Sunday, December 13, 2009

What features would you would miss? (MMO)



 
I was thinking, since my post, 'If you could go back', about some of the cool features games offer now that really make them great. What features you would miss, if you had to game without them?

After playing Aion I really missed mounts. I hated running everywhere. That also had me to thinking of all the things I really missed about WoW. But sometimes when I play WoW I do think about other things offered in different games. Such as Player Housing. So what do you miss when you play a new game? Or rather, what would turn you away from a game, from lack of having?

My list would Include:

Mana/Hit Point Regen.
Remember the days of EQ medding for these? I like an option to regen with an item such as food or drink or class ability. After playing DDO, I missed this immensely. Even in EQ2 I have to wait in out of combat on food and drink to regen. Even sitting to med is nicer than having no option.

Mounts.
I really hate running around slow! As I mentioned in Aion I missed this. I love it though when games allow you to fight on mounts. The biggest thing is having travel speed. Flying mounts, I miss those a lot too when I don't have one.

Flight Paths or Portals.
These two are great options for travel. The faster the better! I'm not lazy, I just don't like spending half of my play time traveling to get to and fro.

Solo Play.
I love to be able to solo when I want. Sometimes I just want to do what I need to and not worry about random players.

Auction House.
Need I say more?!

Dual Specs.
I love this option in WoW. I can heal or DPS if I like. No more doing dailies as Resto b/c I am too cheap to respec! I lus da Boomkin!

Community. 
Last but not least! A nice laid back player base. People being decent. A nice guild. Those are things you just can't beat!


Just a few things I like about today's games. How about you, dear reader?



Till' next time!
-kaozz


5 comments:

  1. Features I want:

    Camping - I want to find a good spot to exp with a group, plop down, chill and grind for awhile. I miss chatting with people I know are getting to know new people I'm playing with. The pace needs to be slowed down a bit to make this happen. The games seem as though they're being designed for a cheap thrill rather than a complete experience. Socializing is a large part of that experience and camping is an all too important design element that fosters this and supports a strong community as a whole.

    Crafting - I wouldn't play a game that didn't have crafting. I'm including primary and secondary trades here. This is something I can't live without. Crafting is a game in itself and gives us something to do when we're not exploring/raiding and promotes a strong economy. I wish developers would focus more on this and make it an integral part of the game.

    Food/Drink - These should be mandatory. It's not a game breaker, but I believe it adds a sense of realism I sorely miss. Yes, it can be a hassle and at the most inopportune times, but I love it nonetheless. Anything that adds complexity (within reason) is a great addition.

    Housing - While I'd love to have it in general, it depends on how it is implemented. I'm not a fan of instanced housing. I prefer a system akin to SWG, without the ability to plot anywhere in the world you like.

    Mounts/Ports/Travel Spells - These are all important, but care should be taken not to make travel so trivial. I do like flight paths, as in WoW. However, I'd like to keep the paths themselves, but make it where you have to own a flying mount to use them. Those who don't have them should have to trek it. No more PoK stones or Spires.

    Raiding - I know this exists in most if not all MMORPGs, but I'm speaking primarily in terms of "massive" raiding. Too few players are needed these days to take down the toughest mobs. Raiding in WoW always felt less epic to me than in EQ. Forgetting the fact that it could be terribly time consuming and boring if you planned properly and had a good gathering of people, something about it just felt like more was being accomplished, especially when an encounter was designed for a large number and we did it with much less.

    Features I do not want:

    Instancing - The only instancing I have ever enjoying in a game is in EQ, with the LDoN expansion. I can't even describe how much fun I had with this expansion, but this is exactly how I'd like to see instancing implemented in any game I play. An open world with some instancing on the side, mostly for group oriented players. Instancing for the few and open raiding for the masses. Bring back EQ guild drama.

    PvP - Seriously, GTFO entirely or keep it on a separate server. If I'm watching a game as it's being developed and they increasingly talk about PvP being a major feature, I literally remove the links from browser and look for something else. If you want to have unrewarded PvP mini-games or something of the sort to take a break from whatever else you're doing, fine, but save your man hours for the core game.

    I've run out of time. I'll post some more if I can conjur them up from my scattered brain as I have the time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent list. Definitely some things you wouldn't want to be w/o.

    Camping, yes that one is nice. Slow down the pace so I can at least type a message here and there while in a group lol. More on this in my next post...

    I love crafting, even though I get lazy with it. Cooking and fishing esp. I do not like it to the extent of EQ! That was too annoying.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good post but its one I cant answer to specific points that I would really really miss.

    It does however combat the increasing Vanilla WoW nostalgia I used to feel every so often. I mean sure it was a great game a few years back but the model, classes and gameplay were very basic. I wasnt a fan of TBC but WoTLK has imo really improved aspects of WoW immensely and I for one wouldnt be one of those old guard who would be keen to roll on a vanilla server.

    Thats probably why they are able to keep roping me back in to return.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aye WoW has changed so very much. This morning I am beating my head against the desk b/c of annoying pug runs. Ok, not really but I feel like it..

    Reminds me of vanilla runs LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What I meant to say is the more things change, the more they stay the same. I am tired =p

    ReplyDelete

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