[MUD-Dev] Winnable MMO

[Threshold RPG]

On 31 Mar 2003, at 20:08, apollyon wrote:

> SWG, they all have a strong PvP element but none are truly
> winnable.

I think it is unfair to include SWG in any discussion of what games
*have*. The game is not even out yet, and such statements are only
based on press releases and rumor. This may seem like nit picking,
but I think it is dangerous to REWARD vaporware tactics.

> Anarchy Online comes close with its prefabricated story spanning a
> discrete timeline at the end of which they will determine who wins

Sadly, this is nothing more than something they stated in the press
kit. Within a few months of release, the story line was effectively
dumped and now it operates like any other MMO.

> the future of MMOs will likely be paved by the licensing of a
> prefab engine that people can then skin to suit.  Doing so will
> likely reduce production costs substantially.  If production costs
> get low enough, producers will begin taking risks that might
> otherwise never see the light of day.

This would be an extremely positive development in the MMO
world. There would be more variety and every MMO wouldn't be out
there to hit the 500,000 subscriber mark.
 
> Perhaps even an advantage to continuing play once you have
> concluded one conflict.

I think this would be very important. Assume a 50 level max system
and the game resets every 6 months. For every "incarnation" you have
an active account for at least 2 months of it, you can make a
character that already has 10 levels at the start. Thus after a
year, you could make a character that began at level 20. After two
years, level 40. That would probably be the max. Thus you could keep
long time players that would be interested in playing through the
multiple incarnations, as the "level treadmill" would not be as much
of a deterrent.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Hartman, J.D. (http://www.threshold-rpg.com)
President & CEO, Threshold Virtual Environments, Inc.

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