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Thread: The engineering strategy of an MMORPG and how JTL breaks all the rules (my its refreshing too)
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imperial_pawn
Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:00 am
#1
The economic architecture that this world is fundamentally built on is quiet effeciently sumised in one phrase - "Free Market". Hence the driving goal of all enterprises founded in that architecture is profit. A company funding an MMORPG is no exception. So in the shadow of that logic we can turn and look at the motivations and goals that SOE has hoped to gain from this virtural venture. Again, profit.
Inits hunger for profit, Soe has molded this games design to fit that goal. Time is money.... This common phrase has application in the realm of gaming as well, our time is there money. So in essence, this game has from the start been designed to consume time, multi-million dollar weapons and large virtual corperations are a result.
From my brief experience with JTL,I have recognised what seems to be a shift in the usual pattern. There are no (pardon my french) "leet" weapons that require millions of credits and countless hours of gameplay to aquire. In the past these unbalancing items have swung the course of common gamplay to severly handicapp the casual gamer. Jump to Lightspeed seems to simply require a moderatly resourceful player and good hand-eye coordination to create a worthy opponent.
So after dilligent thought and review I have cometo congradulate SOE. Not only for their visually stunning game but also the apparent thought that went into this current addition to the StarWars galaxy. They have taken a game that steeply catered to the "hardcore" gamer and added, at least in part, an element for others to enjoy. So i implore you, SOE, developers, management, continue with this current stategy in game design. When the infamous Combat Balance comes out keep to the mindset that simplicity is enjoyable, and create a game that is not only fun to play for all breeds of gamers but profitable as well.
Again Congradulations
Message Edited by imperial_pawn on 11-01-2004 09:02 AM
Ivet
Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:15 am
#3
It's a good, postive post :-P
But there IS loot that is significantly better than a lot of other stuff:
See my 92.2 top speed engine, and my 42.5 regeneration capacitor :-)
But there IS loot that is significantly better than a lot of other stuff:
See my 92.2 top speed engine, and my 42.5 regeneration capacitor :-)
imperial_pawn
Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:18 am
#4
well as i said i have had limited experience with JTL but it seems even the best components would have not too great an effect on balance issues... 2 compitent players would (it seems) always win against one.
Ivet
Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:19 am
#5
Yeah that's a good point -> as long as they're on an even level (and not retarded either :-P)
Joukahainen
Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:15 am
#8
Ivet wrote:
It's a good, postive post :-P
But there IS loot that is significantly better than a lot of other stuff:
See my 92.2 top speed engine, and my 42.5 regeneration capacitor :-)
But, you have to admit, that this loot isn't all that difficult to get. I consider myself somewhere in between casual and hardcore in my gaming style and I'm finding JTL definitely "doable" if not easy. So far it's much easier than it was in beta. I'm guessing that they toned things down a bit shortly before release.
imperial_pawn
Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:32 am
#9
even as you mention thatjtl may be easy it is not a 'bad' easy. The game seems to allow a casual player (as well as a harcoreone)not have to devote lots of time to compete in pvp. This createsa genuinely enjoyable experience whithout a lot of overhead. Easy dosent mean boring... i will definatly will be returning to the game for quite a long time. Thats all the dev's desire.
Broog
Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:58 am
#10
Good post.
I definitely like that they made JTL a "twitch" game. If that was not their plan I would not have purchased it and, since I detest the ground game completely, would have canceled a couple of months ago (which is when I stopped playing, just waiting for JTL).
JTL I hated at first but I am warming up to it a bit. I hate the fact that I still have to go to ground for stuff (the newbie missions) but then I completed my first duty mission and was able to stay in space for awhile and I slaughtered wave after wave after wave of TIEs. That was fun.
Sadly I can see where that would get completely boring after a time.
What I had hoped, and what I still hope is in store for the high-end JTL content (if there is any), is some sort of story arc that would integrate the ground and space game. I don't know if this exists because I did not do JTL beta and have not played much since JTL released.
The Cries of Alderaan story arc (btw did they ever do another story arc? wasnt the plan to have 1 episode a month and 3 episodes to a story arc? Lets see game came out June 26 2003 its now November 1 2004 so we should be in the 3rd chapter of the 5th stroy arc by now) was quite fun. It wasn't too hard the first 2parts (was so long ago I dont even remember what I had to do) but the third one I thought was awesome. It was challenging enough, that final part, that a lot of people could not solo it successfully. Fortunately during my Jedi grind I was master Commando at the time before they nerfed FT so it was hard but doable. Anyway it was a fun experience with a little bit of storyline that, for a second, made me feel like I was in the Star Wars Universe.
I am hopeful that at some point there are standalone missions where you have to fly and dock with a space station and talk to someone there, who needs you to get something from a planet to build something else... not exactly like that but just some story-related mission where you need to do a lot of stuff in space and need to do a few things on the ground as well. That, to me, would make it feel like Star Wars.
dezi
Mon Nov 01, 2004 12:27 pm
#11
Good post, and i agree. I think even the most jaded players can agree that this game still has huge potential, and im hoping now that JTL is out, and they have a chance to fix some core ground game systems, some more of that potential will be seen. Truly integrating the ground game with space will have some really cool aspects, both in quests, and also with the GCW. Having a space component, say destorying a player ship or station (future thoughts here) in order to make a player base vulnerable on the ground, etc. Maybe im just feeling optimistic, but i think it'll be a really good year for ol' SWG. Provided they get those core issues dealt with properly.
Coran_Sienar
Mon Nov 01, 2004 12:46 pm
#13
I especially like the Reverse Engineering that allows Shipwrights to be able to use looted items. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
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