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Thundar The Barbarian MMORPG? Does science and sorcery mix?
hidden1
Member UncommonPosts: 1,244
Okay I know I've stated before how much I have disdain for MMO's that follow "Name Branding" such as Conan, StarTrek, Star Gate, Star Wars, etc... But this would be about the only Name Brand world I would definately like. Why? Think of it, post apocolyptic Earth where a commet crashes into our moon and causing everything we know turned upside-down. If you're like me and tired of the same old Fantasy only or Sci_fi only MMO's out there. Would this be a Name Brand that could work for an MMO environment? Or is science and sorcery in MMO like oil and water?
Discuss.
Comments
Science and magic in one game fits perfectly fine if it's done good. Just look at Arcanum!
I'd totally play a game that has a mix between those.
The speed of the mole and the power of steel is my weapon
HAH!
EPIC MOUNT!
In the year 1994, a comet hurtles between Earth and the moon. The moon is destroyed, and the Earth loses its ozone layer--causing the entire planet to be laid waste. Centuries later, Earth has become "a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery," inhabited by various evildoers, scavengers, and magicians. Thundarr, a warrior who wields a powerful sword, is joined by his friends Ookla the Mok and Princess Ariel as they make their way through this strange world.
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Lords of Light!
Sounds good to me. Ryzom has a mix of tech and fantasy that works just fine. Sword of the New World does this too.
Awesome. That sounds like a direct quote from the cartoon's openning. And might I add a perfect openning to an MMO version. I think I would play Ookla the Mok race. Very cool pics, they bring back some fond Saturday morning memories.
There were single player RPG's back in the day that successfully blended science and sorcery elements.
I think they introduced science in Wizardry 6, Bane of the Cosmic Forge and continued it in the next installment.
I remember it seemed a bit offbeat at the time, and as I recall it was really only the NPC's who used science item, though perhaps there were some laser gun skills your characters could train.
Might and Magic tossed in a slight cosmic flare in some of the later editions as well.
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Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Awesome. That sounds like a direct quote from the cartoon's openning. And might I add a perfect openning to an MMO version. I think I would play Ookla the Mok race. Very cool pics, they bring back some fond Saturday morning memories.
IT IS!
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Just a side-note; but what is Star Wars if not a blending of science and sorcery?
Telekinetic monks with supernatural agility and magical swords in a sci-fi lasers and spaceships setting.
The two concepts occur side-by-side in quite a few games; even WoW has the gnomish/goblin races and some of the zones in the latest expansion (and upcoming content patch) are very pseudoscience oriented.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
Yeah, I hear you on that. It's just for me, personally, I feel a little bit over-saturated with Star Wars atm. Don't get me wrong, it's great from a Company's perspective to use that Name Brand to bring in the $$$, but I just wish it wasn't so popular a brand. Thundaar to me represents something a bit more underground, and hence just cooler world to MMO in. Not to mention Thundaars's arch nemesis, Gemini makes Darth Vader look like a kitten. I mean how cool is a boss who's head rotates to reveal another face (sort of like Good Cop / Bad Cop concept). It's possible that as a Name Brand, Thrundaar could provide gamers a rich and unique world to immerse themselves in.
As for WoW, it's a bit to "flavor of the masses" for me.
I hadn't thought of Thundar as an MMO, but I think it could work well as a game world/system. Science and Sorcery was the core of the PnP game Shadowrun which would also make a perfect MMO. Shadowrun has been attempted/pitched as an MMO from time to time, but until fairly recently Microsoft owned the IP rights and always squelched the attempts, although from what I understand they've sold the IP and whoever owns it now is just sitting on it. There's a small development group that was working on a Shadowrun online that was squelched by Microsoft and they are now developing their own game, they're called Sixth World Games (or something like that).
I think there are a couple of possible problems when trying to mix tech and magic.
One is not making them redundent, cause a forcefield and a magic shield does not have much difference in practical terms, so I think you have make them have their own roles and not make them overlap.
Also when IPs try to combine the two it does not always mesh well. I didn't like Shadowrun's setting because I feel they just made an excuse to add magic just cause they wanted it, but I didn't by the explaination and didn't think it worked well.
Thundar is actualy a good IP I think, it manages to combine the two rather smoothly and it is a bit cheesy, which I think when you are combining laser guns and magic you can't take yourself too seriously so this is a good thing. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is also like Thundar and so is Flash Gordan a bit.
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Final Fantasy. Anyone for an airship flight down memory lane?
Yeah as far as IP it would make for a cool MMORPG. Just by taking the 3 main characters you already have 3 classes to work from (Thundaar = Barbarian, Ookla = Mutant thingy class, Ariel = Sorcery). And with the some other classes, you could go low tech archer/slingshot/spearman, and high-tech(or SuperScience as the opening vocal sequence states) you can make a laser-weilding assassasin or robotics class. Come to think of it, I remember Thundaar in one episode fighting some sort of space-vampire thing, that would shoot life-sucking energy beams from it's eyes. The found it when Thundaar found what looked like a derelict, crashed spaceship in some snowy region (already the makings of an in-game quest based on that episode alone ). But again, as an IP, all a dev would need is a collection of all the episodes. So many interesting and rich new material could be fleshed out from that alone. Also the art style was pretty neat, and if I recall it's based on Jack Kirby and Alex Toth (or so it looked like it from my perspective).
It is definitely a "different tastes" sort of thing. For some, Sci-Fi and Fantasy mixed into some Steampunk-like fashion is fine, for others (myself included here) this is like mixing garlic and oatmeal.
To me, the blend is jarring and doesn't fit. Not that I cannot see some science in a fantasy world; maybe stuff like crude telescopes and compasses and alchemy labs like there was in the time of Da Vinci. But flying steam planes and motorcycles and electric guitars just do not mesh with serious medieval fantasy, at least not for me.
You don't really see the mix of it in RPGs anymore. Used to be fairly common. Someone mentioned Wizardry 6, but well before that. Ultima I or II had spaceships, you could fly to other planets. Might and Magic 1 or 2 had some sci-fi elements as well (can't remember exactly).
But I can't think of a modenr one that mixes them.
Some, like say Atlantica or even Sword of the New World, have some touchs. Guns, robots, etc. But no spaceships
R.I.P. City of Heroes and my 17 characters there
I'm with the OP on this one. I too am getting tired of popular IP's being used for MMO worlds. But Thundaar's universe has that quality of coolness because it's more underground. I wish some company would be smart enough to pick this IP up, I'd play in this world for sure. Thundaar hits that ole nostalgia spot.
Final Fantasy 7, 8, X, X-2, and the upcoming XIII.
Also, Star Ocean: the Last Hope. Awesome game, by the way. Not even barely into the 2nd disk yet.
I'd vote for Thundarr, or korgoth
Medieval fantasy doesnt really mix with science (medieval is all about the "dark age" style imo) but industrial and high fantasy mix quite well (any world that is more optimistic than not) , for example Exalted pnp
<Welcome to my world>
WOW! there is a blast from the grade C cartoons of the past. YIKES!
Thanks for bringing that back up, made a good laugh
Anyone for a Hong Kong Phooey MMO?
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
I don't know... seems like a big stretch to make. Hong Kong Phooey and Thundaar?
I'll agree that Hong Kong Phooey is C grade. The point I was making was that the Thundaar IP could be interesting, and emersive world to MMO in. And it was a cartoon that seem to sucessfully blend both sci_fi elements with magic.
I don't know... seems like a big stretch to make. Hong Kong Phooey and Thundaar?
I'll agree that Hong Kong Phooey is C grade. The point I was making was that the Thundaar IP could be interesting, and emersive world to MMO in. And it was a cartoon that seem to sucessfully blend both sci_fi elements with magic.
Its been years, but i am not sure how much of the "World" was really fleashed out in the show. This IP may be shallow.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I don't know... seems like a big stretch to make. Hong Kong Phooey and Thundaar?
I'll agree that Hong Kong Phooey is C grade. The point I was making was that the Thundaar IP could be interesting, and emersive world to MMO in. And it was a cartoon that seem to sucessfully blend both sci_fi elements with magic.
Its been years, but i am not sure how much of the "World" was really fleashed out in the show. This IP may be shallow.
Well the potential dev. could flesh out something from just the openning sequence alone. Have you read all the posts yet? One of them has that sequence written out word for word from the cartoon. All the dev would need is to view the whole series to get their imaginations rolling.
Don't know anything about Thundar the barbarian but as far as science and sorcery mixing, well me and a whole bunch of other people are eagerly awating the day that a good Shadow Run MMO comes out.
Venge Sunsoar
I think I know something a little better than thundtard.
I don't know... seems like a big stretch to make. Hong Kong Phooey and Thundaar?
I'll agree that Hong Kong Phooey is C grade. The point I was making was that the Thundaar IP could be interesting, and emersive world to MMO in. And it was a cartoon that seem to sucessfully blend both sci_fi elements with magic.
Its been years, but i am not sure how much of the "World" was really fleashed out in the show. This IP may be shallow.
Well the potential dev. could flesh out something from just the openning sequence alone. Have you read all the posts yet? One of them has that sequence written out word for word from the cartoon. All the dev would need is to view the whole series to get their imaginations rolling.
That would, uh, be my post.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
As was previously mentioned, A Shadowrun MMORPG would have a lot of promise if they did a few things. Reduce the overpowering feel of magic so that if a person made a Mundane character, they wouldn't feel cheated because they didn't have access to spells. They would have to pay some careful attention to how Astral Space would work as well as the Matrix, and they would have to have the eye pointed at "what do characters do at end game?" from development day one.
It would be cool as hell, but an incredible level of challenge involved.
Then we have Thundarr, the heart of this post. I could see it easily work in terms of different races having inherant perks that could be advanced through experience, and a person could make forms of Sorcery a skill based aspect of a character, much in that combat and other skills could be skill based.
Being an old school RPG player though, I'd chuckle for a long time and then break down and buy a game based off of Gamma World, which is what Thundarr was originally based on.
Imagine the MMO being set up with races including pure strain human, mutants with inherant powers, and cyborgs (as well as fully manufactured androids) as being race choices. Post Apocalyptic setting, with surviving National super computer AI's competing against each other in asserting their limited control over remaing tech and resources against the primatives.
heck yeah.