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Combining elements... text based to anscii based rpg, graphical layouts to step/turn based 3d world, 3d engines to persistent world, intellectual property carry-overs to "niche" titles.
Now we have more graphic improvements, a few twists within old parameters... we're starting to go backwards.
The next mmo "hit" will be a new fusion of mmorpg and the Sims. Each toon would have his own veritable workshop, or store, or hide-out, populated with bot-toons. While they're not adventuring types; they add a new dimension to the "stillness" of city streets, on delivery missions or some social function for the master's current quest. Bot-toons will require maintenance, as the character's propensity to level is mitigated if they're ignored.
Stop paying for "going backwards".
Comments
I agree that a more managerial role for the player would be a fresh approach to crafting and economy, but there's nothing to say something is going to be a hit because of that. We need new approaches in nearly all aspects of MMOs and they need to be made well. Not some half-cooked, half-baked concepts - real, finished, well-thought-out features.
When I pitched this type of crafting a while back some people weren't too happy about NPCs inhabiting the game world.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
I pay for what i think is fun.
Having to do work in a workshop or run a stop is not fun for me. That is NOT why i play a game. LFD is going forward. Cross realm groups is moving forward.
And you are right, i won't pay for going backwards back to games like UO, or EQ, where they waste lots of my time.
Why stop there? Allow the player to play his NPCs as "Alts" to take them out of the shop, temple, keep, manse, or whatever it is the player builds. Consider these NPCs "followers", and take your Forge Smith out to do mining or resource searches, your Field Master out to harvest crops or search for seeds and knowledge of irrigation techniques, you Castellan our to scout an area or hire guards.
Make a game world where it's not only full of danger and adventure, but also knowledge and rare finds that you can bring back to make your holdings better at what you do.
Once upon a time....
Like your most ideas, with one exception would not play game that is build around botting. Sorry.
I don't think he means "bots" in the way you evidently mean. More of a player created content sort of thing.
Once upon a time....
I understand that he want to make a game in what your character(s) would have their own-bot toons they could send on a missions to do something in example like he said "delivery missions", I guess also maybe gather quests and similar.
Well it remind me of companions in Swtor and ability to make them do gathering / crafting. Obviously OP want it more complex, more varied and that bot-toons would actually go do this things and not just disappear and appear after certain timer.
Sorry don't like it. Actually maybe apart of having rented NPC that could be placed in player shop or near player house to buy / sell stuff I don't accept any kind of permanetnt NPC's or programable bots in mmorpg's.
The same can be said for MMO's where you hit max level in 2 weeks exhaust all the content and throw your hands up in shock saying, "Thats it?"
Thanks,
Mike
Working on Social Strategy MMORTS (now Launched!) http://www.worldalpha.com
uh? if i have fun for 2 weeks, that is not wasted time. In fact, it will be good. I will move on and play another game. With most MMOs going F2P now, it is probably even cheaper than SP games.
Ok, but I like the idea myself. I picture it as a limited scope, where a player can handle only that which he has the skills for, so limited by skills as expertise.
So you could have players that are skilled blacksmiths running their shops with NPCs, and selling their production to players who are skilled merchants running their shops with their own NPCs and sometimes contracting players who are skilled caravan masters to make bulk deliveries to armed forces who buy. And you have skilled farm masters supplying food for a need to feed all these NPCs. And you have skilled builders to build things that other players need built to house their NPCs and make their wares.
And you then have all these player types working together to form villages and growing to cities, which hire NPCs as guards and other positions to make the city work together. Or players can be more specific and work together to form thieves guilds or temple complexes or trade guilds.
But all under the players, who are the primary drivers of it all.
Once upon a time....
Would be have really really well implemented to avoid changing game into big afk botting heaven which would be awful.
Doesn't SWTOR have sim like, delegation crafting? Fantastic.
Personally managing/production line style crafting sounds great. Now I know this might be outside of the box in this day and age, but how about a focus on getting the players to work together as groups to craft stuff through ingame mechanics and some carrot (less stick) to get them going?
But I know, I know, we are talking about the future direction of massively multiplayer games, so anyway about those bots.....
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
You make it sound like this is a new idea. SWG had it. Tales of the Desert has it. Tell me how well those games do in the marketplace.
Personally, i don't want to be a carpenter in a game. I think the market for non-combat related gameplay is just not that big. Even pets have battles now.
But of course it is your perogative to hope, or even do something to make such a game happen.
Everquest 2 in its inception had inter-dependent trade skills. Released soon after, wow had "faster rewards" and appeal for the solo-centric crowd, and in sweeping, knee-jerk changes, EQ2 changed not only tradeskills to be more "soloable", but also a large portion of pve mechanism.
Sure, SWtOR has a bot-toon mechanism, but they "don't do enough with them" in context unless they're used in the combat pet position. The idea is more "domestic".