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General: Beam Me Up, Please

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

With last week's launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, many folks' imaginations have been opened to the idea of space-themed MMOs. In today's Coyote's Howling, we opine that the fantasy genre "needs a well-deserved rest". See if you agree and then leave us your ideas in the comments.

Still, during this time of hunger and wanting, our eyes will wander to the future and we'll begin to glance longingly towards the next MMORPG that promises to be released; even if that game fails to realize that only one thing can save our beloved genre from the watered down grave that developers have been digging for it: Every new online game has to be based in SPACE.

Read more Coyote's Howling: Beam Me Up, Please.



¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


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Comments

  • LaucianNailorLaucianNailor Member UncommonPosts: 49

    Because in space no one can hear you……preen.

     

    Classic,

    Thank you again Coyote.......you hit the spot....not that an elf would have a spot of course !

     


     

  • WhiteLanternWhiteLantern Member RarePosts: 3,306

    Holy crap, my day is made. Thanks.

     

     

     

     

     

    /sneaks off to check out Train Simulators

    I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil

  • NURTANURTA Member Posts: 21

    Han Solo and testies.

    Well played.

  • BattlerockBattlerock Member CommonPosts: 1,393
    I am fairly new to the mmorpg genre, but I am finding that I do prefer fantasy over space, perhaps if space where brighter and less techies, but then how does that work? Space combat on horses? Maybe not, I just remember how much I enjoyed the rolling hills of Azeroth, and Northerend, the music, the various creatures and birds, marveling at that lvl ?? Alliance player roaming around, catching an occasional duel, all while completing quests, gathering materials, and just kind of out in the wilderness on my own adventure but not alone, and not thinking man this place is dark, it never was, it was just a great place to escape to. Tech worlds have to much in common with the hustle and bustle of life as it is today.
  • WhiteLanternWhiteLantern Member RarePosts: 3,306

    Originally posted by KingofHartz

    I am fairly new to the mmorpg genre, but I am finding that I do prefer fantasy over space, perhaps if space where brighter and less techies, but then how does that work? Space combat on horses? Maybe not, I just remember how much I enjoyed the rolling hills of Azeroth, and Northerend, the music, the various creatures and birds, marveling at that lvl ?? Alliance player roaming around, catching an occasional duel, all while completing quests, gathering materials, and just kind of out in the wilderness on my own adventure but not alone, and not thinking man this place is dark, it never was, it was just a great place to escape to. Tech worlds have to much in common with the hustle and bustle of life as it is today.

     

    Made me think of this.

    I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil

  • TheConkinTheConkin Member Posts: 12

    COMBINE BOTH DAYMMIT. 

    Loaaadss of ways to do it without including.... space dragons -_-

  • SkillCosbySkillCosby Member Posts: 684

    I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I'm a classic Star Trek fan, too. However, I don't consider myself a sci-fi fan. I'm sure this makes no sense, but other than the two brands above, I don't yearn for the futuristic setting.

    I am, however, getting sick of elves. But I do prefer the fantasy genre. There is just something more romantic when it comes to a warrior and his sword. I don't mind the guns etc, so long as there are a muiltitude of melee weapons.

    I'd like see a blend of both genres to be honest. Try to think of Masters of the Universe. You have fantasty-like characters with swords, shields, armor, bows, magic, space ships, laser guns, tanks, creature mounts, and castles.

     

  • KaezKaez Member Posts: 80
    There's a game called Staquest that was attempting to do that (combine) and it's really a lot of fun but it falls down hard on graphics unfortunately. The concept is brilliant. If some company could refine that, I think they'd be onto something. Note, the game is basically Star Trek but it's the closest I've seen in terms of detail. If you could map that to the STO graphics engine, you'd really be onto something IMHO. :)
  • BattlerockBattlerock Member CommonPosts: 1,393
    He Man and the Masters of the Universe - open says me - elves don't bother me so long as I don't have to be one, oh I would die to be an orc pally
  • MadimorgaMadimorga Member UncommonPosts: 1,920

    SWTOR isn't my kind of space game, but otherwise, I completely agree.  Except for the parts about irradiated personal bits!  Let's hope for the advanced sci-fi art of built in shielding on those pistols instead.

    image

    I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.

    ~Albert Einstein

  • JoeyMMOJoeyMMO Member UncommonPosts: 1,326

    ShadowRun (the RPG), a mix of cyberpunk and fantasy always held a place in my heart. There's really no need to choose when you can have both.

    imageimage
  • s4ndm4n2006s4ndm4n2006 Member UncommonPosts: 56

    ...but let's face the facts - there are really only two types of MMORPG: Those that contain "space" and those that contain "dragons"....

     

     I don't mean to be nitpicky but isn't that statement a little simplistic?  There is room for other game genres that don't have to involve elves and dwarves.  I know that the offering now isn't great, but Fallen Earth is sci fi, but not in space, and I would definitely try a Fallout MMO game if there ever were one.  Also, This wasn't an MMO but Red Dead Redemption was a good RPG that could make for a fun genre too... although it might kind of cater to a small target. 

    I don't think that the problem is with the genre of Fantasy at all.  I think it's that the developers coming up with so called fantasy games have stopped using their imaginations and pretty much stamped out clones of each other, not necessarily all based on Wow either but just think, if you're a mage in one game, you might likely play a mage the same way in another fantasy game.  They haven't come up with new ways to represent the fantasy genre is all and so on the point of giving it a rest, it might be a good idea.   

    Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of SWTOR, though I still haven't bought it (soon)..  I just still enjoy a good fantasy game too, just not a clone-based one.  I'd much rather play several hours in Skyrim instead.

  • NoizMchnNoizMchn Member UncommonPosts: 29

    THAC0 - wait.. lower is better?  I want to roll higher.. but lower is better?

    I agree, let the Dragons and Elves have some time off.

  • maplestonemaplestone Member UncommonPosts: 3,099

    A dragon by any other name will burn as brightly.

  • kakasakikakasaki Member UncommonPosts: 1,205

    What's so hard about figuring out THAC0?

     

    From the D&D wiki:

     

    THAC0 (/?θæko?/, thack-oh) is an abbreviation for To Hit Armor Class Zero (0). To calculate if a hit succeeds you would take the AC of the target and subtract it from the attacker's THAC0, then roll a 20-sided die; if the die rolls equal to or higher than the calculated number, the attack hits. That is, THAC0 − AC = roll needed to hit.


    Example: If a target has an AC of 5 and the attacker has a THAC0 of 18: 18 − 5 = 13. The attacker must roll 13 or greater to hit.

    Example: If a target has an AC of −3 and the attacker has a THAC0 of 8, 8 − (−3) = 11. The attacker must roll 11 or greater to hit.

    Fighter classes have the best THAC0 progression and spell users have the worst. Lower THAC0 is better, since you have to roll equal to or higher than the to-hit number.

     

    Crap, just turned into this guy:

     

    A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...

  • DarLorkarDarLorkar Member UncommonPosts: 1,082

    Heh more Coyote fun, thanks:)

    On a serious note, i hope so. More space sci-fi would be a treat in the coming years.

  • KingPinoyKingPinoy Member Posts: 55

    Originally posted by JoeyMMO

    ShadowRun (the RPG), a mix of cyberpunk and fantasy always held a place in my heart. There's really no need to choose when you can have both.

    Shadowrun was the best . i dont play it anymore but when i did i loved how sci-fi/modern was blended with fantasy. Makes for a great variety of chars.

  • mrputtsmrputts Member UncommonPosts: 283

    my favorite is the WoW advert right in the middle of the article.

     

    Also very funny. And I agree

    Ea is like a poo fingered midas ~ShakyMo

  • GutrippaGutrippa Member Posts: 17

    Nice one Coyote...

    Been lookin for a kickarse space based MMO since TR failed to live up to that & tanked - none out there atm :(P

    Ones I'd luv ta see/play:

     And NO elves, dragons or flippin Jedi allowed either!

    Babylon 5 - The Station itself would  be an awesome starter area & quest hub if all station crew were NPC's and players could chose from savory races such as Minbari, Narn, Centauri, Vree, Drazi, or Human. For classes there'd be Ranger=Starship Trooper style, Soul Chaser, Psi-Corps agent to spice up the normal smuggler, spy, & assassin roles.

    or how bout Dune... enjoyed the old desktop game a lot and would be way cool to be a Fremen or a Mentat!

     

     

  • ClerigoClerigo Member UncommonPosts: 400

    Loved reading it as usual, but you cant be serious about the Elves?? To whom you will be giving the pointy ears in future mmos?? You cant have an mmo without pointy ears!!!!

    Minus 1 point to Mr. Coyote for that remark

    So a 8/10 to you :)

  • WarzenWarzen Member Posts: 5

    How about a real old school property like a Logan's Run MMO... lots of Runners, lots of Sandmen, a blasterific good time.

     

    image

  • PhaserlightPhaserlight Member EpicPosts: 3,071

    Nice read, as always.

    Don't forget to check out Vendetta Online, a premier space combat MMO available on Android:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxZ6NQnIPkU

    "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

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    " Or worse yet, we risk making it so mainstream that it loses that special place in our hearts that we’ve always held for it as it is becomes dumbed down in order to generate mass appeal".

    I think this happened ages ago...

    One of the better howlings even if there are other things besides space and fantasy. If all games suddenly became space games instead we would tire of them fast as well.

    There are so many possible historical MMOs we could play as well, from the stone age to the Vietnam war. Not to mention genres like Cyberpunk and steam punk.

    MMOs easily get stuck on some ideas, all mechanics must be the same and you can only have a few types of setting, all combat must have a healer and so on. Those things are as annoying as elves.

  • AdamaiAdamai Member UncommonPosts: 476

    i think your wrong op!! its not either space or fantasy we need!!! i say we need 10 years of realism in our mmo's!! im not saying  lots of spread sheets or really complex game mechanics, im talking seemless transition truely inovative imaginitive development!! we need a games developer to think for them selves and stop copying what aready works MONEY WISE!!!! we gamers do not care how much money a games developer makes or how many people play a certain game, these things are not the be all and end all of an mmo and it does not define our choice in what we play!!!

     

    hang on!!! do we really play games because every one else is playing them !! or do we have our own minds ? 

    we have no choices we either have to play mmo fantasy games or well mmo fantasy games, there are a few exceptions such as eve online as an example  and mortal online.  i mean come on !! whats actually diffrent about these games in comparison to games such as wow and lotro. its as the op said!! no bloody elves !!! mortal may have dragons but i havnt found any yet. but mortal does have a slight realistic feel about it and so does eve online.  ive played the whole wow thing and lotro thing ive been an elf and slew a few dragons too. cast magic spells and ran instances and raids and its really really really samey and boreing!! im fed up with it!! so i started to play eve!!! ........ 6 years later with eve as my only game that i play :) ive started to realise that the games available to people are not even half the games they should be and could be!! im not useing eve as a bench mark but the freedom eve offers to the player!! the sheer scope of the play style customisation that the game gives to the player is just astonishing.  unlike other games, in eve your not restricted to a single class and you dont have to grind through a tedious quest chain following a somewhat long dull and boreing story  that doesnt allways make sence!! no no in eve you get to make your own story!! its just like living in the game!! sure some people take it a bit to seriously and end up treating it like a job while others have managed to find the fine line between work and play in eve!!

     

    i think all games should strive to bring a fuller and more complete and open ended experience to the players.

     

    there is nothing more disgusting in an massive multiplayer online game!!!  than an mmo that isnt persistant and has an ending!! mmo's should not have end game!! they never used to have!!   its the children from the console era thats brought around the end game scenario within mmo's and its definately ruined the industry!!  the developers today are too young to know any diffrent and all they have to go on are the games they have available and what their bosses use as their companies bench marks!! and thats exactly why all games play feel look and mimic wow.

     

    people have no idea that wow is sub par and not really a good game!! its just the best game available to them at present, namely because developers are more interested in a fast profit than they are in a qaulity lasting product!! the last great game to leave the mmo genre was starwars galaxies. it was huge deep emersive and envolving. it was complex enough to make you think and challangeing enough to make you group with other people !! and the world was pretty and fairly persistant. well in terms of player houseing and planetary events. 

     

    to improve on swg and to truely create an epic game they must be of the following stats -

     

    emersive

    enveloping

    deep

    complex

    seemless transitions

    no loading screens

    persistancy

    inovative

    full of new and old ideas

    no main quest chain or story arc driving you

    no hand holding quests

    truely exploreable game world with things worth finding

    an active ingame dev team which constantly changes things in the game to give a feeling of world life (we pay to play, so they should earn the money we pay them)

    no help screens or ticket systems! ( must be ingame mods with the power to fix and solve issues)

     

    interactable objects

    player vehicles houses towns shops and cities completely free form type control.

     

    a vibrant and living economy ( not the silly auction houses you are all accustom too)

     

    and effort with some imagination!! no more of this copy paste bullshit we are seeing.

     

    we ahve allplayed wow lots of people like it because they havnt experienced better!!! but many people dont like it that have played better and know wow is just a marketing ploy!  its meant to take your money and trick you ento enjoyment and it does just that!!  games like wow are rushed out the door to turn a quick buck!! once the game starts to do bad!! as we have all seen it gets revamped and rereleased just like wow and lotro and sto have been!! again just examples of fail games that have managed to get a second chance and in wows case a third and fourth chance!!.  

    im going to bring you back to eve online again!! this game gives you expansions and updates and maintence and ingame help round the clock ! and all you have to do is pay a one off monthly fee!! if you know how to play eve the game is designed to be free. i play eve for nothing because i know how to make the game work for me.  eve also offers far far far more than the wow and its clones too.  im very surprised it doesnt have a huge population!! infact i know why :) its because eve isnt over advertised like wow. eve doesnt ram its self down your throat and eve doesnt miss sell itself.  again eve is just an example and one that i know pretty well. people will argue that eve and wow are not compairable !!! but they are!! its the style. one style is incredibly lazy and used to lure in unsuspecting players who dont know any better and one isnt. ill let you work out which is which.

     

    i vote no !!!!!! to more wow clones.. for me that genre of mmo is dead and buried i will never ever play another wow clone and that puts swtor directly off my list as thats just another wow clone. same idea same plan same style same game type.. its a sure thing and developers know it!! you all will pay through your arses untill your bored and then you will stop!! just like you did with wow. the game offers nothing new or inventive there is no ingenuity and if we really want the fourth pillar lol!!!! we can go play icewind dale or baldurs gate for that!! or even kotor 1 and 2.  swtor is just an embarresment to bioware forced upon them by a bad decision when they sided with EA. the result is yet another wow clone.  all that hype and anticipation for another dissapointment. 5 years of it too lol. such a waste of time.

     

    bring back swg please!!!

  • TerranahTerranah Member UncommonPosts: 3,575

    Really fun read and several good one liners.  

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