The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I don't get what sandbox can't have a good story? like.....why oh why?
Never realy played a sandbox mmo before, but what do people do if they don't want combat and story in there? just crafting and......exploring?
Traditionally, Sandbox-heavy games are more oriented towards gameplay options that are not primarily confined to combat, as well as a more generic setting. Two major intents, really.
1) Options for players to do a variety of things out there.
2) Provide an interesting enough backdrop for a player to engage the game world and forge their own path and story. When and where they want to.
Would you believe that there were MMORPGs that had professions that included not a single ounce of combat abilities? No quest for them to go out and cleanse the countryside of every critter or evil being?
I'll use the older version of Star Wars Galaxies as an example. Back in the day, gameplay placed a premium on every type of player character. Combat oriented, hunting, resource gathering (organic or mineral), crafting (by far it had the best, deepest, most engaging crafting system I have ever seen or heard of in an MMORPG), a true player run economy (there really wasn't quest items of note, and the game did not center itself on loot), etc. Everyone played a role in the community and server economy.
Let me say this also:
The game also had players that were totally dedicated to Crafting & Merchant aspects of the game. They didn't even bother going out to fight, hunt, PvP. The game offered a very deep experience in this aspect of gameplay, and there were numerous people who were completely content with that. A good crafter and merchant can forge a name for themselves on a server. When players talked / showed their gear to their buddies, the name of a recognizeable crafter on the "Crafted by" portion of info can potentially say all that needs to be said on the quality, pricing, and ethics of that Crafter.
The game also had professions that were dedicated to the social aspect. You had musicians, dancers, etc. that hanged around the cities / towns, especially at the bars and cantinas (think of a club). They brought benefits to players who watched / listened. Players also talked to each other while on breaks before going out on their next adventure / hunt / PvP sessions / etc. Again, you had players that were totally and happily dedicated to this social oriented part of the game.
You also had a chance to set up your house in a wide variety of locales. Just pick a plot of land and you're there. You weren't restricted to specific zones.
These are just examples on some Sandbox heavy themes. Simply put, gameplay did not force you down a path of quests towards progression. Gameplay gave deep experiences outside of combat.
If you want a real Sandbox game, players must have options and freedom to do things.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
I don't get what sandbox can't have a good story? like.....why oh why?
Never realy played a sandbox mmo before, but what do people do if they don't want combat and story in there? just crafting and......exploring?
What you need to understand that in a well crafted sandbox style virtual world it is the other players who are the real story. Any story content added by the Developers is just backdrop for the players to craft their own adventures.
And that's what you get in a game like EVE. Nobody cares about the "lore" in the game. The real stories are about which Corp (guild) is on top, which Corp crushed another, which one was betrayed and had all their money stolen, etc.
so shouldn't the dev try like player created content? like the recently announced Infamous 2 player created missions
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW? As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Comments
Heh. Those bastards!
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Traditionally, Sandbox-heavy games are more oriented towards gameplay options that are not primarily confined to combat, as well as a more generic setting. Two major intents, really.
1) Options for players to do a variety of things out there.
2) Provide an interesting enough backdrop for a player to engage the game world and forge their own path and story. When and where they want to.
Would you believe that there were MMORPGs that had professions that included not a single ounce of combat abilities? No quest for them to go out and cleanse the countryside of every critter or evil being?
I'll use the older version of Star Wars Galaxies as an example. Back in the day, gameplay placed a premium on every type of player character. Combat oriented, hunting, resource gathering (organic or mineral), crafting (by far it had the best, deepest, most engaging crafting system I have ever seen or heard of in an MMORPG), a true player run economy (there really wasn't quest items of note, and the game did not center itself on loot), etc. Everyone played a role in the community and server economy.
Let me say this also:
The game also had players that were totally dedicated to Crafting & Merchant aspects of the game. They didn't even bother going out to fight, hunt, PvP. The game offered a very deep experience in this aspect of gameplay, and there were numerous people who were completely content with that. A good crafter and merchant can forge a name for themselves on a server. When players talked / showed their gear to their buddies, the name of a recognizeable crafter on the "Crafted by" portion of info can potentially say all that needs to be said on the quality, pricing, and ethics of that Crafter.
The game also had professions that were dedicated to the social aspect. You had musicians, dancers, etc. that hanged around the cities / towns, especially at the bars and cantinas (think of a club). They brought benefits to players who watched / listened. Players also talked to each other while on breaks before going out on their next adventure / hunt / PvP sessions / etc. Again, you had players that were totally and happily dedicated to this social oriented part of the game.
You also had a chance to set up your house in a wide variety of locales. Just pick a plot of land and you're there. You weren't restricted to specific zones.
These are just examples on some Sandbox heavy themes. Simply put, gameplay did not force you down a path of quests towards progression. Gameplay gave deep experiences outside of combat.
If you want a real Sandbox game, players must have options and freedom to do things.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
so shouldn't the dev try like player created content? like the recently announced Infamous 2 player created missions
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.