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What MMO has done weather the best?
Lokero
Member RarePosts: 1,514
I'm wondering if any MMOs out there have had any ultra-dynamic weather systems that really stand out?
Things along the lines of: Seeing black clouds rolling across the horizon and knowing there is a storm coming your way. Wind blowing in your face and slowing your movement. Tornadoes appearing, sandstorms, etc.
Have there been any genuine climates and lively weather systems around? And if so, what games are they hiding in?
I feel this is one of the most neglected aspects of building virtual worlds. I can't think of any AAA MMOs that have had weather worth remembering, but I'm sure there's some more obscure titles that have at least tried.
Bonus question: Are there any MMOs currently in development that are planning to have? I seem to recall reading about one that was planning a living world with weather and the works(Citadel of Sorcery maybe?).
Comments
Probably games using the Ashima engine
http://vimeo.com/13472826
But then its unknown which games use this enigine
Another example how it can be used to make realistic magics..
http://vimeo.com/13473041
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
FFXIV:ARR has a dynamic weather system, you see clouds roll in, there are rainstorms even inside the cities, there are mini sandstorms. When you run in the rain your feet make splashes, when you run in sandy areas your feet kick up dirt. When you stand still in a rainstorm your hair if you have long hair will simulate getting hit by raindrops and moving to the wind. Fountains will overflow in rainstorms.
Don't sleep on this game, trust me, it has a lot of little touches
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!
I can't think of one MMO where I was actually impressed with the weather.
We are usually lucky just to get a day/night cycle!
Haha, I was having the same problem, that's why I started a thread. I'm sure there must be some games out there I haven't played that have some decent weather systems, but I don't know what they are.
And, in those games that actually add a day/night cycle, it's usually pretty terrible. Either it doesn't affect light/dark properly, or the cycle times have crazy durations that make it feel pointless.
As much as people rag on it I personally think Vanguard had a pretty fantastic weather system. Prime example here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV8WRqTaEe8 .
On a ''lesser" known note, maybe the mmo Dark and light it failed pretty hard but i still remember being impressed when it turned winter and the lakes froze over.
Dark and Light, a sandbox that used to be and a huge fail actually had one thing going for it, an awesome weather system
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I'm trying to look into more.
I found this video on Wushu where they are adding in a weather system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0aP4J66-gU
The rain and thunder/lightning look good, I especially like how dark the game actually looks between lightning strikes. I'm not sure if it would ever go live like this so dark though.
I would love to play a game though where the night time was actually dark. You're spot on that the lighting is never really right. I personally think it would be really neat to be in a forest and have the sun go down and actually not be able to see without a light source of some kind.
I have not seen a game yet that utilizes the weather.The closest thing is FFX that utilizes elemental properties,day/night and moon phases.In reality they did not go far enough in utilizing their importance but it is still miles more than any other game is doing.
Example on a Firesday your Fire spells will become more effective and the Bosses that utilize fire wil l also be more effective.Example you wouldn't want to fight Ifrit on Firesday or Leviathon on Watersday or Ramuh on Lightningsday ect ect.
However i would like to see a lot more,including a rainy day almost nullifies any fire based attacks,Windy days nullify earth attacks ect ect.
I would also like to see terrain play a factor,example trees,lakes,snow,mountains,marshes ect ect.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
In a world of sharp knives, you would be a spoon.
Light and Dark only failed because the devs used an unlicensed graphics engine and got sued for copy write infringement. It was this lawsuit that forced them to shut the game down. The game had a bad launch but was never really given a chance.
This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.
wow. makes me want to pull out my original CE and fight my way thru the morass that is SE's account retrieval system.
okay, well maybe not *that* bad.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
had a friend who was heavy into FFXI. he said that all these things, seasons, day of the week, direction you were facing, also impacted your crafting. so that if you wanted to make a very high quality item you literally had to wait till the stars were all aligned.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
SWG without a doubt.
Sandstorms on Tatooine and
unforgettable heavy rains on dangerous Dathomir. Felt like I was soaking wet.
NEW IDEAS that can refresh the STALE state of MMORPGs
FFXI had really nice weather system and it effected your gameplay.
I will never forget running through Batallia Downs which was not a cold place and it was snowing, I told my Linkshell (guild) and they where as suprized as I was.
"mmorpg.com forum admins are all TROLLS and losers in real life"
My opinion
Ah, I remember reading about DnL way back and thought it sounded fascinating, but I never did get the chance to check it out myself. I liked the ideas they had.
Both that and VG were games with huge potential(read: diamonds in the rough). It's a shame how many clever and fascinating game worlds and designs get destroyed by bad upper management. Bit off-topic, but I can think of more brilliant games hindered by bad management than I can think of actual quality games existing in the market today.
If there is one old game I wish I had played in its hey-day it would be AC. I was pretty addicted to EQ1 back in those days and missed out. People always make that game sound so fascinating when they talk about what it was like.
I played LOTRO back in the open beta era, and I remember the world environments being quite beautiful. I didn't play it long enough to get out and explore and experience the weather through all the different areas like that, though. I didn't enjoy the combat in that game and didn't stick with it too long.
I do think day/night cycles have become way too watered down and pointless. Most games these days, the night isn't really much darker than the day. And you don't even need any light sources or anything.
And, yeah, those jumping puzzles in GW2 with the pitch-black darkness were pretty slick. I'd love to see some creepy dungeons built to be like that. They could make for some real exciting dungeon crawls. It would also make things like pit falls and traps more viable(since you wouldn't see them coming).
Black Desert is definitely one I'm keeping an eye on. But, as with most of these games, I expect half the features they describe will be watered down and/or cut out entirely by the time it nears release. But, until then, it sounds like a really fascinating game with high potential.
Hopefully, we'll see the trend continue of these upcoming games putting more effort into the actual world environments themselves with weather and climate having a dynamic impact on gameplay and happenings in the world.