Like @Nyctelios mentioned, I have to mention and recommend Phantasy Star Online 2. I've always kept an eye on the game but the last two years or so it just kind of "vanished" out of my mind and then recently I was like... OH YEAH! PSO2! Then I found a guide online, was able to easily set it up and get started and played a LOT of it for a good while... And then Shadowbringers happened.
I'm now playing through Dragon Quest Builders 2 + FE: Three Houses but as soon as I get the time and that MMO itch I will definitely be going back for more PSO2.
The game has a ridiculous amount of content. All free too and even after hundreds of hours sunk into it, I never felt the need or was I asked by the game to spend some money into it. It can feel a bit overwhelming (there really is a LOT to learn and do and all of it is pretty unique in the MMO environment) but there are a lot of amazing guides out there. It feels a bit more like a Sci-Fi Monster Hunter, rather than an open world MMO though (Not sure if the later and more recent areas/maps have changed in that regard) as you'll be spending time travelling from a quest hub into maps to do your quests then back to the Hub again. But you do meet random players in the maps. The translation patch isn't perfect (and newer content can take a while to get translated) but it's so good that if the monetisation in the Western release is crap I will just stick with the JP client! Also, the unofficial English server was heavily populated with a lot of self proclaimed "WoW refugees" starting out every day. So chat and the game overall was very active.
EDIT: A lot of people mentioning Elite: Dangerous. What's the playerbase and game like these days? I played EVE for a few years and maybe because I had more patience/time to learn the ropes, I didn't feel as overwhelmed by it but with E:D, I installed it about 3 times years ago, fly around aimlessly without finding a proper "hook" or way to play the game, get completely lost then bounce out.
Here's a conversation I had with a friend and his wife as we discussed playing Path of Exile or something else instead.
She had not played MMORPGs in well over ten years or more, so she asked me what I'd been enjoying over the years.
I told her I played EVE Online over 10 years so she asked why weren't we playing that instead?
I said women usually aren't very keen on EVE for several reasons, and went to list the theoretical reasons why getting no further than my first statement, "EVE is a sci-fi game" at which she immediately stopped me saying "nevermind, I wouldn't like it."
There just aren't as many fans of sci-fi (especially hard sci-fi) as there is for fantasy hence it's under represented.
Back in the day SF was the bigger genre, this changed in the nineties. I think a shift to women readers was the biggest factor, fantasy wins out with them. But in TV and film SF is supreme, fantasy hardly gets a look in. Where fantasy does it tends to be a small part of the shows premise, though this is changing with more super-lite characters as well as actual supers. In comparison SF on the other hand is often a backdrop to the entire premise of the show. Of course some people will say hang on I thought supers was SF? There is a blurred distinction in a number of sub-genres.
I've actually been playing STO lately, mostly because I like Star Trek for it's bare-bones Sci-fi feel. It really opens up to more complexity after 65 Fleet Admiral with the Admiralty system, but again it's pretty much a halfhearted attempt at an MMOROG. It's heavily instanced, which ruins it somewhat.
Star Wars is more a Sci-Fantasy which I love as well. I really feel the only true way you can experience Star Wars is in an open world setting, open ended; being just the common guy in the galaxy who makes a name for himself through his deeds. Create your own Star Wars story, because there were already plenty of heroes during the time. If you want to just be the best Chef in the galaxy, so be it. If you want to be a well known entertainer, then you should be able to do that. BioWare really just went straight for the hero trope with SWTOR, which make its more like playing someone else's story.
This makes me sad that anarchy online is so poorly managed. I played on the progression server they did and most people quit because they did artificial level caps. The community manager also banned everyone who asked about it.
I love playing AO. But, yes, they could have handled it better.
It won't attract new gamers because of the graphics, which I actually don't mind. Even if they ported it to a modern engine with beautiful graphics, todays gamer couldn't handle the complexity.
When I play AO or EVE, I have piles of scrap paper on my desk full of notes and math equations. lol I miss that about MMORPGs.
Never found AO to be that complex. There's some elementary math involved in twinking some gear on but other than that its like any other rpg.
I'll echo what's been said in the thread, Vendetta, Elite, and No Man's Sky. Even though the last two aren't MMOs they can't sort of scratch the itch and are definitely sci-fi.
Elite Dangerous is an MMO - I don't know why people keep saying otherwise.
Yesterday I completed a community quest that involved 3,000 other people all contributing to the same goal. A friend and I completed this quest while playing in a private group mode; however, our actions impacted the entire Elite Dangerous community - those in open, those in private groups, and those in solo.
Solo mode does not equal the solo mode you've experienced in other games. It meets the definition of MMO easily. It also meets the definition of sci-fy as there are aliens, advanced technology, and so forth.
Right, and in Vendetta I've influenced hundreds of thousands of other players through my actions over the years in tangible ways, but the largest dogfight I've ever been in involved 30 human pilots.
It's the second number around which the "is it an MMO" question pivots for me. I don't want to squint in order to make it look right. The "Solo" option means "no" for me when it comes to Elite: Dangerous, but I realize that after a certain point it begins to look like semantics.
It's not about having massive numbers of players in the same place, even. It's about the possibility of running into other players regardless of how I have my settings tweaked. It makes any given digital world more of a "real place" for me if I'm unable to phase out other players by preference.
It's pretty weird, but it is something I would consider a fundamental difference between "MMO" and "not an MMO".
I'm sure Elite is a great space exploration and trading game with persistent multiplayer features (I'd play it if I had a capable Windows machine).
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Authored 139 missions in VendettaOnline and 6 tracks in Distance
There is always Boondoggle Online, a/k/a/ Star Citizen, to look forward to.
I'll be dead of old age before that gets released. It must be about 6 years since I got a basic package to play the game... and I'm still waiting to play the game. Total ripoff.
I'll echo what's been said in the thread, Vendetta, Elite, and No Man's Sky. Even though the last two aren't MMOs they can't sort of scratch the itch and are definitely sci-fi.
Elite Dangerous is an MMO - I don't know why people keep saying otherwise.
Yesterday I completed a community quest that involved 3,000 other people all contributing to the same goal. A friend and I completed this quest while playing in a private group mode; however, our actions impacted the entire Elite Dangerous community - those in open, those in private groups, and those in solo.
Solo mode does not equal the solo mode you've experienced in other games. It meets the definition of MMO easily. It also meets the definition of sci-fy as there are aliens, advanced technology, and so forth.
no man sky is kinda nice now, but I still find the combat lacking, elite dangerous I really feel like I should try but I don't see how I would
Anarchy Online and Fallen Earthare nice Sci Fi games .. ( Fallen Earth i realize is Post Apoc ) but still has a Sci Fi feel with some of prominent crafting features..
I am keeping my fingers crossed that one day, there will be a Traveller MMO, but, chances of that happening are pretty much zero!
I'd like to see it but I worry about today's gaming development. The tech is good enough and it could be awesome, but it would be majorly streamlined for mass appeal.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Maybe in about 15 years when VR ...MAYBE gets to the level of 3/5 star gaming can a sci game be great. Until VR becomes supported in a positive way by developers,instead of a quick cash grab idea,we won't see gaming take the next level. The closest i see is right now playing Atlas,better worlds,weather/elements,water/land ,plausible realism,everything looks great,eco systems,building,sailing boats,yep that is about as good as it gets right now. Sadly people are more willing to support hand holding ideas,take my hand,tell me where to go ,what to do,i can't think for myself.Give them pvp,seems like an easy concept to grasp,i see player,i must kill player !!.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Anything outside of fantasy is going to provide few options for
MMORPGs, especially if one is to arbitrarily remove games on the softer
side of sci-fi, such as STO. For the purist anything that allows faster than light travel has already ventured into the fantastical.
Anyway, Earth and Beyond still exists through emulation for those interested.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Comments
I'm now playing through Dragon Quest Builders 2 + FE: Three Houses but as soon as I get the time and that MMO itch I will definitely be going back for more PSO2.
The game has a ridiculous amount of content. All free too and even after hundreds of hours sunk into it, I never felt the need or was I asked by the game to spend some money into it. It can feel a bit overwhelming (there really is a LOT to learn and do and all of it is pretty unique in the MMO environment) but there are a lot of amazing guides out there.
It feels a bit more like a Sci-Fi Monster Hunter, rather than an open world MMO though (Not sure if the later and more recent areas/maps have changed in that regard) as you'll be spending time travelling from a quest hub into maps to do your quests then back to the Hub again. But you do meet random players in the maps.
The translation patch isn't perfect (and newer content can take a while to get translated) but it's so good that if the monetisation in the Western release is crap I will just stick with the JP client!
Also, the unofficial English server was heavily populated with a lot of self proclaimed "WoW refugees" starting out every day. So chat and the game overall was very active.
EDIT: A lot of people mentioning Elite: Dangerous. What's the playerbase and game like these days?
I played EVE for a few years and maybe because I had more patience/time to learn the ropes, I didn't feel as overwhelmed by it but with E:D, I installed it about 3 times years ago, fly around aimlessly without finding a proper "hook" or way to play the game, get completely lost then bounce out.
It's the second number around which the "is it an MMO" question pivots for me. I don't want to squint in order to make it look right. The "Solo" option means "no" for me when it comes to Elite: Dangerous, but I realize that after a certain point it begins to look like semantics.
It's not about having massive numbers of players in the same place, even. It's about the possibility of running into other players regardless of how I have my settings tweaked. It makes any given digital world more of a "real place" for me if I'm unable to phase out other players by preference.
It's pretty weird, but it is something I would consider a fundamental difference between "MMO" and "not an MMO".
I'm sure Elite is a great space exploration and trading game with persistent multiplayer features (I'd play it if I had a capable Windows machine).
"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
I am so good, I backstabbed your face!
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Until VR becomes supported in a positive way by developers,instead of a quick cash grab idea,we won't see gaming take the next level.
The closest i see is right now playing Atlas,better worlds,weather/elements,water/land ,plausible realism,everything looks great,eco systems,building,sailing boats,yep that is about as good as it gets right now.
Sadly people are more willing to support hand holding ideas,take my hand,tell me where to go ,what to do,i can't think for myself.Give them pvp,seems like an easy concept to grasp,i see player,i must kill player !!.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon