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LF a sandbox MMO for me and my other half
Hi,
I've been reading this particular "LFGame" forum for quite a while, but I still feel tempted to create my own thread to see if I can get better recommendations based on my particular case. Sorry for opening yet another post talking about sandbox games!
I would like to find a sandbox MMO to play with my girlfriend. We are not new to MMOs, but after a few years of playing WoW we want to move to something completely different.
Before saying anything more... and because I know the kind of answers I'm going to get, I want to say that I think and agree that Eve Online would fit perfectly our (my) needs, but the other half doesn't like spaceships, holding at a POS for 5 hours waiting for the FC to say something, going wiki after wiki looking for info and things like that. I've been playing Eve for two years (hi IRC!), love it, but I recon that it can be quite hard at times (specially the learning curve at the beginning) and we are looking mostly for a game that won't cause any headaches to my girlfriend.
We just want a game to relax ourselves a few days a week when our two years old goes to bed. So, alright, Eve Online is there, but, what else?
We are looking for a game that offers more or less the following:
- We want to avoid heavy-grinding games. Don't get me wrong, a little grinding is OK but we don't want to be forced to connect several hours a day only to be ready to enjoy the game after a few weeks/months. We don't want to connect every single day to go after equipment, honour, emblems or whatever. It doesn't have to be completely grind-less in terms of skill progression (like Eve Online).
- We would prefer a sandbox. We are tired of themeparks and story-driven MMOs.
- We don't care about graphics, but the game should have a good population and active community. It should be getting a good attention from developers, even if it's old.
- Good balance between PvP and PvE, and open world PvP if possible. Full loot would be great, but it doesn't really matter.
- Player housing would be a great thing to have.
- Free to play of not, it doesn't matter. The theme of the game is also not very important.
This is a list of games we have played for the last 10 years:
Ultima Online: We want something like UO, we really enjoyed that game, but I'm not sure we want to start again from zero in a game that is probably reaching the end of its life. Too much grinding, as well.
WoW: We enjoyed WoW at the beginning and also the Burning Crusade. That's it. But, again, we don't want anymore themepark MMOs, you've seen one and you've seen them all.
Mortal Online: Played during beta and a few months after that. The game has potential and I wouldn't mind playing it myself for another few years, but in it's current state it's probably too hard for my girlfriend.
Darkfall: I played Darkfall for several months. The only problem would be the population and that it's very focused on PvP (even if the PvE AI is great, but it doesn't seem to have the same importance as PvE). We are not after a PvE-only game, but a good balance between the two would be great.
Eve Online: Great game, but same cons as in the third paragraph.
In the meantime I'm waiting for ArcheAge and Firefall.
Any suggestions?
Thanks very much!
Comments
Might try Minecraft if you don't want to invest in an MMO.
Better to be crazy, provided you know what sane is...
I would recommend Minecraft as well. It is more 'MMORPG' and 'sandbox' than most other 'real' mmorpgs out there.
Im gona say someting odd but tought about it and honestly, there aint any "good" pure sandboxes anymore. MO, DF are far far from EvE/UO MO is also very buggy and its a real niche amoung niche games. theres only a very small gaming population that this game fits for.
the same whit DF, while in design good, the game failed to capilize on the sandbox aspect of the game, its more of a grind grind grind, kill kill kill game.
EvE as you said is quite hard to get into , great game adn whit the "walking in stations" slowly comming it might be a intresting game for the girlfriend in a year(or 2) I imagen she could like running her own spacestation bar or someting like it;)
that why im goign to sugest two old games that most people would say ARGG!
first UO, UO? yep UO but not the offical version, but one of the emulator versions. depending what you and your girl are into theres servers for all play styles, for highly detailed RP worlds to PvP and PvE Worlds , adult and family shards and so on.
the 2th game would be....SWG.. Whaaa!? yep SWG, while less sandbox (more of a hybirth) then it used to be it remains on of the games were you can do a real lot, theres no game whit more content then swg atm (besites UO maybe) Crafting remains top, player city's tons and tons of decorations for your house, the apearence slots help make your character look the way you want it to be while wearing the best ugly stat gear for your class.
the legacy quest are a bit boring but "ok" compared to alot of otehr games and theres tons and tons of places to explore. theres healty PvP even as a compleet neutral you can jump in and declare to one side for the battle. player guilds plenty to join RP, PvP,PvE its all there. well I can go on but dont wana draw to many haters here
(ps: SoE's customer services stays as bad as ever , that surely never changed in the years even if the game itself became better:P )
Archeage might become a good option to but that game aint done yet so not someting to sugest now :P as for your firefall waiting.. do note that firefall will be more of a shooter then a actual mmo. might be a nice game but not to rpg'ish. ofc GW2 adn SW: tor are upcomming aswell. themeparks but defintly someting to keep a eye on.
Goodluck whit your searts
Well, I don't want to disappoint you and your girlfriend but I've personally played MMOs since DAoC (so we are somewhat like the same age I guess +- 3yrs) and I look for the same as you do and there is none on the market that would fit your needs.
You have your big Cows like WoW, Eve, AoC, RoM and you have your (what I call) stereotypical asian-MMOs (lineage graficstyle and gameplay) and you have your good 'ol ones like EQ, UO, DAoC, Vanguard. Everyone is storybased. I mean what's an MMO without a story? Everyone has it's grinds, quests, PvE and PvP more or less.
Tbh there is no so called sandbox game out there with that what ur looking for. You do not want to grind but you're waiting for ArcheAge. Did you actually watch some youtube vids (check out steparuTV)? ArcheAge will be a grind aswell. You get your quest, go out there, kill a number of mobs and return. The beta involves tons of such quests. The only variety are the different mobs, maybe the quest-text and the npc. That's it.
Personally I quit my MMO-trip after I've played Rift a time and was completely disappointed that - again - I find myself in an MMO where everything is the same. Like you said "You saw one, you've seen 'em all." It is true when you lay down facts here and now.
The (really) only MMO I have never ever tried (and I've tried even lots of free ones of sheer frustration because I knew all paid ones) is EVE. For the reason that I don't feel quite comfortable with space environment and (after WoW) I don't want to ruin my RL with getting sucked into an MMO again that deep (played Wow until BC was released and had my best time ever, ever).
What I do now? I stick with "down to earth"-like hobbies in RL, like wood-/stone carving :-) and I do not really wait until I get dissapointed again by the next MMO. Maybe in some years I'll check back into the scene. But not now when everything is cash-driven.
Publishers need to focus on fascinating and deep lore again instead of creating a fast cash-cow-like experience with no profoundness.
Wish you the best, don't waste your time with unnecessary stuff that does not develope you and your (girlfriends) mind/brain.
Edit: If you do like Coop and do maybe like easy stuff like hack 'n slay then I'd say try out "Dungeon Siege III". It's not that intense when it comes to storyline. It got reaction like action gameplay. It got a very nice soundtrack. It got female characters which your girlfriend might like. And I'd say your GF will even like the graficstyle. Release-date: 16./17. June
There really isn't any good MMO for you. I'd suggest trying out Terraria, it's cheap game with multiplayer possibility and sanbox gameplay.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/
It's not fully sandbox, but I think you should give Fallen Earth a shot. It really is a fantastic game with a small but excellent community. Very open world, lots of crafting, but also a great storyline and some decent solo/duo PvE action. There is quite a bit of PvP as well.
The biggest downsides are the lack of traditional PvE endgame (no raid instances) and the small population. Still i highly recommend, I think they have a trial too.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Thats why Im sometimes glad im a roleplayer and not just a MMO grinder, haha, I played them all every single one (well I skipped some asian grind games)
Of all the games I played the games that still keep my intrest are UO (rp shards) SWG (for rp and living you character its the best) and EvE ( lack of rp but deep gameplay and I suspect rp will get there better once character gameplay is more evolved)
A MMO whitout a grind.. well we will see how that goos once The Secret world goos live, but I doubt the OP means gind in the way you do. questing or leveling can still be fun whitout feeling like a grind, it all depents on the rate of xp you get and side things to do. hence why i would sugest swg, while the level grind is there..theres so much more to do .. like fishing..everyone loves fishing
Try reading a couple of the CBT3 beta reviews instead of just looking at pretty youtube videos. How you describe it above isn't "that's it." It is offered as part of game play, sure, for those who enjoy it. Players, however, don't have to do the quests at all. And it all doesn't really matter after level 20 in the game. The quests are to teach you how to play the game and run from level 1 to level 20. After that it goes to a more of "what do you want to do today" type play typical of sandboxes and you aren't locked into grinding quests.
Can't remember the exact names of the websites but two of the larger fansites reporting on this game have reported it as such. This game is the first AAA attempt at sandbox play since 2003.
"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
Might be - let's see what it brings. I rather have some gameplay footage, without fancy music - just doing what you get served in a game than reading some reviews I have no clue if they are written independant or not (and lateron, playing the actual game, realize that what I just red was plain bullish). That's why I set myself the goal to enter at least a Open Beta where I get a glimpse of how the game will be once hitting gold.
And I might add that I am a RPlayer aswell. I guess that I'm just too hardcore for our days now. When I had one free wish I would like to see a Baldurs Gate 1 MMORPG - either iso or 3D don't care - aslong as the feeling from back there would be the same.
But hey, this thread is not about me 'gals :-)
Again: I think you will enjoy Dungeon Siege 3 with your GF. I can't name you a fitting MMO, even a Sandbox at this point in current state of game development.
Thank you all very much for the replies!
I thought about playing Minecraft or Terraria alright, but just wanted to keep looking a little more at other games. I played Minecraft a while ago and enjoyed it, but have never played Terraria. I was more of the idea of a "normal" sandbox, not so heavy on crafting, but we might try these as well.
I also thought about back to UO, but as I said, I'm afraid that we would be going back to a game that is reaching its last years.
Never tried Fallen Earth, so thanks for that recommendation, I think they have a trial.
I was just reading something about Uncharted Waters Online... is that a sandbox? Trying to find some information, apparentrly there is a housing system planned for the future? Any word on this game?
Dungeon Siege 3, first time I've heard of it. Thanks for mentioning it, will check it out!
Thanks a mil!
nstead of the toa ones lol.
A lot of good suggestions in this thread. You might also take a look at Mabinogi.
My favorite sandboxes currently are Mortal Online and EvE. If you consider MO, getting into a user-friendly guild like TOG, Wessex, or Forsaken would probably be helpful. It just released its first expansion (Dawn), so you'd probably want to wait a week or so to let the dust settle.
In any event, good luck with whatever you choose.
Hell hath no fury like an MMORPG player scorned.
I would 2nd Mabinogi. The poster above me beat me to mentioning it. If you can handle the graphics the game really has a ton going for it. You skill up whatever you want. You can shear sheep to make clothes, fish, fight, play songs, etc. A duo would be good for the small dungeon running in the game.
I've played games since the UO and EQ days, so I know what it is like trying to find a game for both of you. I've known many couples that enjoyed UO together, but these days finding that right mix of sandbox for the other half seems to be hard.
Other than Mabinogi the only other game I would probably suggest is Fallen Earth. It's not a true sandbox, but it does offer lots of choices in skill builds and crafting. The game is easily a crafters dream. You make everything that you can use from clothes, to guns, to motorcycles (or train horses if you like those better.) There is a lot of questing for reputation at end-game though. Just something to be aware of before going into it.