I do not play CCP's EVE Online as I dislike the user interface and the character progression system. I am also not a fan of any form of RMT.
However, EVE Online is the only reasonably popular and successful MMO that focuses on an immersive virtual gaming world. Thus, CCP managed to keep me subscribed without even playing their game. My hope is that by donating monthly money I can increase the chance for a fantasy version of EVE. Not necessarily done by CCP, but any able company.
A faint dream of mine is that the guys at Blizzard want to diversify their portfolio with their 'next-gen MMO', thus not killing World of Warcraft, but complementing it.
The idea that the world really needs more good sandboxes, obviously, is not mine alone. CCP themselves give designers a little headstart by talking about some înteresting problems and their solution when designing a sandbox.
A very interesting article, especially for anybody with some programming background.
Infinite Space: An Argument for Single-Sharded Architecture in MMOs
And maybe CCP eventually rework their entire user interface. Then I would start playing again, instantly.
You've probably already heard of this, but CCP does have a fantasy MMO in development. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Darkness#WoD_MMORPG
ReplyDeleteI have actually linked to Wod :).
ReplyDeleteProblem is that there is no information about this game at all. All we know is
1) that it will be one single server shard (yeah! e.g. that makes teleports impossible) and
2) That it will be based on the WoD IP. Some people suggested that CCP bought WWP only to get the IP :)
Now, I am not a big fan of IPs in MMOs. They usually are a bad constrain for the developer. On the other hand the WoD IP is nearly perfect for nowadays teenagers, which could make this game more of a success.. Unfortunately many, many teenagers is the last thing in wantg in my MMO. :(
CCP announced that they will have something big to announce on 23-26 September on The Grand Masquerade. Seems almost certain that WoD will be it.
I have no doubts that CCP intentions match my wishes. Which is a lot to say. However, they have little experience with RPGs and seem unable to understand the importance of an user interface.
I am cautiously optimistic, like I always am :)
Yeah CCP is the Apple of keeping things secretive until the last minute, and then blowing expectations out of the water. So what are you playing if not Eve?
ReplyDeleteNo MMOs currently. I am burning through single player games, which is hellish expensive.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying some Dwarf Fortress lately, which is pretty cheap for single player fun.
ReplyDeleteDwarf Fortress sounds interesting. Of course, it has the ASCII-barrier, which always requires a very quiet weekend for me to overcome :)
ReplyDeleteJust played the last mission of StarCraft 2: What a lousy, lousy story, told badly!
I should do start some psychological research as what some people do to enjoy such stories. Perhaps there is some state of mind that helps switching off half the brain. ;)
After Tobold's "self-ganking" experiment, I thought you were going to try out Eve. No?
ReplyDeleteI did, Dàchéng.
ReplyDeleteI stopped, because the UI was too terrible (too small, among other things) to provide fun at the core game.
Otherwiese I admire EVE.
I've said before: I'd love to love EVE.
But unless CCP does something about the user interface I will not try it again.
I do, however, sustain a monthly subscription, for the reasons described in the blog post.
The Lazy Newb Pack includes a choice of graphics for DF, and the default one reminds me of the old days playing Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Not to mention the tutorial packs with step by step guides to introduce you to the basics.
ReplyDelete