Five things eh... Well I am going to have more than five because I consider them important. Mine is also wordy.
1. Character Customization and Creation - There is no excuse for not having this. I don't just mean face but body as well, and I mean significant differences, I don't want wispy thin model or taller wispy thin model, but real changes to my characters face and body, let me edit the muscle and fat, the height and width, color, scar hair, tattoo etc. Clothing goes here as well, I guess some people like looking like a popper and then working their way up to looking like a clown then eventually some sweet armor that everybody else has, but I don't, Clothing should be separate from items and stats, it is a role-playing game, you are suppose to make a character you want. You could have clothing to unlock and work your way from small selection of clothes to large but you should always be able to wear what you want. But why not choose animations voice and background and where applicable personality of your character as well.
2. Smooth Controls - And I cannot stress this one enough. Drop the auto attack, make the character attack/start casting when a button is pressed, no delays and automation, reduce the randomness of abilities, i.e. make damage consistent and let the player move while using most abilities. I am not asking for twitch though it would be nice I am just saying your game could be brilliant but without good controls it is garbage.
3 A Fun World That Does Not Waste The Players Time - Doing the quests out there now isn't fun but I don't think using gimmicks like player economy or player politics and environment simulation is going to help. Players don't care about killing 10 wolves, it does not matter if it is for a quest, to get fur, to control the wolf population or whatever, and it is boring. With economy and politics all you are doing is putting the grind in a new context, congrats. Players care more about doing something interesting, fighting back invasions, thwarting murder attempts etc., they don't care so much if it is static but rather if it is interesting and fun. If you can make good content and make it dynamic then kudos to you. Maybe every now and then have planned events that everybody can participate in as well.
4. Non Combat Options Worth a Damn - I hate crafting because it is boring as hell. I played the games that were suppose to have good crafting, Ryzom, SWG, Eve, Vanguard, all boring. I don't want to gather tons of materials just so I can make some generic thing and sell it that is boring. Crafting should be about creativity, the player should have tools to make all kinds of things they can think up. Recipes should go. But Crafting should not take a large time investment nor should it be just like running a business, I should not have to pick between crafting and combat if crafting is to be a real option. Crafting cannot provide enough content to fill the same amount of time as combat anyway, I know there are people who love it but like Yahtzee said "they are all either bizarro people who wear shoes on their heads or I am seriously misunderestimating the appeal of having a second job you have to pay for". It isn't just crafting, music like in LotRO or player housing, all potentially fun and all should be optional. Don't force these on players, I hate having items break it is just a scheme made up to support the economy in a game but it isn't fun, or like letting people put houses anywhere, stop cluttering the game world with your shanty towns.
5. Good Options to Build Your Character - I put the word good for a reason because players like to have options on how to make their characters but you need good options people can take an interest in. I am going to rail on skills for a sec and here is why. Skills are lazy designs, they are, they are lazy because they are not made with lore or balance or even interesting characters in mind. Skills also bring out the metagamer in people, just like when people say I want to do everything with one character; it is about power rather than lore and role-play. A psychic lighting wielding thief with a pet tiger may be powerful but it is also really stupid and rather uninspiring. I like special mechanics, they make characters play significantly different and you can't get that with skill. I am not saying use classes, though you could, but open up choices, maybe have classes that can be speced radically different ways, or a system like CoH, something to provide options while preserving the quality of those choices and making characters not feel like a mish mosh of generic skills.
6. Personality – Art is a big one, I think studios should find their own art style and go with it, I would choose art over raw power any day. Not only that but animations and sound, often neglected, I don’t mean some cheesy double flip attack with energy and screaming but just goo solid animations that seem both powerful and human. This applies to characters as well as the world, having lots of space does not make for good exploration, it is about finding thing not aimless wondering, the world needs personality in the item and building designs, interesting NPCs etc.
7. Social Tools – The game should make finding people easy, LFG tools, auction house, guilds you name it. I am not in favor of trying to force team play or force a “good” community, though the content should be there, but I don’t think players should be put off by the mechanics of the game making it hard to find people. So the player should be able to find what is going on in the world, trade, grouping PVP, guilds whatever and join in easily.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
1. Free to Play with a deep cash shop items 2. Almost no way to achieve gear or level quickly except through cash shop 3. Fully instanced world (single player with lobby) with fully linear gameplay 4. Incredibly easy leveling that a 5 yr old could do, in reality a slow boring grind 5. Meaningless classes, where everyone can solo, tank, heal, dps, cc, etc.
And last but not least...
6. Lots of advertising with large breasted women in strappy leather armor. (edit: but nothing in-game that looks anything close to the advertising)
It's not the future I want. However, it is the future that I expect.
Ken
So true, not seen one of the ads in a while but should I just say:
1) A class system like old SWG. I loved how I could spend "points" from exp and work up the tree and make my own class from mixing different trees. I was unarmed(forget name) with some combat medic and entertainer. It was a incredibly fun build. My dad was a bounty hunter-creature handler. There were few limits to the classes that one could construct.
2) Multiple-long story lines that span across multiple zones and level ranges with scenes and epic fights. This could help cut down on kill X meaningless and then run back across the zone to turn in. Imagine a quest line that starts of with you talking to a few NPC's as they explain to you the trouble they are in. Then they go with, yes WITH you(prolly need instancing here), and help you fight and kill mobs to unravel clues, mysteries, and ultimatly topple your enemies. There are 100 ways of doing this. Just think about it. We already have something like this in most MMO's where they say the local bandits are ruining everything, kill 10. Then they say the found some more stuff out, go kill this guy, oh look this is the leader, go kill him. Oh he was just a flunkie, the real leader is X, kill him. Ahh you did it you are our hero. The significant difference in my proposed way is that the NPC's interact with you, and discover things as you do. They travel with you and it makes the game feel more alive. Have you actually make a difference. Use phasing cleverly. Like how the Human starting area in Lotro(Archet) is burned down but in the tutorial it is fine and then gets burned and when you leave the tutorial it is burned. Instead of using instancing to show the non-burned archet, use phasing to show the changes that a player made to the world to that player but normal(non burned) to any player that hasnt dont that quest line
3) Well implemented crafting and hobby systems. Meaningful fishing, music system(even better then LotRO's), maybe horse racing, sports games for FUN not tokens to but purpz with(soccer anyone?) Imagine a guild setting up a soccer field in the middle of a zone and having a match just cuz.. Furthermore, jousting would work well too.
4) Limited non-instanced housing/guild housing. By limited I mean a certain number of houses per zone that are already preset. These houses would have to be guarded. They can be guarded by NPC's that the person/guild "hires" for gold. Furthermore; if a guild needs a house, they can raid another guild house and claim it for themselves. Obviously many mechanics would have to be figured out like a guild can only have 1 house at a time but they can ally themselves with other guild and there protect/help other guilds houses.
5) Use of instancing for story driven dungeons and the use of non-story driven dungeons to be non-instanced with named mobs like back in the EQ days. However, these named mobs would have a higher drop rate/faster spawn rate then EQ so that it wouldnt be necessary to camp a mob for weeks/months to get a sword. Maybe just a few of play could get you your sword. Considering all the armor/jewelry slots avail, it would take a considerable amount of time to get geared up but not super long. Its like a unity of the EXTREME past and more "e-z mode" present.
1. Themepark/Sandbox hybrids. I like roles but I also like choices and freedom and one character any class/job.
2. Seamless worlds. No more instancing the big stuff.
3. More minigames/fluff/housing.
4. The freedom of choice to pve/pvp or not. Make it server based or in game mechanic based, just do it. Stop forcing me to do one or the other. Let me choose.
5. Alternate character progression mechanics. We need tons of these for longevity purposes.
The future will consist of disgruntled MMO "veterans" complaining on forums. You crazy kids, GET OUTTA MY GENRE! And dammit, STOP HAVING FUN!
That is pretty good.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
1. Free to Play with a deep cash shop items 2. Almost no way to achieve gear or level quickly except through cash shop 3. Fully instanced world (single player with lobby) with fully linear gameplay 4. Incredibly easy leveling that a 5 yr old could do, in reality a slow boring grind 5. Meaningless classes, where everyone can solo, tank, heal, dps, cc, etc.
And last but not least...
6. Lots of advertising with large breasted women in strappy leather armor. (edit: but nothing in-game that looks anything close to the advertising)
It's not the future I want. However, it is the future that I expect.
Ken
Only if the player base allow it and support it.
If we do; we have no one to blame but ourselves.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
1. Multiple OS support- I can't tell you how frustrating it is to find a game I can play with my friends when some use mac and some use linux on their computers.
2. Runs smoothly on an old rig- The fact is the average person(myself included) can't afford to geta new computer every year or two. I would love a game to come out that isn't designed for the newest rigs out there.
3. Open and instanced PVP- I love WoW's arena and battleground style PVP, but also would like a game with some serious open world pvp included.
4. More randomized instance- Have a set group of bosses in each instance but make the ones you get completely random (preferably with 2 tables worth of moves that can be mixed and matched also) So instances will stay exciting each time you do it.
5. Sandbox-ish- While I enjoy levels and think they are useful. I would like a game that actually feels that what you are doing impacts the world. Now not a complete sandbox but a more player driven world.
I want to see a game that a developer stamps his name on it and is darn proud of his accomplishment.I don't want their PR or CEO to tell us that ,i just want it to look like that.I don't like seeing all these games that look like they came off some cookie cutter production line.
I want to see a REAL living world,the npc move about just as players do,they hunt,trade,talk just as we do.Instead of just simple standing them in fornt of some cheap looking static building have them tied into proximity links,meaning they wander the world and create quests as they come in proximity to certain things.
Have bosses o they can spawn ANYWHERE in a world,no spawn camping no rmt camping,just pure amazement to see a boss pop out of some cave or out of the ground,of course i want animations to accompany it ,so it looks realistic.
I want crafting to be a full fledged game within itself,you don't buy recipes,instead you might do favors to those proximity npc's,or find a recipe hidden in some far corner of the world.I don't mind drops from mobs,but they have t obe realistic,example a Troll might have a recipe or drop for some leather items or clubs,arrows act ect.A bear could be scavenged for teeth to make arrowheads,leather,the bone to make weapons of bone ect ect.
I want the entire world to be expansive bu realistic.I want the world to change,NOTHING should ever remain the same forever,i don't care if Devs do it every month or 2 or if players are somehow allowed o do it.
Without going into any more detail,i think i made it clear what would constitute a great EFFORT by a developer.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Well, since the title is slightly misleading, I'll answer by saying that I think the future of MMOs lies in themepark-sandbox hybrids, which should at least partly satiate the rabid vets who want the WoW/EQ noodles out of what used to be the UO/SWG soup. If the thread were entitled "So... What Do You Want to See in Future MMOs?" (hint, hint), I'd answer: 1) No levels. This is sandbox's greatest strength; horizontal progression rather than vertical. Agreed. It bores me to no end to grind and grind just to wear a piece of armor or use a sword that I will only use for two or three levels. Seriously? My 18 year old niece can pick up my Musashi right now. She can't do too many useful things with it because, unlike me, she doesn't have nearly two decades of swordsmanship training. But she can pick it up and she can probably use it to defend herself if necessary. It is an incredibly sharp and pointy object that doesn't care whose hands it is in; it's level of usefulness as a weapon depends solely upon the skill and practice of the wielder. Why is the same not true of weapons in games? 2) Dev-fostered player interaction, such as a dynamic economy. Players can do all sorts of things, but only if the devs give them tools. I'm not against things like Auction Houses, as long as there are other services that can be performed only by players (for example, you can buy your new sword in the Auction House, but you need another player to enhance it). The economy would be stimulated by mostly non-PvP means. Yep, you heard it right. I don't want FFA PvP in my MMO. Faction vs. Faction or Guild vs. Guild PvP, with limited player looting and item degradation, would be more like it. Players would get resources from the environment, either through harvesting or killing PvE mobs, rather than running up behind a noob with an inventory full of ore, stabbing him, looting him, and snorting maniacally the entire time. Agreed. Again, if I do not maintain and care for my .45, it breaks and I have to take it to a gunsmith for repairs. I have my father's old Ruger .22 revolver that I have taken for repairs a few times because that gun was made before anyone posting here (including me) was born. Weapons degrade. Armor degrades. These things require repairs. Rather than be a "gold sink" that involves clicking on an NPC a la WoW or LoTRO, let players - novel concept here - become socially involved with one another and find a good armor or weaponsmith in the game who can repair the items. Player-driven economy, what a concept. Free-market enterprise, what a concept. 3) Shifting territorial control. I always liked this feature because of DAoC. You take it, you keep it. Obviously, this would apply to PvP. This is a good idea. My only issue with it would be, (assuming the idea being discussed is more of an open-world PvP situation) would it automatically flag those who don't wish to engage in PvP who enter these areas - say, crafters and the like? Or could those players pay some sort of surcharge/tax in order to keep running their business in an area that their faction has lost? This again puts the choice firmly back in the lap of the players and creates a more player-driven economy: don't want to pay more for your repairs or goods, then it is wise to contribute your might to the defense of the city. 4) Good graphics. Hey, I know gameplay > graphics, but it doesn't hurt if the game looks good. Fortunately, bad graphics don't seem to be much of a problem anymore. The game would have to run smoothly, though, especially in combat. Smooth, engaging combat is crucial to a good MMO, unless you want to make it more tactical like EVE. Nothing wrong with that, but many people have ADD and will not be satisfied unless there are shiny lights and pew pew everywhere. IT'S EVERYWHERE! If the game's graphics suck, I won't play it. Plain & simple. I like my eye candy. 5) Girls. Make it more girl-friendly by offering non-combat social activities so it isn't such a damn sausagefest. Let them dress up or have a tea party or cuddle cute little animals (as long as those animals never set foot in my battlefields). Whoa, Nelly. Hold up. I am a girl. I like to kill things. I do enjoy roleplaying (not to be confused with cybering - I'm sure there are places for that on the internet, but please keep that crap out of my games and most certainly out of general chat for the love of god - if you must do that garbage in my game, that's why developers created tells), but I don't want to dress up or have a tea party unless it involves my crashing that tea party in full plate and slaughtering everyone in attendance (or healing the people slaughtering the partygoers ). I don't mind cuddling cute little animals (WTB White Kitten so my silver tabby has a playmate! ), so long as they stay out of the way of my blade. I know I kind of ran out of steam for 4 and 5, but I'm serious about more non-combat activities (including good crafting, because crafting can be fun if done right). The more versatile your game is, the more options you can offer your players, the more subs you'll get. Agree with the good crafting. I love to craft - provided the crafting system is robust, which most are not. If there was a game that was really, REALLY good and had the crafting system of SWG, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. The only things I miss about SWG are the crafting system and the space combat.
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Well, since the title is slightly misleading, I'll answer by saying that I think the future of MMOs lies in themepark-sandbox hybrids, which should at least partly satiate the rabid vets who want the WoW/EQ noodles out of what used to be the UO/SWG soup. If the thread were entitled "So... What Do You Want to See in Future MMOs?" (hint, hint), I'd answer: 1) No levels. This is sandbox's greatest strength; horizontal progression rather than vertical. Agreed. It bores me to no end to grind and grind just to wear a piece of armor or use a sword that I will only use for two or three levels. Seriously? My 18 year old niece can pick up my Musashi right now. She can't do too many useful things with it because, unlike me, she doesn't have nearly two decades of swordsmanship training. But she can pick it up and she can probably use it to defend herself if necessary. It is an incredibly sharp and pointy object that doesn't care whose hands it is in; it's level of usefulness as a weapon depends solely upon the skill and practice of the wielder. Why is the same not true of weapons in games? 2) Dev-fostered player interaction, such as a dynamic economy. Players can do all sorts of things, but only if the devs give them tools. I'm not against things like Auction Houses, as long as there are other services that can be performed only by players (for example, you can buy your new sword in the Auction House, but you need another player to enhance it). The economy would be stimulated by mostly non-PvP means. Yep, you heard it right. I don't want FFA PvP in my MMO. Faction vs. Faction or Guild vs. Guild PvP, with limited player looting and item degradation, would be more like it. Players would get resources from the environment, either through harvesting or killing PvE mobs, rather than running up behind a noob with an inventory full of ore, stabbing him, looting him, and snorting maniacally the entire time. Agreed. Again, if I do not maintain and care for my .45, it breaks and I have to take it to a gunsmith for repairs. I have my father's old Ruger .22 revolver that I have taken for repairs a few times because that gun was made before anyone posting here (including me) was born. Weapons degrade. Armor degrades. These things require repairs. Rather than be a "gold sink" that involves clicking on an NPC a la WoW or LoTRO, let players - novel concept here - become socially involved with one another and find a good armor or weaponsmith in the game who can repair the items. Player-driven economy, what a concept. Free-market enterprise, what a concept. 3) Shifting territorial control. I always liked this feature because of DAoC. You take it, you keep it. Obviously, this would apply to PvP. This is a good idea. My only issue with it would be, (assuming the idea being discussed is more of an open-world PvP situation) would it automatically flag those who don't wish to engage in PvP who enter these areas - say, crafters and the like? Or could those players pay some sort of surcharge/tax in order to keep running their business in an area that their faction has lost? This again puts the choice firmly back in the lap of the players and creates a more player-driven economy: don't want to pay more for your repairs or goods, then it is wise to contribute your might to the defense of the city. 4) Good graphics. Hey, I know gameplay > graphics, but it doesn't hurt if the game looks good. Fortunately, bad graphics don't seem to be much of a problem anymore. The game would have to run smoothly, though, especially in combat. Smooth, engaging combat is crucial to a good MMO, unless you want to make it more tactical like EVE. Nothing wrong with that, but many people have ADD and will not be satisfied unless there are shiny lights and pew pew everywhere. IT'S EVERYWHERE! If the game's graphics suck, I won't play it. Plain & simple. I like my eye candy. 5) Girls. Make it more girl-friendly by offering non-combat social activities so it isn't such a damn sausagefest. Let them dress up or have a tea party or cuddle cute little animals (as long as those animals never set foot in my battlefields). Whoa, Nelly. Hold up. I am a girl. I like to kill things. I do enjoy roleplaying (not to be confused with cybering - I'm sure there are places for that on the internet, but please keep that crap out of my games and most certainly out of general chat for the love of god - if you must do that garbage in my game, that's why developers created tells), but I don't want to dress up or have a tea party unless it involves my crashing that tea party in full plate and slaughtering everyone in attendance (or healing the people slaughtering the partygoers ). I don't mind cuddling cute little animals (WTB White Kitten so my silver tabby has a playmate! ), so long as they stay out of the way of my blade. I know I kind of ran out of steam for 4 and 5, but I'm serious about more non-combat activities (including good crafting, because crafting can be fun if done right). The more versatile your game is, the more options you can offer your players, the more subs you'll get. Agree with the good crafting. I love to craft - provided the crafting system is robust, which most are not. If there was a game that was really, REALLY good and had the crafting system of SWG, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. The only things I miss about SWG are the crafting system and the space combat.
Hey Girl in the Green.....
High five, Sista!! I wholeheartedly agree with all you said!
6. (sorry just have to): strong webbased features such as in game chat, handling your store or home etc. (thing is this is so friggin easy to create with the right game architecture its not even funny)
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
I commented in the spotlight article but I figured I'd reply here too.
Hmm top five? Hmm...
1. REAL world. I.e. if I am in a CITY it should be a friggin city. Not a dozen buildings with five or six NPC's in it. Make it a city with AI "citizens." Or more likely scripted time centric routines but that's fine. Also make sure every NPC has a PURPOSE. The shop keepers should have hours and actually open and close shop. Go home and talk to family and what not. Make it a living and breathing world beyond what the players can do. Which brings me to number 2..
2. PLAYER economy. Yep I'm another EVE fan and their economy has most things done right. Including the ability to steal from your company. Sure it grabs headlines but you know what I always think when I read those stories? "Only in Eve!" While I admit EVE is a bit hardcore for most the basics are there. Everything but the most basic of basics should be PLAYER MADE. NOTHING, not even your basic arrows (in a fantasy setting) should be made by an NPC beyond the n00b gear.
3. Player Constructions. As mentioned above meaningful player housing and construction should actually be thought of from the word go. Along with this should be the ability to purchase existing housing. Having a house should have meaning both as a social palce and from a gameplay standpoint. Be it as a bank, rest and heal location, what have you. Makes the idea of having that mountain hide-away worthwhile.
4. "Offline Mode." It's an idea I've been kicking around for a while and I've seen implemented now and again. Basically it would be a player variation of the NPC script system mentioned in one. See, I honestly don't want 1,000's of NPC walking around randomly when I have 1,000's of offline players availble for the job! You can run your shop (in the affore mentioned player store selling player gear), clean your house, go to your "job" (If you don't have your own shop) what have you. This would have to be balanced but "offline mode" should deffinetly allow you to actually do stuff. Either it build something (Which we already allow in EVE and such with "production runs" so why not have your Offline NPC actually make stuff too?), run a shop, or even work a job at another player's shop or NPC shop. Sure the income shouldn't be high (don't want it abused) but it should be a nice "maintance" income if nothing else. Also, once you actually log in you are wisked back to where you logged off and into "Hero" or "Online" mode with a nice overview report of what your avatar was doing while you were offline. It could even be a message service.
5. Offline Skill progression. Yes, no classes or levels! YAY! And basically just copy EVE's real time skill progression system (best to add it to the offline script system) along with a "learn as you do it" system. I.e. training, reading, or doing. Combine this with the offline script system and you can "assign" your toon to "Study" for X hours a day. It's a bit JRPG but I don't see why the system couldn't work, but deffinetly worth thinking about.
Current Game: Asssasins Creed 2(PS3, Gamer Tag: Happy_Hubby) Current MMO: World of Warcraft and World of Tanks Former Subscribed MMO: Star Trek Online, Aion, WoW, Guild Wars, Eve Online, DAoC, City of Heroes, Shattered Galaxy, 10six. Tried: Too many to list
1. Allow someone to do everything on 1 character, but limit what they can do at one time by equipment, magic juju or current human interface device etc. We should also be able to build our own classes using bits and pieces of different classes
2. Dynamic content instead of quests, and I don't mean dynamic quests. I mean more like you get told there's some fighting over here, a military supply base here, reconstruction effort here, too many native rats here, food needs here now go out there and make yourself useful. Need to make these activities fun in themselves not fun cause you get 500 xp and 20 gold at the end. Also less 'go here and kill this'. i want jobs for mechanics, healers, bakers etc. You should be able to play the game without having to fire a shot, of course a combat version of most of these jobs would be good as well.
3. DEEP race development. I mean really ****ing deep, should at least 5 races each with their own backstory specializations gameplay style history culture etc. And for the love of god don't try to merge it into 2/3 sides to make it easy, race A and B may be friends and race C and B may be friends but race C may hate A and D doesn't like A but is willing to work with A in conflict areas involving C cause they really need the firepower and B is trying to ally itself with E who wants to stay out of the conflict due to internal strife........... You get the picture make the politics and backstory deep, and make sure players play an important part not just in the factions themselves but by being able to make their own factions and interact with the factions around them. And finally make the non playable factions have a goal and reason not "I'm just here so you have someone to farm".
4. BALANCE there should be advantages and ROLES for new players. A week old newbie should be able to fight with the maxed out players even if they contribute less you should want to bring them because they will bring "something" to the fight. Weather it's a little bit more dps, extra people that can be used to man siege weapons/cap flags or points/just overwhelm the enemy with numbers when you go to war you should never say "sorry you can't come you havn't reached level xx".
5. The ability to build our own empires, if their is an npc structure in the game i wanna be able to build it. We should have the potential to build empires that rival the npc ones perhaps even fight against or try to overtake them, or even work with them. This should be more than just buildings, this can be taking our own areas setting up our own politics and rules and culture, at it's most awesome it would be being able to invent your own technologies and weapons for your player faction and possibly creating a new species.
6. GRIND. try to avoid it where possible, instead give passive incomes that you have to fight over, or if character grind spread it out instead of making it 2 months of grind then the game gets fun.
one of this years, posters in MMORPG.com will understand that sandbox games are the past, not the future.
I would really like to hear you elaborate on this. I can agree and disagree with this comment in that maybe a pure sandbox game is a dieing breed and we will see for more hybrid games, but i'm curious as to why you think this.
One thing I would like to see games do is have more gameplay features that help bring players together instead of compete against one another. And I'm not talking about PvP. I realize a lot of players like to compare themselves to other palyers for whatever reason, but it seems to have gotten ridiculously out of hand recently. Players won't take you along with them unless you have certain stats or items or whatever measuring stick they prefer to use. What happened to the days when it players enjoyed taking new players along and showing them the ropes; when it was advantageous to help other players along and help them grow? There is a huge gap growing between veteran players and new players in alot of games. And its getting bigger and bigger. Both groups are becoming more isolated in my opinion. I don't think this is a good thing.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
Instancing for bosses = good. Hated the way other people could get to a 4 day respawn boss just because they camped out there with a stopwatch. I play these games for FUN, not irritation. Low/no real death penalty, cos I don't have all the time and patience in the world to waste an evening's play because I got killed. I REALLY don't want to find the game changing on me all the time. I expect the quest givers to give the same quests out and to be there when I get back. Having said that, some kind of additional random quest giver would be a nice addition, but not for storyline quests. Stop the Gold / EXP / Credit sellers And last, but not least.. NO JUMPING!!!! drives me nuts!
You do realize the whole premise of a BOSS was to utilize them for RARE loot.If EVERYOEN has super easy access to rare loot,then i guess it is not so rare anymore right?That makes loot worthless and the game a little less intriguing.It also makes for less of a marketplace,since nobody needs to buy what is easily had.Instancing is a total fail imo.
The most sought after loot in many games also has some instancing,but they put timers on entrance,or yo uhave to EARN your way in either by savign up large sums of currency or earning it some other way example Beastmen/Kindred seals in FFXI.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
exapnding on the "girl stuff comment" i think just adding non combat will draw in more people period, imursivneess is never a bad thing. Take WoW for example, in most games you "doors" between zones but the Tram is real, you can fall off or even WALL to the attached town, i loved that.
Here are my 5 things I want to see. 1. A huge world where every player played on the same server. 2. As player progress, they learn new ability and obtain new gears that gives them more option on how to play their character, and not just an upgrade of a weaker version. (A lot like a good game Magic The Gathering) 3. Player driven economy. 4. Lots of conflict and many different faction fighting over precious resources and strategic location. 5. Easy to learn and hard to master. A game where a player who just join the game can easily destroy the 5 years veteran given he possessed sufficient skill and intellect.
Comments
Five things eh... Well I am going to have more than five because I consider them important. Mine is also wordy.
1. Character Customization and Creation - There is no excuse for not having this. I don't just mean face but body as well, and I mean significant differences, I don't want wispy thin model or taller wispy thin model, but real changes to my characters face and body, let me edit the muscle and fat, the height and width, color, scar hair, tattoo etc. Clothing goes here as well, I guess some people like looking like a popper and then working their way up to looking like a clown then eventually some sweet armor that everybody else has, but I don't, Clothing should be separate from items and stats, it is a role-playing game, you are suppose to make a character you want. You could have clothing to unlock and work your way from small selection of clothes to large but you should always be able to wear what you want. But why not choose animations voice and background and where applicable personality of your character as well.
2. Smooth Controls - And I cannot stress this one enough. Drop the auto attack, make the character attack/start casting when a button is pressed, no delays and automation, reduce the randomness of abilities, i.e. make damage consistent and let the player move while using most abilities. I am not asking for twitch though it would be nice I am just saying your game could be brilliant but without good controls it is garbage.
3 A Fun World That Does Not Waste The Players Time - Doing the quests out there now isn't fun but I don't think using gimmicks like player economy or player politics and environment simulation is going to help. Players don't care about killing 10 wolves, it does not matter if it is for a quest, to get fur, to control the wolf population or whatever, and it is boring. With economy and politics all you are doing is putting the grind in a new context, congrats. Players care more about doing something interesting, fighting back invasions, thwarting murder attempts etc., they don't care so much if it is static but rather if it is interesting and fun. If you can make good content and make it dynamic then kudos to you. Maybe every now and then have planned events that everybody can participate in as well.
4. Non Combat Options Worth a Damn - I hate crafting because it is boring as hell. I played the games that were suppose to have good crafting, Ryzom, SWG, Eve, Vanguard, all boring. I don't want to gather tons of materials just so I can make some generic thing and sell it that is boring. Crafting should be about creativity, the player should have tools to make all kinds of things they can think up. Recipes should go. But Crafting should not take a large time investment nor should it be just like running a business, I should not have to pick between crafting and combat if crafting is to be a real option. Crafting cannot provide enough content to fill the same amount of time as combat anyway, I know there are people who love it but like Yahtzee said "they are all either bizarro people who wear shoes on their heads or I am seriously misunderestimating the appeal of having a second job you have to pay for". It isn't just crafting, music like in LotRO or player housing, all potentially fun and all should be optional. Don't force these on players, I hate having items break it is just a scheme made up to support the economy in a game but it isn't fun, or like letting people put houses anywhere, stop cluttering the game world with your shanty towns.
5. Good Options to Build Your Character - I put the word good for a reason because players like to have options on how to make their characters but you need good options people can take an interest in. I am going to rail on skills for a sec and here is why. Skills are lazy designs, they are, they are lazy because they are not made with lore or balance or even interesting characters in mind. Skills also bring out the metagamer in people, just like when people say I want to do everything with one character; it is about power rather than lore and role-play. A psychic lighting wielding thief with a pet tiger may be powerful but it is also really stupid and rather uninspiring. I like special mechanics, they make characters play significantly different and you can't get that with skill. I am not saying use classes, though you could, but open up choices, maybe have classes that can be speced radically different ways, or a system like CoH, something to provide options while preserving the quality of those choices and making characters not feel like a mish mosh of generic skills.
6. Personality – Art is a big one, I think studios should find their own art style and go with it, I would choose art over raw power any day. Not only that but animations and sound, often neglected, I don’t mean some cheesy double flip attack with energy and screaming but just goo solid animations that seem both powerful and human. This applies to characters as well as the world, having lots of space does not make for good exploration, it is about finding thing not aimless wondering, the world needs personality in the item and building designs, interesting NPCs etc.
7. Social Tools – The game should make finding people easy, LFG tools, auction house, guilds you name it. I am not in favor of trying to force team play or force a “good” community, though the content should be there, but I don’t think players should be put off by the mechanics of the game making it hard to find people. So the player should be able to find what is going on in the world, trade, grouping PVP, guilds whatever and join in easily.
Don't you worry little buddy. You're dealing with a man of honor. However, honor requires a higher percentage of profit
So true, not seen one of the ads in a while but should I just say:
"Yes my Lord"
fix'd
Cryptic anyone?
1) A class system like old SWG. I loved how I could spend "points" from exp and work up the tree and make my own class from mixing different trees. I was unarmed(forget name) with some combat medic and entertainer. It was a incredibly fun build. My dad was a bounty hunter-creature handler. There were few limits to the classes that one could construct.
2) Multiple-long story lines that span across multiple zones and level ranges with scenes and epic fights. This could help cut down on kill X meaningless and then run back across the zone to turn in. Imagine a quest line that starts of with you talking to a few NPC's as they explain to you the trouble they are in. Then they go with, yes WITH you(prolly need instancing here), and help you fight and kill mobs to unravel clues, mysteries, and ultimatly topple your enemies. There are 100 ways of doing this. Just think about it. We already have something like this in most MMO's where they say the local bandits are ruining everything, kill 10. Then they say the found some more stuff out, go kill this guy, oh look this is the leader, go kill him. Oh he was just a flunkie, the real leader is X, kill him. Ahh you did it you are our hero. The significant difference in my proposed way is that the NPC's interact with you, and discover things as you do. They travel with you and it makes the game feel more alive. Have you actually make a difference. Use phasing cleverly. Like how the Human starting area in Lotro(Archet) is burned down but in the tutorial it is fine and then gets burned and when you leave the tutorial it is burned. Instead of using instancing to show the non-burned archet, use phasing to show the changes that a player made to the world to that player but normal(non burned) to any player that hasnt dont that quest line
3) Well implemented crafting and hobby systems. Meaningful fishing, music system(even better then LotRO's), maybe horse racing, sports games for FUN not tokens to but purpz with(soccer anyone?) Imagine a guild setting up a soccer field in the middle of a zone and having a match just cuz.. Furthermore, jousting would work well too.
4) Limited non-instanced housing/guild housing. By limited I mean a certain number of houses per zone that are already preset. These houses would have to be guarded. They can be guarded by NPC's that the person/guild "hires" for gold. Furthermore; if a guild needs a house, they can raid another guild house and claim it for themselves. Obviously many mechanics would have to be figured out like a guild can only have 1 house at a time but they can ally themselves with other guild and there protect/help other guilds houses.
5) Use of instancing for story driven dungeons and the use of non-story driven dungeons to be non-instanced with named mobs like back in the EQ days. However, these named mobs would have a higher drop rate/faster spawn rate then EQ so that it wouldnt be necessary to camp a mob for weeks/months to get a sword. Maybe just a few of play could get you your sword. Considering all the armor/jewelry slots avail, it would take a considerable amount of time to get geared up but not super long. Its like a unity of the EXTREME past and more "e-z mode" present.
1. Themepark/Sandbox hybrids. I like roles but I also like choices and freedom and one character any class/job.
2. Seamless worlds. No more instancing the big stuff.
3. More minigames/fluff/housing.
4. The freedom of choice to pve/pvp or not. Make it server based or in game mechanic based, just do it. Stop forcing me to do one or the other. Let me choose.
5. Alternate character progression mechanics. We need tons of these for longevity purposes.
That is pretty good.
--John Ruskin
Only if the player base allow it and support it.
If we do; we have no one to blame but ourselves.
--John Ruskin
a Cyberpunk mmo which include all the tech stuff from Ghost in the shell and the PnP game Cyberpunk 2020 and use the skill system of cyberpunk 2020.
and im still w8ing on World of Darkness online!
1. Multiple OS support- I can't tell you how frustrating it is to find a game I can play with my friends when some use mac and some use linux on their computers.
2. Runs smoothly on an old rig- The fact is the average person(myself included) can't afford to geta new computer every year or two. I would love a game to come out that isn't designed for the newest rigs out there.
3. Open and instanced PVP- I love WoW's arena and battleground style PVP, but also would like a game with some serious open world pvp included.
4. More randomized instance- Have a set group of bosses in each instance but make the ones you get completely random (preferably with 2 tables worth of moves that can be mixed and matched also) So instances will stay exciting each time you do it.
5. Sandbox-ish- While I enjoy levels and think they are useful. I would like a game that actually feels that what you are doing impacts the world. Now not a complete sandbox but a more player driven world.
Owner and Operator www.wikibored.com
I want to see a game that a developer stamps his name on it and is darn proud of his accomplishment.I don't want their PR or CEO to tell us that ,i just want it to look like that.I don't like seeing all these games that look like they came off some cookie cutter production line.
I want to see a REAL living world,the npc move about just as players do,they hunt,trade,talk just as we do.Instead of just simple standing them in fornt of some cheap looking static building have them tied into proximity links,meaning they wander the world and create quests as they come in proximity to certain things.
Have bosses o they can spawn ANYWHERE in a world,no spawn camping no rmt camping,just pure amazement to see a boss pop out of some cave or out of the ground,of course i want animations to accompany it ,so it looks realistic.
I want crafting to be a full fledged game within itself,you don't buy recipes,instead you might do favors to those proximity npc's,or find a recipe hidden in some far corner of the world.I don't mind drops from mobs,but they have t obe realistic,example a Troll might have a recipe or drop for some leather items or clubs,arrows act ect.A bear could be scavenged for teeth to make arrowheads,leather,the bone to make weapons of bone ect ect.
I want the entire world to be expansive bu realistic.I want the world to change,NOTHING should ever remain the same forever,i don't care if Devs do it every month or 2 or if players are somehow allowed o do it.
Without going into any more detail,i think i made it clear what would constitute a great EFFORT by a developer.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I want a really wicked real life mmo game, we can call it.. World of Hooligans
This game should have factions depending on guilds and atleast 3 different styles of gameplay.
- The first styles is a sport game
- The second style is a fighting game
- The third part could be a third/first person shooter
Firebrand Art
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Hey Girl in the Green.....
High five, Sista!! I wholeheartedly agree with all you said!
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
1. Non Fantasy based genre.
2. First person perspective
3. RTS stradgey combined with RPG
4. DIrectX 10 or better
5. Not quest dependent for skill progression
6. (sorry just have to): strong webbased features such as in game chat, handling your store or home etc. (thing is this is so friggin easy to create with the right game architecture its not even funny)
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
I commented in the spotlight article but I figured I'd reply here too.
Hmm top five? Hmm...
1. REAL world. I.e. if I am in a CITY it should be a friggin city. Not a dozen buildings with five or six NPC's in it. Make it a city with AI "citizens." Or more likely scripted time centric routines but that's fine. Also make sure every NPC has a PURPOSE. The shop keepers should have hours and actually open and close shop. Go home and talk to family and what not. Make it a living and breathing world beyond what the players can do. Which brings me to number 2..
2. PLAYER economy. Yep I'm another EVE fan and their economy has most things done right. Including the ability to steal from your company. Sure it grabs headlines but you know what I always think when I read those stories? "Only in Eve!" While I admit EVE is a bit hardcore for most the basics are there. Everything but the most basic of basics should be PLAYER MADE. NOTHING, not even your basic arrows (in a fantasy setting) should be made by an NPC beyond the n00b gear.
3. Player Constructions. As mentioned above meaningful player housing and construction should actually be thought of from the word go. Along with this should be the ability to purchase existing housing. Having a house should have meaning both as a social palce and from a gameplay standpoint. Be it as a bank, rest and heal location, what have you. Makes the idea of having that mountain hide-away worthwhile.
4. "Offline Mode." It's an idea I've been kicking around for a while and I've seen implemented now and again. Basically it would be a player variation of the NPC script system mentioned in one. See, I honestly don't want 1,000's of NPC walking around randomly when I have 1,000's of offline players availble for the job! You can run your shop (in the affore mentioned player store selling player gear), clean your house, go to your "job" (If you don't have your own shop) what have you. This would have to be balanced but "offline mode" should deffinetly allow you to actually do stuff. Either it build something (Which we already allow in EVE and such with "production runs" so why not have your Offline NPC actually make stuff too?), run a shop, or even work a job at another player's shop or NPC shop. Sure the income shouldn't be high (don't want it abused) but it should be a nice "maintance" income if nothing else. Also, once you actually log in you are wisked back to where you logged off and into "Hero" or "Online" mode with a nice overview report of what your avatar was doing while you were offline. It could even be a message service.
5. Offline Skill progression. Yes, no classes or levels! YAY! And basically just copy EVE's real time skill progression system (best to add it to the offline script system) along with a "learn as you do it" system. I.e. training, reading, or doing. Combine this with the offline script system and you can "assign" your toon to "Study" for X hours a day. It's a bit JRPG but I don't see why the system couldn't work, but deffinetly worth thinking about.
Current Game: Asssasins Creed 2(PS3, Gamer Tag: Happy_Hubby)
Current MMO: World of Warcraft and World of Tanks
Former Subscribed MMO: Star Trek Online, Aion, WoW, Guild Wars, Eve Online, DAoC, City of Heroes, Shattered Galaxy, 10six.
Tried: Too many to list
1. Allow someone to do everything on 1 character, but limit what they can do at one time by equipment, magic juju or current human interface device etc. We should also be able to build our own classes using bits and pieces of different classes
2. Dynamic content instead of quests, and I don't mean dynamic quests. I mean more like you get told there's some fighting over here, a military supply base here, reconstruction effort here, too many native rats here, food needs here now go out there and make yourself useful. Need to make these activities fun in themselves not fun cause you get 500 xp and 20 gold at the end. Also less 'go here and kill this'. i want jobs for mechanics, healers, bakers etc. You should be able to play the game without having to fire a shot, of course a combat version of most of these jobs would be good as well.
3. DEEP race development. I mean really ****ing deep, should at least 5 races each with their own backstory specializations gameplay style history culture etc. And for the love of god don't try to merge it into 2/3 sides to make it easy, race A and B may be friends and race C and B may be friends but race C may hate A and D doesn't like A but is willing to work with A in conflict areas involving C cause they really need the firepower and B is trying to ally itself with E who wants to stay out of the conflict due to internal strife........... You get the picture make the politics and backstory deep, and make sure players play an important part not just in the factions themselves but by being able to make their own factions and interact with the factions around them. And finally make the non playable factions have a goal and reason not "I'm just here so you have someone to farm".
4. BALANCE there should be advantages and ROLES for new players. A week old newbie should be able to fight with the maxed out players even if they contribute less you should want to bring them because they will bring "something" to the fight. Weather it's a little bit more dps, extra people that can be used to man siege weapons/cap flags or points/just overwhelm the enemy with numbers when you go to war you should never say "sorry you can't come you havn't reached level xx".
5. The ability to build our own empires, if their is an npc structure in the game i wanna be able to build it. We should have the potential to build empires that rival the npc ones perhaps even fight against or try to overtake them, or even work with them. This should be more than just buildings, this can be taking our own areas setting up our own politics and rules and culture, at it's most awesome it would be being able to invent your own technologies and weapons for your player faction and possibly creating a new species.
6. GRIND. try to avoid it where possible, instead give passive incomes that you have to fight over, or if character grind spread it out instead of making it 2 months of grind then the game gets fun.
Into the breach meatbags
I would really like to hear you elaborate on this. I can agree and disagree with this comment in that maybe a pure sandbox game is a dieing breed and we will see for more hybrid games, but i'm curious as to why you think this.
One thing I would like to see games do is have more gameplay features that help bring players together instead of compete against one another. And I'm not talking about PvP. I realize a lot of players like to compare themselves to other palyers for whatever reason, but it seems to have gotten ridiculously out of hand recently. Players won't take you along with them unless you have certain stats or items or whatever measuring stick they prefer to use. What happened to the days when it players enjoyed taking new players along and showing them the ropes; when it was advantageous to help other players along and help them grow? There is a huge gap growing between veteran players and new players in alot of games. And its getting bigger and bigger. Both groups are becoming more isolated in my opinion. I don't think this is a good thing.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
You do realize the whole premise of a BOSS was to utilize them for RARE loot.If EVERYOEN has super easy access to rare loot,then i guess it is not so rare anymore right?That makes loot worthless and the game a little less intriguing.It also makes for less of a marketplace,since nobody needs to buy what is easily had.Instancing is a total fail imo.
The most sought after loot in many games also has some instancing,but they put timers on entrance,or yo uhave to EARN your way in either by savign up large sums of currency or earning it some other way example Beastmen/Kindred seals in FFXI.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
exapnding on the "girl stuff comment" i think just adding non combat will draw in more people period, imursivneess is never a bad thing. Take WoW for example, in most games you "doors" between zones but the Tram is real, you can fall off or even WALL to the attached town, i loved that.
Here are my 5 things I want to see.
1. A huge world where every player played on the same server.
2. As player progress, they learn new ability and obtain new gears that gives them more option on how to play their character, and not just an upgrade of a weaker version. (A lot like a good game Magic The Gathering)
3. Player driven economy.
4. Lots of conflict and many different faction fighting over precious resources and strategic location.
5. Easy to learn and hard to master. A game where a player who just join the game can easily destroy the 5 years veteran given he possessed sufficient skill and intellect.