Originally posted by Llars

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...

Sounds like you are describing Dark & Light, but that was 2006, so unsure.

Edit: Nm, it's actually on the list ;)

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

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...

Sounds like you are describing Dark & Light, but that was 2006, so unsure.

Edit: Nm, it's actually on the list ;)

Dark and Light took the crown afterwards lol   I was really excited about that one too.  Hang-gliding?!?  Sign me up!   :-/

Originally posted by Llars

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

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...

Sounds like you are describing Dark & Light, but that was 2006, so unsure.

Edit: Nm, it's actually on the list ;)

Dark and Light took the crown afterwards lol   I was really excited about that one too.  Hang-gliding?!?  Sign me up!   :-/

Funny, I'm drooling over Archeage...and the thought of hand-gliding in it gives me nightmares due to D&L.

I only play one sandbox, EVE. To me, it's the best MMO out there, and not just because it's a sandbox. And to everyone who says EVE is  a "gankfest", it's not--I've been ganked a total of 2 times in 6 years, which is way less than in most other games I've played.

The division of hi-sec, lo-sec, and null sec is a great approach to way to divide those who don't want to pvp regularly from those who do, without totally removing an element of danger necessary in such a free-form game.

because...they're often PVP games. PVP just isn't something I enjoy.

Originally posted by gostly

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.

Word

Im with you man,btw im curious on how many mmo newbie players are out there,but i refuse to vote lol...tell me how many they are?

Voted:  "Other Reasons".

My reasons?

• Sandbox MMO tend to be focused on PvP to the exclusion of PvE.
• The community tends to suck.
• The graphics tend to suck.  The gameplay tends to suck.  The interface tends to suck.
• Bugs like woah.
• Tend to have a (very) small playerbase, if they have a playerbase at all.

Other reasons:

Although sandboxes are my favorite type of mmorpg, they simply take up too much time for me now. 

Related to this, since I cannot commit time, I cannot really participate in a guild or clan. Most sandboxes tend to be better for clanned and guilded players. 

Originally posted by Boardwalker

I only play one sandbox, EVE. To me, it's the best MMO out there, and not just because it's a sandbox. And to everyone who says EVE is  a "gankfest", it's not--I've been ganked a total of 2 times in 6 years, which is way less than in most other games I've played.

The division of hi-sec, lo-sec, and null sec is a great approach to way to divide those who don't want to pvp regularly from those who do, without totally removing an element of danger necessary in such a free-form game.

this is the first key-succes-factor for a sandbox. you have to divide the world into huge areas for PVE only and full PvP. if not, most people wont play it.  your game will become deserted and your PvP guilds will not get enough recruits. you would be astonished, how many people finally try and play PvP even if they started the game just in order to play the PVE-content in their huge safe-zones.

the second key succes-factor is quality & functionality. the feature-list of these indygames are looking great. but most of it will never be implemented or is buggy as hell. EVE started with much less features than today and of course it had bugs. but overall it was sufficient to stay in game and have fun. from this point EVE growed steadily.

so the road to success for an AAA-sandbox is clear. unfortunately no company had tried to do it in the last decade. well, you could count EVE as AAA in the menawhile, even if it did not start as one.

this opinion fits very well to the result of the poll above.

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

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...

Sounds like you are describing Dark & Light, but that was 2006, so unsure.

Edit: Nm, it's actually on the list ;)

Dark and Light took the crown afterwards lol   I was really excited about that one too.  Hang-gliding?!?  Sign me up!   :-/

Funny, I'm drooling over Archeage...and the thought of hand-gliding in it gives me nightmares due to D&L.

No people. He/She is talking about AC2!!! But later AC3 became LoTRO. 

I love the idea of sandbox games and if ever a decent quality one was to appear (I'm watching Archeage) I would jump at the chance to play it.

I played EVE twice, the first time was in its infancy. I didn't really have a clue how to play or what to do but if I'd stuck with it then I would have probably still been playing it now. The second time I played I mostly did missions and was disappointed that I really couldn't attempt some of the more interesting parts of the game like wormholes basically because I was way behind in skills. I don't understand why they can't / won't bring out a new server with everyone on zero points.

Was also looking at ATitD but I don't think there is a trial and it's subscription based so that put me off.

My main concern though is that you can spend hrs and hrs achieving a goal only to lose it in the blink of an eye. For me that is not fun.

I love sandbox games, but the best ones are either; extinct, low population, or run by EA.

Looking forward to something the sandbox fans can migrate to that will hopefully allow for a thriving community.

So basically out of the 100+ votes so far, most people don't like that indie developers make sandboxes because quality suffers and people don't like the FFA full-loot PvP.

Unfortunately it's unlikely that a big company will create a sandbox because the target audience is not as big as the casual/solo-friendly crowd. That's the reason indie developers are the only ones willing to risk thinking outside the box when it comes to MMORPG's these days. I believe SOE is the only big company that created a sandbox with success (and then totally ruined it just like they seem to do with everything).

CCP started out as a small "indie" developer and grew because of the consistent forward progress that they made, EVE Online is the only MMO sandbox that continues to grow as time goes on (that I'm aware of). I think bugs kill a lot of the fun for sandbox games for people, but some people learn to live with the bugs (hence why most sandboxes have low pops but loyal playerbases).

I guess I'm trying to say I understand and if you missed the initial MMORPG's of the genre then you most likely missed the boat for good sandbox games. Although for those of us that played some of the original MMO's, we desperately seek a game with social interaction; whether it's pvp or putting trust in other players by trading at the risk of losing your stuff. Simply put, a lot of sandboxes will not be for the new generation of MMO gamers since they rely heavily on game mechanics to make them feel safe and secure.

Free-for-All PvP speaks to a very specific crowd. If you get your kicks from doing bad things and being known for those things then this is you. If you don't like having to constantly look around in-game just to make sure no one is following you or about to attack you then this type of system is not for you(obviously).

The thing I enjoy about this system that is in most sandbox games is the fear of being attacked at any time and doing the same to someone else. It also gives you a sense of feeling that you don't wanna be alone when you're wandering around in the world, so being in a guild or having friends to roll with in game means the players create their own safety. When you go out by yourself, you know the risks so generally you wouldn't take anything you don't wanna lose.

Honestly, I could do without the full loot aspect of FFA PvP but it's not a deal breaker for me like it is with most people. I'm actually surprised in every game I have played that PvP is just something most people don't even wanna participate in. It baffles me that so many people are so non-competitive natured.

All-in-all I understand that sandboxes will most likely never be something the masses want to play and I'm okay with that. But like other people I do hope that a decent sized developer will create a new sandbox that is practically bug free with original ideas whilst giving players plenty of freedom.

Originally posted by MMOExposed

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

Originally posted by Decadentia

Originally posted by Llars

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...

Sounds like you are describing Dark & Light, but that was 2006, so unsure.

Edit: Nm, it's actually on the list ;)

Dark and Light took the crown afterwards lol   I was really excited about that one too.  Hang-gliding?!?  Sign me up!   :-/

Funny, I'm drooling over Archeage...and the thought of hand-gliding in it gives me nightmares due to D&L.

No people. He/She is talking about AC2!!! But later AC3 became LoTRO. 

I got it... t was Shadowbane!!  How's that not on the list??

Why don't I play sandboxes? Because all the current ones out are terrible. The current sandbox games are so bad they may of even left a permanent dent in the sandbox industry, I wonder how many played mortal online and said "wow this is rubbish, I am never playing a 'sandbox' game ever again".  It's quite sad really, because the genre has so much potential especially in these dark times of wow clones yet absolutely NOBODY is there to claim the glory.  

By the way, this statement dosn't include EVE, I am talking as in a full loot free roam medievil game rather then a space ship manager game.