MMORPG Poll

[Space Hamster]

Hi there,

You should realize that it costs around 100 million dollars to make a good MMORPG. It takes years to create all the art assets. It takes extremely skilled developers to create highly optimized code that does not lag out when you get 100 players in the same area. The requirement for killer graphics and fun play is the difference between 800 subscribers and 8,000,000 subscribers.

 

[far-trader]

***OPENING EMERGENCY CHANNEL***
A0F4A-67B

Hello travellers!

We need programmers...

I'd love to but I couldn't program my way outta a goto subroutine anymore (and that'll tell you how long ago I did any coding )

But there must be some here with some programming talent, like Micki (aka Mickazoid on CotI) iirc and if she's not too busy. Hope she forgives me for dropping her name, it was the first I thought of, there's more I'm sure.

Hi there,

You should realize that it costs around 100 million dollars to make a good MMORPG. It takes years to create all the art assets. It takes extremely skilled developers to create highly optimized code that does not lag out when you get 100 players in the same area. The requirement for killer graphics and fun play is the difference between 800 subscribers and 8,000,000 subscribers.

Well sure, for a full blown super-commercial version. But I doubt we'd get 800 subs and there have been great things done on the cheap before. It just takes a leader. No, not me, stop looking at me like that :file_19:

The real sticking point will be licensing I think. It's not too early to look at that. It's either that or make it a generic/other space MMORPG.


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[ManOguaR]

overviewieng possibilities

It's true:

it costs around 100 million dollars to make a good MMORPG

But any game engine could be programmed by 8-12 progremmers... If we think about a solution that implements Traveller as MMORPG, hardcoding Traveller's game mechanics... it could be selled or purposed as game project using our own engine.

It's also true:

It takes years to create all the art assets.

Yes... with a perfectly working game engine, and edit/test tools using that engine... The game designers will be able to develop the game for years... If Traveller Online project was purposed to some publisher with a working engine, and is interested... we will use their artists, game designers and game-testers...

Why not?

But I doubt we'd get 800 subs

take a trip around www.voyagecenturyonline.com, a FREE game, low cost and original MMORPG... About pirates trade and so on... Your Character can set a booth for trading with others while you are at work, and there's a lack of vendors... originality in gameplay... 3d graphics... lots of maps, but lack on textures... and tens of thousands of suscribers!!! XD

And the point that really matters!!

The real sticking point will be licensing I think. It's not too early to look at that. It's either that or make it a generic/other space MMORPG.

I was working on a generic mmoRPG, making enphasis on RPG. My modest opinion (as some other computer/console RPG players) is that a computer RPG is not a RPG. For some time I was developing a "simulation" engine, like The Sims, but finally drop it because it was a SIMULATION not a RPG...

At last I had an IDEA some kind of RPG engine or sub-engine in adittion to other engines in any game (graphics, AI, sound, networking, etc...). But it implies some game-mechanics about role-play, and there was only two pen and paper games that I know with these rules: Rolemaster & Traveller...

Rolemaster was inmediatly deprecated... "Another Sword & Sorcery RPG" agh!

And Traveller was some kind of computer gameplay design miracle!

My idea was to play character generation, adquiring skills, etc... for the first part of the game, because it is a good way to get some generic missions and to develop a long campaing if character becomes General for example!.

When a charcter musters out, he/she will be able to more player to player interaction (as if he/she becomes O1 or higher in any career), considering this interaction in some way to complete missions, BUT not for killing a big boss, it's a wrong wiew of Traveller universe... Players at intermediate level must role-play to complete missions or quests...

And higher-level players must to interact more and more with each others, and with "low/mid-level" character also...

On the other side, we can use any adventure published to add content... ANNIC NOVA?

And the short version:

"Traveller Online could be the first real RPG implemented on a computer, because game mechanics, background, and adventures are suitable to develop it".


See you soon!!

 

[Merxiless]

Pardon my rudosity. Might as well stop reading now.

Again, the engine has been written. It's called NWN.

I've played a rough version of T20 with it.

AS to all this other stuff, it's lots of ideas, but it's like as hotgun going off in the dark, trying to hit "What do people like" as a target.

Pardon my insolence, the key is what will make people pay 15-20 a month to play, all other factors notwithstanding.

You could do it as a chat based MUD. I have seen a more than successful Trek game do this with LUG Trek Rules, it constantly had 20 people logged in and the GMs wrote adventures, once every few days.

You could do this as a graphical, interactive deal, a la EVE online. But with those large amounts of people like 17,000 constantly logged in, yeah you'd need a huge maintenance crew to run the thing, servers, etc.

What I think a lot here are missing is the scale.

An MMORPG, truly traveller, is not to sell more traveller books. It would BECOME Traveller, call it Traveller 6.

Once you got 10,000+ people paying 15.00 a month, printing up any number of one shot rule books to promote pen and paper is not worth it any more, except as a barely profitable sideline business, for emotional comfort to us old die hard dice rollers.

Design what Traveller is to be as an interactivem addictive, must log on and stay logged on for 40 hours continuously, dragging all your friends on, online experience that makes Marc rich.

If that isn't your goal...as a game designer, you do not understand the purpose of an MMORPG. No offense.

They make money, by attracting addictive players, and keeping them, forever, or as long as you can possible manage to keep them, and keep them paying.

An MMORPG cannot be dloaded via Torrent.
It cannot be copied to .pdf the day of sale, or pirated on Ebay.
It doesn't require figures, books, or any equipment, other than a credit card, a chair, a butt to sit in aforesaid chair to play, and a mouse and keyboard.

To program a beast like this:
Call up the authors of Quest for the Ancients, and ask their advice. If they say it's not worth the time, scrap it as an idea.

15+ years have elapsed since then. They did the definative traveller game back in the day. They will have seen what is out there today. I still use thier DOS-based chargen for my own traveller games, on an old machine that runs win 95 Just for that one piece of software. I still play that puppy.

I can't recall their names, or if any of them are still alive. I once travelled to Greensburg, PA, to find Paragon. Long gone.

Quest for the Ancients, writ large, converted to Vista and Direct X 9-something. Multiplayer. There it is.

Mark my words.