Something I read that applies I think...

[Nexus]

I was reading a thread on the Star Wars: The Old Republic (link goes to post) forums, which pretty much sums up a lot of what's gone wrong with UO in the past few years..

I would like to address the fact that mmo's these days are to combat oriented. This goes for all MMO's, but since I'm really looking forward to this one I'll post this here...

First of all, what makes a successfull mmo? You guessed it! Keeping players busy for over a month (which is normally free to play). Although I'm playing WAR right now and still enjoying myself, there is something that does make me want to stop playing already. The Keep Sieges en PQ's are fun but as the title already says revolve around combat. If I'm solo-ing stuf I'm doing combat. And if I'm helping out friends I'm doing combat. Ok, the Tome of Knowledge is a good feature. You have to travel to unlock some stuff, but it's not something you really 'go doing'. You more or less accidentally unlock stuff. Which is good, but, what I said, is not something you login for and go do.

When looking at other mmo's....well, most of you probably played WoW or any other mmo that came out within he last few years. And what did you do there? Combat! Yes sir! There it is again. Most people just loose interest when the only thing the game has is combat. Many people all talk trash about the so called korean grinding games, but we actually do pretty much the same. Yes there are quests, but rather than questgivers telling us what to do, the koreans just go at it without this. Pretty much the same ey

So, what does an mmo need to keep it interesting and hold on to their starting population and grow from there? In our Benelux mmo community (check my sig) we also have this discussion. Someone said that most mmo lack the real society or actually the need of them. Combat is NOT the factor that binds players socially. You can only speak of a society when there is a player ecomomy and where the character progression is truly unique.

And I couldn't agree more with this guy. I get so tired of the constant combat I have to do that I pretty soon don't care anymore what other people are doing. For some quests or bosses I need other people to help me, but whan it's done it's done. Good job, great group, bye...

The fact is that I don't have to connect to players anymore. Take SWG(pre-NGE especially) and/or EVE for example. There you also have combat, BUT you can do a lot more. If you start a business, you actually NEED other players to buy your stuff. You need to connect with them by sending coordinates yo your shop, or selling stuff man to man. Eventually you actually enjoy doing something else than just plain hacking into npc's. You're building a society as you play. And if you actually want to do some serious damage, you'll have more fun doing it. People know you because of your business, wear your stuff, etc. etc. So it's more fun for them to play with you and vice versa. It's sort of a vicious circle so to speak.

This is in my opinion what's wrong with mmo's these days. Now, we're all very excited to see what's going to happen with SWTOR, and this game will be played by a bunch of people (including myself) just because it is star wars. Ok, I also played SWG a long time ago and I don't expect (and want) this to be SWG2, but to be really successfull, BioWare has got to come up with something that keeps players busy in another way than only combat.

that concludes my point of view. Anyone else a good oppinion about this subject?

Has this really happened in UO that the games gone too much combat oriented? I mean yea there's other things but Monster Bashing but it's still combat. There's still Crafting but it's place in the game has been seriously skewed thanks to how good loot drops are which brings you back to Combat. I mean can it be that the Dev's need to step back and forget about PvM and PvP for a while and focus on quests and content that's not for a short period and then gone? Like really complex quest chains that have fun as their real reward factor.

 

[Gheed]

Nice read. I completely agree. Almost all of my combat in UO revolves around events. In between I am gathering resources(mining LJ), training a skill, stockpiling resources for the next event(ammo, pots, bandies), BODs, or messing around with different deco ideas for my homes. Through the time spent in my quiet little village on the edge of the Trinsic swamps, I meet folks roaming through the area. Almost always they see me and stop to visit.

Up and until I read this article, it never dawned on me. Save a few RPers all of those who visit are new or returning players. Folks who roam the land to explore. I guees that is part of the non-combat adventure of a new game. I always get into a crafting template or mechanic discussion with them. These days many walk away with some basic tools to mine and all the good rubble they can carry.

UO satiates the Non-Combat itch I get from time to time. While I play another MMO for the level grind, gear upgrades and flashy graphics... I come back to UO for substinance of friends and communtity. It isn't the prettiest game but it fits like an old shoe.

I think SA will bring a lot of non-combat related activities to the game. The queen forge in the Gargoyle city will be a gathering point for many. And Imbuing seems thus far very well planned. Good for the dev team and good for us on that one.