I saw the E3 trailer of this game. This is just a CO-OP action fps.

This isn't an MMO.

Originally posted by Waterlily

I saw the E3 trailer of this game. This is just a CO-OP action fps.

 

This isn't an MMO.

gotta agree, just looks like a glorified FPS game with hints of an RPG aspect, rather than an MMO...

I suppose it will depend a lot on how much classes need to work together to get stuff done. If everyone can solo everything, then you are probably right. If you need to work together as efficient teams to achieve goals, then that's another matter indeed.

Hard to tell from a trailer.

well actually it is an MMO. It looks like its just not an MMORPG. They did say it was set in a persistant world so its not exaclty CounterStrike

Originally posted by Edroe

well actually it is an MMO. It looks like its just not an MMORPG. They did say it was set in a persistant world so its not exaclty CounterStrike

Ok, a game keeping track does not make it an MMO.

BG / Diablo / NN all keep track of your ranking and stats and gear, they are not MMO however.

It's all instanced as far as I can tell, you just co-op with another person, and the game keeps track of your gear.

There is nothing Massive Multiplayer in this game, nothing. And as far as I could tell, it's not a role playing game either. You're just a spy in an instance.

Originally posted by Waterlily

Originally posted by Edroe

well actually it is an MMO. It looks like its just not an MMORPG. They did say it was set in a persistant world so its not exaclty CounterStrike

 

Ok, a game keeping track does not make it an MMO.

BG / Diablo / NN all keep track of your ranking and stats and gear, they are not MMO however.

 

It's all instanced as far as I can tell, you just co-op with another person, and the game keeps track of your gear.

There is nothing Massive Multiplayer in this game, nothing. And as far as I could tell, it's not a role playing game either. You're just a spy in an instance.

I think people need to realize that as time goes by the definition of what an MMO is will change.

It's only natural that it will evolve into something that is different from the very first games.

Of course one could come up with a different name for every change that an online game incorporates into its design but it probably is easier to think of any online game that allows access by multitudes of people as an MMO or at least a flavor of MMO.

In the end it will all come under the moniker of MMO.

Originally posted by Sovrath
 

I think people need to realize that as time goes by the definition of what an MMO is will change.

It's only natural that it will evolve into something that is different from the very first games.

Of course one could come up with a different name for every change that an online game incorporates into its design but it probably is easier to think of any online game that allows access by multitudes of people as an MMO or at least a flavor of MMO.

In the end it will all come under the moniker of MMO.

Right, in essence you can give any definition you want to MMO. It's not like the semantics are so important in games, it's not science.

HOWEVER, what bothers me here is that SoE is trying to sell and promote this game as an MMO. And this game really has far too little to do with an MMO to use that trick as a selling point, that's dishonest.

Originally posted by Waterlily

Right, in essence you can give any definition you want to MMO. It's not like the semantics are so important in games, it's not science.

 

HOWEVER, what bothers me here is that SoE is trying to sell and promote this game as an MMO. And this game really has far too little to do with an MMO to use that trick as a selling point, that's dishonest.

Before starting, I'll come clean, I run a fansite for the game, so I may be biased.  But I'm not sure how you say that they are dishonest.  The game includes character development over time, guilds, and crafting in a persistant world.  The game will have public areas and missions,  private instanced missions, as well as some public/private missions.  Most of the missions will be instanced, but not all.

Originally posted by JonnyG 

The game includes character development over time, guilds, and crafting in a persistant world.  The game will have public areas and missions,  private instanced missions, as well as some public/private missions.  Most of the missions will be instanced, but not all.

That makes it sound like Guild Wars. That isn't a bad thing by itself since I rather liked Guild Wars. The thing about guild wars was that the world really wasn't what I would define as a persistant world at all. The world was actually very linear, with one mission after the next. Everything was instanced and nothing you did ever really became permanent in the world. Players were almost totally unable to alter the world at all. You could own a guild hall, which would look exactly the same as the guild hall owned by thousands of other guilds and this was really the limit of how much control you could exert over the world.

So the real question here isn't "is it an MMO" because thats really beside the point. The real question is will players be able to interact with the world in a way that will have lasting changes both for themselves and for other players?

The difference is that GW was completely instanced, there was no common area where you did anything besides meet for grouping.  This game has missions in public spaces, as well as other things to do like gather intel, follow, play mini games, etc.

As to interaction, they have talked about that, but no real details.  World Domination was the term they were throwing around at last Fan Faire.  I'm hoping to nail them for more intel at this Fan Faire.

I'm assuming players can interact with each other. That wasn't my question. My question was "Can players alter the world in ways that will effect other players?"

Let me give you an example of what I mean:

Lets say my friend "Bob" finds a nice spot on the beach and decides that he would like to build a beach house there. Can he do that? Will the house be there when he comes back later?

Then lets say I want to visit "Bob" at his beach house. Will I be able to go there? Will other people be able to go there? Will people be able to reach the location of Bob's house without his premission?

Lastly, lets say that "Bob's" Arch-Nemesis "Micheal Prejean III" who is an Animal Liberation Front terrorist decides to show up with a flame thrower. Can he burn down Bob's house?

Thats what I mean when I talk about a "persistant world" where players can actually have permanent effects on the envrioment and other players.

It really depends if ALL of the missions are instanced or just a few of them, and if there is gameplay outside of the instances.

As long as there is gameplay outside the instances and the world is persistent, it's an MMO.

I'm not sure that they plan to have any kind of housing in the initial release.  But even then, I'm not sure that kind of interaction (beyond inviting someone over)  is available in most of the current gen of MMO's.

They have stated that the players will affect the story arc, how we're not sure.  But this week they announced that they plan to have content updates every 2 weeks, so that would allow them to deliver on that promise.

I'm maintaining a list of questions to ask the developers at Fan Faire, and have one about how the players will affect the word.  If you want to add others, let me know, it's at http://forums.massivehq.com/showthread.php?t=3554.