Infinity: Renascentis

yeah.. uber wall of text was inspired just now. thanks brite.
... I wonder how many will actually read through this though :I

Started thinking about what would make the mmo fantasy rpg better, and at the same time not going for a clone of another 'successful' game.
Ive came to the realization that mmorpgs have been doin it wrong! DX< well atleast for what they have been working towards, which is usually making a successful mmorpg that can stand on its own, and keep its audience entertained with the least amount of money as possible.
What I believe we need is another sandbox mmo. EvE did it perfectly, and still does it perfectly, and it being one of the only known still functioning sandbox mmos out there, and most importantly wasnt a clone off another, atleast from what ive read.
Not saying that we should make EvE clones either because a. EvE can only be better than EvE can, much like how WoW can only be better than WoW can.
And B. EvE is a space strategy/sim sandbox mmo. The key words being Space Sandbox. Taking what makes EvE so successful and turning it into a fantasy world would be like taking a game from the X series and turning it into final fantasy. It wouldnt work, the game mechanics are vastly too different.

However I do think it would be still possible to make a sandbox fantasy rpg that didnt involve space and such (which was one of the key elements that made Eve work so well) based on the simple fact that if done correctly, one could make a world that could entertain and even captivate its audience while putting in little effort after launch. Something games like WoW still struggle to do (look at the metric ton of expansions there). And while you wouldnt really be required to throw new dungeons and stuff in, new content patches would always be an amazing addition, but more of a compliment to the game already there, instead of just 'stepping it up to the next tier'. The reason i say this is because the main reason behind EvEs success isnt entirely because its space oriented, and that the game mechanics it has compliments this, and how they as the dev team handles the game itself. Nah. Those are just the tools. The reason why its successful is because of this.

What you are looking at here is basically a map of EVE with all its 'guilds' so to speak. Just skip through it by a few seconds at a time and youll notice the real differences. You see blobs growing, shrinking, changing colors, ect. What is going on here is wars, economic collapses/rises, alliances changing hands in leaders, people screwing people over, ect. This is where the game shines.
also.
https://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Goonswarm
This is Goonswarm, and at several points in EVEs history was the biggest.
Just scroll through their history and read some of this stuff. While they are one of the most hated in the game, they still pack quite a history of wars, forum wars, ect. And each of their victories and defeats actually caused a major change their power, as well as their 'people'

The reason why EvE is successful is because the devs built the game, and presented it as a tool, not as the form of entertainment, but as a tool for your entertainment. In EVE you can go out and do whatever you want, be it a merchant, a merc, or even a high end guard for fleets that traverse the galaxy and have grand pvp battles that actually determine the success of the people youre fighting for. Im sure EVEs had several content packs and such, but the game itself could easily stand on its own without all that, because the people play it for what it is, not whats in it.

So in either case, with this in mind, i started pondering on what would make a good game? how would it work, what would be the key things and such, and what would make it work in both functionality, and entertainment, while keeping in the mindset of 'small dev team, small budget' or in basic terms, keeping it realistic to build.
I am certain that Sandbox is a brilliant foundation for this, and taking ideas and from other successful games, and not cloning them, but changing them to work for what the game would be. I wont say that WoW was a bad game, it was an amazing game from its early days, it wouldnt have become the foundation for many other mmos, much less still be around to this day if it wasnt an amazing game when it first started. But i also wont say that WoW doesnt have flaws, and nearly all the WoW clones kept several of those flaws. But we wont be cloning WoW. The idea is to make a unique game. But the reason WoW got brought up is because while WoW clones are bad, taking ideas that made WoW work, and making them work, not by cloning but by changing it and molding it into what is needed isnt bad.
So the mind set is, Make an idea for an mmo fantasy rpg within the bounds of realistic limitations (budget, team, time, ect) while using the idea of sandbox as the foundation, instead of another game. You may also be wondering why i keep mentioning the realistic limitations, its because any other idea is pretty much useless and a pipe dream. You cant make a video game of any kind that is omfg shitjusthitthefan ballstasticly epicly huge and epicly entertaining of omfg ways without an equally large budget, dev team, and a lot of time. And while it may seem silly to be coming up with the 'serious' ideas because 'none of us will ever make a game, these ideas will never go anywhere' Remember there are many of us, and we have voices, and if our ideas are well liked, our voices will get carried on, and eventually, hopefully will meet some devs that are willing to take on the task, and if anything, use our ideas as the foundation for a new amazing game.

 

I could honestly not agree more with your idea.
A well made sandbox mmo would be amazing, something more than just another Everquest 1/WoW clone.
(( Wow may be a 'classic', but EQ1 predates it, in my opinion they are building from EQ1's forumula, not WoW's, but I'm just biased like that. ))

In some ways, SoE's entire "Everquest Next" thing seems a step in that direction.
My main doubts about it though, are that they are trying to do it exactly the wrong way, not within the bounds of realistic limitations.
I can't say for sure, this is just my opinions, but what they've shown so far and said, it looks like it could end up something they simply didn't have the time or resources to pull off, something where it is there, but... Starved?
While they go for a 'sandbox' type of approach, I'm afraid their servers won't be able to handle the scale of what they are trying to build, and equally worried that due to that enormous scale they are cutting back on things like effects, smooth animations, and similar.
While I don't mind a game to not have the best graphics, I'm afraid that, from what they've shown, fights will look like a bunch of dust animations, odd-looking fire, and choppily animated over-exaggerated movements by the fighters, leaning towards a lot of button-mashing. :/

 

On an unrelated note, finally a class-ring ordered a while back arrived after weeks, inscription on one side being "Infinity".
And a nice cyan-colored aquamarine inside, because cyan.

 

Another thing thats always bugged me are the players. A lot of people play the game to be an elitist (which i have something else to say on as well) so they are usually rushing through things, getting the most money the fastest to get the best gear, ect. But then you have the actual rp community that gets stagnated. I think the idea of having an enforced rp server and a free for all server would be the best. And having the description on the Rp server telling a bit about it, the rules and such.. but it should be handled in such a way that doesnt scare casual gamers that wouldnt mind trying it out away. This would mostly fall on the community, and thats mostly a toss up on luck and who you attract to the game the most :I

anyway on the line of elitists, i love the idea of open classes that are balanced in all directions. Taking out the perfect way to build a character and making it a perfect way to build your character that isnt just based on equipment but also skills that compliment your play style would be amazing. Secret World pushed towards this, and i think that class system is a step in the right direction as well. Removing the perfect build would do loads to elitists, and did so in Secret World.

 

True...
An annoying community can ruin even a great game. :/
An enforced RP server would be nice, SOE tried that on Everquest 2, but people ignored it and joined anyone, because either their friends were their, or some guild they know was their, or whatever, even though they had no interest in RP...

That's actually what EQ Next is trying, I think. They are changing how classes work completely, allowing near-unrestricted multiclassing and class-swapping, so you could mix around abilities even between fights and such.
It sounds like their goal is what you said, where there is no "perfect build", but I have a feeling the community will still make and near-force their ideas of "perfect builds" on players in things like large guilds. :/
...
Apologies, now I feel like I'm just rambling about EQN, just find it interesting that your opinions are almost a paraphrasing of what the EQN developers had said over Fanfaire, err, "SOE Live".

 

I took this photo standing just outside my front door:

WINTER, WRY YUU HERE NAO ALREADY?

 

I'll take that weather if you don't want it!
*dieing in heat* X.x

 

I'll take your heat. I dread cold weather.

 

Take it all, please. X.x
I burn to ashes in heat, but walk around without jackets or long-sleeved shirts regularly when it gets near freezing outside.

 

Goodnight, Infinity.

 

Hello clan. How goes it. Other greetings.
So...

I...

Are...


BORED!!
Anyone have a quick fix?

 

See ya later Argleblargle!

http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com
And/or Osu!, and/or Touhou.

 

Wait a second, I have my own quick-fix! Excuse me, let me check if a TV show is on right now. The only one I'll really watch on TV.


edit: Nope, too cute is not on right now.






So, anyone have BG:EE and want to try out Multi-player? Never played it MP, and have no clue how it works.

 

Re-watching SAO with a friend is fun.
Especially commenting.

 

Wish I had it, but I don't, unfortunately.

 

Fun show. worth re-watching. so good job.

You should buy it though, it's one of the better games out there. well worth the $19.99.

 

so this is funny to you what has the world come to

 

space cat

 

Speaking to a veteran member like that? Ohohoho *noms popcorn*