SciFi Related MMORPG?

thoreau

Greetings

I'm looking for a new scifi themed MMORPG.

I just left Project Entropia after over a year of play. I love the graphics in the game but the most recent updates (loot changes, slower running speed, HUD/mov't changes) forced me to cash out.

I've tried FoM but don't like the graphics and the PVP overkill ruins the gameplay for me. Also, I prefer to solo most of the time so the heavy emphasis on factions takes something away for me.

I also tried AO but again the graphics are less than I'd like. The mission system seems random and without any real purpose. Again it is hard to do difficult missions without teaming.

My PC couldn't handle MxO (I have P4 2.2, 1 GB, 64mb Radeon 7500C) and buying a new PC isn't an option at this time.

I am not against paying a monthly fee for a good scifi related game. I want the ability to solo most of the time and enjoy looking at good graphics.

any suggestions?

lotharr

Well well...

If you have tried lots of scifi game you should download EVE on your computer... If your computer can handle the graphics I would say that is a great opnion

Heres review what is a take from http://actionvault.ign.com/features/reviews/everev.shtml

By 7700 AD, the age of humanity exploring space and colonizing our galaxy was long established, spanning a period of more than four millennia. Nonetheless, this year was a truly notable one. An enormous natural wormhole was detected, leading to an unexplored area of the universe. Scientists met the discovery of the portal with great caution, issuing warnings to those who would dare travel through that it might disappear after only short time. In spite of their concern and scepticism, various entrepreneurs and independent companies soon poured through the passage seeking to capitalize on the availability of free settlements and fresh starts in the new frontier. Because of the immeasurable possibilities these new areas held in the way of a new beginning for all humankind, the portal was named EVE, and the region beyond it was dubbed New Eden.

The wormhole did indeed close. However, in light of the scientists' feeling that it was impermanent, construction had already begun on a man-made alternative. Upon completion, it operated without difficulties for seven decades - until disaster struck. An unknown phenomenon battered the gates, rendering them inoperable, and a constant magnetic storm arose, thwarting all attempts at repair or reconstruction. Cut off from the home galaxy they still depended upon for supplies, the denizens of New Eden struggled just to survive in the harsh new universe. Over thousands of years, the small groups of survivors grew and evolved into the races and factions found in Crowd Control Productions' EVE Online: The Second Genesis.

The minimum system requirements for EVE are a 450 MHz Pentium III processor, 128 MB RAM, at least a GeForce 2 or ATI Radeon graphics card and a 56k Internet connection. As one would expect the game ran very well on a system including a Pentium IV 2.4 MHz chip, 1GB of memory, an ATI Radeon 9700 128MB graphics card and a 56k connection. One very noteworthy observation is that since the beta, which lasted until launch in early May, the game's stability has drastically improved. More specifically, CCP has managed to overcome the issues associated with combat lag and intermittent client crashes experienced during the test. Some bugs do remain, but only to the extent that would be expected in such a complex massively multiplayer title.

Character creation begins by choosing one of the four races, all of which are human and represent the empires of the Amarr, Caldari, Minmatar and Gallente. Each has two bloodlines that slightly differ in appearance and starting attributes. Once a race and bloodline have been chosen, it is time to set your physical parameters and specialty fields that will determine your character's affinity for combat, trade skills and political professions. EVE's character advancement system is purely skill-based, and each character's attributes affect how quickly they will advance in certain skills. Of particular note is the fact that skills in EVE do not improve from spending experience or through repetitious use. Instead, they get better with time, even continuing even when the player is offline, although only one may be so designated at a time. As well, those at high levels can take days to rise.

In addition to selecting your character's physical abilities, you may customize the look of your avatar's portrait. The range of personalization options is truly vast. You can morph various facial features and select from a variety of hairstyles, tattoos, scars and costumes. Even meticulous details such as the exact position of the head and eyes are supported, as well as the background image and lighting. While all these customization alternatives ensure the uniqueness of your avatar's look, it is a bit curious why such effort would ultimately go into a character portrait that is not seen all that often by other players.

It's no secret that the graphics in EVE have attracted considerable and very favourable attention. The large environments filled with stars, planets and nebulae are of an almost photo-realistic visual quality. Not to be outdone by the background scenery, the many spaceships and space stations display excellent detail and lighting effects. Most of the vessels available for players to purchase have unique designs, but their appearance cannot currently be customized - which once again seems at least a little odd. The futuristic background music, often dark and brooding, complements the deep space atmosphere very well.

Reflecting the nature of the gameplay, the interface involves must display copious options and information, so it's understandable that it can get a bit crowded at times. In addition to features one might expect such as the ship radar and a chat box, there are some interesting innovations, a couple of examples being web browser integration and a music jukebox. One especially useful element is an enormous map that can show all of the thousands of solar systems in great detail. Using the waypoint system in conjunction with your ship's auto-pilot allows a player to plot a pre-set course, making it easy to cover a great deal of distance.

The universe of EVE is absolutely huge, and it resides on a single server that contains the entire player base. With such a large area, travel can require fair amounts of time. Star systems must be navigated through "jumps" that are in a set order, and since there is no option for quick teleportation from one end of the galaxy to the other, long trips can represent a good deal of uneventful trekking. However, the slow travel times actually seem to benefit the player-driven "supply and demand" economy. Resources can be purchased in areas where they are abundant and inexpensive, then transported to regions where they are less plentiful for sale at higher prices.

When you first enter into space, you receive a ship equipped with a mining laser and basic weaponry. A text-based tutorial walks you through the general operation of your ship, from navigation to combat. There is quite a lot of information for a new player to grasp. Once the lesson ends, the gameplay immediately becomes open-ended in that there are no obvious, detailed paths leading to character advancement or monetary gains. Mining seems the most popular route for newcomers to follow, but this activity is repetitive and rather uneventful. All these factors combine to present a comparatively steep learning curve as well as a fairly slow start with respect to engaging players' interests early on.

Joining a Corporation early on is very helpful in finding your direction in the game. These are EVE's version of guilds, player-run associations, each headed by a CEO, which work together for their respective common interests. Among many other benefits, existing and surviving can be easier with the backing of some friends, especially in the less secure zones. Within each organization, there are other roles for players to fill, such as Personnel Managers, Accountants and Pilots. Corporations also have the ability to declare war on each other; this option always involves a vote held by the CEO. If you do choose to go it alone, it can definitely be a good idea to ask others for help. The Polaris Program is compromised of experienced players who are readily available in-game to answer your questions about EVE.

Combat

Overall, combat in EVE does not require a great deal of tactical decision making. It is generally more important to be prepared with appropriate weaponry and shield systems beforehand. The usual scenario involves two stationary ships firing away at each other until one is destroyed or decides to try and flee. Accordingly, it's not necessarily engaging for the participants, especially for gamers who like face-paced action. On the other hand, combat is definitely impressive to watch, with a variety of weapon effects such as lasers, missiles and explosions. Since there are no alien species or monsters in EVE, human pirates and rogue drones represent the primary hostile NPCs you will encounter in your travels.
[Ed. note - A patch released after this was written included changes designed to expand the tactical component of combat; according to CCP, factors such as maintaining optimum range, relative velocity and tracking speed of turrets are now much more significant.]

Although EVE has an open player vs. player system, one can choose to avoid such conflict by staying within the heavily patrolled star systems. Each zone has a security rating, with 1.0 being the highest and 0.0 the lowest. Those higher numbers are patrolled by police spacecraft that immediately engage player killers, whereas those with lower figures harbor the potential for more hostile atmospheres with little to no NPC enforcement. In addition to police, the game's bounty hunter system allows players to place monetary rewards on the heads of their attackers. While you can also choose to warp away from an aggressor, it's possible to deactivate other players' warp drives, rendering them immobile. Since player death can be painful, the demands made by attackers to ships they have seized are often actually met instead of resisted.

Taking the proper steps to insure your spaceship and the skills of your character can mitigate the penalties attached to dying. There are two basic levels to being defeated in battle. The first entails losing your ship. When your vessel is destroyed, any cargo and an escape pod are left floating in space. The latter can be flown back to a space station so that you may purchase a new craft. Although this can entail considerable loss if you had upgraded to a better and more costly model, your character survives to fight another day.

The second and more significant type of result is having your escape pod destroyed, which effectively kills your character. This form of death is referred to as "podding", and those that die in this manner can lose a percentage of their actual skills. Since certain levels of skill may require days to advance, this penalty can be particularly harsh. However, there is an option for players to protect themselves against large amounts of skill loss. An "advanced cloning system" allows players to insure their characters. The fee for this service varies, depending on how much skill the replica will retain. Naturally, any advances made after the insurance is purchased are forfeit.

Arguably the most interesting and ambitious element in EVE is its economy model, which is almost completely player-driven. The prices of goods and services fluctuate based on supply and demand, and a virtual market system allows players to peruse any of the items for sale by players throughout the galaxies whether the sellers are online or not. Purchasing an item at its lowest price is not always easy though, as players may have to travel far and wide to find what they desire at bargain rates. In line with its supply and demand philosophy, the game does not allow teleportation of items across galaxies, although money can be sent immediately in this manner. This design makes it possible for players to make money not only by trading for themselves, but also by transporting goods for others.

As well, if your character possesses the necessary manufacturing skills, you can research and construct a wide range of items. Blueprints are necessary for crafting certain things; these can be bought, copied or found as loot throughout the universe. The ability to research the original copies of blueprints allows players to further enhance them, increase the quality of the manufactured goods. There is a wide range of skill prerequisites necessary for crafting and researching items, and these skills, coupled with the ability to mine your own resources, amount to a fairly sophisticated trade skill system overall.

The Last Word
CCP has made terrific progress in overcoming the stability issues that existed during testing. This is a critical development; these performance issues were often cited as the biggest drawback to an otherwise enormous, highly ambitious and almost completely player-driven concept. EVE probably won't address every online gamers' tastes. In particular, the initial learning curve is fairly long, and the travel and combat elements aren't likely to suit players who want fast-paced action. On the other hand, the game offers a wealth of complexity and freedom in areas like character skill customization and its economy and political systems. If the thought of an online space simulation with limitless possibilities intrigues you, and you don't mind trading a slower pace for depth, then EVE Online is highly recommended as a title you should consider.

 

Johnark

I suggest Star Wars Galaxies.  At times the game will not feel very SciFi because there are too many landscape areas, most of the time you will see grass, trees, mountains, sun and moon.  But the fact you can hold a gun in your hand changes all of that.  I'm not talking about Warcraft guns here, I'm talking about Rocket Launchers, Flamethrowers, laser blasters, sniper rifles and such.

Also you're in luck, when SWG started out, we could not travel into space, with Jump to Lightspeed you can own a ship and explore space freely now.  That's a big plus to the whole Scifi thing.

SWG feels like a fantasy and scifi all put together.  Cause there are professions like Swordsman, Fencer, Polearms and Teras Kasi (Martial arts) that give a fantasy feel, even if the description of swords such as a Vibro Blade says there's a motor in the blade that shakes when it comes in contact with something to deal extra damage.  It still looks like a sword to me.

Any new player will love this game, and SOE seems to be adding more content every month (or couple months) and changing the game constantly since they are done revamping Jedi and the Jump to Lightspeed expansion is finished.

I'm actually considering returning to SWG once I get bored of World of Warcraft... if I ever get bored...

But SWG has so many professions, both combat, crafting and socializing.  The entire game is a player economy!  You will never buy anything from NPCs!  What does that mean?  It means you can deal with players!!!  It means you can shop around and find the cheapest, but good, piece of armor for a great price.

There's also the fact you can create your own house pretty much anywhere on a planet.  You can even decorate your house.

It's a good game.  I played for over a year.  I just hope SOE won't do the same mistake in a year from now.  Where they will add lots of stuff in a few months, then become lazy for the next couple of months, then you will get bored, feel you have done everything in the game, then quit and only come back when SOE decides to add more content whenever they feel like it.

JulianDracos

The Specs on your computer are not bad.  For now I would say EVE becacause SWG is horrible. 

Now If you can come up with around $100 you will be able to play any game coming out this year you want.  The only bad part of your system is your video card.  Get a cheap directx 9 card from ATI or Nvidia.  You can find them from $70-$100.  Then you can play MxO if you want.  That is just the cost of buying MxO and a months subscription. 

Knightblast

Look at EVE and SWG. They're very, very different.

SWG you have a character avatar, you do a lot of the things you would do in any land-based game, have a variety of skills you can develop and different ways to play the game. You can solo if you wish. Graphics are very good. Recently space was added to the game and you can go up and shoot things in your spaceship and progress as a pilot as well. The main issues with SWG are the grinding is boring and the game lacks content.

EVE you don't have an avatar (you have a portrait), the entire game takes place in space and it's very different from a land-based MMORPG. It's a deep, complex game on some levels, and there's a lot you can do alone, but most people belong to a guild/corp. The graphics are very good as well, all space graphics however.

I would recommend EVE if you prefer a slower, deeper, more intelligent form of game. I would recommend SWG if you prefer a more traditional kind of avatar-based adventure.