1. Treating players as imbeciles or bots. Something is horribly wrong in game design if players spend a lot of time doing similar stuff as bot farmers.
2. Information technology and computer hardware are still horribly primitive for an amazing MMO.
3. I played Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 persistent worlds for 10 years and its unique features, amazing achievements of enthusiasts and creative talent of human dungeon masters and all the tools they have opened my eyes to how horrible all existing commercial mainstream fantasy MMORPG games really are.
In general I expect MMO games to become enjoyable no earlier than 20-30 years from now. Graphics, AI and physics are still very primitive. Perhaps we will finally get immersive and enjoyable MMO games when graphics are as good as in modern Hollywood movies, AI almost as complex as human intelligence, and physics better than in the most sophisticated single player games that will be released in 2015-2020.
2. any endgame that relies on gear grinding as a timesink
3 any instance that relies on raiding setups to acquire items to get other items instead of actually developing your character with new skills and new playstyles through said skills.
Im very much a character development player, and i dislike just grinding instances for tokens or gear drops just because its easier and cheaper to develop an item then to make evolving skills for higher tier/endgame content.
I. Static spawns of mobs and resources. Just leads to spawn camping, no exploration, etc.
2. Non-consenusal pvp. Not interested. No one in my playing group is interested.
3. Bad writing. Poorly written characters, lore, backstory, campaign, item design, etc. The list goes on. If it's not interesting to be in your world, I am not going to stay in your game.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
1) End game grinding - MMOs should be about the journey, not the finish. 2) Cash shop - Subs add content to keep players playing, cash shops add content to keep players paying. 3) Platforming - If I wanted Mario, I'd play Mario .
1. Instances. I hate having the world artificially compartmentalized, turns it into a game rather than a virtual world. I accept the downsides of camping etc, it is worth it to me.
2. Quest driven. I set my own goals and quests, I don't need to be told what to do.
3. Linear world progression. I hate world that are designed to funnel players through zones according to their level. I miss early EQ style zones where you had low level and high level encounters near each other. Made it more dangerous and allowed for more cooperation in the zones to defeat the threats.
P2W is obviously the extreme. I automatically won't play any MMO that includes weapon upgrading (with a chance to break the weapon on failed upgrade), for example.
Need Vs. Greed Loot Systems
This is 2014, people. There is no excuse for this.
Poor artstyle and low visual customization
If I can't get a satisfactory amount of identity in my character, then there is no roleplaying to be had for me.
And, as a bonus, my top 3 best features:
Action Combat
It's the way of the future, and I love it. No reason to have excessive self-rooting anymore. Almost every skill should be mobile and active blocking and dodging should always be a thing.
Dynamic Open World Content
When possible, I like to see the Guild Wars 2/EQN/Firefall style events that pop up and make that open world fun and immersive to explore.
Fluid Mobility, Not Mounts
I've always enjoyed flight or gliding movement systems (PW, Swordsman, Firefall, Aion, etc.) and speed buffs instead of mounts (Guild Wars series). Mounts are just a clunky system that, IMO, often take away from a character's identity and don't transition well into gameplay.
Since 2003, I have played themeparks (every major release) and picked on the bitter vets and defended themeparks. After playing ESO for a week, and quitting -- I usually last a month or three -- I realized that I will never enjoy another themepark MMO again. The thought that someone like myself ,who has been around these games for the better part of 15 years, can still find enjoyment in themepark MMO's is beyond my understanding.
Excuse the cliched food metaphor, but that would be like eating a meal you really love for 15 years straight. Imagine that I play MOBA's for "breakfast," RTS for "lunch," and MMORPG's for "dinner." It would be like eating slightly different versions of the same steak dinner with a side, where steak is the themepark, and the sides are the things that make each themepark a bit different from one another.
Maybe one night I have asparagus as a side. The next, perhaps I enjoy a baked potato. The point is that eventually, I am going to come to be absolutely bored to tears of that meal. There are only so many versions of the same meal you can enjoy.
1. Walled off content (can only do once a week, every 48 h, must buy Labor points etc.)
2. idiot proof quests and PvE content that means nothing and is only there as an XP fountain. (Quest markers, Arrows, Exclamation marks, no need to read a quest text)
3. No economy and simplified crafting (WoW is a good example of a one button crafting system that just plain sucks)
1. Bright colors + shitty UI + shitty fonts (like Courier just cause the game was translated from Kanji so the character width has to stay fixed). Tons of popups all around, event spammage, event drops filling my inventory and shit like that (i am talking about you GW2...). Weapons that are bigger than your character. Armor that is all over the top, like steel bikinis or shoulders with nails that would scratch your face in any kind of movement. Boobage and shiny shit all around.
2. No group activities besides guild chat. Nerfed group mechanics. No class interdependancy. DPSocracy. Retarded mechanics like being able to kill Fire elementals with fireballs (i am talking about you WoW...)
3. Tons of quests and handholding. No quests and no content at all, in the name of "sandbox".
The lack of an immersive world in favour of trivial distractions. I want to explore and feel immersed in a game. I do not suffer from ADHD. I do not need to be constantly distracted from (the fundamental blandness of most modern mmos) by flashing text and pointless achievements.
The rush to end game. IMO games should be about the journey not the destination. I hate they way 90% of a game is rendered useless after 1 month. If you want to make a game that is all about endgame then do not waste so many resources on vast levelling zones, just make an interesting end game map and lose the levels.
Any mechanics that reduce social interaction- be they the instant join groups, the group finder the hub/ lobby based gameplay.
When a dev will leave out features tha are present in other mmos because they are "too difficult", that's just a big flashing sign that reads "don't bother playing this game"
None, what kills it for me is a lack of interesting features, poor implementation of said features, or technical issues. No one feature can kill a MMO for me, I really don't even think a large set of features I don't like about a particular MMO will turn me off to it if the rest of the features are interesting enough.
Also, people should really learn what a feature is. A lack of something typically is not a feature. There are a few exceptions to this such as removing something that would be considered restrictive to some, like the Trinity system, but for the most part an absence of a feature is not a feature. Pacing is not a feature (however a mechanic that can control pacing directly as part of the gameplay is, like fast travel). Theme isn't really a feature. Restrictions are not features.
Comments
1. Treating players as imbeciles or bots. Something is horribly wrong in game design if players spend a lot of time doing similar stuff as bot farmers.
2. Information technology and computer hardware are still horribly primitive for an amazing MMO.
3. I played Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 persistent worlds for 10 years and its unique features, amazing achievements of enthusiasts and creative talent of human dungeon masters and all the tools they have opened my eyes to how horrible all existing commercial mainstream fantasy MMORPG games really are.
In general I expect MMO games to become enjoyable no earlier than 20-30 years from now. Graphics, AI and physics are still very primitive. Perhaps we will finally get immersive and enjoyable MMO games when graphics are as good as in modern Hollywood movies, AI almost as complex as human intelligence, and physics better than in the most sophisticated single player games that will be released in 2015-2020.
* more info, screenshots and videos here
1. any endgame that relies on pvp as a timesink
2. any endgame that relies on gear grinding as a timesink
3 any instance that relies on raiding setups to acquire items to get other items instead of actually developing your character with new skills and new playstyles through said skills.
Im very much a character development player, and i dislike just grinding instances for tokens or gear drops just because its easier and cheaper to develop an item then to make evolving skills for higher tier/endgame content.
1.cut scenes
2.story driven mmo
3.full voice acting
1. Gear grind endgame -- gear gated content
2. Cash shop
3. Instancing, loading screens, phasing
I. Static spawns of mobs and resources. Just leads to spawn camping, no exploration, etc.
2. Non-consenusal pvp. Not interested. No one in my playing group is interested.
3. Bad writing. Poorly written characters, lore, backstory, campaign, item design, etc. The list goes on. If it's not interesting to be in your world, I am not going to stay in your game.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
1) non consensual pvp
2) "elite" players
3) Raid grinding
No matter how cynical you become, its never enough to keep up - Lily Tomlin
2) Cash shop - Subs add content to keep players playing, cash shops add content to keep players paying.
3) Platforming - If I wanted Mario, I'd play Mario .
1. Lack of World Building / Lobby based gaming.
2. Console interface / Unwillingness to differentiate interface by platform.
3. Action combat / extremely limited ability bar.
1. Action combat /limited skills.
2. No voice acting quests (SWTOR spoiled me).
3. Over-sexualized or overly childish theme (example: Tera and Wildstar)
Sith Warrior - Story of Hate and Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxKrlwXt7Ao
Imperial Agent - Rise of Cipher Nine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBj3eJWBvU&feature=youtu.be
Imperial Agent - Hunt for the Eagle Part 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQqjYYU128E
1. Instances. I hate having the world artificially compartmentalized, turns it into a game rather than a virtual world. I accept the downsides of camping etc, it is worth it to me.
2. Quest driven. I set my own goals and quests, I don't need to be told what to do.
3. Linear world progression. I hate world that are designed to funnel players through zones according to their level. I miss early EQ style zones where you had low level and high level encounters near each other. Made it more dangerous and allowed for more cooperation in the zones to defeat the threats.
P2W -> pvp = CRAP
repetition -> bordom
unsoloable -> you can not always rely on other players being available to help on the hard parts
Top 3 worst:
Clearly Exploitative Business Practices
P2W is obviously the extreme. I automatically won't play any MMO that includes weapon upgrading (with a chance to break the weapon on failed upgrade), for example.
Need Vs. Greed Loot Systems
This is 2014, people. There is no excuse for this.
Poor artstyle and low visual customization
If I can't get a satisfactory amount of identity in my character, then there is no roleplaying to be had for me.
And, as a bonus, my top 3 best features:
Action Combat
It's the way of the future, and I love it. No reason to have excessive self-rooting anymore. Almost every skill should be mobile and active blocking and dodging should always be a thing.
Dynamic Open World Content
When possible, I like to see the Guild Wars 2/EQN/Firefall style events that pop up and make that open world fun and immersive to explore.
Fluid Mobility, Not Mounts
I've always enjoyed flight or gliding movement systems (PW, Swordsman, Firefall, Aion, etc.) and speed buffs instead of mounts (Guild Wars series). Mounts are just a clunky system that, IMO, often take away from a character's identity and don't transition well into gameplay.
Some of these are recent revelations...
1. Themeparks
2. Themeparks
3. Themeparks
Since 2003, I have played themeparks (every major release) and picked on the bitter vets and defended themeparks. After playing ESO for a week, and quitting -- I usually last a month or three -- I realized that I will never enjoy another themepark MMO again. The thought that someone like myself ,who has been around these games for the better part of 15 years, can still find enjoyment in themepark MMO's is beyond my understanding.
Excuse the cliched food metaphor, but that would be like eating a meal you really love for 15 years straight. Imagine that I play MOBA's for "breakfast," RTS for "lunch," and MMORPG's for "dinner." It would be like eating slightly different versions of the same steak dinner with a side, where steak is the themepark, and the sides are the things that make each themepark a bit different from one another.
Maybe one night I have asparagus as a side. The next, perhaps I enjoy a baked potato. The point is that eventually, I am going to come to be absolutely bored to tears of that meal. There are only so many versions of the same meal you can enjoy.
1 - Instances = multiplayer , not massively multiplayer .
Solo instance = singleplayer game , not even multiplayer and far from massively .
> No feature can kill an MMORPG effect like instances
2- Quest hubs railed story drive .
Same as instances , force player play singleplayer mode in an MMORPG ...
3- I don't think there are any features can literally "kill" an MMORPG as the 2 first .
My top 3 are a combination of features present and absent in an MMO.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
1. Boring Quests- this is a big one for me, if your questing is uninteresting and lacking imagination then i'll most likely uninstall the game
2. Queue system- Queue systems just make it easier to group up, and is a great way to find new friends in game. If your game doesn't have it- I'm out.
3. Bad PVP- I'm a pvper so i need good pvp
1. Questing (kill 10 pigs, handover Q, repeat again and again)
2. Full Themepark
3. B2P+Cash shop+P2P (choose one, not all 3 combined)
1. Too much fantasy-- I'm talking seizure-worthy, flashy colors jumping in your face
2. Too complicated UI -- buttons all over the place make me go nuts.
3. Generic, uninspiring quests -- we all know the kill 10 rats thing, but really anything like that has the same effect
1: Forced PVP - I'm not a fan of it.
2: Auction House - Prefer player shops and player run economy.
3: Instanced anything. Main Bosses in dungeons would be ok to instance.
1. Walled off content (can only do once a week, every 48 h, must buy Labor points etc.)
2. idiot proof quests and PvE content that means nothing and is only there as an XP fountain. (Quest markers, Arrows, Exclamation marks, no need to read a quest text)
3. No economy and simplified crafting (WoW is a good example of a one button crafting system that just plain sucks)
1. Bright colors + shitty UI + shitty fonts (like Courier just cause the game was translated from Kanji so the character width has to stay fixed). Tons of popups all around, event spammage, event drops filling my inventory and shit like that (i am talking about you GW2...). Weapons that are bigger than your character. Armor that is all over the top, like steel bikinis or shoulders with nails that would scratch your face in any kind of movement. Boobage and shiny shit all around.
2. No group activities besides guild chat. Nerfed group mechanics. No class interdependancy. DPSocracy. Retarded mechanics like being able to kill Fire elementals with fireballs (i am talking about you WoW...)
3. Tons of quests and handholding. No quests and no content at all, in the name of "sandbox".
Pretty much
RIP Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Paul Gray.
When a dev will leave out features tha are present in other mmos because they are "too difficult", that's just a big flashing sign that reads "don't bother playing this game"
None, what kills it for me is a lack of interesting features, poor implementation of said features, or technical issues. No one feature can kill a MMO for me, I really don't even think a large set of features I don't like about a particular MMO will turn me off to it if the rest of the features are interesting enough.
Also, people should really learn what a feature is. A lack of something typically is not a feature. There are a few exceptions to this such as removing something that would be considered restrictive to some, like the Trinity system, but for the most part an absence of a feature is not a feature. Pacing is not a feature (however a mechanic that can control pacing directly as part of the gameplay is, like fast travel). Theme isn't really a feature. Restrictions are not features.
Personalized / Individualized loot is the way to go. Keeps conflict down while minimizing inconvenience and promoting a cooperative group environment.