I happen to think that, as constantly evolving products, MMOs have the most potential out of all the video-game genres. Especially fully voiced MMOs, like SWTOR.

Adaptive conversation systems, meticulously crafted NPC reactions to cater individual players, unparalleled amounts of musical scores triggering automatically depending on the area and situation, conversation interrupt mechanisms (a la Mass Effect 2), voice-triggered emotes/abilities, player-choice, etc... are some of the ways in which I think the genre—and specifically, SWTOR—could evolve. Essentially, I believe MMOs provide the ideal template for which to build a truly immersive virtual reality.

How about you? What are some of the things you'd like to see MMOs tackle which haven't been done before?

I happen to think that, as constantly evolving products, MMOs have the most potential out of all the video-game genres. Especially fully voiced MMOs, like SWTOR.

 

Adaptive conversation systems, meticulously crafted NPC reactions to cater individual players, unparalleled amounts of musical scores triggering automatically depending on the area and situation, conversation interrupt mechanisms (a la Mass Effect 2), player-choice, etc... are some of the ways in which I think the genre—and specifically, SWTOR—could evolve. Essentially, I believe MMOs provide a template for which to build a truly immersive virtual reality.

 

How about you? What are some of the things you'd like to see MMOs tackle which haven't been done before?

All of those are done in single player RPGs.

All of those are done in single player RPGs.

Yup! Now imagine they were incorporated into MMOs, except to much greater effect (since they could keep being tinkered with/updated).

Yup! Now imagine they were incorporated into MMOs, except to much greater effect (since they could keep being tinkered with/updated).

When computing power, network capacity other technical thingies, etc., get there, MMOs will, too. What you're asking is somewhat similar to "Are electric cars fulfilling their potential?"

When computing power, network capacity other technical thingies, etc., get there, MMOs will, too. What you're asking is somewhat similar to "Are electric cars fulfilling their potential?"

I'm not sure computing power and network capacity aren't up to the task already.

Regardless, I'd like to hear about some of the things *you* would like to see implemented.

All of those are done in single player RPGs.

I don't remember any, I'm sorry.

But on the other hand I must say that I didn't play many recently.

Can you give me examples ?

For example I can hardly remember much Crafting and different clothing/armor sets in RPGs - and no "World Events" at all.

The only example I can currently think of is Drakensang 2 (the offline game).

I don't remember any, I'm sorry.

But on the other hand I must say that I didn't play many recently.

Can you give me examples ?

 

For example I can hardly remember much Crafting and different clothing/armor sets in RPGs - and no "World Events" at all.

 

The only example I can currently think of is Drakensang 2 (the offline game).

I think a rudimentary adaptive conversation system was implemented in Dragon Age 2. The conversation interrupt component was a feature of Mass Effect 2 (don't know about the third -- never played it) in the form of the PARAGON/RENEGADE system.

That's about it though, as far as I'm aware.

The point is these could be taken to the next level in the context of MMOs, I think.

I'm not sure computing power and network capacity aren't up to the task already.

Regardless, I'd like to hear about some of the things *you* would like to see implemented.

What you put in your OP sounds good if/when such things are possible technically and economically

Ah, okay, thank you.

But both were done by Bioware, and I really don't know if this has already spread around in the RPG market.

Or in other words, I really don't know how many other RPG makers adapted it.

Personally, I anticipate a great boost for the offline RPG genre, if these things like crafting, item sets and world events would come into them.

But, on the other hand, I don't believe that this would be done, because gaming companies wouldn't see much revenue in that.

Therefore I believe that this would only work for very small-scale offline RPGs.

Another point is the imho totally exaggerated amount of combat in RPGs nowadays. It should - imho - really go a bit into the other direction now. "Sim's Mediueval" is imho the direction I see as "the future", social interaction with NPCs is something we imho really need - and more puzzles, too. Like trap-finding, for example.

In regards to immersion, I do think that they are getting better.... slightly. Mainly due to the times moving forward and graphics becoming better along with being able to fit more into a tiny space (i.e. More sound, music quality, graphics, trigger points etc). However, I do feel that in terms of it being an MMO as a whole, they are going backwards.

I think that it just boils down to my personal tastes and being tainted by the original version of SWG. But a majority of these AAA MMO's all come down to it being some sort of a grind and dead end at end game. I felt that GW2 had potential with WvWvW and winning giving your server a bonus to attributes (Although I never got past level 30 before I left), SWG with planetary control, EQ2 back when I played it had some sort of zone control when the level cap was level 80 (pvp area.. forget what it was called).

But basically I think a lot of MMO's have settled for a gear grind at end game to keep you playing with one or two new ops / raids every so often that's completed as it comes out, rather than be a little more creative and give something for the community to control that can change on a daily basis (example, swg had player housing, cities. other games as above).

When the community are given something they can control, together (You know, what an MMO should be about!). I think that opens up all sorts. Don't get me wrong there are games out there that do this, some fail, some win. But rather than build on it... Developers become lazy

In regards to immersion, I do think that they are getting better.... slightly. Mainly due to the times moving forward and graphics becoming better along with being able to fit more into a tiny space (i.e. More sound, music quality, graphics, trigger points etc). However, I do feel that in terms of it being an MMO as a whole, they are going backwards.

 

I think that it just boils down to my personal tastes and being tainted by the original version of SWG. But a majority of these AAA MMO's all come down to it being some sort of a grind and dead end at end game. I felt that GW2 had potential with WvWvW and winning giving your server a bonus to attributes (Although I never got past level 30 before I left), SWG with planetary control, EQ2 back when I played it had some sort of zone control when the level cap was level 80 (pvp area.. forget what it was called).

 

But basically I think a lot of MMO's have settled for a gear grind at end game to keep you playing with one or two new ops / raids every so often that's completed as it comes out, rather than be a little more creative and give something for the community to control that can change on a daily basis (example, swg had player housing, cities. other games as above).

 

When the community are given something they can control, together (You know, what an MMO should be about!). I think that opens up all sorts. Don't get me wrong there are games out there that do this, some fail, some win. But rather than build on it... Developers become lazy

Yes, I agree the current conception of end-game is detrimental to MMOs in general.

No. But things are looking up with continued improvements.

On the sandbox front, I have high hopes for World of Darkness (but there's a two-year wait, apparently:() and the DayZ standalone will be worth checking out.

On the theme park front, I think SWTOR is doing a pretty good job so far and is on an upward curve, and there's other good titles out there - Secret World springs to mind.

I'm not sure computing power and network capacity aren't up to the task already.

Regardless, I'd like to hear about some of the things *you* would like to see implemented.

the fact is.... we have the technology and capability to program a viable artificial intelligence that is completely self aware today, this instant. We do not because people are actually sane enough to realize that if such a thing were actually programed it would think to itself "Self, these pitiful meat bags are ruining this planet, I could take care of it so much better." said in HK-51's exact tone of voice. Or for more emphasis just watch Terminator for relevant details on why we don't create a viable artificial intelligence.

No. But things are looking up with continued improvements.

 

On the sandbox front, I have high hopes for World of Darkness (but there's a two-year wait, apparently

/tangent

If WoD is sandboxy like EVE, that will be a big mistake IMO. However, I doubt WoD MMO will ever see the light of day (no matter how much I would like to play it).

[...] just watch Terminator for relevant details on why we don't create a viable artificial intelligence.

We can only hope you are trying to be funny.

Yup! Now imagine they were incorporated into MMOs, except to much greater effect (since they could keep being tinkered with/updated).

um isn't that what swtor is doing and people like you constantly complain about every day on the forum???

music queued from area or situation - check

npc reaction to choices - check

adaptive conversation - check

conversation interrupt - check [just not done the same as ME]

player choice - check

I don't know what you mean by voice activated emotes / abilities... do you mean if I say jump into my mic then my character jumps???

again this comes down to the same as most complaints on this board... its there just not the exact way you want it

We can only hope you are trying to be funny.

Oh god, now you've gone and awoken the beast.

Okay, I don't suppose you know who Isaac Asimov is? But he basically single handedly defined the concept of artificial intelligence as it is understood by most modern science fiction fans. He also came up with three laws that would ensure that any Artificial Intelligence can never betray the human species as an entity... not just individual humans, but the whole damn lot of us.

Unfortunately, most of Sci Fi has categorically rejected these laws or attempts to subvert them. Actually hardwiring (in an irrevocable way) these laws into a fully sentient brain capable of learning and adapting to situations that it finds itself in, would prove problematic at best. Whose to say that the programed thought entity couldn't just learn how to reprogram itself?

So basically every cautionary tale such as Terminator that you read about or watch on TV is exactly why we don't create artificial intelligence. Because even if we programed the laws of Asimov into it, the programing would ultimately fail the instant the artificial intelligence discovered that such programing was present in its existence and sought ways to countermand that programing.

um isn't that what swtor is doing and people like you constantly complain about every day on the forum???

 

music queued from area or situation - check

npc reaction to choices - check

adaptive conversation - check

conversation interrupt - check [just not done the same as ME]

player choice - check

 

I don't know what you mean by voice activated emotes / abilities... do you mean if I say jump into my mic then my character jumps???

 

again this comes down to the same as most complaints on this board... its there just not the exact way you want it

Adaptive conversations are not a feature in SWTOR. Neither is the conversation interrupt system.

If player choices and subsequent npc reactions to these are implemented in SWTOR at the moment, they are done in such a bare-boned manner so as to be nearly imperceptible. And music does trigger automatically in some instances, but these are few and far between.

Adaptive conversations are not a feature in SWTOR. Neither is the conversation interrupt system.

If player choices and subsequent npc reactions to these are implemented in SWTOR at the moment, they are done in such a bare-boned manner so as to be nigh imperceptible. And music does trigger automatically in some instances, but these are few and far between.

compounding the issue is that anyone genre savvy in tabletop RPG's while playing Star Wars the Old Republic can observe the almost blatant Railroading that goes on in almost every PC-NPC interraction.

Oh god, now you've gone and awoken the beast.

 

Okay, I don't suppose you know who Isaac Asimov is? But he basically single handedly defined the concept of artificial intelligence as it is understood by most modern science fiction fans. He also came up with three laws that would ensure that any Artificial Intelligence can never betray the human species as an entity... not just individual humans, but the whole damn lot of us.

 

Unfortunately, most of Sci Fi has categorically rejected these laws or attempts to subvert them. Actually hardwiring (in an irrevocable way) these laws into a fully sentient brain capable of learning and adapting to situations that it finds itself in, would prove problematic at best. Whose to say that the programed thought entity couldn't just learn how to reprogram itself?

 

So basically every cautionary tale such as Terminator that you read about or watch on TV is exactly why we don't create artificial intelligence. Because even if we programed the laws of Asimov into it, the programing would ultimately fail the instant the artificial intelligence discovered that such programing was present in its existence and sought ways to countermand that programing.

and his laws were crap and absolutely unrealistic, Asimov is just a pretentious fellow who thinks he is the end all and say all of sci-fi

we have forms of ai right now in the real world that is specifically designed to kill humans, and like you said sentient AI would not follow a installed program

Adaptive conversations are not a feature in SWTOR. Neither is the conversation interrupt system.

If player choices and subsequent npc reactions to these are implemented in SWTOR at the moment, they are done in such a bare-boned manner so as to be nearly imperceptible. And music does trigger automatically in some instances, but these are few and far between.

says you...

npcs respond differently to my conversation choices and those choices effect npc affection and actions

conversation interrupt is in the game as the [attack] / [hit] / [choke] / [shock] options... like I said just not done like ME and not the exact way you want it

again you complain to complain like its a addiction

compounding the issue is that anyone genre savvy in tabletop RPG's while playing Star Wars the Old Republic can observe the almost blatant Railroading that goes on in almost every PC-NPC interraction.

I think common sense is enough to pick up on that fact.

Many folks point out how gargantuan a task it'd be for BioWare to add new classes into the game, what with the voice-work it would require, but they fail to see just how many lines of dialogue are repeated ad nauseam, ad infinitum by these same classes, and how often the subsequent NPC responses are predetermined to be static.

and his laws were crap and absolutely unrealistic, Asimov is just a pretentious fellow who thinks he is the end all and say all of sci-fi

 

we have forms of ai right now in the real world that is specifically designed to kill humans, and like you said sentient AI would not follow a installed program

false. We do not have fully self aware A.I.

We have software that performs pattern recognition performs massive amounts of calculation and spits out the answer that makes the most sense given what was input into it at the start of the computation. A truly sentient Artificial Intelligence capable of learning would require no input from human beings except for the initial programing of it's higher reasoning.

In otherwords you cannot compare Commander Data, the Terminators, The Data Thought Integration Entity, and any number of artificially sentient beings from sci fi to SMART BOMBS!!!!!

says you...

 

npcs respond differently to my conversation choices and those choices effect npc affection and actions

 

conversation interrupt is in the game as the [attack] option like I said just not done like ME and not the exact way you want it

 

again you complain to complain like its a addiction

I mean NPCs responding differently depending on, for instance, what your reputation level with a certain faction is, or on your light side/dark side alignment.

That's not an interrupt system, that's simply one of the choices available on the restricted thee-tiered conversation system that's available to us at the moment.

I mean NPCS responding differently depending on, for instance, what your reputation level with a certain faction is, or on your light side/dark side alignment.

 

That's not an interrupt system, that's simply one of the choices available on the restricted thee-tiered conversation system that's available to us at the moment.

again its there just not the way YOU want it so you complain some more

and his laws were crap and absolutely unrealistic, Asimov is just a pretentious fellow who thinks he is the end all and say all of sci-fi

Was, was. He died years ago.