General Discussion

I am one of the many malcontents haunting these forums waiting for an MMO that gets me addicted again...

Some of us want Sandbox... pre-cu SWG style....

Some of us want EQ1 risk/fear/challenge....

Some of us want full loot open PvP....

Most of us want something new... there are many theories as to what might provide a new experience...

All of us want to recapture that feeling we had when we played our first MMO.  I've seen many people say we will  never recapture it... but I did once already and that gives me hope that I will again.  My first amazing MMO experience was EQ.... I particularly think that the lack of maps made the world seem vast and mysterious.. and the death penalty made the world seem intimidating and scary.  I think the dumbing down of EQ started with instant travel being made too available (player ports were fine) first with SoL, then really badly with PoP.

I had a great experience with SWG, but to be honest it didnt last that long... maybe 6 months to a year.  The population dropping (due to lack of things to do and broken pvp) killed the worlds alive feeling.

My next real MMO obsession was WoW.  I found the world immersive... the new angle on quest grinding camoflaged the grind for a while..... five man instanced dungeons were fantastic... world pvp (pre BG's) was good.... five man tactics and interdependence was the best I'd ever seen.  The game's only real fault was that it was too easy (excluding extreme end game 40 man content).... which meant we sortof finished it in a relatively short time... In EQ max level seemed like a nearly impossible goal... in WoW it was an easily reachable guarantee.

Eventually the shine of WoW wore off... the grind became a grind again....  everything began to look and feel the same as everything else...

Since that happened I have not been able to enjoy any other MMO at all for more then a very short while.  Vanguard was the promise.... but even if it hadn't crashed and burned I think I would still have been too burnt out to really enjoy it.

What's my point?  What do I want?  Some kind of new revelation in MMO gaming that hides the grind for a while again... something to give a fresh and new experience.  I would love for this game to include some or all of my favorite past MMO features (housing, death penalty, no maps, 5 man content, challenge).. but the truth is WoW worked and it didnt have any of my favorite old features... We just need innovation.

Aion looks like it might be the next great MMO, but it doesnt have anything to make it a totally fresh experience.  Right now I'm waiting for Jumpgate Evolution because at least its something different, but I'm sure it wont satisfy my MMO craving.

This is going to be my first month without an MMO to play.  I have played every P2P MMO released in the USA and I have come to realize I don't like MMORPGS.  I want an online world to have fun in.  I miss socializing with people and doing random things because they seem fun, not because I need to level or farm for money.

Putting this genre on hold until we get out of the MMORP"Game" mindset and developers start making MMORP"Worlds".

pre-CU SWG and EVE are the MMORP-worlds I'm familiar with.  Both were great in their own way, but only appeal to a more limited audience.  The SWG experience is long gone, and admittedly EVE isn't the cure for all SWG players as it is a totally different experience and requires patience...

So yes, we need more MMORP-Worlds... but we still need to find a way to keep players interested for a long time without boring them with more and more of the same old experience (grind).

Originally posted by Sepulcher

This is going to be my first month without an MMO to play.  I have played every P2P MMO released in the USA and I have come to realize I don't like MMORPGS.  I want an online world to have fun in.  I miss socializing with people and doing random things because they seem fun, not because I need to level or farm for money.

Putting this genre on hold until we get out of the MMORP"Game" mindset and developers start making MMORP"Worlds".

Second Life?  There?

Second life is a wonderful idea.. the technology just isnt there and the total freedom makes for a very incongruous world.

Yes we are hard to please for very good reason.Every game coming out looks/acts and plays the same.There is not one game that comes out screaming "Play me over any other game".

We do NOT have one single TRUE MMORPG that has a world that feels ALIVE and real.Every single game ,really does feel like a game engine with mobs and npc's just dotted around with no reason.

Games are saying "I'm CUTE" play me..or "We have great PVP" play me,or we have a "Diverse Game" play me,they all end up being superficial games with very little realism/content.

Where games are going wrong is in the PVP area.Instead of saying PVP really matters in this game,it SHOULD be the NPC's really matter.The games should have NPC's that carry on in the game like they were/are in a real world ,moving around/interacting with the game.That way if you decide to kill one ,it could have huge ramifications on the game for everyone else.The game could have bounty hunters that seek out players all over the world because they are labeled killers/murderers.Instead we have games trying to pretend that killing another player will make any difference in the game..lol,it makes no sense.Plotting NPC's in front of static buildings offering boring quests is definitely the most boring,useless thing to do to a game.

I really hate to say it,but i am slapping myself in the face for saying it...we sort of need a SIMS type of world where the whole world is REALISTIC and interacting with itself.That is the TRUE way a game and it's players would mold the world.Anything else from PVP is just kill each other ,rinse repeat,really means squat.I am not talking about just a SIMS game,but a Fantasy or SCI fi type MMO that plays sort of like a SIMS but still has the roleplaying elements that we expect from our MMORPG games.

Plain and simple ,people are tiring of these same old ,same old,develop a skill tree and then spend your whole game looking for gear,doing ridiculous quests,or grinding Xp over and over aimlessly.

The concept is VERY simple,i cannot believe ,there is not one game that has not done it yet.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Yes we are hard to please for very good reason.Every game coming out looks/acts and plays the same.There is not one game that comes out screaming "Play me over any other game".

We do NOT have one single TRUE MMORPG that has a world that feels ALIVE and real.Every single game ,really does feel like a game engine with mobs and npc's just dotted around with no reason.

I really hate to say it,but i am slapping myself in the face for saying it...we sort of need a SIMS type of world where the whole world is REALISTIC and interacting with itself.That is the TRUE way a game and it's players would mold the world.Anything else from PVP is just kill each other ,rinse repeat,really means squat.I am not talking about just a SIMS game,but a Fantasy or SCI fi type MMO that plays sort of like a SIMS but still has the roleplaying elements that we expect from our MMORPG games.

The concept is VERY simple,i cannot believe ,there is not one game that has not done it yet.

I'm intrigued.

How do you propose we make a world feel alive and real, and what would we do to make it feel more realistic and the other things you are saying?

I want an MMO with SIM style environmental additions that won't affect the rest of the game or other players.