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The Hellgate : London Poll
Myrdek
Member Posts: 346
EDIT: "We are currently in the process of getting this game added and are awaiting a response from the Hellgate Dev Team."
This is the answer I got from suggesting Hellgate, we'll have our own forum soon guys 
Since the other thread is starting to get big and a lot of people don't seem to read it before posting their own comment, I decided it would be nice to start a new one with all the facts.
Why this debate? Quite simply, many people feel that Hellgate London should be considered an MMORPG and have it's own section on this website. While others, of course, disagree
The day everyone agrees on something would probably be doomsday, the instant before before being wiped out
Hellgate is an RPG, diablo style, that's coming out on halloween this year. It features a 20-40 hours single player campaign along with a strong multiplayer mode. So here are the facts
1- The game can be played offline because it has both a single player and a multiplayer component
2- It is heavily instanced, aside from some Hubs that can hold hundreds of people
3- It has an optional monthly fee that includes patches, new classes, new instances etc. etc.
4- It has 24/7 dedicated servers with customer support
5- It has an Auction House
6- Player Housing
7- Guilds
8- Raids
9- Each server can hold around 10k people
The 2 major debates I've seen were on the definition of Persistant, and on the rule of :
500 or more simultaneous players in one world.
- The game must include some form of graphical common area. This distinction means Diablo II is not considered an MMORPG, while Guild Wars is.
Many people that say this game isn't an MMO says it's because it doesn't have 500 or more people in 1 zone. But what MMO does?
Guild Wars, EQ 2 and many others don't have that many people per zone either, yet they are considered MMOs
I'm obviously of those who think this game should be considered an MMO and be on this website. What is your opinion?
Comments
To be classified as MMORPG the game should only be playable online.
Guild Wars is.
Diablo II , is not. Hellgate is not aswell.
But anyway. I have nothing against adding Hellgate to game list , and while you are at it add NWN aswell
So unless AoC has changed then they aren't an MMO either right? Since there was a single player version of the game that you could do.
War Beta Tester
yes, what about Age of Conan Lobotomist? The first 20 level are single player.
If that's your definition of an MMO then it's your choice, I've got nothing against it. But personally, I think it a lot more games will probably follow the same route as Hellgate in the future. There's no reason why a game can't be both
I'd say that to be an MMOG the game must support a "massive" number of players, at the same time, in the same instance of the majority of the content-filled part of the world (realm/server = instance or the main game world). If the non-instanced part of the world is only a meeting / shopping / quest pick-up point, it's just a 3d lobby for a dungeon runner game.
Diablo II, most FPS and RTS games, don't qualify because while there can be a massive number of players playing at the same time, each instance of the game world doesn't hold a massive number of players.
Guild Wars doesn't qualify because while the HUB can hold a massive number of players the HUB isn't the majority of the (content-filled) world. (Edit: going by what I've heard. I have yet to try it out myself. Please correct me - nicely - if I'm wrong.
)
As for "massive", I'd say your mentioned 500 is as fair a fair number as any, but it applies to the (non-instanced content-filled) world, not a single zone.
Imo, Hellgate: London is not an MMOG. I expect to be spending hundreds of hours in it though. Eat lead, demon scum!
Edit 2: Oh, and I definitely support adding Hellgate: London to this site. Planetside is an MMOFPS (note: mmorpg.com) and still included, and as I mentioned above I don' think Guild Wars is really an MMOG based on what I've heard.
I give Hellgate:London a big thumbs up to be put on the site. Just because it gives players options doesn't mean it should be disqualified as a mmo. By definition it fits the bill such as Guild Wars. Guild Wars has heroes/henchmen npcs where you can solo through the entire game without the help of other players. As stated already, the first 20 levels of Aoc is single player mode. Look at all the mmo games on this site that are not successful but get a free ride because of the criteria. I say change the way it works, stop worrying about criteria and start putting more quality games on the site. Thats just my 2 cents.
Though I somewhat agree, that isn't a law at all. You just made that up
There's no set definiton made by some video game standardizing organiztion. Genres are made by opinions pretty much. I personally think that any game where you can instantly connect to thousands of people is an MMO. And if it has RPG elements, it is an MMORPG. Just because it isnt an EQ clone doesn't mean its not an MMORPG.
Hellgate should be added IMO.
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The first 20 levels are single player, but you are logged in to the server. Also, they changed the game so that its not completely single player. You can meet with other players prior to level 20 in taverns I believe for drunken brawling. I think it even gets more involved then that but i dont know the details.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
Ok but what happens if MMOs decide tomorrow that it would be a good idea to have a small single player campaign at the beginning to get players more involved in the storyline? We all know that single player games have that edge over MMOs, they have an interesting and involved story that no MMO can have.
I think that they could easily decide in the future to implement some single player component to the multiplayer ones to make a better gaming experience. You know, taking the best of both world
This thread doesnt belong in this section, as this is a MMORPG forum.
So some mod, please move it, kkthxbai
Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.
you cant deny an MMO if it has a single player part built in, its still an MMO (e.g AoC)
i never considered hellgate London an MMO much like Battlefield 2 and 2142 because
1. my local shop sells it (this shop is pathetic at getting in MMO's apart from WoW)
2. it doesnt advertise it for its multiplayer
3. website i have been to dont suggest the MMO tag for the game
MMO wish list:
-Changeable worlds
-Solid non level based game
-Sharks with lasers attached to their heads
So unless AoC has changed then they aren't an MMO either right? Since there was a single player version of the game that you could do.
Valid question
First they did change their mind. There will not be single player version of the game.
Second , the first talked about single player version was only until lvl 20 - So not the whole game - unlike diablo or hellgate
third, you still must be connected to internet to play single player part of AOC.
So...to cut this short
If on your game box you dont have little disclaimer saying
"Only playable online"
Than it can not be a MMORPG... easy as that
It is just a diablo clone, you don't see diablo discussed on these forums or clammored to be added do you?
It is clearly not a MMO, there is not one uninstanced area where you can see and meet other players. Enough said.
the developers call it mmo themselves and i mean , if all people want to see it in the game list , then why not.
In the online portion of the game there will be a central area and towns where it will be persistent where people can form groups, meet up together,trade and sell stuff just like Guild Wars. Just because it is hacknslash type doesn't make it a Diablo clone. The funny thing is, down the road when Hellgate: London gets 300,000 plus online paying subscribers to the game will people still be in denial its not a mmo ? Also many still think Guild Wars is not a mmo but call it a CORPG and still gets put on this site.
Stupid debate! Why can;t MMORPG.com make exceptions for some games? They don't have to go back and add EVERY game that ever MIGHT be an MMO, but they can open up more to new options like this game.
They could even run a special section for these types of games.
i posted this in another post and i think it should be in this one, if anything but a quote.
For all you READ THE FAQ PEOPLE. its meets the criteria.............shut up.
the only people who are argueing against it are the people who know nothing about it.
I don't see why it wouldn't be listed on this site if Guild Wars and Phantasy Star Universe is on here. PSU is actually very similar, they both have offline modes and online modes. All of them have the same heavily instanced system where the lobbies/cities are the only MMO part of the game.
It is not a cookiecutter MMORPG, but I consider Diablo 2 an MMO because of the community it had.
There isn't an exact definition of an mmorpg, but somehow this is needed to draw the lines. And so many people will say that an mmorpg has to be like it's predecessors, UO and EQ and others will argue that mmorpgs are continually evolving. So eh
Unless there is an International MMORPG Council, you know like how they have the IAU that decide what a planet is, it will always be a big issue.
Playing now: Cities: Skyline / Ori and the Blind Forest / Banished
Of course you also have the split between sandbox and theme park, fantasy and sci-fi.
I love these sort of 'self assured' posts. You speak with such certainty about complete rubbish.
Diablo clone? No. Far from it. The dev company are the guys that made diablo 1/2, I guess that means it could be nothing less than a clone huh.
Not one uninstance area you can meet players? Completely wrong there. Many stations that are common meeting places for trade, chat, and grouping. Even the instances themselves can be opened to others if you so wish.
...have anything else you want to be 100% wrong about? Maybe claim Hellgate is based off the mario bros engine? Maybe Hellgate is part of the DDR franchaise....
You know, if you don't know anything about the subject at hand, why would you feel compelled to comment on it?
A few people are saying that it's hard to draw the line in these kind of things and I agree. The problem is that there are no wrong answer, aside from those uninformed ones
I think that there is an easy clear line that could define MMOs from non-MMOs, and that is...
24/7 dedicated servers, ingame GMs, Game Updates, Monthly Fee (includes ad-based and other revenue source)
This would discard games like Counterstrike, Civ 4 and every single player game that can be played online.
There should only be one line like this decided in the MMO industry otherwise we'd end up with tons of categories and website like this one just for slight differences... like
Puremmorpg.com
Almostmmorpg.com
mmowithsingleplayer.com
singleplayerwithmultiplayer.com
singlerplayer.com
Anyone else feeling confused already?
It's all hype till the game is out.
I'll know more when I've actually played it.
The question is, were they the texture artists, the play testers, the janitors, or the netcoders?
The guy that did the photocopying on Diablo 1 was still part fo the team.
If your interested in knowing who's on the team that's making Hellgate London, here
http://www.flagshipstudios.com/employees