MMO Theory

[goblinmob]

If you had the means to design your own MMORPG, with no external pressure of any sort to compromise your creative vision, what features would you put in your game? What details would you like to address in your own specific way? What arguments could you make for or against how these would affect gameplay/community experience?

My 2 examples will be
1. Maybe "Common" would not exist as a language in the game. I guess this would steer the game into a more xenophobic atmosphere. If you played with friends, you might have to discuss more than just your starting cities if you wanted to journey together.
2. Kinda tied to having more emphasis on "kingdoms", maybe there would be different currencies in game with exchange rates tied in (a Dwarven dollar is worth like 117 Goblin shinies or some shit) maybe racial faction could determine where your currency is accepted?

Idk if you're interested go ahead and post.

[unsunghero]

One of the only interesting things about Diablo Immortal when I was playing it was this event where two guilds competed against each other by each having their leader control essentially a raid boss, while the opposing guild tried to kill it. Whichever guild killed the boss first, won

Unfortunately D:I was a pay2win gear check so strategies such as the guild leader running away trying to stay alive (very unlike an AI raid boss) didn’t matter too much. But there was some strategies employed. And there was no such thing as tanking, since the leader knew to ignore tanks and go for the casters

I thought this was a novel concept, a GM or chosen player playing a raid boss against a zone or guild, and thought it would be cool to have in a MMO. It would completely alter the idea of aggro management, since the boss could be using intelligent human tactics the entire time

[goblinmob]

One of the only interesting things about Diablo Immortal when I was playing it was this event where two guilds competed against each other by each having their leader control essentially a raid boss, while the opposing guild tried to kill it. Whichever guild killed the boss first, won

Unfortunately D:I was a pay2win gear check so strategies such as the guild leader running away trying to stay alive (very unlike an AI raid boss) didn’t matter too much. But there was some strategies employed. And there was no such thing as tanking, since the leader knew to ignore tanks and go for the casters

I thought this was a novel concept, a GM or chosen player playing a raid boss against a zone or guild, and thought it would be cool to have in a MMO. It would completely alter the idea of aggro management, since the boss could be using intelligent human tactics the entire time

Yeah! That actually sounds really cool! Have you ever played LotRO? That's an example too of having "expendable" toons to PvP. But another thing you said that grabbed me was "raid" and the idea there of implementing a larger scale for PvP activity on a server.

Also, for the record Pay2AnythingReally is a pretty garbage business model imho and I wonder if it's that way inherently or if every time we ever see anything like that in practice it's basically shameless greed.

[unsunghero]

Yeah! That actually sounds really cool! Have you ever played LotRO? That's an example too of having "expendable" toons to PvP. But another thing you said that grabbed me was "raid" and the idea there of implementing a larger scale for PvP activity on a server.

Also, for the record Pay2AnythingReally is a pretty garbage business model imho and I wonder if it's that way inherently or if every time we ever see anything like that in practice it's basically shameless greed.

I did hear about how players could control mobs in one of the LOTR games, is that what you were meaning? That sounds cool too

I do know there has been times when GM’s on P99 or even EQ back in the day would control a mob. D:I just implemented a way for players to do it on the regular

And they didn’t explain the setup well, so it was pretty funny the first time around because no one knew what was going on. We thought we were just fighting a raid mob, but noticed it was like avoiding aoe’s, dodging stuff. It would see someone healing then run over and continue to combo them with stun moves until they died. When it aggro’d me there was no way to shake him, he’d combo me until dead

I remember after the fight the first time I commented to my guild “that was the best AI I have ever seen on a video game boss in my life”. And then our guild leader said “yea, that was their guild leader”. And I was like ohhhhh shit!

But yea D:I was one of the most P2W phone games ever invented. I guess there’s this acceptance that any phone game by default is going to be P2W and we should all just accept it. Which is kinda bullshit…

[Encroaching Death]

I think I would have a mutually-dependent style of class makeup, like EQ does.

I'd have a crafting system like Runescape.

PVP system like Dark Age of Camelot.

Trading/Auction House system like Albion Online. Actually, scrap that. I like the community style market like P99 tunnel has it, but maybe with an in-game bulletin board where people could leave up when they're logged off.

I don't like mounts. No mounts. Makes the world feel smaller.

Little to no instancing either. Instancing might be some kind of achievable bonus of some sort, but not the norm.

[Reiwa]

I like the idea of zero-sum languages. The more you talk in troll, the worse you get at any of the others.

[Encroaching Death]

I like the idea of zero-sum languages. The more you talk in troll, the worse you get at any of the others.

I like the idea of making a race traitor.

[Reiwa]

I like the idea of making a race traitor.

Hey it could be diverse. Maybe you get 300 exchangeable points and there's 8 languages. Can be pro at 3 or half decent at a few.

[Jibartik]

I would like that game valhiem to have basically had all the eq content and bam! Im good to GO!

vfjreYA8w94

[goblinmob]

I think I would have a mutually-dependent style of class makeup, like EQ does.

I'd have a crafting system like Runescape.

PVP system like Dark Age of Camelot.

Trading/Auction House system like Albion Online. Actually, scrap that. I like the community style market like P99 tunnel has it, but maybe with an in-game bulletin board where people could leave up when they're logged off.

I don't like mounts. No mounts. Makes the world feel smaller.

Little to no instancing either. Instancing might be some kind of achievable bonus of some sort, but not the norm.

1. Big time fan of how EQ had done classes. Each class I've played really has me invested in how I can utilize what it can do. Also how to cope with limitations. Super dumb how so many newer MMOs succumb to the griping of the player base and end up with 19 "different"(-ly homogenized) classes. Choose to shore up your weaknesses, play into your strengths, or group! Or maybe the content in Zone X isn't for you at this level! Get in where you fit in.

2. I'm not familiar with RuneScape enough to recall how the crafting system felt overall.

3. Again, not familiar with this personally but I'm familiar with it's reputation and anything larger scale that's gets players involved would be a plus IMHO!

4. I'd always had an aversion to auction house systems since the first time I'd ever wandered the tunnel in EC! I just had a specific conversation with a buddy about this idea though so I'll bring this up now. We were bouncing ideas of unique perks exclusive to each class. And whether or not this would be cool or not is anyone's guess but we had the idea that rogues could be the class that could use an in game auction house and play up the element of thieves guild having connections and fence their wares in a way more scrupulous occupations do not. Something like the silk road, ya know.

5. SOW and levitate. 2 best mounts in MMO history!

6. I couldn't have any solid stance on instancing. But I would admit it can be a somewhat useful tool to alleviate things like griefing or other types of zone abuse that can arise where population is high. Or issues like rare mobs on green. Seems like a lot of bitterness stems from that issue

[goblinmob]

I would like that game valhiem to have basically had all the eq content and bam! Im good to GO!

vfjreYA8w94

I've seen this game around a lot lately and initially sluffed it off as Pantheon is kinda what I've resolved to hopefully enjoy one day cuz there's bound to be a sad day at some point in our lives where p99 will not be here anymore and live is simply not an option... But now it's starting to pique my interest. I'll check this out in the super near future!

[Jibartik]

Its actually quite fun, in an EQ kind of way. Its like strangly obtuse and like you dont know what the hell is going on, but you can figure out how to build things and explore quite easily, and then you see its full of orcs and goblins and skeletons, but thats about as far as I got.

I wish it felt a bit more like EQ in that its world was a bit like meme games today that have like, these open worlds with no lore.

[Encroaching Death]

Albion Online has a trading economy where essentially everything that you loot is useful to another player.

There's no vendoring your loot to an NPC.

You either use your loot for yourself, or it's easily sold to a healthy market that is looking for those items.

Runescape also kind of has this system as well, but you can also vendor stuff to NPCs.

[goblinmob]

Hey it could be diverse. Maybe you get 300 exchangeable points and there's 8 languages. Can be pro at 3 or half decent at a few.

Hey! That's a way to do it! I'ma steal that and act like I thought of it haha. I kinda wanna say UO had a system like that and does RuneScape do that as well? But with all skills in general tho?

But regardless that shared skill point pool sounds like a fair way to respec some minor character features (like me spending all my training points into a trade skill I just now decided I'm gonna pursue cuz not like I have a choice but to get my money's worth cuz they're ALREADY SPENT!!...)

[goblinmob]

Here's one to bump thread.

Some kinda legacy system (game has permadeath but wait..)
Your characters are mortal and can die of old age. If you play out a character to old age you get an heir. Basically a free level pass to the last arbitrary check point it reaches (level X and/or x hundred skill points or whatever) upon character creation. This character now has a family tree the you can see, players can inspect, linked in text... along with their great deeds (achievements) for bragging rights or whatever.
Chance to try new class?
Come from a long line of Rangers?
You now also have an heirloom chest and each character can designate X items/loot from what you've amassed to be passed on the the next character.
Found super sweet epic wand you don't wanna sell but aren't a wizards? Pass mark it heirloom and roll a wizard if you want.
Coin wealth has not been considered but it would just be whatever scales fairly with the rest of this idea.

[Jibartik]

Your characters are mortal and can die of old age. If you play out a character to old age you get an heir.

This makes me want a phantasy star III everquest.

https://i.imgur.com/5ILxR6j.png

https://i.imgur.com/IJA1P8b.png

They got old too!

https://i.imgur.com/hIJ6Yfc.png

rip

[Raj]

Albion Online has a trading economy where essentially everything that you loot is useful to another player.

There's no vendoring your loot to an NPC.

You either use your loot for yourself, or it's easily sold to a healthy market that is looking for those items.

Runescape also kind of has this system as well, but you can also vendor stuff to NPCs.

I remember really liking the way Nexus TK did their player-run economy with a combination of the real-time market area entered just below a Kugnae inn and the bulletin boards...ncluding the rogue merchant PC-run subpath. Do you remember what that was like when the game had a healthy/large population my friend? :cool:

[Encroaching Death]

I remember really liking the way Nexus TK did their player-run economy with a combination of the real-time market area entered just below a Kugnae inn and the bulletin boards...ncluding the rogue merchant PC-run subpath. Do you remember what that was like when the game had a healthy/large population my friend? :cool:

Yep, the market was right near the Spy guild (oops, I revealed the entrance - I would've been kicked out for that)

Tbf, Nexus has a cool way of doing subclasses. I literally had to spy on other players to become a Spy. I learned about real world code cracking too.

[goblinmob]

Has anyone played the game Utopia. It's the PvP kingdom building resource management game you play in a browser?

[Gustoo]

With intelligent control of bosses skills like taunt need to force damage into the tank, simple as that.

[magnetaress]

https://i.imgur.com/NMblBpi.jpeg
:o

[goblinmob]

Another one: don't know how to treat players when it comes to an MMO necessity (qol aspect) such as banking but I thought about how dull the idea is that you go into any town in any MMORPG and stop at "BANK" to grab your gold's..

Would it be an interesting angle or simply a chore to have multiple banking establishments with different perks, fees, interest rates, loan options, etc.. with their networks throughout the game world?

I invision /ooc arguments over which bank is best for under vs over 10k plat.. or whether it smarter to "buy a house and camp Magic Wardrobe when you hit ~lvl46" or "just mail yourself shit cuz at that level who cares about money anymore..."

Or maybe sorry trolls but when it comes to pros/cons of choosing a race the bank in your town is literally a pile of junk you click on to open your banking screen... and the only other place that has a "Troll Bank" is the game's casino out in international waters that has an area with all the banks/pvp-free-faction-immunity spot in the game.. some things are cool about being a troll, some things suck...

[magnetaress]

If an mmo was entirely inhabitanted with players. U would get the above. Also would love to see goods and materials moving around in caravans.

And it should be against the law for mmos to be pve only.