Yes, the hybrid mmo is the next generation.  Be patient, some developer will figure it out eventually.

Hallelujah brother!

er, I mean to say "yes" I want to be able to have general story and interesting quests but I also want to be able to explore and see and do things that others might not.

I believe in archetypes over playing a long time, pouring points into everything to get them all up to max and then being able to summon fire from the heavens while at the same time sword fighting all the queen's guards and the stealthily climbing up a wall in broad daylight. Yet it would be nice to be able to fool with the character creation so that one can capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Hallelujah brother!

 

er, I mean to say "yes" I want to be able to have general story and interesting quests but I also want to be able to explore and see and do things that others might not.

I believe in archetypes over playing a long time, pouring points into everything to get them all up to max and then being able to summon fire from the heavens while at the same time sword fighting all the queen's guards and the stealthily climbing up a wall in broad daylight. Yet it would be nice to be able to fool with the character creation so that one can capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

 

 

Let me ask, why do you need to "have a general story"?  What is important about having some pre-scripted destiny already mapped out when you could be a free-wandering adventurer in a world?

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by Sovrath

Hallelujah brother!

 

er, I mean to say "yes" I want to be able to have general story and interesting quests but I also want to be able to explore and see and do things that others might not.

I believe in archetypes over playing a long time, pouring points into everything to get them all up to max and then being able to summon fire from the heavens while at the same time sword fighting all the queen's guards and the stealthily climbing up a wall in broad daylight. Yet it would be nice to be able to fool with the character creation so that one can capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

 

 

 

Let me ask, why do you need to "have a general story"?  What is important about having some pre-scripted destiny already mapped out when you could be a free-wandering adventurer in a world?

I think the idea was to have a world-wide overarching story that progresses in the background, that the player can choose to be a part of. 

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by Sovrath

Hallelujah brother!

 

er, I mean to say "yes" I want to be able to have general story and interesting quests but I also want to be able to explore and see and do things that others might not.

I believe in archetypes over playing a long time, pouring points into everything to get them all up to max and then being able to summon fire from the heavens while at the same time sword fighting all the queen's guards and the stealthily climbing up a wall in broad daylight. Yet it would be nice to be able to fool with the character creation so that one can capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

 

 

 

Let me ask, why do you need to "have a general story"?  What is important about having some pre-scripted destiny already mapped out when you could be a free-wandering adventurer in a world?

Nobody said anything about a pre-scripted destiny.  I for one would like a sandbox game that the world changes in, and I have to adapt to it or die.  The world can have some stuff going on in it, that doesn't affect my ability to sandbox.

Quests in sandbox games should be generic, preferebly procedurally generated, and a part of the world.  There is a difference between city-park quests, and theme park quests. 

In a city-park quest a merchant asks you to collect stuff for him.  You can do it or not.  Another area has a town plaged by bandits, you can wipe them out.  etc.  Oh look, news ticker, Country A has just Declared war on Country B.  Maybe there is some work there that needs done!

In a theme-park quest, someone needs to make a magic potion, you have to collect the items, then take the potion to the guy who needs it, but it turns him horribly wrong, and now you have to defeat him as a monster.  Oh Congratulations you did that, go talk to my brother, he can use your help.

Originally posted by Kyleran

For all purposes, the OP described EVE.  (which is a bit light on the quest content I'll grant you)

I personally enjoyed eve for the most part and still recomend it. I would love to see an eve type game with an actual character that I would play on the ground. Could have multiple factions competing over land and resources. Don't think it would be really all that hard to do. To me the character aspect would allow me to get a bit more of an attachment, and care a bit more about what happens. I want more than just a little pod with a flashing light.

Originally posted by mmaize

Originally posted by robert4818

Originally posted by Kyleran

For all purposes, the OP described EVE.  (which is a bit light on the quest content I'll grant you)

 

I've got my own issues with Eve, that I won't go into here.  To me, the game is just not fun.  I'll leave it at that. 

 

Agreed

I can appreciate that.  No game can appeal to everyone, but I do think it fulfills what the OP was looking for.

Maybe once Incarna brings us walking in stations it will have more appeal.

Originally posted by rothbard

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by Sovrath

Hallelujah brother!

 

er, I mean to say "yes" I want to be able to have general story and interesting quests but I also want to be able to explore and see and do things that others might not.

I believe in archetypes over playing a long time, pouring points into everything to get them all up to max and then being able to summon fire from the heavens while at the same time sword fighting all the queen's guards and the stealthily climbing up a wall in broad daylight. Yet it would be nice to be able to fool with the character creation so that one can capitalize on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

 

 

 

Let me ask, why do you need to "have a general story"?  What is important about having some pre-scripted destiny already mapped out when you could be a free-wandering adventurer in a world?

I think the idea was to have a world-wide overarching story that progresses in the background, that the player can choose to be a part of. 

exactly.

One doesn't have to have a prescripted story but from what many players don't realize is that even in improv, there is a general story or set of rules for the performance.

Once doesn't have to stick closely to it but the reality is that having some basic tenets to the world actually will set the player free as far as story elements that are congruous.

There is a difference in between creating a world, no backstory and having the players just go nuts and create all sorts of incongrous storylines that just don't make sense with other stories and  having a backstory and having the players incorporate the general ideas into their own storylines.

I'd rather have a basic premise to the world laid out and work with those materials than have one group thinking they are sent back in time to this fantasy world (or whatever) another acting out a strict Elizabethan timeline, another being steam punk and another reenacting their own vampire fantasies.

When all these players come together it just becomes a mess in my mind. At least having a backstory allows for players to meet on some sort of common ground. This is not to say that they can't go off book but the backstory provides a sort of spine to the multiple stories that are going on.

Well, story can fit into three basic parts:

History (back story, what has happened and the reason things are as they are)

Present Conflicts (faction-based dynamics, zoning of cities based upon present conflicts, etc...)

Future Story Arc (some pre-destiny)

I believe in having the first two, but the last should be invisible or not even present, at least for gamers such as myself who want to dive into an immersive and almost believable fantasy world.  Too much pre-scripting or forcing of adherence to a story arc starts to feel contrived, in my opinion.

Now, I don't mind some "Orcs are at the gate and eventually the devs will surprise the players by having them break through and take over a city" type of stuff.  But I do mind being trapped in endless quest-line cutscenes, standing idly by while the WOW Lich King blithers in dialogue for 10 minutes.  (That sort of stuff drives me nuts).

When I log into a world, I want to feel like I am in the "here and now" (whatever the "here and now" of that world is), and not feel like I am in Chapter 9 and can only head off into Chapter 10.

(And I'm not even going to get into talking about this new "phasing" nonsense that Blizzard has come up with...)

Originally posted by bastii

I like games which have 20% themepark and 80% sandbox.

EQ was like that, WoW is a bit too much themepark and Aion is total themepark suckness.

I like a tiny bit of themepark, but it should be mostly sandbox. Darkfall was just a tad too much sandbox, EQ was just right.

Hey wouldnt Guild Wars be like 50/50?

Originally posted by bastii

I like games which have 20% themepark and 80% sandbox.

EQ was like that, WoW is a bit too much themepark and Aion is total themepark suckness.

I like a tiny bit of themepark, but it should be mostly sandbox. Darkfall was just a tad too much sandbox, EQ was just right.

I like this mix as well. But, I like it even better when you throw in RvR, ala DAoC.