It's taken a lot longer than I thought it would, but I think we are moving inexorably towards the cheaper to develop, niche MMORPG. The first wave of MMORPGs built with the Hero Engine have yet to arrive. That will be the first generation of games built faster with a stock Engine that is actually built for making an MMORPG, not something like the Unreal Engine cobbled together with networking solutions to force it to be an MMORPG, which is what Vanguard used. You can build an MMORPG with the Hero Engine in as little as 2 years. couple that with a good outsourced 3d art pipeline from Asia, and would could see a near future where smaller niche MMORPGs make money.
To me this is the 'ultimate' solution to this issue. I would love a good Virtual World game but to me many of the requirements the OP specified seem rather silly. As such if the game the OP wants was ever made I would not play it and instead ask for a 'real' MMOVW game to be developed. Personally I could not stand a game that forced me to give up a character path I have originally chosen if I wanted to try something new. It is the primary reason why I grew to dislike pre-CU SWG. I hate being forced to regress in a game. Either let me pursue everything on one character or let me create alts.
The only realistic way I can see the industry catering to both of us, is to go with the boutique approach. A lot of smaller MMOs targeted at specific niches would solve the problem with a new MMO being forced to cater to so many different expectations. For that to happen though the cost to develop a MMO has to go way down. Off-the-shelf engines and development kits are the only way this can happen. If the MMO developers do not have to worry about creating and supporting an expensive backend they can put all their time and effort into molding the game into their vision.
Personally I could not stand a game that forced me to give up a character path I have originally chosen if I wanted to try something new. It is the primary reason why I grew to dislike pre-CU SWG. I hate being forced to regress in a game. Either let me pursue everything on one character or let me create alts.
The logic behind this though makes sense, if you think about it.
Suddenly spending all of your ttime sitting on your ass reading arcane books to learn magic is bound to make your warrior skills suffer, as you are not training and staying in shape.
Similarly, training warrior skills would impact any rogue-type skills you might have...toughening of the hands leading to lost dexterity, and increase in body mass leading to lost agility.
The problem with the SWG system was that it did not really take into account skills that could easily carry over from one class to another. Why would a commando suddenly forget how to make a camp, or mask his scent from animals?? More thought needed to be put into the system....and into the game in general, really.
I see where you are coming from OP. I was there back when Ultima Online first came out.
Let me tell you, someone would get close to Grandmaster Mage after a few months and people actually admired the person and they were a rare gem on their server. Grandmaster Blacksmith, it was an honor to use a weapon that was created by that user. Or Resist Magic, this skill took forever to get into the 80s. And Pickpocket took an eternity to get to 100.
Now games are slowly turning into item handouts and everyone has the same thing. There is no real immersion just instant gratification.
Don't be terrorized! You're more likely to die of a car accident, drowning, fire, or murder! More people die every year from prescription drugs than terrorism LOL!
Personally I could not stand a game that forced me to give up a character path I have originally chosen if I wanted to try something new. It is the primary reason why I grew to dislike pre-CU SWG. I hate being forced to regress in a game. Either let me pursue everything on one character or let me create alts.
The logic behind this though makes sense, if you think about it.
Suddenly spending all of your ttime sitting on your ass reading arcane books to learn magic is bound to make your warrior skills suffer, as you are not training and staying in shape.
Similarly, training warrior skills would impact any rogue-type skills you might have...toughening of the hands leading to lost dexterity, and increase in body mass leading to lost agility.
The problem with the SWG system was that it did not really take into account skills that could easily carry over from one class to another. Why would a commando suddenly forget how to make a camp, or mask his scent from animals?? More thought needed to be put into the system....and into the game in general, really.
From an RP and balance point of view I fully agree with you that making you choose one path you excel at makes a lot of sense. It was actually the inability to make alts (without buying another account) that was a balck mark for SWG. I like to experience games from multiple points of view and SWG really failed in that.
The primary problem with SWG was that as a sandbox it was very broad but also shallow. You go a lot of different paths in the game but once you commited to a path, there just was not that much to do beyond grinding. I was fascinated byt eh crafting in that game but the grind to skill up was unbearable (and the crafting UI quickly caused my mouse hand to go numb).
A 'sandbox' or Vitual World game has to either give us the option to experience many different 'play paths' at the same time or make each 'play path' a rich experience in itself.
And, as I've been saying for ages, the Bounty Hunter missions idea needs to be expanded, and built on.
EVERY class should have their own class-based "stuff to do". Make your class an actual profession, and not just determine what skills you get and what role you serve in a group.
Just imagine...as a thief, being tasked to steal...and rewarded for it. As a mercenary soldier, actually taking contracts from other players and NPCs. As a mage, being tasked with re-routing a river to irrigate a city, or to discover the secret behind an ancient ruin.
MMORPGs are headed in the wrong direction entirely, I'm afraid.
Well, what OP wants is not going to happen. People want games, not another life.
Incorrect. Some people want games. Some people want detailed worlds that take in the many facets of sentient existence, not just combat.
Not going to argue which side has "more" as, just as it's true in all aspects of real life, more people prefer the easy, less resistant route to gratification. That said, there is a healthy number of people who enjoy investing large amounts of time in gaming and have the time on hand to do so. And they prefer MMO worlds where content/game systems are in place that meaningfully make use of a user that has plenty of time to play.
If fine if you don't have the time to do so, but don't generalize it to seem as if there aren't plenty of MMO gamers out there who do. Enough to provide a long term (not the 6 months and I'm out mentality of the majority of players) loyal subscription base if only a mid to high "caste" game company would make one. Field of Dreams had it right. "If you build it, they will come". And to clarify, I'm speaking of games like UO and AC in specific and not about any other game.
Sure. There is always the niche market but mainstream production is trending towards where most of the audience is. MMOs are VERY EXPENSIVE endeavors and I don't see developers gimping themselves by confining to a niche.
Sure, there will be some attempt like DF but for most major production, casual is the way to go (just look at how JGE is heading).
Well, if you want to go that route, let's. The majority of the audience is in WoW. Mainstream production has/continues to mimic WoW. Recent efforts in this trend has seen a large population at launch (people leaving WoW to play the new shiny) only to have a sharp decline a few months (sometimes after the first month) of the new game launch (people seeing the game is 90% like WoW and wondering why they would want to start all over. Makes no sense. So, back to WoW).
Moral: Can't beat WoW at it's own game knuckleheads.
Those few attempts at trying something new are done by underfunded, small companies. They have good ideas and not enough manpower and funding to pull them off. Those that are looking for something (niche gamers as you deem us) play the new games and laud their vision but woe from their implementation.
Result: Games loses vast majority of initial subscribers and becomes "bargain" (ala Vanguard). Oh, and all of us not into WoW end up on games forums.
Yeah, this whole genre is in a bad spot. A downward spiral. Kind of sitting in the same place as our (US) economy was with our (MMO Gaming) lack of regulation being a "Stuck-on-stupid" fascination of corporate execs and shareholders on WoW. In my opinion the goal shouldn't be to mimic WoW in hopes of getting WoW numbers (which has proven time and again to not work). It should be, in fact, to come up with something so disimiliar to it in "flavor" but so like it in polish.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Wurm Online is a great sandbox style MMO, I was playing until March this year.
The number one issue with Wurm Online is it's own Dev(s). The Players can't trust them. They change the game at a drop of a tinfoil hat and openingly admit the game is unfinished and still in development.....in other words if you play you pay to play a beta game.
I've been playing MMO's (and muds) before them going back 12+ years now. Yet lately I find myself never touching my gaming rig these days. In fact I have not been subscribed to an mmo going on 3 months now, the longest drought I've ever gone. The reason for the lack of interest, frankly I'm tired of settling for a game missing several features I desire in my gamplay. for starters, I want a virtual world. I have played linear theme park ride games (even enjoyed some briefly) but they arent for me. Virtual worlds begin with making a home for my avatar. For some reason this key feature to MMO's is being left out of development nowadays. And if it is added, its some lame instance or seperate zone. I want my house in the actual virtual game world for all to see. Player cities will develop (whether actually designed as a game feature or not) with real housing. And from player cities comes a virtual world. Please note, a house isnt just a place to store extra gear or potions.
I want a game NOT 100% focused on combat. Crafting should be a class of its own, not some secondary skill anyone can do. If I choose to become a chef, I cant also be a warlock or bounty hunter. That also means not giving players 5 toons per server, this means no alts to allow players to become totally self-sufficient.
absolutely no level system. Its flawed on so many levels (most of which players arent even aware of). A level based system uses a damage multiplier, briefly what this means is gear and skill are actually rather meaningless. A bad lvl 80 warlock player will 99.99% of the time always kill lower level mobs and vice versa die to a higher lvl mob because of the DM. All gear and skill does is determine how fast you kill or get killed by a mob. Level systems are in essence a big fat illusion
Dont get me wrong, linear games like World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings can be fun. But they are ultimately just a game you can beat. Once the quests and raids are complete, its game over until the next expansion or patch comes. I'm tired of watching my gear become useless in 2 months and having to start over. I'm tired of doing quests because I need xp. Whatever happened to doing quests for a nice decorative item to place in your house. How about just to have created a grateful NPC that simply smiles or greets / treats you differently when you walk by because you helped them ? Questing has become all about killing things or delivering things (which usually means killing something along the way) for more XP. And how about some kidden quests, rare spawn quests, quests only available at certain times, that dont have some idiot-proof mark to indicate "hey you a quest is here" I'm not looking for a Second Life type of game either. I dont want to see currency to credit/gold conversions and no combat system. Im not interested in any fps gankfest like darkfall or a space sim where my avatar is just a ship (eve). And Im not going to play SWG because frankly I dont trust SOE. The only few virtual world games I see coming are fps so theyre automatically off my radar. fps means physical skills come into play thus negating gear really. You cant kill a much weaker new player even if your rifle is amazing if you cant line up those stupid crosshairs. So for me Fallen Earth and I believe Earthrise are also out. My only hope right now is Star Trek Online but lets face it, cryptic isnt exactly known for making complex virtual world. So for now, and maybe forever this longtime cowboy has said goodbye to the MMO genre. I've stopped sleuthing for leaks about games in development, Im not even the slightest interested in turning on my gaming rig anymore. Maybe turning 40 has something to do with it but you wont see me in any lines for midnight launches until someone makes something worthwhile.
You are NOT Alone. I too have almost the exact same wish list from a MMO. I too am very disappointed that with all the great talent amongst Developers now-a-days......almost no one has seen fit to address our niche group's needs and create a game more to our liking....and this "Minority" is bigger than most people believe it is.
As some have said EvE Online fits some of the list. I subscribe to it off and on, but like you, I too find the game without character avatars not to my taste. I am looking for to the "Walking in Stations" expansion "scheduled" for 2010 or later. This just might make EvE the number one pick.
I didn't get a chance to play SWG before the Combat Upgrade, but I understand that it probably was the best fit for what Players like ourselves have been looking for. You might want to goggle SWG pre-CU sometime.
Wurm Online is also a great game that fits a number of the wants on the wish list. I played it since last summer until this March, but I left the game and will not go back. Wurm Online was originally developed by a team of Devs but is now only controlled by one Dev and he has a habit of changing major features of the game with little or no notice. The lead Dev also states that Wurm Online is still in development, so if you play it, you will be paying to play a "beta" game.....the only difference in Wurm's case is that there is no character wipes. I got tired of setting a goal ingame only to have to change it because the Dev decided to alter the fundementals of the game as a whole.
I just recently tried "A Tale in the Desert" and did not like it because the world felt so sterile and bland. I saw no animals/monsters, and the players hardly said anything at all to each other in the E! chat which is game wide. The game ran great but ATITD did not stir my fancy.
I have played Ryzom in the past...a good sandbox MMO, but I didn't ever get the feeling like the game was "permenant" becuase it has had three owners and the Player base is frustrated like crazy because of it. If Ryzom survives all the chaos I will be pleasently surprised. It does not fit the wish list as well as the others though.
So for now I play EvE and I am a lifer in LotRO because I a have a lot of my friends in RL that play LotRO, other than that I too am still searching.....
Hmm, I understand the OP a lot. I am looking around at MMOs and I cannot seem to find one I really love and enjoy everything about.
I've tried EVE off and on... I just really hate not having an avatar and always, no matter what, being behind most other players due to the skill system they have up. Plus the ships are down right ugly to me. No actual character, flying a hunk of space-junk... At least let me have a pretty ship ><
PRE-NGE SWG was down right fun. I loved how you leveled up basically through a skill tree that you could make your own class. The idea of the Hairstylist I was in love with. Opening up tons of new character customizations, so players would seek out a hairstylist to help them out. Plus, come on, title: Hairstylist. It just screams SUPER COOL. lol
These days I am not so concerned with what level I am or the end game. I really want a game where I just enjoy the whole thing, the enviornment. Most games you have to be max lvl just to get involved in the community.
I'd like to play the same style of game the OP describes.
But it's not going to be a AAA title. What venture capitalist is going to swim against the tide and hire anthropologists, economists and historians to design a game and THEN hire the programmers to implement it?
Not in my lifetime...I'm 56 and I'm not hopeful. I'll be playing Dwarf Fortress and DIablo 3 and Sims 3 this next year.
"What I enjoy in an MMORPG is grouping to kill Mobs, either in a quest, or just plain old grinding, along with exploration and socializing, and some PvP."
Imhotep, I did this stuff in Meridian 59, Everquest, Shadowbane, SWG...etc...etc...and it was BIG fun...but after 13 years there are at least 50 games for this style of play and ZERO for OP and myself.
I guess the economics of the industry won't support the niche product.
Stanley.
Meridian59 '96-'99/Everquest (Vallon Zek) '99-'03/Shadowbane '03/SWG '04/This and that '05-'10/Eve Online '11/LotR '11-'12
I'd like to play the same style of game the OP describes. But it's not going to be a AAA title. What venture capitalist is going to swim against the tide and hire anthropologists, economists and historians to design a game and THEN hire the programmers to implement it? Not in my lifetime...I'm 56 and I'm not hopeful. I'll be playing Dwarf Fortress and DIablo 3 and Sims 3 this next year. "What I enjoy in an MMORPG is grouping to kill Mobs, either in a quest, or just plain old grinding, along with exploration and socializing, and some PvP." Imhotep, I did this stuff in Meridian 59, Everquest, Shadowbane, SWG...etc...etc...and it was BIG fun...but after 13 years there are at least 50 games for this style of play and ZERO for OP and myself. I guess the economics of the industry won't support the niche product. Stanley.
I don't think that should come at a big surprise. MMOs are expensive to make. It usually have multiple times the art & programming resrouces of single player games.
There is little reason why developers would risk to restrict themselves to a smaller audience who are extremely critical of everything that they are doing in the first place.
You want things that are completely different from each other, and some things that just plain won't work.
For example, you say you only want one character per server, but then you force them to be only one job? They can ONLY cook? What if, a few days into the game, you decide you really like cooking, but you want to try and do something else? They just have to delete their character? If you limit people to one character per server (which I am a huge proponent of) then you have to give them the ability to change what they want to do. In a real world, if you don't like your job, you can find a new one. Why wouldn't you give them that choice in a virtual world?
You also complain about the level system, but your reasoning is flawed. Yes, if you are level 99 you'll almost always be able to kill a level 90 mob. Without the levels, how would you be better than someone else? If it's just skill, than the system would be fine. It'd be hard to pull off, but it could be really fun. But if you're still having gear, then it's the exact same as a level system.
The reason is because a lvel system requires a lot of time spent in the game to get better. It's the exact same thing with gear -- the longer I spend playing, the better gear I'll be able to get, and the more I'll kill worse-geared things. A system driven by gear is the same as a system driven by levels, only worse -- because you can just buy gear from people with real money, and then be amazing. It's a lot harder to buy levels, because you need to buy the whole character.
So let's talk about a skill based system. What kind of skill are you looking for? Because most rpg systems are very stats driven -- there isn't much skill at all. Even if you didn't have levels, they are still based on a lot of luck, not skill.
So games come out like Fallen Earth with a shooter system -- one that actually DOES involve skill -- and you immediately cast it off because you can't kill people without aiming at them. So let's get this straight. You want a game based on skill, you just don't want to do any more work? What kind of skill do you want?
Comments
To me this is the 'ultimate' solution to this issue. I would love a good Virtual World game but to me many of the requirements the OP specified seem rather silly. As such if the game the OP wants was ever made I would not play it and instead ask for a 'real' MMOVW game to be developed. Personally I could not stand a game that forced me to give up a character path I have originally chosen if I wanted to try something new. It is the primary reason why I grew to dislike pre-CU SWG. I hate being forced to regress in a game. Either let me pursue everything on one character or let me create alts.
The only realistic way I can see the industry catering to both of us, is to go with the boutique approach. A lot of smaller MMOs targeted at specific niches would solve the problem with a new MMO being forced to cater to so many different expectations. For that to happen though the cost to develop a MMO has to go way down. Off-the-shelf engines and development kits are the only way this can happen. If the MMO developers do not have to worry about creating and supporting an expensive backend they can put all their time and effort into molding the game into their vision.
The logic behind this though makes sense, if you think about it.
Suddenly spending all of your ttime sitting on your ass reading arcane books to learn magic is bound to make your warrior skills suffer, as you are not training and staying in shape.
Similarly, training warrior skills would impact any rogue-type skills you might have...toughening of the hands leading to lost dexterity, and increase in body mass leading to lost agility.
The problem with the SWG system was that it did not really take into account skills that could easily carry over from one class to another. Why would a commando suddenly forget how to make a camp, or mask his scent from animals?? More thought needed to be put into the system....and into the game in general, really.
I see where you are coming from OP. I was there back when Ultima Online first came out.
Let me tell you, someone would get close to Grandmaster Mage after a few months and people actually admired the person and they were a rare gem on their server. Grandmaster Blacksmith, it was an honor to use a weapon that was created by that user. Or Resist Magic, this skill took forever to get into the 80s. And Pickpocket took an eternity to get to 100.
Now games are slowly turning into item handouts and everyone has the same thing. There is no real immersion just instant gratification.
Don't be terrorized! You're more likely to die of a car accident, drowning, fire, or murder! More people die every year from prescription drugs than terrorism LOL!
The logic behind this though makes sense, if you think about it.
Suddenly spending all of your ttime sitting on your ass reading arcane books to learn magic is bound to make your warrior skills suffer, as you are not training and staying in shape.
Similarly, training warrior skills would impact any rogue-type skills you might have...toughening of the hands leading to lost dexterity, and increase in body mass leading to lost agility.
The problem with the SWG system was that it did not really take into account skills that could easily carry over from one class to another. Why would a commando suddenly forget how to make a camp, or mask his scent from animals?? More thought needed to be put into the system....and into the game in general, really.
From an RP and balance point of view I fully agree with you that making you choose one path you excel at makes a lot of sense. It was actually the inability to make alts (without buying another account) that was a balck mark for SWG. I like to experience games from multiple points of view and SWG really failed in that.
The primary problem with SWG was that as a sandbox it was very broad but also shallow. You go a lot of different paths in the game but once you commited to a path, there just was not that much to do beyond grinding. I was fascinated byt eh crafting in that game but the grind to skill up was unbearable (and the crafting UI quickly caused my mouse hand to go numb).
A 'sandbox' or Vitual World game has to either give us the option to experience many different 'play paths' at the same time or make each 'play path' a rich experience in itself.
And, as I've been saying for ages, the Bounty Hunter missions idea needs to be expanded, and built on.
EVERY class should have their own class-based "stuff to do". Make your class an actual profession, and not just determine what skills you get and what role you serve in a group.
Just imagine...as a thief, being tasked to steal...and rewarded for it. As a mercenary soldier, actually taking contracts from other players and NPCs. As a mage, being tasked with re-routing a river to irrigate a city, or to discover the secret behind an ancient ruin.
MMORPGs are headed in the wrong direction entirely, I'm afraid.
Incorrect. Some people want games. Some people want detailed worlds that take in the many facets of sentient existence, not just combat.
Not going to argue which side has "more" as, just as it's true in all aspects of real life, more people prefer the easy, less resistant route to gratification. That said, there is a healthy number of people who enjoy investing large amounts of time in gaming and have the time on hand to do so. And they prefer MMO worlds where content/game systems are in place that meaningfully make use of a user that has plenty of time to play.
If fine if you don't have the time to do so, but don't generalize it to seem as if there aren't plenty of MMO gamers out there who do. Enough to provide a long term (not the 6 months and I'm out mentality of the majority of players) loyal subscription base if only a mid to high "caste" game company would make one. Field of Dreams had it right. "If you build it, they will come". And to clarify, I'm speaking of games like UO and AC in specific and not about any other game.
Sure. There is always the niche market but mainstream production is trending towards where most of the audience is. MMOs are VERY EXPENSIVE endeavors and I don't see developers gimping themselves by confining to a niche.
Sure, there will be some attempt like DF but for most major production, casual is the way to go (just look at how JGE is heading).
Well, if you want to go that route, let's. The majority of the audience is in WoW. Mainstream production has/continues to mimic WoW. Recent efforts in this trend has seen a large population at launch (people leaving WoW to play the new shiny) only to have a sharp decline a few months (sometimes after the first month) of the new game launch (people seeing the game is 90% like WoW and wondering why they would want to start all over. Makes no sense. So, back to WoW).
Moral: Can't beat WoW at it's own game knuckleheads.
Those few attempts at trying something new are done by underfunded, small companies. They have good ideas and not enough manpower and funding to pull them off. Those that are looking for something (niche gamers as you deem us) play the new games and laud their vision but woe from their implementation.
Result: Games loses vast majority of initial subscribers and becomes "bargain" (ala Vanguard). Oh, and all of us not into WoW end up on games forums.
Yeah, this whole genre is in a bad spot. A downward spiral. Kind of sitting in the same place as our (US) economy was with our (MMO Gaming) lack of regulation being a "Stuck-on-stupid" fascination of corporate execs and shareholders on WoW. In my opinion the goal shouldn't be to mimic WoW in hopes of getting WoW numbers (which has proven time and again to not work). It should be, in fact, to come up with something so disimiliar to it in "flavor" but so like it in polish.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Wurm Online is a great sandbox style MMO, I was playing until March this year.
The number one issue with Wurm Online is it's own Dev(s). The Players can't trust them. They change the game at a drop of a tinfoil hat and openingly admit the game is unfinished and still in development.....in other words if you play you pay to play a beta game.
You are NOT Alone. I too have almost the exact same wish list from a MMO. I too am very disappointed that with all the great talent amongst Developers now-a-days......almost no one has seen fit to address our niche group's needs and create a game more to our liking....and this "Minority" is bigger than most people believe it is.
As some have said EvE Online fits some of the list. I subscribe to it off and on, but like you, I too find the game without character avatars not to my taste. I am looking for to the "Walking in Stations" expansion "scheduled" for 2010 or later. This just might make EvE the number one pick.
I didn't get a chance to play SWG before the Combat Upgrade, but I understand that it probably was the best fit for what Players like ourselves have been looking for. You might want to goggle SWG pre-CU sometime.
Wurm Online is also a great game that fits a number of the wants on the wish list. I played it since last summer until this March, but I left the game and will not go back. Wurm Online was originally developed by a team of Devs but is now only controlled by one Dev and he has a habit of changing major features of the game with little or no notice. The lead Dev also states that Wurm Online is still in development, so if you play it, you will be paying to play a "beta" game.....the only difference in Wurm's case is that there is no character wipes. I got tired of setting a goal ingame only to have to change it because the Dev decided to alter the fundementals of the game as a whole.
I just recently tried "A Tale in the Desert" and did not like it because the world felt so sterile and bland. I saw no animals/monsters, and the players hardly said anything at all to each other in the E! chat which is game wide. The game ran great but ATITD did not stir my fancy.
I have played Ryzom in the past...a good sandbox MMO, but I didn't ever get the feeling like the game was "permenant" becuase it has had three owners and the Player base is frustrated like crazy because of it. If Ryzom survives all the chaos I will be pleasently surprised. It does not fit the wish list as well as the others though.
So for now I play EvE and I am a lifer in LotRO because I a have a lot of my friends in RL that play LotRO, other than that I too am still searching.....
Wurm Online.
Hmm, I understand the OP a lot. I am looking around at MMOs and I cannot seem to find one I really love and enjoy everything about.
I've tried EVE off and on... I just really hate not having an avatar and always, no matter what, being behind most other players due to the skill system they have up. Plus the ships are down right ugly to me.
No actual character, flying a hunk of space-junk... At least let me have a pretty ship ><
PRE-NGE SWG was down right fun. I loved how you leveled up basically through a skill tree that you could make your own class. The idea of the Hairstylist I was in love with. Opening up tons of new character customizations, so players would seek out a hairstylist to help them out. Plus, come on, title: Hairstylist. It just screams SUPER COOL. lol
These days I am not so concerned with what level I am or the end game. I really want a game where I just enjoy the whole thing, the enviornment. Most games you have to be max lvl just to get involved in the community.
I'd like to play the same style of game the OP describes.
But it's not going to be a AAA title. What venture capitalist is going to swim against the tide and hire anthropologists, economists and historians to design a game and THEN hire the programmers to implement it?
Not in my lifetime...I'm 56 and I'm not hopeful. I'll be playing Dwarf Fortress and DIablo 3 and Sims 3 this next year.
"What I enjoy in an MMORPG is grouping to kill Mobs, either in a quest, or just plain old grinding, along with exploration and socializing, and some PvP."
Imhotep, I did this stuff in Meridian 59, Everquest, Shadowbane, SWG...etc...etc...and it was BIG fun...but after 13 years there are at least 50 games for this style of play and ZERO for OP and myself.
I guess the economics of the industry won't support the niche product.
Stanley.
Meridian59 '96-'99/Everquest (Vallon Zek) '99-'03/Shadowbane '03/SWG '04/This and that '05-'10/Eve Online '11/LotR '11-'12
I don't think that should come at a big surprise. MMOs are expensive to make. It usually have multiple times the art & programming resrouces of single player games.
There is little reason why developers would risk to restrict themselves to a smaller audience who are extremely critical of everything that they are doing in the first place.
You want things that are completely different from each other, and some things that just plain won't work.
For example, you say you only want one character per server, but then you force them to be only one job? They can ONLY cook? What if, a few days into the game, you decide you really like cooking, but you want to try and do something else? They just have to delete their character? If you limit people to one character per server (which I am a huge proponent of) then you have to give them the ability to change what they want to do. In a real world, if you don't like your job, you can find a new one. Why wouldn't you give them that choice in a virtual world?
You also complain about the level system, but your reasoning is flawed. Yes, if you are level 99 you'll almost always be able to kill a level 90 mob. Without the levels, how would you be better than someone else? If it's just skill, than the system would be fine. It'd be hard to pull off, but it could be really fun. But if you're still having gear, then it's the exact same as a level system.
The reason is because a lvel system requires a lot of time spent in the game to get better. It's the exact same thing with gear -- the longer I spend playing, the better gear I'll be able to get, and the more I'll kill worse-geared things. A system driven by gear is the same as a system driven by levels, only worse -- because you can just buy gear from people with real money, and then be amazing. It's a lot harder to buy levels, because you need to buy the whole character.
So let's talk about a skill based system. What kind of skill are you looking for? Because most rpg systems are very stats driven -- there isn't much skill at all. Even if you didn't have levels, they are still based on a lot of luck, not skill.
So games come out like Fallen Earth with a shooter system -- one that actually DOES involve skill -- and you immediately cast it off because you can't kill people without aiming at them. So let's get this straight. You want a game based on skill, you just don't want to do any more work? What kind of skill do you want?