Personally, I''ve never really played any MMORPG''s but that sounds like a great idea. The only problem I see, which you already mentioned, is finding servers. Someone would have to setup a server just for there friends. Which that''s not that big of a deal for geeks and the game would rock at places like college where everyone''s connected but could be bad for regular gamers. But I suppose someone(you or a 3rd party) and setup servers for a fee for them...

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Original post by Symphonic
Makeshiftwings: you''re so right, Stupid Money... the whole point is that I would love to create this and let people do what they like with it after buying it . What I know of NWN is that you can save and load a quest you play with other players, but I really do mean perpetual, in the sense that you invite a bunch of players and any of them play whenever they like, making it a little more chaotic (chaos is important to me).

Of course there may be severe limitations in the matter of who can host a game (since they would have to set up a dedicated server just so a bunch of their friends get to play). And there''s also the matter of not guaranteeing any one person who owns a copy of the client can find a game to play (which is why I previously suggested the client be free and the server liscences be paid for).

Much to ponder...

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You should definitely check out NWN. It''s already doing a lot of what you''re wondering about, so even if you don''t buy it, i''d reccommend checking out their website ( nwn.bioware.com ) and maybe some websites of the bigger persistent worlds ( www.avlis.org is a good example ), just to get ideas.

NWN does require players to figure out their own way to get a dedicated host, but a lot of them seem to be doing ok with it. Most run on donations from players, since it''s illegal for player-run servers to actually charge money. Also, all the servers show up through NWN''s game spy lobby (they have different lobbies for different types of games, ie "Persistent World", "Action Only", "Story Module"...). Another cool feature of NWN is the Portal system, which basically lets two or more player-run servers set up "portals" to another server. Avlis, for instance, uses portals to connect all 6 of their main servers (to distribute player load out across different lands), and also to connect to completely different worlds run by other DMs that join their coalition.

I think it would be great for another game using the NWN-style player-owned worlds came out. I was planning on working on something similar in a few months after I get some current projects done. I think it might require a lot of indie development though, since if you tried to pitch it to a big publisher, all they might hear is "It''s just like a MMORPG, except we don''t get to charge a monthly fee!", since publishers tend to be hard of hearing when it comes to money Still, the success of NWN and its expansion packs shows that it can be done.

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Original post by Symphonic
And there''s also the matter of not guaranteeing any one person who owns a copy of the client can find a game to play (which is why I previously suggested the client be free and the server liscences be paid for).

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You''d be going against the wisdom gleaned by, for example, the UT team. Their server is free precisely because it''s so hard to get servers running your game in the first place.

just a thought,
ld

you''re right ld, I was thinking about that earlier and realized how dumb it looks the way I put it...

nwn it is, I''ll have a good look at it and see what I think

eve sucks, i start off, mine enough to buy another weapon, chase after another newbie who just quits when i fire at them

This is a good idea but not original; others have thought of it, as have I. The thing is, you''re not describing an MMOG, you''re describing a multiplayer game. Specifically an RPG/adventure. But not only is this a good idea, it''s infinitely more feasible for independents than a full-fledged MMOG.

My extension of the idea was to allow everyone to hang out in persistent towns, so the towns are massively multiplayer, but the general gameworld is not. When adventuring through the gameworld, it functions like an RPG by having lots of NPCs -- NPC enemies, NPC friends, NPC neutrals.

~CGameProgrammer( );

_{-- Post screenshots of your projects. 100+ posts already in the archives.}

That sounds like Phantasy Star Online to an extent, with the town being equivelent to the starting chat area that you can walk around and talk to people in.

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Original post by Symphonic
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My idea is thus: a Mini-MOG is a game where you can create an instance of the world, invite five or ten friends to create characters in it and then adventure as a small tightly knit group who do their thing in a perpetual world.

The main impetus for creating it is that so many MMOGs want to give the impression that every player is a great adventurer, but you don''t feel so great when every other person you interact with is also a great adventurer.
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Thats the basic concept of Mistlands, a Online RPG the team i''m part of is working on. Have a look at our website . Not much in way of design docs yet :/.


VoidD
Mistlands