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Seems pretty themepark...
Gintoh
Member UncommonPosts: 329
Overall, the game seems rather themepark, you whack mobs, then get better gear (gear tiers are like levels in other games), since the difference in tiers is so big, you basically "outlevel" those lower BR mobs then move into another area, out livel (or in this case out BR) that area and move onto the next, like WoW or any other game, then there's crafting and the economy and all. But you can't be pure non-combative crafter as to lvl up in combat you have to combat and if you don't lvl up in combat you'll get constantly killed every time you walk out of town, also you can only get resources from mobs, I understand this is to change but still.
Sou you are forced to PVE, and to PVE certain mobs that are your BR or near it to get XP, the Tiers are like levels in other mmo's as a higher Tier is always better then a lower one, it's not like some have advantages and disadvantages, sure it has a player run economy, open pvp (which it seems to defeat the purpose of b/c with since you can insure everything for a relatively small cost there is very little risk), and skill based system (which it defeats the purpose of because progression of Tiers is so Linear). But overall, what's so sandboxy about it?
Comments
Sandbox != no levels or completely free from linear progression. That CAN be a part of it, but the most important part is that players affect the world.
Right now, ER has the frame work for a sandbox game, but its shallow because its missing the city/territory PvP part of it.
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
Did the fps issue ever get worked out.. I know before they had the debugger and the LUA files were all loading through the game client instead of the servers like they are supposed to. Has anything changed before it was almost unplayable in fps wise.
Well, I think options, currently the options are PVE grind , and that's it (I mean there's crafting but you have to PVE grind for that). I have far more options in WoW, heck I can have a bigger effect on the world in WoW. When TW comes out I really hope it's not just endlessly fighting over territories just to build stuff that only feeds into PVP like DF. I hope there are non combative things to do so it feels more like a world then just a game, like SWG. Maybe like opening a bar or casino, or house building. Perhaps being able to open your own insurance buildings and banks to compete with the in game ones and other player owned ones? We need options.
Right now-
No way to affect the world
-fairly linear progression
Seems themepark to me.
When I think of a sandbox style mmorpg in the broadest sense, I think of an actual sandbox. You have a material and tools to construct stuff with.
So I guess I would define a sandbox as a mmorpg that allows for the users to be able to create meaningful and lasting changes to the game world, either through the construction of user controlled hubs (cities / towns / villages / outposts) or geography.
Well we can't do any of those things now, there's no tools at all, less then WoW even.
Thats because WoW has been out for 6 years
Like I said, the frame work for the sandbox is there. Its just missing world building in some fashion. All the other components are there. You won't have to fight mobs once exploration elements are added in the next patch, which I've been told is really soon (I don't own the game).
But, if you are looking for a true sandbox that is working Look at Haven and Hearth or Xyson
Games:
Currently playing:Nothing
Will play: Darkfall: Unholy Wars
Past games:
Guild Wars 2 - Xpiher Duminous
Xpiher's GW2
GW 1 - Xpiher Duminous
Darkfall - Xpiher Duminous (NA) retired
AoC - Xpiher (Tyranny) retired
Warhammer - Xpiher
a sandbox without sand and tools? O.o
do you have any other way to progress other than PvE? i mean, local market trading, or buying stuff that is abundant in a region and hauling it in another? resource extraction (mining & co) and crafting?
A good example of a pure sandbox game would be Minecraft. Love it or hate it, it ticks all the right boxes for a sandbox.
An environment that you can shape and mold to your liking
Lots of crafting - you can build tools, special components, and with enough practice, complex machinery.
An element of danger - Monsters spawn in darkness (meaning in caves and at night), and if you die, you lose everything you're carrying.
A huuuuuuge world there for you to explore (procedurally generated, can be up to 8 times the size of earth's surface)
No quests whatsoever.
What it does do, is that it creates what is called emergent gameplay - A good example of this from the creative multiplayer servers (creative is a game mode, where damage is turned off, among other things) would be Spleef - An arena type game where the objective is to remove the floor of the arena and drop your opponents into the pit below. (Video here).
Graphics and player limit aside (the biggest MP servers for Minecraft still have less than 100 players at a time), it's a sandbox MMO in the purest sense. Definitely not for everyone because there are very few rules, and zero guidance. Some wouldn't even call it a game.
So MMO companies looking to make sandbox games add several elements - Both PvE elements, a starter experience to appeal to more people, and usually some sort of system to keep a massively amount of players in check. Following the previous example, it's a hassle, but doable, to keep 100 players in check, and to keep them playing by the server's ruleset. When you have 10.000 players, not so much, so systems need to be in place to do this.
Again following my above example, Minecraft has neither levels nor skills, so there is no character progression. No recordable achievements, no gauge of just how bad-ass you, as a player are. The defining feature of the RPG in MMORPG's is sadly no longer roleplaying. Instead, it has been boiled down to "character progression within a roleplaying game framework." Not quite the same, but there you have it. Some games may encourage actual roleplaying, and some don't really give a flying, one way or the other. Still, all developers seem to feel that they have to add this character progression to their game, which of course opens up a whole can of balancing issues and such, leading to more "rules" in the game, and again taking away from the sandboxy "do anything, be anyone" feel.
Developers have to walk a fine line of "what is too much?" and "what is too little?"
Now, I have no idea where Earthrise's place in this is, or how they're going to balance "too much" with "too little", but I do wish them luck with it. Having only read about it (and not been in the beta at all), I like the premise of the game, and the world. Will I like the systems they've had to put into place to make it an MMO by industry definitions? No idea.
http://machineborn.guildportal.com - Now recruiting players!
in an MMO with factions, there has to be SOME PvE - especially in the beginning. You have to get experience/skill/battle points SOMEHOW, right? As much as I like Eve, the skill point-over-time systems isnt very engaging - you arent actively participating in obtaining skills points; you're just traveling to and purchasing books.
In any game, no matter how "sandboxy" it is, there has to be SOME pve element
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That wasn't my point, geese. The fact that you are forced to PVE to progress and in such linear fashion is the problem.
Honestly i think sandbox games are a myth.. Only real sandbox game i played was EvE and SWG (even though it was a little themeparkish by the time i got my hands on it.)
Currently Playing:
Rift + Starcraft II + Gears Of War 3 Beta
I don't see why if these indie companies wanted to make a sandbox game,they just don't follow what SOE did with SWG pre-cu. Change the lore and backdrop, but implement the systems that the game had, polish it up and it would sell damn good.
It's pretty apparent that most people that love the sandbox gameplay, loved SWG the most. I mean, DF, MO, and now ER, seems to try and be a game in the same vain, but falls very short on the most important aspects that can make or break the game entirely.
I don't think anyone can disagree that SWG pre-cu was the most community based, open sandbox game to ever come out. Love them or hate them but kudos to SOE for setting the bar very high when it comes to these type of games.