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DC Universe Online Previews: AGDC Preview
While in Austin for the Game Developer's Conference, our own Dana Massey had the opportunity to get some hands-on time with SOE's DC Universe Online.
By Dana Massey on September 16, 2009
DC Universe is not going to be just an MMO in tights. During a behind the scenes tour of SOE's new Austin offices just prior to the start of AGDC, they gave us a chance to get hands on with the game and talk to Senior Producer Wes Yanagi about the game and some of the ways they will set themselves apart from not only superhero competitors, but also the rest of the MMO genre.
"[We want to] evolve the genre," Yanagi said. They call DC a massively multiplayer online action game. This is not World of Warcraft in tights and a cape. This fact goes well beyond the much publicized action combat and PvP (hero vs. villain) focus, down to the very core of the game.
Customization is a big example. The assumption of superhero MMOs, fostered beautifully by Cryptic's City of Heroes and more recently Champions Online, is highly detailed character customization from the first moment. DC Universe won't be going nose to nose with Cryptic on the number of sliders.
They believe firmly in earning your stripes. Where Champions allows nearly every detail of customization from even before a player first takes their first step, new characters in DC Universe will be a bit more reserved. To start, at least.
Don't panic, there will still be the gamut of sliders, textures and features. People can wear tights; have armor and even other insanity from the first days of their crime fighting/causing careers. They won't, however, have all the options. The coolest stuff will be saved for later.
This is the norm in most MMOs, but superhero games have always gone to great lengths not to mess with a person's look, much to the detriment of item based systems. DC wants the best of both worlds.
;)
Every item a player earns in DC Universe is permanently available in the character's wardrobe, even if the item is traded, sold or tossed away. Then, as a second layer, players equip actual items to gain their statistical advantages. They are not, however, under any obligation to display them.
It is a bit tough to wrap the noggin around at first, but it may just work. Sure, Super Bob may be "using" a gun and "displaying" a sword, but it allows players to have the equipment they need and the look of the equipment they want.
Characters define their core colors and all items are automatically adjusted to fit in and look good. Players can also pick an "inspired by" if they want to be the visual disciple of an iconic character.
At creation, the player selects their super power (strength, fire, ice, etc.), the source of that power (eyes, a ring, a sword, etc.) and their super movement (speed, acrobatics, flight). Yanagi again wouldn't give specifics about other possible travel powers, but they definitely hope to expand that last list beyond three.
As an action game, they definitely succeed. Hands-on, this game is fast, pretty easy to grasp and absolutely chaotic. We played on the Playstation 3 and within seconds were able to chase other players around and smack some sense into them. There are only eight abilities active for use at a time (one for each face button of the controller, then a second set of four when holding the left trigger), but combat is so fast, anything more would be overwhelming.
In comic books, there has always been "the core concept of heroes and villains," Yanagi noted and for that reason, PvP is a big part of the game. This is not just battles though. They've specifically designed encounters and missions where heroes and villains have mutually exclusive goals.
While the PvP is fast and feels like battles between super powered freaks should, it is obviously not for everyone and they discussed this too.
;)
They plan to have full PvP servers as an option, but on the traditional servers, they never want to force players who'd rather keep to themselves into those situations. They'll take a more traditional approach here and use mission (well flagged) with confrontational goals, areas of the world flagged for PvP, and personal flags that are contextual. Such as when a hero sees a villain robbing a bank, he would then have probable cause to engage in some fisticuffs.
At their current stage of development, Yanagi was excited that they are close to the point where DC stops being a collection of ideas and becomes an actual game. To date, they'd made a lot of core components that were key to their success. Combat is a lot of fun, for example, but how do the characters get those skills and abilities? Soon they'll have a proper cohesive Alpha that links these parts together. They're excited because "you can actually feel what the game is like."
In the demo, as mentioned, we were on a Playstation 3. What I didn't say is that the other players were all on PCs. Yanagi hopes, although there are a lot of hoops to jump through, that this is always the case. With DC, at least, they think both PC and console gamers can and should play together. The nature of the game makes this viable, which obviously would be tough if it were a shooter, for example.
DC Universe continues development and at this time, it has no specific launch date or business model plans.
You can also check out Garrett Fuller's AGDC Interview with Wes Yenagi, here.
MMORPG's dumbed down for console play? No thanks. How long till devs see this trend is ruining conventional, complex MMORPGs as we grew to love them?
It all sounds pretty good, but the only things that makes me a little anxious about these previews; they are all on the PS3 version
I don't have a PS3 now, and I likely won't have one, when DCUO comes out, so I would like to hear how the controls are on the Computer version
But otherwise looking forward to this game :)
i just want to know if i can get a power ring and be a GL
Dustin
MMORPG's dumbed down for console play? what are you talking about, the most popular MMO you can run it on a PS2 or Xbox. (WoW) and you are talking about dumbing it down. Everything you need for a game to be in a MMO can be put into a console. They dont cause of Microsoft and Sony. If Sony dont make the game then it wont come out on the systems, If Microsoft cant get enough money from it, the game will never show. (AoC and Champions). All consoles (dont know about Wii) you can hook up a Wireless keyboard mouse too and point and click your way to playing a game.
the control for console and pc is gonna be the same. The keyboard and mouse can be used for the PC and they are working on getting the PS3 controller to work on the PC. Both options will be there. ( if they get the bugs worked out)
and yes you can use a ring like green lantern.
Because variety is bad right? We hate variety!
Cookie cutter, conformist and conventional has led the MMO genre to the golden age utopia we have now.
The only thing dumbed down is this statement. And what is so complex about hitting buttons on a task bar vs hitting buttons on a controller ?. Second it is cross platform PC and PS3 on the same servers, who is to say that the PS3 will not have keyboard and mouse support for this one ?
I wish! So, therefore it's very doubtful. Sorry.
The only thing dumbed down is this statement. And what is so complex about hitting buttons on a task bar vs hitting buttons on a controller ?. Second it is cross platform PC and PS3 on the same servers, who is to say that the PS3 will not have keyboard and mouse support for this one ?
Wow. I see the fanbois are coming out in hordes. Sorry folks, it's a simple fact, consoles don't have all the input options a keyboard/mouse offers. Sure, SOME folks will have a kb attached to their console, but most don't, and the devs know that, and they code their game accordingly. That's why when playing the console version, your options ANY GIVEN FIGHT are limited to just a handful of possibilities (again, given that your console controller only allows for a handful of permutations). Take any mainstream PC MMORPG (WoW, WAR, DAoC, EQ, you name it) and you can have a PLETHORA of abilities/actions/spells/potions/buffs/debuffs all available on your UI any given fight. That means that you can THINK/CHOOSE/actually PLAY a more complex game with more complex NPC/mob interactions with a kb.
Consoles limit you horribly in this regard. Your fights on a console will be limited to 7 or 8 choices each fight? Versus the 30-50 choices each fight on a PC? There's no comparison folks, MMOs and their complexity just don't "fit" on a console. Ipso facto, why this game and others are "dumbed down" for console play.
QED
you know the more i read about DCU the less interested i get, first it was "you can tell which is which becuase the heros blasts are blue and the villian red" impying powers are color and side baked. Now it's "the cool costume parts have to be earned"
Last I check superman didnt need to hit lvl 50 to earn his good tights, heroes tend not to change their looks. My only hope is they do it like CO/H where the 'cool' stuff is more 'faction specific' instead of just 'really cool'
It makes sense to say earn a Stormtrooper helment after beating 100 of them. It's not cool that my Power Armor Chest Piece needs me to take down 100 thugs and hit lvl 25.
Sorry SOE, never agin will i ever own a POS game thats made by your developers.....Good luck
Read this preview, but there was absolutely nothing appealing to it.
So you can't customize your character much but have to earn it? Wait - that means you plan parts of it without knowing the other parts? That's gonna be hard..
Also there wasn't much else to it and from what I have seen so far it looks pretty poor and boring. The graphics are bland. The combat system is same old, same ol'.
If that's supposed to be a disagreement....
I enjoyed the review. Glad I don't have a hatred that requires me to bash a game. I think a superhero game is one of the best for consoles because I just don't believe there should be 50 different attacks that all show up at once. I personally think that the action bar used in Spellborn would be best way to do most. The number of buttons on a controller allow for such a bar to be for most actions where other buttons can be for buffing or healing or anything like that. From what I see from most fights in Champions Online there is not need for more than like 5 buttons as 3 attacks are normally the ones used and all else is ignored.
Don't know if I will have a PS3 but this is a possible reason to have one as is much easier to transport it than my computer system. Guess I will have to see where the game is at when alpha is over.
I don't see anything bad about DC online, but i also don't see how it is drasticly different from Champions.
I'll be buying a PS3 when this game releases.
Just because of this game.
That and my girlfriends kid has pretty much confiscated my 360.
Give them a chance, its a completely different dev team in a completely different office. Its like saying Blizzard and Blizzard North are the same. In that case Bliz North was a separate company just with the Bliz name. The same can be said for SOE Austin. It could go either way, just dont write them off completely.
What a great start to an article! This caught my attention right from the word go. However, what I read beyond that seems to contradict this bold statement. For example, the supposedly innovative system of making players "earn" their nifty apparel. This is, in fact, EXACTLY what you do in World of Warcraft. Also, there was mention of selecting powers at character creation. How is this any different from selecting a class in World of Warcraft? I was rather expecting to hear that selection of different skills/talents at different levels (like in DDO) would be possible. I was expecting a much better example of how innovative this game is than "using a gun and displaying a sword". Even the hero vs villain dynamic, while it raised my eyebrow, would be no different than World of Warcraft (Horde vs Alliance).
I am, however, very excited at the hint of a possible ps3 release. Maybe I misunderstood that. Seemed to be a "hope" that computer players will be intermingling with console players online. Now, THAT would be something new! Oh, and by the way, worth rushing out a WoW or CoH clone for!
Wow. I see the fanbois are coming out in hordes. Sorry folks, it's a simple fact, consoles don't have all the input options a keyboard/mouse offers. Sure, SOME folks will have a kb attached to their console, but most don't, and the devs know that, and they code their game accordingly. That's why when playing the console version, your options ANY GIVEN FIGHT are limited to just a handful of possibilities (again, given that your console controller only allows for a handful of permutations). Take any mainstream PC MMORPG (WoW, WAR, DAoC, EQ, you name it) and you can have a PLETHORA of abilities/actions/spells/potions/buffs/debuffs all available on your UI any given fight. That means that you can THINK/CHOOSE/actually PLAY a more complex game with more complex NPC/mob interactions with a kb.
Consoles limit you horribly in this regard. Your fights on a console will be limited to 7 or 8 choices each fight? Versus the 30-50 choices each fight on a PC? There's no comparison folks, MMOs and their complexity just don't "fit" on a console. Ipso facto, why this game and others are "dumbed down" for console play.
QED
I think your view of consoles is a bit narrow. It is easy to setup a control system where you have 3-4 options per button on the controller that you can select from by using the dpad. Since most controllers have around 6 buttons you can hit that gives 18-24 optioins you can make quickly. You can even add to these with the back/select button allowing you to completely change your options. I admit you can still do more with a keyboard and mouse and the ability to customize your interface to allow for all of your abilities quick access.
No matter how much innovation goes into a game, its still going to be a mmo.
The similarities you mention are in practically every mmo.
Earning gear
Picking a class
Heros vs Villains
I suppose this game will have "Quests" ?
OMG they so ripped that off from WoW!
I like the idea of DC Universe Online however I DO NOT like Sony Online Entertainment. ever try unistalling Ever Quest when you decide you don't like the sample? Good luck there it'll take you a while to rid your system of it. SOE is a money grubbing corporate monster with no sense of customer service what so ever.
It's unfortunate but because of SOE I will NOT be playing this game. I will stick with Champions and DDO
Wow. I see the fanbois are coming out in hordes. Sorry folks, it's a simple fact, consoles don't have all the input options a keyboard/mouse offers. Sure, SOME folks will have a kb attached to their console, but most don't, and the devs know that, and they code their game accordingly. That's why when playing the console version, your options ANY GIVEN FIGHT are limited to just a handful of possibilities (again, given that your console controller only allows for a handful of permutations). Take any mainstream PC MMORPG (WoW, WAR, DAoC, EQ, you name it) and you can have a PLETHORA of abilities/actions/spells/potions/buffs/debuffs all available on your UI any given fight. That means that you can THINK/CHOOSE/actually PLAY a more complex game with more complex NPC/mob interactions with a kb.
Consoles limit you horribly in this regard. Your fights on a console will be limited to 7 or 8 choices each fight? Versus the 30-50 choices each fight on a PC? There's no comparison folks, MMOs and their complexity just don't "fit" on a console. Ipso facto, why this game and others are "dumbed down" for console play.
QED
No matter what game I play at most i use 4-5 skills your can easilly do that on a controller my friend.
It's much simpler than that. Read #6. www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/3383
With only "eight abilities active at one time" and fast paced action, this game is perfectly suited for console gameplay... if not designed specifically for it...
Even without programming buttons you already have square, circle, triangle, x, L1, L2, r1, r2. Ummmm... I think that's eight buttons... right?
Coincidence? I think not!
I believe sometimes we take for granted that MMOs are only directed at us adults and young adults. Look around you. All the little brothers or sisters or cousins or neighbor kids or sons or daughters playing xbox360, ps3, and wii are the untapped goldmine of the MMO industry.
The idea of DC mmorpg sounds cool but..... It kinda sounds bland.
Im still hoping for a comic mmorpg that gives players abilities that effect the physics of the game world instead of different themed attacks.
Sorta like telekinessis being like HL or force unleashed.
X-ray vision turning on a wall hack.
Lightning that reacts to the game world. Sure the guy was selected but he was standing next to a metal pole so you missed. Oh hes in water or hes a robot; instant double crit ftw.
One attack that changes depending on whats around you or happening. Instead of one ability with 20 different attacks.
Wouldnt have to be a sandbox type of game (wouldnt work for a comic book mmo imo). Just a guild wars type game with your own city and missions that take you and ur friends thru some epic instance with the JL base or star labs as a central hub. Where players are given the option to turn on pvp for there city so when there loged on player villans can help your npc villans rob your city or vice-versa.
If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, tastes like a duck. But sounds like a dog and its called a dog.
Im sorry im not that gullable......Its just a weird duck.
It's much simpler than that. Read #6. www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/3383
With only "eight abilities active at one time" and fast paced action, this game is perfectly suited for console gameplay... if not designed specifically for it...
Even without programming buttons you already have square, circle, triangle, x, L1, L2, r1, r2. Ummmm... I think that's eight buttons... right?
Coincidence? I think not!
I believe sometimes we take for granted that MMOs are only directed at us adults and young adults. Look around you. All the little brothers or sisters or cousins or neighbor kids or sons or daughters playing xbox360, ps3, and wii are the untapped goldmine of the MMO industry.
I'm just saying console games don't have to be as limiting as they are made out to be. Eight buttons would give you up to 32 possible actions a developer could setup for the controller. You can use the Dpad (that little up, down, left, right section) to change between your power sets.
You can indeed get a lot of abilities from a standard controller. The PSX game 'Vagrant Story' (great game, BTW) used the face (shoulder) buttons to switch between different mini sets of commands. It took only a little learning, and worked quite well.
Same here. Tho: I feel the graphics are quite a tad better and maybe SOE does know a bit more about soloing VS grouping, when I look at games like EQ2, which was quite solid in those fundamentals. Despite the common bashing I think SOE is quite capable. (And seeing how BAD companies like Mythic, Cryptic or Funcom failed, I say SOE is sure not worse! ;) )
Anyway, too little info to say for real, but after CO permanently left my list I hope DCU does at least better.
EDIT: trust me, from the CO experience, which is also very action, you just cant have 20+ powers at the same time in ANY action combat. It just would not work to have 4 full quickbars. Most powers in most MMOs are just silly redundance anyway. I loved the action pace of CO - heck even of TR. It is a question how its implemented which decides whether it is exciting, not the number of powers. And surely not the vastness of looks!
Wow. I see the fanbois are coming out in hordes. Sorry folks, it's a simple fact, consoles don't have all the input options a keyboard/mouse offers. Sure, SOME folks will have a kb attached to their console, but most don't, and the devs know that, and they code their game accordingly. That's why when playing the console version, your options ANY GIVEN FIGHT are limited to just a handful of possibilities (again, given that your console controller only allows for a handful of permutations). Take any mainstream PC MMORPG (WoW, WAR, DAoC, EQ, you name it) and you can have a PLETHORA of abilities/actions/spells/potions/buffs/debuffs all available on your UI any given fight. That means that you can THINK/CHOOSE/actually PLAY a more complex game with more complex NPC/mob interactions with a kb.
Consoles limit you horribly in this regard. Your fights on a console will be limited to 7 or 8 choices each fight? Versus the 30-50 choices each fight on a PC? There's no comparison folks, MMOs and their complexity just don't "fit" on a console. Ipso facto, why this game and others are "dumbed down" for console play.
QED
Final Fantasy XI is more complex then WoW and Warhammer combined.
I don't know what you are talking about.
First we had MMO’s that brought consoles in after they launched, then we had consoles and PC development side by side. Now we have console first, PC as an afterthought.
Fewer keys and no mouse makes for a dumber game. Consoles were designed for kids; kids who they thought needed fewer, more simplistic controls. In fact the kids could easily handle PC levels of control complexity, but they were designed with the idea that kids needed simpler controls.
So yes, involving consoles means dumbing down the game and it’s a shame because any kid out there could use a mouse and keyboard.
Dana, I'm dying to know - how does the amount of time you played compares to the same amount in CO?? Better, worse, or the same??
This all sounds pretty cool but at this point in time just isnt possible.
Do you have any idea of the computer each player would have to have at home? The hardware required for the servers? The hours of programming it would take to accomplish something of this magnitude? Like I said, just not possible at this point in time...maybe in the not to distant future.
I am not sure what to think at this point. I can understand trying to grab the console market. It is relatively untapped pool of players. Good for action based games. Not so good for real MMO style.
Little concern in regards to the costume parts design direction. Earning gear is standard for the MMO. Keeping costume parts even if you trade them away or sell them.. Well question is is gear bindable and therefore not tradeable? Is there going to be a game economy? Player run economies are a staple of MMO communities. Even CoH/CoV went into inventions and such to create an economy. Whats to prevent players from trade each other costume parts so everyone has access to costume parts?
Another thing others have mentioned. You better figure how to get other superhero gamers attracted to this one. Travel powers should not all be the same like COV/COH/ CO - Only one I see with a variation is super speed that travels on all surfaces. The rest is the same. Ideas like vehicular travel at launch will really turn heads - motorcycles, batmobiles, invisible aircrafts are in the DC Universe lore already. Take the time to stand out.
Another is powers - CO set the bar by allowing players the freedom to choose powers (for the most part), up the ante by offering epic/ rare powers to be discovered. Not juse devices which have 20 hour cooldowns or 3 charges. Real powers which can be chosen or even traded. The lore can be massaged much like : Green Lantern - the Ring Chose YOU , Plastic Man, Blue Beetle, The Atom discovered a meteor, Firestorm - oops ran into a atomic blast, Dip into an achelmical pit, etc.
In other words, powers can be discovered and kept instead of generated at creation and pigeon holed in a set of powers forever.
How can consoles be dumbed down when on a PC you're only pressing 4 buttons (wasd) and point and clicking with the mouse? PC MMOs are simplied and lazy with everything right there in your face. You actually like all that stuff on the screen in too easy reach clogging it up?
And how is it any different from using the left analog stick to run (like wasd, but easier) and the right analog stick to point (mouse) at easy to reach boxes scattered across the screen?
This all sounds pretty cool but at this point in time just isnt possible.
Do you have any idea of the computer each player would have to have at home? The hardware required for the servers? The hours of programming it would take to accomplish something of this magnitude? Like I said, just not possible at this point in time...maybe in the not to distant future.
Guess you havnt been playing console games or FPS lately. Games already have this just not all of it mixed together.
Also notice I mentioned Guild Wars. Never said a game world with 100000000 people in a map the size of mars. .
You dont need a beast of a machine to run a good physics engine. Ive never programed using physX but im sure its more than capable to run these basic calculations.
Telekenisis is already been done numerous times in games. Havnt played that lightning game for the ps3 but from what ive seen they do some amazing stuff with it. And even force unleashed had lighting reacting to different items and mobs in game. X-ray vision is something most fps try to get rid of.
All these things are very possible with our current tech and has been for awhile.
Hell look at what TOR is planing with there smuggler and there cover mechanic.
Its not impossible or extremly complex just outside the box.
DCUO sounds like a good addition to the MMORPG genre.
To the console haters, that's just silly. I welcome a MMORPG where I don't have 30 powers on 4 hotbars cluttering my screen.
People seem to have missed the fact that since this is the PS3 developers are allowed to use a Keyboard and a Mouse. So in DCUO PS3 users will have the ability to plug in a USB Keyboard and a USB mouse and use them to play the game.
Given that fact, the PS3 is likely to be the preferred platform as it will have stable and steady gameplay and no downsides regarding the chosen control device.
And I mean someone like myself, who has both a capable PC and a PS3. It will actually be an option for me to use the PS3 if this game allows use of Keyboard and mouse.
Champions Online's Power Customisation is nice on paper, but in practice it isn't working out so well. There are so many choices that most players just don't know what to pick, and you can actually create very ineffective characters. I think that it's going to be at least another 2 months or so for Cryptic to properly balance those power sets so everyone's happy.
DCUO certainly looks interesting.
But I think the advertising blitz is hitting much too early since this looks like a 2011 launch at the earliest.
Someone needs to explain essay construction to this writer. Paraphrasing here - in the introductory paragrap "Not WoW in tights" - then he says "It's going to be like WoW where you earn better gear as you advance".
Levels? Improved gear as you advance? How is that not a traditional MMO in tights again? Oh, you can play it with 8 buttons - great.
Guess you havnt been playing console games or FPS lately. Games already have this just not all of it mixed together.
Also notice I mentioned Guild Wars. Never said a game world with 100000000 people in a map the size of mars. .
You dont need a beast of a machine to run a good physics engine. Ive never programed using physX but im sure its more than capable to run these basic calculations.
Telekenisis is already been done numerous times in games. Havnt played that lightning game for the ps3 but from what ive seen they do some amazing stuff with it. And even force unleashed had lighting reacting to different items and mobs in game. X-ray vision is something most fps try to get rid of.
All these things are very possible with our current tech and has been for awhile.
Hell look at what TOR is planing with there smuggler and there cover mechanic.
Its not impossible or extremly complex just outside the box.
If your talking a solo game Im sure it would work.
I thought you were describing what you'd like to see in an MMO since you said you were hoping for a comic book MMO that had the features you listed.
As far as an interactive environment goes, Champions does have interactive objects that can be used as weapons or hurled and telekinisis is an option.
I still say that an MMO with the level of interactivity in the environment you are looking for would have performance issues.
So your saying an event cant effect objects who fall within a number of coordinates that it passes? Lets call this "Area of Effect". So an "Area of Effect" cant call an action that is predifined amongst a number of actions whose execution is triggerd by what variable that is passed into this "object"? Lets call this "Script".
And your also saying that its impossible for the server to receive and also send the target coordinates of the "Area of Effect" to other users who have the same object and the same "Script".
Read up on what Bioware is planing for the Smuggler.
Or better yet if you were playing mmogs back then. Remember how Items in UO existed outside your inventory. How you could drag an item off the inventory menu and have it exist in the game world to be interacted with by other players.
Clicking on a object in a multiplayer game or steping on a location that triggers a script in a multiplayer game. Is no different than an attack that you execute. Ive even clicked on doors in some mmos and the door opened for everyone on the server who was within a certain distance to the door.
I hope you dont have a Computer science degree or plan on earning one. Cause you would lack creativity in your code.
Its realy not that hard, im serious its not. Specialy in a Guild Wars type MMO.
So your saying an event cant effect objects who fall within a number of coordinates that it passes? Lets call this "Area of Effect". So an "Area of Effect" cant call an action that is predifined amongst a number of actions whose execution is triggerd by what variable that is passed into this "object"? Lets call this "Script".
And your also saying that its impossible for the server to receive and also send the target coordinates of the "Area of Effect" to other users who have the same object and the same "Script".
Read up on what Bioware is planing for the Smuggler.
Or better yet if you were playing mmogs back then. Remember how Items in UO existed outside your inventory. How you could drag an item off the inventory menu and have it exist in the game world to be interacted with by other players.
Clicking on a object in a multiplayer game or steping on a location that triggers a script in a multiplayer game. Is no different than an attack that you execute. Ive even clicked on doors in some mmos and the door opened for everyone on the server who was within a certain distance to the door.
I hope you dont have a Computer science degree or plan on earning one. Cause you would lack creativity in your code.
Its realy not that hard, im serious its not. Specialy in a Guild Wars type MMO.
Ya know what? You lost me.
Im not a programmer. I have no intentions of earning a computer science degree lol Im in sales and marketing and couldn't handle the pay cut to be honest. However I have played hundreds of games so I have a pretty good idea of what I have seen that works and what doesn't.
What your talking about is in theory the same thing as clicking a door or dragging an item into the open world and ropping it on the ground, however the item doesn;t stop with that, you want it to burn things around it, or electrocute things it comes in contact with, or freeze things. So this is no door opening in an open instance, or a sword being dropped in Guild wars. This is like when you defeat the countess in DII and the treasure chest starts spewing treasure out for the whole group to pick up, it becomes choppy for everyone as it requires alot of memory to render the scene. I'm no programmer as I said but this is just how I see these sorts of things play out.
For example, something as simple as water animation in Champions in the Lamuria zone cause unbelievable chopiness in game play. I am tech saavy enough to understand that this isn't lag, it's simply peoples under powered grapics cards melting, or a serious lack of RAM. Couple that with electrical current travelling through that water and you're going to create serious performance issues for some users.
So if you add in things like powers that affect the enivronment like lightining arcing over to a flagpole, or say an AoE fire ball catching a bench on fire, then buring the bad guy or citizen next to it, and you multiply that even by say only 50 for a small server based MMO like Guildwars, you are going to alienate your audience somewhat. Alot of players don't have the hardware, RAM or cooling systems to display those kinds of environmental effects on a regular basis. This is why I say these things do work but in single player games where the zone is much smaller there are no other players affecting the player in question, well for all intents and purposes there are alot less factors at play that hinder video performance.
I mean, I agree with you that these things would be totally cool to see in a game, and am pretty sure that my system would handle it, but alot of people wouldn't be able to run a game like that yet. Maybe a few years down the road.
If it were on a console it might work, but alot of these MMOs are being slated for both console and PC because of the sheer number of MMOs out there now the market share a new game receives is very small, so it has to be palettable to a broad spectrum of tastes, and a broad spectrum of users on both platforms. This means there will invariably be people who cannot afford flashy adapter cards and high cost systems. WoW had a great idea in sort of simplifying the graphics to appeal to a broader market, the game is still playable on old junk. Granted the graphics aren't to my liking a whole lot, but there are 8 million others out there that seem to think the graphics are fine.
Another hurdle this type of game would face is the sheer man hours it would take to code the thing. Im no programmer as Ive said but I do know that these design companies have tight deadlines and limited cash for development so an undertaking of that magnitude would either have to be taken on by a huge developer ( Blizzard, Im looking at you.....) or it might not be a very clean launch (Cryptic our eyes are on you here now.....)
So I guess from an experienced players perspective, ands someone who knows how business plans work and a less IT professional opinion than yours, I would say that based on what your telling me it's possible, but unlikely for a few years at least. Until this sort of game could be coded in a far shorter space of time, and until such a time as the hardware required to run it is mainstream for both consoles, and PCs.
But what do I know Im just a marketing guy.
My concerns for DCUO remain the same as we get clips and previews.
1.) That like most MMOs, there will be powersets that take advantage of the system, and thus be more popular/likely to get nerfed then others. Those powersets that are not overpowered at start may wait a very very long time (if they ever do) to become fun/popular. I've witnessed it in many games, not just CoH/Fantasy MMOs.
2.) Players will never be treated as full Justice League front-liners like superman/batman. Will they be expected to 'help' in particular situations? Probably. Will players get a chance to go one on one with Lex Luther/Joker/Doomsday? Doubtful it seems.
3.) I fear that much of the story will be focused on fitting generic hero X into template Y, rather then allowing us to create storylines/interactions based on our characters to make them unique. Choices and decisions that impact how others think of the characters. Why does this matter? Maybe it doesn't, but I don't want to just go to the 'bat cave' I want my own version, style, gadgets, etc. As I said though, I imagine that allowing our characters to have a true breath of life isn't going to happen unfortunately.
I hope against hope I'm wrong. I'm still really looking forward to hopefully getting the chance to beta test it/preview it early. Just from what I've seen, combat is the priority, not storylines, not being a full independent character.