Happy Medium: WoW/SWTOR & Eve

[Odd Owl]

I've been reading up on SWTOR and, while it looks like a fun game, I must admit that I'm a little disappointed that it seems to be a WoW clone, at least with regards to its MMO mechanics. It's a theme-part, much like WoW. This is very different from earlier MMOs like UO, Asheron's Call, and the only modern sandbox MMO I know of, Eve.

There is a certain charm in these sandbox games since they do what cannot be done in single-player games. They create a living virtual world. The closest thing we've got in the single-player market now are the Elder Scrolls games.

But these sandbox games aren't perfect either. For all its granduer and freedom, Eve can also be aptly described as slow. Some players may like the amount of time investment it takes to fly a carrier or conduct a full-scale war. But others just don't have that kind of time or patience. And yet, their only recourse is to linear, theme-park MMOs. Why is it that these are essentially the only two options available at this time? Is there a reason why no one has stepped up to claim the middleground by creating a comparatively intuitive, fast-paced sandbox MMO? Or am I overlooking an example of exactly the game that I'm talking about?

Or maybe GW2 will claim that territory.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I think people are starting to expect too much from GW2, to be honest. At the rate expectations are spiraling up, it's going to be a crashing disappointment to a lot of people. It's not remotely a sandbox.

 

[isometry]

The reason EVE got to be the way it is, it was one of the very few MMOs that was able to start off small and grow over time (growth in terms of subscribers, and in terms of development - not just "content updates" but reinvesting profits back into the game to fundamentally improve it). Things like fully re-writing the graphics engine multiple times, to grow from cheap indie graphics to the triple A graphics they have now, adding whole new types of gameplay etc. (I haven't played it in years, I'm not speaking as a fan, that's just the factual history).

Other companies have tried to repeat the success, but what happens is that their subscriber base peaks at launch, people complain the game is incomplete and it turns into a ghost-town, so the developers never make a profit and can't improve the game. Usually these attempts at sandboxes are PvP based, like EVE, because PvP is cheaper than producing content. The games launch buggy, with minimal features, hoping to attract a dedicated community that grows over time, and it just doesn't happen.

One fantasy sandbox that came close (but no cigar), is Darkfall. Another is Mortal Online (bit of a trainwreck, that one). Another one that hasn't launched yet is Xyson, they started taking pre-orders "to support development" over a year and a half ago, but the game is still in beta and development is slower than promised.