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The mmorpg of your dreams
Mithras
Member Posts: 43
I've been curious for some time, it seems a lot of players either love the game they're playing, but would like to make a few changes, or are simply playing a game hoping like hell one will come out that will meet their demands. So what features would you put in an mmo if you could build it from the ground up?
Comments
A number of different worlds that your character could travel to: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, merger of the two - Star Wars-ish and Shadowrun-like, Past no magic, Present no magic, Victorian era...throw in alien planets both friendly and not
make it totally skill-based [character skill, not who is less laggy "skill"] with progression of skills like the old PnP RPG Runequest [chance to learn when successfully using a skill is 100-skill level; random d100 roll. Over 100 advancement happens only on a roll of 01]
allow character advancement [skill training] while offline giving one random roll every 5 min, as well as a browser-based way of allocating that training [1st skill rolls every 5 min, 2nd rolls every 10, 3rd every 20, 4th evry 30 and last every hour]
provide many combat moves earned at different skill levels making combat interactive [set a que for moves so that lag is not a factor]; allow targetting of specific body parts with corresponding chances of getting a successful hit there
have logical loot drops - animals drop bones/fur [if your skinning skill is good enough]/meat; robots drop metal gears/parts
have vegetable and mineral components to harvest/mine
make all gear beyond the most basic be player made; creator could put their name on items crafted; quality of materials and skill , as well as a random roll, would determine the final product's stats...making each item unique and possibly making something new, especially on a world where magic works
give everyone a basic apartment on each world [in their race's embassy]; only the player can travel between worlds, the gear is left when s/he teleports [like Terminator..]
allow player built villages/towns in certain wilderness areas [and allow those villages to hire NPC guards; provide their own government model - democrasy, kingdom, oligarchy, fusion of kingdom and a house of lords]; allow those villages to align with other PC and NPC villages/cities and declare economic and full out warfare or declare neutrality [which may or may not be recognised by other PC villages]
Allow PvP anywhere, BUT set law levels on each world. Some worlds would punish PvP so much as to make it foolish to try - KOS at all NPC cities, bounties on PK heads - possibly even some worlds could ban PK by implanting chips that prevent PvP except in an arena. Other worlds would have lower law levels where only the major city with the Embassies would be safe.
VOIP built in
Have the ability to play and advance as the MOBs - you may start as a rat, but you can branch out from there
Players could have a total of 6 character slots in any combination of PC and MOB [I see LOTRO is going to do something similar- let you take over some of the MOBs]
Have some static areas, but also have instanced areas that change based on player performance. 50 caves, but what is in each one changes based on how long it has been since it was cleared by other players
No "Conning" of other players/MOBs - the player must learn to tell from visual clues/location how tough the opponents are
Anybody have any other suggestions?
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Lately what I've noticed from online games is the focus on large group play and raid play, and within the players society a lot of the focus has fallen on who's the highest level, who has the most epic gear, and who has the most money. You almost never hear someone talking about how much FUN a run was, just how much loot they got out of it.
What I'd like to see in a game is a change from that. It's not about the gear, it's not about the farming, and not about the level. For example, although this is a single player game I'd like to look at Oblivion. In the entire world, almost all of the monsters are based on a player's level. I'd like to add that concept to an online game. The monster's levels adjust to a player's or a group's level and in the case of a group I'd like it to adjust (stat-wise) to what type of classes are in a group. That way people aren't yelling all over the map for a healer or a tank for a couple hours when they're not playing at the peak hours. Of course, you'd have ratings more like very easy, normal, or hard or even very hard in some places to make it more interesting. I'd like to keep large dungeons for large groups of people, and even legendary monsters which are always rated extremely difficult, a basic raid boss. No nix on the raids, but something more for the people who aren't interested in such things.
One of my major issues is the focus on large group-based dungeons. When you're solo, going around hunting different mobs gets a bit dull. Different zones, same grinding, as far as I see it. But reference back to Oblivion where small dungeons are set all over the map, and even Anarchy Online where dungeons are random, with random quests given to get to them for a specific purpose. But mainly, randomized dungeons all over the map. A hidden cave, a sinkhole, an ancient tomb.... whether you get to one as a solo player, a small group, or even a large group, the monsters would be to your group size, class and level so you are guaranteed to be able to go through it and maybe find a piece of treasure at the end.
So what about the xp? My main idea behind this I've seen before but never in the same place. Very minor amounts of xp achieved from fighting in general (swinging a sword, casting etc.) I like as a concept, and of course the xp you get from killing a monster. But what if you got more xp for killing a monster completely new to you? The more you kill a single type of monster, the less xp you would get, makihg the player need to move around and find something new. I think at the least an idea like this would hurt power-leveling services and that's one major thing I'd like to see.
I'd like to see a major change in the diversity of classes themselves. You look at Everquest II and you see a good choice, but quite a few of those classes seem to have about the same abilities. The largest change is the typical plate tank class... for example, a warrior. I'd like to see this classes' abilities based more on the type of weapon equipped... attacks based on a 2-hand sword opposed to a one-hand mace will change drastically, giving a new dimension of diversity to a rather flat class. Taunts should be removed in general I think; if you want the aggro, you'd better jump in front of the monster and take it rather than yelling at it. Of course, fun little skills like tripping with a two-handed weapon or a strike to the hamstring might make this easier for the tanks.
Also, I don't think PVP should be about some high level character slicing a level 10 or so into little bits. PVP should be restricted to PVP grounds. I liked the idea behind capture the flag style in World of Warcraft's and even the pet-based PVP fighting in Everquest II. That's fun... being stabbed in the back while you're trying to fight something is not. That's why I would not place PVP zones in the game, however PVP arenas would be more than welcome.
Some really good ideas already in this thread!
I don't have a huge preference when it comes to setting, though I suppose I lean more towards fantasy than futuristic. The important things about the environment is that it needs to be large, open, and seamless. Don't take me out of the game by tossing in a loading screen while I change a zone. While I understand the argument for Instances, I personally don't prefer them. I want to always feel like I'm a part of a world, even if it means crowding or other issues.
Character creation should be something where I could spend hours fiddling about tweaking things until I have a truly unique avatar. This notion of "Do I choose face 1 or 2 or....um...those are the only choices." HAS to be eliminated.
I don't like the class sytem, I want a skill based level system, no restrictions on what I can train in. And I want variety too, a list of skills plentiful and useful enough that I could spend months planning and tweaking my character. I also want a skill based combat system, not just a pure dice roll based on my gear. And no, pushing 1 or 3 and then 2 in the same order time and time again during a fight is not "skill based". I want NPC's who are unpredictable and challenging to fight, not just cookie cutter clones who repeat the same attack or magic spell in the same fashion.
The NPC's and mobs should be active with some real AI. Migratory animal herds, nomadic tribes on the move, bandit parties moving about and raiding towns and traveling merchant colonies. I want to be able to stand around a capital city and watch as NPC armies march out the city gates to lead an assault against a neighboring empire, or conversely, be standing around and see some NPC rush through the city shouting of an oncoming assault.
PvP is a must, for NPC's in the end will never match the challenge that facing off against a skilled human would bring. It could be restricted to certain regions I suppose, and it can have some penalties for grossly unfair matchups or camping starting character spawns. HOWEVER, make at least one server have full on, unrestricted, no penalty PvP. While it's not everyone's cup of tea, I personally love the harsh yet rewarding challenges such a ruleset bring.
The elimination of the unholy grind. I understand the concept of putting in time and reaping rewards, but when I speak of "grinding" I talk about quests or such which have you kill literally thousands of the same monster over and over and over again to collect teeth or fangs or reputation with a faction. It's practically sadistic what some games do to try and keep people playing and paying.
I want the explorers spirit to flourish and be rewarding. I want hidden nooks with perhaps a unique item or piece of lore there, I want to feel like I could spend days running around the landscape and come away feeling like it was well worth it. Keep the world changing though, I don't want the same things in the same places always, keep things shifting, so that I never feel like everything has been seen before and catalogued and tracked by some database site.
These ideas and others may not be entirely realistic at this point, but I think that with the advance of technology we're going to look back at this era of MMO's and think of it as terribly archaic.
I agree with a lot of what has been said, thanks for the responses.
I'd love the idea of unique artifacts, it kinda seems silly for 40 people to run around with the same +40 dragonslayer sword.
Hidden places in exploration would also be a good idea, along with the developer putting different hidden crypts or caves in the game every now and then without us knowing about them.
I am also very much in favor of a completely skill based system.
Unique monsters would also be great, once dead they stay dead, but the treasure would be worth it.
Some games had monsters raid cities or towns, I'm all in favor of that as well, it'd be fun to have a group of people hold off some random invasion by monsters, and if they fail the city gets destroyed.
Just throwing out a few of my own.
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
Fundamentally, basically all MMORPGs today are arcade games with some RPG mechanics overlaid on them. And the trend is to become more "arcade gamey" and less "RPGish" with upcoming releases. As a roleplayer, if I could design an MMORPG from the ground up, it would be a roleplaying game, NOT an arcade game. This means it would play more slowly, and require more thought, than any game currently on the market. I would agree from the outset that the vast majority of current MMORPG players would probably hate it. I would tell them to go play all the other pseudo-twitch games out there that are designed to appeal to them, and I would instead focus on the very large market of true roleplayers out there who don't even play these games because they aren't, in fact, actual RPGs.
Yup, I know probably 90% of people who use this site would hate such a game. And it might fail because of that. But if I had my druthers and any way to make it, that is what I would do -- make a true RPG, that can be played online. Something like an NWN PW, but much bigger.
C
NGE Refugee.
I want everything Darkfall is claiming, but done by a developer with the resources to deliver what they say.
Free and open PvP with faction hits for a deterent, clan fortress building, land ownership, resources that mean something for crafters, and crafting that's integral and important to the world, Ships and mounts, magic and freedom of character development.
I want a game where reputation and community matters and battles are meaningful and intense.
Asdar
Former UO player searching for something even remotely close to what UO was...
I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of skill based combat, although I see a problem in an MMO where players would be busy grinding up skills - i.e. jumping off buildings all day to grind safefall skill - which, while entertaining to watch people flinging themselves off of high objects, it is kind of similar to grinding for levels. But if an MMO could use skill based and get past that, then all power to them.
I also like the idea of traps and puzzles in a dungeon like DDO did, but the weakness of a single city and group-required gaming is a turnoff for a lot of gamers.
I do have to add a comment on the PVP since someone else brought up the point that they like PVP areas where people are free to PVP as they see fit, and then there's people more like me that don't much care for it. Most games get past this with PVP and normal servers, although I run frequently into the problem of there being more PVP servers than normal servers, and more players on the normal servers that they tend to be overloaded. And then I run into the chronic pk-ing 5 year olds that have nothing to really say besides 'I pwn u'. Here's a novel idea.... an ignore function that makes your character invisible to that 5 year old, and vice-versa. That way you not only can rest easy from horrible grammar/manners, but you won't have to worry about being stabbed in the back either.