NotAI wrote: ↑
February 28th, 2025, 18:46
girls don't fight
1. Anyway, another main issue now in MMOs is simply producing a sufficient quantity of content that is high quality enough. Specifically when making MMOs that are hard. Hardness is not absolute: it is fun when content in which it takes place is "worth" it. It's relative to content.
2. Social community is part of that content, but when lacking, as in modern MMOs, more developer crafted content is required. However, we've reached a point where this costs too much relative other some other investment. Social community has declined too much?
3. This problem never got solved. Relative rates never got matched. Social interaction quality declined too fast. (Developer competence also declined fast but even if it didn't.) A hard game will be played, but only if the content is great. MMOs now have trouble making enough of that content.
(1) This is a tough one, but also a problem I think that is caused by the desire for content to be fast paced. People expect levels to go by quickly, progression to be short intervals of with lots of rewards, maps/GPS so they can quickly find where they are going, bouncy balls and quest indicators, travel to be quickly across the world, etc...
So, a new MMO either has to dump a crap load of content (impractical and costly) or they have to slow the progression (which will cause tantrums). There is no way to compete to that crowd. Too costly to make all that content only to have the player base blow through it in a couple of weeks sitting around complaining about wanting more content.
I posit the very thing these players demand is the very thing that is killing the games.
(2) Similar conflicting problem here as (1). Difference is, solo demands add another layer of content consumption rate and a need for more content.
(3) Ultimately I would say it is the mechanics and designs that aid in this.
Take EQ release and many classic MMOs for instance. The following provided game play, risk vs reward, choice and consequence in many ways, but ALSO slowed progression.
1. Travel
With large zones, slow/limited travel options, players spent a lot of time traveling to destinations. When combined with other mechanics such as corpse runs, no maps so careful exploration, Boat ride times, etc... this created a slower pace.
2. Exp
Exp was very slow which meant players spent more time within the level ranges of zones. People got to know every inch of a zone they were in and they became created many impressions in play, a familiarity and attachment to them. Layer this with camping, rare drops, corpse runs, getting lost, slow skill increments, exploration, travel speed, vague quests that required various drops, testing and searching, and you had a progression that kept people busy and increased time to cap progression.
3. Death penalty
Loss of EXP was harsh, content was difficult, fights were long. Combine this with the chance to lose a level and depending on the player, this could extend time to cap progression as well. Being only bound in a main city resulted in long travel to return to a camp on a party wipe.
4. Down time
Fights were endurance based and recovery was slow. This slowed time of leveling and progression (as well as added the endurance/resource management in fights which including In fight as well as out of fight dangers due to pathers, pops, etc...)
5. Camping Mechanics
Mobs were on respawn timers with place holders, so you had to wait for repops to see if a named would pop, then if it had dropped an item (common, uncommon, rare) which again extended times in play, kept people in zones longer, etc...
6. Group focused, class dependent.
Most classes required grouping to make exp practically. It was flexible, meaning you could do most of the content with varied groups and makeups IF you worked out strategies, but again... group focused and this slowed progression as well as it took time to organize and execute this. Add in travel time, corpse runs, etc... and again.. slowed progression.
Note that all of this slowed the pace of progression which allowed developers to create more content in a timely manner. Most people were not at cap in EQ when the next expansion came out 6-12 months later.
So while content is important, the mechanics and progression of play are key here. Until they somehow are able to get AI to churn out zones like a factory line, the modern expected pace of play will always be at a conflict with this.
Since they can't currently churn out content at this pace, this leaves slowing down the game and introducing mechanics that create a more even pace to allow for development, which... isn't going to happen for the bulk of the mainstream base, they don't want that... and this leaves only gimmicks of the modern MMO era.
That is, what these players want is the very thing killing the game for them.
I am greatly interested to see how M&M turns out. They seem to have the proper development pace and focus of play to solve these problems of modern MMOs, but... it won't appeal to most of the modern players. If what I think is right, they will pull in a certain base and be able to retain it if they balance their progression accordingly.
M&M has a fair sized start goal for release for content, but it is measured by its mechanics and pace. If they end up balancing it right, like EQ, they should be able to release content packs at a pace that provides content according to the average player bases pace.
So we will see how this turns out, but in the end, it won't solve the Modern MMO problem because I will be frank, the problem is the players expectations and currently the business model to attend to it is not practical. So, MMOS are dead for mainstream (outside of older ones milking them with gimmicks).
MMOs for niche though, could be a successful venture... but we will have to see.
