I'm in pretty much the same situation and totally understand where you're coming from. I'm very confident that Alganon will be the ideal MMO for people in similar situations as us and provide them with the features and tools to compete with the hardcore gamers or players who can spend a large portion of their day behind a computer.

I believe that players who suggest soloers in MMO's just go play a solo game, do not understand or refuse to accept that the very definition of MMORPG, is simply Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. It does not contain any requirement to group, it merely means a game that can accomodate many players, simultaneously within the designed game world. Game play style is up to the individual.

I personally game for about 10:00 pm et until I tire which can be up to 6:00 am the next morning. Therefore I see many from Europe and the Oceanic areas on, especially Australians\New Zealanders.  Perhaps the key lies in what others have written in their recent blogs, smaller, more intimate groups, which can yield a more personal gaming experience; we shall see!

That's one of the biggest aspects in the game for me. Making friends. The community, play, talk and have fun together. Solo is enjoyable in its own way, as I you say. You are free to go afk, and do what you want. I'm more of a teamplayer though in general. But sometimes I like to solo as well. 

Hey, thanks for reading my novel, Mordechai! 

It is kind of funny, I re-read my blog and noticed that it sure came off kind of harsh on soloing.  Funny thing is, that I frequently solo any MMO I am playing, even if there's a trio or duo.  It is generally to progress some certain goal (crafting/city building in Conan, exp-ing the Brotherhood in Vanguard so we can be of the right level to take on the next level of the shadowhound quest, for example).

So I am here to agree with you all!  Soloing an MMO has great merits, especially if you have to go AFK frequently.  I love the Brotherhood in Vanguard, because my brother and I can solo seperately and prgress the brotherhood, seperately, but together.  I hope there is something similar with Families in this game.  If you can feel like you are part of a team, even as soloers, that's genius!

I've really only put any amount of time into two 3d MMO's Final Fantasy Online and WoW.  I bounced back and forth between the two for some time before I finally settled on WoW because I have the ability to run off and do stuff by myself and not be dependent on a 5 man team.  I can listen to guild chat and throw up my two cents, and when I want to I can raid with the rest of them.  I really enjoy games where there is a good mix of solo/group play.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Alganon take off and seeing how things work, especially the healing class.  I love to play a healer but depending on how its done its a very hard class to play if you want to do things by yourself.  Which was the main reason i left ffo, you couldn't do anything as a healer, but on wow as a druid I can do a bit of whatever I feel like.

ime with the poster with my family life interupting gameplay alot i tend to play solo i play wow atm and dont do many instances becouse ime not reliable enough i still enjoy the game and find plenty to do like lvl another alt lol but i do find i miss out on alot of the rewards you get from doing an instance such as the badges and weapon drops so i rely on the auction house alot. hope this dosent sound to much like a whinge as its not ment to be. maybe i can bribe my son who is a cod 4 fanatic to run instances for me lol

I am also hoping that this game can offer something for the solo gamer, I used to be a raid fanatic but my life has changed so that I no longer have the time to raid, I tried pvp battlegrounds for a while but the Arena system on wow started to frustrate, I'm really hoping that this game can reward the solo gamer as much as the pvp and the raid gamer.
I am also a big believer that a solo gamer has plenty to offer to a guild my old GM was a solo gamer which meant he was always available to chat as not tied up raiding and he also had a more objective view than those whose emotions sometimes got carried away in a raid.

I believe the mmorpg means something different than most players, m = massive, m= multiplayer,  just means that alot of people can play at the same time. If these games were meant to be played only in a group it would be DDO all the time. What alot people see is MSORPG or massive social online role playing game.

I too have alot of rl responsibility and need alot of AFK time so I tend to find the best soloing character that fits my play style. For WAR I was OTGs Destruction Chapter Leader for awhile and even when I was allowed to play there was hardly anytime to get into any serious groups for dungeons and PvP. Its not that I don't want to group, in some cases I can't.

I have to agree that a lot of mmorpg forget that some players like to solo and only do dungeons and partying in endgames. I personnally wish for a game that can deliver some solo only dungeons. 

Nice blog, I notice a few inconsiderate souls giving it the it's an MMO go play a solo game... so lets me just point something out. In general the MMO aspects regarding chat and trading suit multi player , this game is designed as a core with solo play in mind and as such I will be definitley give it a try just because of this.

I really hate people who try to pidgeon hole for whatever reason and believe they are wrong.. And again nice Blog agree 100% with the poster.

Nice blog, I notice a few inconsiderate souls giving it the it's an MMO go play a solo game... so lets me just point something out. In general the MMO aspects regarding chat and trading suit multi player , this game is designed as a core with solo play in mind and as such I will be definitley give it a try just because of this.

I really hate people who try to pidgeon hole for whatever reason and believe they are wrong.. And again nice Blog agree 100% with the poster.

I am also a player who spends a great deal of time soloing ... now.    I probably could be classifed as a "backup support" player.  While soloing, I gather or obtain items/skills that I don't need but I know will be of use in a group battle or if called upon in an emergency. 

There are days/nights that I want to be left alone to solo and there are times when I jump right in to help someone else or a group.    I may have chat very visible or I may do anything possible to ignore chat.  My mother is in hospice and I have noticed that the less time she has, the more time I revert to solo playing at night.  Probably as a way to recenter or recharge.  Also, the times when I am struggling to learn a new skill or am focusing on crafting a much needed item, I solo.

There is one game I am playing that in order to advance (to finish out a realm) you must battle with a group (only someone with super skills can win soloing).   I understand the concept  of the comradery of group battling but the long term game friends I developed before my life changed are asleep when I am playing in the middle of the night.   

It is interesting to me that soloing is talked about in so many game forums.  I think that if a poll was taken it would show that players solo periodically rather than 100% of the time.

I have played in many MMOs in both solo and guilded modes. The majority of the time I spend as a solo adventurer with a small portion of ny time in a clan or guild support role.  Although I spend a lot of time on line gamming, I have a family that is the priority in my life. My wife is also a gammer who prefers solo to group activity. Guilds can be great social gatherings as long as there is a common thread throughout the membership. I found that the delays, overbearing tanks, and thse who plat political games over whelm a lot of the enjoyment of a raid / mat gathering. When soloing you meet many more players who may become good friends with worldwide views. Solo play in an MMO  lets you play at your pace, trade with people, exchange views, and join groups on your schedule. You can stop whenever a grandchild needs a hand without having to explain 'why' to someone that is probably just a couple of years older. Since my reflexes are a bit slower than they once were, I dont have to make excuses why I didnt get that bright bauble a mob dropped fast enough or get a heal off quick enough. Please do not think I dislike clans and guilds - I met my wife in a MMO clan.

I played WoW for more than 2 years before joining my first guild. I loved exploring and following the various storylines.  Even when I joined a guild then, the politics going on left a bad taste in my mouth and I still found myself soloing, except for chatting with guildies and getting and giving advice. Since then I've run the gamut from RP guilds to serious raiding guilds, but like you, my family life will most likely have me mostly soloing, but I still love the sense of being part of something.

I think that the majority of people out there relate to people with family life in the real world needing to be afk off and on more regularly than others.  I think that the people that refuse to understand this have no family requirements and might even be younger/teen players.  The fact that people suggest that you go off and play a single player game because of this is ridiculous.  I really think the majority of players tend to both solo and group.  Some people solo more than others and some people group more than others depending on the real life and their personality.  Anyone that suggests you just go away because you want to solo is a closed minded fool.  I personally like both but I'm a bit of a loner and I do tend to solo more.  As you said, I like the crafting and the economy.  Its realistic to expect some people to be more introverted and some to be more extroverted, its very unrealistic to expect ANYONE to play with the same style as you play but this will never end.  lol  I've played MMOs for over 10 years now and the selfish me first attitude has always been there and will never go away.  You just have to brush it off and remind yourself that there really are a lot of closed minded people out there that only see the world the way they want to see it and not for what it really is.

I'm a newish private beta player and I do think that I'd like to play the game after it launches.  I do solo more than most people but I like to group sometimes too.  I enjoy crafting when the mood hits and trading also.  I'm interested in a guild on Rokk server, my main/highest lvl toon is lvl 9 I think, a priest.  I'd love to find a guild so that I can banter now and then and get/give advise here and there.  My toon is Rynna, feel free to contact me in game if you have a guild suggestion.  Thanks.

I solo almost exclusively. The reason I play mmo's is that I feel that I am not alone while playing. Even if there are no other characters on screen, there is still chat going on. Single player games can feel a bit lonely.

Quite frankly, I am a terrible gamer, so my presence in a group is rarely a GOOD thing. :)

I also solo almost exclusively.  I don't mind teaming up now and then, but like the poster I have other obligations that often interrupt my game time. I enjoy being in a dynamic universe with others, but I look at it more like an online hobby than an online game.

My hobby is developing my online character while exploring an alternate world, which is why offline advancement is an essential part of  any MMO I'm going to play.  I'm not interested in any grinding whatsoever, nor in rushing through to any end content.

Nice post.