Would you play an MMORPG in the spirit of classic EQ?

[cbozeman]

Originally Posted by sox7d [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

New world but same characteristics such as:
-No maps
-No random stat loot
-No "kill 10 <monster>" quests
-Non-linear dungeons
-Difficult soloability
-No instancing
-Tradeskills mostly a commercial decision
-Large, occasionally barren landscape.

I don't really feel strongly about things other than old-school MMORPGs. I'm done with college, wondering if I should dedicate myself to what I'm most passionate about, but want to check how marketable it is to this community first. Minecraft comes to mind with a lot of the "immersive" aspects of EQ, I'm curious if another EQ could be successful, too.

Okay, so it depends on where you would decide to take this.

No maps? That won't fly today, not even with most old school hardcore players. What I'd recommend is making Mapmaking a tradeskill. Once someone has completely explored a zone, they can craft a map of that zone and sell it to players. Once players scribe the map into their atlas (have some real fun with this, make the atlas a quested consumable item that unlocks a minimap and the ability to add more maps), they can then see a large view of the map, and a minimap appears in their interface.

I don't really care for the "Do something X amount of times" quests either, so I wouldn't be sad to see them go.

Non-linear dungeons are a great idea, and I've always loved them. Explore where you want, when you want.

Difficult, but not impossible to solo, that's the key.

If you're going to have a lack of instancing, then you'll need a huge amount of content to keep everyone happy.

I think tradeskills should enhance a game and be a desirable gameplay choice, not an afterthought. Although EQ's tradeskill system was rather robust if you think about it, especially for 1999.

[Jimjam]

Originally Posted by cbozeman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Okay, so it depends on where you would decide to take this.

No maps? That won't fly today, not even with most old school hardcore players. What I'd recommend is making Mapmaking a tradeskill. Once someone has completely explored a zone, they can craft a map of that zone and sell it to players. Once players scribe the map into their atlas (have some real fun with this, make the atlas a quested consumable item that unlocks a minimap and the ability to add more maps), they can then see a large view of the map, and a minimap appears in their interface.

I don't really care for the "Do something X amount of times" quests either, so I wouldn't be sad to see them go.

Non-linear dungeons are a great idea, and I've always loved them. Explore where you want, when you want.

Difficult, but not impossible to solo, that's the key.

If you're going to have a lack of instancing, then you'll need a huge amount of content to keep everyone happy.

I think tradeskills should enhance a game and be a desirable gameplay choice, not an afterthought. Although EQ's tradeskill system was rather robust if you think about it, especially for 1999.

Totally what I was going to suggest regarding maps. I'd probably add in the ability to buy 'official' maps through microtransactions (boooo!). Everyone will say the official maps suck and use the player made ones instead [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.].