Originally posted by hockeyplayr
Just curious what everyone thinks.  I personally think that era has all the elements to make a good game for all types of players.

Just as those first MMO's drew heavily from classic tabletop rpg's,..

we also have some Western tabletop ref!

I remember distinctly having a posse called "The Jackson Five", who rode around liberating towns,.heh,...

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Originally posted by Loke666

You can´t have healers and tanks in the wild west, so unless you want a MMOFPS you would need to make some new group mechanics. Well, you could but it would suck.

You could have anything you want in any settings, it's just a matter of gamedesign ;)

Originally posted by hockeyplayr
Just curious what everyone thinks.  I personally think that era has all the elements to make a good game for all types of players.

Question comes up every few months. Personally I believe it's a very difficult setting to translate into an MMORPG.

• Basically, it has to be a shooter, little sense to have much melee in that setting.
• The native American problem: can't have native Americans as "mobs", difficult to place a settlers vs. native Americans game into the US market.
• If you choose a faction style game, outlaws vs. settlers/townsfolk, you will have a large majority of your game population wanting to play outlaws. Balance nightmare.
• Too little mob variety for PvE. You have the wildlife and that's it. Game would have a heavy PvP focus, all PvP problems in MMORPGs would be present. 

Wild West would be a fun setting for an MMO.  I think the best way to go would be a Wild West flavored MMO set in an alternate universe rather then one based on real history that way you could add in all sorts of different elements (Steampunk, Gothic Horror, etc) that could spice it up and make it interesting. You'd also be able to avoid some of the more sensitive real world issues (indians, etc)  while still keeping all the elements that make Wild West fun.

If you look at Firefly/Serenty (hugely popular IP), it was essentialy the Wild West set in space.

Personaly I'd love to see a Space 1889 themed MMO.

Originally posted by Larsa

Originally posted by hockeyplayr
Just curious what everyone thinks.  I personally think that era has all the elements to make a good game for all types of players.  I agree completely. It'd make for an amazing game if done right.

Question comes up every few months. Personally I believe it's a very difficult setting to translate into an MMORPG.

The question comes up because it's a great potential as an untapped theme for a game. Red Dead Redemption shows that.

• Basically, it has to be a shooter, little sense to have much melee in that setting.

Doesn't need to be any different than the shooting mechanics of SWG or TSW, or any game previously that's featured ranged weapons and it CAN feature knives, tomahawks and fist fighting (even kung-fu from chinese immigrants). You could make carrying ammo a little more realistic (a loaded gun plus some extra ammo). Then if you run out, it turns into a fist fight or knife brawl. Or you can ambush some one and knock their gun from them turning it into a melee.

• The native American problem: can't have native Americans as "mobs", difficult to place a settlers vs. native Americans game into the US market.

The wild west had many different ethnicities trying to make it. That was what the west was about. Chinese, Mexicans, Italians, Irish, Norwegians, escaped African slaves, Native Americans, The list goes on. The best way to handle that is to have multiple skin/face/clothing options that fit those ethnicities to suit what you want to play. NPC's would also reflect this. This is the wild west, not New York or south Carolina or the Civil War. Everyone is trying to make something for themselves. There's a difference between the idea of the Wild West and Civil War which may have taken place at similar times, but what they are about are completely different.

• If you choose a faction style game, outlaws vs. settlers/townsfolk, you will have a large majority of your game population wanting to play outlaws. Balance nightmare.

That's a terrible idea. If you want PvP, then have factions based off of companies. The fictional versions of the Santa Fe vs. The Pacific rail road. Different oil, mine, farmer companies. Do you (or anyone else who thinks it was all cowboys and indians) really know anything about the west? It was about rival farmers and companies trying to make it big. Some companies were worse than others committing evil deeds to get jobs done. You could be hired to one of the companies and fight over rights to land. There were land disputes all the time in the west. 

• Too little mob variety for PvE. You have the wildlife and that's it. Game would have a heavy PvP focus, all PvP problems in MMORPGs would be present. 

SWG is a great place to look for how to make a Western MMO. You can go out and hunt wild animals for Hide, Bones, Meat that you'd sell back in town. If you can't litter the land with animals then make the expidition difficult with hunger and thirst. You'd also have miners and farmers making their own materials to sell. Then you'd have the crafters that make things from those materials. You could hire cowboys to move herds and make sure they stay where they're supposed to. You can be hired by companies that flags you for PVP or non competative play with city building and having vendors in towns. Just like SWG. Doctocs, dancers, bartenders, hotel owners, sheriffs. Tons of jobs people can do. 

 

Difficult setting, high risk because of PvP-focus, shooter-style, limited PvE gameplay. Very difficult to get that right.

That's defeatist thinking. IT'S TOO HARD SO LET'S NOT EVEN THINK TO TRY! The idea of a Western MMO is so rich, it's overflowing with untapped potential. Skills like horse riding, rilfes, six shooters, camping in the wilderness. Instead of having armor angainst weapons, you could have clothing that helps against weather. Quality of gunbelts that help with quick drawing. Making horse shoes, breaking horses for riding. Hunger and Thirst could play a big part in the game. It wouldn't all have to be about PvP and hunting mobs. It's about living in the wild west and experiencing what it was like with a touch of fantasy and fun.

Do us all a favor and don't ever become a game designer.

^^ well put sir.

Can't think wow in the west.  Has to be sandboxy which means more to pve than mobs

Originally posted by Odinthedark1

Originally posted by Tokken
How would combat work? Guns, rifles, sabre, tomahawk and knife fights?

You are forgetting about bar fight's and the classic broken beer/ale bottles, perhaps a wooden chair? or maybe the non lethal weapon, the rope lasso to bring them in for perhaps a bounty collection, or the opposite, to create a hostage situation. nothing like strapping the cowboys to a pillar while lighting up some gunpowder kegs to watch the place go kaplooey!

It sounds great in theory.  We all know that's not how it would work in game.  Everybody would have a rifle and pistol.  Why bother with long drawn out fist fights when you can shoot your opponent dead in one shot.

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Originally posted by dave6660

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Originally posted by Odinthedark1

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Originally posted by Tokken How would combat work? Guns, rifles, sabre, tomahawk and knife fights?

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You are forgetting about bar fight's and the classic broken beer/ale bottles, perhaps a wooden chair? or maybe the non lethal weapon, the rope lasso to bring them in for perhaps a bounty collection, or the opposite, to create a hostage situation. nothing like strapping the cowboys to a pillar while lighting up some gunpowder kegs to watch the place go kaplooey!

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It sounds great in theory.  We all know that's not how it would work in game.  Everybody would have a rifle and pistol.  Why bother with long drawn out fist fights when you can shoot your opponent dead in one shot.

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Originally posted by sidebuster

Originally posted by Larsa

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Do us all a favor and don't ever become a game designer.

Why the hostile attitude? I think it's difficult to translate the Wild West setting into an MMORPG and I said why I think that it's difficult. Maybe that's even the reason why no company has tried it yet?

And for the record, I never intended to become a game designer. I'm far too old for that anyway.

Originally posted by Larsa

Originally posted by sidebuster

Originally posted by Larsa

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Do us all a favor and don't ever become a game designer.

Why the hostile attitude? I think it's difficult to translate the Wild West setting into an MMORPG and I said why I think that it's difficult. Maybe that's even the reason why no company has tried it yet?

And for the record, I never intended to become a game designer. I'm far too old for that anyway.

Those were some of the most lame reasons  I've ever seen. You obviously didn't even try to see if it could work.  Sorry if I came off hostile but your post was so condescending I went a little overboard with my response. The very thought of a Wild West themed MMORPG got my creative juices flowing and my excitement kicked into overdrive. It's a good theme for a game and it would be easy enough to make it work well. I can't believe you'd try to belittle it so quick.

Yeah i got to agree you do not have to stick to a completely historical styled wild west based mmo setting for it to give the players an actual feel of being in the wild west. Look at many t.v. series like Firefly, farscape, even game settings like wild arms or even the later chapters of the phantasy star series, where just by adding afew aspects/elements from sci-fi or fantasy settings you can solve issues that a fully wild west setting would have. In some ways the new game being made by trion with sci-fi looks to have a feel that is alot lke what you might feel in a wild west mmo as well, though so far no word onf they are going to just go fps or if they will have some more traditional melee combat too.

Yet also having conditions like distance, lighting, an even training could allow for ranged combat to be a hindrence in the game as it would have many additional variables that would be needed to be used, when compared to melee combat. Then there is using a cover system for both indoor an outdoor combat, as well as having limited ammo, constrants on reloading, even using things like sheriffs in towns to disarm or keep some some semblance of order in the towns.

Originally posted by lizardbones
If the focus of the game is combat, that's probably what would happen. Everyone would be a gun figI cahter. 

I can think of about 12 classes without even going to google:

Bounty Hunter, Gambler, Gunslinger,  Indian Warrior, Mountain Man, Outlaw, Pugilist, Ranger, Rifleman, Sawbones, Soldier, Wide-Awake (Detective)

Originally posted by Volkon

What is WRONG with you people? Why you thinking so small?

 

If you want a wild west themed MMO, I say that's more reason for a Firefly-based MMO. Get the best of many worlds.

It would just get 14 patches then close down. :(

Originally posted by sidebuster

Do us all a favor and don't ever become a game designer.

After citing one decent wild west themed game your words of wisdom should be significant to oneself.