Make an MMORPG?

[nurga]

Hey!

Some of this has been around for quite a long time, particularly the torque mmokit (http://www.mmoworkshop.com/trac/mom/wiki/Documentation) and recently some 3D mmorpg engines have gone open source like ryzom but really there is no complete package out there for general people like you and me who doesn't want to spend alot of money on licensing. Fortunately though torque mmokit is lesser known and over the last few days when i've got seriously involved with this i've found it to be really easy to modify and prototype ideas with.

I have had some great discussions with you all in group over what an mmorpg should be and alot of you really do want to make games and this is a great way to expose yourself to game development if you prefer to learn by modding instead of learning the theory first.

I've looked into making an mmorpg in the past, dabbled with emulators and even looked at the more expensive sdk's you can get out there but really nothing is as complete and as easy to begin making changes straight away or with as much documentation.

Making MMORPGs is a HUGE task and we often take for granted how much time is put into probably one of the largest and most complex software projects and company could ever take on. The guy that wrote the torque mmokit has basically saved you all the work of getting the core systems done like

* chat

* combat

* inventory

* skills/spells/abilities

* terrain

* grouping/guilds/raiding

And really it's just a matter of you creating content (which is a big enough task in itself - 3dsmax, maya, milkshape, lightwave) and tweaking the game engine to your like.

It's made up of several systems that work together to provide what most players would expect in an mmorpg these days and to give you a quick overview the client side 3d is handled by the torque game engine (which is mainly for placing objects on the screen and manipulating them around 3d space) and then the server side is python which informs the clients where those objects on the screen should be and what will happen when a player interacts with them.

The software is completely free and you can get up and running in your first zone in about an hour or so then it's really down to sculpting the terrain, adding npcs and items and then some basic quests which you could easily get going in a day.

The hardest part i've found really is finding others to help you out in adding all the content (which really is a mammoth task) - and i must admit gives you alot more understanding of what happens when companies like soe have to push out an expansion like velious in 6 months (ok well, they do have money but still the amount of work involved)

So anyway! Have fun with it, please post some screenshots of anything you've done here i'm sure everyone would love to see what ideas mmo gamers come up with when they have the power to mod the game themselves - and most of all try something new! Too many clones of other games out there atm and we need some innovation

[fischsemmel]

Question - what exactly do you mean by saying that the original guy got all the work done on combat, inventory, and abilities?

Edit - like, does that mean he built the systems? Like "there will be 7 schools of magic, and 10 levels of spells, and a wizard class can only choose to know spells from 3 of the schools and must have a character level of X to cast spells of Y level"? Or all that and all the individual spells, with their ranges and damage and mana cost and cast time and all that?

How difficult would it be to do the spell and combat systems yourself? That's the part of MMO design that I could keep myself the most entertained with :)

[nurga]

as in the combat system is there and ready you can literally drop into your zone and start attacking spawns you add - all thats left to do is to enhance it (maybe add AA stuff in like critical blows etc)

[Shodex]

Hm, I'm going to mess around with this for a bit. More likely than not, I'll get absolutely nothing done. But hey, you never know.

[Hasbinbad]

I'm an idea person. I have an AMAZING idea for an mmorpg. Where do I find 20 basement dwelling dev nerds willing to do my bidding (for free until it sells)??

[Shodex]

I'm an idea person. I have an AMAZING idea for an mmorpg. Where do I find 20 basement dwelling dev nerds willing to do my bidding (for free until it sells)??

Nowhere sadly. :P

[Dunes]

Im not concerned about making money on the idea, I just want a sequel that truly worth playing:

Dungeon Keeper 3

I know there are some other fan sites supposedly working on the concept, but with no funds and therefore no dedicated personnel (as in motivated to keep working on it for $$), Im pretty sure nothing playable will come from them. Plus, EA has the license and they are too busy with your typical mainstream mindless drivel to do anything productive with it.

More of an action RPG than anything, the first two DK games were amazing. Rather than go into detail here, check them out yourself and Im pretty certain you guys will agree that we need a sequel. Ill also admit to thinking through a number of concepts for the sequel, so if someone really decides to tackle this, hit me up and Ill chime in :)

[mrgoochio]

How much experience do you have with python? I was checking out the torque mmokit from praerie games for a long time.. their work on MOM was spectacular, although I never played it myself. The port of their mmokit was being adapted for T3D, although last I heard it wasn't finished. praerie games seemed to have fallen off the planet regarding their mmokit, so indie dev's have been working on the port and offering it to people with T3D licenses. While the mmokit is a great foundation, it certainly has its limitations..

you should really check out mmorpgmaker.com in the torque section, there are a few people that have really neat projects.

edit: you really should check out xapken's work (thats his username at mmorpgmaker). he's 1 man that shows amazing progress with his mmo's.. he's working on his second public iteration of his game wizards & champions. his first version was awesome but he scrapped it for an even better project

[nurga]

Removed pending more info

[mrgoochio]

You got the T3D tmmokit b4 GG and PG took them down??? is that the latest release before everything went offlne?

[Massive Marc]

Scary, I was just about to create a thread about Realmcrafter.

Do you have any experience with this program ? From the research I've done, it gets mixed reviews (although most negative reviews are from people that have been coding for years and get cranky because hobbyists can make a playable environment in a few days.)

[Madigan]

I've dabbled with Torque over the past few years but have recently switched over to Unity. Honestly, if you want anything close to MMOs you see today, you need to shell out some quantity of cash in the form of Big World Tech or Hero Engine.

However, I did not see that Xerves released a MMOkit for T3D. I haven't haunted their forums for a bit.

[Krimsin]

I've never done any dev work but I'd think adjustments to the combat/abilities/spell portion of the game would have the greatest impact on the effectiveness of the game.

A stale combat system renders the most inspiring zone and character designs feeling hollow.

[mrgoochio]

Scary, I was just about to create a thread about Realmcrafter.

Do you have any experience with this program ? From the research I've done, it gets mixed reviews (although most negative reviews are from people that have been coding for years and get cranky because hobbyists can make a playable environment in a few days.)

realmcrafter is good if youre just interested in getting something online. its going to leave you with a cookie cutter game that resembles pretty much every other realmcrafter created game. there is also a lot of talk about the realistic #'s a realmcrafter server can hold.. there aren't any real examples of live realmcrafter games with any amount of legitimate numbers to back it up from what i recall

[mrgoochio]

I've dabbled with Torque over the past few years but have recently switched over to Unity. Honestly, if you want anything close to MMOs you see today, you need to shell out some quantity of cash in the form of Big World Tech or Hero Engine.

However, I did not see that Xerves released a MMOkit for T3D. I haven't haunted their forums for a bit.

BWT and HE both have free versions now I think.. or at least versions for indie developers. both came out last year iirc

[mrgoochio]

Removed pending more info

>.< i shoulda d/l'd your link b4 u removed it.. :(

[toddfx]

I've always thought an MMORPG set in the real world in an urban setting would be interesting. Something like GTA4 with a MMO twist. Though I don't imagine it being purely about gangs and violence. It would be about basic survival and building a character.

You start at level 1 as a homeless man. It's up to you to survive and level up to become somebody powerful. Experience and riches are gained through a very wide variety of means. Completing quests and collaborating with others if you choose to be good, or by stealing and killing if you choose to be bad.

You have the option to level up using whatever means you enjoy the most. Maybe you choose to gain exp by street racing, maybe you gain exp exclusively through trade-skills and selling your products to players, or maybe you gain experience by robbing banks. Or any combination of whatever you like.

You have the option to buy permanent residence, buy permanent vehicles, etc. You have the option to pursue a career (in a nutshell), and move in with other people. I know that might sound very Second Life-ish, but that isn't exactly what I am thinking of (though I have never played it so I'm not sure). If you played The Sims Online, that is kind of the vibe I am referencing here.

I dunno, I don't really have logistics thought out. Like I said before I'm just imagining the environment, graphics, and general game-play of GTAIV combined with the long term success of character building and community reliance of Everquest.

[nurga]

I've always thought an MMORPG set in the real world in an urban setting would be interesting. Something like GTA4 with a MMO twist. Though I don't imagine it being purely about gangs and violence. It would be about basic survival and building a character.

You start at level 1 as a homeless man. It's up to you to survive and level up to become somebody powerful. Experience and riches are gained through a very wide variety of means. Completing quests and collaborating with others if you choose to be good, or by stealing and killing if you choose to be bad.

You have the option to level up using whatever means you enjoy the most. Maybe you choose to gain exp by street racing, maybe you gain exp exclusively through trade-skills and selling your products to players, or maybe you gain experience by robbing banks. Or any combination of whatever you like.

You have the option to buy permanent residence, buy permanent vehicles, etc. You have the option to pursue a career (in a nutshell), and move in with other people. I know that might sound very Second Life-ish, but that isn't exactly what I am thinking of (though I have never played it so I'm not sure). If you played The Sims Online, that is kind of the vibe I am referencing here.

I dunno, I don't really have logistics thought out. Like I said before I'm just imagining the environment, graphics, and general game-play of GTAIV combined with the long term success of character building and community reliance of Everquest.

this is exactly what i'm trying to do - a modern day counterstrike/fallout style mmorpg that you can find lots of free 3d buildings, weapons and textures for (easier than a fantasy game anyway)

If you need the t3d source patch give me a shout i will happily send it via pm

As for hero engine, etc - I have evaluated all of these products and I can say with confidence that you will not find another engine out yet that can provide you with the completeness of the tmmokit (which is a shame because tmmokit is quite old)

Best thing you can do is stick with it till you have a nice prototype of what you're after