Sandboxish, but not

carrie01

I have been playing Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted and I like the crafting (and the great amount of choices), and the fact that I can switch out of different job class schools freely, while I explore and do quests, hunts, and harvest....

The problem is, nobody plays this game. There are some funny people chatting but they are all high level dragons or people soloing... The game has no incentive to group since the ame is easy to solo...

Basically I am looking for something similar but with a higher playerbase (this game has 70 people on at its peak) and harder content that people have to group up to triumph over... Don't know if this game exists, I havent found it.. I thought I would at least see if anyone here knew of anything...

 

 

 

Worstluck

Ryzom or Vanguard maybe?  Neither game has a high population though, at least not what I saw.

Hellfyre420

Originally posted by carrie01

I have been playing Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted and I like the crafting (and the great amount of choices), and the fact that I can switch out of different job class schools freely, while I explore and do quests, hunts, and harvest....

The problem is, nobody plays this game. There are some funny people chatting but they are all high level dragons or people soloing... The game has no incentive to group since the ame is easy to solo...

Basically I am looking for something similar but with a higher playerbase (this game has 70 people on at its peak) and harder content that people have to group up to triumph over... Don't know if this game exists, I havent found it.. I thought I would at least see if anyone here knew of anything...

 

 

 

Check out the Xsyon forums -

 

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/514/view/forums/forum/1036/General-Discussion.html

 

Do some reading on it.. very unique sandbox game where you craft everything from houses, motes, bridges, castles, and as technology evolves and people teraform the planet maybe eventually boats & cars.. Game looks really good but i havn't pulled the trigger yet cuz theres no free trial/beta and its $40.. But i hear nothing but good things from friends and other ppl on the forums.

carrie01

Ah, yes. Xsyon.

 

That game sure is getting a lot of hype isn't it? I am intrigued but I can't help to wonder if this game is going to be more like Second Life than Ultima Online or any other MMORPG :P

Istaria is a hybrid between themepark and sandbox, as you have a lot of freedom and choices, but it does have some limitations.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have considered Ryzom and I have played Vanguard. Vanguard is vast but not quite what I am looking for as there is little choice in character progression.

Darkfall seems like a great game but I am too much of a "carebear" for it. :P I also prefer a game that has a community that has some unity... Carebear or not, if a game feels like a PvP arena, you aren't going to like it unless you're a hardcore PvPer... Shame because the PvE is pretty fun in DF.

 

I think I may actually look into Asheron's Call... It may be doing better population wise than Istaria and apparently the game gives you a great deal of freedom...

lilreap2k3

Asheron's Call is amazing. I would still be playing if I had friends that still played. The graphics are a bit dated, but so is Horizons. I have yet to find another game that has a similar setup to AC. It makes me sad because AC got a lot of things right. The random loot which feels like Christmas when you kill high level mobs because there is so much to look through. The skill system where you place exp in whatever skills you want, in whatever order you want. Being able to hunt mobs with your friends even though they are 50 levels lower than you. /tear

On topic, you might want to read up on Xsyon. The dev team seems to know what they are doing even though they are small. You have the freedom to do almost anything, and there are no NPCs except wildlife in the game. I just started playing a few days ago, and I am having a great time so far. The final beta wipe is on the 18th, so I have just been adventuring and testing different stuff until then.

EDIT: If you decide to try out Xsyon, my tribe is recruiting and have been playing mmos together for a few years now. Feel free to toss me a pm if you like.