When i heard that they are making new MMO. I started to wonder what it's going to be like? I don't think that new mmo which will be released by Blizzard will be another World of Warcraft, because that would be stupid to try to suffocate they'r main source of profit. In my opinion, they are going to make something different. Maybe even a sandbox game! It would be crack in this style of games... As we all know Blizzard is good at making games and they can let themselves to experiment, so the budget and quality of the game would be amazing, considering that wow is bigest MMO in the world.

So i want to ask your opinion, what do you think about this?
 

Gotta remember that Blizzard's new MMO isn't going to be out for years yet.

When it finally hits the shelves WoW is probably going to be 7-9 years old and will be nearing the end of it's life. I firmly believe that Blizzard's new MMO will be designed as a successor to WoW's popularity, and will have a lot of game mechanics and design decisions in common with it.

I wouldn't hold our hope for a "pure" sandbox, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a few sandboxxy elements in it.

Project Hydra:

Is going to be a SandBox/ThemePark MMORPG (Like Vanguard but better).

Is has more freedom then most Theme Park MMO, but still have many limits and mechanics that theme park mmos use.

The world will be free open, with the use of new tech, that will allow the open world server to run smoothly

Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

I wouldn't hold our hope for a "pure" sandbox, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a few sandboxxy elements in it.

^ This ^

Blizzard will do what they do best and steal ideas from other games and intergrate them into one game (With is not a bad thing!). So changes are you see a some elements from sandbox games with will give the players more freedom then that WoW gives, but not a lot.   

 If perhaps you mean non-linear I think that would be a definite possibility for their next generation mmo (whatever that really is). The problem with the tag sandbox is that I think it implies that the game can develop in ways unforeseen by the developer, and somehow I just cannot see Blizzard letting that happen, they have a winning mmo formula of tightly controlled micro-managed games where new content is patched into the game on a regular basis, and the masses have to go there to play. What is possible, though, I think, is some form of greater non-linearity to the game plot and moving away from an entirely linear level game, which is more or less what they have now in WoW. It is interesting to note that they have experimented to a limited degree with  factions based non-linear progression in the past, though this is very limited, and that might be where they could develop the idea of non-linear plot structure better, yet still control the overall direction the game takes.

Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

Gotta remember that Blizzard's new MMO isn't going to be out for years yet.

When it finally hits the shelves WoW is probably going to be 7-9 years old and will be nearing the end of it's life. I firmly believe that Blizzard's new MMO will be designed as a successor to WoW's popularity, and will have a lot of game mechanics and design decisions in common with it.

I wouldn't hold our hope for a "pure" sandbox, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a few sandboxxy elements in it.

You have good points there. Let me remind you that Blizzard is big company with a huge budget. They are trying to make Wow more attractive and with expansions like cataclysm they are making it. And if my memory is good i think one of the Blizzard devs said that new mmo would not be like Wow. On the other hand, if they would want to make new mmo fast, they would. And maybe with they'r expansions they just want to strech the time till new mmo release.  

The chances are 0 to none

Originally posted by tro44_1

Project Hydra:

Is going to be a SandBox/ThemePark MMORPG (Like Vanguard but better).

Is has more freedom then most Theme Park MMO, but still have many limits and mechanics that theme park mmos use.

 

The world will be free open, with the use of new tech, that will allow the open world server to run smoothly

What a totally irrelevant post. 

I am sure the new MMO by Blizzard will not be any ground breaking thing. They are into the money not making ground breaking ideas like Adventuring or Star Vault (Darkfall and Mortal Online).

Don't hold your breath, unless you liked WOW.

All they've said so far is that the MMO they have in development will have a broader appeal than WoW. To me that doesn't scream "sandbox", but who knows.

Originally posted by RendRegen

All they've said so far is that the MMO they have in development will have a broader appeal than WoW. To me that doesn't scream "sandbox", but who knows.

It likely means the opposite since sandbox MMOs do not have broad appeal.

Well for one i do not consider anything Blizzard makes to be quality,they are still using a 10 year old game engine and gods knows how many times they plan on rehashing it.The texture use in WOW is of the lowest quality amongst all games on the net,the models are rivaled or bettered by most games and the content is EXTREMELY linear in that everything the players want is in instances.

Instances is also the cheapest form of creating content,it allows the developer the easiest route to making no mistakes,it is basically a chicken shit approach.As for a big budget,they only have a large budget for anything ,because they are horrible at handling money,they can get away with it ,when you have millions of gamers funding their poor efforts.

Square Enix operates a  marginally higher budget than Blizzard but has 8 gaming divisions and tons of games,Blizzard is lucky to have anything going for production and yet they still have to account for their huge over head.

Ok now that i got that off my chest,i just tire of hearing stereotypical BS about Blizzard just because they have a game that has the most subs.

As far as their next game goes,right out of the gate it showed an amateur direction.Why? well because they had already started to make the game,yet they were still looking for a lead director lmao,how is that even possible?That tells me it will be a loosely developed game,just thrown together as cheap as WOW was.

I already threw out my  guess on their next game,and it HAS to be focused around the Redkneck Rampage series they bought the rights to.I mean i figure it is a no brainer,you don't buy an IP just for the sake of wasting money,they obviously have plans to use it and make a game from it.So i expect something along the lines of a goofy GTA type of game,but using the RR theme.Blizzard has a VERY low ability to create,so it will be a game that copies some other game,witch is why i picked the GTA idea,because it is a popular game and it fits the Redkneck Rampage type of theme.

IMO personal opinion...I would fire the guy who thought it was an intelligent move to purchase that IP.Blizzard has made millions from WOW,they SHOULD have the people and the money to build a VERY nice gaming engine.They should also have the ability to create a unique game and not just copy some other game,especially RR,i m still baffled as to that incredibly stupid purchase.

So there is my guess a GTA type of game using the RR theme.

Originally posted by Wizardry

Well for one i do not consider anything Blizzard makes to be quality,they are still using a 10 year old game engine and gods knows how many times they plan on rehashing it.The texture use in WOW is of the lowest quality amongst all games on the net,the models are rivaled or bettered by most games and the content is EXTREMELY linear in that everything the players want is in instances.

Instances is also the cheapest form of creating content,it allows the developer the easiest route to making no mistakes,it is basically a chicken shit approach.As for a big budget,they only have a large budget for anything ,because they are horrible at handling money,they can get away with it ,when you have millions of gamers funding their poor efforts.

Square Enix operates a  marginally higher budget than Blizzard but has 8 gaming divisions and tons of games,Blizzard is lucky to have anything going for production and yet they still have to account for their huge over head.

Ok now that i got that off my chest,i just tire of hearing stereotypical BS about Blizzard just because they have a game that has the most subs.

As far as their next game goes,right out of the gate it showed an amateur direction.Why? well because they had already started to make the game,yet they were still looking for a lead director lmao,how is that even possible?That tells me it will be a loosely developed game,just thrown together as cheap as WOW was.

I already threw out my  guess on their next game,and it HAS to be focused around the Redkneck Rampage series they bought the rights to.I mean i figure it is a no brainer,you don't buy an IP just for the sake of wasting money,they obviously have plans to use it and make a game from it.So i expect something along the lines of a goofy GTA type of game,but using the RR theme.Blizzard has a VERY low ability to create,so it will be a game that copies some other game,witch is why i picked the GTA idea,because it is a popular game and it fits the Redkneck Rampage type of theme.

IMO personal opinion...I would fire the guy who thought it was an intelligent move to purchase that IP.Blizzard has made millions from WOW,they SHOULD have the people and the money to build a VERY nice gaming engine.They should also have the ability to create a unique game and not just copy some other game,especially RR,i m still baffled as to that incredibly stupid purchase.

So there is my guess a GTA type of game using the RR theme.

Wow, so much blind, pointless hatred. Maybe it's time to let go, play WoW and realize it's not some horrible game that wants to destroy your life. 

Originally posted by Wizardry

As far as their next game goes,right out of the gate it showed an amateur direction.Why? well because they had already started to make the game,yet they were still looking for a lead director lmao,how is that even possible?That tells me it will be a loosely developed game,just thrown together as cheap as WOW was.

I already threw out my  guess on their next game,and it HAS to be focused around the Redkneck Rampage series they bought the rights to.

I think that it makes sense if you consider that they might have been working on a next generation game engine first, and then when that was sufficiently far along Blizzard went looking for game director to go beyond that and build a game for it. After all, as you rightly point out, the current WoW engine is very old, and patching in slightly improved shaders doesn't do much to enhance the game.

As to what the mmo will be, Blizzard COO, Paul Sams said: "will not “cannibalize” on World of Warcraft meaning that both games will be able to exist in harmony with one another – until people leave WoW for the new game".

I think they are making a game with sufficient similarity to WoW to get their masses of subs to hop over, yet not kill WoW outright at launch. We are talking a different universe or timeline, but a game that is a spiritual successor to WoW, that won't be a GTA-like mmo, I think. People have speculated on Starcraft or Diablo universes, but given that the latest versions of these games will be released in the same ballpark as their new mmo, I think it will be new, but related to WoW, if too different I'd have thought Blizzard might worry that their mass player base might go to other games as WoW declines over the next years.

I think Blizzard plans for WoW to be running for quite a while. They are making gradual upgrades to the graphics, but frankly, that is a minor aspect. They have said the new game won't compete with WoW, and that makes sense to me.

How many graphical tricks do people really need to enjoy an MMO? Every single leaf on a tree to move independantly? Shiney water? WTF is with people's priorities?

WoW's graphics are good enough. There are plenty of other FPS and single-player games to show off how much money they wasted on dual liquid-cooled video cards.

Gameplay is what's lacking in WoW. Fun systems, rather than countless gear grinds. Prettier graphics won't fix that.

I'm not sure if the demands for sandbox games on this site are representative for the larger mmo-gaming population.

Even if the majority on mmorpg.com forums would play such a game, it's not at all certain that it would be a commercial hit.

Blizzard would only make a sandbox MMO if one or more other sandbox MMOs became major successes. Then they'd take the best ideas from those, streamline, polish, use more money on marketing than was spent making the games they copied... and profit.

So, basically, if some other sandbox games start getting one million or more active accounts, Blizzard is almost certain to make a sandbox game. What are the chances of other sandbox MMOs becoming popular enough? 

Originally posted by knightee

I'm not sure if the demands for sandbox games on this site are representative for the larger mmo-gaming population.

Even if the majority on mmorpg.com forums would play such a game, it's not at all certain that it would be a commercial hit.

True, but it's not even certain that Blizzard's next MMO will be a hit.

If Blizzard can produce a WoW-friendly mmorpg in the timeframe of just shortly after their Cataclysm expansion then, yes, they might be able to get most of their player base to switch, and that would continue their mainstream mmo success. The fact that Cataclysm is re-working the old classic WoW zones indicates that Blizzard realise it's an old game and that there is a limit to how many new zone expansions you can patch into a linear game before it becomes too  stretched out to level through from scratch.

Originally posted by Fusion

The chances are 0 to none

This

Originally posted by Illyssia

If Blizzard can produce a WoW-friendly mmorpg in the timeframe of just shortly after their Cataclysm expansion then, yes, they might be able to get most of their player base to switch, and that would continue their mainstream mmo success. The fact that Cataclysm is re-working the old classic WoW zones indicates that Blizzard realise it's an old game and that there is a limit to how many new zone expansions you can patch into a linear game before it becomes too  stretched out to level through from scratch.

I think that Cataclysm is proof that Blizzard intends WoW to go for several more years.

 The Sims are a sandbox and I can't imagine a more casual friendly / broader appeal game out there, or a bigger cash cow, well except WoW.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

Originally posted by Illyssia

If Blizzard can produce a WoW-friendly mmorpg in the timeframe of just shortly after their Cataclysm expansion then, yes, they might be able to get most of their player base to switch, and that would continue their mainstream mmo success. The fact that Cataclysm is re-working the old classic WoW zones indicates that Blizzard realise it's an old game and that there is a limit to how many new zone expansions you can patch into a linear game before it becomes too  stretched out to level through from scratch.

I think that Cataclysm is proof that Blizzard intends WoW to go for several more years.

Since the new mmo hasn't a release date we are talking over the next few years. I think that it will have an overlapping timeline with WoW, Cataclysm might not be the end, but it is the beginning of the end. Recycling old bosses right now in WoW is also an indication of this, much easier to do that than actually develop new content. You could even argue that WotLK will only have two new real raid dungeons in the course of its release, it's indicative of a tiring expansion. However, given that Blizzard have made the game very friendly for casual play Cataclysm should bring many subs back into their fold.

 If they did make a sandbox MMO, one thing is for sure: It would be the best sandbox game on the market.

 I don't want to sound rude, but we know what Blizz does, they steal and polish. Warcraft stole from Dune II's mechanics for example, and WoW took many elements (if not all) from EverQuest and FFXI, and it's further updates simply took from other popular games. I must say, this isn't always a bad thing as they do make polished products that are very much worth buying. Personally, I tend to stay away from anything Blizz recently due to the little quote from Activision-Blizzard CEO that I think we have all head.

Anyways! To know what Blizzard is going to do for the next MMO we simply need to look at the best features from popular MMOs and the features people loved in MMOs like WAR and AoC. Because of this, I believe Blizzard will make their next MMO with more engaging combat and crafting, and probably with the mechanics that allow you to craft and still level. I can tell you now, it won't be original, but it will be polished and smooth.

Originally posted by nickelpat

 

Anyways! To know what Blizzard is going to do for the next MMO we simply need to look at the best features from popular MMOs and the features people loved in MMOs like WAR and AoC. Because of this, I believe Blizzard will make their next MMO with more engaging combat and crafting, and probably with the mechanics that allow you to craft and still level. I can tell you now, it won't be original, but it will be polished and smooth.

Agreed, and frankly, with the competition out there, that will be good enough.