Little things in MMOs that would mean a lot

[Dirk Gently]

Ya, so it would appear Khem. Which is a good thing.
One of my favorite parts of City of Heroes was the character creation screen. I used to just make characters just to see what combos I could come up with.

 

[blur]

Yeah, I found the character creation in that game to be the most fun aspect of it!

Ohhhhhh, controversial!!!

 

[Leo_CinVin]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but.. what about music? The big thing about MMORPGs is their appeal to people who want to escape reality. Music and good artwork with lush, fully worlds of NPCs, critters, mobs, and other aesthetics combine to create a sense of realism that is similar to what we know in this world.. yet, if done correctly, creates something new altogether. Some games have nailed the music aspect down nicely, I always thought Guild Wars had a nice sound track. The background music must be fitting to the current zone and situation and not just some random bit of classical or jazzy music that always sounds out of place or really boring. It was one of the things that upset me about the early SWG, all those wonderful Star Wars soundtracks and yet the game was void of any music but the annoying in-combat loop (which they later redid and now is a lot more tolerable). EQII has potential for some great music, with the variety of different zones and geographical locations but most of it all sounds the same and it's repetitive and I can't play the game without having some hard rock playing on winamp at the same time or I go to sleep.

So what do we know of the music in HJ? Will it be appropriate and mood setting? Will it allow us to get lost into the minds of our own characters and truly experience a fantasy world where we can mingle with others that have been teleported to this realm? Will we truly experience some place totally new to our senses?

 

[Zhelas]

Sound and Music FTW

I am looking forward to the character generator and indept customizing.

Will the items that folks wear and use have nice shows. Example. Emerald Eyed Serpant ring: The bronze slender body of the serpant has hints of green reflecting off the its shiny scales while it wraps around the weilders finger. Its emerald eyes stare threateningly from its triangle head while it bares its razor sharp fangs in a silent hiss.

Being able to control the information that folks can gather from you. For me personally, being able to remove titles from name if you wish. So you don't have to walk around with Lord, Greater Lord, High Lord or Reknowned Lord in front of your name.

Enforced Roleplay on the Roleplay servers.

Creature Raids on the towns.

GM events.

Quests and indepth StoryLines.

Preventing badnames from appearing. We don't need a Lovetospooge wandering the lands.

 

[Pietoro]

Music is important in an MMO to me, I like really well done, suiting music. And barbershops so that you can adjust certain physical features.....or somthing like that anyway

Oh, yes. That, and housing (customizable) are two things I love. =)

 

[HJ-Navarre]

Oh, yes. That, and housing (customizable) are two things I love. =)

Non-Instanced housing, like SWG. I have no love for customizing a house no one but I will see.

 

[Pietoro]

Non-Instanced housing, like SWG. I have no love for customizing a house no one but I will see.

Oh, definitely. The only game with housing that I played (Horizons), was non-instanced. I loved poking around other people's places, and admiring them. =)

 

[blur]

Well, to be fair the housing in SWG still had to load, and that was noticeable on slower connections or when the lag was great. You'd roll into someone's house and it would be empty. A minute later, hey presto, there was stuff in there.

 

[Jaraeth]

Non-Instanced housing, like SWG. I have no love for customizing a house no one but I will see.

HERE HERE!!

Oh, definitely. The only game with housing that I played (Horizons), was non-instanced. I loved poking around other people's places, and admiring them. =)

Dark Age of Camelot also had non-instanced housing where you could decorate the inside and outside of your house & housing lot... people could run by and check it out. If you had permissions on your house to allow anyone to enter your house, they could even see inside.

 

[Zink]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but.. what about music? The big thing about MMORPGs is their appeal to people who want to escape reality. Music and good artwork with lush, fully worlds of NPCs, critters, mobs, and other aesthetics combine to create a sense of realism that is similar to what we know in this world.. yet, if done correctly, creates something new altogether. Some games have nailed the music aspect down nicely, I always thought Guild Wars had a nice sound track. The background music must be fitting to the current zone and situation and not just some random bit of classical or jazzy music that always sounds out of place or really boring. It was one of the things that upset me about the early SWG, all those wonderful Star Wars soundtracks and yet the game was void of any music but the annoying in-combat loop (which they later redid and now is a lot more tolerable). EQII has potential for some great music, with the variety of different zones and geographical locations but most of it all sounds the same and it's repetitive and I can't play the game without having some hard rock playing on winamp at the same time or I go to sleep.

So what do we know of the music in HJ? Will it be appropriate and mood setting? Will it allow us to get lost into the minds of our own characters and truly experience a fantasy world where we can mingle with others that have been teleported to this realm? Will we truly experience some place totally new to our senses?

Yes this applies (for me) to DAoC. They did a great job giving those qualitis and you could get pretty close to escaping reality (god that sounds an itsy bitsy bit hippyish)

 

[HJ-Navarre]

Music is important in an MMO to me, I like really well done, suiting music. And barbershops so that you can adjust certain physical features.....or somthing like that anyway

From the recent mmorpg article: I was stunned the most by the hair choices. The hair actually looked real. It had a sheen all of its own that created a silky smooth finish. The clothing was just as stunning. It looked and moved like cloth, and I had the feeling that if I were to reach out and touch the screen, it would have been soft to feel. I also found out that you are not stuck with anything in this game. If you decide you want to change your hairstyle or color later, then it's your right to do so! This is a huge plus as I myself tend to get tired of looking at the same hairstyle on my toon after months and months of playing.


It will be nice to change your character's look on a whim. I presume there will also be certain uncommon hairstyles, clothes, tattoos, etc., which a player will have to find/earn/buy as well.

Oh, definitely. The only game with housing that I played (Horizons), was non-instanced. I loved poking around other people's places, and admiring them. =)

And robbing them blind? I hope we will have to opportunity to break into and steal from another player's home... with great risk of punishment/death, of course.

Dark Age of Camelot also had non-instanced housing where you could decorate the inside and outside of your house & housing lot... people could run by and check it out. If you had permissions on your house to allow anyone to enter your house, they could even see inside.

I love non instanced housing. I missed it in DAoC, though. I played DAoC just over a year... They must have added that later. I think I left around the time of the ToA fiasco.

 

[Llillith]

If I'm not mistaken, Nav.....housing in DoAC was zoned. Better than instanced, but still not out there where passersby would see them.

 

[HJ-Pinnelipe]

Vanguard had non-instanced housing. Of course, a game has to be a bit more optimal than Vanguard to pull it off..

As for the stealing from houses.. Wonderful! That would be great. Even if I'm not a thief, I like the idea that a lowly rogue could steal my things while I'm gone if I was not smart enough to put on this highly complex lock that needs these special picks.

 

[Azdel]

Vanguard had non-instanced housing. Of course, a game has to be a bit more optimal than Vanguard to pull it off..

As for the stealing from houses.. Wonderful! That would be great. Even if I'm not a thief, I like the idea that a lowly rogue could steal my things while I'm gone if I was not smart enough to put on this highly complex lock that needs these special picks.

Noted.

 

[HJ-Pinnelipe]

Noted.

<.<
*runs out to buy more locks*

 

[Jaraeth]

If I'm not mistaken, Nav.....housing in DoAC was zoned. Better than instanced, but still not out there where passersby would see them.

Yes, DAoC had housing Zones. And Nav, "DAoC: Foundations" was the free expansion that came out prior to Trials of Atlantis. It's been around a while... I still love the game, I just can't play it anymore as it's all about the end game and the low to mid zones are still dead silent. I have heard they're attempting to draw players back into the "classic" zones by revamping them, but it'll take alot to do on Mythic's side... and so far, even after playing characters during a "give us another try for 14 days" thingy, I didn't do much than make sure my houses still existed

~ Jar

 

[Kuzzle]

Vanguard had non-instanced housing. Of course, a game has to be a bit more optimal than Vanguard to pull it off..

As for the stealing from houses.. Wonderful! That would be great. Even if I'm not a thief, I like the idea that a lowly rogue could steal my things while I'm gone if I was not smart enough to put on this highly complex lock that needs these special picks.

I'm not sure I want my stuff stolen. I mean... There are some things that I need even if I don't carry them with me! I can just see it now: Young Rogues will break into newb houses and steal everything, thereby making houses impractical for anyone that can't afford to strap and bolt everything down with uber locks. Lame. 2

It might work, but it'd be a narrow path, for sure.

 

[HJ-Pinnelipe]

I doubt the game would make it hard to protect your things if this were a possibility. However, it would require some thought. I'm willing to go through it even though I'd be a victim because it just...it seems interesting! Realistic, and the mechanics involved would be like a step-up from stealing from a person's pockets.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is it's the possibility that excites me, not the act.

 

[Kuzzle]

I doubt the game would make it hard to protect your things if this were a possibility. However, it would require some thought. I'm willing to go through it even though I'd be a victim because it just...it seems interesting! Realistic, and the mechanics involved would be like a step-up from stealing from a person's pockets.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is it's the possibility that excites me, not the act.

I wonder if full-on house protection could come into play. Like, some types of dwellings could be camouflaged by Rangers, or something. Maybe Rogues could help with thief-proofing your house, by laying traps all around. Warning: Not for use around cats. Necromancers could just make one room smell bad, or something.

 

[Luciro]

Magical traps, mechanical traps, guard dogs, curses, hexes, paint traps that dye the not careful thief blue and therefore allow everyone to know he's been messing up a theft. LoL
I'd love to see it, on both extremes.