360 MMO Thread

[aubergine]

Yeah yeah, there's some Final Fantasy game or other, but what would it take to make an MMO really work on console?

I was linked to what is now an old Kotaku post suggesting LOTRO is being developed for the 360 (http://kotaku.com/5253162/lord-of-the-rings-online-on-360-maybe), but nothing has been announced since then.

If someone could actually develop an MMO with a reasonable amount of breadth yet far more accessible / less demanding than PC MMOs with a compelling IP then I'd probably be there. But if it was going to be a "Halo Wars" compared to "Starcraft" kind of thing then I don't think they should bother - those two games are like Duplo vs Lego.

[Blue]

Isn't The Old Republic coming to consoles, alongside Marvel Online or some other superhero game, like Champions Online or some such, and FFIV?

Anyway, I think an online MMOFPSRPG would be the best option for a console. FPS takes a lot of the camera-based hassles away, and would ensure that it was action-based, making up for a possible lack of depth in other areas. It could be like a standard FPS, except accuracy, power, mobility and everything else is governed by your stats, as per a standard RPG. It would not be like an MMO version of Mass Effect or Fallout, however. The gameplay would be proper shooter. You'd just start out slow and weak, with poor accuracy and low jumping, and less capacity for your selected class's ammo, and less health and armour, and no enhanced vision modes, and all of that, and get more capable as you advance through the levels.

There could be TF2-esque classes. You pick a scout, you get the boost to speed and agility, and can utilise vision-enhancing equipment that is unavailable to other classes. Covert Ops can take the place of the Rogue, with stealth capabilities and assassin kills. Snipers for long-range DPS, Grenadiers/Demo for AoE. SWAT with a riot shield and heavy armour for tanking. Or, classes could be custom-made, and determined only by equipment, like COD4. Various Deus-Ex style upgrades provide permanent buffs, drugs provide temporary buffs.

Persistent online world, with the usual assortment of towns and all of that. 5-man team-based combat instances in a Serious Sam style, with heaps of enemies. Jungle hunting quests like Crysis. PvP battlegrounds are obviously just like a COD4 match meets Arathi Basin.

Take WoW basically, and make it a FPS. Get the balance between the RPG upgrade elements and skill-based action right, and it would be brilliant. I know that MAG is coming out, but that's just a massive deathmatch (or several large concurrent deathmatches, from what I hear). I want a proper MMORPG, with all of the customisation and upgrading, but from a first-person perspective, and with more of a focus on action.

Man, I would play the shit out of this game. Actually, this is what that Halo MMO could have been.

[TAT]

Man, I would play the shit out of this game. Actually, this is what that Halo MMO could have been.
Sweet Christ, imagine a Halo MMO set during the Fall of Reach with all races selectable!

[grimace06]

It's a shame Huxley is/was vapourware it would've been the best fit for a console and apparently they were going to allow people on consoles to play against PC gamers.

[Blue]

Sweet Christ, imagine a Halo MMO set during the Fall of Reach with all races selectable!I haven't read it, but yeah, shit … I hadn't thought of races, but that would be awesome.

See, I even wish that Fallout and other FPS RPGs were just slightly more action-based. Fallout's shooting mechanics feel governed too much by statistics. It shouldn't be your ability to shoot a target that should be based on stats, but everything else your character does, from running to jumping to the amount of damage. Make accuracy determine the player's range, and the drop-off in damage over distance, sure. But when I shoot at an enemy with them lined up dead centre in my sights, and within a reasonable range, I don't want the projectile missing due to some stat or 'miss' roll on an invisible dice. Character progression should enhance your abilities, but not dictate them in an arbitrary manner.

This is my idea of how a FPS RPG should work. TF2-style classes and gameplay with upgradeable characters that become stronger, faster and more deadly as you play, set in an online world. You'd start out at level 1 as nothing, but build your character up to be some Master Chief tank, or an Unreal Tournament run and gunner. There would probably be less skills/talents to use than a traditional RPG, because shot/spell rotations, cooldowns and the like are being replaced by more traditional FPS skills like flanking and reflexes. Rather than concentrating on pressing the right combination of buttons in the right order, it's more natural.

Deus Ex already did heaps of this shit, and TF2 has done other bits of it. I love the exploration and achievement you get from an MMORPG, and a sense of progress, a feeling that you're growing in strength constantly. If you could combine FPS gameplay with all of that, people who scoff at dice rolls and rotations but love teabagging an enemy they've just ganked would be hooked.