One of my favourite Tv series of all time, Firefly, its not a game that would be easy to make though, and the attempts to do so, so far, have been underwhelming to say the least.
As a survival MMO maybe, for years now it has been about following the template, which is fantasy. So not sure anyone would risk it. Wildstar is as close as it gets and they added Sci-Fi to broaden the appeal.
I would be interested in a Wild West/Frontier game. Would be even more fun if it had sandbox elements
Same here. The ability to start a ranch of some sort, help build a town and make it grow, fight off outlaws, be an outlaw, build infrastructure (roads, railroads, etc), ship goods on the railroad, hold up trains.
The thing with a wild west MMO, though is that you either have a static world, or it evolves into something completely different, thru magic or technology. A wild west MMO would probably work best with a reset mechanism of sorts like Pirates of the Burning Sea or A Tale in the Desert.
Whatever it ends up being, I'll give it a try. Can't be any worse than Dinostorm.
-- Whammy - a 64x64 miniRPG - RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right? - FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
Sure, but you need to make something like Red dead online instead of War of Westerncraft.
There is a lot of MMO mechanics that wouldn't work for any game set in that area, no trinity combat (you could possibly allow ways for someone to draw fire), no healing during combat and a rather different approach to gear.
You seriously need to put more focus on character development and less on gear, a cool custom gun is always nice but you wont be wearing any armor ('cept your sheriff badge), men wont wear earrings (or people would have shot them) and so on. The boots are basically the important part of clothing.
People do like looting stuff so I suggest mechanics that let you loot XP and skills/power-ups from bosses instead of a gear based levelsystem. Have health based on XP and rare skills and skillpoints are something you only find from hard bosses or players in PvP.
Yeah, this would be more of a MMOFPS then a MMORPG in many ways but a World of westerncraft would fail badly. EQ/WoW mechanics just ain't made for the setting.TalulaRose said:
The wild west wasn't as wild as Hollywood makes it out to be.
Nothing was as Hollywood makes it out to be, not even WW2 and certainly not pirates. But it was still a rather dangerous time to be alive and that makes it acceptable as a MMO setting.
We already have a few hundred Forgotten realms rip-offs and some new settings would be refreshing, particularly if the devs are willing to experiment with new custom mechanics for the setting.
This excat topic come up now and then, I remember it coming up 3 or 4 months ago. At any rate, as usual I like the idea I am not interested in playing it.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
Fyi the "american civil war" either ended or was ending in 1865. Something that may or may not impact the gameplay as I would imagine it.
April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865 (by proclamation) (Source: Wikipedia)
I think a western themed MMO would be great, BUT, it all depends on how it turns out in the end. Otherwise, it risks being just a shallow theme park ride imo.
Another detail: USA somehow ended up with a lot of Mexico territory some time prior to 1865. Presumably, Mexico could be a ground for western setting as well regardless.
Btw, in the movie A Fistful of Dynamite, a protagonist uses some German light machinegun, though I wonder if maybe such a thing wasn't invented at that point (the movie was set to the time of The Mexican Revolution ca 1910-1920). Ah, ok, nvm, too late for a 1880 setting.
If it was done in actual historic true to life style - yes.
If it were done in stupid Hollywood style - no.
It would be a very harsh and bleak game, with disease and starvation and lots of untimely and unfortunate death and most of it would not be combat related.
I dobut it would have much appeal.
But the Hollywood alternative of a bunch of chizeled face jackasses, running around on horses looking all alpha-male with silly guns - ugh no thanks.
Like an Oregon Trail MMO? Have you tried Salem? It's kind of close to what you describe.
-- Whammy - a 64x64 miniRPG - RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right? - FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
I guess the western era has a lot of interesting aspects to it, exaggerated or not:
• bank robbery • basic villany • civil war aftermath • slavery issue (did not end with the civil war as I understand it, liberation of slaves also not reason for the war) • survival (food/water, bears, whatnot) • Interesting environments: desert, forest, swamp, hills • indigenous indians • morse code messaging over signal lines • advent of railroads • gold rush presumably • horse riding • camping • farming • clothing • law enforcement • bandits • military units • cannons • rifles • basic optics • advent of ammo casings for containg the gunpowder with the bullet • advent of photography I guess • advent of steam powered machines (train, machines) • windmills • cowboys and eh ranching • sailing ships • rowing boats • whips and lassos • bow and arrow • gatling gun presumably • knives and swords • hats, hats and more hats • old people, women and children • Mexicans, Chinese, Europeans
@anemo: I never played Wildstar, but from the screenshots I've seen it looks more like a sci fi/neo fantasy game. What about it is western themed?
@LynxJSA: I don't quite understand your point. Are you saying that were such a game to be a sandbox, the players would change it so much that it would cease to be western themed?
@Loke666: agreed. Such a game would have to have tons of horizontal progression and character customization.
@Gamer54321: I said 1865 as a start date because before that it would historically inaccurate to not be able to own slaves in certain states, and being able to do so would draw massive fire that would be terrible for publicity. The civil war could really tie in well with the game, though, through NPC and player storylines and the like (the James brothers, for example, were ex-Confederate soldiers).
@LynxJSA: I don't quite understand your point. Are you saying that were such a game to be a sandbox, the players would change it so much that it would cease to be western themed?
An appeal that resonates through these threads on wild west MMO ideas is that of the frontier and homesteading. Once everything is settled/explored that part of the game is gone. So the MMO would either have to cater to a more static design (and thus a more static set of interests) or would have to have some manner of reset to allow for persistent or perpetual progress.
Now, this isn't to say static is necessarily a bad thing. An unchanging virtual world can make a perfect stage for roleplayers and those looking for an arena to play out their particular story. However, the likelihood of that being the direction of such a game or even the target audience is rather slim.
Post edited by LynxJSA on
-- Whammy - a 64x64 miniRPG - RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right? - FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
Thinking about it is one thing, seeing it developed with current trends - I think not. I'd love to not see it ruined by current market standards of the MMO model design. Chances are a crapperfunded company would do a couch job on the entire genre etc etc.
I'd like to see a company that actually wants to make a game for players rather than suck on it like puppies sipping milk from a deshevled mother.
Not really, I dont even really like western movies.
Recommended movies: • The Good, The Bad And the Ugly • For A Few Dollars More • High Plains Drifter • My Name Is Nobody • Once Upon A Time In The West • Pale Rider • A Fistful of Dynamite
@LynxJSA: ah, I see. I think the best course of action would be either server resets, as you suggested, or a semi-static world in which players can alter the world on a small scale (towns growing and shrinking with player owned buildings, forests cut down, forts invaded), but not on a large scale (railroads, factories, telegraph lines, technological advancement).
I always like the world in the movie, The Master Gun Fighter. The used guns and samurai swords.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
But it was pretty good. And I would totally still say "that since wildstar played with the theme, and did more poorly than it should have no one else is probably gonna want to play with it for a while"
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Comments
The thing with a wild west MMO, though is that you either have a static world, or it evolves into something completely different, thru magic or technology. A wild west MMO would probably work best with a reset mechanism of sorts like Pirates of the Burning Sea or A Tale in the Desert.
Whatever it ends up being, I'll give it a try. Can't be any worse than Dinostorm.
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
There is a lot of MMO mechanics that wouldn't work for any game set in that area, no trinity combat (you could possibly allow ways for someone to draw fire), no healing during combat and a rather different approach to gear.
You seriously need to put more focus on character development and less on gear, a cool custom gun is always nice but you wont be wearing any armor ('cept your sheriff badge), men wont wear earrings (or people would have shot them) and so on. The boots are basically the important part of clothing.
People do like looting stuff so I suggest mechanics that let you loot XP and skills/power-ups from bosses instead of a gear based levelsystem. Have health based on XP and rare skills and skillpoints are something you only find from hard bosses or players in PvP.
Yeah, this would be more of a MMOFPS then a MMORPG in many ways but a World of westerncraft would fail badly. EQ/WoW mechanics just ain't made for the setting.TalulaRose said: Nothing was as Hollywood makes it out to be, not even WW2 and certainly not pirates. But it was still a rather dangerous time to be alive and that makes it acceptable as a MMO setting.
We already have a few hundred Forgotten realms rip-offs and some new settings would be refreshing, particularly if the devs are willing to experiment with new custom mechanics for the setting.
If you want a new idea, go read an old book.
In order to be insulted, I must first value your opinion.
April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865 (by proclamation) (Source: Wikipedia)
I think a western themed MMO would be great, BUT, it all depends on how it turns out in the end. Otherwise, it risks being just a shallow theme park ride imo.
Another detail: USA somehow ended up with a lot of Mexico territory some time prior to 1865. Presumably, Mexico could be a ground for western setting as well regardless.
Btw, in the movie A Fistful of Dynamite, a protagonist uses some German light machinegun, though I wonder if maybe such a thing wasn't invented at that point (the movie was set to the time of The Mexican Revolution ca 1910-1920). Ah, ok, nvm, too late for a 1880 setting.
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
• bank robbery
• basic villany
• civil war aftermath
• slavery issue (did not end with the civil war as I understand it, liberation of slaves also not reason for the war)
• survival (food/water, bears, whatnot)
• Interesting environments: desert, forest, swamp, hills
• indigenous indians
• morse code messaging over signal lines
• advent of railroads
• gold rush presumably
• horse riding
• camping
• farming
• clothing
• law enforcement
• bandits
• military units
• cannons
• rifles
• basic optics
• advent of ammo casings for containg the gunpowder with the bullet
• advent of photography I guess
• advent of steam powered machines (train, machines)
• windmills
• cowboys and eh ranching
• sailing ships
• rowing boats
• whips and lassos
• bow and arrow
• gatling gun presumably
• knives and swords
• hats, hats and more hats
• old people, women and children
• Mexicans, Chinese, Europeans
• having a long line of sight for the game (even if only for spotting landscape features, npc's or players)
@anemo: I never played Wildstar, but from the screenshots I've seen it looks more like a sci fi/neo fantasy game. What about it is western themed?
@LynxJSA: I don't quite understand your point. Are you saying that were such a game to be a sandbox, the players would change it so much that it would cease to be western themed?
@Loke666: agreed. Such a game would have to have tons of horizontal progression and character customization.
@Gamer54321: I said 1865 as a start date because before that it would historically inaccurate to not be able to own slaves in certain states, and being able to do so would draw massive fire that would be terrible for publicity. The civil war could really tie in well with the game, though, through NPC and player storylines and the like (the James brothers, for example, were ex-Confederate soldiers).
Now, this isn't to say static is necessarily a bad thing. An unchanging virtual world can make a perfect stage for roleplayers and those looking for an arena to play out their particular story. However, the likelihood of that being the direction of such a game or even the target audience is rather slim.
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
There were if you kept on eating moldy bread.
~~ postlarval ~~
I'd like to see a company that actually wants to make a game for players rather than suck on it like puppies sipping milk from a deshevled mother.
I play MMOs for the Forum PVP
• The Good, The Bad And the Ugly
• For A Few Dollars More
• High Plains Drifter
• My Name Is Nobody
• Once Upon A Time In The West
• Pale Rider
• A Fistful of Dynamite
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
But it was pretty good. And I would totally still say "that since wildstar played with the theme, and did more poorly than it should have no one else is probably gonna want to play with it for a while"
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
~~ postlarval ~~