General: Community Spotlight: New MMOs: What Do You Want?

MikeB

This week’s Community Spotlight focuses on the thread “What would you want from new mmos that you’re not getting?” by Amathe. This is a bit of a hat-trick for Amathe, as this is his third time being in the spotlight !

Amathe offers a few of his own ideas below:

“This is not directed to old mmos, current ones or even ones we know are coming. The idea is, if a game development company were reading this thread for ideas on something totally new, or at least something that needs total improvement, what advice would you give them?

I will chip in my own idea (not to say no one ever thought of it but me lol). But try to make the thread about your own wishes and not the merits of mine. *wink*

Personally, I would like my avatar to seem less like a clothes rack and feel more "alive." He or she should sustain wounds, be subject to illness, grow older over time, perhaps need a shave or a haircut, and so on. Items should have weight, as they used to, and weight should have an effect. The more activity I engage in, the stronger I should become, not simply as a +10 stat bonus from an item.  Armor should look more weather beaten over time and with use. My character may sustain a permanent scar that has a story behind it.

I'm not wedded to one particular mechanic. But the overall effect I am looking for is an avatar that feels like a living person who needs care and benefits from it (or who suffers from neglect).

Anyway that's mine. What is yours?”

Read this week's Community Spotlight here.

Netgamer7k

I like his idea about our characters being more than just a clothes rack. I'd like to see characters interact with the environment around them more. Aion had a bit of this when the weather was blatant, ie, pulling out a big leaf and using it as an umbrella when it was raining. In EQ2 and other MMO's, your character's head would turn and look at another player or NPC. Simple things like this to make the game feel more alive is definitely a plus.

More guild versus guild related features is defintely a plus in my book. Guilds owning a particular area, and if an opposing guild member is wandering about on their territory, trouble is on the horizon. Guild versus guild drama is priceless. SWG had this feature somewhat, with player cities and opposing faction/guild being in their city.

MareWinds

Housing, proper housing, beneficial housing.

Not only do you have a place where you can display all of your "stuff" that you've enjoyed collecting, or a place to gather with friends to RP; you have a place where you can do alchemy, store your ingredients, as well as the resulting potions in shelves for easy use. Your construction or smithing skills can be used at in-house stations, and the resulting creations diplayed there, granting you permanent bonuses to these skills. Trophies from kills or special achievements are kept there, and displaying them provides additional character bonuses. Only those things you have achieved, not bought elsewhere, can add to your own attributes. By your own sweat, your own efforts, you build what is a framework house into a home that benefits you.

THAT is housing!

ThomasN7

How about some freedom in mmos. Alot of emphasis is being put on story and linear paths. It would be nice to actually do things that do not always involve the straight path to victory.

aleos

Freedom.

Fayrede

Originally posted by aleos

Freedom.

I agree in the fact that an open world mmorpg would be ideal. ESPECIALLY, what was written on housing. Housing has gone missing ever since the days of SWG,  the best feature they EVER came up with were player cities because it brought politics into the community. People like to believe they are a person living in an actual VIRTUAL world, rather then playing a game where it's like...ok go to section A and retrieve 34 eggs.....I get bored quite easily.

SWG...and yes even early days of WOW when exploration was popular...caught my attention because of its community. When the community dies, the game loses its focus. I'd like to see more features like this. So please game developers, I'd like to see an actual virtual community with features like auction house system, and things dedicated to creating your own economy. Crafting systems, and more PVE, not so much focused on PVP systems.

While killing X dragon and getting epic uber gear might be fun for others, some of us actually like to LIVE as if we are the character. I think if our character were "brought ot life" like stated above, and actual could own our own city/houses and build more on community relationship factors like GUILDS. The game lasts more. Being able to roam freely in the world, climb mountains, and not be stopped by an "invisible wall" that holds you back. Something that makes you forget you are playing just a game.

This is the game that I will continue playing. SWG pre-cu was the closest game that came that to me, only because the community was so strong in the fact you had a choice in your virtual life.

Hedeon

then00bcomic...want to play that one and with that much freedom ;P

well what I want in MMOs and any game is alot of suprises and something that not neccesarily everyone knows (dont say this cant be done, actually EQ2 had this for a long time, ofc mainly cause ppl not paying attention to quests, and envoirnment, but its soo awesome to figure you knew some little detail no one else did, or after a couple years in the game still can find things you never knew - no longer EQ2 cater to this   .

want the choices you make to make a diffrence to your char and game world - game world changes needing more than 1 obvious - one of the reasons got hyped about seeds even if it in basics seemed to be a simple game...ow and a non combat one, just too bad they hardly knew how to make a game code work....let alone a MMO.

freedom, suprises and dont give the answer upfront in fear that no one will notice - actually gives something to "nerdtalk" about, also a huge deal of randomness - know the game but not exact what happens...wont get any of that when just go by the 1 mio trash quests, especially with quest markers., being sorta burned out on MMOs that just make me uninstall faster than installed  the "game"

who care to lvl up just to get teh uber gear, well goldfarmers maybe.

BlacRyu

I agree with a lot of the things posted here. It's not always about running around and slaying monsters 24/7, a lot of the fun of the game is in the little details and distractions. Even though I consider myself a core gamer, I really like having things like mini-games and trade skills such as those in WoW or runescape that I can spend time with when I get tired of the usual grind. I also think Maplestory did a really good job with their party quest system. It's more challenging than grinding, has better rewards, and it's a group activity so you can do it with your friends, or make new ones.

Also, concerning graphics, I don't really care if things look realistic or not, however what I do care about is smoothness of animations and responsiveness of commands. It's a major turn-off if my character is randomly changing positions or getting teleported all over the place because I'm out of sync with the server. A lot of times it's not about how laggy the servers are, but how the game deals with lag in general.

Lighten_Up

 

Obviously, no-one cares for quest dialogues. 

 

Developers should slap on an open-environment, invite creative players in and let them do the magic. They'll do all the hard work and you won't have to pay 'em a dime. Don't worry, they love doing your job! Of course there have been games like Second-Life and what not who had this same concept, but nothing in an RPG sense. 

 

I'd love to see what players can come up with, be it housing or making-up their own epic quests. Creating their own NPCs, or even cultures and worlds. Why can't there be a character creation system where players can just draw (or if you can't draw, hire someone who will do it for you) how they view themselves in those player created environments? Perhaps there could be an MMO where players can just start their own universes, add an entire lore to it and have people join his/her universe with their characters! Imagine what great idea's could come up from all these collective environments created by you and all other participants. Of course, we're still humans, so there will be wars and battles will be lost, but this will add up for an even greater gaming experience.

 

Best of all, nobody gets hurt!

 

Ah, I can talk about this stuff for hours, but I won't bore you. If I had the money and know-how, heck, I'd probably be working on something along those lines. Of course, It'll never be good enough, but I'll try my best to make it happen (and work). 

boincman

I want to be able to turn left instead of right if I want to.  Or as someone put it "freedom".  I want to be able to climb the mountain or a tree.  I want to see things change over time.

SabbathSMC

Well lets take features already out there and put them in one game...

First i would like to see a game with a living world like wurm online.

Second the crafting of wurm online.

Then i would like the graphics of Conan.

And for pvp I would like the pvp combat style of DarkFall.

For meaning behind PVP we need a world where pvp actualy does something like gives bonuses to a paticular race something like Dark Ages of Conan.

And also for the pvp the world should have it where people can pvp or not pvp. This i think would bring both groups together in one world. Something similar to Aerrevan.

 

and to top it all off as the OP said a living character and all the good stuff he listed.

that to me would be the perfect game. 

Dwarvish

 I'd like an open world like GW2 seems to e trying for.  The world has issues which are the central story line but there are also choices to be made that affect the world but are players choice things.

 Good housing, some type of craft system  are a must.

Vaultar

Vaultar

I want everyone that Guild Wars 2 will have lol.

Rajen

I'd like to see a system that gets rid of loot drama.

 

Whatever boss mob you kill the loot that drops is specifically for you and only you can see that loot, it would be the same for each party member. No more guild point systems, no more fighting with guild mates over who gets what rare gear, etc.

Dendro

Freedom

If I want to learn to make swords and then potions, I shouldn't have to stop learning how to make swords. Same with classes If I want to a sword n board Tank and then a healer why should I have to make a new character or re-spec abililties. If I put the effort into everything then I should be able to achieve that.

Player Housing that matters.

I like to solo, so like in AoC night time in Tortage (If you've played the game then you know what I'm taking about) I want the ability to get away from everyone in the game, if I want to.

MareWinds

It also occurs to me that one of the main things I've been wishing for as a framework for an MMO already happened in a certain single-player game (which wasn't perfectly duplicated in the next installment): Morrowind. Add one or two of the best sandbox mods to the base game, and you've got an MMO you'll never want to leave. Freedom? Definitely -- it's moddable! Deep main storyline and meaningful, interesting side quest lines? Oh yes. Character customization? None better. Graphics? So many years later, Bethesda STILL rocks my world.

I know there's an MMO on the horizon for this development company, and last I knew, it wasn't in the word of Elder Scrolls. If it was, I'd be clamoring to enter any stage of beta, and I'm pretty sure they'd have me on board for life... at least until we can all jack into a game without frying our wetware.  ;-)

Xotell

I've put some thought into this kind of thing even as I play, wondering what could be better. Like it was said, time-based facets of games are very limited to one's own gain and realistic things like scars, weight and age are all void in MMOs.

A major thing I would love in any game is dynamic progress or leveling. Instead of plain one level at a time it should be split into a realistic progress list made up of everything you put effort into, making your "level" based on traits and skills you've put work into.

For RPGs the basic melee attack is unchanging and repetitive and it practically embodies grinding when there could be loads of strategy and different ways of doing it. I've pictured a list of ten or so attacks each having different advantages and disadvantages, the player picks three to use at a time and that set could be completely situational for one type of enemy because of how it's done.  And that set, as it's used over time, becomes practiced and more efficient following my first suggestion. I see huge potential here.

A small but pertpetual problem I see with realism in MMOs is resurrection. How can a war be fought when all you do is get back up? Greater penalties or even permanent death should appear more often. What makes this problem worse is the impotent solution to death of experience loss, if your body is simply reborn or your soul returns to your body, what experience is lost?

/conclusion?

cryhavocm

SWG Jump to Lightspeed was such a thrill for me.  I loved being able to be at the helm of my ship (or vehicle in any other game) and take off like a bat out of hell.  Sometimes I was flying a ponderously slow bat, but I still loved it.  I lost a lot of interest when it started to push PVP over other aspects of the game, often feeling pressured to choose a side or be pushed aside as a player. 

I agree with earlier posts that a non-linear paths would be nice.  Play into the story line if you want to, but not be required to to make significant progress.  Choices and paths you make should affect your character (much like FABLE).  A toon that ages adds a bit of character, as does the look of equipment that's been used and abused for  a long time.

An open environment (or environments for multi-world/dimension/plane games) would be awsome.  Endless exploration, unless you world is a sphere and even then it's a sense of accoplishment to circumfrence your game-world globe.

maddog15a

well great stories, and charaters that are remeberable, smouth graphics and animation.  The graphics got  to hav a theme like WoW or Mabinogi, it annoys me when games hav cartoony charater models but realistic world and/or weapons  and vesa versa.

But most of all i want an mmo with a world that has things going on like NPCs fighting or citys torn becuz a plotical dispute, and im so tired of monster just standing out in the open oh and next to the npc telling me to kill them (why me there not going any where or hurting anyone) if a monster is a threat let me see how threating it is in the world.  Make creatures hurd in flock or packs, make NPCs close shop for the night lol, and make Monsters strike villeges, so when i see it i can say(its to strong now but later ur mine)

and finaly mmo cities need laws that the player can choose to follow or break, and if like a player is banned for hacking, cheating etc. dont jsut banned his/her account take their longest played character and stick them in the stocks,  the sewer cages or the prizon space station for all to see

Safra

This is directed in response to the article and contains my personal opinion regarding playing MMOs and MMORPGs.

The extras need to become the norm rather than the exception aka "extra or bonus features".

Player housing to store things would be great as long as the F2P urge to Cash Shop storage is kept in check and not out of reach of the average, sometimes, and non-cash player. Creating a system whereby a player MUST go out and quest, MUST collect and sell the drops as the coin is pitiful, and then make the player storage meager (12 slots or less) so as to require numerous trips in a one evening gaming session to empty it, BUT, "What a deal what a steal! We'll SELL you four more slots for $5" - ugh! Terrible! How about you expand the storage all-the-way for $5?

Clothing and fashion are okay I guess, again, as long as the Cash Shop model is kept in check with game economy corrections when players attempt to "game" the Cash Shop model and keep items out of reach for "in-game rep" or other such nonsensical badges of identity.

I think the worst Cash Shop item I've run into is what I call the "color lottery". You buy fashion in this game, BUT, it comes in hideous colors. You need to cash buy dye to change the colors - fine. BUT, there is no way to buy a SPECIFIC color. It's completely random. You buy a dye pack and open it to see what colors you got, no guarantees and you may need to buy several tens of packs to get what you want. Needless to say in THAT game I will not buy any fashion simply because they go overboard on player exploitation.

Cash Shop in general? Stop doing a one-to-one conversion. Stop charging too high. Realize that 1 million times 0.50 is more than 250,000 times 1.00. DO NOT put vital game mechanic items in the Cash Shop - at all. By that I mean - don't put ANYTHING necessary to reach end game in a reasonable length of time into the Cash Shop, player created economies notwithstanding.

Extra power-ups, much faster mounts, super-charged weapons - things the power-leveler wants - perhaps. But NOT the items required for routine game play. One Cash Shop note - if you are selling faster, more powerful items, such as mounts, make the speed and/or power a much higher factor than what can be done routinely. Don't charge $5-15 for a measly factor of 0.5 to 1.5. I wouldn't buy it and consider anyone foolish who does spend that much money when the number should be 2x and above - to start.

PvP as choice, not a game direction. I do not and never will play a exclusively PvP based game. I have no interest whatsoever ganking or dueling another player, or in the "rankings", "reputation", etc., etc. Others want it included - fine. But I want to choose what I do and am the effect of.

More to do, meaning - develop the game as though it were a community. If I want to be a woodworker and provide furniture for those who own houses, cottages, taverns, etc., let me. Make me harvest wood, trade for tools, and so on, but let me craft. I believe there is a larger audience for the support functions surrounding battles. Blacksmithing, armor and apothecary crafting, on and on. I could play an entire game just crafting given the chance, BUT, I don't want to be LOCKED into being a crafter, warrior, archer, etc. Why can't people be what they are in real live? We're all hybrids of some sort, multi-tasking to make it all work. Limiting us in a game makes it drudgery after a while, necessitating game-change to get excited again.

Community. In most games I've played community is the weakest item that the game developer offers. Chat is old school and nearly useless, there aren't any tools to in-game connect easily with one another and in some that do have mail they charge ridiculously to use the system.

I want places to gather with a chat system that WORKS, not limps along - barely.

Community has GOT to be more than fighting guilds. There's got to be a way for like-minded, scheduled, and skilled individuals to find one another other than joining guild after guild in a fruitless search for less drama and more meaningful interaction.

More events that are planned and executed for all players, not just those in high-powered guilds or those who know the GMs (sorry but it happens). If it has to be a multi-tiered event run at different times - so be it.

GMs who are NOT personally known in the game and do not exhibit ANY favoratism towards any set, or subset of players. This can be accomplished by monitoring GM activity HEAVILY and truly needs to be on the planning list before launching into coding. You NEED to watch your employees so they don't corrupt the user experience. You PAY the GM, the user pays YOU. Get the picture?

Stop making it so apparent that you (game developers) are ONLY galloping after personal in-pocket ROI that includes buying and equipping private islands, or some other such nonsense. Players aren't stupid and know how to use calculators to determine gross income from YOUR press releases about numbers of active players. We will always ditch a favorite game if a better one comes along that fills the needs that are lacking attention in yours.

I don't know, that's about all on my mind - regarding this topic - at the moment.

Kordelio

ill be honest....i want an mmo based on the Monster Hunter series with similar gameplay.