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MMO/Sandbox/Virtual World/Skype with Benefits?


PetdCat

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I have been around for a good number of years (from back when MUDs were considered MMOs) and over that time I have lived in a number of "virtual worlds".  Each one had a particular focus, and over time they all became rather tired because there was only one blade in that Swiss Army Knife--they were really a "game" and not a world.  I have always thought, that if an MMO came along that did a number of things well, they would do well, a game is a focus on a single mechanic with parts added on.  A world is in essence a place for people to live--play the games they wish, and make new ones if they are so inclined.

 

DU is planning on being a Sci-Fi sandbox.  We will (I assume) be able to build, travel, have combat, crafting, social interactions, economy....why not take the best examples in each area and use that as a starting point for each area?  Here are just a couple of my musings to start the discussion.

 

Storylines in a Sandbox:   EVE Online is by far the best I have seen in this area.  In EVE there are basic themes, guidelines, and arcs that are part of the game.  You then have player stories that provide depth, differences in views, and a diversity within the parameters of the game that I have not encountered anywhere.   Yes--it would require some oversight, but one you have your "main" writers that you are comfortable with--you do not really need to monitor them with a fine tooth comb.  They will know what you want, and they will conform to that writing style.  Then, you just need to keep an eye out for other talent.  In the end, you get robust and diverse storylines (that will appeal to a range of players) and build a player base that loves to flesh out the world with prose.

 

Economy:  I am going to put the EVE things right next to each other--EVE has been one of the best player economies I have ever worked with.  That however comes with a caveat--EVE only works because EVE is a brutal world.  EVE is not a place for people who never want to die and lose everything (or a good chunk).  The economy works because everyone is going to need to replace things all the time.  It make for a robust player economy, but the basis for that economy is a mechanic that will turn many players off.  I fully believe where that brutality makes for a great PvP game and economy, it in turn prevents EVE for expanding beyond that niche.  Beyond EVE, auction houses are unassuming places for crafters to fight for relevancy.  I have yet to find one that is makes both the crafters and players equally happy.   In order for a sandbox to survive, it will need to have a robust economy.  How to accomplish that?  Your guess is as good as mine  :)

 

Skills:  Again, I like how EVE does skills, you gain skills even when not online.  But that only works with a P2P model.  I may take a break from EVE for awhile, but I will still pay my monthly so my skills upgrade while I am gone.  I need to login every now and then to select skills, but that is a small thing.  Other games use levels building upon the last, or achievements.  Skills can be something that some players live for--getting that next level, upgrading X piece of armor,   Crafting can be huge--there are still people incredibly bitter over Star Wars Galaxies being closed just because they miss the crafting.  After this many years, that is amazing.

 

Combat:  PvP, PvE, RvR, GvG,WvWvW...by far, the biggest draw to the game side of things.  I think a balance between PvP and PvE is the best bet.  It will need to be robust however for each and balancing is always a pain.  I like the way The Secret World has handled their combat (which also ties to skills) but I know others that dislike it.

 

Building:  Originally I came from a polygon world of building and voxel world building was a whole different way of looking at the world.  Not being able to create my own textures (or skins) and upload them took some serious getting use to.  I think for DU you will need two layers of tools--Basic and Advanced.  I say this because you will have those two types of builders.  Basic builders are going to be interested in building their house, shop, spaceport, but their main focus will be in other parts of the game.  Advanced builders will probably focus on just building with some side things.  It is just how they are put together and get their jollies.  They are going to want tools to handle everything from the biggest to the smallest and everything in between.  They will also want tools to provide a level of detail--even if that mean that the tools and processes are difficult.  To them, it will be worth it to make whatever is in their brain alive in the world.  

 

Social: There are worlds where this is all they really do.  You really need to decide at the very beginning what "rating" you want, but there will be people who will find some ingenious way to turn parts of the world into a dating site.  It is going to happen, you just want to make sure that you know what maturity level you want the game to be and have controls in place to keep it that way.  

 

Bars, Clubs, Venues, Games, are all large draws in many worlds.  Online DJs, another big  draw for these types of places.  There is a thread concerning Marriage in the forums.  That is another huge area for some with people providing support for those events (Justice of the Peace, Wedding Planners, Renting Venues, Building Venues, Decorating, Cakes, Music, Photography).  

 

There also needs to be Guild Management and from what I have seen on the DevBlog that all looks like it is on the right path to me.

 

Anyway, just rambling thoughts, and everyone has a different view of the world  :)   This early in the game--I think these are really areas that DU could use the most input concerning  :)

 

 

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I completely agree about the economy bit. For it to be constantly rotating, there should be a set durability on all items/tools/ship parts etc. and make them perishable.

 

Regarding skills, I think DU should make it possible to learn skills of any role. This makes it possible for players to be an engineer and a medic, or whatever combination they see fit. Offline skill learning is a bonus!

 

I think combat would be amazing with thousands of players clashing, like EVE. In general PvPvE is more appealing (to me) if it's done right. A one-man npc-army shouldn't be possible, as is an non-playable community or vice-versa because a mix of both will be more successful. Maybe include npc wildlife/natives but that's all I'd really do.

 

The story-line should be a prologue to player stories, in which anyone can add to the book, and major player-driven events will be recorded in DU history (wars, economy collapses, country formations, inventions etc).

 

For the social aspect, there will be people from all paths coming to enjoy the game, becoming diverse. So I can't predict how the mainstream community will be like. From similar games, though, I can safely assume they'll dive into every social feature available and even create their own (such as dating areas).

 

I'm most excited about building. Using voxels, world creating will be precise, and every player can build something unique. This aspect has so much potential, and may very well be the most popular feature the game will have. There are many geniuses among us that I can't wait to see what they will make!

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I do agree that social aspects will be a major influence, and the emergant gameplay that is often referenced will likely be one of, if not, the driving force behind story lines after the game starts.

Were still in a interbellum of sorts waiting for the rest of the official story to flesh out.

We have the building blocks though, Ark Ship, survivors, new civilization, nanoformers, and other post modern science elements, nanopacks that bend space, resurrection nodes.

 

More ideas, always good, I know I have my fair share of ideas that I just spout out. Even though I do so I think its best to slowly approach Social content like Music Streaming, or Voice over IP,  Heavily scripted club devices, lights, dancefloors, particle effects. Just because these elements can have significant impacts of load performance.

Just image a 300 ship battle with 900 players, and 40 ships have dance halls with multiple music streams going, not only are all the movement actions, gun shots, and shield deflections trying to process, but there are people pulling out droids with lighting and particle effects, dancing, streaming and so forth. We players will also need to consider our own computers performance capabilities as in, if you are paricipating in this battle and jamming out, and also recording video, it can be quite taxing.

Maybe there would be hard coded limitations prohibiting some content in space or on planets.

 

I primarily hope they focus on the builder, combat, and political elements as they seemingly are.

 

This great boxless (sandbox) universe they are crafting though may come to house many features, I know I wanted to suggest a Rythem Master(Guitar Hero/School Idol Festival) mini game for entertainers, but it became extremely convoluted and burdensome. Especially considering I would rather see fluid combat, tank turrets, more ship components ( various thrusters, armor plates, shield types, interior/ exterior decor, Capital class weapons, fighter weapons, cruiser weapons and so forth)

 

We players will need to step up our creativity a bit when the game gets closer to launch. We will become the villains, heroes, damsels, sidekicks, engineers, pilots that shape the stories people will tell their friends.

 

On the notion of economy, skills, and story. And even possibly relating to Astrov / Comrade Honor/Karma/Good - Bad thing; I wonder if drugs will be craftable, maybe like Moondust and Liquid Light, stuff with a futuristic science fiction-esque name.

(I could also be typing out of my mind, super tired, goodnight cruel sleep deprived world)

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Saffi:

 

"On the notion of economy, skills, and story. And even possibly relating to Astrov / Comrade Honor/Karma/Good - Bad thing; I wonder if drugs will be craftable, maybe like Moondust and Liquid Light, stuff with a futuristic science fiction-esque name.

(I could also be typing out of my mind, super tired, goodnight cruel sleep deprived world)"

 

I don't think drugs would be necessarily a desirable product in DU, or any video game at all, because one cannot  get physically high from taking virtual drugs, and that is essentially the only reason anyone would ever take drugs. But the idea does open up the possibility of in-game illegal substances, that may be called "drugs", that could boost gameplay, essentially putting a cheat in a bottle or pillbox, which could then affect the Honor Reputation of a player.

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Aheh.. yeah Its a little leftover thing from the time when I enjoyed playing Star Wars Galaxies.

There were many classes. two of which were chef, and smuggler. Chefs made food that gave decent buff's, smugglers made contraband (drugs) that also gave buffs, the contraband was strong for a few minutes and then after the buff was over you would be debuffed for a period of time,

 

you could also be scanned for contraband, by npc's, and charged, or shot at in some cases.

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Not sure if it was brought on already but in regards to skills, being able too loose the skills as a result from combat also adds to the realism part of the game. You die, you get revived in the resurrection nodes, your brain is cloudy and unable to process much, time passes and... Oh snap you remember how to craft x thing. Sometimes your brain won't be able to recall the skills forcing you to relearn them.

 

This also can be included in the social aspect... The more time you spent socialism with people the better chance you have to be 'tought' skills from other players.

 

Organizations can even create a 'basic learning' center for players to study skills.

 

Example being: Flight schools - Buildings schools etc

 

This will allow for solo players to learn skills with out feeling left out if not wanting to socialize with others.

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I understand that having skill trees is the easiest form of deciding what skills to get but I personally prefer more of a skill list. What I mean by that is having many different skills you can work on them in any amount you want to. And you could have prerequisite set up such as you have to learn basic gun handling before you can start working on your sniper handling skill. So it is sort of a tree in the fact that you have prerequisites but at the same time it is a list of all the basic skills such as cooking crafting and whatnot. I feel the more skills you have the more you can customize your person. In addition to that you could gain experience throughout the game and you lose all of it when you die making you lose all your skill or at least a percentage of the skill experience you put into them. Also on another note I don't think you should have to get a skill to unlock a crafting recipe, I think it ruins immersion if you know what you are unlocking before you unlock it so what if there was a crafting skill and then it unlocked new possibilities for you as it level up. I think I will explain this concept better under a topic so if you are confused look for that topic in a couple of days if I remember to make it.

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