Pathfinder Online: A Fantasy Sandbox MMO

SANDBOX FEATURES @ A GLANCE:

• Player-Player Contracts - replace quests

• Player formed factions - all/any eg as per EVE

• Skill-Training Progression -> 2.5yrs to max level earliest in x1 role only

• Player created settlements -> Each Hex (256) can be conquered and controlled

• Player formed Armies -> Real formations

• Virtual Economy -> full-blown autonomous economy (not simulated)

• Player Crafting item production and PvE Resource Cycle (maj. item creation by players)

• Career Skills as well as Combat Skills (bounty-hunter, bandit, diplomat, tavern owner...)

• Alignment, Reputation, Politics & Open-World PvP (EVE style again)

• NPC Alliances (changes which mobs are friend/foe

• Single-server World map - all game story is shared by all players

...

& more at the blogs: https://goblinworks.com/blog/

Updates:

Update #29: UNITY

Update #30: MAC SUPPORT

PaizoCon PathfinderOnline Presentation Video (13 minutes)

• Goblin Works & Paizo

• A brief History Of MMOs

• Sandboxes vs Themeparks

• "Crowdforging" (ie google mail beta)

• Pathfinder Online: Adventure, Exploration, Development, Dominion

God damn it is nice listening to developers who actually "get" what has happened in the mmo market.

I never thought I would see the day where I would have solid choices between sandbox games. Still waiting to see then come out but times could be good my friends ... times coudl be good  :)

USEFUL LINKS:

Goblin Works Website & Development Blogs: https://goblinworks.com/blog/

Paizo Pathfinder Online Forums: http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/licensees/pathfinderOnline

Summary Of Developer Blogs:

• Blog #27 Live Through This - NPC Alliances
• Blog #26 Gentlemen, You Can't Fight in Here! This is the War Room! - Combat
• Blog #25 A Game of Thorns 
• Blog #24 A Three-Headed Hydra - Combat
• Blog #23 Begin the Beguine
• Blog #22 Time Keeps On Slipping, Slipping, Slipping into the Future!
• Blog #21 I Heard It through the Grapevine - Community
• Blog #20 30 Days in the Hole
• Blog #19 Three Goblins and a Fighter Walk into a Bar... 
• Blog #18 You're in the Army Now! - Armies
• Blog #17 RESPECT: Find Out What It Means to Me! - Alignment & Reputation
• Blog #16 Put It in Writing - Politics
• Blog #15 Kickstarter Aftermath
• Blog #14 Designing Thornkeep
• Blog #13 Signed... in Blood - Contracts
• Blog #12 The Blog About Kickstarter
• Blog #11 Where the Wild Things Are - Dungeons and Mobs
• Blog #10 Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick Makers - Crafting: Production, Consumption, Construction
• Blog #9 Money Changes Everything - Virtual economy
• Blog #8 Time is the Fire in which We Burn - Game time, distance, speed
• Blog #7 Player-Created Buildings and Structures - player run infrastructure
• Blog #6 LFG! (Looking for Group!) - social organisation
• Blog #5 Adventure in the River Kingdoms - pve
• Blog #4 To Live and Die in the River Kingdoms - pvp
• Blog #3 Your Pathfinder Online Character - avatar
• Blog #2 Introducing the Crusader Road - world map
• Blog #1 A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step - design

First off Pathfinder Online isn't a sandbox. It is their PnP world made into a MMO. Think of it more like Vanilla EQ more advanced. Don't know if I should donate given how much I give Paizo every month for Pathfinder as it is.

This is one of the games to bring the MMO back to MMOs...LOL! Stop supporting all the other crap!

If there's one company that gets it, it's Paizo.

What they did with the D&D 3.5 ruleset is pretty amazing. How they treat their customers is pretty stellar. How this will all translate into a MMO? Who knows. What I do know is had they released a virtual table with a mobile version, I wouldve been just as happy. 

Originally posted by Tamanous

God damn it is nice listening to developers who actually "get" what has happened in the mmo market.

 

I never thought I would see the day where I would have solid choices between sandbox games. Still waiting to see then come out but times could be good my friends ... times coudl be good  :)

Bingo. The information is the first thing to provide your customers. Then it is up to them to estimate the potential success of the design idea and any potential drawbacks. But the first thing mmorpg developers should do is reveal their design document overview to the players.

Originally posted by stealthbr
Wasn't the point of the Technology Demo Kickstarter to get investors interesting in the game?

Quote: Ryan Dancey, Goblin Works CEO:

"The Tech Demo was a success in all respects and as a result of the Tech Demo we have secured the financing we need to put the game into production.

The Kickstarter allows us to make the game bigger, better and FASTER than we can with the financing we've already lined up. And that reduces the risks we face in making the game, and it will let us make a better product."

I still think supporting the kickstarter is risky from the point of view of crowdsourcing best practices:

1. Fund smaller projects

2. Fund faster to finish projects

3. Fund only what you really dig and don't dig too deep into your pockets for any one project

==

But it's heartening to see a sandox fantasy mmorpg heavily influenced by EvE's successful model is blueprinted.

Originally posted by Nevulus

If there's one company that gets it, it's Paizo.

 

What they did with the D&D 3.5 ruleset is pretty amazing. How they treat their customers is pretty stellar. How this will all translate into a MMO? Who knows. What I do know is had they released a virtual table with a mobile version, I wouldve been just as happy. 

Yes the first step in their success was knowing that D&D was headed in the entirely wrong direction with Wotc's 4th edition and stole nearly their entire 3.5 playerbase with the licensed d20 system. Hell there was more players still playing versions 1 through 3.5 than 4th ever got and they are reselling older editions again and making 5e nearly begging players to come back lol. I honestly hope (for the sake of mmo's) that they can do the exact same thing with a mmorpg (in terms of securing a solid direction for their design that influences other developers).

Originally posted by Gdemami

[mod edit]

 

It is entirely the responsibility of the donors to vet who they invest in ... not the company asking for investors. They assume investors are smart ... not stupid.

Originally posted by Fendel84M
Over reaching a bit with asking for a million aren't they? Doesn't seem like they are coming anywhere close to that goal.

I've seen many other kickstarters earn much much more. It sounds like a solid concept and a near AAA game already with their current investors. Why not do it? If they don't reach their goal the don't get the money.  If they reach their goal it only proves a significant level of interest exists. 

They have pointed out already why they do it. Reaching kickstarter goals sets a benchmark on how much interest players have in the project and therefore can garner more corporate investment. NOBODY here is being forced to give them money. NOBODY here needs to be concerned over it if that is the case.

I have no idea why this process doesn't fascinate people. We are starting to see options indie developers can take that pulls the power away from the mega-corps ruining the gaming industry. Solid developers will succeed and crap ones will be eaten up ... but at least they have the opportunity to try when even recently they had no chance. We will see more different types of PC games we would not normally see. This is a very good thing. A bigger pile may mean more crap but it also means the change for a real gem is increased.

Originally posted by Tamanous

Originally posted by Fendel84M
Over reaching a bit with asking for a million aren't they? Doesn't seem like they are coming anywhere close to that goal.

I've seen many other kickstarters earn much much more. It sounds like a solid concept and a near AAA game already with their current investors. Why not do it? If they don't reach their goal the don't get the money.  If they reach their goal it only proves a significant level of interest exists. 

 

They have pointed out already why they do it. Reaching kickstarter goals sets a benchmark on how much interest players have in the project and therefore can garner more corporate investment. NOBODY here is being forced to give them money. NOBODY here needs to be concerned over it if that is the case.

 

I have no idea why this process doesn't fascinate people. We are starting to see options indie developers can take that pulls the power away from the mega-corps ruining the gaming industry. Solid developers will succeed and crap ones will be eaten up ... but at least they have the opportunity to try when even recently they had no chance. We will see more different types of PC games we would not normally see. This is a very good thing. A bigger pile may mean more crap but it also means the change for a real gem is increased.

  I completely agree, however a cool mil is a bit much to shoot for. It's a little discouraging really.

Shouldn't they like finishes the game at 90% then asked for the 1 million to boost the game up.

They haven't do anything yet and still asked for more money?

Feels like they are abusing the Kickstarter by making a lot of promises?

Now, this million is just to add more to the game and get it out sooner? So it will still be made even if the KS goal is not met? It's almost at 100k now, with 47 days to go, which is a fair bit of time, but I still have my doubts.

Perhaps it's just a case of me living in a rural area in BFE, but I have to wonder, how many people know about Pathfinder, Kickstarter, play MMO's and like the concept of this one? At $35 for the lowest tier (that includes the game) that's ~28k backers needed (maybe closer to 15-20k with those who back more than $35).