MMO Game Engines

[Arbitrary Cidin]

I'm not here to rant about MMO's, suprisingly, but let's talk about game engines. Most MMO's run on blatantly similar engines if not the same, where you target an enemy/ally and click square icons to use skills or right-click, double click, etc. to do a basic attack. BUT, how come there's not alot of other gameplay styles in use. What would you suggest? Is there a game you have in ming with an engine that would work well for an MMO?

Personally I think the Bethesda Engine would work well. Maybe a Final Fantasy Engine (not Final Fantasy XI, XII, or XIV) or any turn-based gameplay/ gameplay that separates combat from the rest of the game (random encounter style)

Discuss.

 

[Slash Dementia]

Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind when I think of game-play styles that would fit an MMO. I'm not sure if KotOR's controls on the PC are similar to that of an MMO though.

 

[Littlejib]

I think they came to this engine becuase it works the best, go back and play a RPG that didn't have this set-up and you will miss the easy access to skills. If a company put out a better UI then i'm sure most developers would immediatly adopt it.

 

[Laos]

The Bethesda Engine (If that's want you want to call it) would be absolutely abysmal for a MMO due to its extremely buggy nature. Take into account that NPCs run into walls, the game crashes A LOT, and the sandbox in depth nature is quickly ruined by an NPC walking into a wall, people talking to one another, or some stupid trait Bethesda didn't fix between Oblivion and Fallout 3 (Not to mention it wont be repaired for TESV)The fact it takes a high end PC to run it with NPCS, rather Actual players is another problem arising.

Besides, the engine is not the issue. Engines are like a rock standing at the top of the cliff: Potential Energy. A good engine offers the potential for some great games, but most of the time its a shitty result, especially with MMOs. an Engine for an MMO usually is some sort of FPS or perhaps it was built out of the mass production MMO industry (Entire Companies are built to create generic, look-alike MMOs, and sell them for 30 grand a pop. and i'm serious)

Also, these games look alike, even with different engines because they are attempting to be alike, in order to draw in the most cash. You see, after my years of MMORPG experience. They are all evil money schemes to draw you in and milk you dry.

However, another issue at hand to note (As ZP puts nicely) that 90% of MMORPGS are attempting to be World of Warcraft, or those before it, Everquest. Nobody cares about being an MMO that can be immersive and interesting, they just want you to grind you so you keep playing and they score the 15$ a month in your pocket.

Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind when I think of game-play styles that would fit an MMO. I'm not sure if KotOR's controls on the PC are similar to that of an MMO though.

http://www.swtor.com/

 

[Slash Dementia]

Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind when I think of game-play styles that would fit an MMO. I'm not sure if KotOR's controls on the PC are similar to that of an MMO though.

http://www.swtor.com/

Ah, that slipped my mind for a moment.

Welcome, and nice first post; completely hits the nail on the head.

 

[Laos]

Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind when I think of game-play styles that would fit an MMO. I'm not sure if KotOR's controls on the PC are similar to that of an MMO though.

http://www.swtor.com/

Ah, that slipped my mind for a moment.

Welcome, and nice first post; completely hits the nail on the head.

Thank you. It hits hard because I've been a fan of MMORPGS for the last 6 years, and all i've ever gained out of it was this lousy Avatar.

No, wait. The avatar was from an RTS.

Well, you get my point.

 

[Arbitrary Cidin]

The Bethesda Engine (If that's want you want to call it) would be absolutely abysmal for a MMO due to its extremely buggy nature. Take into account that NPCs run into walls, the game crashes A LOT, and the sandbox in depth nature is quickly ruined by an NPC walking into a wall, people talking to one another, or some stupid trait Bethesda didn't fix between Oblivion and Fallout 3 (Not to mention it wont be repaired for TESV)The fact it takes a high end PC to run it with NPCS, rather Actual players is another problem arising.

Besides, the engine is not the issue. Engines are like a rock standing at the top of the cliff: Potential Energy. A good engine offers the potential for some great games, but most of the time its a shitty result, especially with MMOs. an Engine for an MMO usually is some sort of FPS or perhaps it was built out of the mass production MMO industry (Entire Companies are built to create generic, look-alike MMOs, and sell them for 30 grand a pop. and i'm serious)

Also, these games look alike, even with different engines because they are attempting to be alike, in order to draw in the most cash. You see, after my years of MMORPG experience. They are all evil money schemes to draw you in and milk you dry.

However, another issue at hand to note (As ZP puts nicely) that 90% of MMORPGS are attempting to be World of Warcraft, or those before it, Everquest. Nobody cares about being an MMO that can be immersive and interesting, they just want you to grind you so you keep playing and they score the 15$ a month in your pocket.

Knights of the Old Republic comes to mind when I think of game-play styles that would fit an MMO. I'm not sure if KotOR's controls on the PC are similar to that of an MMO though.

http://www.swtor.com/

Of course the bugs would need fixing, but I'm talking more about the First person RPG idea, and the was melee weapons and fighting work to thaat respect. I wouldn't want the actual Bethesda industry having anything to do with it.

 

[Laos]

Of course the bugs would need fixing, but I'm talking more about the First person RPG idea, and the was melee weapons and fighting work to thaat respect. I wouldn't want the actual Bethesda industry having anything to do with it.

Well then your statement (No offense) was hypocritical. If you want something Like what someone (like Bethesda) makes, why would you want someone else to make it? A Cheaper Chinese Knock-Off?

If you like bread, you don't go to an architect and tell him to draw you some bread, you go to a baker.

My point being here is that

1. What you're looking for is a melee style of combat, which has already been made and incorporated into several MMORPGS (Ruin Online being one I can think of off the top of my head).

2. You do understand that a lot of people HATE Melee combat, because of it being unrealistic and annoying to many degrees? It's the reason why in most FPSes that you if you get a knife, you hardly use it, and if you get a chainsaw, you only use it because it spews blood all over the place.

One last note. Its been 2 years since Oblivion, and the identical problems still arise. My point? in 2010, probably when the Fallout MMO comes rolling along, you will not have the obvious bugs repaired. Why? Who knows, but it's been two years already.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Frankly, I think the current engines work just fine.

 

[RollForInitiative]

I'm not here to rant about MMO's, suprisingly, but let's talk about game engines. Most MMO's run on blatantly similar engines if not the same

The same engine? Really? Sorry, but nobody licenses their engine to that many different developers. They may use similar concepts but they're all different engines.

Personally I think the Bethesda Engine would work well. Maybe a Final Fantasy Engine (not Final Fantasy XI, XII, or XIV) or any turn-based gameplay/ gameplay that separates combat from the rest of the game (random encounter style)

Discuss.

Try taking into account any of the technical requirements of an MMO, such as client/server architecture, whether the engines can support large spaces, and whether the gameplay offered in a game actually functions properly in a multiplayer server-based environment where thousands of people are playing simultaneously and maybe you'll begin to have an idea of why we do things the way we do. The goal is to make a game where a vast number of people can play with a vast number of other people, and both the engine and the gameplay have to support that.

 

[dodo1331]

Frankly, I think the current engines work just fine.

This. Don't fix what isn't broken, right?

 

[SquirrelPants]

Frankly, I think the current engines work just fine.

This. Don't fix what isn't broken, right?

True dat. They're rather simplistic, but they cater to the MMO crowd, and they pull in the cash.

While it's likely true that they want to score a hit like EverQuest or World of Warcraft, the engine itself doesn't have much to do with it. The reason that WoW is so well-liked is because it's LIKE any other MMO/RPG, but stripped down to its key components. Games that try to be WoW copies usually end up missing that and give people thousands of different combination and possibilities for each class, and it instantly becomes less accessible to half of the WoW crowd.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I thought the engine only handled running the game, while the UI determined how it would be played?

Heck, Vanguard used the Unreal Engine for its game.

 

[Davey Woo]

The Bethesda Engine (If that's want you want to call it) would be absolutely abysmal for a MMO due to its extremely buggy nature. Take into account that NPCs run into walls, the game crashes A LOT, and the sandbox in depth nature is quickly ruined by an NPC walking into a wall, people talking to one another, or some stupid trait Bethesda didn't fix between Oblivion and Fallout 3 (Not to mention it wont be repaired for TESV)The fact it takes a high end PC to run it with NPCS, rather Actual players is another problem arising.

Not to mention the fact that every time someone wanted to use VATS everyone else would have to sit around and wait until they were done.

 

[Arbitrary Cidin]

I'm not here to rant about MMO's, suprisingly, but let's talk about game engines. Most MMO's run on blatantly similar engines if not the same

The same engine? Really? Sorry, but nobody licenses their engine to that many different developers. They may use similar concepts but they're all different engines.

Personally I think the Bethesda Engine would work well. Maybe a Final Fantasy Engine (not Final Fantasy XI, XII, or XIV) or any turn-based gameplay/ gameplay that separates combat from the rest of the game (random encounter style)

Discuss.

Try taking into account any of the technical requirements of an MMO, such as client/server architecture, whether the engines can support large spaces, and whether the gameplay offered in a game actually functions properly in a multiplayer server-based environment where thousands of people are playing simultaneously and maybe you'll begin to have an idea of why we do things the way we do. The goal is to make a game where a vast number of people can play with a vast number of other people, and both the engine and the gameplay have to support that.

JJesus Christ, dude. The topic is basically a "Hey wouldn't it be cool if..." deal; nobody needs you dropping ideas with boring technical horse crap. I'm on The Escapist to be entertained. If I wanted to be educated I'd go to Wikipedia.

Other than that, When I say Bethesda, I'm talking the basic ideas, with obvious modifications and removals made to fit MMO potential.

Also, MMO's don't have to be sandboxes, those are two different things.

 

[Laos]

The Bethesda Engine (If that's want you want to call it) would be absolutely abysmal for a MMO due to its extremely buggy nature. Take into account that NPCs run into walls, the game crashes A LOT, and the sandbox in depth nature is quickly ruined by an NPC walking into a wall, people talking to one another, or some stupid trait Bethesda didn't fix between Oblivion and Fallout 3 (Not to mention it wont be repaired for TESV)The fact it takes a high end PC to run it with NPCS, rather Actual players is another problem arising.

Not to mention the fact that every time someone wanted to use VATS everyone else would have to sit around and wait until they were done.

You're getting too deep in it. we're talking about the physics, basic systems of NPCses, other such units, and other foundations. VATS was an addition. Take out VATS and you see the similarities even greater between Oblivion and Fallout 3