Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

"My MMORPG"

"The MMORPG to Rule Them All"

or come close to it"



Chapter 1:

An Effective Story Line

The storyline should be simple, whether fantasy, sci fi etc...it should involve all the realms, worlds, locations, characters etc... The formula should involve lore, mythology or something relevant in modern day society. Think of a video game as a comic book series with political, religious and taboo issues currently affecting society. Implied but hard to find...

==================================================================

Chapter 2:

Questing Should be Seamless and the only means of EXP

EXCEPTION: There are two modes normal and hardcore.  Hardcore grants players to gain exp through killing npc/monsters etc...however completing quests will not give out exp. 

Questing should be the only way to gather precious exp. Players should be able to choose all the quests regardless of level, complete them and return from each quest giver than move on to the next quest giver.

Example: Your first level 1-5 quests will be given by one NPC.  From the NPC you select every quest. The quests must be completed in order.    Once done with the quests return to the NPC and hand in all your quests. There is nothing more enjoyable than handing in quests and seeing your experience bar rise quickly.  Sense of accomplishment. 

Everyone is going to say,'this is controlled not fair."  TOO BAD, there is no way around it.  Just dont purchase the game, if killing endless numbers of monsters for hours and hours suites you than by all mean perhaps this game is not for you. 

The perfect MMORPG quests would be like reading a novel, intriguing, thought provoking and you just will have the feeling of, "I want to know what happens next."

 Also even though it may seem controlled...it is not as controlled as many may believe.  Dependent how you complete the quests there is a bar that dictates your personality.  From evil to good. 

Your personality will dictate every aspect of the game, which contacts you get next, which village guards will attack, if you are hated by a city, town or world.  You may even be on the hit list. 

Again just like in real life you want to hide yourself, this is where CLOAKED MODE comes in handy. 

Lets say for example your hated in a city, you can turn on cloak mode and you will put on a full hooded cloak.  The cloak mode has a time limit once that time limit expires you better make sure you have a plan.

Rob, kill, save a life...its up to you the quests are there to guide you more than control you..in the end all games are controlled regardless...whether its the environment, quests or npcs...all games in the end are controlled its how well its masked. 

There is another mode called, "Astral Mode."  If you do not log in for more than 3 days your account goes into Astral Mode, Your character  begins to gain exp.  The downfall because exp is only gained through questing you will be introduced to an npc for your  current level.  Therefore you have skipped story lines and perhaps some needed gear.  It take a full month of non playing to gain one level.  At the same time you can head to an npc preferable a mage and they can obtain mediocre armor for you through another dimension so your character is not gimped, its free but its not the best. Other options you have, our cash shop, auction house and other players.

Also think of astral mode as your body is in the physical world but your spirit is somewhere else.  Your PERSONALITY is tossed up 50/50.  When you come back you can see your personality bar will be either good neutral or bad.  You also receive a summary of what your character has been up to.

Quick Example:

       The quests are listed once you click on the npc, you will see the list of quest and they are auto loaded to your journal.  You do not need to head back and forth.....  once you complete ALL the quests than  head back to recieve the new coordinates for the new contact.  You can not give in quests one by one the whole series of quests needs to be completed. 

At lower levels there are more quests but at higher levels there are lower number of quests but of course more difficult. 

The NPC contact, once your done with him/her will give you the coordinates to not only just one but perhaps two or more contact locations.  You can only choose one and choosing the wrong one can cost you a much needed armor or material...

Keep in mind getting to the other npc quest giver may be a challenge, you may be ambushed or confronted.  Or you may have to pass through high level enemies, either way the journey to the next npc would be an adventure.

Completing the quest with this npc unlocks the next quest giver.

Quest should replace instances...read on

========================================================================

Chapter 3:

Eliminate Instances

Instances create dead space and give developers more headaches than trying to figure out if they missed a semi colon.

Quests should be categorized as follows:

Regular Quests: These are your typical collect, gather, kill and escort quests.

Timed Quests: These quest are, "Timed," regardless of purpose they should be a one shot deal.

Epic Quests: These quests are the hardest involving the antagonist of a story line.

Everyone will ask than what is there to look forward to?  Epic Quests,  are not your, "Regular Quests."  Instead of having to fight your way through endless enemies to reach the main boss, the boss actually co exists with the players in the same world.  For example, lets say the antagonist is hiding in a cottage, building or perhaps roaming, well imagine a massive amounts of players trying to take down this one entity.  Its already evident that taking down an,"Elite," npc is extremely enjoyable.  We see it all the time in different games. 

The best way to circumvent the problem that everyone is attacking or the boss will come down too quickly is the npc CAN NOT be killed.  Instead the Epic Quest will require you to inflict certain amount of damage as a group before it is completed. 

THIS IS ONE EXAMPLE OF AN EPIC QUEST.

A problem that everyone will say is, "I can just imagine the lag."  This is obvious so how do we correct this?  Simple, it will be up to the players discretion when the right time will be to challenge the npc.  The EPIC quests are not necessary to complete to move on instead they can stay with you through out. 

Dead Space is just another way of saying this instance exists in the game with no purpose.  Completing it may grant a badge or honor whatever it may be but honestly I would not waste my time.  That's why in some games  where an instance is found the area usually devoid of players.

You may also say, "Well I will just wait at a higher level and solo it."  Answer: Even if you are at end game everyone at a certain point regardless will not see much of a difference in attacking the npc.  Alone it may take you 2 hours but with a group it may take you 15 minutes that's a significant difference.  We want to encourage grouping.

 REWARD: The reward is substantial you receive a full armor set, the whole shabang. Whats the catch? The armor set will not relate to your character in addition different sets of armor will fall.  

If your a, "Tank," you may receive a healer set, this may encourage to reroll, trade and interact.  However you can not auction the set instead you have to interact with players or set up your own shop which requires currency ;P.

 

==================================================================================

Chapter 4:

Currency

Currency should fall from enemies only and the only way to collect. Currency can not be exchanged, traded or transferred. This will eliminate most Asian companies from farming or simply make it more difficult.  So what is the point of currency.  Currency will be used for game perks.  Example: Starting a Guild, purchasing a home, resting at an inn, purchasing pots/potions and perhaps talents, furniture, simply materialistic things. 

You can not purchase armor or materials for jobs for making armor.   Armor is only obtained through quests, and raw materials you have to roam the lands to collect them.  There is an auction house, the auction house works differently where you can only trade your character, mounts and or pets (uber for hunters), or vanity pets. 

Example: Lets say your a hunter and you manage to catch a super rare animal/monster.  You obviously dont need it however you can trade it to other players for something else that you may need.  Perhaps a rare mount.

Another example would be Summoners can trade in scrolls that summon certain entities to do your bidding. 

In addition lets say there is a mount that was only given to anyone who bought the, "Collectors Edition," imagine trading that in for something better. 

RAW MATERIALS are also traded here, so perhaps raw materials have a better value than currency with in the auction house.  A player auctioning a rare mount may ask for a ridiculous amount of raw materials for an item you can only get when the game first launched. 

Raw Materials can not be sold to players or NPC only traded for items in the auction house. Also can not be exhanged for currency.

In the end its up to the players discretion if their trade is worth while.     Gaining the best raw materials is difficult because the best raw materials are found in pvp zones.  I am pretty sure the Asian companies will have a hard time farming these areas than again the Asians do out number the westerners by a large margin ;P

STOCK MARKET

Yes there will be a stock market for raw materials.  Leather, mithril, cloth, iron, silver etc... It is the same concept and can be viewed at the auction house.

This will have an impact on npc vendors, supply and demand. 

So players with a special job/trade skill need to watch closely. 

You can buy a deed to that stock, so if the stock rises sell and make some currency or you can loose it all...

 =========================================================================

Chapter 5:

Customization

The UI should be easily customizable, think of an iphone...you'll get the idea. I should be able to add or eliminate applets or styles to my choosing. A personalized UI (User Interface) will make the game more unique and a sense of ownership.

=======================================================================

Chapter 6:

End Game Replay Value

Because in chapter 3 we discussed eliminating instances this is a given. When a character reaches the last quest he/she can choose to start over however there talents, powers, abilities will be greater. Therefore if a player finishes the game 3 times than you can say that a this player is 3 times stronger than a player who has only beaten the game once.  Again its percentage the difference is there but not enough that you can consider yourself a GOD

So you beat the last quest what to do now?  Answer: With the same character you can choose to start over and begin again at a lower level.  Every player recieve a star when completing the game, the stars represents how many times you completed the game.  Stars give a boost in a characters stats.  The boost is percentage wise therefore the difference is felt at higher levels and obviously the more stars you have the stronger your character gets.

A player that is level 100 will be inferior to a player that is level 100 with a star or more.  The, "ooooo," and "ahhhhsss," will definitely be felt here. 

WHATS THE CATCH? The catch is you better complete the game as many times as you can before THE FIRST expansion roles out.  Once an expansion roles out you need to beat the game plus the expansion to get another star. 

Eventually getting stars becomes harder and harder players have a chance to catch up.  In the end it balances out. 

QUESTION: Six expansions have gone through, how in the world am I going to catch up?  Answer: The first star is given when you complete the original game...after that its time to play ketch-up.  Again this is where trading characters in the Auction comes in handy.  IF by any chance you find armor thats extremely hard to find you might find yourself trading in for a character with more than one star....

Many first person shooters have this type of system and its extremely fun and a great accomplishment.

In addition the more stars you have of course the less likely someone will think twice about ganking you, in the end having five stars and it may take a full group of players to take you down regardless of type.

Keep in mind to get that next star you start again at 0 and work your way up..so being evil may not suite you here since it will make it more of a challenge not only with npc but with players. 

Also keep in mind even if you did not buy the expansion, once the expansion updates regardless of whether you purchased or not...you can not receive a star just by beating the original game.  You have to beat the expansion now as well to receive a star.

=========================================================================

Chapter 7:

Exploration

Players should have the freedom to go anywhere they want of course at there own peril.  Freedom is so important regardless of level.  I can not emphasize how important this is.  Exploring lands is dangerous however rewarding.  Receive honors find rare pets or characters and add them to your collection.  Sometime we like to take a break and explore our environment and why not get rewarded for it.

Lets say for example your a hunter and your level 20.  While you decided your crazy and want to explore a level filled with enemies double your level you notice a creature around your level roaming in the midst of all these higher level enemies, now not only does this become exciting for a player but also a challenge and a great accomplishment if caught.

===============================================================

Chapter 8:

PVP

Pvp can be a lot of fun or it can also ruin a game.  Pvp will only be allowed in specific zones.  In safe zone everyone is immune, however the best raw materials are found in PVP zones.  There are also flags that a guild can place on certain areas.  While a guild flag is up any guild member collecting raw materials is granted a higher percentage, quicker gathering and a boost in defense.  If another guild comes along they will have to take down the flag, it would take about 6 or 7 guild members to take a flag down. 

When defeated in a pvp zone you are not able to pvp for the 24 hours however you CAN be killed.  Players who defeat other players can not defeat the same player with in 24 hrs.  In addition you have a sickness where you can not gather in the area where you died so the zone is off limits in terms of gathering...if you are defeated.  So if your going to attack a player or a guilds flag you better make the right decision.

In addition your armor/currency does not drop HOWEVER any materials you gathered can drop so you have two choices run or call for back up either way its a very enjoyable and perhaps frustrating experience...revenge is diffently bitter sweet here.

Healers and Mages are extremely neccessary here.  Mages can summon a portal to protect the flag while healers can heal the flag.  Keep in mind if your healer dies they can no longer heal a flag.  Tanks are important, they can taunt opponents keeping the healers and mages safe. Summoners can conjure guardians or pets to protect while hunters/scouts can attack from afar.  Every class has a purpose.

====================================================================

Chapter 9:

Cash Flow F2P or P2P or combination?

The game would have an initial costly fee.  Right now console games range from 39.99 to 69.99 USD.  Depending on the scale of the game and costs to make the game the price would be set.  It is in a developers interest to find the right marketing strategy and the right individuals.  

The game will be F2P with a cash shop.  The cash shop will NOT sell armor, perhaps mounts, vanity pets etc... The cash shop is not the primary source of income.

The primary source of income will come from Expansions.  Expansion will include new race, new quests, new zones, new armor.  The price of the expansion will be the same as the initial cost for the game.  Expansion would be like purchasing a whole new game. 

Time frame, it should take almost four months for a player to reach endgame.  Again this is controlled because players have to complete quests in order to gain exp in addition refer to chapter in regards to replay value. 

There are two types of expansions, Normal and Elite.  Elite expansion will cost more however if your a new player/new account you will receive a free star.  So when you start the game you automatically have a new star and once you complete the original story line you will have another. 

In the Cash Shop you can also buy stars.  They are expensive the reason, we want to make it fair, it really not fair for players who spent a long time leveling.  Also you can only buy one star every four months. 

So lets say you bought the game in January, by May you can purchase the star if you skip that month too bad you lost your chance at buying a star they do not stack.

====================================================================

Chapter 10:

Population Control

I see it every time certain cities and towns are devoid of players.  At mid levels you notice an empty city however when you reach a certain city its filled with high level players.  Whats keeping them there?  Answer: The higher the level the harder it is to gain exp thus your stuck at higher level cities.

Solution: Quest givers are not found in large cities instead they are separated, because you can select all the quests for that specific quest giver there really is no need to stand around.  Instead cities will have shops that open at a certain time. So you might find yourself traveling, thus a level 10 character may see an extremely uber character shopping at the same vendor and this not only promotes jealousy however will give a significant motivation, "I so want that armor."

========================================================================

Chapter 11:

Character Slots/Customization

There is only one slot..."oh god fail." wait wait...However in the game you have access to all the talents and abilities though you can not mix and match.  However lets say you beat the game as a tank, you receive a star and incredibly you can decide to  completely  transform your character.  While your playing the game you can switch your gender, appearance and go from tank to a healer without having to re-log with a click of a button.   The same character you started with can now be changed however you can keep your original character creation armor, you can even change your name.  You can switch back and forth.

However the new character transformation does not receive the benefit of the star...sad but you need to earn the star as that character play style.

Another benefit your, "transformations," all share the same bank.  Again remember the, "Epic Quest Rewards," you may just have the perfect healer set, thus you may be able to skip a few epic quests. 

One of the biggest innovations here is YOU CAN TRADE YOUR CHARACTER without trading your other transformations in the auction house.  You can go to an NPC and CLONE your character stats, armor, and yes even stars for a one time currency fee...keep in mind this is extremely expensive to do.  

Also keep in mind the armor that is traded with the character can not be stored, it is bound to a clone character. 

In addition players will see, "Clone," on your profile and the original player that cloned it.

"OMG FAIL PEOPLE WILL SELL CHARACTERS ONLINE."

Ahhh yes this will encourage players, THIS IS ALLOWED....of course if you are thinking your going to clone all your characters your in for a big surprise.

You are also allowed to sell your account back to us or through other players. IF YOU sell through us we will send you a farewell gift.  It could be anything from discounts to a free meal...

 Your account must have at least x amount of stars on one character not a combination for it to be eligible to be bought back. 

You can only clone one character throughout your entire account lifetime ONCE.  Clone characters can not be cloned again. 

Remember the stars?  Well after a certain amount of time there will be only a handFULL of players that have TIME who will play long enough before an expansion comes out who have LOTS of stars.

Here are the rules:

Players can sell legally their clone characters online through the games cash shop, there is no fee.  Players who sell there characters through our cash shop can sell them for real money.  We do not care make some money I am sure your parents will be happy that you got some of your money back. 

=====================================================================================

 

Chapter 12:

ARMOR/WEAPONS

Armor and weapons can be traded but not with currency.  You can trade raw materials for armor but keep in mind your bank can only carry so much.  You armor/weapons are stored in the same style as Diablo ,"tetris style," therefore you have to think wisely and ahead of time of a plan.  Because your characters transformations share the same bank, expanding your bank or having more bag slots will have to be purchased with currency.

There should be a limitless supply of different armor/weapons, however armor/weapons are not categorized as rare or epic instead the players with the information gathered from the auction house decide amongst themselves what  is really a great piece of armor or a great weapon to look out for. 

This will inhibit a better community and controversy.

The auction house will  state the current seeked after items...

======================================================================

 Chapter 13:

Jobs/Trades/Gathering

This is one of the most important aspect of the game, it carries more weight than currency. Whether you job is a tailor or a blacksmith...or an alchemist the ingredients to achieve purpose will be hard to find. This will encourage exploration and a great way to spread the players around.

One of the great ideas here is, players CAN GROW or HAVE A MINE of there own. For alchemist finding the seeds for a specific plant can be more useful and will be extremely difficult. However this leads to my next most INNOVATIVE approach...

================================================================

Chapter 14:

Purchasing Land

Thats right players can purchase land of there own, they can manipulate their land, provide resources, add animals (ALL PLAYERS CAN CAPTURE ANY CREATURE AND INTRODUCE THEM TO THERE PURCHASED LAND THEY JUST HAVE TO ASK A PLAYER HUNTER FOR HELP) they just have to make sure they balance that out certain animals that eat others :P Though they will be labeled from neutral to aggressive to omnivore to predator. Perhaps a mini sims world...

Remember removing those instances?  Well when you purchase land you can place, a door, gate whatever your imagination desires in the game world.  Players who see these doors can enter and be introduced to your land. 

Now a word of caution, an opposing faction can enter and they can literally rob, steal and kill anything in your land to circumvent this, you can purchase npcs to guard your land. 

There are no restrictions here, once you place your door as OPEN players can pay in raw materials or currency to enter.  Basically players enter at there own risk. 

While in your land you have the ,"GOD COMPLEX."  All your stats, powers, etc...are increased.  If you choose to attack players, you will turn your land into a pvp war zone.  When in War Mode your door in the game world will glow a bright fiery read letting other players enter at no cost.  So if a player in the game world sees a fiery gate or door they can click on it and a see who is attacking.  The max is 20 players from each faction can enter.  You can also put a message out, "SOS." 

Its up to you, you can let friends gather materials in your land or simply let them explore.  You can set up mini quests for players and set the rewards.  Your the ruler of the land just remember you will be paying taxes.

 

(There are more chapters but I will display them later...these are concepts take them with a grain of salt or take them for what they are. In end I had about 15 minutes of my life to share my thoughts...)

Chapter 15

Level Cap?

There is no level cap, when you complete the game you have a few options, start a new transformation, do the quests over (will be changed to your current level) start from 0 and get a star. 

Chapter 16

HARDCORE MODE

Hardcore is available after you complete the game once.  In this mode quest no longer give exp only by killing monsters can you level.  This is grinding at its max or you CAN TRY to beat the quest below the standard level.

The rewards are massive and a special title will be given if you complete the original storyline (you do not have to complete the expansion content when you play hardcore mode for the first time.

«1

Comments

  • pencilrickpencilrick Member Posts: 1,550

    Two words that do NOT belong in an MMO:  Chapter and Storyline

    The problem with the recent spate of MMO's is many are designed like movies:  linear gaming experiences with only occasional player participation allowed.  I do not want to play in a "movie", I want to game in a "world."

    Now there is nothing wrong with lore, or history, or factions; things how they are and why they are.  However, the concept that an MMO needs a story arc is fallacious.  Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails.

    The themes in a good MMO include adventure, risk, reward, and freedom.  A fixed, predestined storyline destroys all of that.

  • IbluerateIbluerate Member Posts: 256

    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    Playing: World Of Warcraft
    Resting From: Nothing
    Retired: EQ2, CoH, Tabula Rasa, SWG, Warhammer, AoC
    Waiting For: SWTOR, APB
    Love(d): Tabula Rasa, SWG, World Of Warcraft, Age of Conan

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by pencilrick


    Two words that do NOT belong in an MMO:  Chapter and Storyline
    The problem with the recent spate of MMO's is many are designed like movies:  linear gaming experiences with only occasional player participation allowed.  I do not want to play in a "movie", I want to game in a "world."
    Now there is nothing wrong with lore, or history, or factions; things how they are and why they are.  However, the concept that an MMO needs a story arc is fallacious.  Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails.
    The themes in a good MMO include adventure, risk, reward, and freedom.  A fixed, predestined storyline destroys all of that.

          Have you played World of Warcraft? Not trying to be offensive however WoW regardless of reservations against it has a unique storyline CHAPTERS within in its lore. In addition I never said design a movie like game...I dont think you really grabbed the concept but its okay...  I agree there is nothing worse than a cut scene that is five minutes long...cough cough dragon age...

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

  • IbluerateIbluerate Member Posts: 256
    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    WoW is the most successful, and it could be considered the king of MMOs, but that's only from a business stand point.

    Why do you think so many new MMOs are called WoW clones, they all want that kind of cash.

    Playing: World Of Warcraft
    Resting From: Nothing
    Retired: EQ2, CoH, Tabula Rasa, SWG, Warhammer, AoC
    Waiting For: SWTOR, APB
    Love(d): Tabula Rasa, SWG, World Of Warcraft, Age of Conan

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Ibluerate

    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    WoW is the most successful, and it could be considered the king of MMOs, but that's only from a business stand point.

    Why do you think so many new MMOs are called WoW clones, they all want that kind of cash.

     

    Its all about money...the point here is how to attract the cash flow...

  • IbluerateIbluerate Member Posts: 256
    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate

    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    WoW is the most successful, and it could be considered the king of MMOs, but that's only from a business stand point.

    Why do you think so many new MMOs are called WoW clones, they all want that kind of cash.

     

    Its all about money...the point here is how to attract the cash flow...

    By making a new, unique, MMO that somehow quiets all of the bitching, of course, that's impossible.

    Someone, somewhere, will always bitch about an MMO.

    Playing: World Of Warcraft
    Resting From: Nothing
    Retired: EQ2, CoH, Tabula Rasa, SWG, Warhammer, AoC
    Waiting For: SWTOR, APB
    Love(d): Tabula Rasa, SWG, World Of Warcraft, Age of Conan

  • paulkaidpaulkaid Member UncommonPosts: 12
    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    LOL.. Crazy post :) WOW is in first... but for how long?

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Ibluerate

    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate

    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    WoW is the most successful, and it could be considered the king of MMOs, but that's only from a business stand point.

    Why do you think so many new MMOs are called WoW clones, they all want that kind of cash.

     

    Its all about money...the point here is how to attract the cash flow...

    By making a new, unique, MMO that somehow quiets all of the bitching, of course, that's impossible.

    Someone, somewhere, will always bitch about an MMO.

    Lets Cateogorize the bitching:

    Little Bitching: Ganking, cursing, politically incorrect, in game harassment...

    Medium Bitching: Stuck, no rewards, did not receive special item pet etc..., lag, disconnected one maybe twice...

    Queen Bitching: Bored (The worst thing in my opinion that could happen to a game), No Replay Value, Graphics Horrible, Mechanics Horrible, Horrible Story Line, hacked account etc..

    So if we listen to the Queen bitching more and less of the little bitching perhaps any game could rule them all...

     

    Don't get me wrong every issue should be addressed I would just address the more important ones...than again if your quitting a game because someone called you a newb than there are issues beyond that most likely a psychologist needs to get involved.

     

  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504

    Thoughts:

    • Quest level limits prevent a level 50 from grouping with a level 1 player and doing a level 50 quest, thus giving the level 1 player a ridiculous heap of XP he didn't earn.
    • What exactly do you mean by "dead space"?   Because in an Instanced game I walk into the dungeon and immediately have a high-quality encounter.  In a non-instanced game I walk into the dungeon and find the encounter has already been killed, forcing me to wait on a respawn or move on.   I would consider the latter "dead space" more than the former.
    • Currency being untradeable defeats the majority of purpose behind currency.  Also it makes no sense.  Also it just forces a game to revolve around barter-based trades (this last one isn't that bad, but it's the reason this "solution" doesn't actually "solve" gold-sellers.  Instead of selling you 10,000 gold they now sell you 20 Rings of Jordan.)
    • Pencilrick's extremist nonsense is laughable as usual.  He was okay with the statement "the concept an MMO needs story is fallacious", because that only says MMOs don't need story.  Not an extremist statement, and quite true.  But he follows it up with the very extremist, " Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails."  Which ignores the fact that games can be tremendously appealing to players on rails (Final Fantasy).  It also ignores the fact that almost no MMORPG comes anywhere close to being "linear" (Guild Wars is the only one that's remotely in the ballpark.)

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • Players like instancing.  I personally like a good mix, but most people prefer a good fight without interruption or even sided pvp battlegrounds/arenas.  Could a successful game be developed with far less focus on instances?  I certainly believe so.  But remove instances entirely and I think the game fails.

    Players also like to trade.  Make currency notrade and you certainly aren't gonna get a mmo to rule them all.  Heck, you might as well make a single player game.  Unless that is you're talking about trading just in items, then I'm with ya.  However based on your apparent bias against rmt, I'm guessing you'd utilize bind on pickup as well.

    Your replay the game idea is slightly intriguing, sorta a page out of D2, but ultimately I'm against it.  If you've gotta have a storyline, one time is enough for a mmo.  Even if you tried the normal nm hell idea, I see players getting bored with it, even with a much wider scope of story.

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Axehilt


    Thoughts:

    Quest level limits prevent a level 50 from grouping with a level 1 player and doing a level 50 quest, thus giving the level 1 player a ridiculous heap of XP he didn't earn.
    What exactly do you mean by "dead space"?   Because in an Instanced game I walk into the dungeon and immediately have a high-quality encounter.  In a non-instanced game I walk into the dungeon and find the encounter has already been killed, forcing me to wait on a respawn or move on.   I would consider the latter "dead space" more than the former.
    Currency being untradeable defeats the majority of purpose behind currency.  Also it makes no sense.  Also it just forces a game to revolve around barter-based trades (this last one isn't that bad, but it's the reason this "solution" doesn't actually "solve" gold-sellers.  Instead of selling you 10,000 gold they now sell you 20 Rings of Jordan.)
    Pencilrick's extremist nonsense is laughable as usual.  He was okay with the statement "the concept an MMO needs story is fallacious", because that only says MMOs don't need story.  Not an extremist statement, and quite true.  But he follows it up with the very extremist, " Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails."  Which ignores the fact that games can be tremendously appealing to players on rails (Final Fantasy).  It also ignores the fact that almost no MMORPG comes anywhere close to being "linear" (Guild Wars is the only one that's remotely in the ballpark.)

     

    Let me first say its a work in progress I can only post so much...but keep coming back you will understand better the choices I have made but to address your concerns:

    "Dead Space," It so happens that instances if we really look at them are just another world...another land.  The exception is there is a required level.  So most of the time players skip the instance, power level, and move on to end game and the instance is repeated over and over...and over ultimately it gets boring...however with questing you just move on...no need to repeat the quest unless you completed the game...I'll be more clear I promise just have a little faith.

    Currency is really irrelevant in certain aspects.  It seems having currency really ruines a game in the long run.  Though I will explain this later on...again a work in progress. 

    Again my thoughts are farfetched but there is a really innovative idea behind it...:P

  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504

    What part of "level requirement" is related to instances?  You're level 10.  There's a level 80 instance and a level 80 area.  Instance or non-instance, you're not doing jack.

    If you want to solve "level requirement" as a problem, solve that problem.  Don't blame it on instancing, when instancing isn't the cause.  Sidekicking (COH) solves the main negative drawback to level requirements.

    If your gripe is against repeating content, then it's a perfectly acceptable opinion to want low-quality quest content.  You want devs to split their time among 5 quests you run once each, rather than have them spend 5 times the effort making an instance players are expected to run 5 times.  I don't agree with that opinion (I lean towards high-quality content) but it's valid.

    Regarding currency, your proposal (and the majority of proposals I've heard people come up with; mine included) ends up being one step forward, two steps back.  Even the solutions that totally solve gold-selling (ie they don't even have bartering) remove economy from the game.  Economy is interesting to a ton of players; removing it from a game shouldn't be done lightly.

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • johnmatthaisjohnmatthais Member CommonPosts: 2,663
    Originally posted by Axehilt



    What exactly do you mean by "dead space"?   Because in an Instanced game I walk into the dungeon and immediately have a high-quality encounter.  In a non-instanced game I walk into the dungeon and find the encounter has already been killed, forcing me to wait on a respawn or move on.   I would consider the latter "dead space" more than the former.



    Even better, let's make bosses one time things but make them dynamic. Make the bosses come as different factions war. Make them something really unique and 3 times as hard to kill. Make the players really work for it. Make it a really rewarding experience. If everyone has that same achievement under their belt, it's not really noteworthy after so long.

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by zaxxon23


    Players like instancing.  I personally like a good mix, but most people prefer a good fight without interruption or even sided pvp battlegrounds/arenas.  Could a successful game be developed with far less focus on instances?  I certainly believe so.  But remove instances entirely and I think the game fails.
    Players also like to trade.  Make currency notrade and you certainly aren't gonna get a mmo to rule them all.  Heck, you might as well make a single player game.  Unless that is you're talking about trading just in items, then I'm with ya.  However based on your apparent bias against rmt, I'm guessing you'd utilize bind on pickup as well.
    Your replay the game idea is slightly intriguing, sorta a page out of D2, but ultimately I'm against it.  If you've gotta have a storyline, one time is enough for a mmo.  Even if you tried the normal nm hell idea, I see players getting bored with it, even with a much wider scope of story.

     

    How many times have we as gamers played a game, followed the story than rerolled and just skipped the story to get to the end?  I see it happening all the time...I do it all the time..and yes it gets boring but as a matter of fact that, "star," signifies to everyone I beat the game enough times that you cant call me a newb...well...you may still be called a newb...lol...but its just that feeling of accomplishment overall I did update...:P

  • CendhariaCendharia Member UncommonPosts: 319
    Originally posted by pencilrick


    Two words that do NOT belong in an MMO:  Chapter and Storyline
    The problem with the recent spate of MMO's is many are designed like movies:  linear gaming experiences with only occasional player participation allowed.  I do not want to play in a "movie", I want to game in a "world."
    Now there is nothing wrong with lore, or history, or factions; things how they are and why they are.  However, the concept that an MMO needs a story arc is fallacious.  Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails.
    The themes in a good MMO include adventure, risk, reward, and freedom.  A fixed, predestined storyline destroys all of that.



     

    Heh..cutscenes..although usually pretty well rendered...are danged annoying.   I see them alot in rpgs, but some games like Guild Wars and other newer games...have them too.   In a way they are immersion breaking....it feels like someone is holding my hand and leading me along without me having to exert myself.

    Bring back the old days ..some grind...all questing..is boring and puts me to sleep,  I hate being caged in a little box and only doing quests, I am an explorer at heart, would love to explore and find rare things as a reward for my exploration efforts.  Linear quest based, lead you by the nose games BORE ME TO DEATH. :P

  • TanonTanon Member UncommonPosts: 176

     Stars?

    In other words, anyone who has played longer than you beats you 10 times out of 10. You have no way of catching up to them, lest you spend 21 hours a day killing boars. Broken PvP much?

     

    No currency trading? This isn't a solution to RMT at all. Think of a better one. Like someone said, instead of selling you 10,000 gold, they'll be selling you 20 SoJs. That's how it worked in Diablo II-gold was worthless, so things were traded in items instead.

     

    HOWEVER, D2 still had the option to trade for gold-it's just that the cap that you could carry and the difficulty to reach that cap were not quite balanced, so gold became worthless.

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Cendharia

    Originally posted by pencilrick


    Two words that do NOT belong in an MMO:  Chapter and Storyline
    The problem with the recent spate of MMO's is many are designed like movies:  linear gaming experiences with only occasional player participation allowed.  I do not want to play in a "movie", I want to game in a "world."
    Now there is nothing wrong with lore, or history, or factions; things how they are and why they are.  However, the concept that an MMO needs a story arc is fallacious.  Devs should never dictate a player's destiny or place the player's gaming experience on rails.
    The themes in a good MMO include adventure, risk, reward, and freedom.  A fixed, predestined storyline destroys all of that.



     

    Heh..cutscenes..although usually pretty well rendered...are danged annoying.   I see them alot in rpgs, but some games like Guild Wars and other newer games...have them too.   In a way they are immersion breaking....it feels like someone is holding my hand and leading me along without me having to exert myself.

    Bring back the old days ..some grind...all questing..is boring and puts me to sleep,  I hate being caged in a little box and only doing quests, I am an explorer at heart, would love to explore and find rare things as a reward for my exploration efforts.  Linear quest based, lead you by the nose games BORE ME TO DEATH. :P

         

         The only cut scene I would like to see is at the beginning of the game and a pretty well rendered enjoyable cut scene when I finish the game. 

  • QuirhidQuirhid Member UncommonPosts: 6,230

    I find myself disagreeing with everyone else except Axehilt. Cheers.

    I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Axehilt



    If your gripe is against repeating content, then it's a perfectly acceptable opinion to want low-quality quest content.  You want devs to split their time among 5 quests you run once each, rather than have them spend 5 times the effort making an instance players are expected to run 5 times.  I don't agree with that opinion (I lean towards high-quality content) but it's valid.
     

     

         Your not running 5 times, here is the scenario.  You talk to the npc and GRAB all the quests, the only time you need to return is when you completed all the npc quests.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding your post...but from what I am reading I went ahead and explained further the quests.

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by paulkaid

    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Ibluerate


    No MMO will ever rule them all, ever, because people have opinions.

    <<<Equips epic gear

    Perhaps your right or perhaps there is already one...WOW....let the flameing begin :P

     

    LOL.. Crazy post :) WOW is in first... but for how long?

     

    Lmao...yes I know im crazy...:P

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by Tanon


     Stars?
    In other words, anyone who has played longer than you beats you 10 times out of 10. You have no way of catching up to them, lest you spend 21 hours a day killing boars. Broken PvP much?
     
    No currency trading? This isn't a solution to RMT at all. Think of a better one. Like someone said, instead of selling you 10,000 gold, they'll be selling you 20 SoJs. That's how it worked in Diablo II-gold was worthless, so things were traded in items instead.
     
    HOWEVER, D2 still had the option to trade for gold-it's just that the cap that you could carry and the difficulty to reach that cap were not quite balanced, so gold became worthless.

     

    While you may have a star, its a percentage so to make it quite simple and understanding you need a significant amount of stars...reminds me of the episode of south park....where they played 24hrs straight hilarious...but no not to that extent.

    Keep in mind players with more than one star may have other characters, so they may end up trading there character if perhaps you happened to find an uber armor set or weapon.

    In one of my chapters I do explain,

    One of the biggest innovations here is YOU CAN TRADE YOUR CHARACTER without trading your other transformations in the auction house or even loosing your character. You can go to an NPC and CLONE your character stats, armor, and yes even stars for a one time currency fee...keep in mind this is extremely expensive to do. 

  • adoniskevadoniskev Member Posts: 92
    Originally posted by zaxxon23


    Players like instancing.  I personally like a good mix, but most people prefer a good fight without interruption or even sided pvp battlegrounds/arenas.  Could a successful game be developed with far less focus on instances?  I certainly believe so.  But remove instances entirely and I think the game fails.
    Players also like to trade.  Make currency notrade and you certainly aren't gonna get a mmo to rule them all.  Heck, you might as well make a single player game.  Unless that is you're talking about trading just in items, then I'm with ya.  However based on your apparent bias against rmt, I'm guessing you'd utilize bind on pickup as well.
    Your replay the game idea is slightly intriguing, sorta a page out of D2, but ultimately I'm against it.  If you've gotta have a storyline, one time is enough for a mmo.  Even if you tried the normal nm hell idea, I see players getting bored with it, even with a much wider scope of story.

     

    All games eventrually get boring...whats important is how long will it take players to get bored....

  • AxehiltAxehilt Member RarePosts: 10,504
    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Axehilt



    If your gripe is against repeating content, then it's a perfectly acceptable opinion to want low-quality quest content.  You want devs to split their time among 5 quests you run once each, rather than have them spend 5 times the effort making an instance players are expected to run 5 times.  I don't agree with that opinion (I lean towards high-quality content) but it's valid.
     

     Your not running 5 times, here is the scenario.  You talk to the npc and GRAB all the quests, the only time you need to return is when you completed all the npc quests.  Perhaps I am misunderstanding your post...but from what I am reading I went ahead and explained further the quests.



     

    What I'm describing is one of the factors behind instancing providing higher quality content, which some players prefer.  A given dev team gets x manhours to work on a chunk of content.  They can make 5 quests or 1 instance with that time.  If they go for quests, they get 1/5th the manhours to work on each individual quest compared to the one instance (which you'd be expected to run 5 times.)

    So I'm describing a dev decision between the two options, and stating which one I feel is a strong choice.  MMORPGs struggle to provide high quality content, and while I don't know if I'd suggest making an MMORPG entirely out of repeatedly-run instances, I also know that I wouldn't like a MMORPG which was entirely composed of spammed, low-quality quests. 

    The situation shares similarities with MMORPG playing preferences.  You have two choices:

    • Pick one high-quality MMORPG and play it, even if it means repeating some of the content in that MMORPG multiple times (which you're probably going to be willing to do as a result of that content being high quality.)
    • Refuse to repeat any content in an MMORPG, and thus hop between multiple lower-quality MMORPGs in the constant pursuit of something new.

    "What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver

  • libranimlibranim Member Posts: 139
    Originally posted by adoniskev

    Originally posted by Tanon


     Stars?
    In other words, anyone who has played longer than you beats you 10 times out of 10. You have no way of catching up to them, lest you spend 21 hours a day killing boars. Broken PvP much?
     
    No currency trading? This isn't a solution to RMT at all. Think of a better one. Like someone said, instead of selling you 10,000 gold, they'll be selling you 20 SoJs. That's how it worked in Diablo II-gold was worthless, so things were traded in items instead.
     
    HOWEVER, D2 still had the option to trade for gold-it's just that the cap that you could carry and the difficulty to reach that cap were not quite balanced, so gold became worthless.

     

    While you may have a star, its a percentage so to make it quite simple and understanding you need a significant amount of stars...reminds me of the episode of south park....where they played 24hrs straight hilarious...but no not to that extent.

    Keep in mind players with more than one star may have other characters, so they may end up trading there character if perhaps you happened to find an uber armor set or weapon.

    In one of my chapters I do explain,

    One of the biggest innovations here is YOU CAN TRADE YOUR CHARACTER without trading your other transformations in the auction house or even loosing your character. You can go to an NPC and CLONE your character stats, armor, and yes even stars for a one time currency fee...keep in mind this is extremely expensive to do. 

    Ergh

    well that dang destroys any immersion there is then doesn't it? what is the point if you create a character, copy it, sell it, then... it's like a in-game character selling.. wait what?

    isn't that what 'gold-selling' companies do? sell characters?

    I like some of your concepts, but I think the whole 'keep out the gold spammers' plan is abit outstretched, keep normal currency and crafting abilities; just make it interesting. Or better yet, follow the GW model and make it so that gears don't really matter too much in the end, make it a skill-based game.

    Crafting can be a huge part for people who enjoy mmos... if you make it so that the crafted equipments (excluding your said 'scrolls' assuming they are part of profession and not class) can only be worn by you... well thing is, alot of stuff in-game live by the economy of material trade and equipment trade.

    Other than that, I think alot of ideas are nice.

Sign In or Register to comment.