   My MMORPG solution
  So I have a hypothesis on solving the problem mmorpgs tend to have, which is that they are extraordinarily boring and repetative.My first marjor complaint with mmos:  Boring combat.  Typically you select a target, then click your various buttons.  Yay.   I was thinking an interesting combat system, more like a real rpg would be fun.  Like vagrant story or ff8 (I liked the juntioning system) in an mmo.  Second:  MMORPGS have some big dumb backstory, but characters have no influence on the story.  I mean, how many times does the farmer's journal need to be found? There need to be generated quests or something.  This is the hard part.  There would need to be a story generator and a quest generator (that makes every quest important and unique).  Not easy.  My possible solution is some employee game masters act as the story generators.  And instead of the typical rpg story, where one hero accomplishes a task, a large force does.  For example, if you need to kill the evil queen, a player is selected (maybe at random) to do the task.  That player then chooses a few other companions to help.  However, you cannot get into enemy territory alone, so people sign up for military special forces, army, magical air force, etc and are given objectives. If all the goals and people work well enough to gather and complete the objective, then you may win.  It would be difficult, but not impossible.[Edited by - Witchcraven on December 28, 2005 2:30:04 AM]
  I don't want to sound pessemistic, but I've heard my fair share of ideas on how to make MMORPGs better. Some some ideas seem to have more merit than others, and this is just a fact. Unfortunately the reality of the situation is most of these ideas will never even get tried. The real solution to making MMORPGs better would be to find or make an extremely flexible MMO Framework (If you must call it an engine) that would allow rapid prototyping of MMOs. The idea is to make it as easy as possible to try new ideas without having to rewrite a sizeable amount of code each iteration. Unfortunately I have yet to see a MMO system that is simple yet flexible. Most systems that claim to be engines really have far to much hard coded. They make it easy to create monsters and NPCs, and weapons and armor and such. What they don't make it easy to do is create new game concepts. Thats what I would really like to see.   ;  There is one being released soon, I do not recall the name.  They even provide the network for you.  I believe it is free to select developers, and they give you a percentage of the profits.  Wish I could remember the name.   ;  Interesting point about the combat system. I think it'll probably be better if the combat system was based on skill rather than stats. Something like Street Fighter/Prince of Persia style controls.. different buttons to dodge, attack, block, do multiple-hit combos etc. But then, I was wondering (I'm not an expert in this area), lag would probably be a problem as the number of commands being sent from the client would be more than just when mouse-clicks are being used...   ;Quote:Original post by WitchcravenMy first marjor complaint with mmos:  Boring combat.  Typically you select a target, then click your various buttons.  Yay.   I was thinking an interesting combat system, more like a real rpg would be fun.  Like vagrant story or ff8 (I liked the juntioning system) in an mmo.  The combat in City of Heroes is fantastic. It requires some pretty frantic keyboard mashing and running around like a maniac, even at low levels, which is great fun.Quote:There need to be generated quests or something.  This is the hard part. There would need to be a story generator and a quest generator (that makes every quest important and unique).  Not easy.  My possible solution is some employee game masters act as the story generators.This is a feature that has been added into City of Villains, The Newspaper. Basically it's a random mission generator, where players look at help wanted advertisements (I haven’t had first hand experience yet, since it is yet to be implemented into City of Heroes). The best part is that each individual in a team can get a mission, rather than the team as a whole, so team members go grab a paper each, pile up with random missions, then go work their way down the list. Even people who normally post daily on the forums about how much of a waste of money City of Villains was have been raving about this feature, and how well it works.Quote:And instead of the typical rpg story, where one hero accomplishes a task, a large force does.  For example, if you need to kill the evil queen, a player is selected (maybe at random) to do the task.  That player then chooses a few other companions to help.  However, you cannot get into enemy territory alone, so people sign up for military special forces, army, magical air force, etc and are given objectives. If all the goals and people work well enough to gather and complete the objective, then you may win.  It would be difficult, but not impossible.Not 100% sure what you mean, but in City of Heroes, once you hit the higher levels, you can get Task Force missions. These are extremely hard and very long missions where you have to take down high profile super villains with large teams. Apparently they are very fun, but I have not tried them yet.;Quote:Original post by booleanThe combat in City of Heroes is fantastic. It requires some pretty frantic keyboard mashing and running around like a maniac, even at low levels, which is great fun.The combat system in CoH has been one of the best I've used yet in a MMO.  Even if comic books arn't your thing, people should still check it out.Quote:Original post by booleanNot 100% sure what you mean, but in City of Heroes, once you hit the higher levels, you can get Task Force missions. These are extremely hard and very long missions where you have to take down high profile super villains with large teams. Apparently they are very fun, but I have not tried them yet.Task Force missions are great because the experience is also high.  It's a part-per-part storyarc, with a net gain of a level (or two).  So, covers both that sense of acomplishment, and a pretty cool scene.   ;Quote:Original post by liquidAirInteresting point about the combat system. I think it'll probably be better if the combat system was based on skill rather than stats. Something like Street Fighter/Prince of Persia style controls.. different buttons to dodge, attack, block, do multiple-hit combos etc. But then, I was wondering (I'm not an expert in this area), lag would probably be a problem as the number of commands being sent from the client would be more than just when mouse-clicks are being used...Some players will complain that they aren't being rewarded for the time they've invested if the game is centered around that combat metaphor. If a newbie with fast trigger fingers and miserable stats can beat a veteran who's a little slower on the uptake but has extraordinary stats, one is tempted to ask what the point of the time investment is.   ;Quote:Original post by kSquaredSome players will complain that they aren't being rewarded for the time they've invested if the game is centered around that combat metaphor. If a newbie with fast trigger fingers and miserable stats can beat a veteran who's a little slower on the uptake but has extraordinary stats, one is tempted to ask what the point of the time investment is.Stats would still of course play a role in offensive/defensive damages and what not. Additionally, the overall level of your inventory would still play a major factor in determining the outcome of a battle.But I think it's a great idea because it will force those higher level guys into keeping on their toes, instead of being able to effortlessly click on any opponent they want once they're at a high level to expect victory. A level 84 warrior might make the mistake of underestimating the skill of level 14 dude who surprises him by running circles around him, pulling off some nice parries, and sneaking in quick strikes.It's *somewhat* akin to some rich twirp buying a $10,000 sword who makes the fatal mistake of not learning to wield it, only to suffer a defeat by a kid with a simple butterfly knife. Of course, the battle system shouldn't be so polarized as to guarantee a victory to a weak level player who only possesses good skills - but it would make for more close calls and definitely ensure that all players keep their game up.   ;  To fix complaint #2, I think some kind of world model is required, as I suggested in the thread MMORPG as RTS.As far as CoH - the combat is decent (far better than any other MMO I've tried), and the quests are randomly generated, but the problem is that everything is 100% repetitive. Sure, you have to mash buttons, but the only time the 'strategy' changes is when you gain a new ability and swap out "Super Fireball" to have room for "Ultimate Fireball". Yes, the quests are randomly generated, but there are something like 4 templates ("Kill _ Enemies of Type _", "Defuse Bombs, and Kill Enemies of Type _", "Rescue _, and Kill Enemies of Type _", "Stop Gang Fight between Enemies of Type _ and Enemies of Type _"), only 2 or 3 settings(warehouse, office, street), and each instance of a setting is practically identical - it'd be like taking FF3(6)(SNES) and deciding there will be one and only one rock tile, one and only one grass tile, etc. Sure, it's easy to program and easy to create the art, but it's boring as heck to play in compared to the variety they managed to pack into an SNES game.Oh, then there are the Task Force missions, where you do a bunch of the templated quests as above and instead of just giving simple rewards, it would also make up a completely unrelated story about your acomplishments that has absolutely nothing to do with the missions you did.   ;Quote:Original post by SalsaIt's *somewhat* akin to some rich twirp buying a $10,000 sword who makes the fatal mistake of not learning to wield it, only to suffer a defeat by a kid with a simple butterfly knife.I disagree.  Experience is something that you have to work for.  Also, in an RPG the premise is that by gaining experience (through battles) your character is learning how to use their sword better.  The issue here is that while the character may gain experience and learn, the player may be a little slower at picking it up.  The player should have skills, but this is also an RPG.  The player is not the character, they just control the character.