A sandbox/themepark game maybe solution?

Evasia

Most here keep complaining about mmo's are not what they suppose to be.

So make a gameworld where you can follow two path,s

Lets say you have a town in middle of a huge world.

You start game up choose a character you like and have choice to choose ones adventure with a class and lvls and earn xp.

Or choose second choice where you can take skills no lvls or xp.

Now you enter the world you start eather in area in town where you go into world where you can do quest earn lvls xp you have a class and guidance from game.

You can go other way kill mobs get xp but you dont have quests there that guide you or npc's with ! above head.

Other character with skills go his side and train skills with mobs or pvp.

world is huge and you can go anywhere, but the skilled person never see any npc with quest that guide him wont see a ! above his head and so on.

Other character will see same npc but see ! and npc give comeplete guide on how to finish quest.

This is just a small explanation on how maybe this could be implemented.

Its prolly a big challenge to develop such a game but i think its posible.

Give choice between themepark gameplay and sandbox in same world.

End game should be both types can meet in pvp or end dungeons.

But sandbox have always a choice of staying in areas where dungeon are open  and class lvl oriented players can always choose a private instance.

Your a programmed class avatar or skilled avatar and the game always recognize you if your a class/lvl player or a skill player.

Just a thought nothing more hehe.

ste2000

Unbalance spring to my mind (referring to your idea that both the type of player will compete against each other at end game level).



Linear games (what you call theme park) are much easy to play and have a faster pace, they will be always a step ahead of sandbox players.



Also sandbox and linear games differ hugely at itemisation level.

In Linear games equipment is much more inportant than sandboxes, in linear games equipement has to be overpowered in order to keep the interest of the player.

In sandboxes, equipement is relative, it is not the main aspect of the game, the skills and how you use them are more important.



So I don't see this working, but of course that's my opinion.

Evasia

Originally posted by ste2000


Unbalance spring to my mind (referring to your idea that both the type of player will compete against each other at end game level).



Linear games (what you call theme park) are much easy to play and have a faster pace, they will be always a step ahead of sandbox players.



Also sandbox and linear games differ hugely at itemisation level.

In Linear games equipment is much more inportant than sandboxes, in linear games equipement has to be overpowered in order to keep the interest of the player.

In sandboxes, equipement is relative, it is not the main aspect of the game, the skills and how you use them are more important.



So I don't see this working, but of course that's my opinion.

 

Themepark are not per se linear games, you dont have to follow surten path.

Themepark is justa guided game where you dont have think much game thinks for you.

And offcorse it can be unbalanced but thats something to figure out for devs, i already said it will posible be very comlex but i think its posible anyway.

And offcorse becouse a themepark player lvl and do quest that are guided they reach a capped lvl fast.

But if devs balance it so that the lvl players reach the cap that at the sametime skilled players can reach the skill cap that they have trained.

Both sides have pro and cons in pvp that can also be balanced.

 

But maybe it wont work at all it was just an idea hehe

ste2000

Originally posted by Evasia

Originally posted by ste2000


Unbalance spring to my mind (referring to your idea that both the type of player will compete against each other at end game level).



Linear games (what you call theme park) are much easy to play and have a faster pace, they will be always a step ahead of sandbox players.



Also sandbox and linear games differ hugely at itemisation level.

In Linear games equipment is much more inportant than sandboxes, in linear games equipement has to be overpowered in order to keep the interest of the player.

In sandboxes, equipement is relative, it is not the main aspect of the game, the skills and how you use them are more important.



So I don't see this working, but of course that's my opinion.

 

Themepark are not per se linear games, you dont have to follow surten path.

Themepark is justa guided game where you dont have think much game thinks for you.

You are contraddicting yourself just with those 2 sentences mate.



Linear is a game that follow a certain path decided by the devs, and unlikely the sandbox, they don't give freedom to do what you like because the gameplay is guided by a certain path you have to follow (a line = linear), which is exactly the definition you are giving to theme park.

In linear games you have choice (the line can take ramifications and look like a hyerarchy), but you are restrained to do certain choices...........there are no such games which are literally "linear" in MMORPG, so for "linear" people refers to the definition I gave.



Theme Park is the derogatory term for linear, terms which sandbox followers use to ridicule people who like linear games.

metalhead980

Actually I remember a vampire/slayer mmo like this. It let you pick a vampire that was basically level base kinda like WoW or WAR and the hunters/slayers were skillbased, they spent points on attributes and different skills.

I forget the name of that MMO but it was F2p I believe.

Good concept I never got around to actually playing it.

Its hook was the fact that it had both MMO playstyles wraped in one game.

Ihmotepp

I believe your suggestion is to provide the players with a button that will turn off the ! over the heads of the NPCs.

I have a feeling that players that don't like the ! over an NPC's head won't be happy unless NO ONE can see it.

Bladin

Originally posted by metalhead980


Actually I remember a vampire/slayer mmo like this. It let you pick a vampire that was basically level base kinda like WoW or WAR and the hunters/slayers were skillbased, they spent points on attributes and different skills.
I forget the name of that MMO but it was F2p I believe.
Good concept I never got around to actually playing it.
Its hook was the fact that it had both MMO playstyles wraped in one game.

It's Dark Eden you're thinking about.

And OP. seriously is this a real suggestion?

 

Let's give players a choice.

Chose a class, level up, do quests and content.

Grind skills on mobs and pvp untill you rank up.

 

Big choice.

Unknown

I'm a big advocate of the hybrid, although I don't agree with choosing to level or use skills.  I believe more in a skill-based game (which is really just an alternate form of levels) with linear elements.  Actually, I just believe in a sandbox game with content.  The problem with sandboxes is they spend so much time on the sandbox that they don't make any content, ala pre-cu swg.  Add to pre-cu SWG a whole bunch of dungeons, treasure hunting, good pvp, wowish combat, and wow's polish, and you've got a true wow killer on your hands.  Yes, I said wow-killer.  It's an often over-used term for crappy over-hyped games that copy wow, but I'm talking about a true next-gen game here.  One that as far as I know isn't even in development.