Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Think-Tank: What New Innovations would YOU like to see in an MMO?
LordNirvana
Member Posts: 12
First, I want to preface this with an apology if anyone else has brought this topic to the table. I spend a lot of time reading about MMOs through blogs and sites like this one, and one thing seems abuntantly clear: I see/read a lot of individuals throwing around things like: "it isn't new or innovative," quite a bit. Yet, never offer anything of substance to illustrate exactly what "new or innovative" mechanics/gameplay they'd really like to see.
So here's an opportunity and space to say and share just what sort of "new innovations" you'd like to see, and in the same breath, perhaps there are game mechanics you'd actually like to see more of?
Speaking for myself, there are quite a few things that dance in my imagination when I consider "what's possible" or "concept-worthy" for my own MMO playtime. I can't be the only one who has moments of wishing MMO-X had a few features from MMO-Y and Z, making my gaming experience that much more fulfilling and fun.
So without further adieu...let's get this proverbial ball rolling:
NEW (or NOT-SO-NEW) THINGS I'D LIKE TO SEE IN AN MMORPG:
*Crafting to the Nth-Degree: Crafting items that are not only useful but can also be reused or expanded for higher tier or optional items. Some mechanics that actually "rewards" the player for picking up crafting professions in the long haul. Leaving room to improve crafted items/recipes to further/better distiguish crafters from one another. Maybe even, unlocking specified paths depending upon our crafting choices as we level them.
Make crafting fun, but still a challenge for those interested in doing so. In effect, it could be it's own sort of mini-game with over-reaching longevity. In a nut shell: make the time invested worth-while in the long run and not a mindless chore or "grind" to the level cap (if any).
*Questing/Actions that has a long-lasting impact on your character: I don't want just the standard story/lore...I want my character to be impacted by what i choose or not choose to do.
(Simple Example: What if I kill 10 particular-kinds of wolves for there pelts for coin? Maybe those said wolves are in a location set up to protect them from the very thing I'm being paid to do? Which I may be confronted with opposition. How do I handle it then? And if I "succeed" what will it mean in the short or long run for my character? or how about retrieving an epic-level item for someone that I could use myself? Do I keep the item and lie to the NPC who sent me on the item-finding quest or not?)
In a nutshell: there needs to be some sort of concequence/reaction path set up with my questing choices. These could impact which groups/faction I could (or could not) get "in-favor" with. It also opens up a world of options in levelling a character, creating alts and making you actually read your quests and consider your actions before you go through with them.
*Switching Sides: CoX does this already with their Alignment System. Now, take what I wrote above about Questing Choices and Impact - Wouldn't it be AMAZING to do this if for what ever reason or another you no longer agree with your given side?
I can just imagine the quest lines and since of betrayl from your starting side...taking it even further: what if you decide to switch back and what you'd have to do to get there?
Bottom-line: I want flexibilty in my choices as a player so I feel more connection and immersion within the gameworld I'm choosing to be a part of.
*Combat Defense Mechanics: More flexibility/options in defending and dodging attacks for starters. But make it synergetic and practical with the given Class I'm playing. (Simple Example: A Rogue would defend and dodge very differently then say, a Mage or Priest -- Especially, given what they can and cannot do or be attired in.)
These were the first few things that came to mind for me as an MMO-player. I like diversity in my game play, and a sense of feeling distinguished from other players around me. I'll probably continue to add more as I think them through and I invite you all to do the same. 
Comments
it would be interesting to see a raid oriented mmorpg with a LFG system geared towards raiding.
each person would have their raid stats posted with their LFG.
for example, if you "host/lead" a raid, you can post the starting time, the zone you are raiding, loot system you are using, and how many "seats" are open for each "job type", and past raid experiance required.
those who are looking for raids to join, would be able to look up your raid history/stats(number of raids lead, number of successful/failed raids, number of success/failure of listed raid) to see if you are a worthy raid leader and if you are fair in the way you conduct your raids
those who join the raids would have their raid experiance listed (ex. 50 raids joined, 20 success, 2 fails and 1 success with current listed raid)
along with your raid stats, people can also link to your rank/comment page so they can see/post comments on your ability as a raider/leader. so if you are a ninja looter, or your loot system is totally unfair it would be attached to your name when you join/list a raid.
you can also put people on your friend/block list which would reflect in the lfg system so that people you block would not show up on your lfg and your friend's raids would be listed on top of your lfg
Be able to design your own dungeon for others to group in, with some simple ingame tools that doesn't require much of you to learn. There would of course have to rules in place that prevents you from making a pushover dungeon for epic loot. You should be able to level up the dungeon to be able to place more powerful creatures and loot.
That would be pretty innovative in a MMORPG
Crafting to be more fun has been mentioned before, but no real details on how to make it fun. Any chance you could expand on that?
Mining ore for example could be split into a few minigames. Finding ore (Surveying) might be a hot and cold game. For example, you do your first survey and get a message saying you sense something or didn't find a thing. A second time might be whether you are getting closer or further etc until you get to the vein.
The second part might be a mini game to mine ore. Not sure what game you would use or what system you would use, but the more successful you are at completing the game, the better quality/quantity the ores you get as a result.
As for quests, I'd like to avoid it and have tasks instead that assists the community or locals where you are at. For example, let say you play a character who is lost on an island with a whole bunch of other people. The daily tasks is to gather food/water. If the community fails to gather enough food or water, the the npcs get weaker meaning they are less useful in terms fo defenses and providing things for the player. The healthier they are, the more the NPCs can do, such as better defenses during an attack, or provide more tasks advance tasks because they are no longer just worried about their next meal but thinking about different ways to get off an island. better equipment can also be provided for example if player supplies ores for daily tasks.
A combat idea i was working on was an offensive support role. rather than a buff/debuff/tank role. This person is a physical (non-magical) melee player. Rather than being able to take plenty of hits, the player will have a few stuns / knockdown / throw moves which allows followups or combo moves to deal extra damage. Think more in terms of 300 (the move) where one person will swing their shield knocking the guy down and continue moving forward while someone behind will deliver a blow which kills the downed person.
Also an idea while not necessarily an MMO one, is a RTS vs multiple players in 3rd person/fps type game. The person (for example a dev or game master) controls a race. Can farm mats using RTS controls by getting drones to gather stuff. Build buildings / defenses and build troops based on what resource was available. Players are in control of hero type class where the GM will control a lot of generic type troops. This becomes more a resource control and larger numbers vs the players which are smaller in numbers but stronger in terms of skills and what they will be able to do.
Melbourne Developer Group Recruitment - http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/328931/Melbourne-Game-Development-Group-Recruitment.html
Id like to see an mmo that has its pve focused on exploration and surviving the wilderness. no hearthstones or flying mounts. a cave up in a mountain is said to have minerals and precious stones that will make you rich and powerful. its a 3 week journey full of jagged cliffs and hungry predators. not to mention theives and other criminals wandering the forest. you need to take enough food and equipment to get there and back without starving to death. you need to be able to fortify your camps at night and fight off ambushes.
in other words, instead of the goal of the journey being to reach max level and raid or pvp. the endgame IS the journey.
I'll just throw out a few of my favorites, because as you already know there's just so many idea's.
I'm a big fan of map editors, or I should say I use to be. I lost interest when I realized these great map editor games just stop dead in their tracks and don't really evolve like they should. I often question whether or not it's on purpose to keep the crowd hungry for more, which is pretty sad. But any ways here's a few I'd like to see.
Fishing online- Not just fishing. A fishing game with a map editor and AI programming capabilities like Timesplitters: Future perfect has, rpg elements, homesteads, racing.
My Mountain- http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/UnsungToo/022010/5746_MY-Mountain-MMO-Concept#comments
Red Dead Redemption MMO or something very similar- http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/UnsungToo/022010/5725_How-I-would-make-Red-Dead-Redemption-better-
True to life gardening system (not just gardening)- http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/UnsungToo/022010/5734_Out-Of-The-Ordinary-Real-life-plants-in-the-digital-realm
Others
Farcry map editor MMO
TimeSplitters:Future Perfect map editor MMO
Project Entropia Unleashed- This would be an awesome game if it wasn't a money trap. Make it like a regular game where you buy the game and that would be all the player needs to spend to keep playing. I can feel the developers cringing now
))) But I'd do it if I could.
Godspeed my fellow gamer
I'm not sure if there is much innovation left for devs anyway. What I'm looking for is for some of the old ideas to be used differently.
1) DAoC/War: expand on the RvR concept. Have multi-sided faction conflict (3 or more realms). I have always thought the RvR system done well can come closest to giving us the best of both worlds in several different ways. PvP vs PvE? No worries, there is (in DAoC anyway) good PvE going on, but there was also the Frontiers to go to. Hate the Holy Trinity? While DAoC had the Trinity, good PvP can do a lot to take away the "auto-win" group composition, especially if you have to account for two or three different factions each with its own unique classes/professions/skills whatever. Group vs Solo? The PvE can have a rich solo environment, but the PvP would be by definition group based, it would have to be. Plus, even in PvP, good solo players could be used as scouts, etc. Also, with the RvR system, players would want to work together more, even in PvE, to ensure more success in PvP fights. We saw this alot in DAoC, where groups would bring in classes not so much for their addition to the group's success, but because those classes were needed in RvR, and it was a good idea to help them along in their leveling. In essence, RvR does a lot to encourage cooperation within each faction, to make the faction stronger.
2) Expanded classes: I know its hard to balance them properly, but it is possible. With a multitude of classes the devs can mix up the Trinity more and encourage/force players to be more creative. You could even create a system where there is no dedicated tank, but two or three classes that can tank in different situations, etc.
3) SWG (pre-CU/NGE): The profession system from SWG was one of the best ideas IMO in MMO's that was never really given a chance. This kind of ties into #2, but with SWG's original skill trees, players could kind of customize their characters. There was a skill point cap, so you couldn't be good at everything, but you had enough to mix and match.
4) SWG: You didn't just have dps, cc, healing, and tanking. Some forms of dps worked better against certain types of characters than others. There were also two different types of healing, normal dmg and wounds. I would like to see more of this. In a medieval style game, crossbows would be more effective against plate/chain mail than longbows, etc. Different weapons would have different abilities, some for damage, but others for cc (knockdowns, stuns, etc).
5) SWG: I also liked the crafting system in SWG. I would like to see this done again. It was complex, and mostly made sense how it was implemented. There would need to be some tweaks, especially to put a system like this in a medieval/fantasy style game, but it definitely would have potential.
Some things I would like to see:
Crafting:
In FreeRealms, the crafting system are a bunch of minigames. I'd love it if for example, to make a sword you had a Cooking Mama style minigame with all of the steps to making a sword. Same with crafting a robe, you'd have the cloth and run it through a loom, and dye, and then enchant it if it has magical properties. Of course, if you were making in bulk perhaps the values would be different and all added up front, and you would do the minigame once, and depending on how well you do, is how many you succesfully make. For disenchanting, perhaps you had like an Operation (board game) + Maze, or perhaps like the mating game in Viva Pinata to get to the "core of the item" and extract the magical properties from within. If done perfectly you could keep an unmagical version of the item and still get the magical remnants. I would just like crafting to be more interactive, which would make it fun imho.
Gathering is fine, but it could be neat if you could pick herbs like normal, but take a bunch and instead of using them to craft or to sell, you could buy a plot of land and have a dependable plot of that herb to always farm from. Perhaps you could buy a magical item and make a farm of ore as well.
Classes/combat:
I really want a caster/wizard class that DOES NOT spend time casting spells. A more action based class. I would like a mage that has lots of instant abilities with perhaps cooldowns and lots of maneuverability. If they have to be weaker to compensate for not having to stand around, then so be it. I can stand maybe two or three BIG spells that must be casted like normal, but to cast it would be really special. Also, options to wear pants instead of robes. I've always liked the adventurer type of wizard (think the Alchemist of torchlight) and it is not done enough.
In terms of general combat, I'd like to see Dodge and Block as abilities (clerics could have a divine light or wizards could use a magical barrier animation for example). Jump as an actual useful ability as well. Perhaps a combo system similiar to Pirates of the Caribbean Online, where you use a basic attack, and if used at the right time, you could follow through into another more powerful attack and so forth, but if you fail, you oculd only use your basic weak attacks.
I was playing with the idea of perhaps a faction that doesn't have 'classes,' they all begin the same. They can all do melee dmg, magic, or heal. Via an extensive talent "web" they could specialize. They would be excellent at survivability and adaptability, but they'd hit very weak on average and have very low hp to make up for their versatility. Their opposing faction would maybe have a class system in that you'd pick an archetype, and then traits for that archetype, and by using those abilities the traits level up and unlock newer and more specfic traits. Or perhaps no class, and they choose a weapon and perhaps a magical element, and the combination of the two determines the playstyle. This faction would have high hp pools and medium dmg, but they lack the versatility and adaptability that the other faction has. Just ideas, probably a balance nightmare, but an idea nonetheless.
World/Exploration:
Even though I love quests and questing in MMOs, I feel it's an outdated system and the genre needs something new. I thought of an open world with maybe one or two Grand Quests that basically are the reason to reach endgame and the path getting there is the levelling process. For Example: You start out and must defeat this evil lord of darkness who wants to plunge the world into despair etc. They don't tell you how to do, and let you loose into the world. In your wnaderings, perhaps you run across a town under attack by trolls or something and the town has an acclaimed wizard tower in it. So you take up a minor quest to save the town (kind of like the new Instant On-The-Spot quests that appear in certain areas in WoW, no quest giver, they pop up on the side of your screen and you do a quest of your own volition). By saving the town you somehow gain access to the wizard tower and can do any number of things to gain more power: be trianed by a grateful mage, steal a powerful artifact, read ancient scrolls and tomes to discover some great weapon you could go in search of, etc. The paths WOULD NOT be obvious. They wouldn't be quest givers you would see and recognize right away. For example, you would have to sit in the library and read a book to actually learn of said artifact. It would have rumors that would point you in that direction and you yourself would go and seek it out, eventually leading to some crypt where you would have to unearth it. An open-ended but still reward based quest system that still has as many quests as a normal MMO, without the repition or "rail" system. It would also promote exploration to find hidden things out in the wilderness!
Other:
This is sort of an amalgamation of the first two: most classes in MMOs nowadays have three or so talent trees. THey are all combat. However, what if certain proffessions were exclusive to certain classes and that class had a talent tree specfically for crafting(or whatever that proffession was for)? For example, say anyone could become an apothecary to make potions and tinctures, but WItches automatically get it as part of their class, with a talent tree that upgraded it to Alchemist and the talent points not only upgraded the Profession itself for crafting, but it also added a twist: it would weaponize the profession to use as a legitimate combat subclass, while still being the go-to for potions. Think abilities that centered around unleashing harmful magical chemicals, or a potion that when struck onto the floor released a gas that healed nearby party members. Enchanting could be available to all, but wizards could become Spellweavers or Artificers or something, fashioning weapons out of pure magic to use as combat abilities, enchanting people's weapons in mid-fight and the like, while still being able to be the go-to for grand permanent enchantments via their talents.
Just some ideas.
(1)
I would ike to see a mmo with a steampunk / sci-fi mix genre. I like fantasy, but there needs to be a decent sci-fi and/or steampunk mmorpg. This has been attempted, but most of the time they just look like fps games. Honestly, if its set in the future it shouldn't mean you can only use guns. Something set on a space based frontier, with maybe mixed levels of technology. RF online had the concept they just fell behind in other areas like any kind of immersion.
(2)
A monk / unarmed fighter class needs to become more prominent. They could use fist weapons or staves I suppose.
I'll think of more later. Work....
"cinnamon buns"
- Pickles
I'd like to see more hierarchical social structures with both upward and downward mobility and, believe it or not, less choice.
For example: a gladiatorial game where you begin as a slave and have to fight your way to freedom over a period of several months or so. Your living quarters would be slovenly; you'd be oftimes badly treated by your owner. But once you had reached a certain ranking, or won a specific challenge...
...you'd be be free. Free to either continue as a gladitoral champion/overseer and be able to dictate and set up matches as you saw fit, or become an owner yourself and delve into more of a political/strategy game for control amongst other owners and their factions. If you failed too badly at a political ploy or overstepped your bounds, you might find yourself right back on the gladiatorial killing floor. There could even be a higher social strata, whereby you become one of the ruling elite, and have a voice in actual game design decisions.
Sorta crazy, I know, and inherently unfair. It'd need to be for those 18 and over and would probably come with a disclaimer. I'd play it in a heartbeat, though.
Playing: FFXIV, EVE
would be interesting to see some kind of time based variation in player power. for example. if you play a werewolf race, you become signficantly stronger 1 day of the month(full moon) or if you play a vampire race, you become slightly more powerful at night, but weaker during the day. or an Ent race where you are more powerful during the day and weaker at night etc... would be interesting to see guilds planning big raids to take advantage of the different powers players get over the month like a full moon raid where you have a huge pack of werewolves running around taking down bosses:D other races/classes would have their own "time of power" so the entire guild isnt consist of all werewolves:D
There are two things I want to see in MMOs:
1. Levels. They need to die in a fire. Especially when the game gives massive penalities/bonuses according to level differences. We need horizontal progression, not vertical. We can still have our character accumulate stat and skill points, but there's no numerical value associated with it, and there's no actual level to affect anything.
2. Non-combat innovation. Even with all the advances we've had in technology, almost every single MMO in existence STILL revolves around combat. We have so much potential at our fingertips, yet finding more amusing ways to kill things is the best we can come up with? It's absurd.
I personally would like to see some innovation in the area of character progression. There is a preconception with level based and gear based progression in the industry, and whilst they are clearly solid mechanisms, and perform their intended function very well, there must be more interesting ways of going about it. I like this idea that has caught on recently about action based progression, where you become better at things and progress through them by actually doing them. So the more you ride a horse, the better you become at riding horses.
I also think that there needs to be some innovation in actually WHAT you do in MMOs. Again a reliance has developed in the MMO world in general, and the reliance here is on raiding and instances. Whilst they clearly have their benefits and uses, there MUST be some other things I could be doing at end game that don't make me do the same thing over and over and over again.
I think the addition ofm eaningful story will go a long way to removing the tedium of the aformentioned actions. The Old Republic could, for example, succeed in making instances, group content and raids about more than just gear and boss kills, and actually feel important as part of an over-arching story that you can enjoy.
http://www.themmoquest.com - MMO commentary from an overly angry brit. OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED!
I'll regularly service the genitalia of anyone who can make this happen.
Asychronous grouping.. no idea how it could work but would be cool if you could say chip away at a dungeon with your frineds who might not all be on at the exact same playtime.
Crafting need to be a part of the game and not just side game for some few usabe item
Why wuld a dragon drop Aromor of awasome 2 andd sword of fire 99. let us see item drop like scale of awsome and have a crafter mix that whit gem of awsome to make the armor.
Let it be usefull. let mobs drop what seem normal for em. let a raidguilld be forced to have 20 raiders and 10 crafters to make the guild work. if u mange to steal the sword of badass dude it shuld be atuned to u by a crafter first.
This way econemy as well as talkig whit be working by it self, making the game more vibrant and alive, also being a asshole wuld be pushed hard becuse people stop help/craft/give u work.
The game feels more and more as singel player online. lock to eq2 or vangaurd annd have a deep crafting spear but make it usefull. sure the items need to craft the best armor shuld be dropabel from the highset raid instans but let it be mats and not sword and stuff droping from it.
Addition/modification to the AH system:
On demand postings - allow players to post what they WANT TO BUY, not just what they want to sell.
This system should be linked with the crafting system, allowing people to put on-dmand orders on the AH system for things from the crafting system they wish to buy.
Example: A players wants a new fancy dancy sword which he knows is a crafted item. He goes to the AH and pulls up the On-Demand tab. On this tab he can search the drop down menus (browse the local merchants guild catelog for things thier workers can make) and selects the item he is looking for. This item lists the average price (calculated off all AH on-demand sales and regular sales in the past) so the person buying can figure out how much they are willing to buy it for. He then places his order for the item and the amount he is willing to pay for it is deducted from his funds and held in the AH until the deal goes through. This 'wanted' listing is held on the AH for twice the normal AH listing time, or until it is filled. If it isn't filled the money is sent back to the poster without fee.
On the other side of the sale, the crafter goes to the AH and looks up a listing of all items people have wanted adds for. He/she sees one they can craft (the other guys fancy dancy sword), knows they have the mats on hand for it, likes the buy price, and places a hold on the order ( 10% of sale price fee held in escrow and deducted from the hold person at the time of the hold being placed - refunded upon completion of the order). The hold on the order would be for 30 minutes, just enough time it would take to go to the bank, gather your mats and craft the item. Once the crafter has the item they return to the AH and complete the on-demand order. The item the player wanted crafted is done and mailed to him and the crafter picks up his sale + his hold fees and is on his way to the next job.
No fees are assessed to either the buyer or the crafter if the deal goes through in nornal time as the system is designed to merge the crafting into the world more better. :P
If the crafter places a hold on an item and fails to meet the order in the alotted time, he loses his 10% hold fees and is unable to place another hold on that particular on-demand order for 24 hours. This keeps one crafter from placing arbitrary holds and stopping other crafters from getting the bids/jobs.
This system should be built around the crafting system in its entirety to include the raw materials gathered. Allowing a more efficient way for high demand crafters to gain access to thier materials they need to facilitate filling orders and/or training purposes.
Example: Crafter needs 500 heavy hides to make skill points. He wants them fast so instead of placing a single order for 500 he places 10 on-demand orders on the AH for them, 50 each. Any adventurer who has the 50 hides and agrees with the purchase price can make the sale instantly. And the crafter can start working the minute they get thier first stack of 50 to work with. When another adventurer makes the sale for another 50, the crafter has more to work with when the supply becomes available.
This system eliminates a ton of inventory held on most AH systems right now, as it is usually cluttered with crafting mats people are trying to unload which nobody is willing to buy for the prices asked, and with tons of crafted gear nobody wants to buy for the listed price. By reversing the AH system to include the option for on-demand purchases you free up a lot fo this congestion and encourage interaction between the crafters and the supply/demand market economy.
The problem right now with most AH and the sell only model is the players hardly ever know a good price to sell thier stuff at. They either post it too low and lose potential profit they could have made, or price it too high and never sell thier stuff. This system helps to eliminate this problem by coming at it from the other direction. Ask for what you want, and if someone likes what your paying they will sell you what you are asking for.
You got any idea's for non combat innovation? I could come up with a foundation for a concept if I knew it actually had a chance.
Godspeed my fellow gamer
I use to play this game called "Monster Rancher" loved how it played out and always hoped it would evolve beyond what it was, way beyond. And it did evolve, just not like I had hoped. So...
I'd like to see an MMO based on the Monster Rancher concept except with really cool looking creatures, big mmo world, places to explore, build..... Y'know just a really cool mmo version of it without that japanese style anime look, maybe make it look more LOTRO-ish or Farcry-ish or The Elderscrolls-ish, but not just limited to those two looks and feels. You know what I mean. I hope
Godspeed my fellow gamer
I agree that this would be a nice feature to be included on AH systems. This should also include an option for the crafter to maybe make a counter offer on a wanted posting. This way if someone has a posting for the fancy dancy sword but he is wanting it for say 10% less than what the crafter wants to make it for rather than just saying nope not making it for that price he could put in a counter bid which if agreed upon by the poster of the wanted ad would then lock him in to make it at that price.
Another system I would like to see in a new MMO is a different kind of leveling system. The idea of skill based progression on paper always seems good to me, but in practice I find it way less appealing. In practice I find that skill based systems require you to play the game in a way that is not fun inorder to make sure you raise the skill that you want. This particularly happens in a tiered system where say you have to level this one school of magic you don't even like or care to use in order to unlock the school you do want, which then requires you to have a certain level of skill in that school before you can unlock the skill you actually want. This isn't fun gameplay to me.
I would much rather a classless level based system. It could even be tiered. Give me a certain number of skill points for each level I attain and let me decide which skills I want to put them in. This would allow for great character customization without making people do very boring things or macroing in order to get the skill set they want. Also make sure it has a cap. I would also like the levels to be able to obtained by crafting as well. Crafting levels allow you to gain skillpoints toward crafting professions and fighting and questing experience goes toward combat type levels. Have a total cap, so that say if someone went half fighting and half crafting they could say be decent at one thing in combat and be good at one specific craft. If they went full crafting they could probably excell in two similar crafts like say weaponsmithing and armorsmithing. If a character went full combat and questing experience they could excel at two things in combat like say melee and archery or melee and fire magic or whatever.
Many games have a minor system or two that are really just barebones implementations of things that coudl be fully fleshed out. Examples include Vanguard's Diplomacy system, FFXIV's Parley system, and City of Heroes' alignment system. There have also been some fantastic ideas put forth by players, such Hayoo's fantastic tavern revelry system.
That's one of the main things I'd like to see. Non-combat systems that encourage more social interaction between players. There's a lot of ideas that haven't even been considered by developers, and many that have been implemented but only as a shadow of what they could be. Organized crime, musical bands for boosting NPC interaction, more ways of handling a virtual world's problems than simply killing whatever you disagree with. Group-based summoning rituals, house craft (crafting the house, not crafting things for the house), political intrigue, and more. The sky's the limit, really.
I read all but 2 or 3 posts and none of the things anyone has suggested have been innovative. Your ideas are actually less innovative than the uncreative devs that make modern MMORPG's.
Here's a tip to try and help you guys out: It's not innovative if your description includes "like <other game> but better," or "<currently existing feature> with more emphasis on <currently existing element of previously mentioned feature>."
That eliminates 90% of the suggestions so far.
Good luck, all!
_________________________________
"Fixed it. Because that wall of text attacked me, killed me and looted my body..."
-George "sniperg" Light
hum very preceptive you are....
but do consider the following,
"like <a 9 mm pistal> but better like a 20 inch gun on a battleship"
or
"<a 9 mm pistal> with more emphasis on <having a 20inch projectile that can travel 20+ miles>"?
or maybe
"like <a bottle rocket> but better like a space shuttle with 2 million pounds of rocket fuel"?:D
the over generalization of your descriptions is exactly how changes occur. believe it or not, most human advancements have been "improvements" over existing ideas.... and to say improvement over existing MMO's is not a valid suggestion shows just how much contribution YOU are actually making:D
Except I DIDN'T say improvement wasn't a valid suggestion for anything.
Read the OP champ. This thread is about "innovations."
The way you jump to conclusions like a baboon indicates how much relevant contribution YOU actually make =
_________________________________
"Fixed it. Because that wall of text attacked me, killed me and looted my body..."
-George "sniperg" Light
This ^^
On a side note i did enjoy the crafting experience in early EQ2 , where you had to counter what was going on at the forge otherwise the item was ruined, or just as common if you went afk , would come back to your corpse because of flux sparks.I'd like to take it a step further and make crafting a real career choice in games , not just filler to do when you arent questing.