I think mounts are necessary in MMO type games.

Cryomatrix · December 2017

I think all games need to have mounts. It is just necessary in my opinion. There's nothing like moving around on a mount to get the fantasy feeling going.

It's part of my problem with the MMO genre, you have all these small companies that make an MMO type game and it seems like they are so small they can only do the bare minimum. If you can only do the bare minimum, there is no place for innovation, and if there is innovation, it comes at the cost of bare minimum stuff like mounts.

For example, Conan Exiles, has thrall system (basically enslave NPC's) but no mounts. The game and all games needs mounts, hell look at Ark, i just watched a youtube video of going around on a megaladon shark.

Anyway, I think mounts necessary. I still remember saving up gold to get a mount in WoW in 2004 (40 gold). The mount system is pretty good in Mortal online with mounted combat. I think you could do that with Conan Exiles. Also, I haven't seen a camel in Conan Exiles. How do you have an ostrich in the desert with rhinos and hyenas, but no camel. Hell, there are no horses in Conan Exiles either, but kudo, boar, staghorn, sabretooth, direwolf, cobras and elk. I mean seriously, you make those animals before you make a horse?

Thanks.

Cryomatrix

p.s. I need to win the lottery, so I can just hire people to make the games I want. Of course, i'd lose money, but who cares if you die with $5 million in your bank account or $5 dollars.

Albatroes · December 2017

The only one I've actually haven't minded not having mounts in (recently anyway) is Blade and Soul. The parkour and sprinting kind of make it work for the most part and keep me immersed for the most part. For something like GW2 and TSW, it never made any sense to me regardless of the reasons they gave at the time. Heck, even a old game like FFXI let you use chocobos without giving you a personal one until a long time so there was no real reason for those to not have mounts. GW2 did do a decent job implementing them and making each type having a purpose vs just pure vanity which I think more games should at least do. Archeage has an decent concept with mounts as well. Bless will have it so your pets will be mountable as well and Rider's of Icarus has it to were you can turn mounts into combat pets, so the concepts are there and are getting more common place at least.

Octagon7711 · December 2017

Mounts do make the MMO more fun. I also remember getting that first mount in WoW and when SWG finally got mounts it was a lot of fun especially being able to blow them up. GW2 and ESO does well with mounts also.

Flyte27 · December 2017

I guess this is why people have different opinions. I can't really stand mounts.

I find they are usually silly and trivialize travel. This makes the world feel small.

It feels better to me walking around in the world than riding something. Often I will choose to walk in games even if there is a mount.

4507 · December 2017

It really depends on the game - world size, content density, alternative forms of travel, average distance between quest objectives, etc. In a small, content-dense world there is no need for mounts. Similarly, a world with rampant teleportation doesn't need mounts either.

Octagon7711 · December 2017

GW2 has zones designed specifically for certain types of mounts. I like variety and being able run, port, or ride as desired.

sunandshadow · December 2017

I love mounts.

But I think it's important to realize that skateboards, bicycles, cars, planes, boats, etc. are also mounts. Not to mention, upgrading your avatar to transform into a travel form or have wings and be able to fly is also basically getting a mount.

Amathe · December 2017

Never did master horseback riding in Read Dead Redemption. Hated that horse.

Kyleran · December 2017

sunandshadow said: j

I love mounts. But I think it's important to realize that skateboards, bicycles, cars, planes, boats, etc. are also mounts. Not to mention, upgrading your avatar to transform into a travel form or have wings and be able to fly is also basically getting a mount.

I agree but loath lore inappropriate mounts in a MMORPG, especially in a fantasy game.

Even the clockwork approach in WOW went a bit far over the years, and having modern sports cars as ArcheAge does is an abomination, even more so when cash shop specific.

sunandshadow · December 2017

Kyleran said:

sunandshadow said: j

I love mounts. But I think it's important to realize that skateboards, bicycles, cars, planes, boats, etc. are also mounts. Not to mention, upgrading your avatar to transform into a travel form or have wings and be able to fly is also basically getting a mount.

I agree but loath lore inappropriate mounts in a MMORPG, especially in a fantasy game.

Even the clockwork approach in WOW went a bit far over the years, and having modern sports cars as ArcheAge does is an abomination, even more so when cash shop specific.

Yes, in terms of appropriateness to the worldbuilding, and also in terms of functionality in the game's physics, mounts are something where the game really needs a prototype of each kind of mount the game will have before launching, even if none are available to players at launch. GTA got really lucky with adding things like car parachutes and rocket motorcycles in their later content; probably the only reason they work so well is that they combine two things that already existed in the base game. On the other hand they designed their train to basically cheat and be impossible to blow up or derail, and they've been stuck with that decision even though it detracts from the immersion of the world.

aRtFuLThinG · December 2017

Cryomatrix said:

For example, Conan Exiles, has thrall system (basically enslave NPC's) but no mounts. The game and all games needs mounts, hell look at Ark, i just watched a youtube video of going around on a megaladon shark.

Didn't Conan Exiles already implemented or implementing the taming system? Also aren't they still in beta?

How old is your information?

Octagon7711 · December 2017

That's why I enjoy playing Riders of Icarus so much you can tame almost anything in game and use it as a pet or mount.

Loke666 · December 2017

It really depends on the type of MMO. In a MMO with small zones packed with mobs and teleportation possibility between places you don't really need them. In a massive game with limited or no fasttravel you certainly do.

Anything in between need good mount mechanics if you want any point with them. If they just are a skin and slightly faster movement speed they don't fulfill any actual point. If you on the other hand make good mechanics they still add a lot of fun to the game.

I like for instance how GW2 PoF made it's mounts, they made movement more fun (but I want a lance). EQ2s mounts on the other hand feels rather pointless, it is just another flashy skin to show off.

If you can't make mounts fun and useful you could put that effort into some other part of the game instead.

KnightFalz · December 2017

Provided one can travel at a sufficient speed without them it doesn't matter much to me. There was certainly no need for them in Asheron's Call, for example.

Thupli · December 2017

I agree, mounts are needed in any online game... for monetization!

KnightFalz · December 2017

Loke666 said:

It really depends on the type of MMO. In a MMO with small zones packed with mobs and teleportation possibility between places you don't really need them. In a massive game with limited or no fasttravel you certainly do.

Anything in between need good mount mechanics if you want any point with them. If they just are a skin and slightly faster movement speed they don't fulfill any actual point. If you on the other hand make good mechanics they still add a lot of fun to the game.

I like for instance how GW2 PoF made it's mounts, they made movement more fun (but I want a lance). EQ2s mounts on the other hand feels rather pointless, it is just another flashy skin to show off.

If you can't make mounts fun and useful you could put that effort into some other part of the game instead.

When I last played EQ2 had some pretty useful mounts in my view. The second mount I got, a jumping one, could clear extremely high terrain and cover quite a distance in a single leap. It was just from basic questing so wasn't anything unusual.

Did you not find that useful?

Daranar · December 2017

Mounts have their place but I hate the idea that they are 'necessary'. I hate games where you have a mount after an hour. Earn that crap. I hate games that have perma-mounts. If I can die, so can my horse and his penalty for death shouldn't just be re-clicking my 'saddle'. Mounts sadly became a standard from early game in order to sell skins and faster mounts in cash shops. When that happens, really the only point of mounts becomes making the world smaller and kinda undoing a lot of work level designers and artists put into games. I'm a big fan of public transports and reserving the mounts for powerful players who need to care for the mounts and suffer the consequences of letting a mount die.

Theocritus · December 2017

IF people want to pay RL money for mounts thats fine, but they are no temptation for me.

iixviiiix · December 2017

I rather have them spend time to design cosmetic item and combat pet instead of making mounts .

Cryomatrix · December 2017

aRtFuLThinG said:

Cryomatrix said:

For example, Conan Exiles, has thrall system (basically enslave NPC's) but no mounts. The game and all games needs mounts, hell look at Ark, i just watched a youtube video of going around on a megaladon shark.

Didn't Conan Exiles already implemented or implementing the taming system? Also aren't they still in beta?

How old is your information?

The thrall system is where you basically knock out NPC's, drag em to your wheel of pain, and convert them into your slaves basically. Like a taming system but for NPC humanoids. Not for animals and no mounts. Game will release officially in may 2018.

Cryomatrix

cameltosis · December 2017

I don't think mounts are necessary in all MMOs, but they can serve a valid purpose.

My general feeling is that you only need mounts when a lot of your content is some distance from public transport points. As a general rule of thumb, I would say that if 80% of your content is within 10 minutes walk of public transport, you don't need mounts.

The issue with mounts is they just make the world feel small. When you can cover great distances quickly, or ride past mobs knowing you'll quickly leave their aggro range, it just trivialises a lot of the world. You stop going on adventures and stop having to be careful, and instead its all about quickest route to the objective. Kills immersion.

But, if your game world is large, then you do need mounts to reduce the tedium. SWG, for example, had massive worlds with minimal public transport, so mounts were essential. Less than 10 minutes of walking through zones filled with mobs is fine, but 30 minutes of running in a straight line across a map......no-one enjoys that! That adds nothing to the game, just boredom.

Kyleran · December 2017

KnightFalz said:

Loke666 said:

It really depends on the type of MMO. In a MMO with small zones packed with mobs and teleportation possibility between places you don't really need them. In a massive game with limited or no fasttravel you certainly do.

Anything in between need good mount mechanics if you want any point with them. If they just are a skin and slightly faster movement speed they don't fulfill any actual point. If you on the other hand make good mechanics they still add a lot of fun to the game.

I like for instance how GW2 PoF made it's mounts, they made movement more fun (but I want a lance). EQ2s mounts on the other hand feels rather pointless, it is just another flashy skin to show off.

If you can't make mounts fun and useful you could put that effort into some other part of the game instead.

When I last played EQ2 had some pretty useful mounts in my view. The second mount I got, a jumping one, could clear extremely high terrain and cover quite a distance in a single leap. It was just from basic questing so wasn't anything unusual.

Did you not find that useful?

I loved that jumping Raptor in EQ2, closest thing to super jumping in COH where I often chose it.

Ultimately straight flying became more practical as you had better control of landings.

Scot · December 2017

Cryomatrix said:

I think all games need to have mounts. It is just necessary in my opinion. There's nothing like moving around on a mount to get the fantasy feeling going.

It's part of my problem with the MMO genre, you have all these small companies that make an MMO type game and it seems like they are so small they can only do the bare minimum. If you can only do the bare minimum, there is no place for innovation, and if there is innovation, it comes at the cost of bare minimum stuff like mounts.

For example, Conan Exiles, has thrall system (basically enslave NPC's) but no mounts. The game and all games needs mounts, hell look at Ark, i just watched a youtube video of going around on a megaladon shark.

Anyway, I think mounts necessary. I still remember saving up gold to get a mount in WoW in 2004 (40 gold). The mount system is pretty good in Mortal online with mounted combat. I think you could do that with Conan Exiles. Also, I haven't seen a camel in Conan Exiles. How do you have an ostrich in the desert with rhinos and hyenas, but no camel. Hell, there are no horses in Conan Exiles either, but kudo, boar, staghorn, sabretooth, direwolf, cobras and elk. I mean seriously, you make those animals before you make a horse?

Thanks.

Cryomatrix

p.s. I need to win the lottery, so I can just hire people to make the games I want. Of course, i'd lose money, but who cares if you die with $5 million in your bank account or $5 dollars.

How about riding the thralls in Conan Exile? They have to be good for something.

Loke666 · December 2017

KnightFalz said:
When I last played EQ2 had some pretty useful mounts in my view. The second mount I got, a jumping one, could clear extremely high terrain and cover quite a distance in a single leap. It was just from basic questing so wasn't anything unusual.

Did you not find that useful?

Last time I played EQ2 was while it was still P2P so they can certainly have updated things since but back then mounts were just a speedbuff.

dougha1 · December 2017

Flyte27 said:

I guess this is why people have different opinions. I can't really stand mounts.

I find they are usually silly and trivialize travel. This makes the world feel small.

It feels better to me walking around in the world than riding something. Often I will choose to walk in games even if there is a mount.

Totally agree. I don't get why everyone is so thrilled at this concept.

Cryomatrix · December 2017

I just think nothing screams power like riding a fearsome beast.

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I think mounts are necessary in MMO type games.

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"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

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I think mounts are necessary in MMO type games.

Comments

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV