Will 1999 ever happen again?

[iruinedyourday]

I think the next mmo will be something like star citizen, once vr is more 'normal'..

When I tried to play wow, after being addicted to EQ.. I had this feeling that the normal person/gamer has room in their life to play just ONE mmo.. once you played your first and last mmo it's very hard or impossible to get into another one or at least convince you to waste that much time again I should say.

Like for example, if you date a crazy stripper. Once you finally get her out of your life, it's doubtful you will date another crazy stripper again.

buuut.. I've learned given enough time... you might be like, hey... this crazy stripper ain't so bad, compared to the others I guess.

So maybe there is room life for 2-3 MMO's

I think next big MMO will be more like DayZ.. more simulation/fps/VR/modern or sci fi..

or at the very last a combination of an MMO/Moba.. hang out with pals, in a virtual world or fight in matches, do what you feel!

but who knows! I dont know.. thats just a hunch.

[Sadre Spinegnawer]

Always a good post topic, imo.

My take is, the first years of MMO's were a once in a lifetime thing. It was new, there was little competition, the internet itself was still new, computer games were more complicated than consoles, people still used computers (most my friends rarely use a computer: they use their pads or phones for most of their online living) as their only online source, and people's attention spans were not divided into a thousand things.

What you are asking, I think, will there ever be a game that requires time, hours at a spell, playing a challenging game with others, and not just for a few weeks before a new game catches your attention, but for months and in fact a year+?

No, that will not happen. Too much has changed with the internet, people, the ways people use the games and devices, etc.

I would argue that is why p99 works. Let's face it, it is a one-off server, and it attracted everyone missing the way we used to do stuff with these things.

I see absolutely no chance of any subscription based, persistence RPG online world in the future. No one is gonna pay, not enough to make any company want to actually invest the kind of capital required. That is why all "persistent" worlds are riddled with PTP loopholes.

It takes tremendous talent and work and money to create a balanced persistent online world that is also policed for hacking. Where is the market? E-gaming deals with session games, where you play these little matches. But a persistent, more-or-less non-linear and open gameworld like eq or even eq2?

No market that will ever command the necessary talent/time/money required to build it.

TL;DR We are stuck with one-offs forever now. Brad McQuaid can enjoy seeing his dream fail, for, it will.

[Morningbreath]

Originally Posted by Sadre Spinegnawer [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Always a good post topic, imo.

My take is, the first years of MMO's were a once in a lifetime thing. It was new, there was little competition, the internet itself was still new, computer games were more complicated than consoles, people still used computers (most my friends rarely use a computer: they use their pads or phones for most of their online living) as their only online source, and people's attention spans were not divided into a thousand things.

What you are asking, I think, will there ever be a game that requires time, hours at a spell, playing a challenging game with others, and not just for a few weeks before a new game catches your attention, but for months and in fact a year+?

No, that will not happen. Too much has changed with the internet, people, the ways people use the games and devices, etc.

I would argue that is why p99 works. Let's face it, it is a one-off server, and it attracted everyone missing the way we used to do stuff with these things.

I see absolutely no chance of any subscription based, persistence RPG online world in the future. No one is gonna pay, not enough to make any company want to actually invest the kind of capital required. That is why all "persistent" worlds are riddled with PTP loopholes.

It takes tremendous talent and work and money to create a balanced persistent online world that is also policed for hacking. Where is the market? E-gaming deals with session games, where you play these little matches. But a persistent, more-or-less non-linear and open gameworld like eq or even eq2?

No market that will ever command the necessary talent/time/money required to build it.

TL;DR We are stuck with one-offs forever now. Brad McQuaid can enjoy seeing his dream fail, for, it will.

One of the bestselling games on the PS4 last year was Bloodborne. It's not an easy "give you everything" type of game. It falls into a different genre from MMOs but it's proof that a difficult game can be successful *IF* it has compelling gameplay and content.

In some ways I agree that Verant was lucky to get Everquest out the door when they did--I signed up for beta because it was one of the few 3D-accelerated games on the horizon--but I also think the co op group gameplay was revolutionary. Alot of games represent a technical achievement for their time but don't retain any kind of following.

[Daywolf]

Originally Posted by Morningbreath [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Even though "sandbox" has become the latest trend I wonder if we're not too far away from a more challenging PVE MMO.

Nope, I lost all hope years ago. Last mmo I gave a try was GW2, which started out well but took a nose dive months after. As long as it's all instanced f2p, there will never be another really good mmo.

Nothing wrong with the sandbox, other than it's hard to develop. UO was a sandbox, I started in 97 with that. Most of the games I play today are still sandbox.

[ArumTP]

Guildwars 2 is the direction that mmo's are going.

[Agecroft]

Originally Posted by ArumTP [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Guildwars 2 is the direction that mmo's are going.

ewwww

[Daywolf]

Originally Posted by Agecroft [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

ewwww

I don't think GW2 has any real direction. First it wanted to be a b2p, then for the most part it became an f2p (microtransations + really cheap initial cost) and very much p2w, then it went back to trying to be a b2p with it's way belated expansion (I didn't even bother, uninstalled, though I closed beta it early on). hah I actually capped every class there, and every tradeskill (which they ruined later). I only played it because I liked GW1, which wasn't an mmo, but GW2 is just different and sort of lost with what it want's to be. If that's the new direction of games, it's going to be a confusing future for mmo's.

[mr_jon3s]

The next MMO that will really hook people will be something that uses VR. Till we finally get full body immersion capsules that let you feel some of your characters sensations.

[Daywolf]

Originally Posted by mr_jon3s [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The next MMO that will really hook people will be something that uses VR.

You mean... Second life? Oh you said "next", not previous or current.

I'm holding out for AR rather than VR. AR = Augmented Reality. Something like Ingress but using AR glasses/headset.
AR headset = transparent light-weight glasses, maybe plugged into a smart phone. VR Headset = Darth Vader helmet tethered to a toaster oven.

[epicdemic]

Originally Posted by Daywolf [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

You mean... Second life? Oh you said "next", not previous or current.

I'm holding out for AR rather than VR. AR = Augmented Reality. Something like Ingress but using AR glasses/headset.
AR headset = transparent light-weight glasses, maybe plugged into a smart phone. VR Headset = Darth Vader helmet tethered to a toaster oven.

This. I've seen ingress players that Def rival eq in terms of how hardcore they play.

Augmented reality games are onto something huge.