Atari/Cryptic's Neverwinter Online

[Pfold]

Those screenies look really cool. If those were gameshots and not cinematics I would be really, really impressed.

Rule sets pretty much wouldn't affect me. I mean I've played Pool of Radiance, Icewind Dale, Baldurs Gate and now ddo with disregard of rule sets. If the game is good I will play it.

[Shyver]

I was mainly speaking from the perspective of NWN and the like, including this up and coming game Neverwinter, which was described as a 'online co-operative RPG' rather than an MMO.



Agreed for most standard MMOs, but many user-generated content games allow players to set up their own private servers as well. Which means you can be whatever level you want, playing whatever game you want.

Think of it as playing a custom map of Starcraft 2. Granted, the competitive game of Starcraft 2 must be balanced fairly well, but the map editor used to make and test the game can let you build a unit with a million hitpoints and equally as much damage and armor if you really wanted to. Some custom maps will be balanced and others will just be for goofing around, and in many balance doesn't even factor in (I've seen a few well-made pure roleplay games).

I agree 100% that user-made content is a great boon for extending the life and fun of systems that operate in a stand alone fashion like NwN, many FPS, and RTS games. DDO, LotRo, WoW, and other MMO's designed in the same fashion just don't seem to lend themselves well to a similiar system because everything must be balanced against the game as a whole.

The OP is says:

Player-created content done right is the future on online gaming,

But what is "done right" in the case of MMO's like DDO, WoW, LotRo, and others of the same style?

[Chai]

I kind of had similar thoughts.

1. Its not a mmo

Ball 1.

I dont need a game to be an MMO to enjoy it. I liked NWN1 and had alot of good times there. I still wouldnt call it a home run however, as part of gaming for me is socializing.

2. Its 4th edition

Foul ball, strike 1. While I am not a 4e fan, the mechanics of that edition seem very translated from video game mechanics, so who knows, maybe it will work as a video game, heh.

3. Its cyrptic

Caught looking - strike 2. Yeap, Its cryptic. I rarely see good reviews of their games after a few months have passed since release.

As far as player generated content goes, everyone can find their niche. Alot of people have their own visions of what is and what is not good for D&D and they can explore that vision by creating their own PW. Players basically have to find a PW that agrees more with their own vision of the game. After I created our NWN PW and played on it for a long time, I tried alot of others. I only found a few to my liking, but I have to think each world was enjoyed by some as many had staying power.