Can I have MMOFPS yet?

goneglockin

We're coming up on 6 years since the release of PlanetSide.  That's a long time...  We have computers that are many times more powerful, wider broadband availability, higher speeds, better servers...  What is the freaking hold up?  There is a tremendous untapped market for someone to pick up where PlanetSide left off. 

The only folks getting on board with MMOFPS speak chinese or korean, without any western support, which does me no good.  Even if those folks were active in the western markets, the two titles I'm referring to could hardly be called "progress."  Ones a step backward from PlanetSide with instances, the other is a literal copyright infringing rip-off.

I swear to god developers better not be holding out on me.  If they're saving MMOFPS for those console heathens when more capable next-gen boxes come around, I will scour the earth for the darkest secrets of voodoo magic, solely for the purpose of cursing those responsible until they are absolutely miserable.  PS3 already has something in the works called a "Massive Action Game" or MAG.  It's not a good sign.

There is no good reason why the genre is still lacking it's legs, to be up and running, on the PC.  The reasons are simply a lack of creativity, initiative, insight or willpower.  So what if PlanetSide didn't do so hot in subscriber retention?  So what if Tabula Rasa is no more?  It's not a failing of the genre's potential- it's a failing of those titles' parent companies.  The MMORPG market isn't getting on board with MMOFPS?  Go market to someone else, there's more traditional multiplayer FPS gamers anyhow.

Someone better start cracking that whip... Or I'm gonna drop by every capable dev studio with my own and I'll find you no matter how many hiding places are in your office.

NOW GET TO WORK!

 

P.S.

Here's to PlanetSide!  Thanks for the memories and god damn you for breaking my heart.

skyexile

and i thought i loved planetside.

 

closest thing coming out is global agenda, though it would seem they're afraid of doing the whole open world combat thing. another intresting one might be jumpage evolution if piloting was your thing.

goneglockin

Yeah, there's really nothing "close." 

You either get the FPS genre or you don't.  SoE clearly does not get it as Global Agenda is going to be a dice-roll quasi-shooter.  Also vehicle sims or "action games" like Jumpgate aren't really considered "FPS games."  I liked Mechwarrior 2 back in the day but comparing it with Doom or Duke 3D is apples to oranges.  FPS games aren't just defined by use of a particular perspective and the use of projectiles- they are synonymous with a particular flavor of up-close and personal wet work.

Global Agenda, a sheep in wolf's clothing.  There are a handful of other MMORPG's with FPS 'elements' or 'stylizing' thrown in and they're not contributing to what MMOFPS is going to be either.

P.S.

You're one of the people I actually remember exile.  I played with you on the vanu a lot.  Darc/Darcsyde.  Howdy.

TenBlue

Have you tried World War II Online?  It's not your typical fast paced FPS but it's pretty good.

Jimmy_Scythe

here's a list of what's currently either out or on the pad. I know that some of those aren't technically MMOFPS and a few of them aren't even avialable anymore, but it's really all we's got.

Caveslayer

The problem with a new MMOFPS is finding a company that believes in the product.  If you look at what WoW has done to the MMO scene most companies would rather rip off whats already proven to be successful then to try something new, which is what planetside and for that sake WoW was.  Another issue is that sony has openly stated planetside as a failure when the problem was not the game it was the development.  I've said for a wile that SOE should release a game, keep it for a year and sell it off at it's peak because then enjoy destroying their own games key example would be SWG.  I personally missed the lancer sniper, 3 shot striker, not so much quad shot tho .   sure things were imbalenced but because they basicly made all the sides the same they ruined the game.

Oh and i promise you global agenda is no planetside, in no way shape or form so if you had any flicker of hope, kill it. 

PatchDay

MMOFPS: Jumpgate Evolution & Fallen Earth. Also there is Darkfall Online which is in some kind of closed paid beta or something.

Spellborn was meh for me. The heavy directed quest structure brought it down

 

 

Okay really there is nothing close to MMOFPS. Just MMORPG+FPS. In all titles I list you have to grind out XP. From what i understand in planetside it was more like BF2142 where you dont have to grind for vertical growth

Caveslayer

Basicly everything was broken down into certificates and you can learn anything if you had enough, all leveling did was give you more certs to work with. 

Ekibiogami

They need to make Planetside 2.

Fix the few things that were wrong with it and Bump up the Gfx and lets play... heck I wouldent mind 99% the same game world.

RavZterz

http://welkin4591.com/

 

Might wanna check that out if you haven't already.

Leethe

What happened to Huxley?

just1opinion

Wow, and all this time I thought that Tabula Rasa had been an MMOFPS....no?  O.o

Well...I suppose it doesn't matter now, since it's gone, but let's see....The Agency is incoming, although it's under the watchful eye of Sony Online Entertainment, which might prove to be a curse for it.  The Agency can be played in first person, it definitely includes firearms, but it also is an espionage thing, so if you're not into being a gun toting spy, then maybe it's still not what you had in mind.

Good thread...good question.

goneglockin

Welkin is the one I made reference to in my OP.  It is almost literally a re-skinned PlanetSide and it's Chinese support only.  Westerners can play- sure, but even I'm not that desperate.  The Agency is a different animal altogether.

I am really not that picky.  All I need is something that has english/western support, non-instanced battles supporting 256 players or more and fundamental FPS gameplay mechanics... 

...That is to say, NO DICE-ROLLS!!!  No games that require you to stop moving to get a practical CoF.  Some of these games have a CoF spread that wouldn't let you hit the broad side of a fire engine at 10 paces if you're moving at anything faster than a crawl.  RIDICULOUS!  If it doesn't play like a "real" FPS game it's not an MMOFPS.

Is this too much to ask?

 

MajorBiggs

Neocron had it for me. I freakin loved it. It was like Deus Ex RPG/FPS skill-based (pretty much) gameplay. Guns were sex.

gladosrev2

I do not think a FPS MMO would be a success compared to any of the major MMO RPG's currently on the market. Mainly due to the connection limits and high pings that are no big deal for slow paced MMO's where you lock on a target and just press a few buttons while drinking tea. A FPS requires transfering actions and reactions that are miliseconds apart in order to be playable or else you will miss that headshot you were so sure about and your strafe will come a bit too late even though you reacted on time. Even on 12-24 people servers in current FPS games you get high ping from time to time, usually more often than you'd like to. It has nothing to do with the processing power of our PC's, the network is not yet ready to handle tens of thousands of players or even hundreds for that matter, if the package transfer rate betwen all of them has to be done in miliseconds. It's annoying enough on small 24 people servers... Locally it could be probably done, in more advanced regions, but a MMO needs to reach a large audience... I believe this could be the reason why we dont see FPS MMO's yet. I might be wrong though.

goneglockin

Originally posted by gladosrev2


It has nothing to do with the processing power of our PC's, the network is not yet ready to handle tens of thousands of players or even hundreds for that matter, if the package transfer rate betwen all of them has to be done in miliseconds.

 

It's been done, and it was done in 2003- a relative stone age compared to now when it comes to advancement with tech.  Tech is not an excuse.

 

Rasputin

You can blame WoW.

The WoW model has blinded the established industry to such a degree that nothing else is attempted by them.

The revolution will come from below, it can never come from above. Those sitting at the top wil always defend what they have. This goes for all kinds of revolutions, including the one that is bound to happen in the gaming industry.

syllvenwood

you all have a few mmofps games, cod4, cod.waw, and killzone 2 go have fun with them

John.A.Zoid

Theres no developers ready to take the risk yet, even though Planetside made a profit before SOE ruined it and everyone left. With the way the economy is aswel then we'll see even less risks being taken. Though tbh I think it is even more risk making a WoW clone cause people will just play WoW instead and leave your game... like WAR.

LynxJSA

Originally posted by gladosrev2


I do not think a FPS MMO would be a success compared to any of the major MMO RPG's currently on the market. Mainly due to the connection limits and high pings that are no big deal for slow paced MMO's where you lock on a target and just press a few buttons while drinking tea. A FPS requires transfering actions and reactions that are miliseconds apart in order to be playable or else you will miss that headshot you were so sure about and your strafe will come a bit too late even though you reacted on time.

 

The hurdle isn't the speed and reaction of servers, but the speed and reaction of players. In an FPS, it is player skill ( reflexes, twitch gaming, etc) that determine the outcome. Most MMO gamers really do not want a game that is based on player skill because it means an unlevel playing field. Improving how you play a game requires learning and practice, something most people either will not or cannot do. The current design of most MMOs allows a person to improve their character without putting any demands on the player to improve their ability at playing the game. The playing field is in current games is perceived as levelled because people know all they need to do is put in the time to be on par with others.

 

Ihmotepp

Originally posted by LynxJSA

Originally posted by gladosrev2


I do not think a FPS MMO would be a success compared to any of the major MMO RPG's currently on the market. Mainly due to the connection limits and high pings that are no big deal for slow paced MMO's where you lock on a target and just press a few buttons while drinking tea. A FPS requires transfering actions and reactions that are miliseconds apart in order to be playable or else you will miss that headshot you were so sure about and your strafe will come a bit too late even though you reacted on time.

 

The hurdle isn't the speed and reaction of servers, but the speed and reaction of players. In an FPS, it is player skill ( reflexes, twitch gaming, etc) that determine the outcome. Most MMO gamers really do not want a game that is based on player skill because it means an unlevel playing field. Improving how you play a game requires learning and practice, something most people either will not or cannot do. The current design of most MMOs allows a person to improve their character without putting any demands on the player to improve their ability at playing the game. The playing field is in current games is perceived as levelled because people know all they need to do is put in the time to be on par with others.

 

 

I think you're almost there, but not quite. Many players like BOTH kinds of games. For example, I've spoken with countless MMORPG players, that also like to play Call of Duty, or Battlefield games, and other First Person Shooters.

Most don't see the need for a  MASSIVE first person shooter. Why? Well, a typical FPS online is 24 vs 24, or 48 vs 48, sometimes bigger. You have all the players you need for targets, and all the players you need shooting at you to make it challenging, PLUS the lag is minimal. Can you shoot a THOUSAND players at once? Probably not, so what's the point really in having more than 48 vs 48?

But, people ALSO like playing Role playing games, which means the CHARACTER is more important in determining the outcome than the PLAYER. It's enjoyable to build a roleplaying character in games like KOTOR, a single player RPG, or in games like MMORPGs.

So it's not that people can ONLY play RPGs because they have no twitch skills. It's that people like BOTH kinds of games, not just one. I played Call of Duty till my fingers hurt, but would not want that combat style in my MMORPG. I play MMORPGs to take a break from First Person Shooters, and vice a versa.

Rasputin

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid


Theres no developers ready to take the risk yet, even though Planetside made a profit before SOE ruined it and everyone left. With the way the economy is aswel then we'll see even less risks being taken. Though tbh I think it is even more risk making a WoW clone cause people will just play WoW instead and leave your game... like WAR.

 

Agreed.

But don't underestimate the stupidity of bean counters.

Ryjelblood

I'd kill for a solid mmofps at this point, Im sick of the fantasy theme no-skill clickfests. 

My vote would be for a Tribes MMOFPS, I loved Tribes.

dragonrebel

 i would say, wiat for face of mankind, but its not brainless shooting, there is a lot of roleplaying involved

 

www.fomportal.com

Obiyer

Well I played Infantry back in 2002 I think, then went to Planetside around 2004. It was a logical jump I guess. I enjoyed my time at Planetside, and got me hooked on the niche game market. It's not really the massiveness of it, but the requirement of a lot of teamwork to achieve something. Very few gaming experiences I had where I crashed into a vanguard with a reaver, spawned back at base with a Skyguard and drove there to pick up my outfit mates who managed to get the LLU (a thing which we need to cap certain bases, think flags). Drive it to our base with a vanguard (tank) and a reaver (aircraft with rockets) on our tail.

And it may sound funny but the massiveness isn't there in games like COD 4, you and your friends can't hop in a tank and blow up some stuff. Or get into a bomber and then bail out over a base and shoot the other team with chainguns (I played the Terran Republic). Planetside is a unique game, it really deserves a sequel but instead SOE puts money in stuff like: The Realm Online and card battle games. Who knows, probably much cheaper to develop and a great return on investment. Can't live in the past though! Planetside is still around, maybe we gamers should appreciate what's still around rather than always looking outwards and not seeing what we got now. Anyway, my 2 c.

xBrando

Huxley.