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Class-free MMORPG
5had0w
Member Posts: 4
Hello, I'm new at this site, but I will try and leave my mark here. I played D&D for a lot of times, then started to play MMORPG, and then started to develop them. Well, more as a hobby, and yet, now I started a new project. I love D&D, but ... I wanted a really free world, something like Ultima Online, but with a shiny 3D graphics, a story, and even more costumising. And, more dnd-like world. So, I said OK, let's get staring.
That was an intro, now the post begins. And it's main purpost is to gather information from you, dear gamers, how do you see a class-free MMORPG, what things you would like to see in this game. I will read everything you write, and if I see that it's a good idea that everybody likes, I will insert that in the game, after offcourse adapting to the setting.
Sorry for my bad English, i'm kinda Russian, so.. 
Thx again 4 reading...
Comments
If you can take ideas from Asheron's Call, then that would be awesome. It's classless, offers lots of customizability, and combat is fast paced. It would be nice to be able to run faster and jump higher as you become more powerful. Asheron's Call does a great job of that. If you are trying to make a game, I suggest making it very complex. We have lots of pretty simple games out there, and we need more complex ones. Add lots of skills and choices in how you build your character.
If you want to learn about Asheron's Call, here is the asheron's call home page.
Class-free = ideal for solo.
As peoples developp what they want (with the limitations you may put).
IMHO, a good MMORPG should have no class in the solo, and class in the grouping...where class folks are specialists. So in half the game you are class-less, in the other half you are a class...
May sound like lot of work, but it is not. Once you work you class-less system well. Class are only some skills put together for the player. It is nothing more then that. So it is minimal work. Putting a story why folks have differents stats and powers(class or no class) depending on the zone is even easier and quite fun, as there can be quite many differents reasons.
IMHO, class-less is incredibly flawed in the grouping setting, since peoples like to get specialists with this or that aptitude. So...no class and all skills is very appealing when I am not grouped! Yet, when grouped, I want my class and the usual system with it limitation. 2 systems instead of 1...but build on the skills of the class-less...just a little more work, but FAR better results. Peoples will enjoy to solo, which is an edge. I never see someone leave a group because a solo option open, they leave groups because the group lack and they rather solo then be with those ''lames'' players...acceptable, especially that those soloers who leave this or that group, they still try to find a good group.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
The best way to make an MMORPG is to focus on the world. Focus on how the mobs live and interact with the world. Focus on NPC life, and how townspeople interact with each other. Focus on how the world lives and exists. The player should be an unecessary part of the game. As in DnD, the player is a regular person, an ex-town member, if you will. The player is not a hero, nor is the player the savior of the whole world. (well in some higher level dnd campaigns, the player is a super-hero type, but (based on research) that is when people get bored with dnd)
The skills a player may aquire in this world are, basically, a mathmatical representation of how well the character knows a specific action or set of related actions. For a really obvious example, I am REALLY good at taking out the trash. My skill in taking out the trash is really high because I do that a lot.
So from here, build the skills based on things the player may want to do in your world. Running or athletics is a good skill (go morrowind!). As players run and jump around more, they get better at it. Maybe they have an easier chance running from monsters, or jumping over that pit in the dungeon.
So you can have all kinds of skills based on this definition. The limits are rather endless. How the skill is used in the game is either passive or active. A check is made when the skill is used, just like in dnd. Also, skill checks can be passive or active, with static or dynamic results.
Horse riding skill: Character mounts horse. His speed and agility on the beast is a static measure of his skill. A passive check is made (passive meaning the character does not activate the check, the game does) when he tries to jump over a fence. If he succeeds his check, he succeeds the jump; if not, he falls. If the character succeeds in his check, he has a chance to gain skill in horse riding based on how difficult it was for him to succeed multiplied by a random number.
It should be hard to become REALLY good at something. So it's easy to learn a skill at first, just like it's easy in real life to become average at anything, but it takes real time and dedication to become an expert or guru in any field. People feel a sense of pride in things they have worked hard to acheive. This is a natural human reaction.
As well, this difficutly and dedication (IE dedicating a LOT of play time towards learning something really well) will make players become either a jack of all trades or a master of just a few. Much like mages in dnd hadn't much time to learn anything but magic because learning magic was so tedious and required extreme focus. And so you won't have players in your world who are a master of everything, and so you forgo the need for classes to create specialization. You let the player create it.
It's an extremely basic system, but also extremely balanced and good. It also leaves open what the character will do in the game, which to me is something that should be in every mmorpg. Players should be able to choose their own paths and what they wish to accomplish. Therefore, not every skill should be based on fighting or adventuring. Skills should be numerous, and cover almost every aspect of life that is not extremely mundane (like taking out the trash).
This is what a skill system is. It allows the character to choose how they will interact with the world. It does not force them down a pre-determined path.
nethervoid - Est. '97
[UO|EQ|SB|SWG|PS|HZ|EVE|NWN|WoW|VG|DF|AQW|DN|SWTOR|Dofus|SotA|BDO|AO|NW|LA] - Currently Playing EQ1
20k+ subs YouTube Gaming channel
OK, folks, I read your ideads meenwhile and did a little summary.
You don't want just a big wolrd. Yeah, Morrowind can offer you a HUGE world, but it's looks all the same, and have none interaction. Fine, I won't tell you how big the world will be, I will tell how interactive it will be.
You wont that the skill will tell how good you do something. I'm already did that. The higher the skill, more the chance to succed, and the more complex kind of the action with the skill you can do.
You want a game complex. Well, let me tell you a little story about how Russian work. They get drunk, write there ideas down, and after a day just making them alive. Well, that's what we did. We have 60 skills and that's only the start. We love MUDs for the complexivity. The game will work on a mud-base system, so you will have so much things to do...
You want half-free half-class base system. Guess what? That what our system offers. You have skills, it's all 'bout skills. And feats and abilities, but they are not that important as skills. And there are special skills, that giving you all kind of abilities when they are raised. For example, let's say we have that skill Breserk. You can use it to encrease your attack and damage in the amout of that skill for a cost of stamana/sec. AND, after some, let's say, 10 ranks, you get special abilities. They same works with Divinity and alike. So you can be a Divine Rogue, if you will raise roguish skills and divinity. I don't see a use of it, but you CAN. 'coz custumization is what we want. What we did? We are looking at the classes, and thinking what makes them special. Doing a speacial skill for them, balancing and letting it go. So you got the BASIC skills, the things that everybody, every class can do, and the special, to make them really special.
BTW, I thought about the post that said look at Asheron's call and thought... also write what did you liked from all kind the games, we will see how it's work and adapt it to out world.
BTW, the moving sistem will be very similar to the Morrowind's one, so yes, if you raise your jumping skill very high you can "free your mind" in matrix style jumps.
Thx 4 the awnsers, we promise to get an repley for each one.
IMO, I would play your game for ever if it didn't have a grinding system. Too many games these days have grinding systems. For Example:
SW:G - The entire time you play that game, your grinding, and its even worse if you want to become a Jedi.
WoW - Once your hit the max level of 60, theres nothing else to do but instance/dungeon grinds all day long.
PS - Not as much grinding, but still existant.
CoH - Almost grinding the entire time you play, the mission system just puts a new flavor to grinding.
FYI, the term grinding, if your don't know what it means, means to experience/loot grind day and night just to get the best items or get rich. Least thats what I use that term for.