Best sandbox game i've found which i've played for years on and off is Wurm online ( http://www.wurmonline.com/ )

everything is player created, even the land you terraform and the houses that you build are all from hard work of tree cutting, mining and smithing.

its not everyones cup of tea but i'd say the only game i know of that everything is crafted apart from your starter items.

I've voted option 2, but in contrary to the vote i do not blame the players.
In fact today it's all about hype. Hiding facts and real information while offering pre-orders or "founder packs", including NDA and / or Beta access.

If such a "AAA Sandbox" would have been released today it would claim:

* Awesome potential PVP System
* Mega deep faction system
* Super No Endgame, Endgame
* Not Free "free" PVP
* Highly interactive adventures
* Best potential story

It would try to lure everyone from PVE Loot centric Raider to FFA PVP Ganker into buying a pre order / founder pack.

And in the end it would troll on everyone offering nothing - something for everyone. (ignoring the fact that FFA PVP does not go well with PVE Endgame (instance) raiding). If you try to please everyone, you are going to dissappoint everyone.

The thing today is, everything is full of lies and developer (publisher) are all about the big initial rush. Just look at the answers on direct questions from developers. None is honest.

They don't tell you, they will have a generic quest fetch grind system (even in an sandbox). It will be the "Highly interactive adventures". The term sandbox is even disputed and not clear in itself.

One of the reasons i'm a huge fan of CCP (EVE) and Star Citizen is, they don't lie. They don't try to lure everyone for a "box" sell, claiming game features that do no work with fundamental different player preferences.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned EQ next yet? ITs claimed to be an AAA sandbox, and amusingly, few of you guys have already made accurate statements.

The Studio:

- "We're leaning towards sandbox"

Answers from MMORPG.com forum:

- "That carebear piece of shit hasn't even seen a sandbox"

- "It won't be sandbox"

- "Lol how is PvE sandbox?"

-"Vaporware!"

- "I hope it isn't sandbox but focuses on PvP"

- "I hope it isn't a sandbox but a PvE game"

Originally posted by waynejr2

Originally posted by craftseeker

Originally posted by maccarthur2004

Archeage is coming. We will have a opportunity to see what will really occur in a actual scenario.

Yes Archeage is coming.  Already here if you play in Korea.  Is it a AAA sandbox? well I am willing to grant you the AAA.  As to the sandbox, well it suits part of the audience for sandbox games .... those that like a gank fest.

A bit harsh? perhaps, but it is certainly not what I would wish to see in a sandbox game. Also how sandboxy is it to have a limited range of pre-designed houses etc to build for which you must obtain standard blueprints?

Why is it not possible for player communities to establish their own "safe zones" guarded by hired NPC's if PvP is going to be so heavily featured?  Why are the punishments for serial ganking almost a reward?

No this one is not for me or for a number of other people looking for a sandbox game.

 I am certain you and your vast amount of other people won't be missed.

Crafts there was a review floating around by a level 50 guy from the Korean servers. Basically the house stuff is not WIP but the northern continent where you could establish communities protected by either NPCs or your own people is WIP, sieges are gonna be put in shortly for fortress control within the 4-5 areas available and once that's in I doubt the guilds which hold the fortresses won't expand to create communities of people around the fortress to support the upkeep and help with the defense and upkeep and by what I understood from the review there's a reason to have player run merchant ships running around as you can do smuggling which rewards you with a nice amount of money (think XP too) depending on risk but you have to sail in open sea and there be pirates out there, some guilds have gotten into the habit of running convoys of armed merchant ships for protection and I can only imagine it's a matter of time before we see pirate wolf packs designed to attack convoys. The sandbox elements are still getting put in so don't despair yet Crafts, by the time AA makes its western launch there might be allot more sand in the box :).

Just because its a AAA title does not mean it going to be a good game even if its a sandbox..

There has not been a really good AAA mmorpg released for a very long time.. so if the big companies cant get themeparks right what makes you think they can get a sandbox right..

Now im hopnig EqNext will be good but we have no information about it at all.

Originally posted by Neherun

Why hasn't anyone mentioned EQ next yet? ITs claimed to be an AAA sandbox, and amusingly, few of you guys have already made accurate statements.

 

The Studio:

- "We're leaning towards sandbox"

Answers from MMORPG.com forum:

- "That carebear piece of shit hasn't even seen a sandbox"

- "It won't be sandbox"

- "Lol how is PvE sandbox?"

-"Vaporware!"

- "I hope it isn't sandbox but focuses on PvP"

- "I hope it isn't a sandbox but a PvE game"

 

Another day on the nonstop carousel that is mmorpg.com.

But we've seen cynical skeptic upthread already, many times.

Anyone want to do a positive spin, just to be different? One that isn't a clever advertisement for a specific title?

Originally posted by Crazy_Lefty

Best sandbox game i've found which i've played for years on and off is Wurm online ( http://www.wurmonline.com/ )

everything is player created, even the land you terraform and the houses that you build are all from hard work of tree cutting, mining and smithing.

its not everyones cup of tea but i'd say the only game i know of that everything is crafted apart from your starter items.

The Universe Project might be basically a better version of Wurm Online (even the starter items will be crafted by you) if it turns out it isn't vapourware. I had my brother who's a java engineer look into it and he says it's possible but to his knowledge it would take allot of work to do what they say. Either way you can take a look here:

http://strt.cc/?ref=c2lsdmVyMV9Xb2xmMkB5YWhvby5jb20_ - my referal link (if you'd like of course if not I'll put a non-referal link below)

http://startonate.appspot.com/ - non-referal link.

Originally posted by Onomas
I could finaly ignore all the Konsole Kiddies trying to destroy my mmo experience with their single player linear brain functions.

It to bad someone has to hold your hand or should i say to "Help" you with your quest...Cant run with the Big dogs stay on the porch there pup..

Originally posted by Icewhite

Originally posted by Neherun

Why hasn't anyone mentioned EQ next yet? ITs claimed to be an AAA sandbox, and amusingly, few of you guys have already made accurate statements.

 

The Studio:

- "We're leaning towards sandbox"

Answers from MMORPG.com forum:

- "That carebear piece of shit hasn't even seen a sandbox"

- "It won't be sandbox"

- "Lol how is PvE sandbox?"

-"Vaporware!"

- "I hope it isn't sandbox but focuses on PvP"

- "I hope it isn't a sandbox but a PvE game"

 

Another day on the nonstop carousel that is mmorpg.com.

But we've seen cynical skeptic upthread already, many times.

Anyone want to do a positive spin, just to be different? One that isn't a clever advertisement for a specific title?

Well, I wrote about EQN on the rumor room when they hadn't announced the Sandbox twist yet, that thread burnt.

Originally posted by Malcanis

What does 'AAA' mean?

 

 Absolutely Amazingly Awesome.

Originally posted by Briansho
People would impulse buy it thinking it was a PvE crafters heaven, totally ignoring warnings that the game has open PvP. Log in, get killed a few times by mobs while leveling skills. Get killed by another player then spend the next 6 months whining on the forums about how the developers need to change things or they will get all their friends and guild to quit and sweat the game doesn't need PvP.

Yeah.  I got burned by that one too many times.  Some of it was my fault for not understanding what non-consentual PvP really entails.  Other times I got sold on the game due to deceptive marketing by the compay that tried to sell a non-consentual PvP system as consentual PvP.  These days if a game has  non-consentual PvP in it, I do not consider it a 'real sandbox' and move on.

I doubt an AAA sanbox will ever be made until a good AAA hybid comes out. Any AAA game needs population to recoup development cost and right now, there is just not the demand out there. Most gamers have been introduced tio MMO by the themepark model, drop them in a full sandbox and they get frustrated and scared.

EQN may be the bridge needed to see a AAA sandbox. It at least has the fan base to go in and try new things (as they use EQ2 to introduce them). But until a larger niche develops for Sandbox, I just do not see a publisher taking the risk.

Originally posted by infiniti70

I doubt an AAA sanbox will ever be made until a good AAA hybid comes out. Any AAA game needs population to recoup development cost and right now, there is just not the demand out there. Most gamers have been introduced tio MMO by the themepark model, drop them in a full sandbox and they get frustrated and scared.

EQN may be the bridge needed to see a AAA sandbox. It at least has the fan base to go in and try new things (as they use EQ2 to introduce them). But until a larger niche develops for Sandbox, I just do not see a publisher taking the risk.

Archeage is a big-budget mmo that will be published by Trion (the same publisher of Rift).

Originally posted by maccarthur2004

Originally posted by infiniti70

I doubt an AAA sanbox will ever be made until a good AAA hybid comes out. Any AAA game needs population to recoup development cost and right now, there is just not the demand out there. Most gamers have been introduced tio MMO by the themepark model, drop them in a full sandbox and they get frustrated and scared.

EQN may be the bridge needed to see a AAA sandbox. It at least has the fan base to go in and try new things (as they use EQ2 to introduce them). But until a larger niche develops for Sandbox, I just do not see a publisher taking the risk.

Archeage is a big-budget mmo that will be published by Trion (the same publisher of Rift).

 

 

Archeage is a sandpark.  It has both sandbox and themepark features.  I would be excited about this game if it were not Asian made and all of the typical baggage that goes with that.  We'll see if they can break the Asian MMO curse.

Originally posted by maccarthur2004

Originally posted by infiniti70

I doubt an AAA sanbox will ever be made until a good AAA hybid comes out. Any AAA game needs population to recoup development cost and right now, there is just not the demand out there. Most gamers have been introduced tio MMO by the themepark model, drop them in a full sandbox and they get frustrated and scared.

EQN may be the bridge needed to see a AAA sandbox. It at least has the fan base to go in and try new things (as they use EQ2 to introduce them). But until a larger niche develops for Sandbox, I just do not see a publisher taking the risk.

Archeage is a big-budget mmo that will be published by Trion (the same publisher of Rift).

 

 

Archage looks like it could be a nice bridge, but fails to deprogram the idea of levels and gear (from my understanding). It is just my opinion, but I think skill progression over levels and gear, is esential to a good sandbox game, and is the #2 reason themeparkers do not gravitate towards sandbox. #1 being open PVP.