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How Many People Actually Have the Time for a True Sandbox?

My first MMO was a sandbox and ever since the Themepark style games took over the genre, I've been hoping that  we'd see the return of AAA sandbox titles.  

Now that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,  I honestly don't think I'd be able to carve out enough time these days to really enjoy a sandbox style game.

Most of my buddies seem to be in the same boat which begs the question, are there enough people with the time (and patience) to make the possible resurgence of sandbox style games successful?

 

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Comments

  • NevulusNevulus Member UncommonPosts: 1,288

    If a game is good you will make time for it regardless of game-style. It's as simple as that.

     

    Stop beating the dead horse already with more pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads. This forum is plagued with thousands of them already. At this point Im surprised the mods have not created a sub-forum for these pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads

  • fat_taddlerfat_taddler Member Posts: 286
    Originally posted by Nevulus

    If a game is good you will make time for it regardless of game-style. It's as simple as that.

     

    Stop beating the dead horse already with more pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads. This forum is plagued with thousands of them already. At this point Im surprised the mods have not created a sub-forum for these pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads

    You seem very upset with the substance of my post yet you took the time to both read and reply to it.    

  • BadSpockBadSpock Member UncommonPosts: 7,979

    Sandbox doesn't have to be a horrible grind heavy time sink laden mess of a poorly designed game.

    That's the first problem and why most quote "sandbox" titles fail so terribly.

    No one really wants to go back to that.

    People just want worlds, they want emergant, dynamic gameplay, and they want their actions to matter and have consequence.

    None of those requirements mean it can't be an approachable, fun, intuitive, "easy to learn hard to master" casual type game as well as something a "hardcore" player could pour every waking hour into.

  • apocolusterapocoluster Member UncommonPosts: 1,326
    Originally posted by fat_taddler
    Originally posted by Nevulus

    If a game is good you will make time for it regardless of game-style. It's as simple as that.

     

    Stop beating the dead horse already with more pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads. This forum is plagued with thousands of them already. At this point Im surprised the mods have not created a sub-forum for these pointless Sandbox vs Themepark threads

    You seem very upset with the substance of my post yet you took the time to both read and reply to it.   

    Atleast he was polite enough to read before posting..or atleast it seemed like he read . 

    No matter how cynical you become, its never enough to keep up - Lily Tomlin

  • MeridionMeridion Member UncommonPosts: 1,495

    If its a well-made sandbox you won't have to spend immense amounts of time.

    A well made sandbox, in contrast to FFA PvP sandboxes, allow all players to contribute and follow their own playstyle.

    My ideal sandbox has fully conquerable and defendable contested areas for conquerors, explorers and crafters, non-pvp areas for roleplaying, and PvE areas for raiding dungeons and world bosses and rare monsters...

    Kinda like Vanguard with contested areas. TBH, Vanguard is a pretty spot on iteration of my favorite MMO, just needs contested clusters ... oh yea, and 5000 times the population...

    M

  • oreal52oreal52 Member UncommonPosts: 79

    He took the time to read but missed the part to "undetstand" what he rad.

    And to answer you topic question, as a parent now i really wouldn't have the time to

    play a true sandbox,probably the reason why i'm forced to play themepark style.

    I'm feeling lucky cause there is no any "true" sandbox (at least not MMO) so i can have time to play crap image

  • DauzqulDauzqul Member RarePosts: 1,982

    I play for a few hours....  when the wife and kids are sleeping.

    I want to play a sandbox. I'm just sick of the Theme Park model. Bouncing quest hub to quest hub feels more like reading a bad book.

    Sometimes I just want to shift the engine in neutral and do my own thing. I can't do that in most of these games. It's either raid or some type of pvp battleground. No thanks.

  • NorseGodNorseGod Member EpicPosts: 2,654
    Originally posted by fat_taddler

    My first MMO was a sandbox and ever since the Themepark style games took over the genre, I've been hoping that  we'd see the return of AAA sandbox titles.  

    Now that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,  I honestly don't think I'd be able to carve out enough time these days to really enjoy a sandbox style game.

    Most of my buddies seem to be in the same boat which begs the question, are there enough people with the time (and patience) to make the possible resurgence of sandbox style games successful?

     

    I think about this too.

    I'm an oldtime gamer as well. Looking around and reading the writing on the walls, I should have moved on long ago. I guess I'm waiting for a sandbox as well. But things are different now in my life since EQ/SWG.

    With that said, I think that I play sandboxes differently than themeparks. In sandboxes, I never felt the need to rush. Maybe because there was no end in sight. I dunno. But with themeparks, I do feel rushed. I think it's because, they are easy like single player games. Also, I can see the finishline before I create my character. With sandboxes, there is no finishline.

    So, sandboxes are more time consuming and that makes me play more laidback. Which might actually work out for me IRL.

    Hope that makes sense. It's hard for me to descibe my thoughts about this because some of it is conflicting.

    We won't know until a good sandbox comes out. I just hope it's a great one, not some half-assed game they drop and say "there ya go, you want a sandbox, well, here's your chance".

     

    TLDR: Don't make a mistake thinking you're going to be able to rush through all the content of a good sandbox like you would a themepark, sandboxes don't work that way.

    To talk about games without the censorship, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/
  • ReklawReklaw Member UncommonPosts: 6,495
    Originally posted by fat_taddler

    My first MMO was a sandbox and ever since the Themepark style games took over the genre, I've been hoping that  we'd see the return of AAA sandbox titles.  

    Now that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,  I honestly don't think I'd be able to carve out enough time these days to really enjoy a sandbox style game.

    Most of my buddies seem to be in the same boat which begs the question, are there enough people with the time (and patience) to make the possible resurgence of sandbox style games successful?

     

    It isn't about having enough time. It's the rush mentality that people have gotten. Perhaps even unknowing.

    People shouldn't put on this time presure on themselfs, a MMORPG (most of the time) isn't going anywhere soon. There is plenty of "time", what?.... you didn't reach a level today, great....tomorrow another chance.

    If it's a sandbox game there should be plenty of things to do even for small short play bursts.

    So yeah I do have time for a true sandbox MMORPG, I just wouldn't be able to play allot during week day's and off and on on the weekends for some more playtime. But that has alway's been the beauty of a sandbox type of MMoRPG for me to spend my time when ever I would have the time.

    Obviously it all depends on what you expect out of your "sandbox" game experiance and your playstyle.

  • NorseGodNorseGod Member EpicPosts: 2,654
    Originally posted by Meridion

    If its a well-made sandbox you won't have to spend immense amounts of time.

    A well made sandbox, in contrast to FFA PvP sandboxes, allow all players to contribute and follow their own playstyle.

    My ideal sandbox has fully conquerable and defendable contested areas for conquerors, explorers and crafters, non-pvp areas for roleplaying, and PvE areas for raiding dungeons and world bosses and rare monsters...

    Kinda like Vanguard with contested areas. TBH, Vanguard is a pretty spot on iteration of my favorite MMO, just needs contested clusters ... oh yea, and 5000 times the population...

    M

    I would like to play VG but I don't because of the population and I like to open-world PVP at times and the danger of others.

    But yes, everything else is nice.

    To talk about games without the censorship, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/
  • Angier2758Angier2758 Member UncommonPosts: 1,026
    VG's population issue is partly the players themselves.  Lots of big egos for such a limited population; you'd think they'd be kinder.
  • TerranahTerranah Member UncommonPosts: 3,575

    I agree with what some others have said here, sandbox does not necessarily mean time sink.  That said, I did play Precu SWG more than any other mmo.  I think it had more to do with my love of the game than the time sinks though.

     

    Would I have enough time to play Precu SWG today?  Yeah, but I'd have to cut back on my forum time here :)

     

     

  • KenFisherKenFisher Member UncommonPosts: 5,035

    Farm when I have time, usually late nights or off hours when I'm not working and can't sleep.  Craft when I have enough mats to do so.  Explore when I don't feel like farming.  Hopefully find a friendly guild for a bit of community interaction outside of selling my crafted stuff.

     

    I would have no reason to play anything else.

     


    Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security.  I don't Forum PVP.  If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident.  When I don't understand, I ask.  Such is not intended as criticism.
  • RyukanRyukan Member UncommonPosts: 828
    I'll make time if there comes a sandbox that I feel is worth investing the time in. Maybe ArcheAge, hopefully The Repopulation.
  • InFlamestwoInFlamestwo Member Posts: 662

    Time? if you get addicted you're screwed. If you know how to control yourself, you have no problems.

    Sandbox are made so you can play the game when you want. No staying up for 3 hours at night raiding etc...unless you're raiding, which is boring.

    image

  • IIIcurrierIIIcurrier Member Posts: 88
    Maybe it's your gameplay style or mentality, but I find in sandbox games I can get on for an hour and have a good adventure, where in themeparks I know I have to grind for another 5 hours to feel accomplished.

    Sandbox freedom ftw.
  • BadaboomBadaboom Member UncommonPosts: 2,380
    I've been thinking of starting to play EVE.  Can a casual player contribute anything?  Is it to late to late to get into this title?
  • maplestonemaplestone Member UncommonPosts: 3,099

    All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

  • FearumFearum Member UncommonPosts: 1,175
    Most people just use a macro or some form of self botting anyway to level in sandbox games so you really don't need time.
  • IIIcurrierIIIcurrier Member Posts: 88
    Originally posted by Fearum
    Most people just use a macro or some form of self botting anyway to level in sandbox games so you really don't need time.

     

    This is pretty ignorant, it is actually much easier to macro themepark games as enviroments never change, the massive quest lines and hubs that are always the same. [mod edit]
  • ShakyMoShakyMo Member CommonPosts: 7,207

    why does a sandbox have to be hardcore

    theres no law saying you cant make a less time consuming,more casual sandbox

    complexity of game play and grind are 2 different things.

  • FishmittsFishmitts Member CommonPosts: 227
    Originally posted by fat_taddler

    My first MMO was a sandbox and ever since the Themepark style games took over the genre, I've been hoping that  we'd see the return of AAA sandbox titles.  

    Now that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,  I honestly don't think I'd be able to carve out enough time these days to really enjoy a sandbox style game.

    Most of my buddies seem to be in the same boat which begs the question, are there enough people with the time (and patience) to make the possible resurgence of sandbox style games successful?

     

     Even if you only have an hour to play thats fine, now c'mere and help me build this stupid wall.. It should only take about an hour.

  • 3-4thElf3-4thElf Member Posts: 489

    I don't have the time like I used to when I first played UO or really got in to Shadowbane and besieging cities.

    I'd like to think I'd have a healthier habit with MMOs like that this time around. I realize I'd not have the best of everything, but I could & would like to contribute to a real team-themed living world MMO again.

    Or so I'd like to think. I know I can find enough free time to easily see all the themes most MMORPGs now have to offer in a few months.

    Something with a longer scope than that is still something I'd desire. Even if I couldn't tackle it like my 18 year old self could.

    a yo ho ho

  • LoktofeitLoktofeit Member RarePosts: 14,247
    Originally posted by fat_taddler

    My first MMO was a sandbox and ever since the Themepark style games took over the genre, I've been hoping that  we'd see the return of AAA sandbox titles.  

    Now that we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,  I honestly don't think I'd be able to carve out enough time these days to really enjoy a sandbox style game.

    Most of my buddies seem to be in the same boat which begs the question, are there enough people with the time (and patience) to make the possible resurgence of sandbox style games successful?

    I haven't felt any manner of time pressure in any sandbox-style MMO that I've played. I end up leaving themeparks because of the time commitment that endgame requires since there's always only one path (murderous maniac) and the msot common end is raiding. Any game can have content that requires serious time commitments, but the sandbox-style games seem to offer me a wider array of things to do.

    There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
    "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre

  • LoktofeitLoktofeit Member RarePosts: 14,247
    Originally posted by ShakyMo

    why does a sandbox have to be hardcore

    theres no law saying you cant make a less time consuming,more casual sandbox

    complexity of game play and grind are 2 different things.

    Word.

    UO was rarely ever time comsuming. If anything, it contained all those evil, taboo things that get you to the fun faster (GGS, fast travel to any point, low reqs for mounts/housing/ownership).

    There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
    "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre

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