is this a future we really want to see in Yliakum?
Honestly I think having a "restricted area" is one of the dumbest ideas the devs have done so far. That's one of the reasons I've only been logged in for about an hour in the past two weeks, instead of two or three hours a day like I used to play. The game hasn't significantly improved in the nearly year and a half that I've been playing.
There have been no new *useful* spells.
No new *useful* weapons.
Not a single new NPC model added.
Not a single new player model added.
The only new skins are for armor, and only for some of the models.
They did add crafting, but it's boring as hell, is quite buggy, requires ridiculous amounts of ore, and you can't craft axes.
Weapon repair was added... but it's just an nuisance and doesn't add enjoyment to the game.
Armor repair doesn't work.
There's a huge list of skills in the Stats section, but just like 16 months ago when I started, they don't work and/or can't be trained.
No game sounds except for spells. If you turn off the music, PS is pretty much silent.
No thieving skills.
The only real way to earn PP is through combat. Why does a miner have to kill monsters in order to train his mining?
Quests are still as broken and lame as before.
NPC "AI" is non-existent.
There is no logic to monster damage and experience. Example: in the arena, there is a rogue that a brand new character can easily kill. It gives 700 experience. Right next to it is an identical-looking rogue that is many times stronger, and is nearly impossible for a new character to kill. It only gives 80 experience. Why does the weak one give high experience while the strong one gives low experience?! Same thing with tefusang. One tefu gives 6000 experience, while one gives less than 100 experience, yet they look exactly the same and are the same size. I see poor noobies kill one monster, realize "hey I can kill a tefu easily!" then hit another one, and die in one hit.
In my opinion, Planeshift has stagnated, and what little development that is happening is going in circles. I realized this is a free game, but PS is going nowhere. Other free 3D MMORPG games like Rappelz are miles ahead of PS, and improving far faster.
I'm done with being a "tester" in a "pre-alpha" game that was pre-alpha years ago, and I'd bet money that it will still be a pre-alpha in 3 years from now, assuming it doesn't die by then.
-Roahn
