City Update
Fiscal Policy 3 thanks to yet another exciting election. Just a few boxes from Master Politician!
From the Archives
Ha, I found some of my old Galaxies files. While things are quiet here, I’ll regale you from the past. This is from an old post when I think Galaxies was still up, but in the dread NGE period. I was imagining my ideal MMO, and clearly I based it on Galaxies, and how it could be if I Ran The Zoo:
Okey dokey, I’ve been pondering this topic for awhile, and I keep changing my thoughts, but I’d be interested to hear what you would expect to see in an ideal mmorpg. Here are mine as of today (could change tomorrow, but I think I finally nailed it):
Plot: Story arc, background, quests, Ip or original storyline. Everything in the game should tie into and revolve around the plot in some way.
Character creation options: Face customization including options for all features, eyes, nose, mouth, hair (long hair! not in a braid or bun!), hair and eye color options, cosmetic options, body size options including height and weight. If there are different species they should be very different and have tons of ways to customize appearance.
Classes: if there are various classes, whatever they may be called, they should have very different roles, abilities, and functions solo and within groups.
Advancement: There need to be a variety of ways you can advance your character. It cannot be that the only viable method is following a particular quest string, or even only quests period as the way to move forward. Sometimes, you just want to explore or craft, or gather resources by shooting stuff. You have to able to break free of a set path.
Option for good and evil and other faction types. In order for the world to be more complex, there should be a choice between being good or evil. How this plays out can vary widely. There should also be some neutral/gray areas or other factional influences that will distinguish your character and their life in the world.
Setting: Time period and genre: Too many fantasy games for sure, but they could still distinguish themselves from one another by varying the time period they are set in. There is a huge body of science fiction literature, could someone please look at setting games in future times, other planets, or involve time travel!
World Size: Yes size does matter! If people are to spend alot of time in the world, then it needs to be large and varied and worthy of exploration.
Travel options: We all want to drive cool machines, ride amazing creature on land and in the air, move freely about the large world that has been built.
Instancing: Some things should be instanced, mostly group type stuff so some camping fiend can’t spoil things. Some instancing can be for mazes, puzzles, or such things that can be randomly reset for each user or group so it is a new experience each time.
Sandbox! Yes, make the world a big, open, explorable many optioned thing. Let those who wish a more predetermined path set out along quest sequences if they choose. Give people choices all along the way between being led by the snoot and doing what they want to do next.
Mail: make is easy and intuitive to send/receive mail. Make it simple to send to multiple players. Allow some sort of mail save feature that puts it in Notepad or someplace you can get to it out of game.
Bank: easy to use, includes storage.
Bazaar: system for buying on the spot or searching player vendors.
Player vendors: Different vendor options. Customizeable to look like player or other in game characters.
Group sizes: Small for regular groups, larger for raids, larger yet for social groups (entertainers).
Tutorial: Well defined tutorial area. Basics of chat, combat, social interaction, money and banking, User Interface should be covered.
Guild management: Guild lists, chat, halls, management of membership should be easy to use.
Resource management and collection: It isn’t all about the loot! There should be a deep crafting game that includes resource collection of many types, both hunted and mined. Both combatants and crafters should be involved in and interdependant.
Crafting game: This should involve being able to be a combatant or not. You should be able to create and customize a wide variety of useful and decorative objects. What a player makes should always be the best item available factoring in their skill level, resources used, and the requirements of the object.
Loot: I love loot! I want it to be decorative or useful to somebody though. No need to spend time or effort making pure crud dropping, we’re talking no brains, stomachs, glands or whatever, that I can’t use in a recipe or schematic or drop onto something to make it better or more attactive.
The Arts and Imagination: Entertainers should be in the world with the ability to dance, sing and compose. Artists should be able to paint and sell their creations. Writers should be able to author and sell their stories. There should be some version of a newspaper or other way of allowing events in information to be passed to the denizens of the world.
PVP: Consensual. Instanced or allowed in certain areas so there aren’t people clogging up the main game areas with their showboating contests. Competitive. Duels, fields of battle that require tactics, Capture the Flag, tournaments with leaderboards. Perhaps put versions of real world sports contests such as soccer in so that it fits with the world.
Solo vs Group: There should be both solo and group advancement and play options. There should be no required quests that you need to do with a group only that will keep you from advancing your character through the story or their skills. There should be other advantages to grouping–more money, more resources or loot collected, better chance at phat loot in a group, faster character advancement (xp gain) perhaps so it is desirable to group but not necessary.
Quests: Story arcs (static and monthly/serial); side quests that develop the story or give depth to a region/city/planet/area; repeatable killing quests that yield xp and resources or money; delivery quests that do not involve long distances or backtracking; race or profession specific quests; quests that allow you to solve a problem or piece together and item or puzzle.
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Atheren
Explorer 73%
Achiever 60%
Socializer 53%
Killer 13%
Atheren's Star Wars Galaxies Adventures 