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MMO features, who did it first?
MMO.Maverick
Member CommonPosts: 7,619
I was curious, so I thought I make a thread about it: all the different eyecatching features that are around in the current MMORPG's and that we give credit to one MMORPG, while it was maybe around a whole lot earlier in maybe a relatively unknown MMORPG.
Now, some I know or guess, and of others I hope that you people can help:
Dynamic events: as in quests or events that can change based upon collective player actions
first: Everquest, in the Scars of Velious expansion where players helped determine which faction (dwarves or giants) had the upper hand in a region.
seen in: EQ, TR, GW2, and to a lesser degree Rift
Public quests: as in quests that aren't bound to 1 player or group but which are just happening and in which players that are around can participate
first: UO (Collective Cooperations in Mondain's Legacy, 2005)
seen in: FFXI (4th expansion), WAR, CO, GW2, Rift
Phasing: as in environment can be (visually) different from player to player depending upon at what quest stage a player is
first: LotrO
done best: WoW
seen in: LotrO (very minimal use), WoW
Non-tabbed and FPS like combat: as it says, no tabbing to select a target but you have to aim just like in shooters
first: AC (? if AC doesn't have it, then Endless Ages was first I think)
done best: Planetside
seen in: AC, Planetside, Endless Ages, Neocron, Fallen Earth (sort of), Tabula Rasa (sort of), AoC (melee combat), Darkfall, TERA, DCUO
Arena PvP/battlegrounds: where a group of players fights against other groups in a closed off area with objectives, battlegrounds happen in a larger area than arenas, more like closed off zones where large groups of players battle each other in faction fights.
first: GW (arenas), DAoC (battlegrounds)
seen in: DAoC, GW, WoW, Vanguard, AoC, CO, Rift etc
RvR/large scale faction warfare
first: UO with faction warfare, DAoC with RvR (and 3 sided warfare)
done best: DAoC
seen in: UO, Lineage, DAoC, Planetside, L2, WoW, WAR, Aion, GW2, TSW
Player generated quests/content: quests created by players for other players to do
first: UO (player generated content eg. dungeons, 2003), Ryzom (player generated quests)
seen in: UO, STO, Ryzom, CoX
multi-branching quests: quests that don't have only 1 outcome and where you can make just 1 choice, but where you can make several choices and each choice has a different outcome or impact, even beyond that single quest
first: AC (Betrayal patch 2002, Gelidite Library quest)
seen in: AC, Earth & Beyond, SWTOR and GW2
Trinity based group combat: the well known 'tank & spank' formula, tank-healer-dps
first: EQ
seen in: as good as all MMORPG's, practically an MMO standard although a number of upcoming MMO's seem to deviate from it
added to the list:
Dyeing clothes
first: UO
done best: GW2? (nominated)
seen in: UO, AC, DAoC, AC2, GW, LotrO, Aion, Rift, GW2 etc
Appearance tabs: your avatar looks in clothes can be different from the gear you're actually using
first: EQ2
seen in: EQ2, Lotro, SWG, DCUO
Achievements
first: Planetside
seen in: Planetside, SWG, CoX, LotrO, WAR, WoW (I think it was implemented in WoW because WAR had it, for it was right after), Fallen Earth, Rift
Flying mounts
first: AO
seen in: AO, EQ2, Vanguard, WoW
Player Housing/guild housing
first: The Realm ('95)
seen in: The Realm, UO, Lineage, SWG, AO, EQ2, GW, LotrO, Vanguard, AoC, GW2 (player district) etc
Auction House
first: AO (2001, before FFXI had it)
seen in: FFXI, DAoC, SWG, EQ2, WoW and as good as every MMO post-2005
dedicated PvP/PvE servers
first: EQ
seen in: almost all MMORPG's with a few exceptions
Player owned mounts: player owned stuff to ride on
first: Ultima Online
seen in: almost every MMO else since then
ships, sailing and sea combat: player-controlled sailing and combat, PvP/PvE at sea
first: Ultima Online
seen in: UO, DAoC, PotBS, Vanguard. Darkfall, Arche Age?
Multiclass: the ability for a player avatar to have several classes they can pick from and use simultaneously
first: FFXI
seen in: FFXI, RoM, GW, Rift
Crafting
first: UO
done best: SWG
seen in: UO, DAoC, EQ, and every MMO since
Tailored dungeons: dungeon instances that adapt themselves to the level of the group
first: EQ (Lost Dungeons expansion)
seen in: EQ, LotrO
Area based level scaling: your level changes to conform to the area you're in
first: WAR (PvP areas), GW2 (PvE areas)
seen in: WAR, GW2
Multi-version dungeons: dungeons that have different scenarios and setups in them that can vary wildly from eachother each time you visit
first: DAoC (catacombs)
seen in: DAoC, Rift, GW2
Single server world: the whole player community plays on 1 server world, not split over several separate server worlds
first: EVE Online
seen in: GW, EVE Online
Player created/generated music ingame
first: UO
seen in: UO, SWG, LotrO, APB
Politics mechanics: MMO feature that allows things like voting and lawmaking by players
first: Lineage?
done best: Vanguard?
seen in: Lineage, SWG, L2, Vanguard, TERA
Procedurally generated content: things like dungeons in an MMO that are randomised and different each next time you play them
first: Dungeon Runners
seen in: Dungeon Runners, Hellgate London, Vindictus
cross server dungeons: dungeons ingame that you could play with players from another server
first: WoW
seen in: WoW
Player controlled vendors & player shops
first: SWG
seen in: SWG, Aion, FFXIV
Instancing: areas and dungeons of which a separate version is created for each player/group
first: The Realm ('95), AO (as instancing is being used these days)
seen in: AO, EQ2, WoW, GW, and almost every MMO after 2005
Tamable pets: pets that were initially mobs wandering around that could be tamed
first: Lineage
seen in: Lineage, GW
Quest based leveling: leveling purely via quests up to level cap is made possible
first: WoW / EQ2
seen in: all themepark MMORPG's
Do you have other eyecatching MMO features that are missing here or any corrections or additions to the list above, post it here.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Comments
Instancing - Very first model used in Realms Online ('95), first use of instancing as we know today in Anarchy Online (2001), used in pretty much every mmo onwards.
Dying clothes - seen in War
Appearance tabs - seen in Lotro
Achievements - seen in Wow
Artifacts - seen in Rift
Flying mounts - seen in Wow
Just a few of the top of my head. Not sure if they all apply.
Ryzom was first with the player generated content - they called it Ryzom Ring, and was released on October 3, 2006.
Player generated content is also present in CoH/CoV/GR, and came out after Ryzom, but before STO.
STO's player generated content is still in testing, and not on live servers, so not officially out yet.
http://machineborn.guildportal.com - Now recruiting players!
Achievements were in WAR before WoW actually.
Also flying mounts were in AO. Lineage 2 had only for the guild leader when guild controlled a castle.
I also believe artifacts is an idea taken from EQ2.
WW2 online was possibly before Planetside for FPS combat.
SKYeXile
TRF - GM - GW2, PS2, WAR, AION, Rift, WoW, WOT....etc...
Future Crew - High Council. Planetside 1 & 2.
Appearance tabs are also present in EQII and SWG (this is a new-ish addition).
Clothes/armor dye is present in Guild Wars, Lotro, Rift and probably a bunch of other games as well. I think Guild Wars was first though?
What you call 'artifacts' is extremely similar to the collections in EQII. They're even the same kind of shiny. I think they might have been among the first to have those.
http://machineborn.guildportal.com - Now recruiting players!
Out of interest; which was the first MMO to implement an achievement based system? Was that WAR? I know that WoW followed suit a short time after.
EDIT: Didn't refresh the thread and just saw the posts above. WAR definitely had achievements and achievement based rewards before WoW. It also had a book of lore feature - I'm not sure if it was the first to implement this as well.
Player-run economy
UO had player vendors, where you'd sell your crafted and looted goods outside your own house, by putting them on an NPC vendor.
Crafting
UO had some of the awesomest crafting, which was an extremely important part of the game due to full looting and PKs being cut off from cities.
UO had dyes, too. A tub of true black dye used to be a prized commodity.
I think Lotro might have beat them to the punch (they're called 'Deeds' in lotro, but are basically the same thing, except you get actual in-game advantages for doing Deeds')
http://machineborn.guildportal.com - Now recruiting players!
PlanetSide had merits in 2005, possibly 2004.
SKYeXile
TRF - GM - GW2, PS2, WAR, AION, Rift, WoW, WOT....etc...
Future Crew - High Council. Planetside 1 & 2.
Interesting to note, thanks guys.
First to implement player housing? UO? I know that Anarchy online also had the feature.
Cool, I didn't know that, I thought that EQ2 was first with that one.
Ah, Ryzom had it too? I'll correct it in the OP.
I saw some mission videos of the Foundry tool from STO, I was pretty impressed, I wished more MMORPG's would use it, it sounds like a great addition to MMORPG's, it has some great potential for RP application or player made event chains.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Yes UO was the first to have player housing.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
Lag and rubberbanding: first seen in - lol couldn't resist.
Just a few addition to the list
Non-tabbed, FPS like combat:
DCUO, and from what I've seen Blade and Soul as well, it uses a camera target system or proximity target system.
Player generated quests/content:
isn't City of Heroes: Architect Edition introduces player generated quest? it was out around 2008 from what I know.
I could be very wrong in this
ps: what game is the first with a PvP server? or open world PvP to be exact, introducing us to the anit-scoial culture of ganking :P
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
SWG had their version of the achievement system.
For the different classes that you completed the 'Master' box (top box in the 4 rowed tree system), the iconic theme-park quest lines you completed, the places you explored, and some of the bosses you defeated... as well as rare spawn kills. Also for unlocking Jedi... later for completing the Village.
It was in the game for quite a while before WAR launched. I can't remember how far back... maybe the very beginning/at launch. I honestly don't recall. Afterall, these things matter not, to a Jedi.
Ryzom was/is an awesome sandbox game that just got hit with a slew of bad luck, and poor management/marketing decisions. It actually came out around the same time as WoW, but pretty much noone heard about it, because there was no marketing being done, despite the game being better looking (at the time), and having a way WAY better AI. Aspects of the game design are impressive even today - like having 4 distinct seasons in the game, and a crazy AI for especially the animals (they have, for instance, herd animals that will group together, move together, protect each other (but otherwise be passive), and that will migrate according to the seasons, just like real animals would. The pack-hunting predators are also pretty much straight-up d-bags, using the same sort of tactics that real-life pack hunters do.)
I've been wanting to re-sub to STO lately, but I think I'll hold off until The Foundry goes live. Player generated content like this is very interesting to me, and would be a huge part of keeping me in the game once it goes live.
http://machineborn.guildportal.com - Now recruiting players!
I think based on the other posts that it goes something like this:
Dying clothes
first: GW
seen in: LotrO, GW, Rift etc
Appearance tabs
first: EQ2
seen in: EQ2, Lotro, SWG
Achievements
first: Planetside
seen in: Planetside, SWG, LotrO, WAR, WoW (I think it was implemented in WoW because WAR had it, for it was right after)
Flying mounts
first: AO
seen in: Wow, AO, EQ2
Player Housing
first: UO
seen in: UO, SWG, AO, etc
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
vas flam
vas flam
vas flam ....
UO
A few categories I'll like to see are
Auction House
Teleport System
First Free to Play game -.-
Open World PvP/PvP Server
Also I have checked on Blade and Soul having Auto Target System, but I got a feeling that it isn't camera targeting =
How much WoW could a WoWhater hate, if a WoWhater could hate WoW?
As much WoW as a WoWhater would, if a WoWhater could hate WoW.
Also player shops, like the Lineage 2 version.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
FPS style manual aiming i believe was done before Planetside in either Endless Ages and/or Neocron. all 3 came out in 2003 i think.
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Corpus Callosum
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Auction House: I first saw it in EQ2 and WoW, but I suspect there may be earlier versions?
Teleport system: EQ had that
Open World PvP/PvP server: UO had open world PvP but I can't recall if it also had specific PvP servers. EQ had those though.
Thanks for the heads up regarding Blade & Soul.
Ah yes, I forgot. I'll correct it.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."