General Discussion

Well most hot bar defaults in an MMO are based on a spinner bar where you have pages. I hate having multiple bars all over the screen, hence never using any mods/addons. I simply used my hotbar and switched to each page using the whole Shift+1, Shift+2, etc. Also using the 1-0 buttons on my keyboard and Tab to select enemies, never using the mouse except for looting and camera control.

The same system can be applied to a console MMO, making it so you can keep the familiar PC style interface for the keyboard/mouse people who like to have 8+ hotbars all over the screen. Console people can just use the D-pad to switch between hotbarsand have each hotbutton (1-0) mapped to the controller. It will in no way detract from the PC players experience, nor will it be horrible on a game pad (which I have used to play the same way in WoW using a 360 for windows controller. There is software everywhere that will help you achieve this)

Problem is, Most PC MMO players are point and click and like to see all thier skills without having to remember where they are. Console players will remember which button does what, which combo of buttons will be needed to switch to another set, etc. In reality, you dont have to limit the UI of a PC MMO for console users.

It would be difficult to just port an MMORPG to a console, with controller, since MMORPGs are designed around the PC, one button per skill, many skills and a cursor to click on things.

Really though you can't just take and make a typical MMORPG for consoles, you have to design it for consoles.  Utilize button combinations and active targeting or sticky targeting.

This could get me burned at the stake but I think that by expanding onto consoles, or at least thinking about gamepads when they make the game, MMORPGs could pick up a few things from consoles to help them in the game play department. I prefer a controller for almost every type of game, action, adventure, racing and shooting, would be nice to be able to use one in MMORPGs too.

I think if companies did try to make an MMOG with a console controller in mind it would help to inject some life into the core gameplay of the game.  They would be forced to focus on utility and meaningful skills, instead of just adding more and more skills for more and more buttons, they have to think about having distinct skills and ways to combine them and execute them efficiently.  I think relying on tons of buttons to execute all tasks in a game is just being lazy and not wanting to develope a more efficient way for players to control characters.   Having a button for attack, heavy attack, bleeding attack, crippling attack etc. just seems a bit silly to me, a little creative sticky targeting and preasure sensitive buttons can duplicate the same thing.  Why have a button for sprint, attack and charge when you can execute a charge attack by pressing attack and sprint together.  Really I think this would benefit both PC and console players.

It is a trend I have noticed though that people tend to think that complexity = good. In my opinion simplicity that leads to many options is the superior design quality. 

Just curious...how would one write out a script or a macro without a keyboard?

How about communicating quickly with others who DON'T have voice chat, or are on a different chat channel / server?

What about games where you actually have to AIM?

What about complex crafting systems?

I would hate for a game to come out for PC and console, and be gimped because of console limitations, thus screwing over the PC player.

i was recently playing army of two at my friends place on a non HDMI TV...and it was so blurry we could not read the text without standing less than a metre away from the tv.  most people dont have HDMI TV's and in MMO's text plays a big role.  anyway thats just a little thing that was pissing me off for the past week and i needed to get it off my chest.

as for the debate i stick by my original answers.  Consoles are awesome for grinding, PC's are great for everything else.  i would love a game to utilize both machines as then my grind can be one of comfort sitting back in my beanbag instead of haunched over a keyboard.

Originally posted by fyerwall

Well most hot bar defaults in an MMO are based on a spinner bar where you have pages. I hate having multiple bars all over the screen, hence never using any mods/addons. I simply used my hotbar and switched to each page using the whole Shift+1, Shift+2, etc. Also using the 1-0 buttons on my keyboard and Tab to select enemies, never using the mouse except for looting and camera control.

The same system can be applied to a console MMO, making it so you can keep the familiar PC style interface for the keyboard/mouse people who like to have 8+ hotbars all over the screen. Console people can just use the D-pad to switch between hotbarsand have each hotbutton (1-0) mapped to the controller. It will in no way detract from the PC players experience, nor will it be horrible on a game pad (which I have used to play the same way in WoW using a 360 for windows controller. There is software everywhere that will help you achieve this)

Problem is, Most PC MMO players are point and click and like to see all thier skills without having to remember where they are. Console players will remember which button does what, which combo of buttons will be needed to switch to another set, etc. In reality, you dont have to limit the UI of a PC MMO for console users.

ALso, havn't people been saying that they want MORE from an MMO than the simplified, watered-down games we've seen lately as a result of WoW mentality?

How would simplifying things for consoles be a step in the right direction?

Originally posted by Vrika

Originally posted by fyerwall

Well most hot bar defaults in an MMO are based on a spinner bar where you have pages. I hate having multiple bars all over the screen, hence never using any mods/addons. I simply used my hotbar and switched to each page using the whole Shift+1, Shift+2, etc. Also using the 1-0 buttons on my keyboard and Tab to select enemies, never using the mouse except for looting and camera control.

The same system can be applied to a console MMO, making it so you can keep the familiar PC style interface for the keyboard/mouse people who like to have 8+ hotbars all over the screen. Console people can just use the D-pad to switch between hotbarsand have each hotbutton (1-0) mapped to the controller. It will in no way detract from the PC players experience, nor will it be horrible on a game pad (which I have used to play the same way in WoW using a 360 for windows controller. There is software everywhere that will help you achieve this)

Problem is, Most PC MMO players are point and click and like to see all thier skills without having to remember where they are. Console players will remember which button does what, which combo of buttons will be needed to switch to another set, etc. In reality, you dont have to limit the UI of a PC MMO for console users.

Problem with that would be, that the PC user could activate his/hers skills faster. If PC user would only need to push one button or a combination of buttons simultaneously, and the console user would have to start switching hotbar pages or doing some other button sequences, there is no way the console user could do it as fast as the PC user. And if the game were slowed down enough for it to run at comfortable speed to the console user, the PC user would feel that it'd run too slowly.

I'm still not saying that it wouldn't be possible to make a good MMO for a console, it is possible. But it's not possible to take any MMO out there on the PC and tell that you could play it as well with console controlled if it just had an UI for that.

If you notice, more and more MMOs are going with a more simplistic UI because most players prefer it, while the hardcore who need complex UIs make thier own. Thing is the game companies these days don't like the idea of custom UIs (even Blizzard tries to break them on a regular basis) because they pretty much take away player interaction and replace it with simplistic scripts and macros (which I find kind of ironic, seeing all the self claimed hardcores complain about needing thier Macros/scripts and autoplay UIs)

One word, CHAT.

You can't read smaller print on a TV especially sitting across the room from it.  You would also need to be gaming on a mouse/keyboard combination to be able to type to people all the time.

And don't say 'voice chat'.  How do you send a tell with voice or change to guild chat or some other channel instantly and then back.  How would you have vicinity chat without everyone stepping on everyone else's words.

It simply won't work until you go to a keyboard and mouse standard on a console and at that point it's just a crappy PC with no options of adding HD"s for space or upgrading things or going with higher resolution monitors etc..