WOW my Xbox 360

[Aphex Demon]

Yeah I asked this question not too long ago, with an open minded opinion though.

Its true that controlling an MMORPG with a controller just wouldnt work. If the producers bundled in a controller (A keyboard and mouse for instance) that would obviously work.

The guy's point isn't so much about console MMOs as it is about playing an MMO with a console control pad. Surely if they bundled a keyboard and mouse with WoW 360 he would have the same issue with the controls.

Considering he stated his inability to use a mouse and keyboard for an MMO, you make a fair point. I think we have ourselves a dilemma.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Yeah I asked this question not too long ago, with an open minded opinion though.

Its true that controlling an MMORPG with a controller just wouldnt work. If the producers bundled in a controller (A keyboard and mouse for instance) that would obviously work.

The guy's point isn't so much about console MMOs as it is about playing an MMO with a console control pad. Surely if they bundled a keyboard and mouse with WoW 360 he would have the same issue with the controls.

Considering he stated his inability to use a mouse and keyboard for an MMO, you make a fair point. I think we have ourselves a dilemma.

Yup. Any MMO designed for use with a controller would either have to be painful to play or incredibly dumbed down.

 

[Aphex Demon]

Yeah I asked this question not too long ago, with an open minded opinion though.

Its true that controlling an MMORPG with a controller just wouldnt work. If the producers bundled in a controller (A keyboard and mouse for instance) that would obviously work.

The guy's point isn't so much about console MMOs as it is about playing an MMO with a console control pad. Surely if they bundled a keyboard and mouse with WoW 360 he would have the same issue with the controls.

Considering he stated his inability to use a mouse and keyboard for an MMO, you make a fair point. I think we have ourselves a dilemma.

Yup. Any MMO designed for use with a controller would either have to be painful to play or incredibly dumbed down.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

When this sort of thread pops up and people say "It wouldn't work", I tend to believe that their notion is the result of some arbitrary idea of how an interface for an MMO ought to work.

If the problem is one of interface, then there is obviously a solution that involves using a different interface. Sure, problems arise any time you just try and transition from one input mechanism to another without fundamentally altering both the interface and game mechanics.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

well done, you've just repeated something memebers have said for years,and with bad grammer, no less.

If you're going to be an asshole to a new member and criticise his grammar, you might want to check your own terrible spelling and grammar first.

Yeah, navigating through complex menus is so much more interesting on a controller. You think it will be easier to "figure out how to play the damn thing" on a console? Check again, my friend.

You could have just been nice and disagreed amicably, but no.

I'm not surprised new people get scared off the forum these days.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

When this sort of thread pops up and people say "It wouldn't work", I tend to believe that their notion is the result of some arbitrary idea of how an interface for an MMO ought to work.

If the problem is one of interface, then there is obviously a solution that involves using a different interface. Sure, problems arise any time you just try and transition from one input mechanism to another without fundamentally altering both the interface and game mechanics.

When someone basically says "I want to play MMOs as I see them on PC with my Xbox controller on my Xbox," of course the apt comparison will arrive. Frankly there's not anything you can't fix by tweaking and fixing and innovating, but we're talking like cramming keyboard commands onto a gamepad. I mean I don't play MMOs at all, but I can totally see where these responses are coming from - considering the question.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

When this sort of thread pops up and people say "It wouldn't work", I tend to believe that their notion is the result of some arbitrary idea of how an interface for an MMO ought to work.

If the problem is one of interface, then there is obviously a solution that involves using a different interface. Sure, problems arise any time you just try and transition from one input mechanism to another without fundamentally altering both the interface and game mechanics.

When someone basically says "I want to play MMOs as I see them on PC with my Xbox controller on my Xbox," of course the apt comparison will arrive. Frankly there's not anything you can't fix by tweaking and fixing and innovating, but we're talking like cramming keyboard commands onto a gamepad. I mean I don't play MMOs at all, but I can totally see where these responses are coming from - considering the question.

I understand where they're coming from as well. It just seems that the natural response to this sort of thing is always a knee jerk response of "that won't work". And these responses tend to be hilariously wrong. People thought the DS' interface was a gimmick and last I checked it was the dominate hand-held gaming device. People long assumed you could never really do justice to an FPS without a mouse and Keyboard and yet most people play them with game pads these days.

The only thing concrete about an MMORPG is that it must be played with many people concurrently and it must have some element of character customization and growth. The basic form on an MMO today is derived from text based MUDs. The obvious solution to the problem is to have an interface based upon active input from the player rather than relying on a long list of discrete abilities.

 

[Rayansaki]

i mean whats wrong with a controller and a menu button it works so much easier

Hahahahahaha. No.

Consoles have to bastardize any menu systems to a list-based format to compensate for the controller's limitations. Simply put, pointing and clicking is much easier than hitting the analog stick downwards a million times.

Second, keyboards have 100+ buttons. 90% of them can be used for hotkeys. You get around 15 buttons on a controller overall, most of them are used for walking, turning and interacting.

So yeah, you can see why it's been really hard to make console-based MMOs.


did i mention typing

To be fair, good console rpgs get around the fact it has lower button number with combinations. on DC universe you can either press triangle circle x square, or R2 + press, or L2 + press, efficiently giving you 12 hotkeys with 6 buttons. They could even use the dpad to expand on that, creating up to 24 keys with 10 buttons, while keeping L1, R1, L3, R3, and the analog sticks for movement, interaction, jumping, etc, and that's more hotkeys than most PC gamers use.

 

[TheTaco007]

The Secret World is an MMO for the 360, and it looks friggin awesome. (Too bad it probably won't come out for another year.)

 

[The Wykydtron]

Yeah if there's gonna be a successful console MMO, there needs to be a new type of interface, cuz the WOW type really wouldn't work. If a good new interface was developed i see no reason why a console MMO wouldn't work

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Communication in MMOs is also key. Typing in commands, text, looking for items through search bars.

Unless you buy a keyboard for your xbox (which seems redundant) or one of those MSN accessories for the controller, have fun clicking every single character out with the thumbstick.

Well seeing as how every single 360 comes with a head set for free I can't see that being an issue.

 

[Danik93]

DCUO Is coming for console and TotalBiscuit said that the console controls are pretty neat.

 

[Skarovich]

An all out button-fest like WoW? No. Highly unlikely to ever happen. But a more action-orientated MMORPG? Something akin to Oblivion/Fallout 3, Conan (That was fairly simple control wise, wasn't it? I don't remember much in the way of a toolbar), or Vindictus even. Sure. I could see it happening.

The main problem that I see that you'd run into with traditional MMORPGs such as WoW is how many god damned buttons you need to use all your abilities in the toolbar. That, and communication, which is covered by using a mic or those silly gamepad-keyboards. Gameboards? Wait, no... Keypads? Dammit...

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I think everyone saying that hotkeys are a major issue should look at Sacred 2. Abilities/Spells are on the face buttons. Press R2/RT and got to the next set of hotkeyed abilities/spells. Same goes for L2/LT. Poitions can be hotkeyed to the d-pad and when a potion is used the game stick in another potion of the same thing if you have anymore in your inventory. Up on the d pad is the characters class specific ability.

It's the guys first post and he's greeted by pessimistic people and PC elitists. Can no one disagree an a less negative manner anymore?

 

[AndyRock]

snip

I understand where they're coming from as well. It just seems that the natural response to this sort of thing is always a knee jerk response of "that won't work". And these responses tend to be hilariously wrong. People thought the DS' interface was a gimmick and last I checked it was the dominate hand-held gaming device. People long assumed you could never really do justice to an FPS without a mouse and Keyboard and yet most people play them with game pads these days.

The only thing concrete about an MMORPG is that it must be played with many people concurrently and it must have some element of character customization and growth. The basic form on an MMO today is derived from text based MUDs. The obvious solution to the problem is to have an interface based upon active input from the player rather than relying on a long list of discrete abilities.

I agree that there are different ways that an MMO could evolve to work on a controller, I've got to go to class in a moment, so I'm not really going to elaborate right now.

 

[Hazard12]

Both DC Universe Online and Final Fantasy XIV will be on the PS3. I think it's something that's starting to be considered, and will come about in time, and of course it will work, I think it just needs to be, as with everything moving to a console, reworked a bit. I'm sure this idea has happened with every genre that started on the PC (i.e. every genre I believe), that the PC is the *only* way it could work, but when it becomes feasible, smooth and most of all marketable on consoles, it will happen. And hopefully everyone will find something for them.

 

[Neko Pounce]

well done, you've just repeated something memebers have said for years,and with bad grammer, no less.

*members, grammar. Stones, glass houses and so forth.

Yeah, That's fair. I'll be a good sport about it.

OP: I'm sorry for being so mean and childish.

 

[ramboondiea]

an argument about communication is fruitless as pretty much every console either comes with a headset or headset compatible.
and ab argument about not enough keys can is bunk. an example that comes to mind is castlevania order of eccalasia (yeah i know thats probably spelled wrong), you could have upto 9 different abilities at any one time and they were just organised into sets which were easy to shift between,
applying that to a pad would be even easier, look at the xbox, lets say the two analogs are movement and camera, then lets assign A to the "interact key" this leaves 3 buttons a d-pad and all shoulders, so if the skills are set to the d-pad then thats four sets with a skill applied to X,Y,B. so thats upto 12 skills right there, without even using the shoulder buttons,

so really there isnt anything really stopping a mmo from going to a console over then people automatically dismissing it because it "wont work"

 

[Woodsey]

Hotkeys are a must in MMOs (as of now at any rate).

I don't know how you guys put up with wheels in normal RPGs.

 

[Rayansaki]

Hotkeys are a must in MMOs (as of now at any rate).

I don't know how you guys put up with wheels in normal RPGs.

DC Universe has no wheels, and isn't even utilizing a good number of buttons on the controller, despite having a great number of hotkeys. It's all about working around the problem.