I put the quality reason.  Most sandbox games that come out these days are very low quality. Game breaking bugs and exploits that go unfixed for months or years, poor customer service, poor game performance, huge balance issues, etc.

The biggest exception to this is obviously Eve, and I really wish I could get into that game because then I would have a sandbox I could enjoy. Perhaps ArcheAge will have the polish I'm looking for.  

Until that magical sandbox comes out that isn't a steaming pile of crap comes out, I just can't tolerate the genre. They are few and far between and it's sad because I would really love to play a good (well made) sandbox game. 

I was curious to see the poll results so I voted "Other reason"...

I've gotten to a point in playing MMORPG's that I only look for sandboxes now. But this isn't a "I dont play themeparks because..." thread so I'll leave it at that.

...voted Other...

  As it's a combination of 2,3,4 and 5 that keeps me away.  I'll be honest as well, the general population of 'most' sandoxes I've tried just seems....well....even more douchy than the population of  other games

99% of sandboxes are FFA Full-Loot gank fests with minimal emphasis on PvE elements.  Its either crafting/building centric or full loot PvP and often times both.

Give me a truely open world with thousands of dungeons, bosses, caves, castles, and hidden areas teeming with rich exploration and heart stopping thrilling combat with the deep character coustimization that only a skill based game can deliver.  Imagine a world similar to a Skyrim chocked full of deep leveling and character building of a Asherons Call and DE system of a GW2 set in a pure PvE experience and you would have an amazing sandbox experience.

i voted anti ffapvp answer.

i actually do play sandboxes, but only those w/o ffa pvp (wurm on pve server, ryzom, earlier also eve in high sec)

Give me GW2 but let me build shit.

simple really...

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Give me GW2 but let me build shit.

 

simple really...

And in what way has that anything to do with sandboxes?

That would just be a themepark where you can build shit.

I like the idea of sandboxes, i hate the implementation.

Most either have features that make you lose 95% of your time doing some sort of material grind, force you choose a very specific build in order to compete or are just kill'em games where numbers rule over everything.

Eve is awesome but has the 1st flaw, DF is interesting but has the 2nd flaw, Mortal 3rd flaw....

I do believe the issue is not the genre, but the implementations.

Originally posted by Larsa

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Give me GW2 but let me build shit.

 

simple really...

And in what way has that anything to do with sandboxes?

That would just be a themepark where you can build shit.

 Actually I think he could build it better but then.. I won't go into the details.

I responded that gameplay mechanics make it seem like work, which is true.

The more true, related reason, is because sandbox games tend to be made almost soley for socializers.

Originally posted by Rivalen

I like the idea of sandboxes, i hate the implementation.

Most either have features that make you lose 95% of your time doing some sort of material grind, force you choose a very specific build in order to compete or are just kill'em games where numbers rule over everything.

Eve is awesome but has the 1st flaw, DF is interesting but has the 2nd flaw, Mortal 3rd flaw....

I do believe the issue is not the genre, but the implementations.

Pretty much my feeling.

You know when you're a kid, and trying to play a game with some friends, but the big kid from down the street has his friends over and they come by and beat the shit out of you and your friends until you all run  home?  That's PVP in "sandbox" games.  You just can't let players be in charge of other people's gameplay experience.  It didn't work in UO and it hasn't worked since.  Sure some people like it, but some people liked to get sodomized in prisons after their first few months of being passed around.

If someone would make a quality one where other people are not allowed to totally fuck up your game play experience, I'd be willing to give it a go.  There's a reason that people enjoy Chess, and cards, and monopoly.  They have rules. No one just snatches the king from your board and says "I WIN"!   I am looking forward to trying out that sci-fi one they're making with the Hero Engine, but I don't hold out too much hope for it.

Open world pvp is fail. Mostly because so little "fair" pvp ever occurs. People either want to gank you while you're fighting something else and then teabag you acting superior. Or you get rolled by zerg griefing guilds. Neither showcases any skill, both only serve to make the ganker epeen grow.

The second reason sandboxes often suck is because they give you the tools, and expect you to do things that you would complain about if they were given to you as a quest. Do you hate gathering quests (collect 10 of X)? Well in a sandbox, it's almost guaranteed that in order to build something you will have to gather hundreds or thousands of something. If any quest ever asked you to do that, you would cry. But because it's your choice, you gladly do it?

Minecraft's popularity still baffles me. So, if I break 10,000 blocks and then create 10,000 blocks, I can make a castle? Yay?

I chose the "Other" option. I don't play sandboxes because I hate not having a direction or goal. I love the adventure aspects of sandboxes and the sheer amount of content that can be found by chance, but the kicker is that I get no joy from playing these games as there isn't a plot essentially. Yeah, it is cool running around and killing dragons/people/plants but it has no purpose to me to do such things aside from that you can kill them. How do I know I am progressing if I have nothing to compare it to aside from myself? The game won't even give me much more than a "Your skill with hand-axes is now level 222," which is cool because it is a large number but what do I do with that skill? I enjoy games more if I know how I am progressing in a game. I'd like to know when the game I have been playing has all of the content explored so that I can find a new one that can offer me something new.

Open World PvP and Full-loot are a giant downer for me. Someone that is obviously stronger than me is camping my body and stealing all of the stuff I worked to get because he got a cheapshot. Cool, now I have to spend XX more hours regaining lost ground because someone decided that they liked my jacket.

Other - Ganking and griefing.  It's not so much that that's what these games are all about.  I actually love the concept.*  Unfortunately, however, the sandbox games seem to attract griefers like a magnet... 

*There was a game that came out in like 2003 and it's not on the game list here which is surprising... it was pretty well known at the time. It was textbook sandbox (if they made textbooks about that sort of thing :p).  It promised player-made cities and sieges (that it eventually delivered) and the whole 9. Anyone remember that one?  It came out and was the buggiest game ever.  Practically unplayable.  It was famous for being one of the biggest crash and burn scearios for a while...