In SWG, for example, I knew I could turn up at Anchorhead on Tattooine, Theed on Naboo, Coronet on Corellia or any of the other popular destinations, and within 5 minutes I'd be in a leveling group.
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Essentially, how do you create a sandbox game that is accessible and interesting for the masses? Nobody has achieved this yet in the MMO space, but then we've also never had a AAA sandbox MMO so the potential is still there.
If all you want is to have a few popular grinding spots in the game that it's easy to get a group for, even if the rest of the game is completely unplayable, then that's easier than making grouping viable for all group content in the game. But I don't want to grind a few particular spots forever. I want to have a lot of content. The problem of where those groups come from for the less popular content is precisely the one that needs to be solved.
Uncharted Waters Online is an AAA sandbox MMO. So your assertion that there has never been such a game is wrong. I wouldn't call it accessible, though, as it's got quite the learning curve.
I think you missed / ignored the bulk of my post to focus on just a few points, but thats fine.
You're right - In my ideal game, I don't just want to create popular grinding spots (although i do want those as well), I want forming groups to be easy everywhere.
That is why my post focused on removing barriers between players and increasing the potential pool of players to group with, then backing it up with tools to help identify those players. That is why I used SWG as an example - there were very few barriers to prevent you grouping up with people, so it did make forming groups really easy. Not just for leveling, but for raiding and pvp too.
As for Uncharted Waters Online, admittedly I've never heard of it. I looked it up and sure, its a sandbox MMO, but not seeing much evidence for it being AAA. What makes it AAA in your eyes? It doens't seem to have a high rating (the original definition of AAA) and can't see anything about massive dev budgets (current definition of AAA)
As for Uncharted Waters Online, admittedly I've never heard of it. I looked it up and sure, its a sandbox MMO, but not seeing much evidence for it being AAA. What makes it AAA in your eyes? It doens't seem to have a high rating (the original definition of AAA) and can't see anything about massive dev budgets (current definition of AAA)
It's made by Koei-Tecmo, though really, it's made by the Koei side of that company. Both Koei and Tecmo launched their first video games in the early 80s and have been making more ever since, and the combined company has more than $300 million in annual revenue. Most of that isn't from UWO in particular, but they make a lot of games, mostly for PS4. So it's certainly not some indie company.
Uncharted Waters Online itself launched in 2005, so the graphics don't look like the latest and greatest. But continuous development ever since then means that, if the game doesn't have the most content of any MMORPG ever made, it's certainly in the discussion. Unlike some other older games like WoW, they don't constantly deprecate content, either. So if you want to do everything released just once, you're looking at several thousand hours of gameplay, easily. UWO almost certainly has the widest variety of content of any MMORPG ever made.
I don't know what the budget for UWO is, but I'd be very surprised if they haven't spent at least well into the tens of millions of dollars on developing the game by now. That's partially due to an additional 12 years of development after launch, but it's not one of those games made on a shoestring budget.
But even if you don't want to all Uncharted Waters Online an AAA game because it hasn't had enough marketing in the west or whatever, I'd like to cite Black Desert as another example.
My groups have always come from a few different places, be that in M59 or GW2.
First they come from the guild I have joined, I either join a guild of like-minded people or make one myself.
Secondly, IRL friends and their friends.
Thirdly, people I randomly learn to know as I play, I tend to meet a lot of people as I play and don't mind the old "say" function.
If all that wont get me a group I have used the chat or various groupfinders but it is far from my first choice. People I meet this way and like get a guildinvite or get added to my friendslist. PUGs are a varied experience so it ain't my first choice.
I never had a problem getting groups but it might be hard for shy people unless there is a good groupfinder.
That's because no matter how they implement the system, people who don't enjoy grouping, still aren't going to enjoy it IMO.
With only so many dev resources to go around, they devote them elsewhere, in whatever area their game's focused on.
The best fix for the "problem"? Mass brainwashing! :pleased:
While that certainly is true the quality of the group dynamics do affect how many players that enjoy grouping.
Some people will only solo and you ain't getting those players in a game like Pantheon (and they stayed away from games like FF XI and EQ as well).
But I think with good group mechanics you could get the majority of the players into it.
When the MMOs devs noticed that people played less group content in the late 00s they made the group mechanics simpler and put more and more of the content into solo content but another solution would be actually making grouping more fun instead of cutting back on it.
Lets face it, no MMO will ever have as good soloplay as the Witcher or Elder scrolls series, it just ain't possible. You could possible get something close in a CORPG like Guildwars but not in a MMORPG.
MMOs strength is that there are other players there as well and the genre needs to improve that part instead of cutting it down. All the social aspects of the games need improvement from trading to group combat mechanics. If that wasn't true far more people would still run dungeons.
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So What Now?
You're right - In my ideal game, I don't just want to create popular grinding spots (although i do want those as well), I want forming groups to be easy everywhere.
That is why my post focused on removing barriers between players and increasing the potential pool of players to group with, then backing it up with tools to help identify those players. That is why I used SWG as an example - there were very few barriers to prevent you grouping up with people, so it did make forming groups really easy. Not just for leveling, but for raiding and pvp too.
As for Uncharted Waters Online, admittedly I've never heard of it. I looked it up and sure, its a sandbox MMO, but not seeing much evidence for it being AAA. What makes it AAA in your eyes? It doens't seem to have a high rating (the original definition of AAA) and can't see anything about massive dev budgets (current definition of AAA)
Uncharted Waters Online itself launched in 2005, so the graphics don't look like the latest and greatest. But continuous development ever since then means that, if the game doesn't have the most content of any MMORPG ever made, it's certainly in the discussion. Unlike some other older games like WoW, they don't constantly deprecate content, either. So if you want to do everything released just once, you're looking at several thousand hours of gameplay, easily. UWO almost certainly has the widest variety of content of any MMORPG ever made.
I don't know what the budget for UWO is, but I'd be very surprised if they haven't spent at least well into the tens of millions of dollars on developing the game by now. That's partially due to an additional 12 years of development after launch, but it's not one of those games made on a shoestring budget.
But even if you don't want to all Uncharted Waters Online an AAA game because it hasn't had enough marketing in the west or whatever, I'd like to cite Black Desert as another example.
First they come from the guild I have joined, I either join a guild of like-minded people or make one myself.
Secondly, IRL friends and their friends.
Thirdly, people I randomly learn to know as I play, I tend to meet a lot of people as I play and don't mind the old "say" function.
If all that wont get me a group I have used the chat or various groupfinders but it is far from my first choice. People I meet this way and like get a guildinvite or get added to my friendslist. PUGs are a varied experience so it ain't my first choice.
I never had a problem getting groups but it might be hard for shy people unless there is a good groupfinder.
Some people will only solo and you ain't getting those players in a game like Pantheon (and they stayed away from games like FF XI and EQ as well).
But I think with good group mechanics you could get the majority of the players into it.
When the MMOs devs noticed that people played less group content in the late 00s they made the group mechanics simpler and put more and more of the content into solo content but another solution would be actually making grouping more fun instead of cutting back on it.
Lets face it, no MMO will ever have as good soloplay as the Witcher or Elder scrolls series, it just ain't possible. You could possible get something close in a CORPG like Guildwars but not in a MMORPG.
MMOs strength is that there are other players there as well and the genre needs to improve that part instead of cutting it down. All the social aspects of the games need improvement from trading to group combat mechanics. If that wasn't true far more people would still run dungeons.