I am sick of being in low gravity

astoria

I am sick of being in low gravity in MMOs.

 

I am always amazed when I put one more iron bar in my backpack that my avatar can still move. I find myself saying “Wow! My character is certainly strong now, that is 4 stacks of iron bars, plus 2 sets of weapons, and my alternative armor for tanking, and assorted rat and wolf parts.”

 

I am also amazed at how fast my character is, that he is able to run as fast as someone of similar physique wearing only leather armor.

 

I find weightlessness in MMOs immersion killing. I also find it kills a lot of potential for interesting teaming that should be the aim of a MM and a RPG.

  

Some thoughts:

 

Heavier armor should slow you down but obviously offer good protection from damage. Some element of this in Darkfall and some offline games I’ve played, but a more comprehensive system would be interesting.

 

Size should matter. A huge character should do more damage with a melee weapon or a bow, but be easier to spot and shouldn’t be able to hide behind the same small rock that a smaller character should be able to.

 

Your stamina would run down faster if you sprint or swim in heavy armor and your overall speed should be lowered.

 

You can’t carry as much in your bag. Idea: grouping of porters and armed guards for gathering quests. Caravans. RTS style workers you can assist.

 

And there are a few things that seem to go along with weightlessness.

 

Magical or (techy e.g. acid resist, laser resist etc.) armor should be strongly differentiated from physical damage.

- super hero fights are often more interesting than fantasy fights because they have distinct strengths and weaknesses to different damage types rather than the simpler (high dmg resist, low dmg output v. low dmg resist, high dmg output, heal trinity).

 

Shadows should matter, sound should matter.

- big clanking plate armor should be able to bust headlong into a room and last a long time, but they are not sneaking in. A stealthy light armor wearer being able to sneak in, sabotage defenses, etc. If they don’t make a sound or step on anything breakable, they shouldn’t show up on a minimap.

 

Just a few ideas, I didn’t spend a lot of time on, but please add your thoughts.

 

 Or if you know of games that have some of these elements that I have missed, please add them. 

Castillle

I forgot which game it was but I remember one of the more slotted bags saying that its a pouch connected to a pocket dimension.  So like..Yah o.o

APB is what you should play if you want realism though

Quizzical

You should try Solar Jetman, where the gravity varies form one level to the next.

Back to the argument you're actually making, that's not the effect of low gravity.  If you're carrying 1000 kg of stuff in a place where gravity is 5% as strong as Earth's, you'd accelerate very slowly, as it would be a pain to start and stop or change directions.  What you describe is really the effect of all those iron bars being massless.  As any physicist can tell you, for some objects to be massless for modeling purposes makes life much easier.

This is really just a case where interesting gameplay trumps realism.

ZenIrishChai

Originally posted by Castillle

 

APB is what you should play if you want realism though

 

.. or you could just walk out your front door lol I hear that's overrated though.

Belight

I like Xsyon's inventory/weight system. Bigger items are actually carried bhy your avatar and not just put in a bag. It slows you and wears down fatigue quickly.

This also makes the full loot much better, b ecause if you take every item from a person you get very bogged down. So people typically only loot 1 or 2 items from you.

Sovrath

I kind of agree with you. I hate the idea of being able to have multiple weapons and armor and crafting mats and "everythign else" in one's inventory.

Quite franly I would prefer a game where a player could just carry a few things and that's it.

Things like wood or stone could be stacked and players could use a henchman to move their stacks to their work area.

or whatever, I just hate the whole inventory thing.

Comnitus

Originally posted by Quizzical

This is really just a case where interesting gameplay trumps realism.

Pretty much. While weight management would make for interesting gameplay, it would be annoying/inconvenient the majority of the time. It just falls under suspension of disbelief.

Then again, SOME limitations would be welcome. I've always disliked the idea of swapping armor/weapons (to an extent; I mean, it's ok if you're sheathing a sword and reaching for a dagger) in combat.

hcoelho

i do agree with you.

 

but not all mmo should be sooo realistic.

 

Maybe you should try Mortal online, if you haven't done yet. You might enjoy its realisct approach.

Kyleran

Originally posted by IrishChai

Originally posted by Castillle

 

APB is what you should play if you want realism though

 

.. or you could just walk out your front door lol I hear that's overrated though.

I think the perma-death feature turns most folks off.

But I agree, I'd like to have carry weight reintroduced, screw the concept of "gaming convenience", you shouldn't be able to carry a full replacement set of gear to switch out to. 

kaiser3282

Originally posted by Quizzical

You should try Solar Jetman, where the gravity varies form one level to the next.

Back to the argument you're actually making, that's not the effect of low gravity.  If you're carrying 1000 kg of stuff in a place where gravity is 5% as strong as Earth's, you'd accelerate very slowly, as it would be a pain to start and stop or change directions.  What you describe is really the effect of all those iron bars being massless.  As any physicist can tell you, for some objects to be massless for modeling purposes makes life much easier.

This is really just a case where interesting gameplay trumps realism.

 Oh man i used to love Solar Jetman, was a fun & interesting game. Actually played it again a few months ago on an emulator for the hell of it.

GTwander

Originally posted by kaiser3282

Originally posted by Quizzical

You should try Solar Jetman, where the gravity varies form one level to the next.

 Oh man i used to love Solar Jetman, was a fun & interesting game. Actually played it again a few months ago on an emulator for the hell of it.

Yeah, just reading that made my inner child "squeeee" in delight.

As for gravity;

I think that weight encumberance isn't necessary for a game where items are of little-to-no value and drop like plates at greek weddings. When you have a game where things are easily taken from you, and items are generally worth a lot to the trade/craft economy, then weight is one of those checks/balances that keeps things working at a certain pace. People aren't willing to get greedy and sacrifice the mobility needed to flee just so they can have a bigger haul.

Personally, the only place that gravity really annoys me is how 'floaty' things are. When you jump in most games you tend to linger, and in extreme cases you can ease down to the ground at butterfly speed, only to receive 2k fall damage at the end. Most of the games that made me actuaully *brace for impact* while falling are in 1st person, but they both have the speed of falling increase as you go down. I'd dive off the lighthouse in King's Field in order to spiral down and die, and in Wurm Online I used to dread walking along the tops of hills at night.

dzones

As I recall the original D&D paper and dice game I used to play back in the 70's was like that, encumbrance I believe was the stat where you could only carry so much and your speed and performance was altered by it. I think the original PC games had that like pool of radiance and eye of the beholder for example but it never seem to carry forward. I am guessing probably more so because people are always in such a freakin scream grind to the top now that something like this would be a big turn off.

I am with ya though. I miss that kind of immersive gameplay. Now it is all about dumbing it down so any 4 year old could play and be at max level in a week or two so you can grind the same boring ass crap over and over.

 

Wharg0ul

Some of the new breed of "sandbox" games are like that.....Darkfall, etc.

And of course some of the single player RPGs are.

It's never really bothered me either way, until someone puts a horse / car / motorcycle in their pocket......

Sizzz

In guildwars and SWG you can never leave the ground no matter how much you carry.

karbonista

Originally posted by IrishChai

Originally posted by Castillle

 

APB is what you should play if you want realism though

 

.. or you could just walk out your front door lol I hear that's overrated though.

Not to mention horribly unbalanced.  Marine rifleman beats an afghani shaman every time.

warmaster670

Originally posted by Sizzz

In guildwars and SWG you can never leave the ground no matter how much you carry.

Uh, you can jump in SWG, it may look like crap IIRC, but you can do it.

RedRocket

I, too, would love a weight limit in an mmo. But it's a really minor point. I've played some good games that had a weightless inventory.

 

The old Realms of Arkania series (single player, early 90s) had it all figured out weight-wise, hehe. You really had to plan your trip, winter clothes, ropes, climbing hooks, a crowbar, your armor, even food had a weight. And all of those items actually had a use.

 

A weight limit could offer a few bonuses to gameplay. It's impossible to take every item to every dungeon/evil tower/whatever. Players will miss stuff. They can't lubricate a mechanism to open a door because they didn't bring oil, they can't climb on a balcony because they don't have a rope and a hook to throw, so they have to use the front door and stumble upon a few enemy guards.

 

That's as important as the notes that you don't play in music. Not everything is fed on a silver plate to the player. They might come back and try stuff with different items. Yea, it has its pros.

Sagasaint

I dont think Im wrong when I say that a game aiming for the realism the OP wants would crash and burn faster than the Hindenburg...

Adamantine

In reality you would have some mounts. One to ride, another for your squire or other follower, and even more to carry your loot or drive your wagon.

Or its a fantasy setting anyway and you have bags of holding, which nulify ANY weight you put in them.

Either way they question of how much loot you are able to carry depends upon the needs of the current game.

gatheris

Originally posted by IrishChai

Originally posted by Castillle

 

APB is what you should play if you want realism though

 

.. or you could just walk out your front door lol I hear that's overrated though.

 pretty much

but fortunately we have netflix and games

Metentso

I agree OP, weight (and items taking space in inventory) is one of the features in EQ that I miss in new MMOs. It affected your walking speed, and also weapon weight affected your stamina in combat, so for instance Ogres could use bigger weapons.

Player nowadays would see this as very annoying, but it forced people to interact and seek solutions, for instance sending one person to sell or store the loot while the rest kept fighting. This is what builds a community, needing the help of others.

You are encumbered!

Inf666

Realism doesn't work! Female chars would die because of their lack of protection and noone would play a game where females do not get skimpy outfits.