Hello all! (I know large posts are kinda discouraging to read but stick with me ;-) )
Iv been checking PlaneShift on and off for around a year now, but recently i realized that you said that its going to be
free, this is the moment i realized that someone finally realized the formula to creating a truly great MMORPG community. Im a serious veteran RPG player, iv finished every finally fantasy and every other RPG for the SNES, i also MUD a lot. I just wanted to give you guys my opinion, from experience, what makes a good MMORPG that will keep people into it. So what makes a text based RPG even remotely stand-able? The sheer amount of, well, things.
DragonSwords is a good example of a MUD that just has an infinite amount of items to mess with and so many skills and jobs that you really could never get bored if you can stand the reading. If in PS there were say 20 different sword models, but 100 different types of swords, and people were aware of this, it would give the player the feeling of an unending world, where there is always something better to try to attain. Another trait of a good MMORPG (and this may just be me) is the appearance of those who have a huge amount of power. In my opinion, it should be clear that a level 99 Dark Swordsmen is as powerful as he is by little nuances like flaming swords and golden armor ;-). Aside from tons of quests (which is usually a given), there should always be a level higher for the average player. The infamous
Nexus TK takes this idea to another level with their il san and sam san system where there are levels to attain after 99. Another thing i would exercise extreme caution against is ever sacrificing graphics for playability. Put away those flame-throwers :O, all I\'m saying is that a game does not have to look like
Shenmue to be a great game. I say this after finishing over 30 console RPGs and realizing that if a game had a never-ending supply of items and jobs and skills that it could look like FF5 for all i care. Now, i realize that I\'m an extreme case, but, like all of life, somewhere in the middle lies the truth ;-). Now, for my last point i think i should put on this flame retardant suit before i mention it... PVP. Iv heard it mentioned on this board that there will be no PVP. I can completely understand the reasons behind this, but i have give my opinion since i think that its one of the things that makes playing an MMORPG fun at higher levels. I can understand that one would not want a xkillalln00bsx, a level 86 Ultima Daemon running around killing little level 6 fighters. This is why one should be able to start a PVP if both parties agree and should only be able to attack those who are of greater level than he/she, or some system of the sort (so that a level 6 xkillalln00bsx could attempt to attack a level 60 character and be disassembled down to his very last carbon particle). This is only an example, I\'m just a firm believer in the fact that PVP adds an un-emulatable facet to any multiplayer game. These are all just little suggestions because i do have great faith in PS becoming the driving force in open-source MMORPGs.
PS. Im a mac user so please!! an OS X client ;( ::cries::
