True MMO*RPG*?

[Mourir]

Does anyone know of a true MMORPG out there? What I mean is, a game that is truly role playing and not just glorified hack-n-slash.

Something like Baldur's Gate, and even Diablo to a degree, but in MMO form.

I've played EQ1 and WoW now, and from the web sites of the others I've looked into, they're all pretty much the same in the sense that there's really nothing to truly accomplish other than gaining levels and acquiring better stuff.

Is there anything out there that's different, that provides a true feel of role playing?

Thanks in advance!

[Mourir]

Hm. Well. 15 views and no replies. I think I'll take that as a big, fat NO.

Maybe I'll try EVE.... At least around here it seems to have the lowest bored-after-a-while factor.

[Ijs]

Tale in the Desert? No idea really, haven't had any experience with it. Seems a bit out of the ordinary though.


As for RPing, you might find pockets of RPers, but doubtful you will find an exclusively RPer game.

[PeteG]

I reckon RP is what you make of it. With WoW as an example I thought there was plenty of opportunity for RP (easily as much as in Baldurs Gate etc) if you focused on the quests, reading the quest descriptions and the background material (books etc) that was scattered around the world and taking notice of the gameworld (which had many small details most players wouldn't have even noticed) instead of just playing the numbers. Another big part of it is playing with a crew who play the game the same way as you insted of getting caught up in stats and loot.

[Rigor]

If what you are talking about is a storyline, then no. The problem with a storyline is how to have 10,000 people in on it and have you still feel you are contributing anything significant. WoW tried to do this with the quest lines, but they are of course limited in duration and there wasn't a coherent theme.

It's not a bad idea, but I've though about it a good bit before, and I just don't see how you'd do it and still keep any sense of a community.

Arystole posted a very interesting (and very long) article from the developer of Vanguard SOH that discussed this to some extent relative to the issue of instancing.

WoW has no real overarching storyline, and post 60, it's nothing but a perpetual gear hunt. I share your opinion there. Most MMORPG's degrade to either that or endless PvP wars at max level. For my money, I'll take the PvP wars because at least when you're up against a human opponent, not two fights are ever the same.

[Asystole]

The quests in most MMORPG's really don't get me in the Lore of the game much. It depends on the NPCs and the specific quest in contention of course. What I really enjoyed was the guide sponsored events. Those really made a player feel part of the world and that we could actually change events is this world we are all existing in.

Single player RPG's, and now the popular instancing MMORPG's do make me feel as though I am effecting the world more. However, that world is much smaller and secluded than I like. What good is an accomplishment if there is nobody else to share it with?

Just my specific gaming style.

Good topic though. I like this stuff alot!!

[mighty1u2]

The only online game that I've participated in that had rolplaying as a priority was a MUD. GemstoneIV. It's totaly text based, and there is a huge amount of people who roleplay, and people who don't are shunned pretty well. I started playing it back on AOL before they went to unlimited hours, old school game. It's still around, and has a thriving community. I havn't played in a few years though. If your interested you can find it at play.net.

[Mourir]

First off, didn't end up trying EVE. Couldn't get the 2-week trial to work, and I'm not paying for it.

To the topic, now....

Yeah, I agree that the quests in WoW, etc., don't actually give me what I'm looking for, because they are not part of a single main storyline. They're really just another way to gain XP/EQ.

I also agree that implementing something like this would not be easy. But, couldn't it be something like a class-based ultimate quest? Let's take WoW, for instance. With the main back theme of the whole game being about the ongoing hostilities between the Horde and Alliance, couldn't your new toon, along with all the mini-quests, etc., that help him gain levels and equipment, also have a series of mini-quests that ultimately lead to a single, major goal?

So, in other words, you can still have things like, "go retrieve this heirloom I just happened to leave behind when I fled my family farm like the sniveling coward that I am..." quests (ahem, sorry), and these would still serve their ultimate purposes: to enable achieving game play, leveling, and equipment improvement, especially solo.

But, you also have a whole series of mini-quests devoted to your Main Mission. So, you start off with some NPC saying something like, "You must help in the fight against the Shadow." Or whatever. And all the mini-quests in this series are part of something you work on all the way up. Then at 60 (or 70, or add more to this Main Mission as the level cap is increased, with stuff like, "I know you thought you were through, but it looks like the Shadow is craftier than we first thought." Or something like that). Anyway, then at 60, you finish with some major mini-quest, maybe even something you need help with.

In fact, now that I think about it, it might be kind of like the Epic Weapon quest series from EQ1, only the goal is not another piece of EQ, but a role-playing-esque way to feel like you are, as others so eloquently put it, affecting your world.

Plus, this Main Mission quest series could be different for each class, and even perhaps for each class/race combination.

It just doesn't seem that hard to implement (bearing in mind, of course, that I'm not a programmer ).

What do you all think?

[Tuar]

Try Lineage 2... While this may not have everything you are looking for and it does involve a lot of GRIND you'll find there is more to it than just that. It has a player run economy where one can excercise real world buying and selling tactics to get rich. There are castles to be won or lost by your clan and Alliance. There are Dragons to be slain and more dungeons to explore than you can shake a stick at. L2 can be a great role playing game while it is not as popular to roleplay as it could be. There are of course your L33t type players out to do nothing but make everyone else miserable.
Come over to the Lineage 2 forums and check us out. You just might find yourself absorbed to the point you foget other games....lol


Tuar

[Sente]

Earth & Beyond had a start that was much what you say with a main story arc progressing and a number of smaller quests to various extent related to the main story.

(wormholes opening to some other universe, with some mysterious aliens pouring out. First more or less ignoring people, then becoming more intrusive until open war breaks out with one of the factions etc)

Unfortunately, the E&B people did not have enough in terms of quests and such after level 30ish (out of 150 possible levels) - most things after that were quite boring auto-generated quests. They did not get enough subcribers to get enough funding and had some definite problems in other areas - so after a while the game was cancelled.

But for me that was the best MMORPG I've played so far in terms of getting a feeling that one is in an ongoing story.