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Some great SCI-FI MMO ideas (kind of a wish list lol)
JunoFallon
Member Posts: 7
A lot of people complain that there aren't enough sci-fi themed MMO's out there and that the ones that are available are either extremely anime in style (RF Online), had great ideas that were slopily executed (Planetside), limit your surroundings and/or scenery (EVE) or have fallen into poor favor with most (SWG).
After thinking about it today though there are definately plenty of harvestable SCI-FI MMO ideas out there.
For example, Farscape wouldn't make a bad MMO. Lots of races, planets, and a fairly thorough universe to draw ideas from. Though I know a lot of people who can't stand this show. lol
A bit less broad in it's range would be Firefly, though the lack of alien races could make for some limited character creation options. Anyone who's watched it though knows how much fun it could be if it were done properly.
Though I know little about it, I've been told by many friends that Stargate would make a good MMO as well.
I suppose any sci-fi property could be made into on, though in some cases it probably wouldn't be a great idea for ALL of them (who the hell would wanna play one based on Andromeda? LOL).
Another one that I've always thought would make for an AMAZING MMO would be Battletech. Anyone of you who may have read the books and/or played Mechwarrior back in the day know what a rich and involving history this universe has! Not to mention the inclusion of customizable mechs! The thought makes me drool! lol
As a slightly unrelated genre choice, I think it might be pretty damn cool to have an MMO based on a Western setting. Six shooters in the online world would be pretty neat...lol
At any rate I made this thread to let people who have been interested in Sci-Fi MMO's fire away with ideas as well as your responses to my ideas! Enjoy...
I've also included a Poll as to which of the above listed games you'd be most likely to play first...
Comments
The BATTLETECH/MECHWARRIOR has a history and is recognized by a lot of gamers... if they did a decent persistant world with RPG style game play I think they could do very well. They have history, a huge amount of background data and it is different enough to catch people's attention. Oh and not to mention they supposedly had Mechwarrior 5 about 30% done when it was cancelled
But I am a MECHWARRIOR fanboi......
Witty saying to amuse you goes here.
none of the above.
fantasy can be far more diverse if you let it. science fiction be a type a fantasy though we don't want to admit it.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Actually I would NOT like to see any licesed brand at all. If anything an original Sci-Fi game/setting would be nice. The reason: games built on Licenses do not have a very good track record in general.
If I had to pick something to base an MMO on it would have to be the grand daddy of pnp sci-fi games TRAVELLER by Mark Miller. There are literally volumes of lore/history and information on this "universe". People have added and build on this universe for over 20 years. The scope is pretty much unlimited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_(rpg)
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CT/
I'm actually kind of surprised no one has picked up on this license yet.
I demand you edit that poll right now to include Dune !!!
Kidding
But seriously, as far as I'm concerend, if another major IP game were to come out for sci-fi genre mmo's, the best they could possibly go with would be Dune (at least now that star trek has been taken).
It has everything an mmo story line and environment could possible use, lots and lots of exciting worlds, amazing factions, huge amounts of lore, it would be incredibly easy to put together lots of classes/jobs and it's a story that people know with a pretty big fan base.
And best of all, Bene Geserit Witches
, super awesome females that rule the universe, how cool is that ?
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Goddam and Micro$oft dropped the Batteltech(Mechwarrior 5) concept, they should take a look at the poll
Hope the poll-results stay that way too, Battletech rules, I would love to grind from footsoldier to a fully fledged Mechwarrior. Although, to be true to the Battletech unviverse you should be born in to a great family, but that wouldn't be too hard to implement, would it? But c'mon grind fest coolness!
Oh oh oh and how about a trader/mechanic who can make and sell upgrades for the mech or even build mechs!
And what about the extreme amount of quest, wars, PvP-oppertunities and so forth, the Battletech could be the next SWG. Hide these ideas from $OE
I would even go so long as to pay 50$ for the game and then pay a monthly fee and on top of that buy mechs with real world money in game (Roma Viktor and Entropia)
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Transformers!
This might no really fall into sci-fi, but it would be cool to see something along the lines of the following RPGS: Aftermath, The Morrow Project, Metamophasis Alpha/Gamma World.
If it had to be more space-like, then Larry Niven's Tale of Known space as the setting: you got a lot of RP, man-kzin war, ring world, etc.
I think a Dune-setting would be great but they wouldn't be able to touch a lot of it. The concepts wouldn't be able to fit into the game. Plus, there is no way Bene Gesserit, Fremen, or Sardaukar (I can't believe I spelled that right...) are balanced. I don't think the limited approach would work well for the developers either if they had the Dune name stuck on it, because some fans would expect Frank Herbert writing, while others expect to be able to be Fremen and be near supermen.
A lot of neat Sci-Fi ideas don't whisper, "this would make a great MMO" to me just because they're either so powerful, they dwarf other aspects or are so inconvenient, there isn't a good way to translate them right now. Think slower than light interstellar travel. That's a basis for an interesting story but not the basis for a game that can be implemented without incredible difficulty.
If a license title actually manages to not offend the fan base like SWG (and I think MxO?) did, and manages to have a good launch (I love AO but lets not be irrational here. That was a buggy launch) it might take off very well.
I think StarGate is a good platform and its being developed by a brand new company, so I personally doubt that the game will be running over with amazing, original (risky) ideas but hopefully we'll be spared some of the shenanigans that have plagued other games in the genre. If they manage to pull off some of their Vision(TM) it stands to be neat and fun. In other words, if I get to play a Replicator construct and melt at least one face, the game has already succeeded in my eyes.
Torak, I'm with you. I'd rather see some original content.
Failing that, I would be the first person in line for a MegaTraveller MMORPG. Traveller (first released in 1977) remains one of the most brilliantly intelligent RPG designs of the past 30 years, The MegaTraveller revisions of 1987 made all the rules consistent plus added a great backstory and world setting that are just begging to be turned into a MMORPG. (The Traveller5 update scheduled for 2007 looks like another smart enhancement to the Traveller RPG as well.)
One potential issue a Traveller MMORPG might have to resolve is the class/level expectation. For those who don't know, Traveller's character creation system was long recognized as one of the most detailed of all PnP RPGs -- you actually took your character through a career, learning skills as you went along. When you were done with your career, you started the game.
That worked great. But today's MMORPGs are all about "advancement," as though having to grind levels to get to the good content is some kind of desirable effect. Nevertheless, many current MMORPG players could find themselves wondering whether to play a Traveller MMORPG that was true to the RPG in letting you create complete characters that don't advance in level through gameplay.
That said, I still think a well-constructed Traveller MMORPG could be not only a critical success but a major commercial success as well -- certainly it would be a much-needed antidote to the glut of fantasy combat MMORPGs popping up.
(Side note: Apparently, back in 2000 some group called Cornered Rat Software acquired the exclusive license to develop a MMORPG based on Traveller. I don't believe they still have that license, but I don't know what its status is today.)
--Flatfingers
I would like to see Mythic tap the EA money pool to develop a RvR MMO with FPS combat based on Warhammer 40k. Since they already have a relationship with GW, this would be an easy fit.
They could easily reuse all of the systems and tools they are developing for WAR. All they would need to do is replace the art and make the combat FPS.
Corned Rat? Those are the guys who make WWIIOL (World War II online) They more then likely dropped the ball.
Any incarnation of Traveller could work. What most fans of Traveller didn't like was the TNE stuff with the collapse of the Third Impirium. Most like the direction that GURPS took it in the late 90's earily 2000's. Personally I think the backdrop of the Fifth Frontier War would work out pretty good.
There is also a d20 version out now. Its pretty solid, I own a copy. (unfortunately I haven't played a PnP game in 15 plus years)
The whole problem with Traveller would be the "well constructed" part
Dev's as of late (the past few years) have demonstrated over and over they are not interested in quality or inovation, just cranking out half-finished, buggy, fantasy clone games. More Elves and Dwarves please!
I also think that "The Morrow Project" or "Metamorphosis alpha/Gamma world" would be interesting like another poster said. I'm also for a Twilight 2000 MMO, but that would need to be "spiced" up a bit.
Unfortuanately Flatfingers, most of the people who play these games have no idea what we are talking about, their idea of RPG is kill task, levels and raids
I wouldn´t care much if the setting were fantasy or SF, if only it was something fresh. When was the last time this happened ? UO was fresh, but then again, it was practically the first. EQ was fresh, but it introduced so much that threw the genre back....level grinding, loot camping, rigid classes. AO, when it came out, was EQ with guns and it never managed to become much more than that imo. Eve was (and is) radical, but it´s getting old too, and it has a learning curve as steep as a jailhouse wall, which IS a drawback.
All the industry has been doing since the 90s is recycling ideas and improving the graphics. It is still interesting for all these millions of people that just started playing mmorpgs (WoW), but I´m into it since 1998 and I´m bored to death. Look at all these popular franchises and what the software industry has done to them : Star Wars, D&D, Matrix, Warcraft and soon LotR. Watered down clones and abandoned visions wherever you look.
We are so far down the drain that the word "potential" which actually means : "all that it could become", means "all that it could HAD become AND NEVER DID OR WILL", when applied to an mmorpg.
Last thing we need is someone like EA or SOE, or even Turbine, Funcom or Mythic, taking a shot at yet another literary masterpiece like Dune (isn´t EA the owner of the rights?).
It´s like looking for talent in a casting show : HOPELESS
We need new concepts, fascinating worlds, interesting gameplay and interaction, not recycled familiar backgrounds and backstorys that are sometimes unimaginative or trashy to begin with (Farscape, Stargate).
avienthas,
Last thing we need is someone like EA or SOE, or even Turbine, Funcom or Mythic, taking a shot at yet another literary masterpiece like Dune (isn´t EA the owner of the rights?).
LoL, I couldn't agree more!
I like your entire post but this line really address the true problem. Its the same old companies trying the same old thing over and over. How many more f*cked up games are Turbine and SOE gonna release?
I honestly believe that all of these poor preforming games are going to scare off financial backers here in the U.S. marketby U.S. markers. There have been what, 2 critically successful games made in the U.S. in the last 5 or more years? EQ and WoW?
There are only 10 types of people in this world, those that understand binary and those that don't
playing eq2 and two worlds
Any new space themed mmo where it's not a very complex space sim like Taikodom, and the main gameplay focus is on space flight with a pure player skilled based combat would do for me anyday.
Or a space themed MMORTS like Mankind would do for me as well. Sort of like a Homeworld style mmo.
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Give me lights give me action. With a touch of a button!
A Star Wars NJO MMO would be nice
Including
-- Jedi Academy - train to be jedi
-- Bounty Hunters -
-- Sandbox
-- Superb Space Flight, similar to SWG
-- Not like WoW, EQ ect
-- Only some instancing, for those who want it.
-- primarily pvp game, with a great economy like prenge swg
-- Yuhzon Vong primary bad guy
-- Empire, still around, not very powerful
-- New Republic era
All that I ask for is the option to be a Creature Handler and have an open ended skill system. Ah, and make crafters drive the economy and make the game based around PvP instead of throwing it in as an after thought.
Creature handlers Were cool.
-------the community in sw games is what i love the best