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Are there any sandbox-style group-oriented MMORPGs left?
Clandestine
Member UncommonPosts: 91
I apologize in advance if this question has been asked ad nauseum but I wasn't able to find an answer in my searches.
What do you folks think is the best sandbox -style gameplay, group-oriented MMORPG available today or coming out in the next six months? By group-oriented, I mean a game that CAN be played solo to some degree, but only in short bursts or if absolutely necessary, because experience benefits are not good enough for one to solo regularly - think DAoC as it was in the beginning. I played DAoC for years and it used to be that, but now it is something very different. It seems as if solo-oriented, quest-based games have overtaken the former.
Any information would be welcome.
Comments
I don't consider DAOC sandbox. I think many people on this site would say the same. I don't know of any forced grouping game that was also a sandbox game.
In fact I would go so far as to say that it does not make any sense. It makes sense in a sandbox game for some activities to take many people. Holding sovreignity in EvE is essentially like being a small country especiall if you have multiple systems. It only makes sense that require cooperation among many individuals.
But requireing a trader to group to run a trade route would be silly.
The idea of forced grouping is an artifact of games that are essentially artficial.
If by sandbox you mean an open world where people basically run around and find good grind spots for xp rather quest or run instances. Then no there are not many western MMORPGs that have this anymore, I think some Asian games do. However if you try to say this is a sandbox game the disgruntled former SWG players may do mean things to you.
AC is still rollin along. but it's far from new.
You may want to try eve online. Some will say its hard as hell to catch up but dont listen to them. yes there are players who are way ahead but just stay out of 0 sec space. Eve is a great game and i enjoy it much. Only down side is its all in space (thats only a negative if you dont like space)
Theres also a new game coming out next year called earthrise. Its gonna be great I think. But thats just my opinion. As for anything else there really isnt much out there. SWG WAS good but sux now. Yeah im disgruntled
You will be surprised how many people who are now in Eve played e&b and swg..
You will be surprised how many people who are now in Eve played e&b and swg..
Every time i play eve its with a friend and i tend to stay out of chat except with my bud. So i havent had the chance to actually see many SWG vets. Though i would bet there would be quite a few.
Yeh they made a mistake trying to change SWG because people don't want a 2nd WOW they want something different, noone can compete with WOW unless they offer them more but all the NGE offered them more of is bugs.
I never played it but Tale of the Desert may qualify
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_in_the_Desert
EQ2 fan sites
As mentioned above - Eve - if you like sci-fi/space games.
Ryzom, I believe, is still running for subscribers, but not taking any new subs, so you can't leave the trial island. Ryzom was the best Fantasy sandbox game, hands down.
On the other hand, Sandbox is as Sandbox does...my wife & I treat LOTRO as a sandbox game and quest or not, craft or not, psychotically just randomly kill things or not, etc as we please. I don't think we've finished any of the Epic quests past the first...
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
Try Asheron's Call 1
Ryzom (which is Science-Fantasy), but its future is uncertain.
It is possible to gain mainland access on a trial account by purchasing a Ryzom box that has a long-ago-prepaid account key included, and using that key to activate the trial account.
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In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on August 13, 2008.
There are only a few and they are all aged.
UO, Ryzom and EVE
I see a few people have mentioned AC. Interesting choice. I wouldn't call it an actual "sandbox" but it does come sort of close in many ways.
I just got my old passport account recovered so my old AC toon lives again! (At least for the next 30 days, we will see)
I don't know if there are any real sandbox games releasing in the near future. Conan claims to have some sandbox elements but I have a gut feeling the reality is going to be very different.
Also, take a look at Pirates of the Burning Sea. Its pretty good. Again, not a true sandbox but very close. The ship portion is kinda like EVE but with a level scheme attached to it (which really messes it up IMHO). The Avatar system....well....lets just say it could have been polished up a bit more. The scope of the game does hold a lot of promise.
I think it could shape up to easily be one of the better games for the type of player looking for an alternitive to todays WoW style, fantasy, cookie cutters.
Good luck.
I agree that DAoC is not sandbox, it does however gave us RvR and the possebility to have an impact on the world ( take keeps and hold them, steal the enemy relic, open Darkness Falls etc ). It was a battle that actually meant something, with territorial control.
In some ways this is similar to EVE, but agreed less deep then EVE.
I think the OP is looking for something more from mmorpg's then a bunch of instances tied together by l33t lewt.
Anyway, if you look for sandbox style games, there are not many left.
EVE online is a good game, if you can cope with the slow combat style, the absence of online character progression and dull PvE. If you can get thru all this, then a world of player driven economics, hardcore pvp, and actual world domination will open for you. ( I am still trying to get there myself
)
Ryzom looks nice, but I couldn't get off the starter island. Now if I would find a retail box like someone suggested I might still try it out. However, the game's financial situation is highly unstable.
You may want to try Jumpgate
AFAIK AC1 isnt a sandbox, but does have a skill system.
Tales of the Desert is surrounded with bad vibes, the community doesnt like new people. However it is a sandbox.
UO is obviously a sandbox, but got screwed over with trammel.
I guess the only 2 games that currently have my interest are :
)
WAR
and even more so :
Earthrise, which seems the only game in development ( or released for that matter ) that brings us back the SWG pre-cu/nge feeling. ( hopefully with less bugs and more content
Greetz
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
Hmm, wouldn't of called DAoC a sandbox game.
But to answer your question: I'd say no. Theres nothing that is exactly as you mentioned. There is similar games like EvE, and maybe a few others?
_________
Currently playing: Black Desert Korea (Waiting for EU)
Always hating on instances in MMOs! Open worlds, open PvP, territory control and housing please. More persistence, more fun.
lol, give up on MMO's for sandbox at this time.. play Mass Effect or something, you get to pick your party members and its totally sandboxy!
Yeah, forget about sanbox MMOs for atleast 2008. Play and have fun with other games until we get a good sandbox MMO released.
well EVE has now more subscribers than it ever had, more active players at any given time than they ever had (42000 players was a very recent new max) and the world and possibilities are greater than ever before...
it is certainly "aged" but more like wine, and not like a game that has almost no subscribers any more
plus, EVE had a complete engine overhaul very recently. it now looks like next gen
EVE is a strange beast. The PVE combat feels a little slow. The PVP combat goes by in a blink of an eye though cause you will be gripping your seat praying warp kicks in if you're in the fleet battles.
Some of the sandbox PVE portions are more interesting in EVE. Mining is boring to most of us but its more interesting doing it with a team. Its also interesting mining in 0.0 at least the constant threat of being sieged by our enemy corps kept me awake
I really enjoy the stock and market manipulation in EVE.
Been meaning to return maybe after i get my new computer built next week.
well EVE has now more subscribers than it ever had, more active players at any given time than they ever had (42000 players was a very recent new max) and the world and possibilities are greater than ever before...
it is certainly "aged" but more like wine, and not like a game that has almost no subscribers any more
plus, EVE had a complete engine overhaul very recently. it now looks like next gen
Yeah when I say "aged" I don't mean it in a bad wayMost of the time the older games are better then any of the new releases since 2004 but they struggle with pops. Generally speaking I always recommend an older game to a serious MMO player.
I have no idea what SANDBOX means.To me that is something little kids play in because they can't bring the beach home with them.I wish people would quit making up these ridiculous titles for things they don't like.I am not saying you made it up or are using it because you hate a certain type of game play,but i know whoever started it,was just jealous of a game style or game makeup whatever.I think of sandbox i think of 4 corners,that was how games were built in the very old days....4 corners a 30x30 map.I am sure however this is not what people are talking about,because they are making up there own terminology.
To me there is rpg's that are big/small/instanced,sci-fi/adventuring/fantasy ect ect,but nothing i would use the term SANDBOX on.As far as the BEST group oriented game??pfft that's super easy FFXI in a landslide.In all honesty? i really don't think there is another game on the market that has built all of it's content around group play.FFXi has now added some solo stuff but it's very limited and only there to indulge the aging maxxed out players.It is 100% impossible to max level first time through in this game going solo.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox_game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A sandbox game (or a video game with an optional sandbox mode) is a video game with an open-ended and non-linear style of gameplay, or a mode of gameplay within a game that is more often played in a goal-directed manner. The sandbox analogy is used to describe this style of gaming because, as with a physical sandbox, the user is simply allowed to do what he or she wishes (with the available game elements and within the limitations of the game engine — the metaphoric toys within, and boundaries of, the sandbox). This free-form experimentation is either an end unto itself — in contrast to competing models of gaming — or is a variant modality that has no effect on more traditional or usual play of the same game, such as scores, game level advancement milestones, player rankings, etc. Just as a real-world sandbox can be smoothed out and resculpted again and again, so the sandbox game or game mode can be played and explored repeatedly without a linear "plot" or a particular set of expectations, nor any lasting gameplay consequences.
Role-playing games, including MMORPGs, and various other types of games can be sandbox games as well. The best selling PC game of all time, The Sims, is a sandbox-style creation (though its predecessor, SimCity, has been described as merely open-ended[Space trading and combat simulators, such as Elite and Freelancer, are examples of sandbox games.
More "traditional" goal-oriented video games sometimes offer a sandbox mode, usually an option that allows the player more freedom by lifting some of the normal rules of gameplay. For example, the player may no longer have to worry about restricting resource requirements (such as having enough money to complete an action), nor be required to complete storyline goals. The "god mode" and level editors offered by many combat games effectively convert them into sandboxes, allowing the player to explore every cranny of the game map without having to fend off enemies.
is just a term commonly used just like Pk's PvP etc etc.
I have no idea what SANDBOX means.To me that is something little kids play in because they can't bring the beach home with them.I wish people would quit making up these ridiculous titles for things they don't like.I am not saying you made it up or are using it because you hate a certain type of game play,but i know whoever started it,was just jealous of a game style or game makeup whatever.I think of sandbox i think of 4 corners,that was how games were built in the very old days....4 corners a 30x30 map.I am sure however this is not what people are talking about,because they are making up there own terminology.
To me there is rpg's that are big/small/instanced,sci-fi/adventuring/fantasy ect ect,but nothing i would use the term SANDBOX on.As far as the BEST group oriented game??pfft that's super easy FFXI in a landslide.In all honesty? i really don't think there is another game on the market that has built all of it's content around group play.FFXi has now added some solo stuff but it's very limited and only there to indulge the aging maxxed out players.It is 100% impossible to max level first time through in this game going solo.
Anybody smell cave dust?
I just have to comment here, as this has not been my impression at all. I have played each version of the game a little bit (maybe a few months) so every time I start in I am "new". I always have vets in game spam me wanting to help out, it's one of the better communities I have played with.
I don't currently play, it takes too much time to accomplish anything and can be pretty slow, but don't dis the community. They will get offended if newbies go in and complain about not being able to fight or how boring it is though...