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Solo vs. Single player
Vermillion_Raventhal
Member EpicPosts: 4,198
I think this is one of the biggest myths and confusions with MMORPG.
Everquest was one of the few MMORPG that was generally unfriendly to solo play. Solo play does not mean that the game is anti social. UO was highly soloable but had a huge community aspect because it's gameplay allowed it to be. It just means that in combat you can solo.
Single player style of gameplay is just that. A game that plays like a single player game in a MMORPG. Community features take a back seat. A lot instances, save the world player story and phasing to give the player his own unique isolated experience in an MMORPG.
Everquest was one of the few MMORPG that was generally unfriendly to solo play. Solo play does not mean that the game is anti social. UO was highly soloable but had a huge community aspect because it's gameplay allowed it to be. It just means that in combat you can solo.
Single player style of gameplay is just that. A game that plays like a single player game in a MMORPG. Community features take a back seat. A lot instances, save the world player story and phasing to give the player his own unique isolated experience in an MMORPG.
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Common sense. You could have started a thread saying breakfast food should only be eaten before noon or something like that.
I did not imply it had to be directed at someone, I was simply looking for anyone.
I have literally never seen anyone confuse single player games with solo play in an MMO or propagate this "biggest myth" you speak of. For something to be one of "the biggest myths and confusions" one would think they would actually see the argument made on forums like......I don't know.....MMORPG.com?
Sorry dude, found this odd. I think there is a discussion to be had here regarding solo play being predominant in modern MMOs, but I'm not buying this myth.
I'm sure there's more.
But lots of solo opportunities produces a game full of soloists (which is not the game I want to play if I am seeking a group based mmorpg).
I am pretty sure we have had this conversation about a dozen times. Is this an agenda for you, that you keep posting this?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
On Topic:
I agree with Rhoklaw, though. MMOs should have solo-able and group-able (grammatical consistency?) content. I've always felt that MMORPGs should help players desire to group instead of forcing them to.
Also, many times grouping limits a player's social interaction to just that group (2 to 8 other players), while a solo-er is more free to interact with anyone else they may run into. The group, many times, is in a hurry to get somewhere and ignores all else as they run to their "spot." Not always, but quite a lot of the time.
There are also different skill levels of players, where some can solo (and did) in more group oriented games, like EQ. Many mid level EQ Bards could solo. I never could. Many EQ Necromancers could solo a lot of content and I never got the hang of that, either. EQ Druids were famous for quad kiting which was another method I couldn't grab hold of. Yea, I suck
I do want group only content in my MMORPGs. Raids and dungeons 2 specific examples. Anything else should be grouped because players desire to do so and interact with other players for a time.
That's my take on it.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
i don't really like playing single player games because they lack that element of randomness that comes with having actual players around.
I had fun once, it was terrible.
Pantheon is going to try the hardcore grouping route and I haven't seen any pitchforks out for it. Hell I'd give it try myself. I don't think it will make it without solo options like class or build that can solo.
You see in FFXI the entire combat,class/job structure allows BOTH worlds to shine or have fun in different ways.
Obviously solo you have no friends,nobody to talk to,nobody to help you etc etc.However if that is your thing FFXI did allow it and could solo quite well but obviously not as efficient as a group.This is no longer the case,you can easily solo from level 1 because they changed how XP works and added mechanics to speed up leveling.
You did have to sort of play in a group until you got level 30 then did a quest to attain one of several elite classes.
Once you did that you could solo very well with a Beastmaster class that gets very strong at lv 75 when you can get a pet that aoe's and heals and is quite powerful,if i had to rate that Rabbit pet i would say easily as good as 2 players.HGowever the subclass is another reason FFXI shone over EQ1,the combinations allowed almost ANY class to solo if that was their desire,Summoners being another solid class.The thing about soloing is you did have to be a pretty good player as the risk soloing was very high.
I had to point out examples because most people never played a design like FFXI.My long winded point is that there is no reason for an EITHER ..OR,you can have the best of all designs all rolled into one game.That is the reason i try and play any other mmorpg and it just feels handcuffed and severely lacking.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I disagree when people say those are bad for mmorpg genre. The thing make mmorpg unique is it brought all kind of gamers to play together.
I have not personally ever witnessed a confusion of solo and single player terms unless the person is new to the genre or has a poor understanding of what the terms mean. Once explained unless they are trying to advance an alternative fact assertion it should not arise again.
the grouping ui is actually exclusionary in many ways and it has been done to death with no real improvement since everquest.
instead your relevant information ( your health) would be the underline of your name for all to see.
only a slight change in the way content is created is required to make this far superior to the old ways. Dungeons need to be seen as fortresses and lairs where many players are required to defend and attack to progress the dungeon over a period of time to its conclusion and rewards.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design