I haven't played an MMO in several years. And for some years before that I was skipping around trying to make the most out of games that lacked almost everything I want. Then I just gave up.
Basically, I want exploration and open world freedom, with lots of "worldly" game play. I want to interact with the game world, opening and closing things, moving things, dropping and picking up anything I want (I know there's limits), throw levers, poke a statue in the eye to open a secret passage, spinning fireplaces, climbing ropes, making ladders, building a quick defensive barrier, jump across crevasses, use spy glasses, clothing for weather and disguises... and all kinds of stuff.
For me there hasnt been a decent MMO for years. i was hyped for ESO, played for a bit but never really got into it. Nothing recent has caught my interest. TOR pops up on the radar every now and then, and then i realise why i quit it. I want a virtual world that i can lose time in, and they havent made one of those for a very long time.
There aren’t any current MMOs of interest to me, and there haven’t been for like 10 years or something. I’m interested in Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. But it’s going to be a long time before those games are finished.
Other than that, Classic WoW is easily the most exciting upcoming MMO news I’ve had in a long time.
I always wonder when people state this if they mean MMOGs that have launched in the last 10 years.
I'm really not interested in MMOGs that have launched within the last 10 years, but there are several that have been running for considerably longer than this getting regular updates etc. that are very appealing to me.
One I have more than 1,700 hours in, am still subscribed to, and play now and then (like maybe once or twice a week on average). It launched in 2004.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
For me there hasnt been a decent MMO for years. i was hyped for ESO, played for a bit but never really got into it. Nothing recent has caught my interest. TOR pops up on the radar every now and then, and then i realise why i quit it. I want a virtual world that i can lose time in, and they havent made one of those for a very long time.
Right thats what has been missing...We have tons of story driven quest games but almsot none with a nice world to explore....People cited GW2 as great exploration, but I never saw that when I played it.
For me there hasnt been a decent MMO for years. i was hyped for ESO, played for a bit but never really got into it. Nothing recent has caught my interest. TOR pops up on the radar every now and then, and then i realise why i quit it. I want a virtual world that i can lose time in, and they havent made one of those for a very long time.
Right thats what has been missing...We have tons of story driven quest games but almsot none with a nice world to explore....People cited GW2 as great exploration, but I never saw that when I played it.
It's not just the world; it's what happens in it.
Quests are important (beyond WoW's 'checklists of things to do' good quests can function as gameplay mechanisms unto themselves), but it's not desirable to have people on rails all the time. There ought to be some randomness.
I guess I'm saying yes it's the world, but what if the world is people?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
In my opinion, quests destroy the world unless they are quests that don't do more than give you general location name and have you go from there. If it is going to be a linear experience it might as well be designed that way instead of wasting the resources on building a world. I think that is exactly what has happened to modern MMOs.
I have skipped most MMOs. I like mmorpgs, and not the weird flashy ones that seem to be aimed at kids that are the only ones coming out the last half decade or so. Thankfully, the old real ones are still up and running and I can still rotate through them.
In my opinion, quests destroy the world unless they are quests that don't do more than give you general location name and have you go from there. If it is going to be a linear experience it might as well be designed that way instead of wasting the resources on building a world. I think that is exactly what has happened to modern MMOs.
I imagine most people can't comprehend an mmo without quests and yet they still exist. Most people I think expect to go out at level 1 and go from zone to zone questing until they reach the end game zone(s). And yet there are worlds where the world isn't designed in such a linear fashion.
That said, I know some people play mmorpgs for the story. But I still believe a large percentage of players in these quest games don't and choose to skip the quest text. For me, I don't pay much attention to the story. I mean sure I'll make sure to pick a faction and race I think is cool, and I'll really appreciate a world that i consider an interesting deviation from our own, but I don't take it any further than that.
In my opinion, quests destroy the world unless they are quests that don't do more than give you general location name and have you go from there. If it is going to be a linear experience it might as well be designed that way instead of wasting the resources on building a world. I think that is exactly what has happened to modern MMOs.
I imagine most people can't comprehend an mmo without quests and yet they still exist. Most people I think expect to go out at level 1 and go from zone to zone questing until they reach the end game zone(s). And yet there are worlds where the world isn't designed in such a linear fashion.
That said, I know some people play mmorpgs for the story. But I still believe a large percentage of players in these quest games don't and choose to skip the quest text. For me, I don't pay much attention to the story. I mean sure I'll make sure to pick a faction and race I think is cool, and I'll really appreciate a world that i consider an interesting deviation from our own, but I don't take it any further than that.
I actually am a big fan of story and linear games, but I don't enjoy when it's presented in the WoW fashion of having large quantities of quests one after the other which you click on !, go to x location, and then receive a reward at ? or immediately. In these types of games, I end up skipping the text even if it's somewhat interesting.
I think think this is a poor way to tell a story. Even old 2D games had some nice real-time scripted sequences that made you feel more immersed.
I am also a fan of games that just dump you in and say go. It's nice to figure things out on your own. You might find an NPC that tells you something is killing the cattle near x location or go to the barkeep and he says he heard rumors of a troll pestering travelers near x bridge. Then you continue wandering and eventually come across these places. I believe this works better for roleplaying and a good multiplayer experience.
Having no quests has it's advantages too. It makes for players to be more creative and it's easy for people to group up spontaneously while exploring virtual worlds.
I can be OK with linear games, depending on the genre. It’s not something I look for in an RPG, though. And definitely not what I look for in an MMORPG.
There aren’t any current MMOs of interest to me, and there haven’t been for like 10 years or something. I’m interested in Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. But it’s going to be a long time before those games are finished.
Other than that, Classic WoW is easily the most exciting upcoming MMO news I’ve had in a long time.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
I'm confused about this statement.
Personally, I'd love to see 10 new MMORPGs released every year that match the criteria of detailed, liveable world, even if it meant older MMORPGs shut down at a more rapid rate. Its rare that we get 1....
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
There aren’t any current MMOs of interest to me, and there haven’t been for like 10 years or something. I’m interested in Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. But it’s going to be a long time before those games are finished.
Other than that, Classic WoW is easily the most exciting upcoming MMO news I’ve had in a long time.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
I'm confused about this statement.
Personally, I'd love to see 10 new MMORPGs released every year that match the criteria of detailed, liveable world, even if it meant older MMORPGs shut down at a more rapid rate. Its rare that we get 1....
So, the hidden assumption is that a MMORPG is meant to be a game where one can live out a "second life" so to speak as an avatar.
Given that the world's population is likely to top out somewhere below 10 billion before the end of the century and only a certain subset of those will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG, there is a "tipping point" beyond which adding additional worlds to live in will yield negative net results.
You have some MMORPGs going extinct, others entering the market, giving a rate at which these worlds are becoming available.
Let's just say an optimum population for a MMORPG is at least 1 million players (total). I'll also stipulate that one player can only play one MMORPG at a time (obviously this isn't true, but let's assume that our MMORPGs are just so engaging that there isn't any need for more than one at a time). Let's also say that ~2% of the total globe's population will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG.
So if 10 new MMORPGs are released every year, and let's say 1 goes extinct, you have (0.02 * 10 billion people) / ((10 new MMORPGs) - (1 MMORPG extinction) * 1 million people) = a little over 2 decades before the market becomes saturated beyond sustainability.
Obviously, these numbers except for total global population were pulled more or less from thin air, but go ahead and tweak the variables as you see fit. If the number of MMORPGs entering the market is much greater than the number of MMORPGs going extinct you will eventually run into a situation similar to the video game crash of 1983. Some may say we are there already.
The fact that there aren't many new MMORPGs entering the market is a testament to the fact that a niche has been filled. The only way lots of new MMORPGs would be a good thing is if a lot of MMORPGs were going extinct. Some are, but a significant amount are pretty healthy which is a good sign.
Forgive the analogy, but it's like studying the health of endangered predator populations as a function of the overall ecosystem.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
There aren’t any current MMOs of interest to me, and there haven’t been for like 10 years or something. I’m interested in Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. But it’s going to be a long time before those games are finished.
Other than that, Classic WoW is easily the most exciting upcoming MMO news I’ve had in a long time.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
I'm confused about this statement.
Personally, I'd love to see 10 new MMORPGs released every year that match the criteria of detailed, liveable world, even if it meant older MMORPGs shut down at a more rapid rate. Its rare that we get 1....
So, the hidden assumption is that a MMORPG is meant to be a game where one can live out a "second life" so to speak as an avatar.
Given that the world's population is likely to top out somewhere below 10 billion before the end of the century and only a certain subset of those will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG, there is a "tipping point" beyond which adding additional worlds to live in will yield negative net results.
You have some MMORPGs going extinct, others entering the market, giving a rate at which these worlds are becoming available.
Let's just say an optimum population for a MMORPG is at least 1 million players (total). I'll also stipulate that one player can only play one MMORPG at a time (obviously this isn't true, but let's assume that our MMORPGs are just so engaging that there isn't any need for more than one at a time). Let's also say that ~2% of the total globe's population will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG.
So if 10 new MMORPGs are released every year, and let's say 1 goes extinct, you have (0.02 * 10 billion people) / ((10 new MMORPGs) - (1 MMORPG extinction) * 1 million people) = a little over 2 decades before the market becomes saturated beyond sustainability.
Obviously, these numbers except for total global population were pulled more or less from thin air, but go ahead and tweak the variables as you see fit. If the number of MMORPGs entering the market is much greater than the number of MMORPGs going extinct you will eventually run into a situation similar to the video game crash of 1983. Some may say we are there already.
The fact that there aren't many new MMORPGs entering the market is a testament to the fact that a niche has been filled. The only way lots of new MMORPGs would be a good thing is if a lot of MMORPGs were going extinct. Some are, but a significant amount are pretty healthy which is a good sign.
Forgive the analogy, but it's like studying the health of endangered predator populations as a function of the overall ecosystem.
Great explanation, thanks, I had a feeling that was what you meant.
I would 100% agree with you if it weren't for your hidden assumption. Unfortunately we know that's not true.
I also like your maths, I'm pretty happy with that. I would only add in an additional variable - max lifespan - which I would probably set around 10 years. Reason for that is that technology moves at such a rapid rate so eventually an MMO will either be left behind (so you can't maintain that 1m players) or it requires a massive overhaul (at which point you may as well just create a new game).
With your maths, we reach saturation point in 20 years, so as long as we set a max lifespan of less than 20 years, eventually we'll reach a balancing point where we never quite reach saturation.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
Doubt I'll find anything interesting to me until the VR headsets get more fleshed out. I don't care about sword art or .hack, just want something like 06/07 FFXI with good VR controls.
Don't look like there is much of anything released after 2015. All seemed to still be in alpha. They do seemed to try be different from generic themepark games though.
There aren’t any current MMOs of interest to me, and there haven’t been for like 10 years or something. I’m interested in Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. But it’s going to be a long time before those games are finished.
Other than that, Classic WoW is easily the most exciting upcoming MMO news I’ve had in a long time.
I always wonder when people state this if they mean MMOGs that have launched in the last 10 years.
I'm really not interested in MMOGs that have launched within the last 10 years, but there are several that have been running for considerably longer than this getting regular updates etc. that are very appealing to me.
One I have more than 1,700 hours in, am still subscribed to, and play now and then (like maybe once or twice a week on average). It launched in 2004.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
A game with a large, detailed world isn’t automatically a game I want to play. So even if 10 games with large, detailed worlds are released every year, that is still effectively 0 games for me if I don’t want to play them.
Don't look like there is much of anything released after 2015. All seemed to still be in alpha. They do seemed to try be different from generic themepark games though.
Yes, but they are still "Themepark" at their core. And usually the stuff they try to change seems to sort of break the "4th wall". Adjustable content levels in an open world is a good example.
I have not really enjoyed any MMO released after 2004.
The last MMOs I loved were Lineage II (C1-C4) and WoW (Vanilla - WotLK). If I am not mistaken, both released in 2004.
ArcheAge had a potential to be an MMO I would play long term, but its monetization model drove me away.
Otherwise, there was nothing that I found interesting since then.
For one thing, see my previous post. There are several things that are a big no-no, in my mind. -Cash shops -Wide open PvP without a working "justice system" that actually forces players to "pay for their crimes" -Divided worlds/player base, a la Themepark -Forced content direction, a la Themepark are the main ones off the top of my head.
Breaking the 4th wall is bad news for a game of fantasy (including sci-fi or other types of fantasy worlds), where a player expects to be inside the game.
The most current MMO I have played that's in full release is ArcheAge. Since SWTOR every time I ask someone "What stands out about this game and makes it different?" about a new MMO the answers I get are shallow and uninteresting the vast majority of the time.
I've tried dozens of MMOs over the year but I think the only post-SWTOR MMOs I've spent more than a day playing are ArcheAge and ESO. ESO held my interest for all of 1-2 weeks, ArcheAge I've put a few hundred hours into mainly because my fiancé enjoys it more than EVE and Wurm which I personally would rather be playing if not for the desire to play together with her. I've tried GW2, Terra, and Dragon's Prophecy but I got bored so damn fast that I never really made it beyond the tutorial zone in Terra and DP or the first post tutorial zone in GW2. Just horribly boring games. I legit enjoy Shroud of the Avatar and Entropia Universe more than any of those three titles. Not because either of those are particularly good titles, just less god awful boring to me.
I just can't be bothered to install an MMO anymore unless it can show me how it's experience is going to be meaningfully different from WoW. And a few gimmicky differences doesn't constitute meaningfully different from WoW to me for most games. Even ArcheAge I consider to be a WoW Clone, it's just the best in it's class.
@Cortex666 - AltAge isn't pay to win no matter what people say. Get a good system and APEX 10+ accounts and you can be a top tier player on 0$ invested monthly. Really only takes your initial 15$ to get started if you know what to do. Just make sure your system can multibox it.
I legit enjoy Shroud of the Avatar and Entropia Universe more than any of those three titles. Not because either of those are particularly good titles, just less god awful boring to me.
I just can't be bothered to install an MMO anymore unless it can show me how it's experience is going to be meaningfully different from WoW. And a few gimmicky differences doesn't constitute meaningfully different from WoW to me for most games. Even ArcheAge I consider to be a WoW Clone, it's just the best in it's class.
Great job on a shout of Entropia. It actually has a lot of everything people clamor for. The problem is it is a real money trading and you are slated to lose like it's a casino . . . which it is.
But it has a good market, mining, combat, crafting, exploring, treasure hunting, vehicles, excellent customization, and it allows you to buy "deeds" in the game and get a daily or weekly dividend from it.
It is a hidden gem surrounded by WTF-get-raped-by-casino-like-system. I'm down like $1,500 to $2,000 but who cares.
Cryomatrix p.s. I think i'm going to log in tonight as well as EVE, i hope my skills haven't stopped training lmao,
Catch me streaming at twitch.tv/cryomatrix You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
I legit enjoy Shroud of the Avatar and Entropia Universe more than any of those three titles. Not because either of those are particularly good titles, just less god awful boring to me.
I just can't be bothered to install an MMO anymore unless it can show me how it's experience is going to be meaningfully different from WoW. And a few gimmicky differences doesn't constitute meaningfully different from WoW to me for most games. Even ArcheAge I consider to be a WoW Clone, it's just the best in it's class.
Great job on a shout of Entropia. It actually has a lot of everything people clamor for. The problem is it is a real money trading and you are slated to lose like it's a casino . . . which it is.
But it has a good market, mining, combat, crafting, exploring, treasure hunting, vehicles, excellent customization, and it allows you to buy "deeds" in the game and get a daily or weekly dividend from it.
It is a hidden gem surrounded by WTF-get-raped-by-casino-like-system. I'm down like $1,500 to $2,000 but who cares.
Cryomatrix p.s. I think i'm going to log in tonight as well as EVE, i hope my skills haven't stopped training lmao,
Yeah Entropia really draws people in with marketing that makes them think they can make money playing their game. And that's really not going to happen for 99.9% of them. On the bright side, if you do want to spend money on things like ammo you only burn through it as fast as you play.
Step away and don't play for a year? Any unspent money is there when you get back. So if you were to budget yourself at 15$/mo you might find yourelf getting a lot more fun for your buck than your average MMO based on how much you play, how fast the methods of play you choose blow through that money, and how lucky/unlucky you get.
Comments
And for some years before that I was skipping around trying to make the most out of games that lacked almost everything I want.
Then I just gave up.
Basically, I want exploration and open world freedom, with lots of "worldly" game play. I want to interact with the game world, opening and closing things, moving things, dropping and picking up anything I want (I know there's limits), throw levers, poke a statue in the eye to open a secret passage, spinning fireplaces, climbing ropes, making ladders, building a quick defensive barrier, jump across crevasses, use spy glasses, clothing for weather and disguises...
and all kinds of stuff.
Once upon a time....
I dont get excited about any mmos, i dont even look at new or upcoming games.
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
I'm really not interested in MMOGs that have launched within the last 10 years, but there are several that have been running for considerably longer than this getting regular updates etc. that are very appealing to me.
One I have more than 1,700 hours in, am still subscribed to, and play now and then (like maybe once or twice a week on average). It launched in 2004.
I mean, isn't it a good thing for the MMORPG genre writ large that detailed, livable worlds are not continuing to be pumped out on a yearly basis?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
Quests are important (beyond WoW's 'checklists of things to do' good quests can function as gameplay mechanisms unto themselves), but it's not desirable to have people on rails all the time. There ought to be some randomness.
I guess I'm saying yes it's the world, but what if the world is people?
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/That said, I know some people play mmorpgs for the story. But I still believe a large percentage of players in these quest games don't and choose to skip the quest text. For me, I don't pay much attention to the story. I mean sure I'll make sure to pick a faction and race I think is cool, and I'll really appreciate a world that i consider an interesting deviation from our own, but I don't take it any further than that.
I think think this is a poor way to tell a story. Even old 2D games had some nice real-time scripted sequences that made you feel more immersed.
I am also a fan of games that just dump you in and say go. It's nice to figure things out on your own. You might find an NPC that tells you something is killing the cattle near x location or go to the barkeep and he says he heard rumors of a troll pestering travelers near x bridge. Then you continue wandering and eventually come across these places. I believe this works better for roleplaying and a good multiplayer experience.
Having no quests has it's advantages too. It makes for players to be more creative and it's easy for people to group up spontaneously while exploring virtual worlds.
Personally, I'd love to see 10 new MMORPGs released every year that match the criteria of detailed, liveable world, even if it meant older MMORPGs shut down at a more rapid rate. Its rare that we get 1....
Given that the world's population is likely to top out somewhere below 10 billion before the end of the century and only a certain subset of those will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG, there is a "tipping point" beyond which adding additional worlds to live in will yield negative net results.
You have some MMORPGs going extinct, others entering the market, giving a rate at which these worlds are becoming available.
Let's just say an optimum population for a MMORPG is at least 1 million players (total). I'll also stipulate that one player can only play one MMORPG at a time (obviously this isn't true, but let's assume that our MMORPGs are just so engaging that there isn't any need for more than one at a time). Let's also say that ~2% of the total globe's population will ever be interested in playing a MMORPG.
So if 10 new MMORPGs are released every year, and let's say 1 goes extinct, you have (0.02 * 10 billion people) / ((10 new MMORPGs) - (1 MMORPG extinction) * 1 million people) = a little over 2 decades before the market becomes saturated beyond sustainability.
Obviously, these numbers except for total global population were pulled more or less from thin air, but go ahead and tweak the variables as you see fit. If the number of MMORPGs entering the market is much greater than the number of MMORPGs going extinct you will eventually run into a situation similar to the video game crash of 1983. Some may say we are there already.
The fact that there aren't many new MMORPGs entering the market is a testament to the fact that a niche has been filled. The only way lots of new MMORPGs would be a good thing is if a lot of MMORPGs were going extinct. Some are, but a significant amount are pretty healthy which is a good sign.
Forgive the analogy, but it's like studying the health of endangered predator populations as a function of the overall ecosystem.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
I would 100% agree with you if it weren't for your hidden assumption. Unfortunately we know that's not true.
I also like your maths, I'm pretty happy with that. I would only add in an additional variable - max lifespan - which I would probably set around 10 years. Reason for that is that technology moves at such a rapid rate so eventually an MMO will either be left behind (so you can't maintain that 1m players) or it requires a massive overhaul (at which point you may as well just create a new game).
With your maths, we reach saturation point in 20 years, so as long as we set a max lifespan of less than 20 years, eventually we'll reach a balancing point where we never quite reach saturation.
Adjustable content levels in an open world is a good example.
Once upon a time....
There are several things that are a big no-no, in my mind.
-Cash shops
-Wide open PvP without a working "justice system" that actually forces players to "pay for their crimes"
-Divided worlds/player base, a la Themepark
-Forced content direction, a la Themepark
are the main ones off the top of my head.
Breaking the 4th wall is bad news for a game of fantasy (including sci-fi or other types of fantasy worlds), where a player expects to be inside the game.
Once upon a time....
I've tried dozens of MMOs over the year but I think the only post-SWTOR MMOs I've spent more than a day playing are ArcheAge and ESO. ESO held my interest for all of 1-2 weeks, ArcheAge I've put a few hundred hours into mainly because my fiancé enjoys it more than EVE and Wurm which I personally would rather be playing if not for the desire to play together with her. I've tried GW2, Terra, and Dragon's Prophecy but I got bored so damn fast that I never really made it beyond the tutorial zone in Terra and DP or the first post tutorial zone in GW2. Just horribly boring games. I legit enjoy Shroud of the Avatar and Entropia Universe more than any of those three titles. Not because either of those are particularly good titles, just less god awful boring to me.
I just can't be bothered to install an MMO anymore unless it can show me how it's experience is going to be meaningfully different from WoW. And a few gimmicky differences doesn't constitute meaningfully different from WoW to me for most games. Even ArcheAge I consider to be a WoW Clone, it's just the best in it's class.
@Cortex666 - AltAge isn't pay to win no matter what people say. Get a good system and APEX 10+ accounts and you can be a top tier player on 0$ invested monthly. Really only takes your initial 15$ to get started if you know what to do. Just make sure your system can multibox it.
But it has a good market, mining, combat, crafting, exploring, treasure hunting, vehicles, excellent customization, and it allows you to buy "deeds" in the game and get a daily or weekly dividend from it.
It is a hidden gem surrounded by WTF-get-raped-by-casino-like-system. I'm down like $1,500 to $2,000 but who cares.
Cryomatrix
p.s. I think i'm going to log in tonight as well as EVE, i hope my skills haven't stopped training lmao,
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
Step away and don't play for a year? Any unspent money is there when you get back. So if you were to budget yourself at 15$/mo you might find yourelf getting a lot more fun for your buck than your average MMO based on how much you play, how fast the methods of play you choose blow through that money, and how lucky/unlucky you get.