The Rise of the Sci-Fi mmorpg

shadowhack · June 2007

well i think that the fantasy mmorpg is getting old now! there so many of them! the fantasy setting is probably about 85% of the mmo industry, but whats wrong with sci-fi, they may be hard to create but imo they are funnier than fantasy!

Caldrin · June 2007

funnier ?

anyway i think a lot more people like fantasy over sci fi... tho i liek sci fi myself..

montin · June 2007

Sci-fi mmos can be good. And I agree fantasy mmos are getting a bit old but they certainly still have a large market with some good areas to open up. Such as Conan. Also Pirates of the burning sea maybe interesting to play and moves away from the orc/elf situation. It's certainly nice to see some games moving away from the orc/elf type fantasy such PotBs and TR. But as for developers making sci-fi type games, the reason it happens rarely is money. A sci-fi game requires thought, it requires develop of new and different ideas. This mean employing somebody to come up with these ideas. Also it's going into the unknown which may mean few players. Hence high risk and slightly higher develop cost to that of a fantasy mmo. Developers are on the whole an unadventurous bunch, hence most mmos are fantasy and based on grind

mklinic · June 2007

There are a few Sci-fi games out there that demonstrate that at least there is a market. EVE seems to be fairly successful and SWG was very popular at one point. I am sure there more, but those are the two that spring to mind. That said, it certainly seems people gravitate toward fantasy settings for games. I don't know if it's because fantasy is move familiar whereas sci-fi seems to have a lot more creative freedom or if there is something else to it.

One thing to keep in mind though, it seems Sci-fi is starting to get more attention. I mean, if you look at the upcoming games, you've got (off the top of my head) Tabula Rasa, Fallen Earth, and Funcom is working on some post-Apocolyptic looking game. All of which have potential to be fairly popular and might be what the sci-fi mmo genre is missing.

In the end, careful what you wish for. At some point, I am sure someone asked "why aren't their more fantasy MMO's?" I would personally prefer quality of quantity.

flakes · June 2007

I agree it's time for some new settings.Allthough i think there are a lot more to be used then either sci-fi or fantasy.

What about a medieval one?In the same way total war works.Take 5 fractions , let them be able to have safe -zones and around every fractions safe zone there are bout 6 zones that can be taken by players and controlled.Let people be able to choose a profession that belongs to that time : framer/weaponsmith/warrior.You can offcourse have different types of warriors just like in total war.I think this could work.

What about a western one...also in the same type of way and true to the time , no spells or anything of that sort.

The sea/pirate one is also coming up a lot lately wich i find a nice thing.

Basically just change the allround fairytale settings and try to do both sci-fi as something that's from the history books.Also get some more "realm-wars" in the game so you actually have a feeling you are doing it for the "bigger" cause.Just like in dark age of camelot , or if you prefer sci-fi , like in eve online.

gpett · June 2007

Agreed, we need more adventurous MMOGs. We need more earth and beyond, more masters of orion, more EvE, more tie fighter, and more oldschool freelancer type games.

Hell, even a cyberpunk shadowrun type of mmorpg would make us happy.

But no, we keep getting sword and sorcery type games because they are the trend and are easy to develop. Any clunky game mechanic can be explained my some sort of pseudo magic within the game and gamers will accept it.

The fact of the matter fantasy sells and is easy to develop. Will some AAA developer take on the task of a sci-fi game like battletech, enders game, battlestar galactica, mad max, blade runner, or starship troopers IP and truely create a AAA quality game out of it?

Time will tell.

The problem of recent sci-fi games isn'tt that they were sci-fi. They just didn't have the resources to make a truely great game. Auto assault is the perfect example of an excellent idea with poor gameplay and not enough resources. The idea was great.. the game wasn't.

A great game has to feel right while playing it. Too many devs over look that with ambitious ideas.

Elgareth · June 2007

I like Fantasy more than Sci-Fi.

Or well, the only Sci-Fi Universe I'd love to see a MMO from is Warhammer 40k's Science-Fantasy-Mix (Gogo THQ

)

I dunno exactly why, but Magic, Plate Armor, Druids, Archers are more my taste than some High Tech Laser Weapons and Plasma Blasters and whatnot. Plus, I feel that Melee is not a good idea in "normal" Sci-Fi Universes, if it IS implemented, it feels kinda wrong to me... why would a Sword do more damage than concentrated balls of plasma?

(Also the reason why W40k is the best Sci-Fi Universe IMO, blends Melee and Range so well. Chain-Swords ftw :-) )

gpett · June 2007

Agreed, here is hoping THQ gets it right. WH 40K is prolly the most overdue IP for development. I hope they incorporate some necromunda style of play with less rigid squad tactics and more of a character development feel.

I always though necromunda would make the perfect mmofps.

nakuma · June 2007

dude the high fantasy MMo's such as Eq and numerous games have served us well. but they are getting old, nothing is truly innovative. its been done to death. Cyberpunk and Sci-fi are refreshing approach (if done right that is) past few such as neocron, and face of mankind were horribly implemented, but interesting, and innovative ideas. but innovative ideas can only take you so far, ideas dont make the game run, ideas dont make the game fun.

Hopefully with Huxley, and TR, we can get a new taste and new approach to our MMO fix :P ill admit i love MMo's dollar for dollar you get more out of them than any game (unless they are total crap, and poorly implemented as i could easily run out of fingers on my one hand i utterly hated) but any company that is able to combine innovative gameplay, with a interesting and engaging story/lore will be 1st on the list for our money.

i have high hopes with TR for 2 reasons, lord british Garriott, has done a splendid job on Ultima series,and deserves our loyalty and benefit of the doubt as he has yet to have any sub par game come out. 2, its sci-fi, which in itself is a refreshing change from high fantasy and is worth a look see, also its accessible on many levels both by pc spec, gameplay, and in how it caters to both casual, and hardcore players. and there seems to be a truly engaging accessible story going on within the game that the player gets to be involved with directly as well as effect the world in which they are fighting. ( look for info on battles and how it effects the world,and alien enemy forces)

nakuma · June 2007

i agre, warhammer 40k was awesome. would be sick to see a MMO using Warhammer 40k license.

Caldrin · June 2007

like this ?

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6166560.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6166560

[Deleted User] · June 2007

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Pappy13 · June 2007

I honestly don't understand why someone hasn't tried to recreate something similar to Earth and Beyond. It's often talked about as having been a very good MMO and I personally found it to be on par with WoW. Honestly I don't think EVE is all that great as I don't like the leveling system, but it's pretty much the only thing going right now for the space genre. The genre lends itself very well to the MMO style too, you just have to replace Helmets, gloves, boots and pants for engines, shields, generators and various add-ons. Replace zones with sectors. Replace knives, swords, bows and guns with lasers, missile launchers and photon cannons. Replace the various animals with space monsters. Replace leather and cloth drops with various parts for building stuff and you're there. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but really the mechanics are the same, just the look and names of things are different for the most part.

If anyone has ever played E&B, you know what a great crafting system it had. Crafted stuff actually had value in that game and there was a great sense of accomplishment when you first learned how to make a high level 200% quality item.

EA was too quick to pull the plug on that game, someone could make a lot of money on a game like that if they were to make a good one. I keep waiting and hoping, but see nothing on the horizon at the moment.

Saabat · June 2007

I have often wondered if what happened with Star Wars Galaxies scared the industry away from main stream Science Fiction titles. i tried out EVE and I know that a simple tryout was definitely not enough to get a feel for the game but I could tell that it was a excellent game.. but it is definitely not for everyone. You either like it or you don't, it seems.

A few franchises I would love to see made into MMO's would be Mechwarrior/Battletech, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk and of course Warhammer 40k (THQ is working on this but it is early in the process and may be years in the works if it does happen at all).

Mordacai · June 2007

The reason for no sci-fi really is for exactly the reasons stated in this thread by various posters.

Here's some highpoints

Risky-The fantasy is tried and true it sells (85% of the population of gamers). If people wanted sci-fi they'd be playing more sci-fi games right? I say wrong, they just been a couple of "big" sci-fi's in the genre that people have migrated to and 1 of those came with an IP and issues of its own, everyone knows that one as SWG. The other is EVE more or less its own IP. Both were risky ventures in that being the only ones on the market they did garner a good crowd but could not retain them for the most part and give proven "WOW" result numbers so the money men bail out on thingsl ike that. E&B is one such victim.

IP-Most games on market (big ones) come with an IP attached, SWG, WOW (Warcraft), WAR (WH), Matrix etc etc. The new sci-fi on the market for big names is star trek and SGO, Neither of which appear to be what the fans are looking for and expecting. Star Trek won't have ship interiors (how can you not make a ST game with out being 90% inside the ship that's what everyone expects and what's seen in all of the movies and tv series.). SGO is going to be basically an mmofps, and I would garner a large majority of sci fi gamers don't like fps's, so this one doesn't look to great to me. Now what sci-fi does allow for is EASY creation of your own IP and that's exac tly what we did.

Gameplay-Sword and board over the Pew Pew, so what's the preference here 85% went sword and board but aren't games like SWG just the same sword and board game all over again with a laser gun instead of a broadsword from D6 Damage? I really saw this cross over when the SWG CU hit and all of the similarities with EQ2 that I was also playing at the same tiime, it was astounding the amount of content and mechanics that was reused between them.

So in all that will we not see any new sci-fi or good sci-fi. No I think smaller teams like us and dark horizon's are willing to take the risk. We have a LOVE of sci-fi and I personally am just SICK TO DEATH of fantasy for the most part. Will it be a 8 million subscriber game like wow? Well we could only hope so but personally I would love to make a fun, intellictually challenging game that has less subscribers and is sci-fi then I would having a boring grind fest reward system with no raid content if it meant only having a few thousand or hundred thousand subscribers.

To me, sci-fi is a sorely missed genre, no game to me out yet has captured the TRUE feel of what sci-fi is to me, and that's why I want to make it. This is not a bash SOE or SWG post either, I love star wars, I grew up with it and its why i'm doing what I'm doing today in a way. If it were not for SWG/SOE and things that happeend there I would still be happily playing it and never ventured onto new things and started designing an entirely new IP and MMORPG.

We're the Mech MMORPG game, stop by and see us at www.forceofarms.com or check out the gamelist here for us. Our information isn't kept up to date here on mmorpg.com as much as it is on our site. Come see our vision of sci-fi. Real aliens, corporate cultures, big metal robots, lasers, space and mystery.

Xix13 · June 2007

It's odd though. Sci-Fi is my favorite genre for movies, books and MMOs. I love the stuf. Can't get enough. Sparks my immagination whether a political-mech universe like Battletech, the Space Operas like Star Wars, FIrefly, Star Trek, et al, or the Military Sci-Fi of Drake, Weber and the like. Even the techno-sci-fi of Azimov or the post-apoc and cyberpunk stuf is enthralling to me. And I'm ready willing and able to dump all my many fantasy subs for some sci-fi. Yes, I play EVE and enjoy it. Yes, I'm a bitter 5-acct refugee of SWG. My first MMO ever was EnB. I still have 2 AO accounts. What I find odd is that while companies don't seem to like sci-fi, the players themselves have been VERY passionate about the games. Moreso than I've seen from fantasy players.

There are 5 sci-fi MMOs I've played: 2 where you are essentially a ship (EVE, EnB), 2 where you're an avatar (SWG, AO) and one where you're essentially a vehicle (AA). It's the avatar-style ones that have always seemed to have the most potential (obviously) but have ALWAYS held one serious flaw to my way of thinking. Why do the sword guys always, ALWAYS, outfight the gun guys? SWG and AO both have the same thing, less so in AO, but still there. Is it simply to try and draw in the fantasy players? Or is there something else. Why can't the old scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark be a model: where the guy flashes his sword menacingly at Indy, who just disgustedly pulls out his gun and blows him away. I never understood in SWG why a guy with bare fists could decimate a guy with grenades, flamethrower, acid sprayer or rocket launcher. What, my grenade MISSED? Yikes!

There's a sci-fi on the horizon in Tabla Rassa. Dunno if it'll be too fast-paced for me though. The one I'm REALLY looking forward to, actually praying gets out of the starting gate, is Conflict Omega. If those guys can pull off their dream, it WILL replace SWG for me. In fact, I probably should head back there soon to see if they've progressed or are even still alive. They have great concepts and CRAFTING (yes, COMPLEX crafting even!) in their plans. But other than those two, I'm just not seeing anything in the sci-fi near or mid-future. (No, putting the SOE logo, even for "distribution", on STO just burned it right out of my mind.)

Just added Force of Arms to my list of MMO sites to check in on. Thanx for the heads-up on that one too.

Bladin · June 2007

I like fantasy far better, because i find sci fi to be SOOO generic as a ENTIRE genre.

I find space boring, because its absolutely nothingness, one section is the same as a million others, different color planets in the background? that's not enough for me, give me 10 minutes and i can make a image in paint that will be how every single space game looks.

Gun's are extremely generic in most games, with fantasy weapons at least you can get stylish attacks and more interaction between you and your enemy. I find it downright laughable, when sci-fi games add in melee combat and actually make it viable. And unless it's a fps the rpg elements in it are boring over a massive amount of time. But when it becomes a mmofps it's no longer a mmorpg is it?

Guns are either so over the top crazy that their sheer existance is just stupid, like guns that somehow generate massive blobs of plasma that melt throw metal like acid, etc etc. But mostly they are so generic that i don't want to play a mmorpg where i spend 500 hours clicking shoot double shoot, bullet spray, traveling through the near identical corridors, killing massive amounts of clones(if theres a sci fi game where the planet is just as much of a threat as other high tech civilizations i simply won't play it, because it's just silly, and no armies etc will have 500 different styles of ground units.

Right now i could go rent 30 sci-fi movies, 30 sci-fi games, and find at least 100 similarities between each game and each movie. The only difference is who dies when.

JADEDRAG0N · June 2007

Originally posted by Bladin

I like fantasy far better, because i find sci fi to be SOOO generic as a ENTIRE genre.

I find space boring A.D.D? , because its absolutely nothingness, one section is the same as a million others, different color planets in the background? that's not enough for me, give me 10 minutes and i can make a image in paint that will be how every single space game looks. So you would rather have thigs like space trees and space cows and fantasy stuff like that then?

Gun's are extremely generic in most games, with fantasy weapons at least you can get stylish attacks and more interaction between you and your enemy If by intereaction you mean button amshing and POT Botting.. I find it downright laughable, when sci-fi games add in melee combat and actually make it viable Be nice if you gave detaild reasons why . And unless it's a fps the rpg elements in it are boring over a massive amount of time. But when it becomes a mmofps it's no longer a mmorpg is it?

Guns are either so over the top crazy that their sheer existance is just stupid, like guns that somehow generate massive blobs of plasma that melt throw metal like acid, etc etc. But mostly they are so generic that i don't want to play a mmorpg where i spend 500 hours clicking shoot double shoot, bullet spray, traveling through the near identical corridors, killing massive amounts of clones Sounds like a fantasy dungeon (if theres a sci fi game where the planet is just as much of a threat as other high tech civilizations i simply won't play it, because it's just silly, and no armies etc will have 500 different styles of ground units.

Right now i could go rent 30 sci-fi movies, 30 sci-fi games, and find at least 100 similarities between each game and each movie. The only difference is who dies when. And i could rent 30 fantasy movies and 30 fantasy games and find at least 200 similaritys between them too whats your point?

Exact same could be said for fantasy games.

Bladin · June 2007

Originally posted by JADEDRAG0N

Originally posted by Bladin

I like fantasy far better, because i find sci fi to be SOOO generic as a ENTIRE genre.

I find space boring A.D.D? probably , because its absolutely nothingness, one section is the same as a million others, different color planets in the background? that's not enough for me, give me 10 minutes and i can make a image in paint that will be how every single space game looks. So you would rather have thigs like space trees and space cows and fantasy stuff like that then? yes

Gun's are extremely generic in most games, with fantasy weapons at least you can get stylish attacks and more interaction between you and your enemy If by intereaction you mean button amshing and POT Botting.. by interaction i meant physical contact, feeling your axe slice threw your enemy, spins of your blades, play the game "condemned"for pc or the 360 and feel it's melee system I find it downright laughable, when sci-fi games add in melee combat and actually make it viable Be nice if you gave detaild reasons why . The same reason why the army doesn't melee these days with swords and rapiers. I know everyone wants to be a jedi, but guns>melee, and thats how it should be. If your a melee person and you run up to people shooting you and slice em to pieces... it leads to a break in realism, at this point you have to use the character as being "super human" or "anti gun armor" but in a mmo, why can't there be super humans with guns that would overpower super people with melee, why don't the other people have "anti melee armor?". You don't take a gun to a knife fight, and star wars is really the problem behind all this with their "omg i reflect bullets lolz" And unless it's a fps the rpg elements in it are boring over a massive amount of time. But when it becomes a mmofps it's no longer a mmorpg is it?

Guns are either so over the top crazy that their sheer existance is just stupid, like guns that somehow generate massive blobs of plasma that melt throw metal like acid, etc etc. But mostly they are so generic that i don't want to play a mmorpg where i spend 500 hours clicking shoot double shoot, bullet spray, traveling through the near identical corridors, killing massive amounts of clones Sounds like a fantasy dungeon But see with fantasy there is more variety inbetween your actions. Whereas in sci fi your limited by your weapons rather then your personal ability. Imagine playing planetside only you clicked enemies and then you autoshot at them. sci-fi makes better FPS because of the way weapons should work in a sci fi environment. (if theres a sci fi game where the planet is just as much of a threat as other high tech civilizations i simply won't play it, because it's just silly, and no armies etc will have 500 different styles of ground units.

Right now i could go rent 30 sci-fi movies, 30 sci-fi games, and find at least 100 similarities between each game and each movie. The only difference is who dies when. And i could rent 30 fantasy movies and 30 fantasy games and find at least 200 similaritys between them too whats your point? You could, and there are, yet at the same time, the similarities between fantasy and fantasy is far far more different then sci fi and sci fi. Simply because with fantasy there is a wide variety between the actual worlds(if you can even find 30 fantasy movies =P. Whereas sci-fi using the same futuristic style, all basically containing the same material and design ideas. Navigating a space ship for example involves various "rooms" with hallways upon hallways and hallways. Whereas fantasy movies and games generally have wider areas, with vast differences between them. Sure they can share forests and canyons and cliffs. But it feels less generic then the endless hallways, and panicd hallway chases and the like of a sci movie.

Exact same could be said for fantasy games.

I expanded upon my comments for ya.

CharslesT · June 2007

I hope a good sci fi comes out. I got station pass but did not try Star Wars Galaxies. Star Trek would be nice.

johnmatthais · June 2007

hmmm...i kinda like the ideas of games in the likes of Phylon, Planetside and Tabula Rasa...very different...i also sort of like GE and SotNW...they're not really fantasy, more historical...but i guess fantasy because of some of the enemies...a blend, if you will...

EDIT: also waitin on Stargate Worlds

CharslesT · June 2007

I want a science fiction mmo world as big as Vanguard's is now though.

Alverant · June 2007

Part of why Fantasy is so popular is that it's easy to make and accept. Fantasy has certain archtypes like elves, dwarves, orcs, fighters, clerics, mages, etc. It's been done to death. SF has a different problem. Its archtypes are owned as intellectual property and come from series. And SF series don't have a great record when translated into games.

So to make a good SF game you need to have a comfortable setting for the user (among other things). Which leads you to a Catch-22. If you do with the familiar you're accused of not being original. People will say, "It's just [fantasy MMO here] but in space." But if you're original and different your players can't identify with the setting and will stay away. Fantasy is given much more leeway. What race would the average player make a character, an elf or an 8-legged Lovecraft-ian horror?

kiDo · June 2007

Originally posted by Elgareth

I like Fantasy more than Sci-Fi.

Or well, the only Sci-Fi Universe I'd love to see a MMO from is Warhammer 40k's Science-Fantasy-Mix (Gogo THQ )

I dunno exactly why, but Magic, Plate Armor, Druids, Archers are more my taste than some High Tech Laser Weapons and Plasma Blasters and whatnot. Plus, I feel that Melee is not a good idea in "normal" Sci-Fi Universes, if it IS implemented, it feels kinda wrong to me... why would a Sword do more damage than concentrated balls of plasma?

(Also the reason why W40k is the best Sci-Fi Universe IMO, blends Melee and Range so well. Chain-Swords ftw :-) )

how funny would it be if they came out with a gundam MMO :P

Ponico · June 2007

A good Sci Fi mmo... I hope to see a few in the near future!

I never really liked medieval but then, I love mmos... ugh lol

I know that Serenity is maybe coming out as an MMO. I think that this is a brilliant setting for a grand population of players. It has an old cowboy feel with a space epic story of good versus evil mixed with some myth and exotic technologies. The setting itself is solid enough to make a game alive... now it just depends on the guys that are making it... :X

I still think that Shattered Galaxy and Mankind were among the best Sci Fi mmo i've ever played :P

gpett · June 2007

Originally posted by kiDo

Originally posted by Elgareth

I like Fantasy more than Sci-Fi.

Or well, the only Sci-Fi Universe I'd love to see a MMO from is Warhammer 40k's Science-Fantasy-Mix (Gogo THQ )

I dunno exactly why, but Magic, Plate Armor, Druids, Archers are more my taste than some High Tech Laser Weapons and Plasma Blasters and whatnot. Plus, I feel that Melee is not a good idea in "normal" Sci-Fi Universes, if it IS implemented, it feels kinda wrong to me... why would a Sword do more damage than concentrated balls of plasma?

(Also the reason why W40k is the best Sci-Fi Universe IMO, blends Melee and Range so well. Chain-Swords ftw :-) )

how funny would it be if they came out with a gundam MMO :P Age of Arms is a chinese gundamn mmo that is in beta test.

Howdy, Stranger!

The Rise of the Sci-Fi mmorpg

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

The Rise of the Sci-Fi mmorpg

Comments