Just in case anyone else is monitoring this thread, I'm not giving s1fu71 the cold shoulder, my reply is here.

I also thought I would use this space to promote a couple Trade Tutorial videos I made this morning, as they relate to VO's dynamic market.

Trade Tutorial I

Trade goods, widgets, cu, profit, sell price, buy price, commodities, components, manufacturing, piracy, rebound rates, system-to-system trade.

Trade Tutorial II

More of the above, plus a fast-forward montage of some trading.

Vendetta-O is a gem.  Very cool dev team, too.

Originally posted by s1fu71

@ Phaserlight

I played Vendetta a couple of years back. I actually enjoyed it's space combat better than Eve. But, it felt like other things were missing. I only played for a few weeks, so I'm positive there was a lot I did not see.

1) The market didn't seem nearly as involved as Eve. How is it now?

2) How's the population? I rarely ran into anyone back then.

3) How're the missions? A couple of years ago it seemed very repetitive. But, so are Eve's missions.

4) Selection of ships seemed very small. Are there more choices now days?

5) I'm not sure, but I  thought they even updated the graphics while I've been gone. How are they now?

6) How's the community? I never ran into anyone rude, so complaints there. Is it larger now?

That's all I can think of for now.

 Well, a lot's changed in a couple years.  I've been continuously subscribed, so I don't always see it, but here are my impressions:

1) Market

The market has always been dynamic, in that if you sell a commodity to a specific location, demand for that commodity will be affected.  You never get a bird's eye view, although some players have taken it upon themselves to develop tracking tools to make things easier.

With an objective to earn credits, it's as simple as buy low, sell high.  Probably the most significant change in the last few years is player Manufacturing.  Multiplayer capital ships are in play, but building one is a significant endeavor requiring coordinated Manufacturing efforts.  Many components used in cap ships are economically scarce, so VO has developed a kind of "terraced economy", with trade goods sold from the stations on one level, and components procured through missions, bot drops, or other means bartered between players, occupying an upper layer.

You might purchase a data link connector from a station for a hundred credits, a specially crafted blaster from another player for a hundred thousand credits, or pirate a Behemoth carrying a Hyper-Plasma Reactor worth millions.  Player to player "trade" involves meeting at a specified location, transferring the credits, then dropping the goods to be picked up by the buyer, which can lead to some interesting interactions, and tense moments.

2) Population

There aren't hard numbers available, but I've heard that roughly 100 unique players per day use chat, and 360 per week.

3) Missions

A lot of missions have been implemented over the past couple years, many of them designed/written/tested by Yours Truly.  I am currently working on a project that, once completed, will involve 36 interrelated missions following 6 unique arcs based on player nationality and choices.

You can find a crude map of missions I have successfully materialized thus far here.  The "tree" I am currently building on to is on the fourth page of that thread, titled "Hazardous Site Investigation".  Note that I am not a dev, or affiliated with Guild Software in any way, just someone who has always enjoyed the process of creative generation.

4) Ships

There are between ten and twenty ship models in game, however most ships have multiple variants, some of which are sufficiently differentiated to feel like an entirely new ship.  Ships have a high degree of customizability, so honestly the number of ships in game feels about right.  There are probably millions of possible combinations.

5) Graphics

Textures have been updated, some within the last couple months.  Backgrounds also received an update, I believe.  This is one of those things that's hard to notice, unless you've been away for a while.

6) Community

The community is small, but it's also the reason I've continued playing all these years.  Generally people tend to be very newbie friendly, although if you're not used to open world PvP it may be a bit of an adjustment.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Originally posted by Naral

Originally posted by Clannetworks

If we could get a mix of an Eve type sandbox and action-fighter e.g Wing Commander mixed together that'd be badarse. Everyone joins carrier groups and performs different roles in the ship.

Hell yeah. The only real complaint I had about EVE gameplay, was the combat. While tactical, and requiring thinking, and quick reactions, it also was kinda boring, and did not really immerse me in the game. Combine what EVE is with a twitch sim, and I would love it.

http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/help.html

Since, apparently, my previous post was entirely ignored.

Originally posted by Kyleran

I wish more developers would take this approach and narrow the focus down of their games so that they make a small subset more or less happy instead of a large number of folks all wishing their games were something else.

You know, I hesitated for a long time before replying to this thread, but seriously, you should come check out Vendetta Online.  It gets compared to Eve a lot, although I don't think that comparison is really fair, or honest.  Vendetta is probably a lot closer to the "PT Boat" end of the spectrum when it comes to combat, which agrees with me just fine.  Vendetta's market share is also probably much smaller than Eve's, making it a game that fills a niche within a niche.  Nonetheless, it is hands down my favorite gaming experience, and the only one I still take time to play.  I like the fact that it is first-person (third-person "over the shoulder" in Android), and focuses on player reflexes, timing, and spatial awareness.  I'm also heavily involved in the PCC, which has been a creative outlet, and versatile medium over the years.

Originally posted by outfctrl

Originally posted by kishe

Are there anything except the X-series for fans of space sims to look out for anymore?

 

I'll forever hate Micro$oft for canning Freelancer2

I am playing Venetta Online.  Nice looking game for only four Devs who created it.

Does have a monthly charge of 9.99 USD and is an mmorpg.

Another one you can try is Evochron Legends.  This one is just a multiplayer or single player, not sure

Vendetta Online is quite possibly the best thing to come along since... the internet.

Hey outfctrl,

Glad you decided to check out Vendetta Online, a notepad is not a bad idea, I actually keep a journal as I play and have fun going back and reading it sometimes.  There are many directions you can take your character, and it may feel a little overwhelming at times.  Just remember not to rush.  Myself and others have been playing for over 8 years, and I still feel like I'm getting the hang of it.  If you like you could check out my video tutorials, although they were recorded a while ago, and cover only the bare basics.

Mining is a great way to spend some time.  There are 120 prospecting missions scattered throughout the galaxy, and if you complete all of them you get a nice badge, and access to an advanced mining beam.  Certain rare ores can only be found in a few asteroids in certain locations, and some pilots (like myself) remember where these are by dead reckoning.  If you make friends with some old miners, they may show you where a few good spots are.  Give me a holler in game, and I'll lead you to a 60% Heliocene asteroid, and teach you how to find your way back.  Otherwise the prospecting missions are a decent way to get to know the lay of minerals.  This is important not just as a source of credits, but because mining is tied together with manufacturing.  If you know where certain rare ores are, many guilds will treat you as their best friend.

Trading also takes a while to master.  The economy is dynamic, in that if you sell a certain good to a certain station repeatedly, demand for that good will drop until the run is no longer profitable.  In other words, you need to branch out.  Learn what trade goods are available in each system, and where they sell.  This is also a part of manufacturing, as all products I can think of use at least some purchaseable trade goods as components.  Knowing where to procure certain components will eventually give you a feel for the various supply chains running throughout the galaxy, if you get into manufacturing.

As far as Combat, you have a lot of options.  It's a good idea to get up to Combat license 4 / Trade license 4 as quickly as possible, as you will have access to the Fast Charge cell.  On certain ships, this will give you the "infiniturbo" advantage.  Just look at the ship stats: if the energy drain is 50 or less, you can boost all day long with an FC cell.  This will allow you to avoid the engagements you want to avoid, until you feel more comfortable going around the galaxy.

Once you have some levels, try joining either the Itani or the Serco military.  You will then be eligible to take Border Patrol and Border Skirmish missions.  These will pitch you in battles of varying sizes, against the opposing nation, for territory control, alongside other players.  Depending on the battle you may find yourself as part of a fighter sweep, assaulting a fixed turret position inside a dense asteroid field, or making bombing runs between two fleets of capital ships.  Your performance in these battles will be recorded, and you will see your name up on the score board on the main website.

You can also do your part in pushing back the three Dynamic Hives in the Hive Skirmish missions, also alongside other players.  The Hive follows a chain-supply expansion, sending out scouts to search for sectors rich in ore, then sending in larger breeds to colonize.  If you win a Hive Skirmish, the Dynamic Hive will be pushed back, weakening the colony and freeing up the sector to be mined for ore.  Certain Hive robots also drop weaponry that may be retrofitted to your fighter, along with components necessary for manufacturing.

Capture-the-Cargo (CtC) is a weekly contest, in which competing convoys are launched hourly from the Bractus and Sedina systems, into national territory.  Some players lay in wait along the convoy's route to ambush the 'voy, redirecting the shipment to the other side, or simply for the thrill of the kill.  Once you pick up the shipment of Purified Xith, you will not be allowed to dock with any station except the target station(s), making you vulnerable to attack from other players.  At the end of the week, whichever side has delivered more Purified Xith will have access to a special blaster.  The Border War also affects this contest, as the losing side's convoy route is blockaded by capital ships and fighters of the opposing nation.  You performance in CtC is also recorded on a scoreboard via the main website.

There are plenty of other lighthearted things to do, such as tube racing, hosting player events such as the nation war, designing your own contest or event, or just sitting back and enjoying the community.  Hope that helps, and hope to see you in game soon.

Phaserlight,

Viper [VPR] Lieutenant

VO is a great game that is free to download, under 300 megs, and features monthly subscriptions ranging anywhere from $6.67 to $9.99 depending on if you buy in quantity.  Plus the twitch combat is where the game truly shines.

I am an experienced quest/lore writer, you can see some of my work on Vendetta Online, for which I have designed, authored, and tested 70 missions that have successfully made it into production.  The missions follow various storylines branching out contiguously from the game world, and are all my original creations.  Some of my influences include Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Tolkien.

If you are interested in working together you can email me at:

phaserlight@viperguild.com

Easy answer: Vendetta Online.  Best twitch PvP combat evar.

After that, Chess and Capoeira.

edit: hey, you said favorite thread, right?

Vendetta Online - the best game I have ever played, period.

Eve Online - shares a symbiotic relationship with VO, and should therefore survive.

World of Warcraft - came out with some fresh ideas, and deserves props.

I'm really not too impressed.  If Trion were to allow you to access actual game content, that might be something worth talking about.  If I wanted minigames and social networking, I would go to Facebook.

Content, to me, means being able to play in the same world as my friends, and enemies.  It is having access to the same global universe as everyone else.  Anything less is a distraction.

Vendetta Online, on PC and Xperia PLAY

In 2012 I'm going to try and finish the project I'm organizing within Vendetta Online's Player Contribution Corps.

Nice read, as always.

Don't forget to check out Vendetta Online, a premier space combat MMO available on Android:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxZ6NQnIPkU

I just got finished updating my password, reconfirming, etc., after getting the email, even though I haven't touched Rift since beta.  This is going to make me think twice before signing up for even another beta test.

This is very cool news.  I can attest to the fact that VO works great on my Xperia PLAY.  It's good to hear that this excellent PC MMORPG is available natively to any Android device.  I am an absolute Vendetta Online fanatic, in fact if you go to the main website you will see that I recently had five of my new missions designed through the PCC put into production.  What's awesome is that anyone can play together in the same galaxy, whether you're on phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop.  You can even play a character on a laptop, transition over to a mobile device and pick up right where you left off, and seamlessly return to the same place on your laptop later on.

The PvP is where VO truly shines.  The twitch combat is intense, and I've reached the point where I can just relax and let my reflexes do the work.  The following is a video I made of 25 PKs, including different characters, all taken from my perspective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvVgwKyDXnY

This may give you an idea of what the PvP is like in VO, but bear in mind that dueling is only the tip of the iceberg.  There are blockades, Hive skirmishes, dynamic border combat, conquerable stations, etc.  Manufacturing, dynamic trade, mineral prospecting, guild politics, even tube racing all play prominent roles within the galaxy.  The community is alive and vibrant, and I have felt at home there for the past 8 years.  If you like space, or games in general, definitely come check this one out.

I'm amazed at posts like these, because the implication is that the OP could do so much better, or is sitting on a heap of ideas that for whatever reason are not finding their way to the right people.  The gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar business (not sure what % MMORPG's market segments are), if that's truly where your passion is, go out and take a slice.  There is a lot going on right here, right now.  If you don't see it then it's because you're not looking.

You say creativity is lacking and then go on to talk about features like voice overs.  Those things represent production value, they are not true creativity.  You don't need a whole lot to be creative.  Just look at the Wright brothers; they worked in a bicycle shop and ended up designing and building the first powered airplane.  Nowdays we have 747's, but let's not forget how it all began.

I recommend finding an indie MMO with a small community, and focusing on making a positive impact.  Vendetta Online gives users that want to help out access to tools like the mission editor, and it is a community that is both productive and condusive to fostering creativity.  Not only does it have a 50 page backstory, but numerous players have writting their own RP fictions, designed missions, ships, suggested changes and seen them implemented.  To date, I've designed and written sixty-five missions that have made it into production.  It was just released for Android this past year.  Mobile device users can now seamlessly play with desktop and laptop users in the same game world; it's a great time to be a Vendetta Online player if you value creativity and are in to game design.