The Next Big MMO?

[SlickShoes]

I have a new PC being built just now so when I get that up and running I am going to give planetside another go since I should be able to play it at better settings and what not this time.

Other MMO's I still have to give Guild Wars a bit more time than I did, but as for 2013 releases I have no idea what is coming out and I don't want to get my hopes up for anything at all as it usually ends in disappointment. I am intending to wait and just be surprised by things that have released and not follow games all the way.

The only game I am truly excited to play this year is DayZ but it's not an MMO and currently doesn't even have a release date.

 

[Huntn]

Do you know I do not know nor do I care, harsh I know but..........

I have always enjoyed playing solo off line rpg/adventure games over the years then I joined WoW some years ago, I played through the first 3 updates (Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lych King and Cataclysm), no real story to it and all the quests were/are just killing things of varying amounts depending on level and I never did max level any character.

Then I got heavely involved in Runescape, yes I know, but I found the skilling strangely addictive and played it for 6 years, now the people behind RS are destroying it, new content/updates nearly every week and not for the best either, the economy is screwed and the game is full of bots, scammers and gamblers, so no more RS.

Then my next heavy involvement more recently was in Guild Wars 2, it took me 3 months to max level a character and complete my personal story and as good as complete the world map. The game is full of bugs and there really is nothing left in the game that I want to do.

So no more MMOs for me, I am going back to the solo off line rpg/adventure games of which there are quite a few out there, I knew I installed Bootcamp for a reason

I never made it into a significant GW2 dungeon. Did you (or anyone) participate? I'm wondering how the GW2 play style works with group encounters. Keeping in mind traditional tank, healer, damage classes, I'm wondering how GW2 compares? Do you have to be organized or just do your own thing?

As far as your latter statement, ya never know. When I play Oblivion, while I acknowledge that I have the ability to change the world, I feel all alone. I've never been happy with the character interactions I am allowed in a solo or mmo style game. It's all strictly business. I got married in Oblivion and it was not worth the effort. My conversational interactions with my wife were no better than anyone else and I could not even take her on a picnic, that is when I could tear her away from her mine to talk to me. Having company in the world is the advantage of playing an MMO even if you are playing solo. There are real people sharing in the environment and you can join with them on occasion to beat up a boss.

Been through the Mother of All MMORPG Grindfests.... The pre-CU Star Wars Galaxies. Players were expected to grind for months just obtaining those frackin Holocrystals (required to become a Jedi).

Did the Evercrack thing, the original EQ1. Tho the EQ world was so huge and had tons of expansions that the game never felt stale for the first few years you played it.

I dunno. IMHO some bit of grinding/tinkering/crafting is necessary, it's what separates the dedicated long-term players from the casual kids who just come to gank in PVP for the weekend (and likely they never worked for their loot, they just bought it from some Asian loot/gold seller).

But yeah, a game that forces you to grind excessively, just to advance, is a lousy MMO model.

I was so glad I picked WoW over STG. Although STG came out first, I was playing the original Planetside until WoW went into beta.

If you look at how long I have played any single game, in a single stretch, if I don't count Marathon (8 years) and Unreal Tournament (4 years) which I played in multiplayer arena sessions, which don't count in the same way, I played Oblivion as long as I played WoW- 18 months. Took a 18 month break from WoW and came back to play another 12 months before throwing in the towel for good. To me any game I can play for a year is a success. WoW was so good I could keep cranking out new characters and basically repeat the same or similar content over and over. At my peak I was probably playing it 20 hrs per week, too much.

 

[Washac]

Gw2 dungeons of which I did two which where both a minimum of 5 players.

You form a group by invite, no organizasation at all, everybody can heal and everybody does their own thing, if they forget to heal you then just go resurrect to a Waypoint and run back in.

Your armour stuff gets damaged until it gets removed then your left fighting in your underwear

 

[Huntn]

Gw2 dungeons of which I did two which where both a minimum of 5 players.

You form a group by invite, no organzisation at all, everybody can heal and everybody does their own thing, if they forget to heal you then just go resurrect to a Waypoint and run back in.

Your armour stuff gets damaged until it gets removed then your left fighting in your underwear

So your saying it's a big gaggle? I've got to believe for a guild, they must develop some systematic method to take aggro, which I believe is mostly proximity based with exceptions.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Been through the Mother of All MMORPG Grindfests.... The pre-CU Star Wars Galaxies. Players were expected to grind for months just obtaining those frackin Holocrystals (required to become a Jedi).

Pre-CU SWG was the best MMO I ever played. If you didn't care about being a Jedi, there was a ton of game in there besides grinding. And if you did want to grind, at least they let you afk macro. This is the only MMO I actually miss and since the sandbox MMO is pretty much dead, I'm never gonna get that kind of experience ever again.

Last 2 MMO's I played were GW2 and TSW. TSW was the best themepark I ever played but lack of marketing killed it. GW2 was overhyped like every other game that's come out post-WOW.

 

[Huntn]

Pre-CU SWG was the best MMO I ever played. If you didn't care about being a Jedi, there was a ton of game in there besides grinding. And if you did want to grind, at least they let you afk macro. This is the only MMO I actually miss and since the sandbox MMO is pretty much dead, I'm never gonna get that kind of experience ever again.

Last 2 MMO's I played were GW2 and TSW. TSW was the best themepark I ever played but lack of marketing killed it. GW2 was overhyped like every other game that's come out post-WOW.

The humongous sandbox MMO is one of my fantasies. You'll probably think this is stupid because Wow was not sandbox, but I imagine huge WoW zones like Teldressil, I mean huge where you can just go and explore for months while earning xp of course. The problem is creating that content, although I've heard of automated terrain creators, but there would still be all the required content within it. With all of it's money if Blizzard can't stay out in front of players with new content, then no one can.

 

[Liquorpuki]

The humongous sandbox MMO is one of my fantasies. You'll probably think this is stupid because Wow was not sandbox, but I imagine huge WoW zones like Teldressil, I mean huge where you can just go and explore for months while earning xp of course. The problem is creating that content, although I've heard of automated terrain creators, but there would still be all the required content within it. With all of it's money if Blizzard can't stay out in front of players with new content, then no one can.

Imagine if in that sandbox you could go out in the terrain and get raw materials. Then after stocking a large chunk of raw materials, you could build a 2 story house. Then you place the house somewhere in Teldressil. You put a sign on the house that says "Huntn lives here" so everyone who passes by knows it's yours. Then you go get more raw materials and build furniture - a bed, couches, tables, statues, etc. Then you put them wherever you want in the house. Then you go and invite guildmates over to your house and you guys hang out on the balcony. Some of them can play instruments so they equip different instruments and play together and it's all synchronized by the game engine and sounds like music. Then you decide to build a factory next to the house and mass produce furniture and turn your house into a shop. You hire an NPC and customize a greeting for him and anyone who comes into your house and talks to the NPC can buy your furniture. You then pay the mortgage for your house for a month, spend the next real-time month killing stuff on another planet, and when you come back, there are now a ton of houses all around yours and the area is now a city, complete with a name, that shows up on the worldmap.

This is the type of stuff that happened in SWG. This is the stuff I miss - the creative stuff

 

[Huntn]

Imagine if in that sandbox you could go out in the terrain and get raw materials. Then after stocking a large chunk of raw materials, you could build a 2 story house. Then you place the house somewhere in Teldressil. You put a sign on the house that says "Huntn lives here" so everyone who passes by knows it's yours. Then you go get more raw materials and build furniture - a bed, couches, tables, statues, etc. Then you put them wherever you want in the house. Then you go and invite guildmates over to your house and you guys hang out on the balcony. Some of them can play instruments so they equip different instruments and play together and it's all synchronized by the game engine and sounds like music. Then you decide to build a factory next to the house and mass produce furniture and turn your house into a shop. You hire an NPC and customize a greeting for him and anyone who comes into your house and talks to the NPC can buy your furniture. You then pay the mortgage for your house for a month, spend the next real-time month killing stuff on another planet, and when you come back, there are now a ton of houses all around yours and the area is now a city, complete with a name, that shows up on the worldmap.

This is the type of stuff that happened in SWG. This is the stuff I miss - the creative stuff

If you have not, take a look at Second Life. My ideal world would not allow a town/city to spring up around me. I want a preserve of wild space, but I see what you mean. Second Life is very much like this, except it's been years since I've played and the last time I looked I did not care for most landscapes.

 

[doh123]

If you have not, take a look at Second Life. My ideal world would not allow a town/city to spring up around me. I want a preserve of wild space, but I see what you mean. Second Life is very much like this, except it's been years since I've played and the last time I looked I did not care for most landscapes.

SL is waaaaaaaay too sandbox... you'd have to develop everything yourself and pay a fortune to run your own servers to make sure the land is how you want it to be... and do something to attract people. You don't gather any resources etc... unless you script in a way to do that in the platform yourself and somehow enforce it on others. Some people have tried to make games inside SL, but its just way too limiting to do so, better off using something else.

 

[Solomani]

>> pointing at the thread title <<

Hate to be a party pooper, but it wouldn't surprise me if The Next Big MMO(RPG) emerges from the iOS platform (rather than from Mac/Windows).

Whilst many still dislike gaming on touch screens, I'm really floored at the kinds of games coming out of iPads and iPhones these days. In 2013 alone, there are two titles coming out based on the licensed Unreal 3 Engine!

 

[Huntn]

SL is waaaaaaaay too sandbox... you'd have to develop everything yourself and pay a fortune to run your own servers to make sure the land is how you want it to be... and do something to attract people. You don't gather any resources etc... unless you script in a way to do that in the platform yourself and somehow enforce it on others. Some people have tried to make games inside SL, but its just way too limiting to do so, better off using something else.

Well I was just thinking of the sandbox aspect. Several years ago I dove in to write an article for MacGamer about gaming opportunities available in Second Life. Ultimately I was not impressed. Games were amateurish and very limited. SL is the ultimate time sink.

>> pointing at the thread title <<

Hate to be a party pooper, but it wouldn't surprise me if The Next Big MMO(RPG) emerges from the iOS platform (rather than from Mac/Windows).

Whilst many still dislike gaming on touch screens, I'm really floored at the kinds of games coming out of iPads and iPhones these days. In 2013 alone, there are two titles coming out based on the licensed Unreal 3 Engine!

I don't see it personally, next big MMO on iOS. Controls are way to limited for serious gaming imo. I've tried some of the RPGs and fighting is frantically swiping at your screen. Not that Minecraft is not all ready there. But I believe that is just online multiplayer... or could I be wrong? It may be a big game, but I think it has a limited appeal.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Hate to be a party pooper, but it wouldn't surprise me if The Next Big MMO(RPG) emerges from the iOS platform (rather than from Mac/Windows).

Whilst many still dislike gaming on touch screens, I'm really floored at the kinds of games coming out of iPads and iPhones these days. In 2013 alone, there are two titles coming out based on the licensed Unreal 3 Engine!

I really doubt it. These games are some of the most expensive games in the world to develop and maintain and the budget pricepoint on iOS can't support them.

The MMO's I've seen on iOS are basically browser games or IP ripoffs. Order and Chaos is the best MMO on iOS right now, and all they did was rip off World of Warcraft.

 

[doh123]

Pathfinder has some potential...

http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=21548

 

[pomdat]

Vendetta Online is a space MMORPG with and open sandbox universe and has twitch-based pvp where skill is more important than levels. It supports Mac/Linux/Windows and added support for Android back in 2010. Graphically the Android version is on par with the Mac/PC version, but the limited controls make it not as good for combat. It's the same universe for all platforms, so you can do less combat intensive stuff like trading or mining on the go from Android, and do more combat oriented activities while at home on your mac.

Where the game shines is the pvp, so a serious player wouldn't play exclusively on Android. There is also a pretty step learning curve. Someone who's played other space sims would probably be proficient against bots, but it can take months to master combat against other players. It's a good example of what an MMO can achieve on a phone or tablet, anyway.

 

[Huntn]

Vendetta Online is a space MMORPG with and open sandbox universe and has twitch-based pvp where skill is more important than levels. It supports Mac/Linux/Windows and added support for Android back in 2010. Graphically the Android version is on par with the Mac/PC version, but the limited controls make it not as good for combat. It's the same universe for all platforms, so you can do less combat intensive stuff like trading or mining on the go from Android, and do more combat oriented activities while at home on your mac.

Where the game shines is the pvp, so a serious player wouldn't play exclusively on Android. There is also a pretty step learning curve. Someone who's played other space sims would probably be proficient against bots, but it can take months to master combat against other players. It's a good example of what an MMO can achieve on a phone or tablet, anyway.

I poked around on the site, but did not find it. I saw something about free trial without a credit card. Does this game require a paid subscription?
Thanks!

 

[pomdat]

I poked around on the site, but did not find it. I saw something about free trial without a credit card. Does this game require a paid subscription?
Thanks!

It does require a paid subscription ($10/month, cheaper in bulk). You can sign up for an account and get an 8 hour trial, which doesn't start until you leave the training sector so you don't have to feel rushed doing the tutorial.

You can ask the other players on chat for a friend key which will extend your trial by 14 days.

There is also a kickstarter campaign going on right now to expand and improve the game (as well as bring it to iPad). You can get a subscription for as low as $2.50 per month through the kickstarter, plus other benefits (but you wouldn't get the activation code until the kickstarter is done, assuming it is successful).

 

[MrDc2]

=Huntn;7569643

1) Steep learning curve.

LOL yes. I have a few friends who have played for a long long time. They have this poster on their wall and they swear by it..

 

[MrDc2]

Downloading Star Wars: The Old Republic now...

it's like a 25 GB file. I saw some gameplay on youtube and I was wondering how long it takes to be a jedi or to be just pretty awesome in general. Wondering what classes there are and what sort of tech trees there are to choose from

 

[SingularityG]

Downloading Star Wars: The Old Republic now...

it's like a 25 GB file. I saw some gameplay on youtube and I was wondering how long it takes to be a jedi or to be just pretty awesome in general. Wondering what classes there are and what sort of tech trees there are to choose from

I played Star Wars: The Old Republic some time ago and I enjoyed it very much.

It does not take long to be a Jedi, since you can start as one from the beginning, but it does take some time to get the first lightsaber.

Check out this vid to learn more about classes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKYz7xgJLdQ

Overall, it's not as rich as WoW, but still has some nice improvements over it. Awesome community at the RP servers and I hear the population is rising steadily on most servers.

If they released it for the Mac, I would not have exchanged it for Guild Wars 2.

 

[MrDc2]

I played Star Wars: The Old Republic some time ago and I enjoyed it very much.

It does not take long to be a Jedi, since you can start as one from the beginning, but it does take some time to get the first lightsaber.

Check out this vid to learn more about classes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKYz7xgJLdQ

Overall, it's not as rich as WoW, but still has some nice improvements over it. Awesome community at the RP servers and I hear the population is rising steadily on most servers.

If they released it for the Mac, I would not have exchanged it for Guild Wars 2.

Thank you for your response! My fiancé loves Star Wars ( woo woo! ) and video games ( double woo! ) and I want to get her a good MMO
Could you tell me a little about GW2 and why you like it? Is it like D&D sort of characters?

 

[eXan]

Downloading Star Wars: The Old Republic now...

it's like a 25 GB file. I saw some gameplay on youtube and I was wondering how long it takes to be a jedi or to be just pretty awesome in general. Wondering what classes there are and what sort of tech trees there are to choose from

I played it when 15-lvl free trial was available and didn't really like it that much even though I'm a big Star Wars fan. TBH they should have made KOTOR3 instead of this MMO.

The controls are more fluid and refined in WoW, the end-game is nothing compared to WoW, PvP and combat in general feels sluggish. The only thing left is story and that is ruined by MMO genre, would have been much better told in an ordinary RPG. Why am I comparing it to wow? Because it is strikingly similar to it. Flight paths, talent trees, white, green, blue and purple items, controls, instances, bgs, raids, overall character progression structure. Basically, its wow in space, but worse.

Anyway, you can be a Jedi right away, but you get your lightsaber after competing the first planet (about 12 lvld). Their site has all the info about classes, etc.

 

[Solomani]

The humongous sandbox MMO is one of my fantasies.

I noted that you stated in earlier post that you never tried Star Wars Galaxies. Funny thing is... Star Wars Galaxies was one of the first true "sandbox" MMOs and this was back in the early 2000s. You could do what you wanted. You could play how you wanted. Hell, people were even allowed to build their own "houses" in this game, and other Player-Characters could have the skills to build furniture for the character housing.

Wanna choose to grind to become a Jedi? Go for it. Want to be a Professional cantina dancer? Sure, why not. Want your character to run a business selling minerals on Tatooine? Why the hell not. Want to be a Bounty Hunter or be a DPS-PvP champ and gank the players in the opposing faction? Go for it. Want to be a non-PvP adventurer and simply explore the vast zones of the several planets and worlds in the game? Absolutely, go for it. Star Wars Galaxies allowed ALL of that. Sounds very sandboxy to me.

 

[Huntn]

LOL yes. I have a few friends who have played for a long long time. They have this poster on their wall and they swear by it.. View attachment 400348

Rumor confirmed!

I noted that you stated in earlier post that you never tried Star Wars Galaxies. Funny thing is... Star Wars Galaxies was one of the first true "sandbox" MMOs and this was back in the early 2000s. You could do what you wanted. You could play how you wanted. Hell, people were even allowed to build their own "houses" in this game, and other Player-Characters could have the skills to build furniture for the character housing.

Wanna choose to grind to become a Jedi? Go for it. Want to be a Professional cantina dancer? Sure, why not. Want your character to run a business selling minerals on Tatooine? Why the hell not. Want to be a Bounty Hunter or be a DPS-PvP champ and gank the players in the opposing faction? Go for it. Want to be a non-PvP adventurer and simply explore the vast zones of the several planets and worlds in the game? Absolutely, go for it. Star Wars Galaxies allowed ALL of that. Sounds very sandboxy to me.

As I recall, when SWG came out, I chose WoW instead, but at the time I had no real understanding of this aspect of the game.

 

[SingularityG]

Thank you for your response! My fiancé loves Star Wars ( woo woo! ) and video games ( double woo! ) and I want to get her a good MMO

Haha, I know what you mean, although mine likes only the new episodes (yeah...).

Could you tell me a little about GW2 and why you like it? Is it like D&D sort of characters?

Guild Wars 2 is trying hard to be the next generation MMO. It has streamlined, almost arcade gameplay mechanics, with main emphasis put on exploration and uniqueness of your character.

It is way more simple than D&D, but the character progression feels more diverse and makes sense. There are classes and professions, but it doesn't feel as restricted.

Unlike WoW, you are not a slave to the quest-givers or to the never ending equipment hunt.

And unlike Star Wars: The Old Republic, you don't get served already polished version of your character. Bioware did a great job integrating your character into the game. It really has this extremely polished single player feel to it, like everything is built around you. However, after some time I felt like I am just stuck with this predesigned character and I think MMO should be more about whatever a player feels like.

Don't get me wrong, I think that both WoW and Star Wars: The Old Republic are really good games, even after all the gameplay-time. But Guild Wars 2 just works for me the best.

 

[Huntn]

Downloading Star Wars: The Old Republic now...

it's like a 25 GB file. I saw some gameplay on youtube and I was wondering how long it takes to be a jedi or to be just pretty awesome in general. Wondering what classes there are and what sort of tech trees there are to choose from

In some ways I feel, been there, done that. My online gaming past started with Planetside, then WoW, tried a bunch of betas (one was Vanguard), went back to WoW, beta tested both SWTOR and GW2. Of the last two, I preferred GW2 best. However, neither one grabbed me like WoW did. Now, it could be that I'm maturing or by previous exposure, my expectations were higher. Hard to say. However, they just did not stick with me. And then Planetside 2 appeared and I discovered World of Tanks. Probably be a while before I get back into fantasy based MMORPGs... For timing, if you are into tank combat and want the ability to jump in and get a quick game, and know you're going to be in a heated battle, WOTs can't be beat. Planetside 2 tends to be more drawn out and if your timing is bad, either you'll be sitting around watching facilities get capped, or you may find youself getting zerged. Every so often PS2 offers balanced exciting fights, but they tend to be all evening affairs to find one.