MMO and what you expect from it?

[lysan]

Hi commanders,

I would like to discuss what experiences you have regarding MMOs and what your expectation to a MMO game would be.

I only play SIM kind of games so my experience is very limited.

IL-2, DCS world, Arma, DayZ are the games I play most besides ED, in a MMO kind of way.


So what is the key point in a MMO?

1. You want to express yourself in a unique way (different appearance)
2. You want to interact with other players
3. You want to have common POI in the game
4. You want to craft special items
5. You want to belong to a specific organization or be lone wolf
6. You want to have ways to socialize with other players
7. You want to ?


Players will probably want different things, however there must be a common nominator in a MMO or it will not feel as a MMO.

So what do you expect from a MMO, and what would you like to see in ED?

 

[Crimson Kaim]

There is nothing that tells you "And this is what makes it a MMO game." Just like 4 wheels are not a car or two wings not a bird.

Various factors have to come together, I will list some of them below:

1. "Massive" multiplayer. That means A LOT of players in one game world. By alot I mean 1000+ and they do not need to be in one and the same place, but spread over the whole game.
2. "Multiplayer", this excludes singleplayer. If there is an MMO "mode" in regards to Elite, then it would be a different world where all players meet as explained in 1. but this is another world rather than the same the singleplayer mode exists in.
3. "Online", basically nothing where offline players and/or point 1. and/or 2. do not apply. Offline players influencing online players breaks a core feature of the MMO defintion for my understanding

We can now say that Elite is not a MMO game but it is "Massive" and "Multiplayer" in their very basic form of defintion. So it would be a MM Elite. The online part does not always apply to Elite and since there is nothing like MMPartlyO, I exclude the online feature from Elite as there is an indirect offline way to play the game, but with influecing the multipalyer world.

Further points:

4. Player interactions in any way are a must. Doesn't matter if it is shooting, trading, doing quests or whatever. Player interactions are a must.
5. No realms/channels. If someone is in place A and another player joins place A, both players must be able to interact with eachother except if they are on another server where they NEVER will be able to get in touch with eachother. So it is a yes/no question and once answered, the answer may not be changed anymore.
6. No maximum player count. I sometimes experience the message "You can't visit this place as there are too many players already." which basically means "We have no money to afford a proper server." If this is the case, it just isn't a proper MMO, once again -> restricing players is breaking MMO.


That's my definition.

 

[Alric]

For me the point of a MMO is the same as every other game, to be enjoyable.
Sometimes I play an MMO with just one friend, and rarely do much with other players, but we still have fun.
In my favourite MMOs I have enjoyed doing things with lots of other people at times, but also at times alone or with small groups. The sense that the world is a busy place, and you can plan and prepare for challenges as a group is fund.

The way I play Elite is more inline with normal multiplayer games rather than MMOs, but I'm glad that I can be in the same universe as everyone else, and I'd be glad if in the future there are more forms of fun cooperative gameplay.

 

[igor37]

I never really liked MMOs, as they have to make huge compromises in game design(especially gameplay mechanics and combat systems) and they tend to force someone to play with others to be able to progress.
For a time that never affected me as I just didn't play any of them, then some "genius" decided to produce an online game instead of Knights of the Old Republic 3...yes, I tried it, it's a bit less garbage than the others, but that doesn't help.

But well, now I play ED and it's not only a good game but also doesn't force the player to do anything and I don't see 50 players per minute jumping around in stupid comic armors, so that works for me.

 

[Jockey79]

So what do you expect from a MMO, and what would you like to see in ED?

There is an actual definition of M.M.O.

The short version is "lots of players connected"

It does not mention if you can interact with each other or if you will see each other, just that some how you are connected.
It is a ridiculously broad definition that seems to envelop lots of games that I think most people would not class as an "M.M.O."

There is nothing that tells you "And this is what makes it a MMO game." Just like 4 wheels are not a car or two wings not a bird.

Various factors have to come together, I will list some of them below:

1. "Massive" multiplayer. That means A LOT of players in one game world. By alot I mean 1000+ and they do not need to be in one and the same place, but spread over the whole game.
2. "Multiplayer", this excludes singleplayer. If there is an MMO "mode" in regards to Elite, then it would be a different world where all players meet as explained in 1. but this is another world rather than the same the singleplayer mode exists in.
3. "Online", basically nothing where offline players and/or point 1. and/or 2. do not apply. Offline players influencing online players breaks a core feature of the MMO defintion for my understanding

While I understand and respect what you are saying, my inner English teacher (as in the voice at the back of my head, being my old English teacher) is screaming at something you typed here;

Number 1 does not have a "multiplayer" part, or it would be: M.M.M.O - which also makes no sense: Massively Multiplayer Multiplayer Online
It is just "Massive" - the "Multiplayer" part is dealt with in your number 2. That first "M" refers to the size of the game world not the number of people playing.
So everything you wrote in 1 belongs in 2.

Massively : Large playing space / game world
Multiplayer : You are not alone (could that sound any more creepy? lol)
Online : Internet connection required to play

As I said above, the actual definition is far too broad right now, as it means games like Word of Tanks (or Warplanes, or Ships), War Thunder, Robocraft - basically arena combat games, get called M.M.O.s when they really are not.
30 people with a handful of maps to play on. While they are "Multiplay" and "Online" - a dozen maps does not make a "Massive" game.

Also I think the part that causes a stumbling block for a lot of people is the "Multiplayer" part. There is nothing to a) say how many people you will see / interact with, or b) nothing saying you have to play with (or against) those people.
To highlight, I could log in to SW:TOR, WOW, EQ2, STO (All well known M.M.O.s) and start a new character, go from first level to last level without ever playing with someone or to hinder someone.
Apart from a small bit of content (raids) that does require other players, for the most part over 90% of the games can be done alone, yet they are "M.M.O.s"

So to conclude, for the most part the term "M.M.O." is nothing more than a PR buzz phrase designed to sell games.
To prove that, log in to Steam and filter their store by "M.M.O".... then sit and weep when you understand just how little that term actually means.

[Edit]

After typing it, I had to go and do it.
The Steam Store page, filtered for MMO;



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