Western flavor is pretty good, but it needs more ghost rock.

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Players would need to find people they trust and work well with to achieve success in the game, while lone travelers upstart criminals would be the prey to lots of upstart criminals lone travelers.

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Fixed :D

plain and simple... free for all PVP is crippling for casual players as they/we are constantly harassed and preyed upon to the point of canceling and becoming ery negative about the game  similar to EVE... EVE would be much more populated if it wasnt for the pvp.

so far most all you talked about was just a call of duty fps  with colts and winchesters  "lame"

go around and rob people or rob banks or rob trains?  oh ya throw the casual players a bone by throwing together some lame crafting system?  ya i can see it now.

lets see.. theres the gold rush

settling, farming,, ranching,

cattle drives

traping

building railroads

I have one good reason that we will never see this.

Interest

Look at how many Western Movies or TV shows exist, and I think you can see the popularity.

MMO's are out to make money, and a Wild West MMO would fail horribly.

First off, you can have a progression of skill while still holding onto a player-skill basis for a game. Many solo games have been done where advancing skills in shooting, for instance, have the effect of reducing "shake" in your aim, or giving you more time in a "zoomed in" perspective.

I think you could build this out in a very sand-box manner, using the acquisition of money, property, and reputation as measures of success. You could certain aim for becoming a cattle-baron, top gunfighter, or mayor of a town without too much of a stretch.

The main problem I see that would need resolving is death. Without a death penalty of some sort the world would be a constant running gunfight. A setting like this requires that the threat of death be serious enough that you can "rob" or coerce people without always murdering them.

If a day of play consists of 25 gunfights in a row... it would take the whole excitement of gunfighting away in short order. Come to think of it, it would be best if posses, lawmen, trials and hangings were an integral part of the game. Focus on the law vs. barbarism aspect of western development, add in some serious penalties along the way... and see what comes of it.

Ya and lets look at how popular Pirates of the Burning Sea is. I'd assume that a Wild West MMO wouldn't be any more popular.

Originally posted by aceracer24

Ya and lets look at how popular Pirates of the Burning Sea is. I'd assume that a Wild West MMO wouldn't be any more popular.

Pirates of the burning sea is not a bad game, I dislike it because it has to many instances for my enjoyment.  I think that the Wild West is more popular then pirates.

A WILD WEST mmorpg would be the ULTIMATE SANDBOX.

If done right , it would be HUGE.

Would be awesome to run a saloon, be a lawman or a outlaw. Blacksmith, tailor , doctor, dancer, gambler, miner, cowboy, the list goes on and on.

and finally, it would at last be a game where town building would go hand and hand with the game itself.

Make it just as wild and crazy and unpredictable as the WIld West was. PvP at the drop of a coin.

Remember fellas, there was no carebears in the wild west. They stayed back east and wrote newspapers and made chocolate.

GIVE ME A WILD WEST SANDBOX!    NOW!

As long as I get to play Tuco....I'm in.  

More or less take a game design like the original Ultima Online and make it an aold west design. You pretty much went out and cut down trees, mined ore, etc...

 The biggest problem I see....well, most fantasy MMO's have ogres and goblins running around to kill. What will a western have? Coyotes? Indians? <Sorry, Native Americans, with all respect!> Will we be able to buy and sale slaves? Build railroads?

 I honestly think that I would play an old west MMO in a heartbeat, but we need to have plenty of things to do. like maybe for every 100 acounts on a server there can be 25 bad guys, that way it's a 3 to 1 ratio of good vs bad, and would add some excitment.

A good Wild West MMO would also have to have Native America culture or lore in it as well.  Historically stuff like the battle at Little Big Horn or lore wise something like the Legend of the Thunderbird. Plus Native America should and would have to be playable characters. Man, I wouldn't mind scalping with a tomahawk  in PVP. Also bow and arrows  and spears could be weapons as well.

SWG smuggler/pistoleer gave enough of the cowboy feel for me.  First you'd work up a good bounty and  be "on the run" from the law, and then join the rebels to be an outcast and have a target on your head for the storm troopers.  On the flipside there were bounty hunters, who were the law.  Sometimes corrupt and sometimes not, like deputies.

See ya in space cowboy

Originally posted by lordtwisted

 The biggest problem I see....well, most fantasy MMO's have ogres and goblins running around to kill. What will a western have? Coyotes? Indians? <Sorry, Native Americans, with all respect!> Will we be able to buy and sale slaves? Build railroads?

 

 

Of course you could get PvE missions for  Cowboys, rustlers, Indians, outlaws, lawmen. It dosent hvae to be Orcs...errr coyotes.

I firmly believe that Native American Tribes should be playable. After all, it would be a "Historic" mmorpg.

What would be more fun then big guild battles between Cowboys and Indians while us Outlaws are robbing the local bank :)

Originally posted by aceracer24

Ya and lets look at how popular Pirates of the Burning Sea is. I'd assume that a Wild West MMO wouldn't be any more popular.

PotBS may not be pulling down WoW numbers, but it is a successful product with a loyal and profitable userbase.

Just because games don't hit 10 million doesn't mean they failed. By pre-WoW standards, Pirates would be considered a mild success.

Originally posted by Dana

In his debut column, Dana Massey laid out a host of historical settings that would make good MMOs. People seemed to respond most to the idea of a Wild West MMO, so in his sophomore column, Massey lays out what he'd like to see in a potential Wild West game.

Reputation, though, would be the ultimate backbone of the game. Players would harvest reputation through deeds in the world. Each time they hunted down someone more famous or pulled off some heist, they’d rise up the ranks and get closer to the most famous guy in the Wild West.

As players earned more reputation, this would do more than just give them bragging rights. Different schemes within the world would require a group leader of a certain reputation to attempt. The more insane the scheme, the more famous a leader does a band out outlaws require. So, while players could stick up wanderers at an early level, a train heist requires someone with much more fame under their belt to even undertake.

Read about his Wild West MMO here.

Would this mmorpg include the rape ,murder and occupation of a land belonging to indigenous native indians as well.

Bad idea and would not work.

Too much bad magic related to the wild wild west.

Originally posted by openedge1

I have one good reason that we will never see this.

Interest

Look at how many Western Movies or TV shows exist, and I think you can see the popularity.

MMO's are out to make money, and a Wild West MMO would fail horribly.

 if this is true, just one flaw in your reasoning, exactly how many sword and board fantasy TV shows you seeing?  been awhile since Zena was on the air my friend and that was Greak based mythology.  Seems like as many or more main stream Western films come out as Fantasy.  Side there are a couple Table top games with a western theme and a fantasy lean, these would no doubt apeal to both markets.  Can I hear a Steam punk western MMO ala wild wild west?

=P that is Steam not Speam in the poll below, but I can not figure out how to edit the poll =P

 Wild West is gay ... a bunch of guys ridding horses and chewing crap and prettending to be manly.Id rather go an play Hello Kitty Online.

Originally posted by demolishIX

 Wild West is gay ... a bunch of guys ridding horses and chewing crap and prettending to be manly.Id rather go an play Hello Kitty Online.

So do it ....

http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/695351/Red-Dead-Redemption-Debut-Trailer.html

Thats what it should feel like.

If it doesn't feel like that, then it shouldn't be made.

I come from Kansas, my family created the cowboy boot (My last name's Hyer, you can look it up if you want).  A Wild West MMO is the MMO i've wanted for as long as i thought about the genre. Come on Rockstar Games, make an MMO that isn't GTA, there's already 8 of those coming out anyway.

Star Wars Galaxies was a Wild West MMO in a scifi skin, once upon a time, sure its dead now... but once it was different. They should look at what it once was for guideance.

Certainly would be better than what we have coming down the pike right now in the genre.  More fantasy ripoffs, they all get old after awhile.

Have to avoid the native americans though, that would be a real problem.

Coming from the rich in history rocky mountains, I can say I would love a western themed game.  Native Americans would be a big part of the game for me., as well as the settlers.  Buffalo hunts, fishing, cooking, ranching/being nomadic/farming, building, panning for gold, trapping, railroads, Pony Express, so many things to do.  People didn't just go sit in bars, get drunk and get in duels...or rob trains and stage coaches.

There is always racial injustice in games....elves vs. dwarves for example.  It would have to be treated with respect.    Your magic class could be Indian shamen or medicine men/women.  Ranged would not only be guns but bow and arrow.    There could be a stealth class using knives....thieves/ cheating in a poker game could perhaps use some special skills there.  Soldiers/Army and sharpshooting.

Indian guides.....

Lots of possibilities there. 

I think there is one solid clunker in the idea of a WIld West MMO.

Native Americans

If you don't have them, you will get a ton of criticism from rabid wild west fans. If you include them, you will get an equal storm of controversy claiming that you are insulting them, didn't get some detail right or otherwise botched it. (Not to mention possible legal suits)

Any claim to that historical setting might also run into issues with including or not including african americans, chinese immigrant labor and the mexicans...and don't forget the southerners or our whacky pals the Mormons.

To avoid all this, I suspect any "western" MMO would be very loosely historical at best and most likely fall back on "fantasy" elements for the "bad guys" just to avoid the crapstorm of legal action that having indians, mexicans or any other real group as the "badguys" would cause.

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Originally posted by Dana

 

Gear would be based entirely on what your avatar could afford. They’d collect rewards and money through their quests and travels and use that to buy bigger and better weapons that allow them to pull new tricks in combat.

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You just lost 30% of the MMO players with this. The ones that don't grind to have a character looks like how they want it to.

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Originally posted by Dana

 

But still, how fast someone draws, is based on their reflexes, not some statistical modifier and die roll.

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You lost even much more as very few MMO players want combat based on reflexes.

There's a thing that's missing in a western MMO it's monters. Players will be bored pretty fast to kill humans, wolves and serpents only.

But I agree it could be a Fun Game.

Native Americans....

All, you, have, to, do, is, portray, them, realistically.

THATS IT.

Native Americans want to be respected, if they're not made realistically, then they'd get angry. If they are? No "serious" problems.

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

Originally posted by qombi

 In a MMORPG there is progression. I think it would be difficult to put in any meaningful progression a shooting game. What "classes" would there be and what abilities would you give them without looking ridiculous? Remember this would be based off a real life time period so I don't think you would be snaring people and tanking .. healing. There couldn't be any tanks or healers .. where would group strategy come in? Everyone just shooting?

I think it would work for a massive fps game but that is it .. nothing persistant.

 

There were plenty of Doctors back then. A plausible healing system could be done with bandages and whiskey. Course there's always cauterizing the wound too.

 

Scars as involuntary customization!

I know! Talk about character customization. And not limited to just the character creation at the beginning.

@TdogSkal

I think I'd have it so that the guy that drew second, if he killed the guy the law wouldn't be after him. If the guy who drew first won, then yeah, the law dogs would be after him. Course, if we are going "hardcore", once you go down the path of the lawless, there is no going back. Since an item like jail time, where a character would have to sit in jail real time to do time for the crime, wouldn't be implemented, well, then, you go bad, you stay bad. KOS in all town with lawmen and KOS to every law abiding character.

I'd even go so far as no "bad guy" cities. The lawless would have to truly live off their victims. Multiple accounts per server, but if one character on your account goes bad, they all get the stigma. No buying ammo or supplies with a "good character" and dropping the supplies off in the wilds so you can log in with your outlaw and get them.