Swtor

[Ctuchik]

Expansions aren't bad, they just rarely expand. Expand everything, ground up, level 1 onward, add add add and never take away.

Cataclysm made a decent attempt at doing exactly that. But it also reveled a new problem.

Even though Cataclysm is a really big expansion it really didn't add much content at any single point in the game, so *everyone* kinda felt left out.

So if we are going to get "complete" expansions (level 1 to cap) they need to add 2 - 3 times as much content every single expansion to make up for it being so spread out.

And then we're talking full game release type projects that take a lot longer to develop.

I like expansions as well, but i'm more interested in the way Cryptic wanted to do it in STO, with free "seasonal" content updates every 3 - 4 months instead of 1 massive expansion once a year or once every 2 years.

That would imo be the far superior way of doing things because people wouldn't need to grind the same stuff to long.

It just sucks that Cryptic never really got the chance to prove it as the subscribers left before they got going.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Either or really. Either an across board expansion with enough content for all, or seasonal(as you said) "patch" type expansions with a low cost(say a fiver?) to fund better expansions.

Think the key element is to bring in content that A: doesn't break old content, as in uber weapons etc(could be upgrades to weapons as loot, so old weapons still count, yet starter weapons can benefit too) 2: It's actual content and not just polish and/or seemingly playerbait and ¤": the content amount is directly proportional to time between.

Cata did revamp some low level content, but it also went with the old "raise level cap, new better stuff for all, igfnore old gear/raids".

 

[Ctuchik]

Cata didn't revamp just "some" low level content, they revamped ALL of vanilla WoW, including quests, quest rewards and story.

Even the instances got changed, some more then others depending on how the open zone connecting to it got changed.

But you can't charge for content that change the existing world.

I mean, what if Blizzard had decided to charge for the vanilla WoW revamp with cataclysm? That part were free, you only had to pay for the new zones and raised level cap.

Content updates should be free because you can not chose not to have it, expansions can be paid for because they are optional.

 

[chipper]

i enjoyed how they did it in SWG tbh with the content inbetweeen expansions forget what they called it but there was minor storys to play out pretty much every month once they started adding them.

im expecting a november launch tbh

 

[old.Tohtori]

Cata didn't revamp just "some" low level content, they revamped ALL of vanilla WoW, including quests, quest rewards and story.

Even the instances got changed, some more then others depending on how the open zone connecting to it got changed.

But you can't charge for content that change the existing world.

I mean, what if Blizzard had decided to charge for the vanilla WoW revamp with cataclysm? That part were free, you only had to pay for the new zones and raised level cap.

Content updates should be free because you can not chose not to have it, expansions can be paid for because they are optional.

Well vanilla isn't all low level content, but anyway.

You CAN charge for existing world changes, you simply leave the content out for those who don't pay up. Just like adding a mod to fallout that adds a parking garage.

You can't charge for what cata did to low level, because it wasn't planned as such.

 

[old.Tohtori]

By the way, anyone else put "no thanks" into the beta invite thing?"

 

[Ctuchik]

You CAN charge for existing world changes, you simply leave the content out for those who don't pay up. Just like adding a mod to fallout that adds a parking garage.

But that makes in an addon or expansion, not a change to the existing world.

 

[old.Tohtori]

But that makes in an addon or expansion, not a change to the existing world.

It could be additional quests to low level areas, only open to those who pay up etc. Endless possibilities really, semantics aren't the issue.

The problem is with the players as well as the developers, who both have stuck in this model of an expansion being X. Expansion, in the word itself, should expand the experience, the world, choices and possibilities. Making a new area with new quests and bigger reward isn't expanding the world, it's simply tacking on a "undiscovored" continent.

 

[Ctuchik]

I think you're misunderstanding me when i use the phrase "change to the existing world".

I'm not talking about adding something.

I'm basically talking about rewriting what's there without adding something that isn't part of the change.

If you ADD something to a game without doing anything to what's already there it's technically not a change, it's an addon or an expansion.

Well, if you really hardball it i suppose if you add lets say player housing to an existing non instanced world/zone it's a change to that world/zone, but it's still adding something, but what's already there is still the same as it used to.

Or is this extreme tunnel vision on my part?

 

[old.Tohtori]

Not at all, in that regard we're on the same page(go figure ); if they change existing things, that should be free and is technically(if the game doesn't have phasing) impossible otherwise.

I just think that those are updates to the world that shouldn't even count as expansions or "worth while" mentioning. Cata used it as a marketing thing, when it should've been an upgrade since things were outdated.

But, as said, you CAN revamp starting areas with new content(via phasing, different instances etc), effectively making a better starting experience for paying customers. Sneaky and underhanded, but hey

 

[Ctuchik]

Not at all, in that regard we're on the same page(go figure )

We need to stop that!

Anyway, i'm not sure i like phasing content.

It was a bitch trying to get help from and help other guildies in WOTLK when you had to do those elite quests that phased after you had completed it.

But if they temporarily reset the phasing if you group with someone that haven't done it i guess it would work well.

But then you probably wouldn't be able to help people that have bought a content pack if you don't have it yourself. Which would only serve to separate players further.

I don't think restricting open world content like that would work very well from an "it's optional" point of view, people would feel forced to buy it if they wanted to be able to play with guildies/random people.

I mean, imagine seeing someone come running from one of those phased areas screaming for help and you can't because you don't have the pack that shows the mob, and the guy end up dying and failing the quest...

Or if you are a healer and starts to heal said guy and pulling aggro, you'd die without even seeing what hit you...

Separate zones and stuff is fine, but not general content that is in the "proper" world that everyone have access to.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Clear cut way would be to just keep paying and non-paying in different phases. Dick move, but as said, clear cut. The point being that you can use expansions in different ways on the old content and promote buying it, without forcing it.

The aofrmentioned "expansion = stronger loots" is a problem, it should be expansionm = options, while the endgame can be moved forward even without making the old content outdated. Examples ahoy;

The loot could be, as said before, upgrades to gear that effects different ways in different levels. So a +5 damage upgrade to that old end-content axe, or even +1 damage for the lower levels(effectively rewarding the lower level with better low level content). This would mean the old axe is still valid as a progression point and the new upgrade loots would simply offer choices for different builds. You could also offer an item-meld option, where you could grab an old axe of uber and meld it with a new axe of uber, making your spec more unique and giving you more options to progress.

Now adding to the old content(or changing it)would work well by making content omni-level from the start, with different challenges offering stuff to do to all level ranges.

Example(bit long);

There's an assault on a wizard tower(raid stuff).
Level 1-10 can come up and clean out the surrounding of minions, with minor bosses around.
Level 10-20 clear out the entryway, with harder stuff.
20-30 enter the tower(while lower levels clear the way) and proceed to a certain point, after which they aren't powerful enough to continue.
Max levels deal with the big stuff inside the tower and eventually kill the wizard, huzzah!

Now an expansion comes along, adding 10 levels to max.

Same list as before, yada yada, but the content changes on all levels with a new and more powerful being(dragon) taking over the tower(story sucks, nevermind that ).

the people still assault the tower, but with a different "lore", a new wizard takig care of the old wizards shit and the dragon being the new end boss for said raid.

Now, if you are a paying customer for said content, youd get rewards etc accordingly, while the non-paying could get new content too, but would also be persuaded to pay a bit to progress more, instead of waiting until max level to catch up. Choices

 

[svartalf]

My opinion:

Phasing is the way of the future.

The way that complex and interesting situations will arise is when multiple phases overlap to create almost unique occurrences.

I have a particular politically-based system devised, but I wouldn't know where to go to get it developed or seriously assessed.

 

[Soazak]

My opinion:

Phasing is the way of the future.

The way that complex and interesting situations will arise is when multiple phases overlap to create almost unique occurrences.

I have a particular politically-based system devised, but I wouldn't know where to go to get it developed or seriously assessed.

The Phasing in Cataclysm really amazed me. Not a lot, game wise, has really impressed me over the last few years, but that is certainly one of them.

Hopefully it will spread.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I have a particular politically-based system devised, but I wouldn't know where to go to get it developed or seriously assessed.

If i get my project running some day(pipe dream perhaps), could always use another designer

 

[svartalf]

Official statement follows:
Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature. Because The Old Republic is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options.

So enough fuss was made that they're going to put it in. So they're spending post launch dev time (something I'm particularly fond of discussing already) on single player content. :

 

[Ctuchik]

Yay, more social aspect alienation!

 

[old.Tohtori]

Yes, cause only group oriented muguffin should be looked at

Good for them and as i know how dev works, it will take 0 work hours away from other content. So don't worry about your grouporgies

Read that again; it will affect in no way how the rest of the game is developed.

 

[Ctuchik]

Yes, cause only group oriented muguffin should be looked at

Not at all, but from what i've seen there has only been solo stuff presented with the option of grouping if you want stuff a little harder.

Nothing of what i've seen in the videos is content you have to group for.

Not saying it isn't there, but it doesn't look like there's enough of it.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Not at all, but from what i've seen there has only been solo stuff presented with the option of grouping if you want stuff a little harder.

Nothing of what i've seen in the videos is content you have to group for.

Not saying it isn't there, but it doesn't look like there's enough of it.

There never should be content you HAVE to group for, outside of raid style content.

That way you have your own option to be social, or not.

You seem to want a groupsex scene with some jedis and your guildies since you're so avidly against NPC relations

Read the above again; NPC relationships don't take awy dev time from your group content.

 

[Ctuchik]

Sorry, i wasn't referring to NPC romances there but to general game play.

I'm a firm believer in that there should at least be equal amount of group content as there are solo content.

That way people still have a choice if they want to group or play solo, but right now instead of being forced to group we are forced to solo because there are no alternative.

AoC were very close to solve that issue by having 2 instances of all zones, one with normal mobs for soloers and one with only elites. They just screwed it up by not scaling the rewards from the elite versions of the quests very well or not at all. So after a while the mobs became to hard because of inferior gear.

 

[old.Tohtori]

I don't believe it's forced soloplay, it's optional grouping. Grouping makes things easier as always.

Scaling missions/rewards for groups could work, but it would also have to be "grief" proof, so that people couldn't use the system to get unwarranted rewards too easily(read: powerlevel).

I was referring to your comment on social gaming alienation via NPC relations, which are two different sections of the game. I doubt you'll get epic lootz from romancing a cyborg

Which might be a problem in my plan to make a female bounty hunter cyborg with pink blaster and armor

I want my cyborg freak on!

 

[Ctuchik]

I don't believe it's forced soloplay, it's optional grouping.

Sure, you can always group for solo content, but why should you?

All that achieves is getting quests done faster because everyone in the group rush off to their own mob instead of working together as a team.

The point with group content is to make people work together as a team, grouping for solo trash doesn't encourage that. Take Rift as an example, there you had random people join your open group, not saying a word, get the mobs they needed and then leaving, still not saying a word...

Group content encourage people to start talking to each other as discussing tactics is a superb ice breaker in most circumstances. And if you manage to crack a joke after a silly wipe you're almost guaranteed to get the group to stick together and lighten things up even more.

So if we don't have much group content prior to raids or the odd instance, people aren't inclined to group because there is no point in it. Or they group for (imho) the wrong reason.

I just want MMO's to be MMO's again, not single player games with a chatroom mod.

 

[old.Tohtori]

You asked "Sure, you can always group for solo content, but why should you?" and that is the problem in the community that removes social aspects on its own. You yourself, with that question, show that it's not about social interaction, but about loot and reward X.

Problem there is that the community doesn't work like that, outside guilds, friends and ingame met friends. Otherwise you're a means to an end to a lot of people and even if there was group content, directly made for group content, it would be akin to any and all PUG raids/dungeons. You can't fix the community

Otherwise, you have to give those who aren't inclined to group the same game experience to a degree(up to raids etc) and leave the other grouping optional. Not to mention, give those who just can't get a group(for various reasons) the option to solo(again, outside raids etc).

As said, it's not forced solo content, as it shouldn't be forced group content.

Now the solution is ofcourse to have SO much content that you have the ability to choose between group and solo missions, but this brings two problems;

Progressing the story in a nice manner and keeping the immersion(not a lot of lol-jedi in the world) and ofcourse the obvious, limited production time. Imagine of all the wow quests needed a group counterpart.

 

[Ctuchik]

I personally don't care much about loot or rewards, but i acknowledge the need for better drops the harder the content.

And i never said i didn't group up on solo content, i just don't get much enjoyment out of it mostly. But not because i'm a loot whore as i gladly pass on useful upgrades if someone i group with can use them as well, i just need more then "because i can" to enjoy myself properly. The main reason i like group content is that i get a sense of accomplishment clearing a hard instance with other people while (hopefully) making new friends.

Grouping for solo content generally grants me neither of those things. There are ofc rare exceptions if i meet people with the same mindset as me as i actually do accept group invites every now and then even if it's solo mobs, but i still don't really see a point in it, because i don't feel better getting quests done yesteryear.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Hmm, to reach another one of the dreaded "agreements", can we datamine from our conversation that;

MMOs should balance between group and solo content so that both playstyles are supported from start to endgame, without forcing players to do either.

 

[eksdee]

I really don't see why MMOs should cater in any way, shape or form to 'solo' players personally.

 

[svartalf]

Original is here: Star Wars: The Old Republic | News, Updates, Developer Blogs

This has some interesting answers in the Q & A.

Star Wars: The Old Republic | News, Updates, Developer Blogs



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NEWS & UPDATES

News > News Article

Studio Insider: Combat Animation





Introduction



With each Studio Insider, members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ development team take you behind the scenes to give you an inside look at the work that goes in to making the game. This week, Principal Lead Animator Mark How discusses the work that goes in to creating the animations for combat in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Combat Animation in The Old Republic



Hi. My name is Mark How and I am the Principal Lead Animator at BioWare Austin. Many ideas have been dreamt up since the inception of this extraordinary game and the animation team has been hard at work since the very beginning. While we see each project as a challenge, we have a lot of fun imagining all sorts of unique, action-packed scenarios that can play out in The Old Republic. Of course, the main purpose of animation is to produce characters that adhere to the basic laws of physics, but good animation also ties into many other facets of game design. Today, I’ll tell you about our experiences and techniques that go in to our creating the animations that compliment the exciting and visceral combat in The Old Republic!



We start out like any other game that has big ideas for combat: at first we thought about the classic battle between Jedi and Sith. When you picture these powerful Force users meeting, you think of how they Force Leap into battle! You think of their Lightsabers clashing, and how they use the Force to push and pull each other around the battlefield. We wanted to be able to replicate this sense of action and exhilaration in the way we capture the combat animations. We wanted to show Force Lightning exploding from your fingertips and have your character show their raw mastery of the Force by hurling large objects at your enemies. We also had many ideas about ranged combat; about ducking behind cover and blasting your way through a pack of enemy troops. Knowing that many of you who will play the game are going to be playing as non-Force users, we wanted to capture that feeling as well.

Lightsaber Clashing



One of the most iconic images in the Star Wars™ universe is the Lightsaber. Making the Lightsaber come to life in The Old Republic requires a collection of all the correct elements falling into place at the same time through visual effects, sound design and animation. Our challenge was to make the iconic Lightsaber battles from the movies come to life within the design confines of an MMO. We worked closely with the combat programmers and designers to ensure that the combat visuals do not detract from the gameplay experience. A key aspect we learned early in development was that players do not enjoy having character control taken away from them because of an action or animation. Similarly, we realized that any action a player takes in the game needs to be visually represented in a way that is consistent with the player’s expectations. Combining these two things, it was particularly challenging to develop animations that allowed for visually appealing combat while still allowing the players complete control over their characters.

Here is a progression clip of just a few of the animations in our game, from the initial design to its implementation in-game.

Once we knew what our rules were for combat, the programmers and animators were able to create a Lightsaber clashing system that could predict the volleys of weapons fire and other attacks being thrown at the player from all directions, and have the player dynamically react to ‘block’ these attacks. Not only that, but we were able to keep this system active while players were deflecting directed attacks, engaged in melee combat or even running. Players may not even realize all the factors that are coming into play to visually represent the combat experience, but we believe it’s critical for making the player really feel fully engaged in the fight. Without these dynamics, the players would wind up locked in certain animations when they go to engage in a “Stock strike” or “Project,” and then the combat would really be failing to capture the feel of Star Wars; it would give the player the impression that they are watching the action rather than taking part in it for themselves.



We’ve iterated on the mechanics for a long time, and I think the Lightsaber combat system that the programmers and animators ultimately devised has really gone beyond expectations. Even in a battle scene with multiple players and multiple targets, each Lightsaber wielder can be seen attacking opponents with varied tactics while deflecting, parrying or dodging the attacks of the other enemies. It gives the whole experience a really dynamic, visceral feel, making the player feel like they’re taking part in an intense battle where their character has the heroic qualities expected of a Star Wars icon.

Combat Cover



“How could Han Solo possibly compete directly with Darth Vader?”



This was one of the situations our designers found themselves thinking about when balancing the character classes. Though armed with many brilliant blaster attacks, tactical abilities and cheap tricks, one of the most challenging tasks for the entire team was in designing a cover system that was useful to the player while keeping them feeling like they were part of the action. Some might argue that you don’t even need a cover system in an MMO, but the benefits provided to the classes and the overall visual dynamic of the combat system is incredible. This all comes back to the expectation that the player has. If you were a Smuggler in the Star Wars universe and there was a crate available for you to roll behind to deflect enemy fire, wouldn't you want to do that? Of course you would. The cover element has provided a tactical way for the Smuggler and Imperial Agent classes to be competitive against their Force wielding and gadget-toting opponents.
Deciding we were going to create a cover system was one thing; creating it was something else. It took many hours of research, play-acting and experimentation to nail down the animations for ducking into, rolling into, or just dodging into cover. As you can imagine, with the variety of places where these characters can take cover in the game, that created an additional layer of complexity which had to be addressed. In the end however, cover looks, feels and functions like the real thing, and we think it bring an entirely new dynamic to ranged combat in the MMO genre.

Here we see a breakdown of the Imperial Agent rolling into cover behind a barrier.

Once it was established that melee-based player characters wouldn’t be locked into doing certain animations, we wanted to make sure that ranged classes worked the same way. The unique challenge with the ranged classes was that we wanted them to always keep their blasters pointed at their target until they were damaged, downed, or until the player chose to manually change targets. This needed to be true while standing still as well as when the player was moving. In an MMO, players don’t usually stand still and fight mobs of static NPCs. Consider PVP: as smart as NPC AI can be, it cannot compare to the intelligence, skill and intuitive reactions of a real human player. This means that when two human players duel each other, they can adeptly circle one another and jump to get in and out of range. They can’t be stuck in long, static animations when they attack. We had to work closely with the programmers to devise an aiming system that could account for numerous gameplay possibilities. I think what we achieved allows players to play the way they want and does not lock them into a combat system that only obeys a limited set of rules. As pretty as it could look, who wants to play a game where you run and then have to stop each time you want to fire your blaster? "Not I," says the Smuggler.



For The Old Republic, we are committed to giving you a great combat experience through aesthetic movement, strong character and great design. These elements come together thanks to the efforts of many different departments that are all working hard and working together to reach a common goal. Our combat has unique concepts that set it apart from other MMOs and help deliver another BioWare-quality Star Wars™ experience that we hope fans will find incredibly enjoyable and will want to continue as they progress in their stories and create new experiences of their own.



We'll see you online!



 

Community Q&A



With each Studio Insider a member of the development team takes the time to answer some of the questions that are put forward by the community. The next Community Q&A will center on the many aspects of socialization in Star Wars: The Old Republic. If you have a burning question, ask us via our Forums or on Facebook. Make sure to get your questions in no later than September 30th if you want it to be considered for the next Community Q&A.



Today, Principal Lead PvP Designer Gabe Amatangelo answers a few of your questions about Player-vs-Player Combat in The Old Republic.



Q: How important is the PvP community to BioWare? – Kryptorchid



A: Very important. The Old Republic’s PvP developers are avid gamers and active, long-time members of the MMO PvP community. We hold preservation and growth of the The Old Republic PvP community near and dear to our hearts.



Q: Will there be any kind of arena system? If so, which brackets will it support? - Inquiescent



A: ‘Arena System’ has come to mean two different things depending on the context: Single Elimination PvP game mode and Ranking/Tournament Systems. Whether or not we add that game mode to The Old Republic’s current lineup (domination, assault and bombing run) is TBD. However, one of the top things on our list for post launch is a rated Warzone system where players can form teams, earn team ratings, earn individual ratings, as well as participate in tournaments, etc.

Q: Are there any plans for non-combat forms of PvP, such as Pazaak or Swoop Racing? - RizzoRatchet



A: We are considering, testing and/or developing several things like that. We’ll let you know as soon as we are sure about what we’re going to add.



Q: Will we see a “Criminal” or “Bounty” mechanic so that we can persistently hunt down and torment those who hinder our progression? – Gryffin



A: Haha. Nice way of phrasing ‘how do you guys plan to deal with griefers!’ We are currently testing and iterating on a system to ensure player progression cannot be blocked by griefers on a PvP server, while still allowing for the thrill of spontaneous open world PvP conflicts.[/b]



Q: Will there be safe zones on PvP servers outside of faction-specific planets? – Zepplin



A: There are very few, but some do exist. For example, the promenade on the neutral planet of Nar’Shadda is a sanctuary.



Q: What incentives will there be for players to focus on targets outside of the typical “gank the healer” strategy; and how will factors such as burst damage, crowd control and “PvP tanking” play a role in accomplishing this? – Marsobot



A: Winning will be the incentive. Attacking the healer will be the right decision sometimes, but not always. A key contributor in ensuring this is the tanks’ Guard and Taunt abilities. Guard will redirect half of the damage through the Tank’s mitigation and avoidance. A taunted target will deliver less damage to everyone but the tauntee. Players will be able to easily visualize which Tanks are guarding and taunting, who their targets are, and when damage is deflected through clear animations and effects. This adds to the dynamics of a skirmish as players of varying skill levels can easily react to and be on their toes about who the real targets of opportunity are and when. Additionally, Tanks will be recognized and rewarded for how much damage they deflect in this fashion on Warzone scoreboards.



We have a fairly large health pool to burst damage potential ratio. This allows for burst damage to be useful when the time is right, while not letting it dictate the outcome of all skirmishes.



And as far as crowd control goes, there is ‘Resolve.’ Every time a player is crowd controlled they build up Resolve, which is pictured as a bar over the characters head (below the health bar). Once a player’s Resolve Bar is full it changes colors and starts to decay over time, during this they are immune to crowd control. The visual element helps with PvP accessibility, and tuning the Resolve values allows us to achieve a fun tempo ensuring crowd control as its place but isn’t the end all be all of PvP.



Q: Since it has been clearly stated that there will not be dual specs for characters in the game, can you explain your philosophy behind the skill trees and how you are taking into account players that want to be able to play PvP and PvE content on the same character? - illumineart



A: Dual Speccing is something we want to add soon after launch. Also, features like Guard, PvP Taunt, Resolve, etc. work to narrow the gap between PvP and PvE specialized skills (i.e. a +Block skill would be helpful in both PvE and PvP).

Q: Are waiting queues cross-server and, if so, also cross-language? - Kisskill



A: No. We believe that fostering rivalries and memorable encounters with recognizable players are important in building a good PvP community on a server. We suspect cross-server queuing compromises these key tenets. Additionally, systems like bolster and same faction vs same faction Warzones (like Hutball) help matches pop frequently and regularly.



That being said we will be keeping a close eye on the communities and re-examine the system as necessary.



Q: Are there rewards for PvP, such as Titles, Badges, Grades, etc.? – Xenthor



A: Yes. Players will earn currency for PvP Gear, Valor Ranks, titles and other privileges through PvP accomplishments, such as winning Warzone matches, claiming Open World PvP objectives, finding hidden caches in PvP areas, etc.



Q: How will the Bolster system work? – Kelremar



A: If after a time the Warzone matchmaking system has not found a match of players of the same level range, then it will start up a ‘bolstered match’ where players of varying levels will have their stats bolstered to within 20% of each other. Therefore, player skill disparity withstanding, the lowest level player will be 80% as effective as the highest level player in the match.



Thanks for checking out this month’s Studio Insider. We hope you enjoyed taking a look at what goes into creating animations in The Old Republic, as well as our Q&A on PvP. We know you have a lot of questions, so we’ve opened new Community Q&A threads in the forums and on Facebook which center on the topic of socializing in The Old Republic. Post your questions before September 30th and they may get answered in our next Studio Insider!



Discuss this article



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[old.Tohtori]

I really don't see why MMOs should cater in any way, shape or form to 'solo' players personally.

Easy answer would be that they pay the same as you so they have equal rights regarding the game.

To take it a bit further though, The multiplayer part of the term MMO doesn't refer to the old school multiplayer terminology, simply towards several people occupying the same world.

To put it in FPS terms; there are snipers in many combat games, which is mainly a solo class, even if the goal is the same.

To put it in more MMO terms; the RP part comes into play and if someone RPs a solo agent, theyshould be able to.

In a nutshell; The M in MMO doesn't stand for co-op.

 

[Soazak]

MMO should cater to all playstyles, it's what makes it interesting