Also high learning curve? don't like the sounds of that
It's not free, but it has a 14 day trial to check out. The trial includes everything exclusing the last expansion and add-on pack.
So you can sub up after the trial for the 13 bucks per month, and play with everything up to (but not including) Stygian Abyss and High Seas. The upgrade for those is like 19.99 and 14.99 I think.
It's been out since 1997. It's Isometric view, 2D but has an enhanced client (as well as the original 2D client) if you prefer. I am using the enhanced client and like it alot. A lot of vets prefer the classic client though. There's an entire naval/ship system. There's fulyl fleshed out player housing that all exists within the real world (no instances). There's an entire crafting and player market/vendor system.
There's no forced PvP. It does have world PvP (very active on Atlantic shard btw) but it happens on a sort of copy of the world... if you will... A different facet called Felluca. You get there via a moongate in the game. In Felluca it's open world pvp. You can call the guards within towns and safe areas, but aside from that it's open game there. On the Trammel facet there is no open pvp, it's a safe world. All of these facets exist on a server, so you can come and go at will. There's other facets too, and they all share the trammel ruleset of no open pvp. Felluca is the only one that is open pvp.
If you can handle the graphics (Some, like myself, actually love the detail) then the game is amazing. Like I said though, it has a steep learning cruve, but it's so addicting and worth it. The scope of this game will forever, imo, remained unmatched.
For anybody looking for a true sandbox, I would highly recommend the trial. The community in this game is top notch.
Edit - I praise the game because I absolutely love it after all of these years, but it's defnitely not for everybody. A good friend of mine who I have been gaming with for many years, tried UO on my recommendation, and he HATED it. So, as always, your mileage may vary The free trial is a great thing imo.
UO is awesome.. UO was my first mmo and the only one I played for much more then a year... (5 years +) followed by WoW for 2 years (mostly because of the people and the fact , say what you will but it IS really polished and smooth mmo)
I would be playing UO right now honestly.. but there isnt anything I have not done / seen in that wonderful game. I can't even play because I know every skill and how to raise it, and how to get millions in a matter of weeks lol..
But if you were to start it for the first time... and werent offset by the dated (although charming) graphics.. I think you would be amazed to find what a decade+ old game is capable of doing that NO games today offer you in the way of freedom / customization / play how you want type sandbox..
there really aren't any strictly pve sandboxes out there. usually that's because sandbox is synonyms with "very few rules" and this translates in "kill anything or anyone any place any time". this is the sort of freedom most sandbox aficionados crave and love. this full loot free for all pvp setting also adds a great deal of excitment(in the form of danger) to game that would otherwise be , quite frankly, incredibly dull from a strictly pve prospective.
sorry to say but if you want a mostly pve sanbox with the option to pvp on the side you are out of luck.
i think we're mixing logical statements here.
all full loot, full pvp'rs want a sandbox game =/= all sandbox gamers are into full loot, full pvp1
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
there really aren't any strictly pve sandboxes out there. usually that's because sandbox is synonyms with "very few rules" and this translates in "kill anything or anyone any place any time". this is the sort of freedom most sandbox aficionados crave and love. this full loot free for all pvp setting also adds a great deal of excitment(in the form of danger) to game that would otherwise be , quite frankly, incredibly dull from a strictly pve prospective.
sorry to say but if you want a mostly pve sanbox with the option to pvp on the side you are out of luck.
i think we're mixing logical statements here.
all full loot, full pvp'rs want a sandbox game =/= all sandbox gamers are into full loot, full pvp1
So true.
Ryzom is a PvE sandbox. I'm sure there are others, oh....Wurm Online....I can't really think of a lot of them, but there are a couple or a few.
Doesn't really matter about pop then. I just want a PVE oriented sanbox MMO. That post apocolyptic one sounded fun (Xsyon), until I saw it has world pvp.
I don't find it fun getting ganked off players who are veterans or have better items, etc
Try Saga Of Ryzom because i don't know if there is any other PVE sandbox MMO which is not FFA PVP. Fallen Earth is also a good mix of themepark and sandbox MMO.
i played SoRyzom for a while, the only parts sandboxy to me were the character builds and the crafting. am i remembering incorrectly?
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Doesn't really matter about pop then. I just want a PVE oriented sanbox MMO. That post apocolyptic one sounded fun (Xsyon), until I saw it has world pvp.
I don't find it fun getting ganked off players who are veterans or have better items, etc
Try Saga Of Ryzom because i don't know if there is any other PVE sandbox MMO which is not FFA PVP. Fallen Earth is also a good mix of themepark and sandbox MMO.
i played SoRyzom for a while, the only parts sandboxy to me were the character builds and the crafting. am i remembering incorrectly?
You are, the game at large isn't a sandbox but has sandbox elements. It's definitely a hybrid, though.
"This is life! We suffer and slave and expire. That's it!" -Bernard Black (Dylan Moran)
i love Vanguard, it is a game i consistently 'come home' to. from the sounds of the forums the population is growing, but still find a good active guild. i think Twilight Songe is still going strong.
along with this SoE has made a public statement that VG is going to start receiving some dev love since the loss of SWG, which btw used to be a full on sandbox.
as for SoE programmers and VG that is a long held misconception. as much as i have a distaste for Smedley who runs SoE, when they bought out the rights to VG it was a mess. the only reason that game is now playable is because of SoE devs. never blame labor for what can be reasonably explained as heavy handed poor decision making on the part of management.
VG has more classes and races than you can shake a stick at and these are not just slightly tweaked versions of their archetypes. the healer archetype classes all play quite differently from each other for instance: plate wearing clerics, robe wearing bloodmages, polearm wielding disciples, and sword and board shaman who later choose one of three spirit forms to take shape in.
the crafting is simply the best in any mmo i have played since SWGpreNGE. the community while a bit insular is very helpful and friendly. and possibilities of exploration and soloing are there along with some of the best group dungeons i have seen in any game so far.
also, you currently don't have to buy the game. just download the trial, start on the trial island and then sub when your trial is up. do start on the trial island as its got the best intro tutorials to the 3 Spheres of gameplay in Vanguard. its a great deal really.
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Doesn't really matter about pop then. I just want a PVE oriented sanbox MMO. That post apocolyptic one sounded fun (Xsyon), until I saw it has world pvp.
I don't find it fun getting ganked off players who are veterans or have better items, etc
Try Saga Of Ryzom because i don't know if there is any other PVE sandbox MMO which is not FFA PVP. Fallen Earth is also a good mix of themepark and sandbox MMO.
i played SoRyzom for a while, the only parts sandboxy to me were the character builds and the crafting. am i remembering incorrectly?
You are, the game at large isn't a sandbox but has sandbox elements. It's definitely a hybrid, though.
and from what i remember when i played it, loads of fun. so definitely worth a free trial or w/e they're offering.
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
I've edited it cos this is a good site and i cba with the aggro lol
ya, we're talking real world open pvp here now buddy!
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Try Saga Of Ryzom because i don't know if there is any other PVE sandbox MMO which is not FFA PVP. Fallen Earth is also a good mix of themepark and sandbox MMO.
Comments
Read my sig. I used to play RS for years, I don't want to play it anymore. It isn't even a sandbox mmo anyways, IMO. Just click, click, click, boring.
It's not free, but it has a 14 day trial to check out. The trial includes everything exclusing the last expansion and add-on pack.
So you can sub up after the trial for the 13 bucks per month, and play with everything up to (but not including) Stygian Abyss and High Seas. The upgrade for those is like 19.99 and 14.99 I think.
It's been out since 1997. It's Isometric view, 2D but has an enhanced client (as well as the original 2D client) if you prefer. I am using the enhanced client and like it alot. A lot of vets prefer the classic client though. There's an entire naval/ship system. There's fulyl fleshed out player housing that all exists within the real world (no instances). There's an entire crafting and player market/vendor system.
There's no forced PvP. It does have world PvP (very active on Atlantic shard btw) but it happens on a sort of copy of the world... if you will... A different facet called Felluca. You get there via a moongate in the game. In Felluca it's open world pvp. You can call the guards within towns and safe areas, but aside from that it's open game there. On the Trammel facet there is no open pvp, it's a safe world. All of these facets exist on a server, so you can come and go at will. There's other facets too, and they all share the trammel ruleset of no open pvp. Felluca is the only one that is open pvp.
If you can handle the graphics (Some, like myself, actually love the detail) then the game is amazing. Like I said though, it has a steep learning cruve, but it's so addicting and worth it. The scope of this game will forever, imo, remained unmatched.
For anybody looking for a true sandbox, I would highly recommend the trial. The community in this game is top notch.
Edit - I praise the game because I absolutely love it after all of these years, but it's defnitely not for everybody. A good friend of mine who I have been gaming with for many years, tried UO on my recommendation, and he HATED it. So, as always, your mileage may vary The free trial is a great thing imo.
UO is awesome.. UO was my first mmo and the only one I played for much more then a year... (5 years +) followed by WoW for 2 years (mostly because of the people and the fact , say what you will but it IS really polished and smooth mmo)
I would be playing UO right now honestly.. but there isnt anything I have not done / seen in that wonderful game. I can't even play because I know every skill and how to raise it, and how to get millions in a matter of weeks lol..
But if you were to start it for the first time... and werent offset by the dated (although charming) graphics.. I think you would be amazed to find what a decade+ old game is capable of doing that NO games today offer you in the way of freedom / customization / play how you want type sandbox..
Anyway.. just my 2 cents
i think we're mixing logical statements here.
all full loot, full pvp'rs want a sandbox game =/= all sandbox gamers are into full loot, full pvp1
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
So true.
Ryzom is a PvE sandbox. I'm sure there are others, oh....Wurm Online....I can't really think of a lot of them, but there are a couple or a few.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
i played SoRyzom for a while, the only parts sandboxy to me were the character builds and the crafting. am i remembering incorrectly?
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
You are, the game at large isn't a sandbox but has sandbox elements. It's definitely a hybrid, though.
"This is life! We suffer and slave and expire. That's it!" -Bernard Black (Dylan Moran)
i love Vanguard, it is a game i consistently 'come home' to. from the sounds of the forums the population is growing, but still find a good active guild. i think Twilight Songe is still going strong.
along with this SoE has made a public statement that VG is going to start receiving some dev love since the loss of SWG, which btw used to be a full on sandbox.
as for SoE programmers and VG that is a long held misconception. as much as i have a distaste for Smedley who runs SoE, when they bought out the rights to VG it was a mess. the only reason that game is now playable is because of SoE devs. never blame labor for what can be reasonably explained as heavy handed poor decision making on the part of management.
VG has more classes and races than you can shake a stick at and these are not just slightly tweaked versions of their archetypes. the healer archetype classes all play quite differently from each other for instance: plate wearing clerics, robe wearing bloodmages, polearm wielding disciples, and sword and board shaman who later choose one of three spirit forms to take shape in.
the crafting is simply the best in any mmo i have played since SWGpreNGE. the community while a bit insular is very helpful and friendly. and possibilities of exploration and soloing are there along with some of the best group dungeons i have seen in any game so far.
also, you currently don't have to buy the game. just download the trial, start on the trial island and then sub when your trial is up. do start on the trial island as its got the best intro tutorials to the 3 Spheres of gameplay in Vanguard. its a great deal really.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
and from what i remember when i played it, loads of fun. so definitely worth a free trial or w/e they're offering.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
May have to try UO.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Seriously? I never thought it'd be against the rules
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
I've edited it cos this is a good site and i cba with the aggro lol
ya, we're talking real world open pvp here now buddy!
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Wurm Online.
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