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Key Features for DMO (Opinion)
Avathos
Member UncommonPosts: 155
Here is a list of features that I would love see in DMO. Please feel free to add any ideas you would like DMO to have, but try not to critique other people ideas ( positive or negative). The intent of this thread is to provide feedback to developers and let them decide which ideas work for their MMO.
The “Invasion Concept”
Invasions like ones in Rift are basically Warhammer Online (WAR) public quests on steroids. In Rift these invasions tend to change the game dynamics and progression. Some of these invasions should be able to take over NPC camps forcing the players to work together to overcome the invaders in order to complete their quests, acquire new quests and most important stopping the potential for more serious invasions that eventually overruns the entire zone. For DMO these invasions can be:
DROP PODs with Space Marines NPCs attacking a certain Chaos NPC base or area
WARP Portals with demons attacking Imperial NCP areas
Ork Infestations attacking either side.
“End Game PvE Content”
No doubt casual players make a huge base of an MMO gaming population; however, most developers tend to overlook the top 10% of the gaming community. Competition between Hardcore guilds (players) can a be a great publicity tool. These guilds are constantly recruiting and bragging on forums about their progression. It doesn’t take much to achieve this, WoW, EQ-2 and Rift have done a excellent job by having 2+ raiding zones available at release. For DMO having maybe 3 COMPLETE raiding zones like:
Dark elf relic instance that contains a critical “relic” for both sides to access, with bosses, sub bosses and elite NPCs. (The relic concept is just fluff)
Since chaos fights chaos and the empire as well. An instance from Chaos God that can be accessed by both factions. (Nurgle, Khorne, etc)
Orks warboss layer instance.
In addition, dungeons aimed to progression can offer end game content to both hardcore and casual players. These TIERed dungeons will provide equipment progression upgradesfor both casual and hardcore players. This is nnot a new idea and it has been done in many games before, for DMO I suggest something like this:
Max level Gratz!
T1 dungeons (aimed for casual players grouping, easy to clear)
T2 dungeons (aimed for organized small guilds)
Raid zones (aimed for raiding guilds)
“End Game RvR Content”
If I am correct DMO main purpose is war (For the Emperor!). Well designed Open-RvR lakes on which the server community participates to defeat the other side. I feel that Warhammer did an excellent job on the open RvR lakes, however warhammer failed by giving RvR areas lineal progression. So how can we make people want to RvR and go to this areas? I suggest the following:
Provides Events that trigger RvR. For example, multiple distress signals from a RvR lakes locations that alert both sides of something happening. Once again Drop pods, chaos portals, Ork fogus can be random revealed in the map.
RVR LAKE DOESNT HAVE TO BE A HUGE PIECE OF LAND. IT CAN BE A HUGE MONASTERY, A HUGE CAVE FULL OF NECRONS, ORK FONGUS INFESTED SWAMP.
Please ensure that death in PvP and RvR is somewhat meaningful, but not unforgiving. Players need to feel a “sense of loss” for dying without gimping. Here are a few suggestions for making DMO RvR and PvP meaningful but not unbalanced:
Multiple deaths within a period of time should increase the respawn timer.
Killing players should unlock titles.
Offer victory points for capture, kills. These points can be used to purchase gear improvement, armor adornments, and vehicle repairs.
RvR wins could unlock PvE content of some kind.
“Equipment and the effects on PvP & PvE”
Players love gear upgrades. This game element has had a huge impact in titles like Diablo, WoW , Rift and EQ-2. II hope that in DMO there are different versions of weapon from: standard issue, upgraded, blessed, holy and finally relic. Same as white, green, blue, purple and gold in other MMOs. The only problem with gear progression is that in PvP it can easily ruin the balance and fun. With that in mind I would like to make a suggestion:
For example: (THE NUMBERS USED ON THIS EXAMPLE ARE JUST TO MAKE POINT)
Issued Space Marine Bolter Gun: 30-50 standard damage. Does 100% to Monsters and 105% to players
Relic Space Marine Bolter Gun: 40-60 standard damage. Does 110% to monsters and 100% to players.
The idea is to make weapons scale enough for a players to desire them, but not enough to totally unbalance the PvP content.
Comments
you forgot 3 factions are needed for good rvr.
hopefully we will get most of that, cant see why they wouldnt tbh
Wow. Nice write up. I would like to see all of that. Hopefully.
I would like to see a few thigns happen here in order to make this game a success.
Nice list there Avathos, Ill comment on some of your suggestions in anothe post, well done.
1. PVP with a purpose and proper usage of instancing:
I would very much liek to see PVP at all levels have some sort of purpose and be heavily objective oriented. Balance comes first and foremost but thematic pvp combat is essential for this games success. I would like to see a system where Open-world pvp was the dirving force of the game. I am all for instances (provided they are done well and not over done) but what I mean here, as I have stated elsewhere is a system similar to DAoC's Darkness Falls.
In DAoC there was an instanced PVP/PVE area called Darkness Falls where a lot of interesting combat took place. To gain entrance to darkness falls your faction had to fulfill open world pvp objectives for the instance to open for you. This gave actual incentive for open world pvp and it rewarded that PVP with a meaningful prize: access to one of the coolest instances in the game. There are certainly balance issues to take into consideration with a system like this, but like GW2 is evolving the conept of public quests, I could see the DF system evolving into a system that keeps open world PVP king and has instances open and close based upon objectives that are fulfilled over time.
example: There is a mineral deposit on a planet that is key to keeping the war machine going and massive battles have raged on over this resource. The com station of the mining operation is fought over. When a certain side fulfills the objective of taking control of the com station, an instanced battle with vehicles galore could open up for X amount of plays (the equivalent of a few days real-time or so in order to give all a chance who want to participate the ability to do so) and acess is granted to both sides. whichever side wins the lions share of these instanced combats during the time the instance is open, will recieve a reward for doing so. The side could recieve some currency of some type for the victory, but more importantly, I think the capitol city of each race should have some dynamic content where the final outcome of victory in one of these 'campaigns' would result in some sort of statue, monolith or other structure commemorating the victory in game in a very real and themaic way.
This solves a few problems I have with instanced pvp.
This allows instanes to rotate in and out of play, keeping them fresh and not just a meat market style instance where it sucks the pvp out of the open world
It allows for a variety o instances to come in and out of rotation dependign on what open world objectives are fulfilled
it keeps Open world PVP in control as the rightful king of pvp and has it used as the means to dictate all other forms of pvp available in a real and thematic way.
This system could also be used to open up PVE/PVP instances a la Darkness Falls.
2. An Icey Alliance!
Traditionally in the warhammer universe, allainces have been out of necessity of survival for those who rally agaisnt chaos. For Chaos, any alliances have been based upon manipulation and lies in order to further thier objectives. Either way, the allainces have always been icey at best and typically desolve once the immediate threat is dealt with one way or another.
I would like an allaince system that has the potential of breaking during the game in very controlled and regulated ways. There should be PVE sabotage missions that members of a faction can go on to attempt to disrupt and sour the alliance of the opposing side. enough people do this repeatable mission over time and the allaince between the rival faction breaks and allows for PVP between the allied faction for a limited time. These missions could become available at greater fequency to the losing side so the could break the allaince of the dominant side and while they are fighting eachother, move in for the kill.
This accomplishes 2 VERY important gameplay objectives:
FREE FOR ALL PVP: Lets be honest, in the 40K world, everyone wants to fight everybody, but the 2 faction system allows the developer to fine tune the experience to make a fun and cinematic game. Is there a way to have both? YES. through this system, there will be states of open PVP between say, the orks and chaos for a limited time allowing the other faction to come in and attempt take over while thier opposition is in such a weakened state. "well to defend agaisnt this a smart realm would just not fight eachother and still concentrate on the enemy." you say. Well, given the chance to fight with no ill effects, I think most players will pull the trigger, but if you also offer faction and/or personal rewards for doing so, it becomes irresistible.
BALANCE: with the inclusion of space marines in a video game you can assume that faction balance will be an issue. if this issue is not prepared for AHEAD OF TIME (unline any other product to date) it will severely damage the game. This system (among others) allows the losing or lower population side to break the other sides allaince and as we all know.. "DIVIDE AND CONQUER" will be the name of the game here. This system among other implemented systems will give the losing side on a server a chance to balance the playing field and stay in the game. Meanwhile all of this is done, not by some arbitrary system, but by players, playing the game and fulfilling these sabotage quests awaiting the inevitible breakdown of the opposing alliance.
3. Instances/"dungeons" that support an action style gameplay:
The developers have said that they are going for a more cinematic experience and really want to amp up the "moment to moment" gameplay of this title. I hope this means that we wont see 'pull, rinse repeat' style gameplay in any instance, but rather instances that play out more like actual games.
An example would be a Space Hulk instance. Though I am sure many or most of us have played or at least know of the board game Space Hulk I will give a brief explanation. In space hulk, a group of marine terminators is tasked with a specific and changing objective within a space hulk all the while being closed in on basically on all sides by Genestealers. The game features clausterphobic corridors and hallways which one minute may be empty, but the next moment they are filled with genstealers tearing through Space Marines armor.
This style would easily translate to an instance that could have massive replay value.
Genestealers eat everything, so the theme is universal and any faction would be interested in something in a space hulk. The theme is universal and can lead to some exiting content.
Instead of genestealers simpley sitting in the space hulk waiting to be shot, they can be designed to behave like actual genestealers and swarm in from all sides, keeping the the party on their toes. This content could also be dynamically scaled to be challenging according to the power level of the group.
The Space hulk could be designed in a dynamic way to offer different content each time. The objective can be randomley determined as well as specific events that happen along the way. There could be areas along the pathway that could trigger one of several dynamic events. For instance once one of these events is triggered, a quick in game cut scene could show a massive hive tyrant break through one of the walls of the hallway and attack the party. Another cut scene could reveal several unnoticed genestealers crawling on the ceailing that ambush the party. The events could be scripted, but when they pop up culd be dynamiccally assigned so you never know what event will happen where. Even which boss pops up can be dynamic.
To design contet with replayability in mind will greatly increase the longevity of a game. This doesnt mean they should skimp on variety of instances, but it certinaly will spice things up a bit.